working from Mexico | Surviving Mexico

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December 19, 2016 · 7:00 am

Modern Day Marias–Maggie the provider

Were there days that Maria regretted her decision to go with Jose, first to Bethlehem and then later to Egypt? Were there times when she felt like she just couldn’t even get out of bed to face the day? Did she need to take on outside work to help in the lean times when Jose didn’t have any furniture orders? How did she manage?

Today’s modern day Maria, Maggie, “is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household and a portion to her maidens.” (Proverbs 31: 14-15) Read and be inspired!

You can call me Maggie. I am from Los Angeles, CA. My husband and I met at my prior job. He was granted a voluntary departure which allows a non-citizen to leave the US without an order of removal on record. He is not allowed to reapply for a visa for 10 years afterward. We have 4 more years to go until he can request readmission. We now live in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Everything in my life has changed. My family and friends are distant. My husband and I argue more. Our entire lifestyle, our way of life, our everyday routines have changed. My belief system has changed. I’ve changed. I’m often depressed. I have no motivation. I’m angry.

We have adapted to the daily border crossing life. My kids had to get used to crossing every day at 4 am for school. For the first 2 years, we didn’t have a car. We had to use public transportation to cross from one country to the other. Border life means leaving before the sun comes out and always getting home after the sun sets.

There were so many things I just took for granted before moving to Mexico. The first year in Mexico we didn’t even have hot water. Winter was VERY cold. For 3 years we used a camping stove attached to a propane tank. The feeling when you get your first stove after so many years is like Christmas morning. Having a stove meant that we could bake cakes or a turkey. It meant a safer kitchen. It was a wonderful day for us.

I miss a warm home, a better way of living, not struggling to get to work or school. I don’t know what keeps me going some days. My husband has missed out on our kids’ middle and high school graduations among other milestones because he could not cross the border to be with us. My children struggle to accept this life. They are both now in college working on saving money to move at the end of the school year back to the states.

I work a regular part-time job across the border. I own two home based businesses. Margret Ruiz Photography (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook) and Margret’s Fabulous Creations (Instagram and Facebook). I am also involved in several non-profit organizations including Baja Sand and the Lupus Foundation of America. I lost my favorite aunt to Lupus the first year our life was uprooted.

I co-founded a charity in Rosarito called Cumpliendo Sueños (Making Dreams Come True). I donate my photography services and gowns so that girls who otherwise couldn’t are able to have a Quinceñera party. Please consider donating your time or resources so that even more girls can have their dreams come true.

Margret Ruiz Photography- Maggie is a family & Wedding Photographer based in San Diego CA. and Baja California Mexico and is always willing to travel.

I love doing military homecoming photography shoots in San Diego. When I do shoots like this I do them with more passion than any other shoot. I get emotional. It’s that feeling of seeing someone after a long time. The adrenaline and happiness and excitement one gets are amazing. I was apart from my husband for 4 months when this all started and I always relive all those feelings when I do a homecoming.

My current goal is to reach a certain level of income as a photographer. I am reaching towards that goal by more networking and investing more in my business. I am in need of a new camera. Mine is over 6 years old. It’s a struggle every time I have a shoot. If you care to help me help others through photography, you can donate via Paypal at margretruizphotography@yahoo.com. Thank you.

I’d just like to add that we value life and everything we have more now than ever. We don’t take for granted all of the little things we have. We reuse and find uses for old or broken things instead of throwing them out. We might fight more but we love each other more. No marriage or family is perfect. We are more humble, more thankful and blessed to be together. Mexico has been a learning experience for us all.

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Filed under Guest Blogger Adventures

Tagged as border life, living in Mexico, raising children in Mexico, working from Mexico

August 21, 2015 · 7:00 am

Failing at your own business–Transcriptionist

Searching the online want ads I came across a transcriptionist job. I was looking for something to do when classes canceled now that my Business English course was finished. So I clicked on the link and completed the test. The idea of getting paid in US dollars really appealed to me, especially with the dollar at over 16 pesos.

The next day I received an email that said I qualified to become one of the transcriptionists for the company. They also had a need of translators Spanish to English, but I wasn’t sure my Spanish was up to the task. I knew my English was quite good, so I opted to stay with that.

There were a number of training videos to watch. And watch them I did. The whole process seemed a bit complicated, but I signed up for my first assignment anyway. The video reassured me that someone would always be available on Skype if I had any questions.

The email with the assignments was sent out at 6 pm eastern time with the assignments due by 4 pm the next day. Well, this presented somewhat of a problem. While I have computer and internet access, it typically is during the day since we have no electricity at our home in La Yacata. Then there was the one hour time difference to contend with. I checked in for my assignment at 8:15 am my time, only to find that my assignment had been classified as “abandoned.” I contacted the Skype person and she explained that it was because I needed to have verified my acceptance of the assignment by 9 am EST. She changed the classification and I downloaded the audio.

I moved the file into the Express Scribe Transcription program and began my work. The audio segment was a recorded focus group for Linkedin. For the most part, the recording was easily understandable. However, getting used to the Express Scribe program took some time. Before I knew it, it was time for my classes (See Saturday Classes) and I hadn’t really advanced much. After my classes, I set to work on it again, taking the time to transfer what I had finished to the Google document file. Again, my unfamiliarity of the procedure slowed me up. By the time I had the information transferred, it was nearly 3 pm my time, which meant I wouldn’t meet the 4 pm deadline.

I contacted the Skype on-call person again to tell her of my dilemma. I had only managed to get 12 minutes of a 30-minute audio clip finished. Boy, that was discouraging. I had spent more than 4 hours on it. She told me to mark the file with the “I need help” button and to stop working on it. I would get paid for my 12 minutes but the person who finished my assignment would get the remaining pay.

I thought maybe with practice I could get faster, so I was determined to try another assignment. Then I got sick and the days passed and I guess maybe I didn’t have the time after all. The problem was my schedule. I need to have a day or two to work on assignments since I can not devote my whole day to it. With the 4 pm deadline, there was just no way I was going to be able to finish. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t going to work out. So much for mucha moolah.

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