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A few weeks ago, I posted about finding Unibroue beer at the Superama here in SLP.  I made a second trip back the next day—and bought up all the Blanche de Chambly in the store

Unfortunately since then I have made several trips back to the store—but they have not replenished their stock of Unibroue beers   I even tried ordering them through the store’s website—but even that didn’t work (which surprised me as Superama is owned by Walmart—and I thought their supply chain would be able to handle my order for only four cases of beer…)

Fortunately this past week-end we made a trip to Aguascalientes (about two hours from SLP) to visit a former exchange student—and while there I was able to relieve their Superama of their entire Blanche de Chambly stock (16 bottles) and find Stella Artois in the Soriana (24 bottles.)

However, this supply won’t last long (too many people know about my “beer treasure”.)  So if there’s anyone in Canada planning a roadtrip to Mexcio—please let me know so that I can make the appropriate arrangements….

Navigating bureaucracy in any country is a nightmare—and Mexico is no exception.  However, after a while you slowly figure out how things work and you’re able to predict what roadblocks you’re going to run into…

Last week, I had a full dose of bureaucracy when I went to file my “declaración anual” (ie. Mexican tax return.) 

Filing a tax return in Mexico is much easier than filing a tax return in Canada—but it’s still not fun.  Most people just need to logon to the website and confirm all their information and then file their return right there.  However, to get your tax refund you need the interbank codes for your bank account—and if your refund is greater than a certain amount, you need to “digital sign” your return with a private key (PKI certificate) that is issued by the government.

Of course, I had neither so I had to make a visit to the bank to get my interbank codes (and at the same time I wanted to be setup with Internet access.)  However I was quickly told that my current bank account could not be setup with Internet access—so I had to go through the process of setting up a brand new account so that I could have internet access.  Of course I had to provide “proof of address” (the fact that I already had an account at the same bank and even gave them my bank card wasn’t sufficient—but I was ready for that.)  And in less than an hour I walked out with a new account, a security token for internet access and an extra 90 pesos (which I won when I deposited money into my new account.)

The next day was my appointment with the SAT to get my private key/PKI certificate so that I could file my tax return and receive my refund.  Once again a lot of paperwork, a USB key for my private keyfiles and about 15 minutes taking photos, scanning documents and then an electronic fingerprint of every finger on both hands (we’re talking serious security—the Mexican government now has more biometric data about me than the Canadian government.)

That night I was able to logon to my bank account and file my tax return!!!

Now I think I’ve been in Mexico for too long…

One of the things that I’ve learned living in Mexico is that availability of specialty foods can sometimes be unpredictable…..

Today I went to the Superama to buy some Dutch ‘speculaas’ cookies that we had bought there before—but was surprised to find that they no longer had them (or even my favorite LeClerc Chocolate-Raspberry cookies.)

However my disappointment didn’t last for too long as two aisles away from the cookie section I noticed some new beer being displayed—and front and centre was “Blanche de Chambly” (my favourite wit-bier—it’s actually better than Hoegaarden) with three other Unibroue beers located near by!!!!

Of course I couldn’t stop smiling and quickly grabbed a good selection for home consumption (as you never know how long it will be available for…)

Welcome to Mexico Unibroue…

Non-essential services have been shutdown here in Mexico since Friday, May 1—so things are really quiet right now.  Fortunately the closing of schools and businesses seems to have had the desired effect and the number of flu cases (and deaths) has dropped off significantly in the last five days (see graphic below.) 

An in-depth analysis/chronology of the flu epidemic so far can be found at:  http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1398445

It appears that things will start returning to normal tomorrow (although schools will remain closed until next week.) 

However, I’m still not sure when people will quit wearing their face masks (here in SLP they’ve been the de rigeur accessory for over a week.)

Source:  http://www.salud.gob.mx/unidades/dgcs/sala_noticias/discursos/PRESENTACION05MAYO09.pdf

For the last decade or so (ever since the lead-up to Y2K), Danielle and I have been “creatures of habit” on Saturday mornings.  In London, this meant breakfast at Billy’s Deli followed by a visit to the market (downtown or at the fairgrounds.)

Here in SLP, we’ve developed a similar habit….most Saturdays we have breakfast at El Faro.  We were originally alternating between two other popular breakfast spots in the city “Chaires” (the best chilaquiles and also great for desserts on a cold night) and “La Parroquia” (more interesting for people watching.)  However, El Faro easily has the best breakfasts in the city (it’s all they do—and they do it really well.)

After breakfast at El Faro, it’s a short walk to “Panadería La Superior” for some fresh buns and other baked goods. (In the rest of Mexico San Luis Potosí is known for it’s “Enchiladas Potosínas”—but if you’re a local, it’s the buns from La Superior that you’re passionate about.)  The only thing better than a bun from La Superior is a bun from La Superior turned into a “torta”—but that’s a whole different blog posting….

Directly is front of La Superior, there’s a vendor that fresh-squeezes orange juice for you while you wait—so we make sure that pick up a litre or two as well (the oranges are grown approx. 120km from SLP in the Huasteca.)

Most definitely not a bad start to the week-end…

After living in SLP for a while, I realized that my Spanish was not improving as quickly as I would like.  At work almost everything is in English and Danielle and I speak English to each other at home—so the only Spanish practice I get is at Rotary or when we are out shopping/eating.

As a result, I’ve signed up for Spanish lessons to improve my language skills—and things are definitely improving.  My lessons are at 8.30am three days a week so it’s not always fun…but at least recently, I’ve been having my lessons on the terrace at work (it’s warm and sunny—but not so sunny yet that I have to worry about sunburn.)

I’ve been really bad at updating my blog recently.  So to get things rolling, I thought I’d start with something easy–like a photo of my office.

The building is “Las Terrazas” (“The Terraces”) named because each floor of the building has a terrace of some form or another.  I work on the 6th floor (of seven) and my desk is six feet from the terrace (upper left in this photo.) 

On a windy day the breeze that sneaks around the edges of the door can be a little annoying–but on any other day having the terrace right there is really, really nice (in a matter of seconds I can be outside in the open air enjoying the sun and fresh air.)

The office is about 2km from home (close enough to walk if it’s not too hot and most days it’s less than a 10min drive.)

One thing that you can’t see in this photo is the farm of antennas and towers on the roof.  Due to the relative height and location of the building I’m pretty sure that we have a cell-phone transmitter for every cell phone company in Mexico.  The building also has the offices for the US Consulate–which means at least once a month someone asks me if I work in the consulate.