This Global Home | Day 20: Mexico

Hi! I’m Naomi! I grew up in rural Mexico. I spent my days eating torillas cooked over open fires, chasing chickens through corn fields - and watching my parents love their community and share the teachings of Jesus. Sometimes over bowls full of beans and rice; sometimes over hard labor. I spent my adolescent years in Texas and then moved to California for college. It was there that I met my husband Joshua. We moved to Spain as newlyweds . . . . and 8 years (and three kids) later, we left Spain and moved to Mexico City. It was a move I had never imagined or desired. Soon after I arrived in Mexico City, I asked a new friend what tips she had for me to thrive in this city that is infamous for wearing out foreigners. “Learn to love Mexicans who love their city,” she said.Best advice ever. We’ve been here 7 years now. p.s. that’s me on our rooftop of our apartment building, directing you to my favorite taco standConnect with me: Blog Instagram

When we arrived in Mexico city, seven years ago, we landed in a neighborhood in the far north of the city. We quickly realized that the sheer quantity of time we spent on public transportation was going to ruin us (the pitiful, weak, American wusses that we are), so we began to look for a home closer to the city center. We found this apartment, and it was a disaster . . . but I fell in love with its large windows and original floors, the completely tiled kitchen and its central location that gave us access to 4 different lines of public transportation!In my initial house-hunting list of non-negotiables, 2 bathrooms was a prominent line item. I was quickly persuaded by giant windows and original parquet floors that 2 bathrooms actually was negotiable. It’s been tricky, but with some common courtesy rules, we’ve figured out a pretty good system (ahem - if you’re taking a book with you into the bathroom, you’d better announce it to the rest of the family first.... mamas of single bathroom homes - amiright!?) Also, I realized pretty quickly that replacing the transparent shower curtain with a solid shower curtain went a long way in cutting down on bathroom emergency conflicts.

Really, REALLY a non-negotiable? Space for a large table. You guys! I’m convinced that God does powerful works of comfort and correction . . . of grace and growth . . . over meals. Our dining room/living room is definitely where we spend the majority of our waking hours.I once chased down a garbage man who had a broken, wooden chair strapped to the side of his trash cart. I gushed over his beautiful chair and then begged him to sell it to me (because, in Mexico City, manners make a difference, you guys). Three dollars and a few nails later, and I’m convinced it makes a perfect baby chair.

Seven years ago, when I first started looking for a couch, I had a hard time not finding anything that wasn’t a poofy, floral spectacle. I found a picture of sleek, modern couch on Pinterest (of course) and took it to a local couch builder, and he promised me he could build one that looked exactly like the picture. He built it. It didn’t look exactly like the picture. It used to make me angry, but the couch has grown on me, and now I feel like it’s an endearing landmark of the process of getting to know my city.

So...I think houseplants are kind of super hot right now. (Help me out now, those of you who are better at following current interior design trends . . . are houseplants super hot right now?) I have to admit, my plants are less about me creating a hip, urban jungle (because I’m basically a just a middle-aged woman with mediocre interior design know-how), and more about me wanting to not die from air pollution.

My kitchen is little, but not too little. I have discovered that I really don’t need as many kitchen gadgets as I used to think I did (but really, who needs a whisk when you could just use a fork?) There is space for a tiny table where I can have one of my kids do homework while I cook dinner, and even the most perfect space for my water filter and Kombucha brewing station.I’m pretty sure the owner of our building went to Walmart when he was installing our kitchen and asked for the cheapest range they had - and when the Walmart guy was like, “here, this one is worth about $2" ... and our owner was like “No! Cheaper!!!” I can’t get all four burners to turn on at once, and even if I could, who am I kidding? There is no way I could fit four normal, human-sized pots on at the same time. Also, any time I wipe down the stovetop, the entire stovetop shifts so that if I don’t re-align the stovetop to the base (bumping it millimeter by millimeter) before I light my burner, the gas will pour out of the side of the burners and create a wall of fire (well, almost). BUT, it kind of works most of the time -- and that’s good enough for me.

Selma gets the privilege of being the kid with the double bed. She also gets the responsibility of giving up her bed when we have guests (you are welcome Selma! . . . and thank you). I recently found a local steel worker to build the base of her desk for me. Now I’m dreaming up all sorts of future projects.

Check out the power transformer outside of the girl’s window. It’s possible that I’m submitting them to gamma radiation, BUT, on a positive note, it sure is fun to watch the birds build their nests in the power boxes!

When we first moved to this apartment, Malachai was 9, Josu was 6, and Selma was 4. For the first four years, all three of my kids slept in this room (on the three-level bunk bed!) I found numbered hooks at a nearby flea market. The vendor told me they were originally hooks that hung outside of horse stables (it might be true). Those numbers are never coming down. They make me feel all sappy and sentimental.

Take a look at that curtain rod . . . and the bubbling, flaking paint under the window; that wall is our wall of shame. The tiles on that side of the building fell off several years ago and the building manager won’t fix them, so the rain soaks through the wall and makes it nearly impossible to keep anything stable in the wall. I’ve tried about seven different curtain rod solutions. I’m about to try an eighth. Wish me luck.

I was talking to a Mexican friend last week, and I confidently asserted that his city of origin was in southern Mexico. It was actually northern Mexico. I was so embarrassed. Never again, my friend. Because I have a new map hanging on our wall; and when I’m woken up in the middle of the night by a party across the street, I’m going to study the map by the light streaming in from the street lamp just outside our window.

The fact that our room has so many windows means that we hear all the rowdy diners at the restaurant on the ground floor below us, as well as all the ambulances that pass by all night long, but my light loving soul thinks it’s absolutely worth it.Every once in a while Joshua and I ask ourselves - should we move? Has the ant problem gotten too bad? Does our growing family need more room? Do we actually have too much room? Are we living too high above the standard of living of most of our church members? Has the neighborhood grown too gentrified? Will the twenty ambulances that pass by every single night literally drive us insane?Maybe someday we’ll move. But not right now. This is our home.

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