# Moving to Merida



## adamathefrog

Evening (or afternoon, as the case may be), all.

I'm finally flying out to Mexico next weekend to spend 6 months in my new place in Merida.

I think I might start to go a bit crazy after a while with no other English speakers around, so if any other Yucatan-based expats fancy some English conversation over a beer or to give me a shout! 

If you're a Brit, I might even have a Jaffa cake for you! 

I'm hoping to plant a bit of bare earth out the back of my house with grass, have any of you tried to grow grass in Yucatan's climate? Most of the grass I've seen looks scary, like cow grass. Do we have any horticulturalists who can tell me how likely it is that Bermuda grass will grow? I'm a little petrified of the thought of sitting on it and meeting a scorpion, but that's probably just me, right?

I'm also planning on surrouding the entire property with loads of lemon grass and mint to try to ward off the moscas, good idea?

Cheers,
adamoelsapito.


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## Debiinmerida

*growing grass*

I've been living in Merida for 6 years now. I have had sod planted and as long as it gets water and sun it is growing gangbusters. I've tried to seed bare spots, but am not diligent enough with the water, and always fall back to sod. It seems to work well.

You will find enough English speakers, and Brits to keep you from getting loopy!
How is your Spanish?

where is your new place, I am in San Sebastian/La Ermita.

When you finally get here ring me up, we'll chat about 'hangouts', well I'm not going to drop my phone number here, so here is my blog - Debiinmerida . blogspot . com, or I guess reply to this thread.





adamathefrog said:


> Evening (or afternoon, as the case may be), all.
> 
> I'm finally flying out to Mexico next weekend to spend 6 months in my new place in Merida.
> 
> I think I might start to go a bit crazy after a while with no other English speakers around, so if any other Yucatan-based expats fancy some English conversation over a beer or to give me a shout!
> 
> If you're a Brit, I might even have a Jaffa cake for you!
> 
> I'm hoping to plant a bit of bare earth out the back of my house with grass, have any of you tried to grow grass in Yucatan's climate? Most of the grass I've seen looks scary, like cow grass. Do we have any horticulturalists who can tell me how likely it is that Bermuda grass will grow? I'm a little petrified of the thought of sitting on it and meeting a scorpion, but that's probably just me, right?
> 
> I'm also planning on surrouding the entire property with loads of lemon grass and mint to try to ward off the moscas, good idea?
> 
> Cheers,
> adamoelsapito.


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## adamathefrog

Debiinmerida said:


> I've been living in Merida for 6 years now. I have had sod planted and as long as it gets water and sun it is growing gangbusters. I've tried to seed bare spots, but am not diligent enough with the water, and always fall back to sod. It seems to work well.
> 
> You will find enough English speakers, and Brits to keep you from getting loopy!
> How is your Spanish?
> 
> where is your new place, I am in San Sebastian/La Ermita.
> 
> When you finally get here ring me up, we'll chat about 'hangouts', well I'm not going to drop my phone number here, so here is my blog - Debiinmerida . blogspot . com, or I guess reply to this thread.


The house is near the ISSTE Lindavista. My brain is still totally incapable of remembering grid system addresses! 

My Spanish is iffy. I can have Spanish conversations with my girlfriend, but I still don't have a wide enough vocabulary to be able to talk to anyone else. Only 2 of the people I know there are English speakers though, everyone else only speaks Spanish, so I hope to improve pretty quickly.

adam.


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## Debiinmerida

I know LindaVista, nice area, I am a bit East and South of there. So funny, I am struggling to have more mexican friends, and you are looking for us expats.

With a Mexican girlfriend and friend base your Spanish should progress rapidly.

Marina Aguirre teaches Spanish, she has a blog, marinaaguirre . blogspot . com

Well, back to topic, sod is fairly reasonable, but looks nothing like sod in the states. you can try to bring seed down, but it might get confiscated. last time I bought grass seed it was about 200pesos for a 1/2 kilo. 

get in touch when you get here, 

how is your girlfriends English? It's always tough when one of the pair doesn't understand what's going on.




adamathefrog said:


> The house is near the ISSTE Lindavista. My brain is still totally incapable of remembering grid system addresses!
> 
> My Spanish is iffy. I can have Spanish conversations with my girlfriend, but I still don't have a wide enough vocabulary to be able to talk to anyone else. Only 2 of the people I know there are English speakers though, everyone else only speaks Spanish, so I hope to improve pretty quickly.
> 
> adam.


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## adamathefrog

Her English is pretty good, none of her friends speak any English at all. They all get taught at English school, but no one seems to absorb it. I learnt French and Latin at school, which has helped a huge amount with picking up Spanish (romance word order, grammatical gender, etc). 

I can only stay in Mexico for short periods as I have to go back to the UK to earn money, I think that's going to make becoming properly fluent troublesome.

How safe do you find the grass? I'd not give it a thought in the UK, but all of the bugs in mx are terrifying. Watching the insect life on a nopal in a puebla is like watching Starship Troopers. Except for the spiders, which are pretty conspicuous by their absence!


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## Debiinmerida

Oh Man! You are in for a rough time - There are bugs, and mosquitos, and snakes, and scorpions. It's just the way it is. 

I was weeding the other day and killed two scorpions, only because they were living in the garden closest to the house. I have a small snake that I see only rarely. Spiders abound, every first trip in the morning has me clearing a path. Little roly poly's here they call the cochinitas make the ground appear to be moving at night. 

I NEVER walk in the garden barefoot, and I don't sit on the grass. I have areas throughout the garden to sit, benches, chairs, etc.

Sorry! I know that's not what you want to hear!






adamathefrog said:


> Her English is pretty good, none of her friends speak any English at all. They all get taught at English school, but no one seems to absorb it. I learnt French and Latin at school, which has helped a huge amount with picking up Spanish (romance word order, grammatical gender, etc).
> 
> I can only stay in Mexico for short periods as I have to go back to the UK to earn money, I think that's going to make becoming properly fluent troublesome.
> 
> How safe do you find the grass? I'd not give it a thought in the UK, but all of the bugs in mx are terrifying. Watching the insect life on a nopal in a puebla is like watching Starship Troopers. Except for the spiders, which are pretty conspicuous by their absence!


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## adamathefrog

Debiinmerida said:


> Oh Man! You are in for a rough time - There are bugs, and mosquitos, and snakes, and scorpions. It's just the way it is.
> 
> I was weeding the other day and killed two scorpions, only because they were living in the garden closest to the house. I have a small snake that I see only rarely. Spiders abound, every first trip in the morning has me clearing a path. Little roly poly's here they call the cochinitas make the ground appear to be moving at night.
> 
> I NEVER walk in the garden barefoot, and I don't sit on the grass. I have areas throughout the garden to sit, benches, chairs, etc.
> 
> Sorry! I know that's not what you want to hear!


Haha. I hardly saw any spiders when I was over last time! Plenty cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes. The first time I lifted a bit of wood and saw a scorpion I almost swam back to England. I was thinking it'd be kinda cool to build a treehouse or similar in the back garden, but all I can imagine now is an Indiana Jones-esque cave full of scorpions and cockroaches.

I've read about hookworms, which make me never, ever, ever want to go outside without shoes on, or expose any flesh to the ground.

Oh, that reminds me of walking around at night crunching those large-ish ants underfoot, it was almost as satisfying as bubble wrap!

You're still allowed to find things like that entertaining at 30, right?


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## RVGRINGO

Why live there? You have reminded us of the pleasures of a higher altitude and a less hot and humid climate.


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## Isla Verde

RVGRINGO said:


> Why live there? You have reminded us of the pleasures of a higher altitude and a less hot and humid climate.


No doubt because that's where his girlfriend is from, don't you think?


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## adamathefrog

RVGRINGO said:


> Why live there? You have reminded us of the pleasures of a higher altitude and a less hot and humid climate.


Because Mérida is a lovely city, and my stubborn-headed girlfriend refuses to live more than 1km from where she grew up.

I could probably get a decent job in DF or Guadalajara, but she refuses to move. I don't really blame her, Mérida is probably the safest place I've ever lived.


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## adamathefrog

Isla Verde said:


> No doubt because that's where his girlfriend is from, don't you think?


Indeed!


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## Isla Verde

adamathefrog said:


> Because Mérida is a lovely city, and my stubborn-headed girlfriend refuses to live more than 1km from where she grew up.
> 
> I could probably get a decent job in DF or Guadalajara, but she refuses to move. I don't really blame her, Mérida is probably the safest place I've ever lived.


In general, Mexicans are extremely attached to the place where they've grown up and where their families live. Mérida is a nice city, in spite of the weather, but I hope you'll be able to explore other parts of the country during your visits to Mexico.


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## adamathefrog

Isla Verde said:


> In general, Mexicans are extremely attached to the place where they've grown up and where their families live. Mérida is a nice city, in spite of the weather, I hope you'll be able to explore other parts of the country during your visits to Mexico.


I really don't plan to venture much further than Campeche. She won't go further than that, and the Yucatecos seem to consider the rest of Mexico as a giant black hole of horror.

There're a few years of things to see and explore on the peninsula in any event, so I doubt I'll get bored!

adam.


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## Isla Verde

adamathefrog said:


> I really don't plan to venture much further than Campeche. She won't go further than that, and the Yucatecos seem to consider the rest of Mexico as a giant black hole of horror.
> 
> There're a few years of things to see and explore on the peninsula in any event, so I doubt I'll get bored!
> 
> adam.


I had no idea that Yucatecos felt that way about the rest of the country. How sad for them!


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## workinggringa

Isla Verde said:


> I had no idea that Yucatecos felt that way about the rest of the country. How sad for them!


Oh, not all Yucatecos feel that way. But it is not easy to visit other parts of Mexico... its quite a trek. That's why Yucatan is like its own little country... it was isolated from the rest of Mexico for centuries.

As for bugs, my experience from ten years is that bugs come in waves. One year, they will be a lot of those rollypolies (only they don't roll up, and they are faster, so we always call them speedyweedys), another year it will flying ants, etc. It does take some getting used to 

I'm with Deb... don't sit on the grass


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## adamathefrog

workinggringa said:


> Oh, not all Yucatecos feel that way. But it is not easy to visit other parts of Mexico... its quite a trek. That's why Yucatan is like its own little country... it was isolated from the rest of Mexico for centuries.
> 
> As for bugs, my experience from ten years is that bugs come in waves. One year, they will be a lot of those rollypolies (only they don't roll up, and they are faster, so we always call them speedyweedys), another year it will flying ants, etc. It does take some getting used to
> 
> I'm with Deb... don't sit on the grass


That's how I usually justify buying a house in Mexico to Brits. All they see is the standard NoB view of Mexico. I explain the geography and historical politics of the Yucatan peninsula and it usually shuts them up. I'd like to be able to claim Mexico itself isn't like the think, but I've never seen anywhere else, so I can't!

Preaching to the choir about the bugs in the grass. I got bitten so badly walking through long grass at an archaeological site near Mérida!

adam.


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## AlanMexicali

*What bugs?*



adamathefrog said:


> That's how I usually justify buying a house in Mexico to Brits. All they see is the standard NoB view of Mexico. I explain the geography and historical politics of the Yucatan peninsula and it usually shuts them up. I'd like to be able to claim Mexico itself isn't like the think, but I've never seen anywhere else, so I can't!
> 
> Preaching to the choir about the bugs in the grass.:confused2: I got bitten so badly walking through long grass at an archaeological site near Mérida!
> 
> adam.


:confused2::confused2:


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## AlanMexicali

HOW AOUT THAT works on quick reply. Idid notice a change that a few people have travelling around.


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## Debiinmerida

we live here for a variety of reasons, and we aren't put off by bugs n snakes, we're made of tougher stuff than that!

there is a sense of calmness and tranquility here, well except when driving, then its me first at all costs.

people are friendly, but not invasive, there are a multitude of things to do on any given day.

it's hott and humid, but well that's just the way it is. it's a different kind of life, there are good things and bad things, the vermin aren't the bad thing!






RVGRINGO said:


> Why live there? You have reminded us of the pleasures of a higher altitude and a less hot and humid climate.


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## mycielogrande

LOL Adam...I had a chuckle reading your posts on this forum....it brought back memories of how I felt when it came to the bugs and such here as well. We've lived full-time in Merida (Santiago, Merida Centro area) for over 4 1/2 years, so we are getting more accustomed to them, although I don't think I'll ever get to the point where scorpions don't bother me....they are horrifying to me - but mainly because of our pets.

We do spray on a regular basis....every two months for the inside and every month for the outside areas (he alternates on the different sprays he uses outside so the pests won't get immuned to them as quickly)...that has helped tremendously in keeping the scorpions at bay....if we have a lot of rain we still get the odd one (maybe one or two a month), but not like they used to be. 

One thing we did do was TAKE OUT all the grass when we moved in and replaced it with cement instead - sounds like the opposite of what you want to do LOL. The patios are covered with green cement paint so we can see any bug that runs across the yard (hopefully before the little pups do), and my husband makes sure the trees and plants are pruned up a bit so there's not as much area for them to hide in. 

We have to be very careful as we have 5 chihuahuas and a sting could, and likely would be fatal to them. We also make sure that we wear running shoes or regular shoes that are not open if we are going to a grassy area, just to be on the safe side. We would never sit on grass, we don't even like to sit on chairs that are on grass, and I check the underside of patio chairs before I sit down. Just after we got here (before we started with all the spraying), a huge scorpion climbed over the top of my husband's chair at the bar, and another one crawled under the table when we had several dinner guests sitting there having dinner.

We haven't seen a snake yet, but that's probably because we have so much concrete around us living in a residential neighbourhood, and no building lots close by to disturb their habitats.

Perhaps we're overly cautious, but it makes us more comfortable living here, and we do love the city, the people and the culture....we wouldn't think of living anywhere else. Living here is definitely not like coming for a holiday, and the newness does wear off, but there's always lots to do and see, and before long you'll meet lots of people. There are several English speaking expats living here, and some English speaking locals, so you won't get lonely....there are even Brits LOL!

Just be sure to keep the doors shut and have screens on everything and you should be OK. It's a good idea to check your shoes and shake out your clothing before dressing, and check under floor mats, behind bookcases and dressers etc. before retiring for the night if you are in the habit of leaving your doors open through out the day.

Give us a shout when you arrive if you like and come over for a visit. It's best to e-mail at [email protected] and I'll give you the phone number and address.

Welcome to Merida.....
Amber & John


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## mickisue1

mycielogrande said:


> LOL Adam...I had a chuckle reading your posts on this forum....it brought back memories of how I felt when it came to the bugs and such here as well. We've lived full-time in Merida (Santiago, Merida Centro area) for over 4 1/2 years, so we are getting more accustomed to them, although I don't think I'll ever get to the point where scorpions don't bother me....they are horrifying to me - but mainly because of our pets.
> 
> We do spray on a regular basis....every two months for the inside and every month for the outside areas (he alternates on the different sprays he uses outside so the pests won't get immuned to them as quickly)...that has helped tremendously in keeping the scorpions at bay....if we have a lot of rain we still get the odd one (maybe one or two a month), but not like they used to be.
> 
> One thing we did do was TAKE OUT all the grass when we moved in and replaced it with cement instead - sounds like the opposite of what you want to do LOL. The patios are covered with green cement paint so we can see any bug that runs across the yard (hopefully before the little pups do), and my husband makes sure the trees and plants are pruned up a bit so there's not as much area for them to hide in.
> 
> We have to be very careful as we have 5 chihuahuas and a sting could, and likely would be fatal to them. We also make sure that we wear running shoes or regular shoes that are not open if we are going to a grassy area, just to be on the safe side. We would never sit on grass, we don't even like to sit on chairs that are on grass, and I check the underside of patio chairs before I sit down. Just after we got here (before we started with all the spraying), a huge scorpion climbed over the top of my husband's chair at the bar, and another one crawled under the table when we had several dinner guests sitting there having dinner.
> 
> We haven't seen a snake yet, but that's probably because we have so much concrete around us living in a residential neighbourhood, and no building lots close by to disturb their habitats.
> 
> Perhaps we're overly cautious, but it makes us more comfortable living here, and we do love the city, the people and the culture....we wouldn't think of living anywhere else. Living here is definitely not like coming for a holiday, and the newness does wear off, but there's always lots to do and see, and before long you'll meet lots of people. There are several English speaking expats living here, and some English speaking locals, so you won't get lonely....there are even Brits LOL!
> 
> Just be sure to keep the doors shut and have screens on everything and you should be OK. It's a good idea to check your shoes and shake out your clothing before dressing, and check under floor mats, behind bookcases and dressers etc. before retiring for the night if you are in the habit of leaving your doors open through out the day.
> 
> Give us a shout when you arrive if you like and come over for a visit. It's best to e-mail at [email protected] and I'll give you the phone number and address.
> 
> Welcome to Merida.....
> Amber & John


You have just convinced forevermore NOT to move to Merida.

I've never lived where scorpions live, but have only in the past few years come to a sort of peace with the very idea of them.

Peaceful coexistence with them is not in my playbook, thankyouverymuch!


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## adamathefrog

mickisue1 said:


> You have just convinced forevermore NOT to move to Merida.
> 
> I've never lived where scorpions live, but have only in the past few years come to a sort of peace with the very idea of them.
> 
> Peaceful coexistence with them is not in my playbook, thankyouverymuch!


I only saw one in the three months I was there the last time, and that was only because I decided to clear out the messy back yard, and found one in an old sink.

I'm hoping not to see many more 

adam.

Edit: if you are already disgusted by scorpions, DO NOT read their wikipedia page.


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## mycielogrande

Debiinmeida is so right....living here has a way more pros than cons, and really the bugs are really not that bad of a thing to get used to. It's well worth it, but it's also good to be forewarned  ..

Before we moved here, we were checking on the Lake Chapala area, and John my husband did a LOT of research....there are scorpions all over Mexico, but less here in the Yucatan, and *the ones we do have here are NOT the deadly kind *(anything 20 lbs and over should be fairly safe). We chose not to move to Lake Chapala cuz it has the highest ratio of scorpions in all of Mexico, or at least it did 6 years ago. 

Our friends live there, and he gets stung a lot doing his yard work, and she only gets it when she puts her hand in a bag or something like that, but she said she quickly learned not to, and only has an incident when she does something stupid (LOL...her words). When it happens he takes antihistimines (sp??) and she goes to the clinic for a shot. It doesn't seem to bother them in the least.

In Canada we had black widow spiders, a very venemous brown type that I can't remember the name of off hand, and rattle snakes galore. At any given time we could find 5 or 6 black widows around the base of the house outside, and a couple or more on the rafters in an unfinished room down in the basement....we just left them there as we didn't consider them to be a threat - but I did know two people personally that ended up in hospital for a few days because of those spiders. My daughter got bit by one of the brown spiders in Canada when she was 16 and she's now 44 and still has the huge welt in her leg as a result.

I think every country, and the provinces and states has something that give people the willies.....so it's not just in Mexico, nor is it just here in Merida. 

Don't be turned off of this wonderful city because of a few bugs....just spray on a regular basis and use common sense, and you'll be fine.


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## adamathefrog

mycielogrande said:


> I think every country, and the provinces and states has something that give people the willies.....so it's not just in Mexico, nor is it just here in Merida.


When I was a kid I used to wonder why people ever left the UK for exactly this reason. There's pretty much nothing in the UK that can harm you. I always thought it was crazy that people would move to the USA and Australia where they'd have to deal with all manner of man-killing bugs and beasts.

And yet...

3 days to go and bags are packed to within 0.5kg of their weight and 1cm of their size restrictions. 

adam.


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## mycielogrande

Good for you Adam! Have a safe trip, and remember to put a light sweater or something in your carryons if you are planning to to take ADO from Cancun.


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## mickisue1

" a very venemous brown type"

Brown Recluse.

See, I live in the east central part of Minnesota. The only rattlesnakes are in the bluffs on the Mississippi, in the southeastern part of the state.

No scorpions.

The occasional brown recluse, but black widows, nope. 

No fire ants.

No aggressive bees.

We have gnats, mosquitoes galore (but not so much this year, d/t the drought) and the rare deer or horse fly, if you live in the metropolitan area, as we do.

Getting used to the wildlife that's not only icky, but dangerous will definitely be an adjustment.

Oh, all right. We do have deer ticks, that carry Lyme disease, a pretty nasty chronic infection.

But still...no scorpions.


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## conklinwh

Minnesota, ugh! Black flies & June bugs!


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## Isla Verde

No bugs in Mexico City except for the occasional cucaracha : ).


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## RVGRINGO

Some folks just like to worry, worry, worry. Often, they're the same ones who kill off all the snakes and wonder why they have rodents.
If you fear flying insects or mosquitoes, don't put up a bug zapper; give one to your neighbor.


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## ukreflex

*Brits*

Hello There 
Are you still living in Merida?
Have you met any Brits yet?
Would love to hear from you ,,
I,m also a Brit living in Merida..
Hope to hear from you ,,


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## ukreflex

Hi Adam 
Are you still living in Merida?


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## Isla Verde

ukreflex said:


> Hi Adam
> Are you still living in Merida?


His last post is dated June 28 of this year, so he still may be around. Why don't you send him a PM? You can use the PM function once you've made five posts.


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## ukreflex

*Brits*



Isla Verde said:


> His last post is dated June 28 of this year, so he still may be around. Why don't you send him a PM? You can use the PM function once you've made five posts.


Thanks for advise,


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## adamathefrog

ukreflex said:


> Hi Adam
> Are you still living in Merida?


I've been back in the UK since March, but I'll be back in Mérida in January for 6 months making sure my wife hasn't burnt the house down, or filled it with puppies or something...


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## ukreflex

*Brits*

Hi Adam , 
Well would love to meet up with you guys in january , I live here now and i,m from the UK, Just thought i,d say hello and bring me some jaffa cakes back ,, jajajaja


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## adamathefrog

ukreflex said:


> Hi Adam ,
> Well would love to meet up with you guys in january , I live here now and i,m from the UK, Just thought i,d say hello and bring me some jaffa cakes back ,, jajajaja


Haha. Sure!

We'll probably be bringing an entire suitcase of Jaffa cakes, last time I only brought half a suitcase they only lasted 6 weeks!


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## ukreflex

I would really appreciate that !! Maybe you should open up a British Cake or sweet shop here ,, Gotta love the ole cadbury,s ,, Hope it,s not too cold in England, 
and i do hope you save me a box of jaffa,s , !!!!!
Cheers Adam ,


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