# Miss your old hobbies?



## bdesj (Nov 4, 2015)

Hi, gang. Since this is my first post here, a Cliffs Notes Bio:
For a couple decades I have enjoyed traveling and exploring in Mexico. In 2003 I married a lovely Tapatia and we have been living in the US since, though always dreaming of living out our retirement in Mexico- probably close enough to GDL to make visiting friends and family there easy, but outside of the congestion and noise of the metro area. As of now, we are only 50 and 51 years old, so still quite a ways from making the change. In the mean time, my wife (school teacher with an enviable amount of vacation time!) usually goes alone once or twice per year to visit, then we go together to GDL for a week, and when possible, go "elsewhere" in Mexico for a week or two to see new places.

I feel silly to worry so soon about this, but it suddenly occurs to me that I don't know what I will do with myself when/if we actually move there. My leisure activities have changed over the years, but looking at past and present pastimes, I see than many are either impossible or not feasible to continue SOB. Though I have not posted before in this or any other Mex-based forums, I do wander through them often (dreaming and taking notes), and I don't remember ever seeing that problem addressed anywhere. So here it is- don't any of you miss old hobbies that you had to give up when moving to Mexico? If you snowbird (seems not many snowbirders here?), do you just get that stuff out of your system in the US or Canada and do other things while down south? Thanks, and saludos!

BD


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## bdesj (Nov 4, 2015)

Ummm... embarrassing misspelling sighted above, but I don`t see an edit option. Am I missing it, or is that not permitted? Anyways, "pastimes".


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

bdesj said:


> Ummm... embarrassing misspelling sighted above, but I don`t see an edit option. Am I missing it, or is that not permitted? Anyways, "pastimes".


Moderato's note: You get 5 minutes or so to edit a post then it becomes permanent. Moderators have the ability to edit any posts, but regular members can only edit their own posts and only for a few minutes after posting.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

I am not sure what hobbies you would find difficult to pursue in Mexico, although it is easy to imagine that some exist. The only activity that I miss is book groups and that is only because I would like to find one in Spanish. They exist among expats in English, but I would rather find one in Spanish where I could work on improving both my reading and speaking/comprehension skills while discussing books. Either book groups are not popular among Mexicans or I have just not tried hard enough to find one.


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## bdesj (Nov 4, 2015)

Muchos thankyous for the correction, TG 
Now that I know there isn't a do-it-yourself method, I won't bother the poor mods about it again.

No Spanish book clubs in Guadalajara? Yes, that is surprising. Hope you manage to dig one up. Or maybe you could convince some of the expat folks to expand their scope a bit.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

The thing we missed the most since coming to Mexico is SCUBA. I had been diving since the age of 17 or so - when we left Florida I was still getting in 2-4 dives a week(weather/health permitting) . In Mexico - the only dive has been to put the drain back on the bottom of the pool.

The other 'hobby' we miss is the 2-3 mile beach walks to watch the sunrise. We did that every morning before I headed off to work. Gave us a lot of time to talk about our lives. We still walk most every morning, and while we have a great view (maybe 30 miles) - there ain't no ocean.

I used to look at my work as my hobby. Sure there were highs and lows - but my career was like a 30+ year puzzle. I still do some of that now - but the only pressure is the pressure I put on myself.

So - some of you are going to say - you should have moved to the coast - but the truth is our quality of life is a lot 'different' here.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

I had one hobby back when I lived in the U.S. that I have, so far at least, been unable to pursue here in Mexico. But, full disclosure, it is not that the opportunity doesn't exist here but rather that I lack the language skills. Before I moved to Mexico I very much enjoyed coaching football, the American version. I volunteered as a coach for a youth league and then later for a "pay-to-play" 18 and over league.

Interestingly, there is a youth American Football league with a team right here in Colima. So, I went and volunteered. However, my inability to communicate effectively made it more frustrating than enjoyable. 

So, my new hobby, for now at least, is trying to improve my Spanish. If anyone here has any tips on how a 60 year old who has never studied a language other than English can become at least conversant in Spanish, I would appreciate your advice (although I do not want to hijack bdesj's thread).


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

dwwhiteside said:


> I had one hobby back when I lived in the U.S. that I have, so far at least, been unable to pursue here in Mexico. But, full disclosure, it is not that the opportunity doesn't exist here but rather that I lack the language skills. Before I moved to Mexico I very much enjoyed coaching football, the American version. I volunteered as a coach for a youth league and then later for a "pay-to-play" 18 and over league.
> 
> Interestingly, there is a youth American Football league with a team right here in Colima. So, I went and volunteered. However, my inability to communicate effectively made it more frustrating than enjoyable.
> 
> So, my new hobby, for now at least, is trying to improve my Spanish. If anyone here has any tips on how a 60 year old who has never studied a language other than English can become at least conversant in Spanish, I would appreciate your advice (although I do not want to hijack bdesj's thread).


Colima is a bit of a stretch from Cuernavaca - but there is an 'adult' american style football league here - they tried to recruit me. The orthopedic surgeon I visited last year and our current account rep at Banamex (who played college ball at UNLV) both play in that league and both speak excellent English.

I try and put in at least an hour a day using Memrise on the internet. It is helping me a lot - I am actually retaining stuff. I also went through the duolingo phase but for me Memrise is better. You can tweak it some to suit your needs. The first year I was here I had one-on-one lessons with a Spanish tutor who has now grown-up to teaching in the university... (Nice) people tell me my Spanish is getting better


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Gatos said:


> The thing we missed the most since coming to Mexico is SCUBA. I had been diving since the age of 17 or so - when we left Florida I was still getting in 2-4 dives a week(weather/health permitting) . In Mexico - the only dive has been to put the drain back on the bottom of the pool.
> 
> The other 'hobby' we miss is the 2-3 mile beach walks to watch the sunrise. We did that every morning before I headed off to work. Gave us a lot of time to talk about our lives. We still walk most every morning, and while we have a great view (maybe 30 miles) - there ain't no ocean.
> 
> ...


Most of my life, I lived in cities or towns on the coast of California. Love the ocean, but the usual heat and humidity on the Mexican coastline was a deal killer, so my spouse and I live inland near the shores of Lake Chapala and take our walks on the Malecon by the lake. In the winter, we go to the coast for a few days to get our ocean fix.

Based on some of the activities I used to enjoy (like downhill skiing), the term is descriptive: past times. The important thing for anyone contemplating retirement is to find activities which are pleasurable and absorbing that one can continue to do as the body ages and strenuous activity is less of an option. The saddest retirees I see around me are those who had interesting jobs, but when that ended, so did their activity and interest in life. They often take up excessive dining and drinking on into the sunset. 
Fortunately, there are many interest based groups to join in this area, from kayaking to plein air painting, so it's easy to find like-minded company in your activities.

Buen Suerte!


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Before I moved my main hobby and job was wine and Koi raising.. I gave up both and picked up ceramics and folk art.. Keep an open mind.. with age your taste may change too..I used to ride horses quite a lot and do not do that anymore and do not miss it..Unless your hobby is popular in Mexico do not try to look for it go for something else, there are lots of things to do down here and the better you speak SPanish and the more access you have to interesting things to do. 
In my new hobbies I have to speak Spanish 100% of the time,I am involved with the Escuela Nacional de Cerámica amongst other things and if I did not speak Spanish I could not do it.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Metal detecting is fun in Mexico as there are a lot of historical areas such as battlefields. There are also very old churches but I tend to steer clear of any confrontations with the police. Modern detectors can pinpoint a small coin to the exact spot. With practice a small trowel or a knife can flip up a small plug of earth and not kill the grass if you leave one side of the roots intact. Removing a plug of earth is a lot less intrusive than a shovel but still the local authorities might frown on even this in the wrong place, you sure don't want to be doing this in the square in the middle of town on the church grounds. 

The beach near tourist areas can be very productive but even the desert can produce small meteorites that are fun to find and actually worth cash. *You would be surprised just how much money a meteorite is worth.* A common stony meteorite, called a chondrite, can sell for $25 or less, but a slice of iron–nickel pallasite laced with olivine crystals can easily fetch a thousand times that.

I'd just be very careful of where I was collecting them and make sure I was not on private property or didn't run afoul of any government owned lands.

Here is a horror story from Oman..http://www.popularmechanics.com/spa...y-is-this-rock-worth-400000-dollars-16134667/


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

Zorro2017 said:


> Metal detecting is fun in Mexico as there are a lot of historical areas such as battlefields. There are also very old churches but I tend to steer clear of any confrontations with the police. Modern detectors can pinpoint a small coin to the exact spot. With practice a small trowel or a knife can flip up a small plug of earth and not kill the grass if you leave one side of the roots intact. Removing a plug of earth is a lot less intrusive than a shovel but still the local authorities might frown on even this in the wrong place, you sure don't want to be doing this in the square in the middle of town on the church grounds.
> 
> The beach near tourist areas can be very productive but even the desert can produce small meteorites that are fun to find and actually worth cash. *You would be surprised just how much money a meteorite is worth.* I'd just be very careful of where I was collecting them and make sure I was not on private property or didn't run afoul of any government owned lands.
> 
> Here is a horror story from Oman..Why Is This Rock Worth $400,000?


In South Florida we walked on the beach most every morning setting out just as the sun started above the horizon. One morning I found a Rolex just at the point where the water was lapping the sand - just my eyeballs, no metal detector. (Those wealthy tourists from South America).

Edit : and the beach we walked often hosted pro volleyball tournements. Part of their ritual must be tossing their expensive designer sun-glasses into the ocean. On a Monday morning (early) a person could really clean up on sun-glasses


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Gatos said:


> In South Florida we walked on the beach most every morning setting out just as the sun started above the horizon. One morning I found a Rolex just at the point where the water was lapping the sand - just my eyeballs, no metal detector. (Those wealthy tourists from South America).


I have found a British Half Penny and civil war era bullets with my detector in America. There were many battles in Mexico that are now school soccer fields and such, I'm just beginning to scratch the surface here in Mexico. 

Also, this technology is not prevalent here so gold bearing rivers and streams are also prime targets for nuggets.

But to me an old knife, bullet or cannon ball from a long ago battle is an exciting find. If you were to mount some in a frame and present it to the city offices to be displayed you would probably be granted some type of amnesty and allowed more freedom to hunt local historical sites.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

Zorro2017 said:


> I have found a British Half Penny and civil war era bullets with my detector in America. There were many battles in Mexico that are now school soccer fields and such, I'm just beginning to scratch the surface here in Mexico.
> 
> Also, this technology is not prevalent here so gold bearing rivers and streams are also prime targets for nuggets.
> 
> But to me an old knife, bullet or cannon ball from a long ago battle is an exciting find. If you were to mount some in a frame and present it to the city offices to be displayed you would probably be granted some type of amnesty and allowed more freedom to hunt local historical sites.


We live in an area with several now dormant volcanic craters. These craters have caves and legend has it that one of the caves has buried Aztec gold. I've been told that story from several people.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Here you go Gatos go for treasure and legends hunting, I bet that would be fun.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Gatos said:


> We live in an area with several now dormant volcanic craters. These craters have caves and legend has it that one of the caves has buried Aztec gold. I've been told that story from several people.


If you were to find anything pre-Hispanic, it is automatically the property of the Mexican government. Not sure about relics from more recent times.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Gatos said:


> We live in an area with several now dormant volcanic craters. These craters have caves and legend has it that one of the caves has buried Aztec gold. I've been told that story from several people.


Parking near mountains at dusk reveals the location of caves by bats emerging, keep that in mind. The Aztecs began to hide their relics as the Spaniards began to steal them but as Isla Verde said, relics from this period belong to Mexico.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

Zorro2017 said:


> Parking near mountains at dusk reveals the location of caves by bats emerging, keep that in mind. The Aztecs began to hide their relics as the Spaniards began to steal them but as Isla Verde said, relics from this period belong to Mexico.


You just reminded me of when we lived in Austin near the intersection of 2222 and 360. At dusk there would be THOUSANDS of bats that came out from that underpass.

The area with the cave I was referring to earlier is not the safest place in the world - particularly if you are alone or have a nice shiny new mountain bike. On Sundays groups of 20 or so joggers form a group and jog to the top. We have taken 3 horses and dogs up without issue. 

I've been trying to find the name of the Aztec king that used to summer in these parts - but I have had no luck.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Gatos said:


> You just reminded me of when we lived in Austin near the intersection of 2222 and 360. At dusk there would be THOUSANDS of bats that came out from that underpass.
> 
> The area with the cave I was referring to earlier is not the safest place in the world - particularly if you are alone or have a nice shiny new mountain bike. On Sundays groups of 20 or so joggers form a group and jog to the top. We have taken 3 horses and dogs up without issue.
> 
> I've been trying to find the name of the Aztec king that used to summer in these parts - but I have had no luck.


Where is this mountain? I may want to go explore there.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

dwwhiteside said:


> I had one hobby back when I lived in the U.S. that I have, so far at least, been unable to pursue here in Mexico. But, full disclosure, it is not that the opportunity doesn't exist here but rather that I lack the language skills. Before I moved to Mexico I very much enjoyed coaching football, the American version. I volunteered as a coach for a youth league and then later for a "pay-to-play" 18 and over league.
> 
> Interestingly, there is a youth American Football league with a team right here in Colima. So, I went and volunteered. However, my inability to communicate effectively made it more frustrating than enjoyable.
> 
> So, my new hobby, for now at least, is trying to improve my Spanish. If anyone here has any tips on how a 60 year old who has never studied a language other than English can become at least conversant in Spanish, I would appreciate your advice (although I do not want to hijack bdesj's thread).


Well, if you are one of those people who have no idea about grammar in your own language, it will make it more difficult to learn another language as an adult. For instance, you need to know what "1st person singular", "3rd person plural" , "conditional tense" means, etc. 
If you do understand those terms (which isn't rocket science, you can just look up the meanings for those grammar terms), the way I taught myself Spanish was this- Got the book 501 Spanish Verbs (it is a series, they have them for many languages) and a comprehensive (not vacation) Spanish-English dictionary. Then I would play out in my head something I needed or wanted to do the next day which would require me to speak Spanish. Then I would look up how to say that, in complete sentences, in the correct verb form. Because I used it right away (and you can bring the paper you wrote it out on), it wasn't hard to retain.

For instance, say you need to go to the hardware store to buy some sandpaper. Instead of just looking up the word for sandpaper, I would figure out, and write out, "I am looking for medium sandpaper for wood". And "Do you have anything finer/rougher than that?". I would also look up how to say "Do you know where I might find some?" in the event that they didn't have any. Etc.

So the next time I needed something, I already knew how to say "I am looking for...." and just needed to learn the new word for the next thing I wanted.
If you want to coach, maybe start writing out what you'd need to say to the players. First in English, then in Spanish. You'll be more likely to learn and retain if you are dealing with something you are interested in and would like to be able to communicate, rather than rote classroom learning. Altho it never hurts to have a teacher or Mexican friend you could get together with and practice.

Anyway, this is what worked for me, as I am much more of a visual, rather than auditory learner. I'm still a long way from being able to carry on an in-depth political discussion with an educated Mexican, but I can speak reasonable Spanish now for daily living.
And sorry to answer your question on what was a thread on an entirely different topic.


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## bdesj (Nov 4, 2015)

Thanks, guys. It sounds to me like many do in fact have to leave behind old pastimes, but rather than floundering, have gone on to find new activities that are more appropriate for your situations. Thinking on it now, it makes sense. Many, many hobbies are location dependent to some extent, even within the same country, so a move to a different part of the US would certainly bring about some changes for me- some things have to go and some new possibilities to take their places. While I wait out the days (okay, years) before I can comfortably retire, I`ll keep investigating and might even find that some of the things I assumed would have to go can in fact move with us.

Good luck, DWW. Language learning really can be intimidating and frustrating! If it's any consolation, I started studying Spanish for real when I was in my early 30s and did eventually get myself to a level where I can maintain a reasonable conversation in Spanish with most Mexicans (some accents and some individuals are still very hard for me to understand). Not as challenging as starting in my 60s of course, but still well beyond what is normally considered the prime acquisition stage. Ánimo, aún se puede!


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