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Jennifer Silva Redmond's avatar

This is where the already interesting story of moving down to the Yucatan becomes fascinating. You two were so intrepid and brave to start a bookstore!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Well, expect the unexpected should have been part of our Notes to Selves! Very close though now!

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Mikel K Miller's avatar

Hey Jeanine - This is an amazing adventure full of twists and turns to launch a bookstore in Mexico. Bravo to you for having the courage and stamina to make it happen. BTW, the only two English language bookstores in Guadalajara closed during the Covid pandemic. One sold new books and was a long-time business operating in a modern street-level building with lots of space and great lighting. The other sold only used books with wooden bookshelves jammed full of interesting titles, but it was not well-lit and was in a cramped space on the upstairs level of an old shabby building. The aged owner died and I don't know what happened to the books. Sad.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks for reading Mikel. Yes, twists and turns, but once we were in it, well, there we were! That's too bad about the 2 bookstores closing. A neat new and used in Merida founded by a great editor I worked with on Yucatán Today, Julia Stein, opened her cool store, Between the Lines--about 2 months before Covid happened. She just closed last year, hanging in for all that time. She was primarily English with some Spanish. She had a good location near the plaza, but not only was she fighting the Covid epidemic but also Dante Books, a force to be reckoned w/ in Merida. I write about them next chapter. Alma Libre of course lives on. Nicole and Caleb run it beautifully. So happy that our legacy of books is still happening! We just needed to re-retire. The beach, the ocean, the pyramids beckoned! And we were wedded to the store 5 days a week. But we got it going with quite a bang for many years!

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David Gemeinhardt's avatar

I saw the conclusion coming, but I still empathized with your reaction. How alarming!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

We love Arturo, still. But so often things that could have been prevented were put off until the last minute. Not quite mañana, but nearly. Although we always pay 1/2 down on all construction projects, that $ for materials (ours) probably goes to pay bills previously left unpaid, is my guess. And Arturo has a large contingent of workers, all family. He feeds the multitudes.

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Daniel Catena's avatar

Oh my goodness what a hard task!! It's definitely easy to take an orderly book shelf for granted. Another fun read, Jeanine!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks Daniel! Yes. Like wacka mo!

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Paulette Bodeman's avatar

I’m sure at the time you didn’t enjoy the labyrinth your adventure took, but I sure am enjoying the story.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks Paulette. Yes, I guess it Was a labyrinth. A good way to describe the one-step forward, sideways, back we took to get to the finished product!

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Carmen Amato's avatar

Once again, I'm thinking this should be a movie or at least a mini series. You and Paul are so intrepid!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Kind of like being stuck in quicksand. Do you struggle? Stay still and wait until help comes? Once you’re in it, the problem doesn’t go away.

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Barbra Bishop's avatar

As with so many comments here, I so admire how you and Paul just figured it out as you moved forward and dealt with some real challenges. Thankfully, you had many successes too and were so happy with your bookstore setting, colors, location it kept you going. And how nice that the locals were so welcoming, interested and supportive. I love that about the Mexican culture, seems the overwhelming majority are warm, kind hearted and generous, and don't want to ever tell you "No", to their detriment sometimes - such as Arturo's wet bookshelves. Would love to have visited and experienced the original Alma Libre Libros, but so enjoy the photos you've included here!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thank you Barbra! Yes, challenges for sure. So often the construction people work with a continent of family members and may at times over extend. Any other time, timing was not an issue for our house, but with the store—we had to open Christmas week. We were under the gun.

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Lucinda Blackwood's avatar

I know things will turn out okay--previous episodes of this wonderful adventure have proven that but it is really fun to take the ride and find out just exactly how it's going to resolve. Can't wait for the next episode.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks Lucinda!!!!!

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Damon Mitchell's avatar

OMG. As soon as I read the word "cardboard," I thought, oh no, it will just wick the water up.

That moment of panic, though. We've been there. Our pizzeria in Costa Rica flooded more than once. The helplessness is awful. Cleanup is the only relief, but it's bittersweet.

I could NEVER own a brick-and-mortar again, and it would be too soon.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Hahahaha!

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Mike Leavy's avatar

Hi Jeanine - this line stuck out for me: "After years in the Bay Area, we had grown accustomed to not going overboard with being neighborly" - and you go on to say that you had to switch gears in Puerto Morelos. The differences between "neighborliness" in the U.S. (well, much of the U.S.) and Mexico is striking, and I think it catches many visitors and immigrants from the U.S. off guard. I think in the U.S., we have become somewhat suspicious of people being overly friendly, and our guard is constantly up. In Mexico, unless we re-set (i.e. erase) much of this attitude, we can come off as rude or haughty. I'm glad you were able to switch gears - doing so is quite necessary for creating a comfortable and sustainable life here. I know of too many immigrants who just can't shake that attitude, and they never seem terribly happy or settled to me.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, especially in small towns. I think I read that Mexico is the friendliest country in the world (and if that stat is wrong, it really seems like it). We were guilty of being in our US work-a-day frump, getting home after dark, having dinner and calling it a day. Mexico changes all that, for sure!

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R. S. Hampton, Thriller Author's avatar

You really avoided a disaster!

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Emese-Réka Fromm's avatar

Never a dull moment, right? Glad you noticed the wet cardboard in time. Although, I can attest that fully soaked books can be saved - my dad saved a few shelves worth of soaked books after pulling them out of mud when our house flooded. I still own one of those books - it's readable. However, selling them would've been impossible. Lucky you noticed. And I remember the children's reading area you mentioned - my kids used it several times - but I'm ahead of your story here. I'm enjoying re-reading it here.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks for re-reading. So glad the children’s reading room put to good use. It was quite popular on weekends, we were kind of the de facto babysitters for a few kids who became pals. One little girl in particular was just so funny. She was 10 at the time, but tiny. On Friday night she’d come in, come up to the counter and asked to ‘chismemos.’ Gossip! What a kick. At 9 parents would come and collect their kids. Village life!!!!

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Emese-Réka Fromm's avatar

Love it! I remember the zocalo filled with children on the playground; my kids made a few friends there

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Nice!! A very friendly spot. Even those big Weimaraners of Pepe’s were people oriented.

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Marlo Leaman's avatar

A book's worst enemy is water! In tropical rainforest climates, water (and mold!) are the for sure the worst enemy. Phew, I was so relieved that you noticed and got them off the shelves immediately! I can picture the locals walking by as you were setting up and looking in with curiosity to see what the gringos were up to! What an undertaking, so fun!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Gringos locos!! Hahaha!!!

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Rosalind's avatar

You have to appreciate the enthusiasm of the carpenter but my goodness that was a close thing with the dampness and the books! a wonderful story.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks Rosalind - we have a couple more hoops before bliss yet ):

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David W. Zoll's avatar

What a great Story! It just keeps getting better!❤️

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks David. (or worse, haha--depending on what is happening).

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David W. Zoll's avatar

Yes as I am discovering myself, sometimes adversity makes the best stories~!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

True!

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

I know! They do go on. Things do Obviously process in the right direction, but you have been there, done that, and you KNOW how things go, especially time wise!

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