Expats and coffee

Yesterday we had lunch with one of my wife's friends from her grade school.  This woman moved to San Miguel 27 years ago.  She and her now ex-husband were trying to reconcile and it did not work.  She was left in a foreign country with two small daughters.  

But she built a life.  First, she developed a riding academy.   Then she met an old guy who offered to help her get her business up and running.  He mentioned that a son was finishing veterinary school and they eventually met and married.   They built a house slightly out of town which is really quite wonderful.   It is built around a patio like a classic hacienda.  The place is all adobe construction.  She is in the process of doing a lot of work on sustainable flora and fauna.  She is active in the community being especially mindful of neglected children.   By the way, it turned out that the old guy she met actually ran the other riding academy in town - which he did not mention.

We've met a lot of ex-pats here.  They are a diverse lot.  Yesterday we also heard about when Starbucks came to town.  A lot of people here were glad to have a place in town where teenagers could congregate without alcohol.   And indeed, at some times during the day the place seems to serve the function of a soda shop.  The store is right off the Centro - sort of diagonal from the Parroquia.

But a group of the ex-pats protested the store.  Mind you that the company that runs the franchise is a Mexican company which employs Mexicans.   But the silly Americans grumbled none-the-less.   One of our new friends here (who did not protest) said a) he enjoys the coffee and b) some of the grumps now frequent the place a lot.   I do not drink coffee so I cannot comment on their product although I sure like their iced green tea.