Ajijic newcomer Lisa Jorgensen has written a down-to-basics “how to” book about everything you ever wanted to know about living at Lake Chapala but didn’t even know the questions to ask. Many in the community seem a little put off by what they consider to be Jorgensen’s audaciousness in writing about the area to which she is so new. In fact, she began writing the book in her head during her drive here from the United States’ Midwest. She began to write in earnest one month after she moved in. The book was finished and in print four months later. Audacious or not, her book “Moving to Mexico’s Lake Chapala” is a popular one, chock full of information about what folks need to do before they move here, how to get settled, Mexican laws, immigration advice, medical care, banking, personal safety and early observations about living at Lake Chapala. Here Jorgensen talks with Jeanne Chaussee about her book, experiences and plans for the future.
Why would you start writing a book about living in Mexico so soon after you had arrived?
While I was driving down I was thinking about the fact that there was a lot missing in the available travel books. There are some wonderful books that talk about the wonderful places and how to get to them but there isn’t much out there that tells you how to actually get stuff done. Things that tell you what to do once you get here. How you get your life put back together, or put together in a new way. I decided that if I were going to write a book, I should do it right then while it was still all fresh in my head. So, I wrote the book that I would have wanted to read before I came here.
But a lot of people just get here and then figure out what to do, piece by piece.
That’s okay too but you could end up losing a lot of sleep.
Many people here think that you’re audacious to write a book making you out to be the maven of how to live in Mexico.
I know. That was the first reaction people had when I told them what I was doing. I won’t mention any names, but one person said that it was “beyond laughable.” They really don’t think that I have the right but I don’t need anyone’s permission to write a book, and I’m writing one specifically for newcomers. Who better to write it than a newcomer?”
Where did you collect all of this information? You have stuff in there about which most of us have never found answers.
Most of it I had already gone through. I did a lot of stuff like immigration and rentals when I got here. I met people who had a lot of information. I took notice and notes.
What have you found to be the most surprising thing about living here—good, bad or indifferent?
I guess the mixture here of the very modern and the very old. I’ve been in India and that is just very old and very old—and very poor. Although now, there is some progress. That’s what I was doing there, working with technology. What I’m most pleased about, though, is how happy Mexicans seem to be in general, given what we Americans perceive that they don’t have. Their lives are simple but they are happy. We spend out lives chasing the future. We don’t live in the now. Mexicans do. My Spanish teacher told me that she didn’t want to earn more money because that would mean working more hours and that if she worked more hours it would mean that she wouldn’t be able to spend the entire comida with her family. Isn’t that fabulous? We have lost so much, especially with our families.
What’s the worst thing that you have come up against here?
I think the spirit of police corruption. Maybe I’m naïve about the United States; but I’ve always had respect for the police. I want to respect the police here, but I’m afraid – mostly because other people are afraid.
Have you been able to make friends here?
I’ve made friends with foreigners and Mexicans. I joined the Lake Chapala Society right away and met some people there. I take Spanish lessons and have met people there. I’d like to be able to speak more Spanish. For a while I had a housekeeper and a gardener and we traded. They tried English and I tried Spanish.
How is the book selling?
It’s selling well here but better on Amazon.
That means people must be buying it before they come here.
I figured that would be the greater market. I’m actually thinking now that I might go to San Miguel de Allende for a few weeks and write a book for there. Of course, I’ll be updating this book in about a year.
What made you decide to come here?
I had worked in the data processing corporate world for many years, then ran my own business selling Scandinavian goods online and it went well. But I realized that my life was flat. I decided I should look for a place where I could live on my Social Security. I went on line and this area kept coming up as the new mecca for “Boomers.” I made an exploratory trip for a week and found a place to rent so that I had someplace to come to. Because I was born in Denmark and then moved to the United States, I knew that there were different ways to live. I wanted to get away from the constant “push.” As I put in the book, I wanted to find a richer life and continue to learn. I knew that I still needed challenges.
I understand that you are now selling your book in the Ajijic tianguis — something that many people wait years to achieve.
There are regulars and then there are spaces in between those. You have to get there early and have your little table with you and know who to talk to. It’s fun. People stop and talk and I love that.
You’ll find Jorgensen’s book, “Moving to Mexico’s Lake Chapala” at Diane Pearl’s Colecciones, the Lake Chapala Society, the Bookstore at Plaza Bugambilias, the Animal Shelter, Parker Insurance, Mail Boxes, Etc. Sol y Luna, Handy Mail, Mia’s Boutique, Rustica Bakery, La Nueva Posada, SuperLake Market and the Wednesday Tianguis.