Job Discussion Forums

[e.alice]

I want to know what some of you bring from the states (or where ever home is). I can live well without most all of my stuff but I am trying to decide what is worth lugging with me for a year of teaching. I am thinking that I am going to bring a supply of natural products (shampoo, deodorent, toothpaste ect.) with me as I don't think that I will have much luck finding health food/product stores in Mexico. Maybe I am wrong about that though. I am living in city only four hours from Mexico City so maybe I could make some product runs. Also pictures of home seem to be a good choice as well as kids books in English. Any other suggestions?

[inmexico]

It's a good idea to bring some English books. As for the other stuff...you can get anything you want , just about anywhere.

[Gringo Greg]

I personally would suggest buying the brands of personal care items that she likes before going to Mexico. These products tend to be higher priced in Mexico and may not be so easy to find.

[thelmadatter]

I agree with GG. Take what you can of personal care stuff, esp. if you prefer that kind. Not only are they more expensive, it might take a little while to find them. Also, bring lots of underwear unless you really like the plastic/polyester stuff that seems to be the only thing available. If you like to cook, bring the spices you absolutely cannot live without. While much is available (and more seems to be available now than a year ago), it doesnt take much space and youll know youll have it. An example could be curry powder. Last time I went up to the states I went to the Asian grocery and bought a whole mess of spices and soup mixes. For the more basic stuff, I know of a store here in Toluca that sells the stuff at reasonable prices. Barrio Chino in Mexico City is WAY overpriced.

[lozwich]

I got some good cotton undies at Soriana. Um.. the thing is that Mexican rear ends seem to be a different shape to mine, so they took a little getting used to, but now they're fine.

I know this doesn't apply to you e.alice, but to any Australian lurkers.. bring Vegemite. I never thought I'd miss it, but it's the first thing I'm going to do when I get back to Oz in three weeks.

Antiperspirant, or better, natural deodorant. The stuff here is so packed with aluminium that it stains your clothes really badly. You can get Colgate natural toothpaste here, and various kinds of natural shampoo with the whackiest ingredients I've ever seen!

At the risk of starting of yet another flame war, most other things you'll want are available at shops like Gigante and Soriana.

Suerte,
Lozwich.

[MELEE]

Natural products are a good thing to bring--or a recipe book to make your own! While there are health/natural food shops all over the place, the idea of "natual" is different. I've read a lot of shampoo labels in this country and even the so called "natural" ones are scarry.

I'm with Thelma on the spices. I'm a bread maker myself and while yes, the variety of goods in Mexico has skyrocketed in the last five years, Dill and Carraway seeds are still things I bring from the US every year.

One of my favorite "pleasures" is that I have two magazine subcriptions that are sent from the US. Over the past four years, only two issues have ever been lost in the mail.

[delacosta]

Where I live good bread is impossible to come by, and I consider good bread to be an essential part of enjoyable living. When I first arrived I started to bake my own. Then I went home one Christmas and my parents had a crazy new gadget, a bread-maker! Lo and behold the thing made some excellent bread so I brought one down with me. I started getting requests for bread from friends and fellow workers, so I had someone bring me another one...
Anyways, if you like good bread, ie. if you're off the beaten track, you might want to consider a breadmaker. And I daren't even think of suggesting where one might go about buying such a device....

[canadano]

BRING CHEESE! Cheese in most of the world that I have seen isn�t very frigging good. Asia has no good cheese. South America has no good cheese. I�m heading for Mexico soon, and I�m bringing some good old North American cheese. Cheeeeeeeese!

[moonraven]

Mexico has some excellent cheeses! There is a brand called Carol that makes a camebert style cheese that, while not quite at the level of the dynamite French selection (French cheeses are not made with pasteurized milk and are therefore very individual in their flavors), is far better than any of that type made in the US. That same brand also makes a brie--not quite as good--and several goat cheeses that are extremely tasty. The mennonite cheeses from Chihuahua are very good, and in most of the states of Mexico there are several varieties of fresh cheeses that are well worth trying. I am also able to buy several kinds of gouda, jarlsberg and emmenthal as well as provolone, mozzarella and parmesan that are core items for someone like myself who does a lot of Italian cooking. It is simply not necessary to bring cheese. (And if your luggage happens to be checked, they might very well take those North American cheeses away from you.)

[lozwich]

I'm with Moonraven on this one. Mennonite cheese is excellent! Quesillo (otherwise known as Oaxaca cheese) is great, and I can get "New Zealand" cheese here too. There's a kind of cheese called Manchego, which is maybe like Gouda, lovely for toasted sandwiches.

I've never felt bereft of cheese here.

And as for bringing it in the plane, what if it doesn't stay properly chilled? Ugh.

Lozwich.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[saraswati]

Hmmm....things from home. Aside from natural bath products, you may also consider bringing any natural health remedies that you use as you may not be able to find them here.

[MixtecaMike]

Just a plug for my pueblo natal, the "manchego de nueva zelanda" that they sell here in the Boredom Capital of the Americas is usually Anchor Gouda, I've seen the packet! $44 pesos a kilo. Atlantic pizza (the only pizza worth eating here in the BCoA) also uses NZ gouda, the guy who own one branch told me so.

You might find Anchor butter and anchor cream, but the local cream is nice.

Supermarkets in Mexico City have a good range of local and some imported cheeses. You can also get that runny cheese flavored stuff that goes great on sandwiches. I am lactose-intolerant but can eat it by the cupfull without problems, so it probably has never been near the inside of a cow, but it goes great on sandwiches and nachos.

[seanie]

Bring all the shoes you'll need if you've got big feet...and buy some every time you go home. VERY difficult to get large sizes here. (Does anybody know of a shop for us [Sasquatch types] in Mexico City??)