Final Thoughts for 2025

Published on 7 January 2026 at 12:12

One year living in Mexico was definitely not what I was expecting it to be. But at the same time I didn't know what to expect living in a country I've never been to where I don't speak the language. What I've discovered in that year is that there is a something very spiritual here that speaks to me. It goes far beyond the fact that this is the country where my dad was born. This is the land of my ancestors and on some level I feel that within me. I'm in a place that I don't know, but it knows me. 

It's been a good year over all, but not without its challenges. I cried a few times and wanted to want to go back, but at the same time I know I'm not ready to leave. Learning the culture and traditions has been amazing. I will admit that I hate that the majority of the traditions have been altered by religious colonization. But I love seeing how the traditions bring people together. We've made a few solid friends and I'm super grateful for that. Playa Listo is still finding its wings, but I see the potential and know it can be very successful. 


The biggest thing I've learned in during this year has been the importance of community. Everyone helping everyone. A huge part of being successful (well at least for us) out here is networking and building community. We wouldn't have Playa Listo if it wasn't for the help of Jean who cuts our hair and her many reccomendations. Our new friends Alohi and Shay have been priceless in what they add to our lives in friendship, help with the car, and keeping us fed with yummy Hawaiian food lol. Our business neighbors Sunbuggy have been fantastic partners who want our success as much as their own. As well as countless others who we may not interact with as much but they still add to our enrichment and we try to add to theirs as well. Community and helping each other is everything out here. Finding our community and being an active part of building it has been life changing. - Nolan

January 

What we thought we knew: driving was the way to go

What we know now: nothing beats a private jet

February 

What we thought we knew: we will learn  Spanish by taking a class

What we know now: it’s even harder than we thought it would be

March

What we thought we knew: house geckos are our silent little bug eaters

What we know now: they scream 😳 in the middle of the night 😳😳😳

April

What we thought we knew: Mexico is very Catholic 

What we know now: holy water will not cure your vision impairment 

May

What we thought we knew: Facebook is an outdated social media site

What we know now: Facebook rules your life in Mexico 

June 

What we thought we knew: Mexico has a lot of street dogs

What we know now: anyone visiting can be a flight angel to take one of these sweet pups on their flight home to an adoptive family in the states

July

What we thought we knew: we could survive a month a half apart 

What we know now: 10 days is the max going forward 

August 

What we thought we knew: it gets hot in Mexico 

What we know now: how it feels to live inside a dryer full of hot, still wet clothes

September 

What we thought we knew: moving to the jungle would be a fun but scary adventure 

What we know now: the scary was coming from inside the house

October

What we thought we knew: visits from loved ones would be nice

What we know now: visits from loved ones is everything

November 

What we thought we knew: we can survive living here without a car

What we know now: we could not survive here without a car 

December 

What we thought we knew: we will meet some cool people

What we know now: we have made friends for life

- Bridget

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