Simple Life

I'm sitting at the coffee shop around the corner from the kids' place and enjoying the morning. I can't really say that it's quiet because there is a steady stream of traffic on the cobbled road that is right next to my sidewalk table, but there is a certain serenity in the morning noise.
I've noticed a young woman that passes by me each morning as she makes her way back from the small neighborhood store. She has a bag with several eggs (no carton) and whatever vegetables she needs for the day. Apparently it is a part of her morning ritual to walk to the store and buy whatever they will eat for that particular day.

You can buy seven or eight eggs if that's what you need.
If you are making soup and need two stalks of celery, you can buy two stalks of celery. 
If you are looking at avocados, the owner will ask if you need them for today or tomorrow and then she'll pick out the ones that will best serve your need.
There is fresh produce being delivered and sold every morning as I walk past on my way to the coffee shop. 
There are many neighborhood kids walking to the nearby school. I have seen some being dropped off, but most walk, solo or in small groups. I haven't seen any school buses.

But a simple life doesn't mean it's an easy life -- at least not by the standards I am used to.
Many homes have no central air-conditioning and are lucky to have mini-split units in the main living area or sleeping areas.
Tap water is generally not potable, so bottled water must be purchased or a separate filtering system of some kind.
LP is delivered where gas is used since there don't appear to be underground natural gas lines in most areas.

The city is pretty walk-able and so I walk here -- a lot more than I do back home. Traffic is a completely different thing and I think I would have to be here for quite some time before I would be comfortable driving anywhere. I don't know if I'd ever be very comfortable on a motorcycle here. 

The people here work hard.
There are a lot of small business owners that work very hard at making things work for themselves and their families. 
There appears to be much more manual labor available and the laborers work hard. I don't know where the idea of "lazy Mexicans" came from, but it wasn't from anyone that actually watched them work!

I think that much of the living that I have observed here is harder than most people from the US would want to endure on a daily basis. But there is also a peacefulness that is rare in the US. It would be interesting to see if people would be willing to trade a little comfort for a lot of peace.

Just thinking...

John