Warden Message Dated March 18, 2010

New Law Makes Absentee Voting Easier for Overseas Americans

On October 28, 2009, Congress enacted the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act.  This legislation amends existing law regarding overseas voting in federal elections, and should make voting easier for overseas Americans.

New Procedures for 2010 Elections

Beginning with the November 2010 general election, and for all subsequent general, special, and primary elections, states will be required to mail out ballots at least 45 days prior to an election for a federal office.  This requirement may cause some states to select earlier primary dates in order to comply with the 45 day mailing deadline, or to request waivers due to special circumstances.

In addition to mailing ballots to overseas voters, the states will be required, at the voter’s request, to provide registration forms, absentee ballot request forms, and blank ballots via fax or email.  However, each state’s laws determine whether ballot requests or voted ballots can be returned via fax or email.  The new law prohibits states from rejecting marked ballots based
on notarization, paper size, or paper weight requirements.  The witnessing requirements of individual states remain in place.

Overseas Absentee Ballot Requests

Effective immediately, states will no longer be required by federal law to continue to mail election materials to overseas addresses (even when they are determined to be invalid) for two complete general election cycles on the basis of a single ballot request. It will now be up to each state to determine how long to continue to send out election materials before requiring overseas voters to submit new ballot requests.  This change, sought by local election officials, should greatly decrease the volume of voting materials sent abroad to addresses where Americans no longer reside.

State Department Recommendations

In light of these changes, the Department of State recommends that all U.S. voters residing abroad request absentee ballots from their local election officials at the start of each calendar year, and whenever there is a change of address, change of e-mail address, or change of name, by completing and sending in a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).  To locate information on your specific state’s requirements, and to obtain an on-line version of the FPCA, please visit www.fvap.org.  Voters may also pick up a hard copy of the FPCA from any U.S. embassy or consulate.  FPCAs may be mailed to your local voting officials in the United States via international mail or from any U.S. embassy or consulate.  Many states allow U.S. citizens overseas to submit the FPCA by e-mail or fax.

The Department of State strongly encourages all U.S. overseas voters to provide email addresses or fax numbers on their FPCAs to enable local election officials to transmit election materials in the fastest manner available, which should then allow sufficient time for the return of voted ballots.  For information regarding your specific state, please visit www.fvap.org.

Emergency Ballots

The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) serves as an emergency ballot for the November general elections for federal offices, although some states also permit its use for elections for state and local offices. Beginning in January 2011, the new law allows use of the FWAB for primary, special, and runoff elections for federal offices.  Voters who request an absentee ballot
in advance of their state’s ballot request deadline, but who fail to receive an official ballot from local election officials in time to vote, should complete the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot and send it back to local election officials in time for it to be counted. An on-line version of the FWAB, together with instructions for its use, is available at www.fvap.gov.

Questions?

The Voting Assistance Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Merida is also available to answer questions about absentee voting.  To contact the Voting Assistance Officer, send an e-
mail to mercons@state.gov.

On February 9, 2010, the Department of State proposed fee increases for American Citizen Services.  The fee increase is currently in a “period for public comment” and would take effect later this year.

In particular, passport services fees will increase as follows:

Passport Renewal for adults– $75 to $110.

First-time Passport Application or Replacement of Lost/Stolen Passport from $100 to $135.

Passport for Minors:  from $85 to $105

Report of Birth Abroad $65 to $100

Also, an $82 fee is proposed for adding passport pages.

You can find the complete list of proposed new fees at our website: http://merida.usconsulate.gov.  (use specific site where it is located). You will be able to follow a link on that site to comment up to March 10, 2010.

You may renew your passport at any time by making an appointment with the Consulate at http://merida.usconsulate.gov/merida/passports.html.

There is a Consular Agent Office in Playa del Carmen that is an extension of the Consulate in Merida. It’s located on block south of Juarez on Calle 1 Sur between Ave 15 and 20 as I recall. There is also a Consular Agent in Cozumel.

Consular Agent in Playa del Carmen

“The Palapa”

Calle 1 Sur, entre Avenida 15 y Avenida 20
77710 Playa del Carmen, Q. Roo

Mon, Wed, Fri: 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Tels: [52] (984) 873-0303
Fax: [52] (984) 873-0481
Emergency Cellphone: [52] (984) 807-8355

E-mail: playausca@hotmail.com

Consular Agent: Samantha Mason

Now we are both very glad that we made the decision not to own one, and we found there are new reasons not to. One is that public transportation is very affordable and is nominal in comparison to the cost of owning a car. We live close to two large grocery stores, Mega and WalMart, and if we buy more than we can carry home on foot, we can get a taxi. We also travel by taxi to Sam’s Club, the mall and anywhere else that we think is too far to walk. Easy! If we want to go to Tulum or other places for the day, we get a colectivo (a van that carries 12 to 15 people) or ride on one of the very nice, air conditioned buses for a small fee. Another reason is that people drive a little crazy here, and it’s probably much safer to leave the driving to people who are very experienced in dealing with it.

 Today, I learned another reason for not owning a car. The following link on the In The Roo public forum was posted by a friend of ours regarding a scam situation involving him and some local taxi drivers.

http://intheroo.com/playa-del-carmen-forums/playa-del-carmen/1146-beware-latest-taxi-scam.html

If you are not familiar with the In The Roo web site (http://intheroo.com/), it’s a great place to visit for information about Playa del Carmen. They even have an interactive map of the area.

The subject here, however, is the wonderful mango. When we lived in Belize, the “mango man” would wheel around town on his big tricycle with a large basket in front full of tropical fruits all cut up and stored in baggies. The mangos were in perfect little wedges and that you could just pop in your mouth and relish. Yum! But when I tried to cut up a mango at home, those little slippery critters made a huge mess that made me want to dump the whole thing in the trash can. I thought there must be a better way, and came upon the Yucatan way to eat a mango. Now eating a mango is a delight instead of a debacle. Here’s how.

First, hold the end of the mango that was previously attached to the tree up and using a sharp knife, slice down one side.

Do the same thing on the other side so that you have two slices. The center part contains the seed.

Now you can spoon each slice out of the skin like you would a half of avacado.

Then pick up the semilla (the part with the seed) and peel off the skin on either side.

Now you can nibble the remaining flesh clinging to the large hard seed. (This part is Mother Nature’s natural dental floss.)

Eat as much as you want, and then.…you are done! How easy is that!

There are things to do here that other people enjoy that we don’t particularly. Playacar has a nice golf course and country club from what I’ve been told. Many people like to go to the Muscle Beach Gym to work out or go to a spinning or aerobics class. There are Tae Kwon Do studios and Yoga classes. You can swim, snorkle or dive in the gorgeous reef or one of the cenotes (underground caves) that abound here. Of course there is deep sea fishing and I’ve been told, fly fishing.

I think only a hermit would be bored here. There’s lots to do.  

We stopped in to meet the Consular Agent, Samatha Mason. Samantha has lived for many years in Cozumel, but is new to the U.S. Foreign Service. Playa del Carmen is a tough first assignment…don’t you think.  If you like, she will be happy to add you to her local registry of U.S. citizens living in the Playa del Carmen Mexico area. Her office phone number is (984) 873-0303. Her fax is (984) 873-0481. This is a voluntary list that might be beneficial if you have a personal emergency or if there is a natural disaster like a hurricane. She also plans some educational programs for expats in the area. You can find the U.S. Consulate webpage at http://merida.usconsulate.gov.

One of the services that the Consular Agent can offer you is that of a notary public for U.S. government  or personal documents. We required a notary for some postal forms required by our mail forwarding agent in the U.S. Having a recognized U.S. Notary in the local area was very helpful. There is a fee for this service. In our case about $30.00 US.

There is also a Consular Agent in Cozumel. To find the office from the Cozumel Ferry terminal, walk straight across the street when you leave the pier. Walk straight down the plaza about a half block until you see Fat Tuesdays bar on the left. Walk left under the arch (or through the bar) to the back of the shopping plaza. Go up the stairs and the Consular’s office is on the second floor in the corner.

Lemons and lemon juice are seldom used in Mexican cooking. The lime reigns supreme here in that area. I did find out that Southern Mexico is now a major grower of lemons, not for the fruit, but primarily for lemon peel oil. Also some U.S. food companies are now growing lemons in Mexico for shipment back to the U.S. However, if you are a big fan of lemon cream pie, you might want to bring a few lemons or a bottle of lemon juice with you. It doesn’t bother me. I just make my  margaritas with Mexican limónes and a slice of lime is quite nice in a glass of ice tea.

We’ve found the cost of groceries and househould consumables very similar to United States. Some items cost more, some cost less, but overall it’s about the same probably due to the influence of Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco.

Note: Prices are in pesos and weight is in kilograms. For a rough conversion to US dollars, divide by ten. For a rough conversion from kilograms to pounds, divide kilograms by two.

Food

1 Doz. Eggs    13.90
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice 1 Liter  15.55
Herdez Salsa    11.55
Package of 6 Bagels   29.95
1 Small Can Tuna   7.5
bananas per killigram   10.50 (varies with sales)
turkey bacon 227 g   46.20
pepper jack Cheese 227 g  24.70
white flour small pkg   23.80
Green Tea bags (25 1-gram bags)  17.20
Limes per killigram    5.90
Can of Seasoned Pinto Beans   7.30 
Cardinis Italian Dressing 354 g  38.50
Crema (like sour cream but not as sour) 31.48
Fat-free Frozen Fudge Bars (box of 6) 47.20
Milk (1 Liter Box)    12.00
Orange juice (1 Liter Box)  12.00
Small loaf of Wonder wheat bread   16.04
Avacadoes per killigram    34.85
Head of iceberg lettuce   10.30
Margarine (heart healthy variety in tub) 23.35
Onions per killigram   11.85
Papaya per killigram   14.45
Potatoes per killigram    9.80
Serano chilis per killigram  22.80
Pepsi 2 liter    14.90
Poblano Chili peppers per killigram 19.45
Rice large bag     9.90
Whole wheat tortillas (10 pieces)  7.90 (packaged bake good)
Carlo Rossi White Wine (4 liters)      158.00
Green peppers per killigram   17.95
Roma tomatoes per killigram  23.90
Paper towels (1 roll)   35.90 (Duramax High Quality)
Box of chocolate chip cookies  29.90
zuchinni squash per killigram  13.70
Cottage cheese    25.20
Turkey breast lunch meat 1/2 killigram  56.18
Quaker Oatmeal    16.50
Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal  
Grape jelly small jar   24.80
chocolate cup cakes (360 grams)  27.98
Sprite Zero – 1 can    6.00
Tortilla chips 500 grams  16.97
Brocolli (3 med heads)    15.80
Chetos Cheese Puffs 380 grams  20.00
Salmon fillets     72.93

Household Miscellaneous

10 plastic clothes hangars  17.20
Charmin Toilet Tissue    11.45 (4 regular roll pack)
Caprice Hair Spray 285 g.   21.00
Toothbrush    19.40
Old Spice Deoderant 60 g.  28.48
Centrum Silver 1/day Vitamins  79.00
Colgate Whitening Toothpaste (100 ml)  44.40
Hair Gel (32 oz)   22.85
Aspirin for heart health 100 mil 33.00
Super glue    12.90
Insecticide Spray   37.30
Pyrex casserole dish w/lid  73.50
Tums (small)    23.00

Home Office Items

HP 1012 Toner Cartridge from Office Depot $85.00 (Store brand) 

Essentials for our Son

McDonald’s Malt – Med.    25.00

cafetería — coffeeshop, snack bar (from café, coffee)
carnicería — butcher shop (from carne, meat)
cervecería — brewery, bar
confitería — candy store (from confite, candy)
dentistería — oral surgeon’s office
drogería — drugstore, variety store (also pharmacia)
ebanistería — cabinet shop, place where cabinets are made (from ebano, ebony)
ferretería — hardware store (from a old word for iron)
floristería — flower shop
frutería — fruit shop
heladería — ice-cream parlor
herboristería — herbalist’s shop
herrería — blacksmith’s shop
joyería — jewelry shop
jugetería — toy shop
lavandería — laundry (from lavar, to wash)
lechería — dairy
lencería — linen shop, lingerie shop
librería — bookstore
mueblería — furniture store
panadería — bakery (from pan, bread)
papelería — stationery store
pastelería — pastry shop
peluquería — hairdresser’s shop, beauty shop, barbershop (from peluca, wig)
pescadería — seafood store
perfumería — fragrance shop, perfume store
pharmacia – pharmacy
pizzería — pizzaria, pizza parlor
sastrería — tailor’s shop
sombrerería — hat shop, hat factory
tapicería — upholstery shop, furniture store (from tapiz, tapestry)
tintotería — dry-cleaner’s (from tinto, red wine)
verdulería — produce store, greengrocer’s, vegetable market (from verdura, vegetable)
zapatería — shoe store

I’m sure there’s many different approaches and there is no one place where expats hangout. After all, expats are pretty independent and don’t fit any particular mold. Some are busy with local businesses, work, or family while others keep to themselves or hang with a close group of friends. However, after being here for a few months I’ve found some places where where you’re likely to run into English speaking expats.  English speaking does not necessarily mean American. There are expats in Playa del Carmen from all over the world, and many who do not speak English as a native language speak excellent English as a second language.

If I were in Playa del Carmen looking for expats, the first place I would look is Bad Boys on a Saturday between 4:00 and 8:00 PM. Bad Boys is a beach club and bar located between 2nd and 4th street (Calle 2 and Calle 4) on the beach. On Saturdays, and sometimes Thursdays, JJ and The Nasty Bastards Band play live rock-and-roll music which generally draws a fair number of English speaking expats from their beach chairs. Besides, the music is great, the beer and margaritas are cold and it’s a great way to spend a Saturday evening. The burgers are great too!

During the week, there’s generally a handful of English speaking expats at Bar Ranita on Calle 10 between 5th Avenue and 10th Avenue after nine. Jez, a Brit who has lived all over the world, or so it seems, manages both the Hotel La Rana Cansada and the Bar Ranita. Look across and down the street at the Beer Bucket, for another possibility. The Beer Bucket is popular with locals and tourists and is owned by Captain Ron and Sharkey, two characters you’ll want to meet. (Don’t forget to check the upstairs bar.) In the north end of Playa, we have met expats at Pinche Gringos Sports Bar on 1st Avenue at 26th Street.

If you prefer coffee instead of beer, get up early and grab a fresh cup of brew and a breakfast sandwich at Java Joe’s on 10th street one half block west of 5th, just a few doors from Starbucks. Java Joe’s has been here for 10 years and any self respecting expat would choose Java Joe’s over Starbucks anytime.