reader's digest guide to sewing question

Trishty scribbled on a scrap of paper:

As Pogonip said, in Mexico they are very, very polite and helpful. There are many english speakers too, but even a simple "gracias" or "beunas dias, Senor" is very appreciated. I think the rhino hide may be more applicable to "ugly americans" in Europe.

Penny

jo scribbled on a scrap of paper:

> How's that look for four nights? And then to Cozumel for 8 days of>> SCUBA diving on the reefs there,>>

They have a guided CAVERN ( not cave) tour that we'll do.

Here's the basic itinerary, not that you want to know:

fly to Cancun ( two free tickets courtesy SWA) leave Cancun ASAP, head inland to Valladolid

'll stay here for three days, visit some of the smaller and largerarcheological zones, and of course the traditionl market there... there issome beatiful embrodery. My main goal for learning spanish is to bargain atthe marketl. Aslo, my BIL and his wife live in Veracruz, they will join usfor a few days.

Then to Tulum for 4 days of beach R&R... there is a world heritage biossphere reserve that we hope to explore, snorkeling, kayaking, more AZ's ( Coba) to explore...

Then, on to Cozumel for 8 or 9 days for diving and more diving.

My sis is coming to stay with the boys. Sucks to be me doesn't it?

Our first trip down there was to Coz, just a snorkel trip. Naturally after doing that we had come back with dive certifications, and no kids.

Penny

Pogonip scribbled on a scrap of paper:

> How's that look for four nights? And then to Cozumel for 8 days of>> SCUBA diving on the reefs there,>>

I'm really excited about both of those things. We are planning on hitting some of the smaller ZA's, not juct the big ones. And one of the towns is supposed to have a great market. I've been working with language CDs, and start a survival Spanish cousse next week. Penny

Travelers need the rhino hide in France. Mexico is another matter. As long as you try, as Penny says, they will bend over backwards to be courteous and helpful. It has been some years since I spent much time in Mexico, and I was studying the language and wanted lots of practice. It was amusing when people insisted that I was English or Canadian. Apparently, they weren't used to Anglo Americans speaking Spanish. I hope that has changed.

"Penny S" wrote in

I'm not cave certified, so not interested in going into an environment where the way out isn't obvious. I'd be very interested in a trip report, though ;-)

Definitely! And I'm really interested. I go to Coz often enough to take interest in what the mainland offers, but am not at all wanting to go to spend time in Cancun.

That sounds great, I've heard the biosphere is not worth visiting from some other divers, but I also have an interest in it. I suppose I am easily amused.

I also like the AZs. I've been to Lamani ruins (submerged crocodile in mayan) in the Belize jungle. It was still in the process of being uncovered, very cool and the only Mayan ruin I've visited. Belizean people made us a homemade hot lunch on site and we ate sitting on the ground among the trees of the river bank. No gift shops, just some small crafts in a hut.

Hey, somebody has to do it! I should be there myself this summer. Some of the resorts have Kids Clubs for while you dive, but it's nice to get away as adults sometimes. The cruise lines have pretty much ruined the downtown area IMHO and the local people are "adapting". I avoid it until most of the ships have pulled out.

My very first dive was an "intro to scuba" on Cozumel. Definitely addicting. You will love it. Santa Rosa wall the first time is awesome (3,000ft abyss). Spotting eagle rays anytime is awesome. My favorites are the shallows and finding all the little lifeforms. Tormentos reef is wonderful and a favorite place at about 50fsw. Paradise reef is a good beginner place, very little current and a solid bottom at 45fsw. More than you want to know, I am sure! I love Coz and am always willing to talk about it, but soon they will be kicking my butt off the sewing group for going off topic ;-) I'm searobinreefathotmaildotcom and would love a copy of the trip report if you decide to do one. jo

jo scribbled on a scrap of paper:

to keep on topic, I have a farmer john wetsuit. I'm thinking of makinr either a dive skin or a thermal top out of the aquashell (polartec 2000s) I tend to get cold, and my homework says that if you do a lot of diving you do get colder as the days go on.... what do you think?

Penny

I'd call it a Tailor's Board. You could also search for point presser or clapper.

Maureen

Jean wrote:

Donde estaba Las Casitas de Conchita? En el Yucutan? Que buena! Las casitas estan muy bonita.

Translation: Where are the Casitas de Conchita? In the Yucutan? Very good. The (little houses) are very pretty.

Up until 2002, I lived 7 miles north of Tijuana; on the US side. I used to go to Rosarito Beach and Ensenada during the summer on camping trips when I was a kid. We would ride horses on the beach, and the water was always green. The people there are friendly, especially if you are a woman trying to learn their language. In fact, most of the people are flattered you are learning their language.

Keep in mind, though, there is a difference between what is taught on tape, in books, etc., and what the locals will teach you. Have patience and realize there are differences. And if the person you are speaking to becomes red-faced after something you said, don't become too alarmed; he/she will show you the difference.

Definitely TRUE!! HOwever, getting the basics from tapes, or in my case, computer programs, did help quite a bit when I lived in Panama for

3 years.

The Spanish in Panama is not the same as that in Mexico, which is not the same as that in Spain....DH learned Castillian Spanish, which is definitely different from the others, so not many people in Panama talked to him...what he was speaking was considered "snotty". NOw me, since I was making the effort to at least try and make sense in Spanish, they would talk to and often correct me in a polite manner.

And at one restaurant, that we went to regularly, they thought it was cool when I was finally able to order an entire meal in Spanish.....then they informed us that they all spoke English . One time when we went in, a rather loud "obnoxious American" asked, as if speaking to a somewhat deaf person, "Do YOU Speak ENGLISH???" To which the waiter replied, "no." Then he turned to us and started chattering away in English......see, if you just give it a try, you can't lose....unless of course, you get the word totally confused....

I went to call my DH a not so nice name (cabeza de pipi) and what I called him was rather funny (cerveza de pipi)....cabeza=head, cerveza=beer, pipi=the part on a male that usually over-rules his thinking part

Larisa

Beth Pierce wrote:

ROTFLMAO. You even spellled it correctly. How did you learn the dirty words?

I, too, learned Castilian in school, from a Cuban teacher. When I went to work as a bilingual sales associate in the drapery department at a very well known department store near where I lived, I was thrilled to speak to the customers who came from Tijuana. Being blonde, this was certainly a feather in my cap!

One evening, I was speaking to a a very large gentleman who had his entire family with him. He was showing me the drapes he wanted and speaking to me in Spanish. All went well, until he became very red faced. Then in perfect English, he said "My dear. You just insulted me." I was mortified. Instead of asking him how LARGE HIS WINDOWS WERE, he said I told him HE WAS AS LARGE AS A WINDOW. A very slight juxtaposition of verbs between the two dialects, Mexican and Castilian, changed the scene entirely. But he calmed down and we both spoke in English for the rest of the time. He was very nice and bought a lot of drapes.

At the risk of generalising;)

I live in Normandy, and here, people have no time for Parisians, whom they consider to be snotty and rude. They much prefer the Brits, whom they say are friendly and polite, though I can think of plenty who aren't.

The French do, as M de Villepin pointed out recently, have a tendency to get right up the Anglo-Saxon nostril, but so can any nation that expects you to do things THEIR way, not YOUR way. I think our problem is often that we expect the French to be like we are, which they're just not - this is a foreign country, not the UK (or US) with different name tags. Perhaps we'd make more allowances if they were Nigerian or Vietnamese - some culture more clearly different from our own.

Obviously, though, there are nice people and nasty people wherever you go - the trick is to not get too upset about the nasty ones.

:) Trish

"Penny S" wrote in

I like the layering approach. It is nice to add a layer to what you already have on if you start to get cold and it cuts down on the bulk in your suitcase of bringing 2 entire suits.

How many mils on the farmer john? If it's a 3 mil you can wear just the top, just the bottom, the top over a skin, the bottom with a fleece top, very versatile.

Water temps are mid to high seventies in the winter and low to mid eighties in the summer. I wear a full .5 mil in the summer and the same .5 mil with a 3 mil shorty over it in the winters. You may want a full 3 mil if you get cold easily. It is easier to unzip a bit and let water in to cool off than be cold and try to get warm. OTOH, it is not fun sitting in one in 95 F humidity on the boat.

I have tried a "fleece suit" in the past but it was not as warm as thin neoprene. These fleeces came out before the thin neoprenes were available. Neoprene cuts down on the water flow and that's what ultimately keeps you warmer.

Does the aquashell material have a water barrier in it?

There is also a 4 way stretch neoprene that is extremely pliable and comfy, but the outer shell seems to "wear" more quickly. Not sure if it would be cost effective to make your own neoprene suit, though. jo

jo scribbled on a scrap of paper:

yes, 3 mil.

Does the aquashell material have a water barrier in it?

don't think so, it's lycra on one side, bonded to neoprene, with fleece on the inside.

I've used it for socks and things. I do have a beavertail coat too, but it's old style and not very comfortable.

from my coworker who was born in puerto Rico and raised in NY (can never remember if it was brooklyn or the bronx).

Larisa....who thought the best th> CNYstitcher wrote:

"Penny S" wrote in

I looked at this site but I didn't see a description of the composition and so looked at the Malden Mills site. Malden's description is 60% poly, 32% polyurethane, 8 % lycra. This sounds like the same stuff the "old" fleece dive suits were made of. Machine manufactured fleece suits sold in the $200-250 price range about 5 years ago, these suits became "extinct" when the thin stretchy neoprene came out and did a better job for far less investment (about $100). It is not as warm as a thin neoprene suit IMHO because it allows for more water flow. Other problem is it takes longer to dry and can begin to get an odor to it.

If this is a newer material and is neoprene rather than polyurethane in the middle of the sandwich, then it could not have a neutral buoyancy as a characteristic. Neoprene has tiny air bubbles throughout the material, so it would have to have at least a pound or two of positive buoyancy. Also, wouldn't this really gunk up the sewing machine?

I do have a beavertail coat too, but

Ahh, the fashionable beavertail! Come to think of it, I may still have a farmer jane with a swimsuit cut (on the bottom of the top) with red piping too :)

Old neoprene tends to dry out and become stiffer as it ages. I also think the material starts to lose some of it's insulating values because the air bubbles in the material slowly start to breakdown over time.