The Early Years
Marcus Daye was born in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, to parents who were both in their second marriage. By the time he was six years old, he had lived in three states, Florida, Illinois, and Indiana. His family was not your typical family. Years later, it ended up with eight marriages and over twenty children involved. Yet somehow, he was an only child. If you figure that one out, please fill me in. By the time he left high school, the third high school in three states, he had moved out of state five times. Maybe this explains the wanderlust that consumes him to this day. As an adult, he rarely stayed in one location for more than a few years. Many times, much less than that.
The Road Less Traveled
With the insatiable curiosity instilled in him by his mother and the desire to know what he does not know, he often took the road less traveled. At eighteen, he left home to travel the country with a door-to-door magazine sales crew. He lived out of two suitcases in mostly cheap hotels with about forty other eighteen to twenty-two-year-olds. When he returned to Florida six months later, he had expanded his state count to over forty states. He was poor in pocket but rich in stories and experiences from the people he met.
It seemed natural to jump into the food service industry as he had learned how to cook as a youngster. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a kitchen manager. Again, his wanderlust and desire to know more kicked in. After spending several years moving from one establishment to another, learning all he could from each location, it was time for another adventure.
When I Was On The Wagon Train
Eager to escape from an unfulfilling life in Florida he took a job as a food director/counselor for a company that was a prison alternative for convicted juvenile offenders. Did I mention the program was a working wagon train? Yes, that’s right, covered wagons and teepees. After almost six months and one thousand miles of traveling and living in a covered wagon, it was time for another change. He was barely making enough money to pay for his lodging two days per week for time off. It was time to head back to Indiana to be closer to his older sister and her family. Again, poor in pocket but rich in stories and experiences.
Lasting Friendships
Settling in a small town and back into a more traditional food service environment was an easy transition. Having a living space larger than seven feet by ten feet was nice. Little did he know at the time, that the friends he made here would be forever friends. A new experience. Because of those friendships and the sense of community, this was home for almost eleven years. It was the longest time he’d spent in one place. Of course, the wanderlust kicked in again, and he was off on a new adventure.
His mother had moved back to her home state of Minnesota after her fourth divorce. After her passing a few years later, the dream of running the food program for a Renaissance Festival in Minnesota was too alluring to pass up. Are you keeping track? Yes, this is the sixth out-of-state move. After five years of losing faith in the food service industry and personal disappointment, it was time to head back to Indiana again.
Time For A Career Change
After a few more unfulfilling years in food service, the onset of severe foot pain made being on his feet for ten-plus hours per day impossible. By joining a company as a skip tracer, his escape from food service was finally complete!
Oh no! Not a desk job!
Quickly rising to the top in a new career and being out of food service was refreshing. Shortly after joining the company, he discovered that the pains were neuropathy caused by a very high blood sugar event. If you know what A1C refers to, you know being over 800 for an extended time, like he was, can be deadly. It affects all areas of your body, especially the smaller blood vessels. Your blood becomes too thick to travel to the extremities. This chain of events led to the transition from living in a three-bedroom house full of hobbies and collectibles to living in extended-stay hotels. He became a minimalist and a hermit seemingly overnight. Self-care had become difficult enough. Taking care of a house as well was out of the question. During this ordeal, the company was supportive and welcoming when a return to work was possible. The pay structure was based on personal performance and was quite rewarding for top performers. Alas, all good things truly do come to an end. The owner sold the company, and the new owners did not have the same philosophy of rewarding those who performed well, so the pay dropped dramatically. Five years of being chained to a desk had gotten stale anyway. As luck would have it, a new adventure was presenting itself.
A Noble Cause?
The city of Indianapolis was starting a new program to encourage homeowners throughout the city to improve their vacant/abandoned properties. Here was an opportunity to work out in the field and have an active role in helping improve the city that had been home to me for many years on and off. It was a rewarding, if low-paying, job until the word “gentrification” started getting thrown around. It is quite an ugly word to those sympathetic to the plight of others or those who have had a hard time paying their bills. A new plan begins to take shape.
A New Direction
Unhappy with the state of the union and difficulties adjusting to the rising cost of living and lower wages, he decided to leave the country. He spent the next five years living as inexpensively as possible to save enough money to make it happen. Of course, there were setbacks and people who were cynical or critical of the decision. With the creation of the decision and the plan in place, there would be no deterrence. After countless hours of online research to determine where to go and what to do once there, the decision to head South, way South, became clear. Having found there are companies that link volunteers with eco-friendly projects in Mexico, Central, and South America made the decision easy. Settling in the unspoiled beauty of Southern Mexico with its rich history and culture would be a great location from which to work. The projects of interest would be nearby, and it has the perfect climate. It appeared to be a spot solid in the peace of mind category.
Peace Of Mind
Now I am living my life like a local in Southern Mexico. COVID put the kibosh on the volunteer work I had planned on doing, but I have adapted. Another part of the plan was to use my hobbies. Presenting my love of hiking, photography, and good food would be a great way to complement my work. I started a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NeverSitForTooLong and loaded it with photos of what I’ve seen on my hikes throughout the places I’ve lived in Calderitas, Chetumal, and San Miguel de Allende. I dropped more photographs of the places I’ve visited Cancun, Tulum, Valladolid, Chichén-Itzá, Oxtankah, Bacalar, and Tijuana. Thanks to the encouragement of friends, I have expanded to Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube (links below) with videos of everyday life and the incredible food and amazing people from this area. The community has accepted me as one of their own as I have adapted to the challenges of living like a local. My proudest moments to date have been when I have been called a good Chetumaleño, Gringo Mexicano, or just Friend.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and the small amount of family that I do have. My true friends and close family have been supportive, even if they do not fully understand my decision. That said I have also become quite comfortable being on my own. I have struck out on my own enough times in life to know that being alone does not mean being lonely. I also know if you are unhappy with your current situation, it is up to you to change it. If you rely on others to do it for you it will end in disappointment.
Full Disclosure
It hasn’t been all peaches and cream. My backup plan for employment was to be a digital nomad. I have yet to live in a location that has strong enough Wi-Fi to allow that to happen. Having to replace a top-of-the-line tablet that couldn’t handle the local conditions was quite costly. Before it died it had to go one better and corrupt my thumb drives, with most of my data on them, just for good measure. I have had a couple of promising business opportunities fall through even though I did all I could do on my end to make them work. I lost my debit card and access to my money in the states, and it took almost three months to get a replacement. The worst part of that is I lost a good friend when I asked for a loan until my new card arrived. In the spirit of full disclosure and to avoid writing another two pages, I ask that you follow the next two links to fully understand my darkest hours whilst in Mexico. Here first, then here.
Angels On Earth
I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Even though I had previously hit rock bottom I realized I didn’t even know what rock bottom was. I awoke with a focus I had never had in my life. I knew I was here for a reason that had yet to be realized, let alone accomplished. I have a story to tell. Whether or not people are willing to hear it, I need to tell it. My Angels on Earth believed in me, as did my sister Lisa and my brother from another Mother David, and through their incredible support, I can now believe in myself.
A New Focus
My newfound focus prompted me to start a video series My Scars ADayeinMexico with the hope that I can help others to avoid making the same mistake I had made and to aid in their recovery as I recover myself. Through the kindness of others, I have found a little on-and-off freelance work, that keeps a roof over my head and food in my belly, doing work I never thought I was capable of. I now have this website to help get my story out and to dispel many of the myths about Southern Mexico. I hope to help others avoid the mistakes I made before leaving the states to come here and to show them the real Mexico that has adopted me as one of their own.
A CALL TO ACTION
Thank you so very much for visiting my site! I plan to post a blog on my life here every week. There are so many photos of the beauty and wonders of this part of the world to post. How to plan a trip, get around town, travel the outlying areas, food and business guides, sites to see, and much more will all be located here. I look forward to the input of others and answering the questions that I can answer, or at the very least point you in the right direction to get them answered. I am new to this whole process of building a website so any tips on that are truly welcome.
VISIT OFTEN, SEE MY SOCIAL MEDIA, AND LET’S TALK!
Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@adayeinmexico
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/adayeinmexico/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiovCjTd0JfQ8DoZZSHZc7A
