When we left home, we made sure that T-Mobile had turned on international roaming. They allow you to use your calling minutes and data for free. “Use your phone in Mexico and Canada! Enjoy Mobile Without Borders. Get unlimited talk, text and data throughout North America” is their claim. Alas there is something else buried in the fine print. Mid-January – roughly 6 weeks after we arrived – T-Mobile turned off Melissa’s cell phone data stating that the roaming plan was not intended for people that had moved out of the country. They left SMS text (though not photos) on and Melissa can still make phone calls. But no data is a pain.
So Dave decided to go purchase a Mexican phone. He bought an LG K22 smart phone – comparable to our existing handsets for $168 USD. The service is prepaid. $500 pesos ($25 USD) buys you 6 GB worth of data. Recharging is a strange thing. You go to the OXXO (like a gas station convenience store back home – they are everywhere here), and tell them you want to load money on your phone. You give them the phone number and the amount and they transfer the money to the phone company for you. We believe this is due to the fact that so many here live paycheck to paycheck. When they run out of money their phones stop working. When they have money – they put a little on their phone to make it work again.
