Word: chapala
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Transplanted Americans can be unwitting victims of the roller-coaster Mexican economy. Velma Dempsey, who has lived in Chapala for 17 years, recalls visiting a bank in 1982 to transfer her life savings from the U.S. Perturbed by the slow-moving line, she went home, planning to return the next day. Overnight, the government expropriated all dollar savings, compensating depositors with pesos. Sighs Dempsey: "I was never so grateful for inefficiency...
...occupied, many turn to charity work. American residents fund an orphanage and a home for indigent Mexicans. They arrange visits by American medical specialists to treat Mexicans. Last June Obregon Street in Ajijic was resurfaced, courtesy of the foreign community. Says Kay Pike, a retired actress who moved to Chapala four years ago: "Do-gooding is an attraction for those of us who think of Mexico as our adopted country...