Next adventure: Washougal couple plans move to Mexico

Kelli Rule and Jeffree White are not fluent Spanish speakers, but the Washougal couple has been working for more than a year to master the language. Recently, Rule, the former president of the Washougal Arts and Culture Association (WACA), sat down to breakfast at a cafe in Mexico with her father's wife. A hostess approached the two women and expressed her condolences for the recent passing of Rule's father. The hostesses' words, spoken in Spanish, meant more to Rule because she could understand them. "If you know some Spanish, your whole world will open up down here," Rule said, referring to Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico. "You can get by, it's true. I think I can speak and understand (Spanish) at maybe a 2-year-old level, but even that has opened up this place." The new language skills will serve Rule and White well in their next life adventure -- the couple recently announced they are planning to move from their Washougal home to Ajijic in February 2022. "There's definitely a lot of emotions wrapped up (in this), but mostly we're very excited and very happy, and we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity," said White, the owner of the Washougal School of Music. "We're both at times in our lives when we were ready for a change." The move does not mean the couple is unhappy with Washougal, White added. In fact, the couple has toyed with the idea of moving to Mexico for the past several years, but accelerated their timeline after Rule's father died in August 2021. "My father and his wife had lived here for quite some time," Rule said. "A couple of years ago, they started building a house -- my dad's a retired general contractor. (When he) passed away, he left behind a half-finished house. Jeffree and I thought, 'Why don't we be good kids and come and help finish this thing that he started?'" Ajijic is home to one of the largest expat communities in Mexico, with a population of 11,439 that includes many retired Americans and Canadians. The city is widely known for its festive village atmosphere due to its monthly lineup of parades and special events. "We've gotten to know the town and it's absolutely amazing," Rule said. "It's got a lot of things in common with Washougal. It's a small community, very, very artistic, very laid back, and everyone's really friendly and looks out for each other." "We intend to respect our new country by studying Mexican culture, traditions and history, and becoming fluent in the language," White added. "Based on the time I've spent there already, I feel like in many ways the values and lifestyle are very congruent with my own -- people are friendly, and they enjoy celebrations and vibrant arts, as well as a more relaxed pace." Rule is currently in Ajijic to oversee the final work on her father's house, where she and White will live along with her father's wife once it's completed. "It's actually going quite smoothly," she said. "My dad was present for the foundation work and the site work. He had planned to do all of the electric and plumbing himself, and now we have to pay for that, so that's a challenge. But there's things that we know how to do, and my brothers come to help do some things. The construction crew workers are very patient with my limited Spanish, and we use Google Translate a lot. They are very kind and knowledgeable, so I don't even have to worry about it. Our architect lives right across the street and he's very helpful. It's fun." White, meanwhile, is working to liquidate his business by selling the musical gear that he won't be able to take with him to Mexico. The Washougal School of Music isn't going away entirely, however -- White will continue to offer remote instructional services to his current students after he moves away. "Some of my students are just going to keep going," he said. "I'll need a break for the transition and take February off, but I expect I'll be ready in March. And for my students who are currently doing remote lessons, it really won't be any different." White, a music performer and teacher for more than 30 years, opened the Washougal School of Music in 2016, offering instruction in guitar, piano, mandolin, ukulele, and bass guitar via one-on-one in-person and virtual lessons. He estimates that he's worked with 150 students in the past five years. "I'm grateful to the families of the students who have been supporting us, and the community in general has really embraced the school," he said. "It absolutely is No. 1 for my career. I've achieved more success than I imagined. There was such a variety. There was a good variety of challenges because everybody has different tastes, and (my students) have made me work harder and develop as a musician and as a teacher." White said he would like to open a similar business in Mexico, although he may "re-brand a bit and pitch it more as tutoring or music lessons instead of a school." "I think the 'school' thing sort of makes people think that it's for kids, when really, half of my students are adults," he said. He also hopes to relaunch his own performing career. "I've been a performer much longer than a teacher, more consistently, and I'd like to get back to that," said White, who was selected to be a member of Washougal's arts commission in 2019. "The gigs around Portland have been drying up for me, especially (due) to the pandemic of course, but (Ajijic) has a really bustling, thriving music scene. I could be at a caf? playing music multiple nights a -week. I'm looking to get back into that more and maybe start up a couple of bands. I think I can make it work, especially with the expat community down there." Rule, however, isn't quite sure yet exactly what she's going to do in Mexico. In Washougal, Rule owned and operated an antique and art appraisal company called Appraisals by Rule, which she's hoping to relaunch at some point in the future but has "put on pause" for now. "Right now I'm just taking it one day at a time," she said. "We're working on this (house) project and getting to know this town and practicing Spanish. There's no shortage of things that I could be involved in here similar to what I did in Washougal with the arts and culture association. You can't look anywhere here and not see a mural. It's a super artistic town. There's animal rescue places. I'm not worried about what I'm going to be doing, but I just don't know what that is yet." Rule made her mark on the Washougal art community as a valued member of WACA, which she joined soon after she and White moved to Washougal in 20016. "(Being a part of WACA) was really life-changing," Rule said. "It gave me a good way to immediately plug in and make a difference in Washougal in a way that I've never been able to do in any other place that I've lived. I credit people like Joyce Lindsay, Rene Carroll and Janice Ferguson for bringing me in, embracing me and empowering me to help beautify the city and give some artists some work. I'm going to miss that the most. That was Washougal to me, being involved with WACA." Rule was born and raised in Florida, and moved to Portland in the early 2010s. She never felt quite comfortable in the "big city," though, and found Washougal's small-town charm was much more her speed. "I made a trek across the United States nine or 10 years ago, but Portland was kind of just a landing place for me," she said. "I really felt at home in Washougal. I grew up in a rural area, so Washougal maybe felt more comfortable." White embraced Washougal as well after living in Portland for 19 years. "I enjoyed the community, the friendly people," he said, adding that he always enjoyed playing music at Washougal's many festivals and community events. "And of course, (I enjoyed) the natural areas, having access to Lacamas Park and Cape Horn Trail. And it's just more of a relaxed change of pace. Like John Mellencamp said, 'I can breathe in a small town.'"

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