Nov. 16 - Nov. 22: Paradise, Penny Pinching, and Pain

November 22

Prayer request: My body pain is often consuming and affecting my ability to sleep, energy level, and attitude. It can be discouraging.
Prayer for healing of fibromyalgia (chronic pain) and spondylosis (tissue between vertebrae degenerating), prayer for a good attitude, prayer for deep and restorative sleep, and prayer for me to be better at self-care.
I brought some savings specifically for massage, and I need to put it to good use.

Thanks for your continued love and support!!!

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Centro Energetico Integral - Tel. 5514 1775 I did a workshop with Sergio Magaña and was extremely impressed with him, enough so that I will spend 10 days on a tour that he will lead. I generally don't like big group trips but I think that what I will get out of it will be worth it. He doesn't do treatments anymore but you can find someone there who does. Profound, powerful work! - Jeya

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Going to bed at 8pm. In too much pain and too exhausted from not sleeping last night to function at all.

The two masseuses were not working this afternoon! Ak! I don't leave the house much. Five blocks to the masseuse was actually an effort. I hate traveling in the city.. I've been sluggish lately because of the pain. Sigh. I did make it to the store today, and am set for cooking tomorrow! That was my big accomplishment :)

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A Zumba class costs 10 pesos in my neighborhood. 2 people for 15 pesos.
10 pesos = $0.75. :) Now, if I could only understand the haphazard directions to class...

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November 20
Yesterday (Saturday) I worked hard while the others played in the sun.
Today I woke up, harvested fresh oranges, made orange juice, and enjoyed the house in Cuernavaca.

Someone mentioned Thanksgiving; I was shocked that it is this coming Thursday. I usually don't associate bikinis with Thanksgiving. (Ha, Salem, enjoy your weather.)

Thank God for Sunday, for sunshine, for friends, and for three day weekends (Monday is a holiday).

Nov 6 - Nov 15: Cuernavaca, aloneness, and Int'l live party

November 13
‎...That heaviness that only a hug can fix.
Not logic, not prayer, not exercise, not chocolate.
This volunteer/NGO family is kind and affectionate, but hugs are different when they come from a person who deeply knows you. I'm trying to convince my mom to come visit me in February :) (And airfare is only $300 or so, y'all!)

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November 12
NGO getaway: Cuernavaca, Mexico.
This morning I woke up, sunbathed in my bikini, and swam in a pool surrounded by a lush garden of flowers and mandarin trees. We all eat vegetarian goodness. The poinsettia is easily 12' tall.
My new friends/family/coworkers are a star-studded cast of brilliant, adorable dorks. (I fit in in my own way!) I am tremendously blessed to be welcomed into the family.
And in an hour we will walk down the street to eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
:) No complaints from Mexico!
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Productive day working hard - researching, creating a bit of structure for future IU interns, and studying. Oh, in my bikini by the poolside eating too many mandarins we picked from the plentiful nearby trees yesterday.
Here's to working remotely!
I love my netbook, and am so grateful I brought my work to Cuernavaca.
Thanks in advance for telling me you're jealous. :)I got barely crisped today. Yummmmm. (Yes, Mom, I wear sunscreen on most of my body.)
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November 10
In 4 days I've seen
0 cockroaches but about
25 potato bugs (rolly-pollys)

Yet another unexpected find in Mexico City.  My roommate calls them an "infestation."
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This afternoon's snack?
Peanut butter and honey on... warmed flour tortillas. mmmm.
And one of the guys who lives here always puts mayo on his tortillas. Em, yuck.

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November 9
Ever have one of those days where you wake up and simply feel... extra insecure?
Today was a good day overall, but my brain kept sending me false messages about being rejected or disliked in a dozen different forms. Odd.
It caught me off guard because I know that I know I am doing what I am supposed to be, and I feel fulfilled and at peace with my life path.

Nov 5 - 6 Birthday abroad & altitude sickness

November 6

Another reason why travel is not all glam: Altitude sickness. It's 5:38 am, morning after my birthday, and I've still not slept. 34 hours of nausea from the altitude change from my move from one week in lower-level Oaxaca to Mexico City has about done me in.
My birthday was nice but... I was certainly ill. (It's the price one pays!) At least I held the brownie and coconut ice cream down!

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There are 90,000 police officers in Mexico City. That's a ratio of police:citizens of about 1:100 within the city boundaries, one of the highest ratios in the world.
The police presence was impressively strengthened about two years ago, and crime has dramatically fallen since.


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November 5

*sigh*
first birthday out of the country and away from friends.
i love you, people.
(and i'm with my dear friend Pablo in Mexico, so i'm not completely alone!)
I spent most of my birthday with intense altitude sickness. I stayed indoors as much as possible other than lunch with friends, and had some pretty lame sushi for dinner. Overall, the day sucked, but my friends sure rocked.
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You guys overwhelmed me with posts on facebook. I'm not sure how many - maybe 75? Needless to say, I certainly did not feel forgotten. Thank you thank you thank you. I love you.
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I took a shot of homemade Mezcal for a friend yesterday... in a party... in a cemetary. One of the best
parties I've been to in my life. More later. (Dia de los Muertos)

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A birthday wish:  "I wish you loads of ice cream!  - Sten
P.S. By ice cream I mean something sweet and enjoyable that takes your attention and makes you feel useful and at the same time relaxed and happy."
Oh, Sten, you are wonderful.

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Quote:
"Geography has little to do with the difference you make. What matters is that you are making the best use of your life by loving the people in it. This is the difference that endures."
Absolutely true to my life experience.

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If a story of someone's life is written, then it is also co-written by the lives of the friends it intersects. I'm delighted to be a part of your story and I'm delighted that you are a part of mine. And I'm delighted that our stories continue.
(adapted from dear friend Jordan's words left in my journal)

Thank you for your love and wonderful birthday wishes. It is indeed overwhelming.
Love from Mexico City -

Oct 24 - Nov 3: Arrived, Conference, Food, and In Oaxaca

October 30 - November 3

caldo de nopales
elote con mayonesa, queso, limon, chile, y queso
quesillo (!!!!!!)
mole
tortillas fresquitas
agua de horchata
maiz con leche
tlayuda de verduras
mole rojo
chocolate mayordomo
chapulines (grasshoppers)
jugo de... cosas nuevas
margarita
mezcal
:)
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I've reached the moment when new foods are no longer named something straightforward, and I simply ask for what I've never heard of before, eat whatever is served, and smile at the results. :)
Sorry, I can't remember any of the new foods I've eaten in the last days!

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October 29

I am honestly astounded at how safe, civil, and clean Mexico City is. I've not seen much, but have been delighted with what I've discovered.
Love from Oaxaca -
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OH WOW is it gorgeous! I'm in a state south of Mexico City and having a phenomenal trip.
Dia de los Muertos.  I owe you a journal entry.

Why I'm using facebook instead of blogging

It's simple:  Blogging intimidates me, facebook is quick, and you interact with me constantly there.

Sitting down to write a blog means I need to write several full paragraphs with a well-developed idea, and post a photo or two to accompany it.

I prioritize living my life over documenting my life.  I simply do not have the time or energy to write like I wish.

Instead, I am grateful to use facebook.  Snippets of quick observations or musings only take a second to post, and I don't need to mess with the login and creation of a new blog post.  I decided to blog my fb posts and edit them with additional comments as a sort of journal.  I hope you enjoy the tidbits.

Thanks for understanding, and by all means "friend" me on fb using my email address.
I LOVE to hear your comments and encouragement.

Love -
r

Master Schedule: Mexico 2011-2012

Here's the skinny.

October 23-27:  Conference in Mexico City (DF)
October 28-Nov 6:  Travel in Oaxaca with Pablo
November 7-Dec 16:  Volunteer for Isla Urbana in DF.  Thanksgiving.
Dec 17 - Jan 2?:  Travel in Oaxaca with Jen.  Christmas.
Jan 3? - March 10:  Volunteer for IU in DF
Jan 21:  Mama Rumba con Jeya
March ?:  Run out of money.  Time to invent my next adventure!

Ironico: No water / no agua

---  Nov. 8, 2011

The irony is profound.

I am working for Isla Urbana, a foundation which installs rainwater harvesting systems, encourages water conservation, and teaches how to best manage the water resources in Mexico City.  Please do know I'm having a fantastic time and love the team here.

The headquarters, where seven people live, is currently out of water.  The cistern of 10,000 liters is almost dry.  It serves us as well as inhabitants of five other apartments in our complex.  I arrived three days ago, certainly needing to wash laundry after two weeks of travel in Mexico, and needing to take a shower.  I still have no clean underwear, and my hair is... gross.

We have water to wash dishes and wash our hands, and flush the toilet when necessary.  Showering is strongly discouraged - there simply is not enough water to stretch until godknowswhen we receive city water or rain water again.

But how could this happen?  How could we run out of water?
Simple.  The cistern fills in one of three ways:
First, we try to capture the rainwater, and use it in the cistern.  But the last true rain was October 16. 
Second, the city pushes water through our neighborhood's pipes every few days or weeks or whenever they feel like giving us water.  And because we'd closed the pipe to our cistern to anticipate filling it with rainwater, and no rain came, our cistern is dry.
Third, we could buy a giant tank of water, but it's quite expensive, and it makes more sense to wait for city or rainwater.

But it's not just us - no neighbors have water.  The laundromat has no water.  Our cook has no water.  No one has water.  My friends are driving across town to other friends' houses to wash laundry.  I dare not smell my friends.

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As I write this, I hear the quiet rush of water through the pipes and dripping into the cistern.  The city sent water our direction, albeit only a small amount. 

Perhaps tomorrow I can shower.
I only hope the laundromat remembers just how desperate I am for clean underwear.

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Update:
Wednesday morning we woke up to a small amount of water in the cistern.  I had a super short "sailor's shower" from water pouring out of a pipe in the cement wall.  And oooo boy did it feel good after 6 days of no showers!
As I write, Carmen is washing my laundry just outside my bedroom window.  She can't wash them at her house because she still has no water.  The irony is that she only lives one block above us on our hill, and because the water first fills the cisterns at the bottom of the hill and then automatically proceeds to fill cisterns going up the hill, she has no water.  Only one block up the hill.

October 23-27: Attended a world summit on press design.

Cumbre Mundial de Diseno en Prenza took place in Mexico City late last month.  Essentially, the group discusses the present and future conception of printed and electronic media in the broadest of senses.

My friend Pablo was scheduled to speak, and I asked if I could attend the conference.  Not only did the organizers give me a free pass ($500), but they gave me a 15th floor suite in the hotel Fiesta Americana on a principle street, Reforma.  The suit was so big it had two bathrooms.  And when the smog was thin, one could see D.F. infinitely in all directions.  Genial.

The conference was exciting.  Some of the world's best designers were present.  Ideas were discussed, friendships rekindled, business partnerships formed.  We always gathered for the buffet at the hotel, which was the most bountiful  and overwhelming selection I've ever seen.  The reception was held in an impressively ornate and old art museum.  Laughter and generosity abounded.

Pablo's friends, and everyone else, for that matter, were kind, usually humble, often characters, and I'm delighted to have met every one of them.  There were about 25 presenters and 250 attendees.  I was a bit overwhelmed for the first two days, realizing that I was rubbing shoulders with people whose ideas literally affect millions.  And then I reminded myself of my personal belief system:  People are people. 

It´s 4:40 am in Mexico City.

 I am so exhausted and sleep deprived I couldn't punch the culprits if I wanted to.

Floor 19, Hotel Fiesta Americana, street La Reforma.  I laid in bed literally for hours with an upset stomach and wiggly legs.  And the inconsistent sound of giant fireworks banging off at a cadence of about one every three seconds.  Ironically, this Americana (me) is certainly not partying.

The boom reverberates between these few skyscrapers, the paper thin windows gifting us with the sound of horns honking below from the perpetual traffic and an exceptional audio quality of the explosion of high firecrackers and fancy plumes.

My stomach was tumultuous, and I could not sleep, and so I decided to take a small sleeping pill.  But no water.  No water in the hotel room.  No energy to boil water in the coffee pot, unable to justify calling room service and pay for a $5 bottle of water, and my mind was too fuzzy to find a good solution to the situation.  I tried to save saliva, but my stomach was too upset to swallow my wad of sticky spit carefully stored after great effort.  I found about 10 remnant drops in the bottom of a plastic bottle, but it was not enough to swallow the tiny pill.  My stomach churned even more.

I finally decided to swallow the pill alongside the heart of my guayava fruit.  Its edible seeds are slightly smaller than the baby pill I clutched in my right hand.  I slowly sucked out the heart of half of the fruit, attempting to muster all my tummy's strength to swallow the stupid pill.  Eventually I did.

I sank into bed, exhausted, and began to read some touristic photo book on Mexico with the red light from my Petzl headlamp.  The fireworks pounded, my stomach churned, and I protested.  And just when my exhaustion piqued, something quite curious happened:

At 4:30 in the morning, a tremendous amount of fireworks exploded all at once, and people in the street began tooting their trumpets and tapping their drums to something sounding of the American taps.  There was a parade beginning right in front of  my hotel, crowd, trumpets, floats, fireworks and all, at 4:30 am!   Aaaaak, for the love!

Who the hell has a parade at 4:30 in the morning?  What´s more, it looked like only 200 people were participating...  Did they really need to play their trumpets and wake up every other human within a five mile radius?  I lack comprehension.

Anyhow, now it's 4:53, my stomach seems to have settled down a small amount from the guayava, and I've written a few words to post on my blog (finally).  I'm armed with earplugs, no longer on the verge of vomiting, and hoping to God that I'll sleep just a few hours tonight.

Epic road trip starts tomorrow...