From El Paso, TX I was whisked by Meg to Las Cruces, NM. I love that growing small city where I spend 5 years, partly in college. This time it was a lot colder than I remember, but that did not stop me from enjoying old friends and trying to recall streets and places that I once knew.
Zac's friend Kik taught me how to make sushi, and sadly, that I can not meditate for more than 20 minutes.
On my way to Mexico I randomly met a girl named Janet and her 1 year-old. Both without knowing would become my traveling companions a couple of hours before we left the station and about 4 hours later until she got off the bus and I continued on my way. She was so young with a very complicated life.
Nicolás Bravo is an interesting place, and only the people who are born and raised there really understand it. Those that have visited get to know where some of my best and worst qualities were created. I spent the day taking pictures of people who did not want to be photographed. I think it has something to do with the indigenous belief that the camera will take part of their spirit - currently translated into not wanting to see themselves in a photo.
The town looks pretty much the same. New houses have been built and new "tapias" have fallen. My favorite house is my grandmother's house high on the hill. Currently the color of orange. The only thing that remains of more 30 years ago is my great grandmother's house. My grandparents tore down their own old house but hers they've kept. Its so small that you can hardly imagine a bed, table and stove fitting there. It's orange door makes it newer now.
In the middle of December I made it to Meg's graduation from the Public Health Program. There were an array of people that came to celebrate, and the hightlight for me was to see college friends.
Some time in November Shalini, April, Erik and I decided to hit a couple of vineyards west of us. It was an interesting trip, but everything else except the wine.
Rectortown had an old prison as it's main attraction. Ok, it was the most intriguing part of it. A soldier had the bright idea of picking straws to see who would die and ended up being the one to pick the unlucky short one.
"Someone" got very excited about the "penises" outside of Linden vineyard.
Why pay for your own electricity when there is are so many unused outlets out there - that's what a teenager thought when he plugged his phone outside of the gas station.
We all had a lot to be thankful for. I mainly was thankful for surviving this year - it's been a hard one. I survived with the help of my lovely Shalini (she'll probably hate that I called her my lovely, or that I talked about her...or that I talked about talking about her...and about her hating that I talk about her). Anyways, I was very thankful to spend it with Erika and her family - it's a lot more fun when other people are involved, and some of those people are little and are so excited about every minute thing around them.
