Reflections

I've been wanting to describe my experiences here before now. But to be honest, my head has been in a bit of a jumble. I suppose it's like Mazlov's Hierarchy of Needs. You have to start with the basics and build from there.

I haven't travelled on my own off continent in 45 years and I'm experiencing the reality of "Two heads are better than one." There were a bunch of things that I had to get used to immediately. Simple things like:

1. Where in the world had I put my stuff -- in this pocket or that or where exactly in my backpack?
2. The money. How much does this or that cost? Getting that mental calculator to function.
3. How to get around the city. If you know me, navigation is a challenge.
4. How to get used to the cold when I expected heat? It's 32 degrees here now. But it was only 16 or so the first few days and I wore layers upon layers and still shivered.
5. The language. I've never had complete immersion before. So the first few days were an adjustment.
6. The food. I've discovered that I'm somewhere between a tourist and a traveller. Because Bob and I have done so much camping, my lodging can be almost anything with a hold on bugs in the room. But food is another matter. I don't eat bread or cakes and such. Tortillas and bread fill the stomach and are a major part of the diet here. The family I've stayed with until today has tried to accomodate. But I've been hungry this week for sure.
7. No wine before dinner. This family doesn't drink. So when it was hot, I'd go out in the afternoon to a small bar/cafe for a glass of beer. Only one. Do I miss my two glasses before dinner. Sure. But not a lot.
8. The noise. I arrived in the midst of a fair. Trucks circle the town with loadspeakers blaring and music playing starting in the evening and going into the night. Firecrackers with sound but not light blast off all hours of the day and sometimes during the night. They sound like bombs. The first night here, they were let off at 3 and 4 in the morning. Lord knows why. No one here has given me a good reason. These bombs get all the dogs barking. So, as you can imagine there's a big ruckus and sleep is a challenge. Too bad I forgot my earplugs.

There's an expression here that you have to scratch below the surface of a table to find its true colour. Lately, as my Spanish has gotten into gear, I've been able to talk easily with people about their lives. And as the saying implies, the surface is often perfect. But what lies beneath is complicated.

I mentioned earlier stumbling upon a young man, Londin, who is the director of a small museum here. I had asked him if he would be my guide to various places since I wanted to organize my own tours and speak only in Spanish.

So yesterday we visited a shanty town and a very nice hotel. Two worlds apart. Between the two worlds is a 30 minute walk on a narrow path, a little like The Bruce Trail. Londin and I passed a suspicious looking fellow. I passed very carefully. I asked Londin, "Is it safe for me here?" "No," he said. "Not for you without someone local."

I'm enjoying life here now that I'm getting used to it and am discovering the complicated things that lie below the surface of the table.

a narrow path like The Bruce Trail.

Next blog. "One Road. Two Worlds." and more photos.

 

Posted with Blogsy