A train of thought:

The loneliness of travel.  a catch-22, which captures me between a home with friends and family whom i love and a life that can't include any of those comforts but is ripe with adventures and discoveries.  To travel is to miss things, we set off and leave our beds, our toilets, our comforts into an unknown.  But by now most of what i encounter isn't an unknown, I have settled into a rhythm, not unlike from that movie, Up in the Air.  I am one of those restless souls, who sometimes looses patience with the need to document every moment digitally, I know the menu, I walk with purpose and direction, rarely with a map.  I hate my arrogance and impatience.  I miss the days of constant new-ness, where getting lost leads to a million new discoveries.  What is left is mostly routine, and yet the loneliness persists.  I am constantly leaving, constantly saying goodbye, creating new friendships with marked shelf lives, 2 days, 3 days, 2 weeks, one month.  I often feel like there is a zen buddhist teacher sitting in a slate kimono repeating an endless koan of, 'let go, let go.'  And it is true, this lifestyle is a lesson, we can't hold on, we are at our essence alone and yet a part of everything.  Beauty can morph quickly into sadness and loneliness, an unshared sunset, a missed joke, a lost story.  And yet beauty, magic, and mystery effuse everything: the discovery of a bright pink wall, grapefruit eaten in a park to the sound of bird song, a taxi driver with a map of where you are going.  I am coming to terms with the gray-ness of everything, in my life there is no longer a good or bad, everything just is. 

8 de marzo

I love this poster and was trying to explain to Jesus that if it were a poster for women from the states it would have had to been written differently to address our own gringa-ness.
I had meant to take a photo of this poster near the bakery I passed every morning on my way to La Brujula for my morning coffee.  Of course by the time I got my camera and myself in the same place to take it, the poster had been covered by some other poster advertising a man in a sombrero.
Anyhow, I encountered this one on my last night in Oaxaca covered up by a poster for an event with a Buddhist nun.  So sorry to the nun, because I pulled her poster down to take this photo.
Anyhow, 8 de Marzo was pretty tranquilo en Oaxaca.  Jesus and I did discuss the difference between men and women here in México.  It is interesting because although it is similar to the issues we have in the states there is an underlying difference in culture.  Machismo is such an integral part of the culture here, for better or worse, and that directly impacts women.
Anyhow, I am too tired to get into the subtleties of this complicated subject, I just mainly wanted to share the photo.  xx

sunday in coyoacan, d.f.

dia de las mujeres

Women's day is tomorrow and here in la ciudad de Oaxaca there are sure to be demonstrations in the Zocalo (that's the nick name for Mexico's parque centrals).  I was reminded of this up coming holiday whilst reading a most inspiring post on Rambling Spoon. The post is travel and food writing at its best, illuminating the things that are so easy to overlook and reminding us to give thanks for what we have.
As for Oaxaca, Jesus (not to be confused with THE Jesucristo) my espanish teacher has lots of interesting opinions about the state of women's rights here in Mexico.  I'll be sure to pick his brain and report back on his opnions, the goings on here and my take on all of it.

Happy Oscars.

rambling in oaxaca

I´m in Oaxaca living with a local family and making another attempt to cement all these abstract verb tenses into my poor brain.  It´s funny no matter what the time seems to slide by here and I can never accomplish what I set out to.  In fact today I was on my way to try to finish my painting of Sto. Domingo when I got waylaid running into a Oxacan gallery owner, Miguel Angel.  He took me to an art store and to an art studio, where I suppose one can take art courses which move at Oaxacan speeds.  I managed to peel myself away and walk all the way to the cathedral when I ran into Hailey who is attending the same school as I am.  So I gave up all hopes of arting it up and got a coffee with her. 
But hell, it´s so nice to feel like I can mañana my life away here.  Normally I feel like I HAVE to do stuff because I am always moving on to the next place. 

I put some photos of it here down below.  And a random calavera because they are super chido. 

a subjunctive méxico