No Risk, No Reward

It's yet another beautiful day here in Guanajuato; the Teckis are all hooked up with an adorable apartment in the hills overlooking el centro and I’ve been disfrutando la vista y la tranquilidad. I made a rather ill-advised (non-advised?) trip to the Museo de las Momias the other day and nearly two hours of walking later, found myself begging a local man for access to a toilet (the one thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to go without peeing for long periods of time…today it occurred to me that a funnel and some plastic tubing could really go a long way toward solving this dilemma…but I digress). Luckily for me, “Jorge” was a merciful sort and relief was in the cards.

Upon finally arriving at the museum, I decided that I didn’t actually want to see these partially decomposed bodies, especially after one of them was advertised as having been buried alive and mummified into a position of scratching to get out. So instead I indulged in some of my favorite Mexican goodies made of amaranto seeds and honey (appropriately named “happiness” in Spanish), and caught the next bus out of there…

Not counting another minor mishap involving una gringa perdida, a moonless night, an unauthorized relieving of the bladder, some sketchy-looking dogs and “Jesus” from the Astronomy Department, things have been muy tranquilo.

The Teckis, being the generous and patient people they are, took the time to explain me some basic Mexican history, including the struggle for Independence from Spanish control in 1810 and the later Revolution of 1910. After only two or three repetitions, several historical-like concepts began to take form in my head, and for this, I am unspeakably grateful to them.

And we’ve had plenty of time to muse on the vagaries of Mexican culture, like the fact that nothing is the same twice, that there are many answers to every question, and what girl Tecki calls “no-fault actions” (for example, instead of saying “I lost the money,” it seems perfectly acceptable to say “the money left me”)..

Tomorrow I head east, to Veracruz, via a 12-14 hour bus journey ($60 US). Next time I write will be from the oldest port in all of the Americas. I’m hoping to put more emphasis this year into actually absorbing things like “history,” which I can then (at least theoretically) transmit to you, my distant yet enthusiastic supporters, via the internets. By doing this, I´m hoping to show a little appreciation for all the amazing opportunities that I´ve been blessed enough to take advantage of this year. A heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped and continue to help make it possible.

LMA

carpe diem!


Official Birthday Countdown: 287 Days Left!