Postcard 3

Hello (I must write in English because it makes the world seem normal again)!

The craziest thing happened to me today. And by ¨craziest¨I do mean terrifying, though I would never admit it to the-roommates-from-hell; after all, they did tell me not to go walking alone. I´m sorry, I am sending you a Belize postcard from Mexico (I´m in Mexico now, after a loooooong bus ride and wait at the border because somehow Suzie´s passport hadn´t been stamped entering Belize, therefore she couldn´t legally leave) because I never did find a post-office in Belize. Of course I was only in Belize long enough to get the worst sun-burn of my life, despite the rain. Mexico seemed like a good easy place (packed with gringos) to end up our trip, and it is. The funny thing is, I thought that would be a good thing: after all that time just us three together, and feeling somewhat adventurous being confused and trying to figure things out... it is strange being with other tourists. Are we like that? Am I like that? I don´t think so, I could not really be that irritating. Unlike the others, I refused to have my picture taken with a man with a spear dressed like an ancient Mayan on main street, no matter how drunk I was.

But the crazy thing! I went out for a walk yesterday (needed to get away from you-know-who and you-know-whom), thinking I´d go to the beach to watch the sunset. I did that (cloudy and not good at all for pictures), happy to be on my own and on a beach and... just happy. But when I started back up the hill I realized I had no idea how to get back to the hotel, and it was getting dark. All kinds of horror stories flash through my head --things that happen to foolish tourists who wander off by themselves-- and I deceide the only thing to do is pick a direction and keep moving as if I know what I'm doing. By now it is fully dark and nothing looks familiar and I am biting my lip and trying not to cry because crying doesn´t accomplish anything. Then out of nowhere this guy appears --just like in the movies-- this Mexican guy appears and steps out in front of me and I can´t help it, I just burst into tears. You think time will stop but it doesn´t and so I stop crying, and the guy is still standing there only he´s not mean-looking at all, and he hands me a Kleenex. He says something to me I don´t understand (I really must learn Spanish) and I say ¨Hotel¨which is the only word I can think of at that moment. He says something else and when I just shake my head stupidly he makes a guesture like opening a door and I think KEY, and I take out my room key and there sure enough is the name of the hotel. I gave it to the man and right away he smiles and takes my arm (but now I´m not afraid) and leads me the whole way there (I was going the right way after all). When we got there I was so thrilled I didn´t know what to do. I turned around to thank him, somehow, and he patted me on the shoulder and... walked away. I stood and watched him all the way down the street. I couldn´t tell you why, but things seemed different after that.

2 more days and I´ll be home! Missing you.

Traveller, not Tourist

Postcard 2

Hola!

So Suzie made me promise I'd start out by telling you I misspelled GUATEMALA in my last postcard. It´s nothing personal, I can barely spell Ottowa. Actually Suzie's driving me kind of crazy these days. So is Melissa. Now that we´re here and over jetlag and stuff (I didn´t have it, but both the others did) we never want to do the same things. Melissa wants to lie by the pool, or the beach, or the dock or just about anywhere so she goes home with a tan, and Suzie (who has been to Thailand and to Europe and never lets us forget it) caught some kind of stomach bug from eating street food and spends long stretches of time in the bathroom; I know it´s not very nice, but it kind of serves her right for making us feel un-worldly (is that a word?). And me? I kind of like walking around. I mean I want a tan too, but it´s kind of fun just wandering around the city and seeing what I see. Melissa says I´m crazy and going to get mugged or abducted by a drug lord, but I told her it´s not Honduras (I´m in Honduras now!) where they have drug lords, it´s Mexico or Colombia or somewhere. You know how I said it was lucky it was sunny because I lost my coat? Well now it´s raining. Like bloody tsunami rain (Suzie says they don't have tsunamis in Central America) every single day. I swear my clothes are starting to smell like mold. And guess what? I lost my journal. I have no idea what happened to it, it must have been, like, with me at the internet cafe or something and I left it behind. I thought I was going to cry, since I'd been writing in it every day for two weeks now, and... I don't know. It just seemed important. I think you're just more attached to your stuff when you have less of it. Gotta go! xoxoxox.

She of the Moldy Clothes

Postcard 1

Hola!

So, here I am-- Guatamala! I thought the trip would take us forever --especially since Melissa had to go shopping at the airport-- but now that we've got to the hotel it all seems worth it. Haven't really seen much yet, but in a few days I think we're going some place where they have a beach. I'm a little hazy on the detials, as Suzie's doing most of the organizing. I LOST MY JACKET! It was the first day too, like "I've only been away 5 minutes and already I'm losing things!" Okay, well it wasn't really me that lost it, it was that damn taxi driver. Can you believe that? I mean what do they do all day, put people's stuff in the car and drive around. I guess between Melissa, Suzie and I we had a lot of stuff sitting there on the sidewalk and the guy just didn't see my it sitting on top of my bag. I wanted to go back and look for it but Suzie said some Guatamalan person would be wearing it now. At least it's bright and sunny and too hot for coats or I'd really be mad. Still, it seems kind of a bad omen to be starting the trip with. Did I mention it was HOT?

Adios (see, I'm learning spanish!). xo.

Your Worldly Friend

The Story to Come

I have had the most thrilling, terrifying, disconcertingly wonderful day.

But I am not talking about it now.

Introduction

I'm sorry it has taken a while to get started on this blog. I have been (and am currently) travelling across Central America for the summer, and my access to computers with afforadable internet has been limited. Right now I am in Belize, after crossing over from Guatemala this afternoon. It is no hotter than the sizzling it has been for the last week or so, but that uncomfortable sticky feeling is hard to get used to. I will write more soon, but for now will share a quote I came across a few weeks ago, which I adore, and think perfectly reflects where I am in my life: questioning. But perhaps we are always questioning?

¨Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.¨

Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet