Merida - ¡Una Ciudad Rica!
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2005
1
3
14
Trip End
Apr 02, 2006
Merida,
Venezuela
Friday, February 25, 2005
I AM SO PRESENT (I am honking right now, Mark) Every moment, I only think of what, where, how I am right then. Truly wonderful. However, this omnipresence is virtually the result of not having the choice to do otherwise. For, it is a little difficult to plan even remotely far into the future when I have no idea where I am, no means of getting to any certain place, nor do I have the right currency to get there and I dont even know how to communicate my desire to go anywhere!
Its safe to say that I feel no older than a 3 year old at the moment. So what if I find difficulty understanding cartoons??? Ahh, to start anew...Where everything is so fresh, so rich and so pure. Quite synchronistic with the lyrics of Enigma... "Return to Innocence"... yep thats me. Feels more like "Ignorance" most of the time
Mi Casa
! Perhaps I am humbled by the fact that I find extreme ease and comfort in conversing with Jose´s 8 year old nephew (David, pronounced Dah-Veed) more than the general public! I am the new aunt in the household "Tia Tiffany" he calls me...Perhaps I am humbled by his amusement in teaching a 26 year old how to speak his language... for, I can tell he enjoys talking to me because his vocabulary far exceeds that of my own... oh, humble thyself... today, I learned all the parts of the car as well as all body parts yesterday... so at least after a long hike up to the remote Pico Bolivar at 16000 feet, I can safely say in Spanish, "mis piedras estan cansadas"... (my legs are tired).
David, aka Gordito (hee), es mi maestro marvilloso. He is plump and luscious sweetheart with dimples as deep as the crevasses in Antarctica and a boisterous laugh that will capture your heart and swallow you whole. Actually, a laugh all to familiar to me already - for it is primarily enticed by my consistent failure to communicate effectively in Spanish! Today, in attempt to tell mi familia about my life back home, I think I told them that I flew my jeep to San Diego, I sold MYSELF and my sister is married to a baby dog! (sorry Chuck!) Ahh, too funny!
However, paradoxically, this familiar laughter seems to be the common denominator between us all...
Mis Amigos Nuevos
. the bridge between loneliness and comfort. How beautiful it is and how full life seems with every attempt to communicate. This laughter is continuously accompanied by an extreme sense of compassion, patience and love. Their ability to realice and ease my struggle is beyond my comprehension. It is quite challenging to balance the desire to learn this new language and also keep myself sane and stay connected to my roots. It is crazy. My mind is ALWAYS working... trying to place grammar and new words and accents of the language. I went for a run yesterday with some new friends and I think I spent the entire 45 minutes trying to figure out how to thank them for bringing me to this place and how much I appreciate them... "Gracias por traerme... no - Gracias por la corrienda... no -- Muchas gracias por me traen... no." Yeah, 45 minutes of that. Not quite sure if I realized that I was stepping in cow poop or running into Blackberry bushes adorned with thorns... I have to exercise extreme patience with myself because I need so much time to process each detail! Therefore, I find myself feeling quite drained in the evening... a time when I have the chance to sit down with my family and practice my Spanish, but all I really want to do is climb in a hole and find security in thoughts and memories of my own family and friends, and listen to my own familiar music, and speak my own familiar language and ultimately... not think of ANYTHING..
Mis Padres Temporarios
. In the past week, I have learned to appreciate Silence. My own breath appears to be my only savior in my moments of discouragement and strife. The silence of my heart is my foundation and I know that God is testing my ability to return home when things get chaotic in my head. Mi familia seems to understand and does not take offense when I have to remove myself for a while. Again, their ability to realice and ease my struggle is beyond my comrehension. They have been so gracious and hospitable ever since I stepped foot in the house! I swear I am in a twilight zone! My meals are made for me every day, even if I offer to make them myself. Nelis (mi mama) has something planned for us everyday... a trip to see El Mercado Principal, the Teleferico, to visit the University, to walk among the shops, to go to the Concierto at the Catedral, to take an 2 hour drive through the luscious picturesque mountains. They have literally dropped everything for me. For ME!??! I am dumbfounded, grateful, and humbled all at once. The genuine sincerity to make me feel welcomed and at "home" makes the transition flow like water. (okay, maybe water with ice cubes.) ha.
The house in which I live is absolutely beautiful... I have my own room and bathroom, adorned with new furniture and sheets. The windows open to the morning sunlight (and the chime of the barking dogs that sounds like a Mac Truck rolling over my head). Everyone in the neighborhood has a dog, so once one goes off, they ALL go off! The dogs all look like the Pirates of the Caribbean Disneyland dogs... you know, the ratty ones that have nasty fangs and snap at a fly... way testy and way NOT cute! To the left of my window, rests a crisp view of Pico Bolivar, to which I can ride the highest teleferico (cable car) in the world! Que Linda!
View from mi casa
The weather is amazing... the warmth awakens with the rising of the sun over Pico Bolivar and stays throughout the day at a constant 75-80 degrees until confronted with the afternoon clouds. Since Merida is in a valley, a smooth misty cloud coverage melts into the city at around 4pm every day, eliciting a mystical tranquility and enveloping sensation that the day is soon to end. At night it is not safe to be walking around so we spend the evening hours talking, and of course laughing, about the days activities and hopes for the near or distant future.... exchanging expression and beauty and humanness...What I find quite interesting is the Norteamericana influence down here. Nearly 30 television stations are in English with Spanish subtitles, as are all the movies. The radio is saturated with English speaking stations and old, classic, yet comfortably familiar 70s and 80s tunes... I think I heard the Bangles in the mall the other day! I actually caught myself singing along, barely realizing that I was hearing English words for the first time in a while! The strong influence is strange to me because not many people speak English! Many desire to, but find it extremely difficult. They think it is much easier to be English speaking person learning Spanish! Ha, I beg to differ.
I met some of Joses friends at the bike shop today... they are all amazing, wonderful, affectionate and beautiful people - some are triathletes who are soon to show me all the trail runs, mountain bike routes, road rides. Camillo, who owns the shop, is going to get me a mountain bike for the 3 months I am here. However, they say it is dangerous to go "solista" (alone)... so, that means more new friends to be made! The mountains are high and vast... the trails are either UP or DOWN... go legs go! There are also a ton of other activities near Merida... mas o menos cuatro horas away! Horseback riding, Paragliding, Rock Climbing, Rafting, and Canyoning! (What could be better than rapelling and ziplining across a river in Venezuela?!?!?) Don't be jealous, adventure racing friends!
Tomorrow I will find some yoga studios to assist in the balance I desire among all of these fabulous activities and unfamiliarities! However, my chances of finding a Venezuelan Michael Fukumura are slim... I can only be rest assured that God has something just as wonderful and amazing in store for me!
Sooooo, amidst all of my activities, I will remain a busy bee! However, still leaving time to help around the house, clean, cook, spend time with la familia, and oh... learn to dance La Salsa of course! Perhaps I will find a bilingual novio who runs, rides and dances to help me out?!? Ha. Thanks to God for the courage to ask questions because I learned something critical the other day. I had been seeing many people with rings on their right hand. After inquiring about it, I found out that the right hand is the marriage hand in South America! Needless to say, my right hand has been stripped of all previous jewelry!! I am now available... Bring it on, Guapos!
Hopefully this travelogue finds you all in good health and much happiness... may the same sun that awakens me in the morning bring light, warmth and love to your lives... and may you taste all the succulent flavors of this amazing universe wherever you are. Muchas Besitas... Tia Tiffany
