What Happens When You Jump

I arrived at the home of Don José to learn the process of and help with the preparation of barbacoa in honor of his granddaughter’s quince años (I’ve had barbacoa de rez (cow meat) and de borrego (lamb). The meat is tender and delicious and I had been told it was cooked overnight in a [...]

I was told that a common wild plant that grows here, called “Palo de Agua” can be used to whiten whites.
I conducted an experiment and besides being fun, it was effective!
Here is how I did it:
1. Put water and laundry soap in a bucket
2. Add white clothing/cloth (It really was more yellow than you can [...]

June 6, 2009
This morning, I was following Don Romulo who was searching for dandelion plants to show me, because I like them so, when we arrived at some banana trees. I glanced up, “Are we going to have any more bananas, Don Romulo?” We found a large green bunch and he said, “Look! Those are [...]

Last week my neighbor, Angela showed me a short cut to the main road. It wasn’t short, but it avoided the road, which during the dry season, is very dusty. For me the only reason to take this “short cut” is for variety. The short cut as taught to me be Angela, who was shown [...]

I’m being encouraged to write and continue sharing my journey. I’ve not been writing because I’m in such an unexpected place in my life.
I can write about how I learned how to approach a tree for climbing and to climb it.  How I’ve made friends with my neighbor. About my ego mind’s ideas and opinions [...]

Summer 2008
As the afternoon’s wonderous thunderstorm was conjuring herself, I went and picked a leaf from a tree behind my bungalow. The fruit on this tree looks like strange hands with bright yellow meandering fingers. The leaves smell like the very best of the lemon verbena smell in Froot Loops. I’m infusing some tea now. [...]

September, 2008
I am here now. My hands are cold and my windows are open. I keep taking the sheets on and off the line as the rain starts and stops. Will they be wet until November?
I went to get water at the Spring. There were two large green leaves laying under where the water poured [...]

Sept 17, 2008
I want to live with nature and in harmony and not use too much and be strong enough to withstand changing weather conditions. I want to be like a cave woman and forage and make fire and cord, carry water, grind grain.
And I’m in this bungalow in the mountains that is not built [...]

Spring 2008
I’ve been working on getting internet in my bungalow for about 3 weeks. Without it, several times a week I spend most of the day walking down into town, checking email, going to market, doing other errands, and returning back home either by walking or combi (public minibus) by around 4. That’s practically a [...]

Winter 2006
I want to write about knowing nothing. Coming to Mexico to live for essentially six months without the language is the epitomy of the sense that I often have that I know nothing about life, about being alive. Arriving knowing virtually nothing and feeling completely dependent on Maribela was in a sense my worst [...]