The afternoon I went to see a Mexican guy from my school. I had just turned twenty. Studying in Guadalajara.
No way to reach him to coordinate. I’d figure it out and have an adventure!
Turned out he wasn’t there - he’d left his tiny rented room and gone home for the weekend.
I stayed for a while…to talk and laugh and learn with little neighbors playing on the street.
Then it got dark. Fast. Not like Alaska, where it can take hours for the sun to set when the weather is warm.
The neighborhood swirled and the energy of the night shifted. Suddenly everything felt uncertain.
Then, by some flowing consensus, the little ones (three? six? five? years old) circled around me, chatting and laughing and tugging gently at my hands. They danced me down the street to a public bus stop and waited in a ring - between me and all the men who had appeared - until I was safely on board.
Thanks for sharing that, sounds heart warming! Glad you got where you needed to go. Funny how you don't consider those 'natural' differences, like the changing length of a day, when you cross lines of latitude. I always find things feel 'upside down' when I go north of the equator and I get lost easily.
What a story!!!!! I couldn’t help thinking about how two people could have the same experience turn out so differently. This story could have been defeating or traumatizing in some minds, freeing and voyeuristic in others. Being able to look at life experiences anthropologically is such an asset! (And really makes for a good story!)
Thanks! It was a challenge to write it up, but the process gave me a new perspective, so I think it's worth sharing. Thanks so much for your comment and for signing up 🙏
Tell your tales…I am reminded of my own memories…
The afternoon I went to see a Mexican guy from my school. I had just turned twenty. Studying in Guadalajara.
No way to reach him to coordinate. I’d figure it out and have an adventure!
Turned out he wasn’t there - he’d left his tiny rented room and gone home for the weekend.
I stayed for a while…to talk and laugh and learn with little neighbors playing on the street.
Then it got dark. Fast. Not like Alaska, where it can take hours for the sun to set when the weather is warm.
The neighborhood swirled and the energy of the night shifted. Suddenly everything felt uncertain.
Then, by some flowing consensus, the little ones (three? six? five? years old) circled around me, chatting and laughing and tugging gently at my hands. They danced me down the street to a public bus stop and waited in a ring - between me and all the men who had appeared - until I was safely on board.
It might have been a very different adventure.
Thanks for sharing that, sounds heart warming! Glad you got where you needed to go. Funny how you don't consider those 'natural' differences, like the changing length of a day, when you cross lines of latitude. I always find things feel 'upside down' when I go north of the equator and I get lost easily.
You are so adventurous.
And adventures make for good stories - elements of risk, excitement, uncertainty. And always add a different perspective.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading!
What a story!!!!! I couldn’t help thinking about how two people could have the same experience turn out so differently. This story could have been defeating or traumatizing in some minds, freeing and voyeuristic in others. Being able to look at life experiences anthropologically is such an asset! (And really makes for a good story!)
Thanks! It was a challenge to write it up, but the process gave me a new perspective, so I think it's worth sharing. Thanks so much for your comment and for signing up 🙏