time and crows

Flyby: Well, now that Guatemala seems like a misty, distant land/sensory experience, it feels very irrelevant to go into many details.

Guatemala to me, is cohetes and loud, snapping firecrackers at our feet, Jesus savior in all forms, slow choking almost-fall-off-the-cliff (despacio!!) smashed into all people around sleeping on an old woman's shoulder diesel fumes exploding colors and names dusty creeping soaring chicken buses, black beans in a can and dismal vegetables, antigua night dancing and after after after after parties, losing track losing things, armando's stories of war and plane crashes and su abuela and guatemalan food, new words food habits friends discoveries, chocobananas, moving through all altitudes, strain and comfort, matching history and text with now and flesh, endless mountains fallen trees rocky cliffs rivers puentes curvas bluest skies volcanes, tostadas, burning the devil, baked goods, goodbye guitar, roadside watermelons standing up, black and yellow corn drying on aluminum roofs, pigs roosters crazy cats.

Vuelo: Back in Mexico, I felt more at home than ever. We walked across the border, borders are such interesting, dynamic, mixing sharing evolving, loud places. In a few hours we were back in San Cristobal, blessed as we are, with a candle-lit home-cooked meal waiting for us. That night Raul and I went to an invitation-only Oaxacan party. I had no idea what to expect other than after a day of traveling and 2 weeks of wearing the same clothes, I wasn't really up for a fancy dinner party. And wow, we showed up to a hall of around 500 people, most of the women dressed in traditional Oaxacan dress, at least 5 bottles of liquor on each table, food, music, dancing, a celebration of the coming together of Oaxaquenos and Chiapenecos. We left at 11 and the party was only barely getting started.

Landing: Cancun is only a 3 hour flight away from Detroit, how how how. How can space and distance and surroundings be so easily erased, replaced. Well, either way, here I am in snowy Michigan, reminding myself that it's ok to throw toilet paper in the toilet and that people have to drive to stores to buy food. Oh dear.