A kite is a victim you are sure of.
You love it because it pulls
gentle enough to call you master,
strong enough to call you fool;
because it lives
like a desperate trained falcon
in the high sweet air
and you can always haul it down
to tame it in your drawer.
A kite is a fish you have already caught
in a pool where no fish come,
so you play him carefully and long,
and hope he won't give up,
or the wind die down.
A kite is the last poem you've written,
so you give it to the wind,
but you don't let it go
until someone finds you
something else to do.
A kite is a contract of glory
that must be made with the sun,
so you make friends with the field
the river and the wind,
then you pray the whole cold night before,
under the travelling cordless moon,
to make you worthy and lyric and pure.
-Leonard Cohen
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Interesting People Part 2
Ela from El Refugio
This lady is German born but has lived in Mexico for the past 25 years. She was travelling in Belize where she met her husband (from North Mexico). They continued travelling through Guatemala (some crazy hitch-hiking stories!) and then settled back in southern Mexico. Through their married life they have seen the powers of good and evil in the world at work in so many ways. Many many people have come to them for all sorts of help.
For the last 15 years they have been living in a gorgeous wooden house in the mountains. They have several grown-up children of their own, as well as two little adopted ones who were abandoned. Ela runs a little clinic and has a birthing house which women come to (both locals, and friends from the city) give birth with her. They have a community of people living in houses nearby who have come to the mountains to seek freedom from addictions, and answers to their questions. Ela and her family are highly regarded, and people seem to come from far & wide to speak with her.
Albert was a quirky, laidback, stick-thin Italian dude who had come over to Mexico a bunch of years ago and never returned to his home country. He met a girl in Mexico City and they ended up marrying, coming out and settling on a little patch of land near where Ela lives in the mountains of Oaxaca. They're just on the edge of a tiny village called San Mateo. They built their own little wooden house with the help of friends, on a hill with an amazing view through the valleys. They have two cows, whose milk they sell to support themselves (fresh cow milk seems to be pretty rare in Mexico), a skinny horse, a donkey, a cat who is friends with the donkey, and a tiny pixie of a girlchild.
El Chingiringi
This guy was a real character. I met him at El Refugio. He had taken a nasty cocktail of drugs & alcohol before arriving and was still recovering. He was totally loopy, but cheery and goodnatured most of the time (unless he was begging Jose for "un chingiringi" - a shot of mescal. This gave him his nickname). The day after arriving the guys already had some funny stories to report of him. Apparently he commented on the family's black labrador, saying "I've never seen a blue dog before!" Later he was found in the cookhouse below, waiting with a stick by a hole in the floor - for a seal to stick its head up!!
After a few days he wandered off again. He found his way to San Jose (5km away) where apparently he got into a spot of trouble and was transported to another town about three times as far away. He walked all the way back to SJ before the crew found him, and had the biggest blister on his foot that I've ever seen. They sat him by the fire and Ela set about mending his wounds. To everyone's merriment, he began telling another guy that he was his king.. then one moment when Ela was distracted, and before anyone else could stop him, he grabbed a burning log straight from the fire and dropped it in a basin of water by him (which was waiting for the kettle). "Para calientar el agua" (heat the water), of course!
This lady is German born but has lived in Mexico for the past 25 years. She was travelling in Belize where she met her husband (from North Mexico). They continued travelling through Guatemala (some crazy hitch-hiking stories!) and then settled back in southern Mexico. Through their married life they have seen the powers of good and evil in the world at work in so many ways. Many many people have come to them for all sorts of help.
For the last 15 years they have been living in a gorgeous wooden house in the mountains. They have several grown-up children of their own, as well as two little adopted ones who were abandoned. Ela runs a little clinic and has a birthing house which women come to (both locals, and friends from the city) give birth with her. They have a community of people living in houses nearby who have come to the mountains to seek freedom from addictions, and answers to their questions. Ela and her family are highly regarded, and people seem to come from far & wide to speak with her.
Albert was a quirky, laidback, stick-thin Italian dude who had come over to Mexico a bunch of years ago and never returned to his home country. He met a girl in Mexico City and they ended up marrying, coming out and settling on a little patch of land near where Ela lives in the mountains of Oaxaca. They're just on the edge of a tiny village called San Mateo. They built their own little wooden house with the help of friends, on a hill with an amazing view through the valleys. They have two cows, whose milk they sell to support themselves (fresh cow milk seems to be pretty rare in Mexico), a skinny horse, a donkey, a cat who is friends with the donkey, and a tiny pixie of a girlchild.
El Chingiringi
This guy was a real character. I met him at El Refugio. He had taken a nasty cocktail of drugs & alcohol before arriving and was still recovering. He was totally loopy, but cheery and goodnatured most of the time (unless he was begging Jose for "un chingiringi" - a shot of mescal. This gave him his nickname). The day after arriving the guys already had some funny stories to report of him. Apparently he commented on the family's black labrador, saying "I've never seen a blue dog before!" Later he was found in the cookhouse below, waiting with a stick by a hole in the floor - for a seal to stick its head up!!
After a few days he wandered off again. He found his way to San Jose (5km away) where apparently he got into a spot of trouble and was transported to another town about three times as far away. He walked all the way back to SJ before the crew found him, and had the biggest blister on his foot that I've ever seen. They sat him by the fire and Ela set about mending his wounds. To everyone's merriment, he began telling another guy that he was his king.. then one moment when Ela was distracted, and before anyone else could stop him, he grabbed a burning log straight from the fire and dropped it in a basin of water by him (which was waiting for the kettle). "Para calientar el agua" (heat the water), of course!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Interesting People...
Just a Few of the Interesting People I Met [Part 1]
Diplomat on holiday
On the bus on the way up Volcan Poas in Costa Rica, I met a lady who said she worked as a UN diplomat! Naturally, I said 'wow, how on earth did you get to work for the UN?!' Just in case you are also wondering, I'll tell you. She said she did an arts degree in International Relations (she must have done pretty well), got a job with the Red Cross, then a couple of years ago got this job. Since then she's worked in South Africa and somewhere in Europe, and now for the last year in Colombia! She was still pretty young. Basically what she does in Colombia (and elsewhere) is ironining out conflicts, working with govts and the drug groups and guerrillas, trying to get communication happening and restabilise.
Wow. She also told me that Colombia is very beautiful and well set up for tourism. Go there!! [just avoid the druglords, ok?]
Epic combi-driving dude
In Santa Elena, Costa Rica, I met a Canadian guy who spent 4 or 5 months driving a VW combi all the way around north america! He said that less than 2 weeks into the trip the combi broke down and he and his friend began to doubt they'd make it all the way round.. but then they found an internet site devoted linking to combi lovers-helpers-fixers with combi-drivers-in-trouble. So then whenever they had a problem, they would look up the closest combi-enthusiast in the state, and ask for help. Soo many people went out of their way to rescue them, doing over and above what they ever imagined! They had a fantastic trip. I was so inspired!
Belizean back to his roots
In Belize I was bumping along for a few hours in a practically antique bus from Belize City to the sleepy coastal town of Corozal. The African-looking guy (though with lighter, more honey-coloured skin) I was sitting next to was very polite, helping me get settled on the bus with my stuff, but was determined to not bug me or get in my face (he said later), and so sat staring straight ahead and didn't say a word.
This of course had the effect of making me intensely curious and wanting to talk to him. Finally I started a conversation, and drew out that he'd lived in the US ever since he was a small child, had been educated at uni there and everything, but that it was not his home, and he thought that Belize, and his family's little property in the middle of nowhere was the most wonderful place in the world, and so just a couple of weeks ago he had come back to stay. We continued on talking about what's really of value in life, about the states, Australian culture, and his home, until it finally came in sight and he leapt off the bus and carted his things down the driveway..
Farming in drug country
In a hostel in Oaxaca city I met a young fellow, early twenties, who has been coming over to Mexico in his summers for about five years now! He and an old guy he knows own a patch of land up north in Oaxaca, and have been working it, and trying to get alongside the local community as well. They try not to get directly involved in town politics, but have a few friends among the villagers who they talk to about stuff, and they pass on suggestions to the rest of the community as they see fit. They've done things like taking people all the way to the city when they need it, getting papers signed, legal support, etc. Also trying to encourage different approaches to agriculture, and a greater variety of crops. One thing they're working on at the moment is trying to set up a coffee cooperative. He also had some interesting stories to tell about clashes with those people you _don't_ want to be clashing with...
Diplomat on holiday
On the bus on the way up Volcan Poas in Costa Rica, I met a lady who said she worked as a UN diplomat! Naturally, I said 'wow, how on earth did you get to work for the UN?!' Just in case you are also wondering, I'll tell you. She said she did an arts degree in International Relations (she must have done pretty well), got a job with the Red Cross, then a couple of years ago got this job. Since then she's worked in South Africa and somewhere in Europe, and now for the last year in Colombia! She was still pretty young. Basically what she does in Colombia (and elsewhere) is ironining out conflicts, working with govts and the drug groups and guerrillas, trying to get communication happening and restabilise.
Wow. She also told me that Colombia is very beautiful and well set up for tourism. Go there!! [just avoid the druglords, ok?]
Epic combi-driving dude
In Santa Elena, Costa Rica, I met a Canadian guy who spent 4 or 5 months driving a VW combi all the way around north america! He said that less than 2 weeks into the trip the combi broke down and he and his friend began to doubt they'd make it all the way round.. but then they found an internet site devoted linking to combi lovers-helpers-fixers with combi-drivers-in-trouble. So then whenever they had a problem, they would look up the closest combi-enthusiast in the state, and ask for help. Soo many people went out of their way to rescue them, doing over and above what they ever imagined! They had a fantastic trip. I was so inspired!
Belizean back to his roots
In Belize I was bumping along for a few hours in a practically antique bus from Belize City to the sleepy coastal town of Corozal. The African-looking guy (though with lighter, more honey-coloured skin) I was sitting next to was very polite, helping me get settled on the bus with my stuff, but was determined to not bug me or get in my face (he said later), and so sat staring straight ahead and didn't say a word.
This of course had the effect of making me intensely curious and wanting to talk to him. Finally I started a conversation, and drew out that he'd lived in the US ever since he was a small child, had been educated at uni there and everything, but that it was not his home, and he thought that Belize, and his family's little property in the middle of nowhere was the most wonderful place in the world, and so just a couple of weeks ago he had come back to stay. We continued on talking about what's really of value in life, about the states, Australian culture, and his home, until it finally came in sight and he leapt off the bus and carted his things down the driveway..
Farming in drug country
In a hostel in Oaxaca city I met a young fellow, early twenties, who has been coming over to Mexico in his summers for about five years now! He and an old guy he knows own a patch of land up north in Oaxaca, and have been working it, and trying to get alongside the local community as well. They try not to get directly involved in town politics, but have a few friends among the villagers who they talk to about stuff, and they pass on suggestions to the rest of the community as they see fit. They've done things like taking people all the way to the city when they need it, getting papers signed, legal support, etc. Also trying to encourage different approaches to agriculture, and a greater variety of crops. One thing they're working on at the moment is trying to set up a coffee cooperative. He also had some interesting stories to tell about clashes with those people you _don't_ want to be clashing with...
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Back of the Wind
One Night
Three girls sat talking. One was seeking, she did not know for what, and she did not hold much hope of finding.
One knew for what she was seeking, but had not yet fully found it.
The third knew that what she had sought, she had found, and lived and delighted in the knowing.
Three girls sat talking. One was seeking, she did not know for what, and she did not hold much hope of finding.
One knew for what she was seeking, but had not yet fully found it.
The third knew that what she had sought, she had found, and lived and delighted in the knowing.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Stuff I miss about Mexico
Language - trying to decipher it, picking up different accents, attempting to communicate.
slang - de que lado masca la iguana (that's the side the iguana chews?? or something untranslateable, =the way it's done), la tira (the cops), tira la esquina ( throw a corner =give a break/give me a break?), codo (elbow, =stingy), fresa (strawberry =snobby, upperclass), que onda? (what's up?), padre (cool), no manches! (no stains, I think? =no way!), hijole! (no way, that sucks *can be more vehement depending on context), orale (ok/there you go/wow/sounds great), lana (wool, =money), cuate (fraternal twin, =friend, mate), chile mole pozole (the whole lot/mix), que la cancion (bother, you're/it's such a nuisance)..........
that's all I can remember for the moment!
little street stalls
little shops that all sell the same thing (bikkies, chips, lollies, drinks) but are very handy when you´re thirsty
the way everyone hangs out in the plazas/zocalos/town squares.. especially at night.
mamey (rough brown-skinned fruit which is bright red inside and tastes so rich, smooth, sweet and creamy)
the best papaya
salsa with everything
fresh corn tortillas with everything (especially if they´re handmade)
copious amounts of drinking yogurt
various exciting mexican dishes, like pollo poblano and mole verde and tasty asadas (barbequed meat)
piles of culture - indigenous people in their many different traditional dresses, speaking their many different tongues
piles of ruins dug out of the sand/jungle/desert
people I met, friends I stayed with...
nicknamers and the nicknames (you know who you are!)
slang - de que lado masca la iguana (that's the side the iguana chews?? or something untranslateable, =the way it's done), la tira (the cops), tira la esquina ( throw a corner =give a break/give me a break?), codo (elbow, =stingy), fresa (strawberry =snobby, upperclass), que onda? (what's up?), padre (cool), no manches! (no stains, I think? =no way!), hijole! (no way, that sucks *can be more vehement depending on context), orale (ok/there you go/wow/sounds great), lana (wool, =money), cuate (fraternal twin, =friend, mate), chile mole pozole (the whole lot/mix), que la cancion (bother, you're/it's such a nuisance)..........
that's all I can remember for the moment!
little street stalls
little shops that all sell the same thing (bikkies, chips, lollies, drinks) but are very handy when you´re thirsty
the way everyone hangs out in the plazas/zocalos/town squares.. especially at night.
mamey (rough brown-skinned fruit which is bright red inside and tastes so rich, smooth, sweet and creamy)
the best papaya
salsa with everything
fresh corn tortillas with everything (especially if they´re handmade)
copious amounts of drinking yogurt
various exciting mexican dishes, like pollo poblano and mole verde and tasty asadas (barbequed meat)
piles of culture - indigenous people in their many different traditional dresses, speaking their many different tongues
piles of ruins dug out of the sand/jungle/desert
people I met, friends I stayed with...
nicknamers and the nicknames (you know who you are!)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
So this place, in the mountains...
So this place, in the mountains...
It was called El Refugio, a cluster of wooden buildings on the side of a hill in a breathy, sighingly fragrant forest. A forest of oaks and pines and assorted trailing things. Of birdsong and wildflowers and creepy clouds sneaking through the valleys. Of stars blazing out of the night heavens..
People go there for help of all kinds - physical, mental, spiritual. Some stay a long time. Some just a few weeks. Many come and go. Most do not go away unchanged.
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days there, living with the family at the centre of this community. I spent a lot of time listening, trying to find out how it all worked, hearing stories (as much as I could understand), playing with kids, walking, thinking, washing up... I even went to school a couple of times with little Ester.
I felt like truth and goodness were very much alive there, but also that there was a very real battle for these, which was raging behind the scenes.
I left with much to reflect on.
It was called El Refugio, a cluster of wooden buildings on the side of a hill in a breathy, sighingly fragrant forest. A forest of oaks and pines and assorted trailing things. Of birdsong and wildflowers and creepy clouds sneaking through the valleys. Of stars blazing out of the night heavens..
People go there for help of all kinds - physical, mental, spiritual. Some stay a long time. Some just a few weeks. Many come and go. Most do not go away unchanged.
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days there, living with the family at the centre of this community. I spent a lot of time listening, trying to find out how it all worked, hearing stories (as much as I could understand), playing with kids, walking, thinking, washing up... I even went to school a couple of times with little Ester.
I felt like truth and goodness were very much alive there, but also that there was a very real battle for these, which was raging behind the scenes.
I left with much to reflect on.
10 days with a pair of playful niños
This is what it sounds like:
"oye, oye, oye" (listen, listen, listen - or hear me)
"mira, mira, mira" (look, look, look)
"ven, ven, ven" (come, come, come)
"ten, ten, ten" (take, take, take)
Me (or other adults present):
"dame tu mano" (give me your hand)
"esperate" (wait - or 'you wait')
"come" (eat)
"Que estas haciendo??!!" (what are you doing?!)
etc.
I had a lot of fun playing with them. It wasn't always easy, as these two little cherubs were rather competitive and didn't always get on so well, and the 5yrold was quick to tears, but it was fun.
We played crazy animals on the 'brincoline' (trampoline), and hide and seek, and cop & robber type games and shooting games and memory games and goodness knows what else!
I got a lot of practice with the imperative tense :)
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