I have taken notice of the following:
the role of the family– here, everyone asks me about my parents and what they say about me living here; while before leaving I occasionally discussed with people about my family’s view of my move. as well, multiple generations of family live together, in different houses on the same piece of property, fenced in, like a private village. while simultaneously, many husbands are separated from wives and children, living and working in the United States and sending money back
the smell of garlic and brewer’s yeast on our puppies’ breaths
the full moon– tonight I howled at it
the light and the darkness and my perceptions of light and darkness– when we first arrived, I was surprised by how when seven o’clock hit, it seemed that suddenly it was black, lightless, darkness. now, the change seems gradual, and the darkness doesn’t seem so dark to me anymore. I am learning to appreciate and utilize the light of the moon. and I am learning to tell time by the sun in the sky and the shadows.
the rooster chorale– in the middle of the night and the ‘wee hours of the morning’ when I take the puppies outside to pee, I sometimes hear the chorus throughout the village singing. last night it chilled me and I felt some fear in the base of my throat…I heard the owl as well last night, amidst the chorus of roosters
the garbage– people throw garbage on the ground here. there seems to be no lesson on littering here. and people burn garbage here. I have taken notice of the smell of plastic burning. It is a smell that I do not like, when I smell it sometimes I feel sad and angry because I fear the fumes and their possible effects on me and our atmosphere. It’s baffling, the AIR HERE IS SO FRESH in my perception, yet persons contaminate it with burning
and contamination!! the water!! We drink and cook and brush our teeth with water from a garafón (a big jug of agua purificada). We water our plants and wash ourselves and our dishes with the water that comes for two and half hours every morning–that water has unsafe levels of arsenic. it also likely carries dangerous bacteria. ARSENIC! to me that is scary dangerous stuff!! and what can we do?? I do not want to water my ‘organic’ vegetables and fruits and herbs with arsenic!! and wash my body in arsenic…Is there something we can do? Does anyone know anything about water purification???
the fear in the city at night– when the darkness forms and we are in Moroleon, I feel the fear. It arrives. and the anxiety arrives. and I start thinking about catching the bus home and feeding the puppies and going to sleep and washing dishes and nighttime. a surprising discomfort, to me.
these things I have noticed.
