Swimming with Iguanas

I went home for Christmas and got to meet my newest niece, who is a perfect, tiny little bundle of joy!  It was great to see all of my Arkansas family but I was also happy to leave the cold, snowy US to ring in the new year with warm, sunny, Mexican weather.  Speaking of the new year, 2018 has already delivered some great moments and we're only 11 days in! For example: 

• I spent New Year’s Eve with my BFF and her boyfriend, who were visiting from California, complete with a huge fireworks show right outside our window.  They introduced me to the funniest movie I have seen in years, and gave me a portable charger for my phone.  Sure, a guy behind me in line for coffee commented on how old my phone was and how he had never seen anything so tiny and asked did that thing even work, but I now have a super cool portable charger for my super dated phone.

Ringing in the new year with lots of color! 

Another sunny, colorful day in Mexico. 

Sunset for the new year. 

I resolve to start every new year with a tropical sunset. 

• I went swimming in a pool where you could swim up to a bar and order fresh sushi.  I’m pretty sure I reached peak bliss for the year eating sushi while floating in a pool.
• I had my first wildlife sighting and it was a good one.  2017 ended with an up-close view of a crocodile while walking around a marina, and 2018 started with three giant iguanas swimming in and walking around the pool where we floated with sushi.

 A crocodile to usher out 2017.  I took a quick pic and then took off for higher ground. 

Iguanas to kick off 2018.  While we didn't have our cameras with us as the pool, we found plenty of online examples of iguanas at our hotel pool, like this one. 
Note - this photo is courtesy of TripAdvisor.  

• I had a visit from my fellow-volunteer Becky!  We got to eat a piece of the largest rosca in the state and watch a clown orchestrate a balloon-popping competition between pairs of women, which had us in stitches!
• After Becky discovered that my apartment had no running water at 7 AM, I got to sleep in and enjoy flowing water a few hours later.  Poor Becky did not get to shower or enjoy a flushing toilet on her last morning at my house, but luckily, she’s a hardy volunteer who has endured worse.  Also, she’s like the nicest person you’ll ever meet and kept giving me more and more gifts during her visit and was so appreciative that I lived somewhere warm.

Me and Becky waiting for a bite of that tasty rosca! 

Volunteers cut off the end of each loaf and sealed everything together with what looks like jelly in a squirt bottle. 

As you can see, that table kept going and going....this was before the whole town joined us.

• Becky told me that she always thinks of me now when she sees sunsets, which is just about the best compliment you can get.  The next day, I booked a vacation to visit a beach rumored to have the best ocean sunsets.  
• I finally found my favorite cheese, queso borracho, and was able to share it with Becky, who loved it as much as I do.  If you’re looking for a strong, flavorful Mexican cheese, this is the one for you.  

We were super excited for the tasty cheese and because we figured out the timer on my phone's camera.

• My friend Connie sent me a care package with a great book and two packages of Starbucks Via Latte packets!  All you need is hot water for a little taste of home. 
• The third season of Lovesick was released on Netflix and I binged for two nights.  I thought it wasn't quite as good as the first two seasons until the very last scenes in the very last episode, which got me right in the heart. 
• The first day back in the office, we celebrated a coworker’s birthday and the new year with our very own rosca, a special chocolate with cardamom drink and fresh tamales that were moist and flavorful.  The next day we celebrated another coworker's birthday with another cake, which then generated a never-ending series of What's App messages about the need for an office weight-loss program. I don’t know where I’ll end up after the Peace Corps, but I really hope I can find an office culture that values eating and celebrating together as much as this one does!

Office party to kick-off the new year.

I didn't find a figurine in my rosca so I don't have to bring tamales to everyone on February 2nd, but I did get to enjoy a delicious tamale on January 8th! 

So there you have it: 2018 is off to a great start.  We started getting information about preparing to close our service and setting a specific date to fly home, so I'm trying really hard to stay focused on the present and to enjoy every morning that requires no alarm, every street taco that demands to be eaten and every visit with a friend here in Mexico.  And I'm planning how to use every remaining vacation day to enjoy as many Mexican sunsets as possible. 

Here's to a happy, non-linear 2018!

Before I left for Mexico, I wrote this quote in my journal: “One of the most basic reasons for thinking that it’s too late to be who you are truly capable of being, is the belief that life is linear.  As if we’re on a busy one-way street, we think we have no alternative but to keep going forward.  If we missed something the first time, we can’t double back and take another look because it takes all of our effort just to keep up with traffic.”

The quote is from the book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.  Finding your passion – was there ever a headier goal?  Some people are lucky; they identify their passion early on and find a way to make a career out of it.  Playing music, creating art, selling real estate, teaching the next generation, working short term jobs so they can travel – these are all passions employing people I know.  

I love working in the field of sustainability but I wasn't drafting alternative fuel policies or timing people's showers as a child.  I started college thinking maybe I'd be a math major, and then discovered my love of biology and economics classes, which morphed into the magical field of environmental economics.  I chose my graduate school in part because my college advisor's environmental economics mentor was a professor there.  Then I took a class in corporate social responsibility and became enamored with sustainability assessments and resource conservation.  I've been lucky to find a lot of different things that I'm interested in and good at that all have a place in the big world of sustainability, but I'm not sure anyone saw me as a kid and said "oh yes, she'll be writing a strategic energy action plan and take pride in managing federal grants one day!"   

If you're passionate about eating Halls cough drops as a candy, you are going to fit right in here in Mexico. 

If you're passionate about meeting really great people who will make you laugh really hard and bring you much joy, I recommend joining the Peace Corps. Or just try to find some former volunteers to be friends with in the US. 

While you're out there making friends, don't be afraid of people who are waaaaay more stylish or cooler than you (like my friends Sonia and Sylvia). 

When you join Peace Corps as a mid-career professional, chances are you're looking for a little sabbatical and an opportunity to reevaluate that path you're on.  I've had a lot of time to think about what I'm passionate about during my service and I've decided that if I could figure out how to make six figures while hiking in Yosemite and Olympic National Park, taking breaks for full body massages, family time and nights spent sleeping in big, super comfy beds, I would be set.  If I could also see the ocean, partake in a hip-hop dance class and eat sushi ever day, I would officially be in heaven.  

I must report that I have not found some great new passion or career calling during my time in Mexico.  I have found some great new hobbies, like passing hours upon hours making hand-embroidered tortilla towels, and my service has validated that I really like working on comprehensive sustainability programs for local government (i.e. I'd totally like to move forward working on what I essentially left behind).  My time as a volunteer has also given me the time and perspective to think about that quote and who it is that I am "truly capable of being," which is someone who aspires to do and be more.  To be a better, kinder, more generous person who can offer you a bite of their food without feeling like real sacrifice is involved.     

My service has taught me that it's important to invest in those things that really bring you joy, so I splurged on $4 LED lights this year.

All the Christmas decorations in my house. 

Poinsettia in a friend's yard. 

Ornament outside a house.

Holiday decorations in our office. 

I've learned that life doesn't have to be linear and you can take a detour to a new route whenever you want.  That's not an easy thing to do, but if it's the right thing to do, you'll find a way to push past the fear.  If you're not on the path you want, pull over and start charting a new course, repeating as needed.  I'm not saying you have to become a Peace Corps volunteer, but if you need a safe space for that life evaluation, it's a good group to be with ;)  

With that, I wish you a very happy and healthy 2018!   

Sampling of some of my fancy embroidery work.  My friend, and embroidery teacher, Natalie gave me all of the funny designs.  Thanks Natalie! 

Sweeping Up Dirt

Winter has arrived here in western Mexico.  That means we are typically hovering around 80 degrees in the day and getting down to a bitter 55 at night.  We've had a couple of days that were officially cold with temps only reaching 70, lots of clouds, and some rain.  Even I was obliged to put on a long-sleeve shirt and cardigan to stay warm and use three blankets on my bed as there's no such thing as indoor heating in these parts.

The brief rain was a welcome reprieve from our return to the dry season.  It's that time of year when you have to sweep two times a day to keep the dirt off your floors and everyone is suffering from dust-born allergies.  I’ve been walking all over town for my back rehab, and I frequently see people sweeping up dirt on the street in front of their house and placing it into a dustpan.  As you can see below, our streets are made of dirt and rocks.  I assume that people are sweeping up the dirt to keep it from entering their homes, but to an outsider, it looks like they’re fighting a losing battle. 

 Dirt road outside of town. 

This is what all the streets look like in town.  You can never sweep up all that dirt.

Every morning a large truck drives all over town spraying water on the roads to keep the dust down, which helps for about 20 minutes before our super-strength sun dries it out.  I’ve never been more aware of the placement of the sun and the hours when you can and cannot find shade on the street.  I’m like a heat (shade)-seeking missile that is constantly looking for shade and has learned the best hour to walk home for lunch to achieve maximum shade coverage.  When I first arrived in Mexico, I assumed I would be this lovely, constantly bronzed beauty after a few months thanks to my year-long exposure to sun.  During my first week here, I realized that the sun was way stronger than anything I had ever encountered in the US and that the shade was my new best friend, so I'm still pretty pale.

There's some of that beloved shade in front of our city hall. 

Now this is a house I could live in! 

Scenes from walking around town. 

Perhaps a future hotel in the making? And a rare cloud sighting!  

 Shadow art on a multi-textured house.  

Town views as the sun begins to set. 

You know what is not my best friend?  Church fireworks, which sound like a loud cannon and produce zero colors in the sky.  The first time you hear them, you have a desire to drop to the floor and seek shelter because your body thinks you must be under attack.  It’s hard to explain how loud and shocking they are unless you’ve heard them first hand or experienced combat in the time of cannon balls.  My brother was on the phone with me the other night when they went off and he did say the lord's name, but it was in concern for my safety.  Nothing to worry about – just a religious celebration taking place that rattles the windows!  The other morning the cannons went off a couple of times at 5:30 AM before we got a full 30-minute serenade at 7:15 AM.  There’s nothing like waking up to a noise so loud it shakes your bed before the sun has fully risen.

There's that church, on a cold, cloudy day. 

The next day we were back in business with hot, sunny weather!

I think it's fair to say I've started transitioning into old lady mode with my dislike for loud noises and late night parties.  My office had two holiday parties on two consecutive days and I could not bring myself to partake in the festivities until 1:00 AM (or later) with the rest of the group.  One day I made it till 6 PM and the next until a little before 10 PM.  I like to think I'm doing my part to help counteract the stereotype of a spring-breaker from the US, but really I've come to realize that I'm just an introvert (#1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23) and I need time alone to reenergize.  

I am, however, still sufficiently young enough to enjoy a great animated movie and recommend that you see Coco!  I had the chance to view it with my dad during my recent visit to California, and it was a really sweet, educational movie about el Día de los Metros and Mexico.  If you haven't seen in yet, take a break during the holidays to check it out! 

The Saga of Los Bosques, an Activity Book for Kids

One of my friends sent me an email the other day saying how she loved hearing about my experiences in Mexico, along with this question: “Is there some crappier stuff you leave out?”  The short answer is H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks to the yes.  I don’t talk about that stuff much in my blog for obvious reasons.  Don't get me wrong - things are generally great and satisfying but life sadly is not filled with only tasty tacos and laughter.  The less awesome parts of my life as a volunteer are usually associated with physical ailments, loud noises and operating in a different work culture, where Autumn-E does not quite shine like a diamond.  As an example, let me share my saga of Los Bosques: Libro de Activities (a kid's activity book regarding forests).

View in a lovely, local forest. 

The never ending book of acitivities. 

  Example pages from the draft book. I think we need some more diversity with the cartoon kids here.

When I first arrived in my office, I was looking for an easy win and there was a lot of interest in developing some kind of environmental education activity for kids.  A lot of volunteers have had success with activity books, so I started drafting content and design ideas for a book to educate kids about the importance of our forests.  I designed a whole outreach strategy to accompany the release of this book which would include viewings of The Lorax in the local casas de cultura, and an interactive lesson plan to accompany the environmental education program I helped design and deliver to teachers earlier this year.  People in my office were totally on board with this idea and excited about this project.

I sent a draft book to my team for their review in August of 2016.  I slowly got feedback and sent another draft in November 2016.  I got confirmation that yep, it looked good to go and so I sent it to the powers that be to get our designer working on it.  Then nothing happened.  For 11 months.  I would periodically ask about the status of the book and if our consultant was going to be able to add some graphic designs to make this thing a reality.  The last time I asked, I heard that our 20-something landscape architect intern from Belgium didn’t think it was a good format for a kid’s book so it was put on the backburner.  As my brother would say, merrrrrrr.

Totally unrelated to this post, but this is a popular appetizer to share with guests. It's cheese with hot dogs, onions and I think chiles inside. You can also put it in a quesadilla. 

This is the fruit Annona purpurea. Also not related to this post but tasty!

Ok, so life isn't tasty tacos and laughter 24-7, but there are tasty tacos. Lots of tasty tacos. 

While I was in the US in October, I suddenly got a draft copy of a fully designed activity book!  I was super surprised and happy to see how colorful and beautiful it looked!  I could also see that some text needed to be updated, since it was written a year ago.  So, I set about the process for updating the book and getting feedback from my team yet again.  By the end of November, I got two people to commit to reviewing the book, which was great.  Except that they weren’t part of our team a year ago and now wanted to change more than just content.  My first thought was nooooooo - I was so close!  And then I took a deep breath, put on some Beck songs and settled in to wait for however much longer would be needed to finish the book.

If you’ve ever worked with me, you know that I don’t take a year to create a 10-page kids book.  I don’t take a year to create anything.  I love being productive.  I love feeling competent in my work and doing things that are meaningful and will hopefully have a lasting impact.  I really love having concrete accomplishments that I can eloquently describe to you.  

Things for me are a wee bit different here.  For starters, nothing eloquent comes from me speaking in Spanish.  If I’m lucky, I will be able to tell you that I got a 10-page kid’s book printed before my 27 months as a volunteer was up.  I have faith that will happen, but if you're going to be a volunteer, patience is key.  Patience and perseverance.  And access to Youtube for Beck videos to keep you pumped.  

One side note: I was talking with some family friends in California earlier this month and they thought everything I described in my volunteer work was great and important.  It was a good reminder that you can't necessarily compare your productivity as a volunteer in another country with your productivity as an employee back in the US, so, if you're also a volunteer, give yourself a break! 

Losing the Pet You Left Behind for Your Peace Corps Service

When I made the decision to be a Peace Corps volunteer, I made a decision to give up almost all of my physical possessions.  That included my cat, Luca, who I got from a shelter in California 15 years ago.  To be honest, I thought it would be easy to say goodbye to Luca because, although we had spent 13 years living together, I’ve never been one of those people to include photos of my pets with me in my holiday cards or talk about them like they are children (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  Thus, imagine my surprise when I found myself profoundly missing her and crying when I took her to her new home.  

Luca as a teenager. 

Once mocked for being a big ol' fat cat (with my brother Amery in MN)..... 

... she was quite svelte in her later years. And then she got way too skinny.  

My dad and his family graciously offered to take her into their home during my service, which was incredibly kind and much better than my original idea of searching for someone in Seattle to take her.  I went to the vet a few days before our scheduled flight from Seattle down to So Cal in January 2016 to get her travel papers and the vet noted that she had lost a lot of weight since her last visit.  I thought it was just due to old age as she was still eating all the time, but the night before our flight the vet called to say nope – she had thyroid disease and would need medication every day for the rest of her life.  Craaaaaaaaaaap.

When I called my dad to inform him of this unexpected facet of their new cat’s life, my stepmom said “No problem – I’ll happily give her medicine 2x/day, every day.”  Luca had lived alone with just me for almost her entire life, so it was a wee bit stressful for her to arrive in a new home with another cat, two dogs and three people.  She spent months in self-induced isolation in the computer room at my dad’s house before slowly (and I mean slowly) starting to come out and explore the house. 

Luca as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed youngster.

Lounging on her favorite chair in Santa Barbara.

She also loved a good nap on the bed.  

Or a good nap on anything. 

After a year in California, I started getting really good reports from my dad about how she was finally entering the room with people present and becoming more social.  She was even hanging out calmly in the presence of the dogs!  I was really proud of her for finally acclimating, so when my dad called in September to say that something was wrong and that she had lost a lot of weight and was acting weird, it was kind of devastating.  After a few visits to the vet, we got confirmation that she had advanced kidney disease and likely something else that would be really difficult to diagnose and treat.  She pretty much stopped eating, spent weeks sitting under a bed, and then started moving around a bit, but in very uncharacteristic ways. 

I talked to the vet directly as my dad and stepmom kindly said they would do whatever I wanted, but I had to make the decision about her care.  The vet was brutally honest with me and told me what she would do as the advocate for my cat, so this past week I made a trip home to say goodbye and be with her for her passing which was awful, heartbreaking and soul crushing for me. 

I feel incredibly guilty for not being there for her during her final two years of life, but I know that Luca went to the very best possible house in the world during that time.  My dad and stepmom loved her as their own pet.  My stepmom went above and beyond, administering her thyroid medication 2x/day and then giving her frequent hydration injections during her final months.  I cannot say thank you enough for their loving and diligent care of my beloved cat.  

One time a cat-sitter was in a panic because she couldn't find Luca.  She eventually found her in a kitchen cabinet above the refrigerator. 

She would often pull down my bath towels for a nap. 

On the lookout for birds in St. Paul.

I wasn't a fan of dressing up my cat, but I sometimes grudgingly let my friends do it. 

Luca was originally named Janet and was part of a trio of shelter kittens named after characters from Three’s Company.  I gave her the name Luca from the Suzanne Vega song, and she ironically spent the majority of her life living on the second floor of apartment buildings.  As a kitten, she was precocious, jumping on the curtains and bending the rods, running all over my studio apartment at night, and doing this weird thing where she would essentially nurse on your earlobe.  As an adult, she liked to meow really loudly, hide from all visitors, and sleep in my lap or on the back of the couch.  She loved to go outside but not in the snow.  My dad joked that she saw more of the country than he did as she traveled with me from California to Washington, Arkansas and Minnesota, and then back to Washington, and finally home to California.

She was all the things that a cat should be: loving but only when she wanted to be, demanding and finicky, a fan of feathers, grass and laser pointers, a watcher of birds from the window, and a warm, purring snuggle companion.  She was a really good cat and I’m going to miss her so very, very much.