Still in Oaxaca......

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  Oaxaca, Mexico
Monday, March 10, 2008

Sorry it has taken so long between posts,  but life had been very relaxing and un-eventful until last week. 

I finished three weeks of school, and at the end was completely wiped out.  I had flashbacks to piano lessons 10 years ago with my friend, Rosamond, in Statia.  She was sure I could learn  to play a concert of 4 songs with just 10 days of lessons.  Ultimately, she was right, but I had two major crying beakdowns before my classes with her ended.  The martinis on her patio helped greatly, but it was too much too soon.  Thank gawd, the pace of my life has changed and I no longer want to overachieve at all costs.  I decided to take a week off from the Spanish lessons and just study and practice what I have learned.  It has made a huge difference. 

I met some interesting folks in school.  It is amazing what a broad spectrum of people come to study a new language and their reasons for doing so.  One woman in particular, Lucky Marmon, from the Washington, DC area was an enjoyable addition to my educational experience.  She and her husband have lived, worked and traveled all over the world as journalists.  What an amazing life.  I won´t reveal her age here, but sufficie it to say she is chugging along at a pace I can only dream of in my older years.  I told her brother that when I grew up I wanted to be just like her.  He said the key to doing that, was to not grow up at all.  She´s a lot like my buddy, Rosamond.  A complete spitfire and an great source of inspiration for me.  It´s very likely our paths will cross again.

My pal Paula returned to Oaxaca to celebrate here birthday after 2 weeks traveling with her friend, Remi, in Chiapas.  She has landed an art exhibit here that will take place on March 21.  Her forte´  is  installation art, and I am going to help her with the construction of her piece.  I´m very excited to be participating not only with her, but the gallery owner, Gustavo.  I see nothing but great things coming from this union of minds.  Good, good energy.  Will keep you posted on progress there. 

I have been having some small but rather annoying problems with my housing situation over the last few weeks.  Many I dismissed, but eventually they started to really piss me off and things came to a head.  When I originally rented the apartment, the "wife"  of the owner and I met with my translater (that I paid to bring with me) before I decided to seal the deal with her husband the next day.  I had hoped that by bringing the translator again, there would be a clear understanding of our business arrangement.  But the wife left a week after I arrived, supposedly to Acapulco, and things have slowly but surely gotten worse with just the husband there.  He is what I would call a bit of a "control freak" and has no respect for me (typical of latin men), my space or my privacy. 

Things came to a head this week when he locked me out of the house, without warning, because I came home to late.  Mind you, my old ass has been in bed EVERY night since I moved in, ususally by 10pm.  He knew I was going out to celebrate Paula´s birthday, that it was a party and still, he deadbolted the door from the inside and I could not gain entry at 1 am.  Again, no warning.  I WAS FURIOUS, but decided a confrontation with him, alone at that hour, was not what I needed.  The only problem was, all of my money was in the house.  I had $10 in my pocket.  Not enough for a hotel room. 

I went back to the club where I had left Paula, Gustavo and friends, and found only Gustavo and his amigo still there.  I asked if I could sleep on his sofa, for the night and he said  "no problema".   We left the club and headed back to his apartment where we had all had dinner, which was about a 10 minute drive from downtown Oaxaca.   5 blocks after we pulled out of our parking space, a taxi ran a red light and hit us in the front, right quarter panel of the car.  No injuries, thank goodness, and no one was drunk, but usually when the police get involved in Mexico, it means a mess and a payoff, and this night was no exception.  A nice car, an American in the back seat, usually means money to the police, and it took over an hour to "negotiate" our way out of it and back on the road.  Suffice it to say, there was a bribe involved even though the cab driver was a fault.  Nothing we could prove under the circumstances.  I was just happy to be safe and away from the cops.  It was not a pleasant experience.  The cops here are CREEPY!

When I returned to my apartment in the morning and asked what was up with the door the previous night, the owner, Fernando,  started talking to me like he was my father.  Most of you out there probably know, that is NOT a good way to talk to me under any circumstances, especially if I am paying you money in exchange for housing.  I hate people taking advantage of my good nature.  I felt my safety was being compromised and decided to leave that day, while I had people there to help me move out.  I did not want to be in that house alone with him any more.  I didn´t trust him.  The loss of money for the remainder of the month pissed me off, but was negligible in exchange for feeling safe.

The story gets a bit more interesting, but too long winded to cover here.  I recovered my lost rent money, a story in and of itself, and then I moved back to the hotel I stayed in the first week I was in Oaxaca.  The owner gave me a big hug and a kiss when I returned and was thrilled to see me.  I am looking for another apartment, and expect that everything will work out okay.   If not, the hotel is good for a while. 

I am going to start working with Paula at the gallery tomorrow and hopefully this week we can get a lot done.  I think it is important to network as much as I can here, in addition to helping her, and will take this week off from school.  I will get plenty of practice with my Spanish during the construction stage of the project.  Paula speaks about as much English as I do Spanish, so it will be good for both of us.  Poor Gustavo, who speaks both languages, will have his hands full with the two of us.  

Weather still PERFECT!  Trees and plants are blossoming without the benefit of rain which amazes me.  The colors are spectacular.  I am, however, ready for the beach.  I look forward to that stage of my adventure.

Again, thanks for your interest in my travels.  Will post again soon.  I miss you all more than you know.

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