Acclimating to My Home

Hello all, it’s been a little bit. I have not written in a few days, and have been sort of getting into more of a routine here in my apartment. This has made it a little bit difficult for me to write, not because my days have become mundane, but many of the things I am doing, I have mostly already written about. I am spending most afternoons, walking down or taking a colectivo down to one of the incredible beaches which Puerto has to offer. I take time to swim, and watch the sunset, and then I find some yummy food on the way back. While each day is unique, I have not felt super motivated to write, just not wanting to write repetitively.

Today, I am staying local, as some of the food of Mexico seems to have caught up with me, and I don’t want to be caught out at the wrong time, if you understand what I’m saying. I have had a bit of a cough the last few days, and it has been quite difficult to fall asleep, but it seems to be getting better, and my sunburn is going away as well, so I am getting back to good health I believe. What is on my radar currently, is finding out where I will be staying from April to June, as I do not have a place rented after the end of March, and I don’t want to spend too much money. Additionally, I would like to stay somewhere that keeps me more involved with people closer to my age, and allow for more natural social interaction. Right now, I enjoy where I am staying, but it is a little bit far from the beach, and there are only a few people to meet surrounding me, and most of them are in much different places in life than I am myself. I do like my walk to the beach, and I like the location I am in for finding cheap street food and there are tons of friendly locals, but I also think it would be quite nice to have a shorter walk to the beaches, and have more people around me that are closer in age. There are multiple hostels nearby, which offer work exchange programs, where I can volunteer around 20 hours a week, in exchange for free accommodation, which would save me around $1000 per month, as a lot of the hostels cost right around $30 dollars a night. Not only would I be saving tons of money by doing this, but I would also be given a bit of structure, as well as a bit of a community to involve myself in, and I think this would help me a lot in many aspects. It can be hard moving somewhere where you do not know anyone, and where you are not working, because it really means you have to advocate for yourself, to make connections and build relationships with the people around you.

The last few days have been pretty cool, with some small events I would like to share. Two nights ago, I was walking down Zicatela, and happened to see the German girl from Zipolite, and I remembered that it was her last day before heading back to Germany. We ended up hanging out for a bit before she caught a taxi and returned to her place to finish her packing and head out for Berlin. I also got to meet another friend of hers who she was spending her last few hours with, and she had some really interesting topics that were on her mind. She was a woman from Poland, and she was telling me about some of the chaos that has occurred, with all of the refugees from Ukraine coming into Poland, describing millions of people in just a few short months crossing their border. She actually moved to Puerto, and is planning on living here, and it was interesting to hear some of her thoughts about Puerto as well. We were talking about all of the development in the area, and how it seemed that the place was becoming more and more touristy. These people that come from other countries, making lots of money can come here and afford whatever prices are offered because they are so much cheaper than the areas they are coming from. Because of this though, the prices of rent and food and basic necessities are increasing, and while that might be minorly inconvenient for vacationers, this can be detrimental to locals living in the area, getting paid still very low incomes that are not adjusted for the increases in prices of everything around them. Thinking about this subject, it makes me wonder if tourists like myself who come down here from salaries that are much higher than the locals, are ruining the land that these individuals have grown up on and worked honest jobs for most of their lives. There are kids here that come take my order when I sit down at a restaurant that can't be more than 12 years old. I understand that tourism also creates tons of income, and it is kind of just the way of the world. But bottomline, I think it is important to be aware of some of the impact which you may be contributing to.

Yesterday, I walked down to the beach, and spent a few hours there on my own, doing some people watching, swimming, and enjoying time outside. Laying in the ocean and floating on my back, I attempted to relax as much as I could, despite some of the swells, and having to tread more as I let the air our of my lungs. It’s pretty wild to feel how much easier you float when you fill your lungs with air, and you can practically keep the rest of your body still. Then as you breathe out, there is temporary moment of panic where your body realizes it can’t float so easily and has to start moving again. It was a peaceful, sitting there trying to find a rhythm in this, to move as little as possible, and relax a bit more with each breath. Then back on the sand, I laid out and soaked up some of the sun as it fell toward the water. I then sat out with my journal for a while and wrote down my current thoughts, not for anyone else, but just to see my brain from a different angle. This can be quite helpful to me, if I feel like my mind starts to spin circles a bit, and I am thinking unproductively. As I spent my time watching the sunset, someone shouted at me from behind, and I turned around to see if they were talking to me. It was the guy from Argentina I had met last week on a colectivo, and he was walking the beach selling muffins once again. We exchanged our greetings and talked for a bit in Spanish, and then he went on to do his thing. It's fun starting to know some of the locals, and seeing familiar faces.

Then after the beach, I walked around the city for a while, catching up on the phone with a friend from back home, and sharing some of the scenery. I ended up at a taco place which I had walked by a few times before but had not tried and I think they have given me my new favorite meal. As I walked into the building I asked if they had a restroom, and they showed me the way to it. Halfway to the bathroom, all of the lights turn off at once in the restaurant, and I froze with the lights. They then turn back on a second later, and I look around and continue to the bathroom. Everyone seemed a little bit caught off guard, but not too worried about it. Returning to the table, I order five tacos and a freshly pressed orange juice, all for under 100 pesos, which is about $5.50. The food was ready in no more than five minutes, and they brought out with the tacos, 6 bowls, with various salsas, as well as some limes, and some pickled onions. The orange juice was incredible, and the tacos were even better, as I stacked each one with pico de gallo and lime, and tried some of the other salsas on each taco. Throughout my meal, the lights went off a couple more times, and I couldn’t help but smile as this was something that seemed to just occur momentarily, and then everything proceeded like nothing out of the ordinary occurred. I looked around, with sweat on my lower lip after my final taco, and felt like I was the only one in there sweating from the spice. I realized I was the only white guy in the whole restaurant, and it was kind of an interesting feeling. I decided to order two more tacos de pastor, because I had never tried pastor blanco, which seemed to be a less seasoned version of the pastor than what most places served, and they were so delicious, with small slices of pineapple to compliment all the other flavors. I left, paying 118 pesos for seven tacos and a juice, not including tip, which is equal to right around $6.50, and I believe it would have been just about $4.50 without the naranjada. I may just have to eat here every night.

Wrapping the day up, I began looking for some scholarships to apply to, and am in the process of submitting a few, and plan on continuing to do this, so I can have a good portion of my school paid for by the time I start in the Fall. I have found that I very much enjoy spending time getting things done on my laptop at night when the town is very quiet, the temperature is cool, and the air is still. I can go out and sit in the courtyard, or up on the roof, and just focus on whatever I am working on. Thank you for reading. :)