AI, should i extend my stay?
when i first booked my flight to mexico, the plan was a two month trip. i remember people saying two months seemed like a long time, but i was so burnt on the rain that it didn’t seem long enough.
well, today was the day i was originally planning to fly back to portland. i’ve since decided to extend my stay until… 🥁 i guess indefinitey. i have no idea how long that will end up being, but as of now i have plans through october, and then i’ll reevaluate. it’s crazy to think i sort of(?) live here. i still have to figure some things out, but this is the current plan.
i’m starting to feel settled, i’m doing duo lingo and plan to learn the language, which is really exciting! i’ve never learned a second language. (for shame)
soy gringo, pero creo que una persona puede cambiar.
midori just left.
hosting her was really fun, sweet, and silly. what to say about our time together?
i think the cutting board project was a good example of how our respective playfulness/creativity overlap.
we also had some extreme giggle sessions- pretending and miming… we laughed a lot, we did weird voices, and we both became obsessed with a man we call AI.
okay i’m not sure if our nickname is actually rude, but i promise it’s a term we use lovingly one day at the pier we saw a musician dressed as a cowboy(?) maybe there’s more cultural nuance than that, but to me he looked like a cowboy. his skin was reeeally pale like Data from star trek, but his mustache, hair, and sunglasses gave him a bit of a weekend at bernie’s vibe. he’s so striking looking that when we first saw him i said “that mf is not real!” i don’t remember exactly how he became known as AI, but i think it was mostly related to his uncanny-valley look and the Data vibe.
anyway, we took a real liking to him and returned to the pier night after night hoping to catch him playing his harp.
the second time we saw him, cutting board videos in full swing, we approached, and using google translate, asked if he’d pretend to play the board like a harp. the idea was impossible to get across, but the end result was arguably better. he played his actual harp, beautifully, while midori mimed with the board. he’s super talented and fluent in harp…
wait, if i consider music a language, am i allowed to call myself bilingual afterall? haha coping
we almost always worked a trip to see AI into our plans. “cenote, dinner, AI, bike ride, home” or some variation.
there were a few nights where we were terribly disappointed to find a different act who seemed to be monopolizing the area- a girl with colorful braids down to her ankles. she was kind of like “mom, can we have shamans in peru girl?” “we have shamans in peru girl at home” shamans in peru girl at home… *her
umm i’m not sure if she was actually annoying, or if we were just disappointed that she wasn’t AI.
btw, should we retire the nickname? is it rude? is a nickname that the named is unaware of, inherently rude? pls inform.i will admit, there were a couple times when our fandom, or obsession, or whatever you wanna call it, bordered on creepy. midori wanted to know his real name and suggested contacting the restaurant he was playing at to ask them… are we actually stalkers? i don’t know, we just loved the guy and it was really fun to make a thing of it. he’s like a celebrity to us.
you know what else is a celebrity? the bread car. i’m also obsessed with that. little novel things like this that would never exist in the states, i dunno, just make me happy.
i mean, i think some health & food regulations are overall good and important, and i’m sure the bread car would never qualify as legal in the US for obvious reason, but GoshDarn i’m so happy it exists. the driver even has bread songs, and he’s not afraid to blast ‘em!
my aunt leaves today.
it’s been so cool to hang out with her. she’s sort of opened a door to a totally different world, and been super accomodating. also pushed me out of my comfort zone.
for the last 6 weeks i’ve been surrounded by people and had very little down time. i’m about to return to more of a solo journey, but i’m excited! i know a few more people here now. i sometimes even run into people out and about. i don’t think i’ll feel like i live on the moon anymore.
i think i like it here, it’s fun to have a new chapter. i also miss all of my friends and community- so feel free to send n̶u̶d̶e̶s̶ texts or pictures or updates or really anything. i have been loving chatting w friends from afar