Day of birth; 19 years later

To those of you who still remember me -

I have been on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca for the past three days soaking up a mixture of sun, cervesa, and culture. I am still healthy, all bowel movements are in order, completed my first successful wash four days ago (meaning the tattered dirty rags I consider shirts are now tattered clean rags), and I continue to meet awesome people.

My last blog was posted from a hostal in Puerto Vallarta, since then I have been over and up to the city of Zacatecas (via Guadalajara), down through Mexico City to the city of Oaxaca, and am now on the beach allll the way down on the coast of Oaxaca.

In the past week I feel like I finally settled in to what will become a four or five month trip. At first I was a bit all over the place, finding it difficult to stay in one location (possibly because I felt lonely, maybe I felt pressed for time, who knows!) for more than a day or two, but I am now settling down and will progress a bit slower.

Everywhere I go I meet people, very simple. In Oaxaca I had a close group of friends, consisting of five or six (significantly) older folk, here along the coast I´ve been with the same few guys for two days and hope to see them again in Puerto Escondido tomorrow or the following day. I want to get out to San Cristobal de las Casas within the next five days so I can reconnect with a few people. The travel social scene is so alive and so attractive. The people I am meeting are passionate, energetic, cool people who really seem to do what makes them feel good; I have great respect for that.

I decided to begin working hard to improve my spanish. From the two and a half week here and by the look of a few people I have bumped into, its apparent that I can get by these next few months with very little improvement. The basics which I have from highschool are very valuable, but unless I work at it, I will not get any better. With that conclusion comes the recent realization of how important language is. I am so impresssed when I meet someone who is bi if not trilingual. Being proficient in multiple languages is admirable, as well as powerful. I hope to be very comfortable with Spanish after my time here (and all about), especially after one or two week long classes in Guatemala where it is very cheap. If all works out well, a third will become a new challenge at Brandeis.

Thus the story goes that this blog is more of an 'I am OK and still having a good time' than a 'this is what I have done every moment of every day' sorta thing.

Dan, I appreciate your insightful, constructive criticism and would like to inform you that the clear liquid you speak of remains a mystery, but the cheapest mezcal (which is also clear) is considered to be the mexican moonshine, and is WICKED! Cheap booze and travellers don't make a good combination.... or do they?

I love hearing from you guys. I am so sorry I don't respond quickly, if at all. Its not the 8 pesos an hour at the internet cafe that I dislike, but rather me being a lazy bum. Nevertheless, its great to hear about whats going on at home. I hear nothing of the news from the states (barely a murmer about the inaguration!), so when I hear about what you grandma, or you Lee are up to, I really enjoy every bit of it.

Pop, your emails are the funnest nicest (but very blunt) shortest emails a grandson could ever ask for. I write everyday, all the time, thoughts, emotions, a regular journal, all of it. I am alone close to 50 percent of the time, the journal has become a real companion.

I love you and miss you all very much. Seems like I made it to 19 years without tooo many scratches. Hope to fill the time between now and when those numbers are reversed with exciting, enriching experiences, which you will all hear about!

All the best, from the one with the stinkiest feet of them all.

x

Made it to day 7!!

Hey all

I've made it to day seven, my toes aren't quite caked with dirt, my shirts are relatively clean, and my spirits are high.

I write this from a hostel in Puerto Vallerta, the Oasis Hostel, roughly one mile from the picturesque, popular beaches. This traveller's home away from home rests on the outskirts of an intimate working class city. I was hesitant to choose this hostel due to its isolation, but now recognize its great location. The twenty minute walk to the beach takes one from narrow cobblestone streets and crumbling buildings, to a bustling city with resturaunts and shops lining the street. Its interesting to see two completely different standards of living so close to each other, clashing in both appearance and atmosphere. It reminds me of the eight minute drive between the center of Cape Town and Khayelitsha, a nearby Township.

Quick rundown of the trip thus far, read this in one breath!

Flew into Hermosillo thursday night where I spent the night in the tiny, bug-filled Hotel Washington. Getting myself out of the hotel to dinner was a bit tough, but I grew some chesticles and took the city by storm! Bus west the next day to a tiny beachfront village Bahia de Kino. Absolutely breathtaking views, zero tourists, no english, very few anything to be precise. I spent two nights there, soaking up the peace and quite of the first true paradise I had ever been to. On Sunday morning I jumped on a bus back to Hermosillo (rode next to a man with a chicken), afterwhich I took a second bus 130km south to the port city Guaymas. I got off the bus in a seemingly rough part of Guaymas, bear in mind this is Mexico, most of the country is rough, but this part of Guaymas was very unattractive. After a half hour walk I said 'you know what, lets just keep going.' Walked back to the station and grabbed another bus south to Los Mochis, a city comparable in size (and intimidation) to Hermosillo.

Hotel here, restaurant there, from Los Mochis I moved south to Mazatlan, and from there further south to where I am now, Puerto Vallarta.

I have been walking everywhere; my clothing may stink and my hair may resemble a rug, but my calves GLISTEN in the sun! I think I take after Pop in that I refuse to take any form of a taxi.

To wrap this up, I know you are all busy busy bees out there, I should say that I have been alone the entire time, but have found myself feeling safe and secure in almost every environment. I am often overcome with a feeling of intensity when I think about what I am doing, and that has made this experience that much more powerful. I am glad to be alone, I sense myself growing and maturing each day.

I promise to have a few pictures and a more detailed, crass posting up as soon as the trip permits. I do not know where I'll be tomorrow, or even tonight, but I hope to make it over to Zacatecas safely and soon.

Hope all is well on the homefront, wherever that may be.

Regards,

Stinkyfeet (a most accurate description of my current condition)

Day Negative One, 21 Hours to Go

The pack is packed and I am ready to go.

About two weeks ago I managed to get over the nerves, you know, not speaking the language, not having a plan, not nearly enough underwear or socks, and just general concerns surrounding a lone voyage into a third world country.

My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9am from JFK. I'm flying from NYC to Mexico City, where I will catch a second, smaller plane (hopefully not duct-taped together) back north, to the small city of Hermosillo. My 27 lb pack is carry on size, but being that I have 1.7 fl (does the 'fl' imply full, as in you have a FULL 1.7 oz, not like a bag of Doritos where the bag is half full, or does it mean fluid. Head & Shoulders finds it necessary to say on a bottle of shampoo, that it is liquid. What a world.) oz of shampoo, and .85 oz of toothpaste, I'm probably safer giving all of my belongings to strange airport staff, who had better NOT take any of my shampoo, leaving the container not full, than attempting to smuggle it on board.

My mindset while packing was pretty simple, pack as though I will be away for one week (a quick trip from the beach to the desert to the mountains), then strip those items down fifty percent. The result is an adequate pack for five months.

In addition to the bare minimum of clothing and toiletries, I am bringing something wonderful for entertainment! Plato's Republic. I have never read or studied much philosophy, I figure I'll be reading all the time, why not?! I may be crazy, and end up burning the text three days into the trip, but at least I am going to give it a shot.

I have no expectations going into this trip. Since I was twelve or thirteen years old I have told myself, "one day I will pack a small backpack and travel the world not caring about hygiene or personal image, I will put myself in unforgiving environments, and I will leap outside my comfort zone." (I never actually said anything like that, but my thought process was something along those lines) The motto I try to live by is:

"Be Modest, Be Disciplined, Be Wild"

I look forward to seeing how this experience falls within that personal philosophy.

I cannot predict what the content of this blog will be. I assure you, I will not hold back or censor myself :) It occurs to me that mass emails are sooo last week, so I'm going to give it a go with this web blogging nonsense.

I'll try to keep my entries terse and border-line appropriate. I was called crass by my 11th grade English teacher, whom I love still today. I will steer away from those tendencies.

I hope you all find these entries interesting, and do get a chance to glance over them every now and then. I'll do my best to update once a week or so.

While most people find it necessary to wish me luck, I deem it more important to wish YOU luck; surviving that calc exam or a long stressful day at that same old job is far more challenging than the journey I am about to embark on.

Just make sure you enjoy what you do, I'll try to do the same.

Much Love -

(soon to be) Stinky Feet