Happy Day of the Dead! Feliz DĂa de Los Muertos 2024!
This is an important holiday for me and my fellow Mexicans. This is a day (spills over into the weekend) we use to celebrate and reconnect with our loved ones. This is the time of year where we are closer to our loved ones. I think about my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and, other loved ones.
I hope to see you soon.
This post was written in my apartment in San Francisco.
Going on a hike in Oaxaca - 2015
This is some writing I wrote in French while visiting my grandparents in 2015
Je suis arrivé en Mexique.
Le second jour de mes vacances Ă©tait ennuyeux. Je me lĂšve tĂŽt. Je me suis levĂ© en retard. Je prends une douche. Le jour commence. La derniĂšre fois que je suis venu c'Ă©tait il y a cinq jours avec ma mĂšre et mes deux sĆurs. Nous Ă©tions ici partout en Ă©tĂ©. Je n'ai vraiment pas fait beaucoup, juste aider ma grand-mĂšre Ă cause de sa santĂ©. Elle est trĂšs malade.
Je crois que j'ai une nouvelle routine quand je me lÚve. Ceci est à cause du fait que je suis dans un nouvel endroit géographique. Je dois recommencer le forme d'habitude que les gens font tous les jours. Pour le petit-déjeuner, je mange beaucoup de pain. A cÎté de ça je bois du café. C' est un repas traditionnel. Il est vite mangé. AprÚs ça nous avons tué une dinde pour manger un autre plat traditionnel. J'ai un nouvel ami. Il s'appelle Bryan. Ouais c'est un nom américain. Il va à l'école. Il est maintenant en vacances. C' est un garçon aimable. Les parents de Bryan sont vendeurs de glaces délicieuses. Ils vendent aussi du bois de beaucoup parfums. Je passe du temps avec lui. Je vais à sa maison. Nous regardons la télévision. Chez mes grands-parents n'ont pas de télé. Nous regardons les programmes américain en espagnol. J'aime aussi le programme mexicaine aussi. C' est un cool type!
Je me suis encore levĂ©. La mĂȘme routine comme toujours. Ma routine ici est presque la mĂȘme comme celle- lĂ , aux Ătats-Unis. J'ai fait la cuisine pour le dĂ©jeuner. J'ai prĂ©parĂ© un repas italien. C'Ă©tait "chicken Alfredo" avec pasta. J'ai enseignĂ© mes tantes Ă faire. C'Ă©tait dĂ©licieux. Mon grand-pĂšre et mes tantes l'aiment. Mais ma grand-mĂšre ne l'aime pas. Elle est plus traditionnelle. Elle n'aime pas le change. Oh la la! Elle est compliquĂ©e. Vous n'avez pas idĂ©e. :'( . AprĂšs ça je suis sorti au centre du village. Je fais du shopping. Je rachĂšte dĂšs nourriture. Oh la la il faisait chaud. Je transpire beaucoup. Les tortas sont la version mexicaine d'un sandwich en comparaison entre les amĂ©ricain. Ils sont dĂ©licieux. Comme j'aime la nourriture mexicaine.
I was browsing the web and I happened to stumble upon this Instagram post. It was a screenshot of a tweet OP posted about two girls on a cruise who became best friends for the day. One of the girls was looking for her best friend that day.
Here is what the post said, if you don't want to open an Instagram link. The post also has the picture of two girls on the cruise sitting next to each other.
in Hawaii in 2006. We were basically best friends for that night so I need y'all to help me find my bestfriend because I miss her and I need to see how she's doing now. Please retweet this so we can be reunited.
This helped me unlock a memory of an experience I had as a young kid. I remember my family and I took the Greyhound bus back from Mexico all the way to Nebraska. This was in the early 2000s. Let me tell you. When you're six or seven on a bus from Southern Mexico to Nebraska, you feel like dying, died, and forgot you died on a 48+ hour (or however long) ride. Maybe I'm being dramatic. It wasn't a pleasant ride, at least most of it.
I remember when the bus made a stop somewhere in Texas possibly in Austin or Dallas. I remember I was already having a bad time since I've been on a bus for an extended amount of time. Then some kid around my age got on the bus with his family. I gave him the nod to acknowledge him. He happened to sit near us. An hour or so had passed and I was curious and was desperate to talk to someone who wasn't in my family. So I said hello to the kid. I don't regret doing so.
When I said hello, right off the bat we hit it off. We were talking about a bunch of nerd stuff that kids our age were interested in.. I remember bringing up our computers and we lost our minds. I was telling him about the iMac G3s I would use at school or how my friend built a small website on his computer. He would tell me about things he'd create on Kid Pix. We also talked about our favorite TV shows, our hobbies, and upbringings. We shared stories. This kid was super cool! I hope he thought I was cool too. We had a grand old time.
At some point, he and his family had to get off to their transfer point or it was their final destination. We said our goodbyes. Then I waved at him, he waved back when he was on the ground. It was a very warm and sad moment to say goodbye to my best friend of that day.
I unfortunately don't remember his name and I doubt he remembers mine. At that time, it wasn't common for young kids to have a cell phone. We didn't exchange numbers or email. I think about this often. I wish I could find out where he is and if he is doing well. Who knows what paths we've taken? Have we crossed paths and not known it? I hope we get to meet someday and this post comes across him and we could reconnect.
If you're out there man, say hello!
Do you have a story similar to this? I'd love to hear from you.
Tonight, will be my last full day in Oaxaca. I will return to the United States tomorrow. So many emotions are running through my head. I am sad that I have to return to my life back home. I enjoyed so many great moments with people by rekindling old relationships. I became a version of myself I usually don't see often in the States. I learned so many lessons I took at heart.
I you Oaxaca,
Pablo
I'm trying audio blog posts. Enjoy!
Transcript I'm currently in rural Oaxaca in a small village. I'm currently at the weekly farmers market located in "La Plaza" or the town square. Every week there is so many good foods, fresh foods from many vendors.
