Stacks and the City

Monday: After a restless night, I wake up at 10am and still feel very tired. Going back to sleep is tempting, being on a lose schedule, and yet I'm afraid to miss the hostel's free breakfast, even though it's pretty much rubbish. Maik's nauseous condition from last  night hasn't  much improved, so I hurry down the steps from our private quarter into the yard alone, to find the breakfast gone. At least there's still coffee and I'm given a yogurt after requesting nicely, find some free oats and mix it all with sweet blackberries. We'd bought a huge container of them yesterday for just 1€, and while I'm grinding panela (raw cane sugar) into my coffee, I'm calling mission breakfast: complete.

Being back in Guadalajara and once more enjoying the modern comforts of WiFi, Maik and I spend most of Monday morning chatting with friends and designing/ writing postcards. Since Maik isn't feeling fit, I have the perfect excuse to be lazy as well, and when my restlessness (read: hunger) finally gets the upper hand, I'm heading out the to market. My good friend google, who knows so much about me, points out on his map that there's one just four blocks away from here. It's already quite hot outside, 32°C or 90°F says my friend, and I try to walk in the shady part of the streets, which isn't very successful at 2pm. Apropos shady, after a detour to the ATM and with my pockets full of gold, I wonder if I should be concerned, you know, all on my own and being a WOMAN and all. But thoughts of robbery and violence are quickly dismissed, as I'm convinced that negative thinking will ultimately attract negative energies.

It's lunch time in Guadalajara, so as I enter the mercado municipal, many people are sitting along the multiple food stalls, munching their antojitos (appetizers), tacos, tamales and what not. Street food is usually cheap and we've had some great chats while ordering, so I wish I had more patience to find out other meat-free options besides quesadillas. This time I'm heading straight to one of the fruit and veggie stalls, take a small bowl, con permiso!, and fill it up with our usual choice of tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, limes, champignons and apples. The señorita quickly weighs everything and with a frown calculates the delightful price of 33pesos (1,6€). Next stop: fresh green juice, jugo verde, which always gives me the satisfaction of ending my thirst and seems quite healthy. I ask the señor to make it without nopal (cactus), and while I'm still pondering what 'apio' was, he's already cutting celery. Ugh. After purchasing some tostadas and some cheese from the cremeria, I'm headed back to the hostel, sipping my quickly warming up refreshment. I'm thinking of the few things on my to-do-list:
1)  Uploadingphotos from Easter and the farm.
2) Writing my blog about the frisbee tournament and Mexico City.

Let's start with the latter. Surely the fun of both events is better described personally, to ensure you really understand how we loved hanging out with our fellow frisbee people. But I wanna at least mention the highlights!

Equinoccio (march 16th-19th):
- The party! Though nowadays I'm feeling too old to go crazy every other Saturday and parties don't interest me as much, the one at the beach was damn cool, especially because of the two live bands. They covered classic rock and Mexican rock/ reggae pieces and the crowd was flipping out, singing along and dancing all night.
- The beer race! It was held in the camping ground's swimming pool and rarely did I see such an enthusiastic crowd, cheering and screaming as the participants swim, drink and play flip cup.
- Getting there: the beach wasn't gonna be reached by public transport and as we got of the bus at the junction, waiting for a taxi to randomly show up, a car just stopped without any actions from Maik or me. A woman got out and decided to jog the 6kms so there was space for us to be taken right to the fields.
- The spirit! people were fun and yet committed. Almost no calls, no aggressive playing, but spirit and MVP games, where afterwards you hug all the people who had chosen you. And the organisation at the campground always made sure I didn't stay hungry during a meat feast and that I had my coffee before the 8.30am game, although breakfast wasn't served before 9am.
- happy encounters: We hang out with a few players from other teams as well, as it was easy to meet people - especially when everyone starts drinking or smoking even before breakfast. Also many brought their dogs to the tournament, cuddle alarm! And my highlight was, while sitting on the beach sipping a beer and watching games on Sat evening, spotting a whale in the distance. So chido, also because we didn't see any on the whale watch tour near Zipolite!

The organisation of Equinoccio was a bit chaotic, we never quite knew when or where we'd be playing and different people gave different informations. The fields halfway underwater were kinda cool, though it was especially hard for our beginners to only use a narrow field. Our pick-up team 'agentes libres' were tons of fun and I would play with these people again, just rather as a fixed roster instead of pick-up players randomly showing up, or not. The food was a bit on the expensive side and not filling; also showers were sparse, so Maik and I played the hippie card and used an outdoor shower (nobody complained). After all, I would recommend going to Equinoccio, especially if your priority is partying over playing.

Mexico City (march 19th-26th):
Yet again, Maik and I were super lucky to have met awesome people at the tournament, who had space in their car to go to Mexico City and a place to stay on top of that. Literally, as we camped on the rooftop outside Itzel's and Axel's apartment, one of the coolest tent spots during this trip! The couple just had a small 1 bedroom flat, but we were totally happy to sleep outside, and besides, why is it usually those who don't have much are sharing the most?
We ended up keeping them company for a whole week, and as I fear we slightly imposed ourselves on them or at least stretched the limits of their hospitality, Maik and I tried to reciprocate their kindness by cooking yummy meals and entertaining Boris the cat. Luckily we shared many interests with Axel and Itzel, such as playing boardgames, and 'Puerto Rico' held us awake for many a night. Other highlights of our time in CDMX include:
- going to frisbee practice at a public space on concrete floor, in between some fountains and a building, until the rain got too heavy and the lightnings too many
- watching the beautiful movie Coco together, which is animated and set in Mexico
- visiting the museum of anthropology and learning more about the cultures, which remains we had seen on different Mayan/ Aztecan ruins
- going to the huge park Chapultepec and sitting on the lawn, because many parks in Mexico are fenced off and there's nowhere to sit on the ground
- surviving the metro, as the doors close automatically and are totally ignorant of anybody still trying to get in or out, so people regress to a 'survival of the quickest' kinda scenario
- drinking great espresso and making healthy food, generally having many shopping options and even finding macramé threads at the third market we looked at
- a personal city tour by Axel, visiting Itzel at a cool think lab, where also two others from our team at Equinoccio work, and then having lunch together

Hopefully we'll get to see Itzel and Axel when they embark on their first ever visit to Europe, and until then I wanna repay the kindness they showed us to other travelers coming to my city (wherever that will be). To me it makes the difference of feeling at home or not, when I'm talent in and can share a city with someone instead of just being a customer and check off tourist stops from a to-do list.

Now some closure? Wrapping up this post? Sure!
It's Tuesday now, Maik is feeling better and watching soccer (duh!), I've chatted with friends and feel closer to some of them now than I ever did at home. I'm not ashamed to admit that I grave social connections, that it makes me happy to share with my friends and that close connections are important nutrition to my soul's satisfaction.
I understand we're supposed to calculate the dosage of affection we give others, to stay in control of our relationships and therefor will neither be left alone nor exploited by them. At least that's my interpretation: don't be too rude but also don't be too friendly, mind your own business and be your own champion. Fair enough, and yet most sad people I talk to feel lonely and under pressure to perform, but nobody complains that they have been taken advantage of. Of course I don't wanna keep giving to ungrateful people and I was upset for the longest time after our old flatmate took advantage of our forgiving tolerance towards his destructive and ignorant behaviour. I was upset with myself for not setting boundaries, not taking up action.
Still, I don't believe that too much kindness is our main problem in this world or that friendliness should be restricted to those who we believe deserve it. I don't know why and how I deserved it, but the unconditional kindness of strangers has left a deep impression in my heart, not only here in Mexico. So I wanna give back some love, as I believe it's the very essential to, well, happiness! I wonder how many of our problems may originate from a lack of love, or how Dean Koontz explains it wonderfully in 'Mr. Murder':
"In the womb there's a perfect place never to be found again; as long as we remain unborn, we know nothing of love and cannot know the misery that arises from being deprived of it."

Fri night at the beach tournament

Camping right on the beach

Rooftop camping spot in CDMX

3D printer at Itzel's work

City tour with Axel

Boris occupying our tent

At the museum of anthropology

PS: In my blurred memory of the events in Mexico City, I forget to mention something. While writing this post, I had a feeling there was an impression that didn't make it onto this blog: what about the earthquakes? 

We learned that the city has actually been built on a lake, so the ground is quite soft. We saw some streets closed off for maintenance and many buildings leaning to one side even downtown. In Axel and Itzel's neighborhood, the last earthquake had been quite strong and I felt shaky myself every time we climbed up the narrow steps. But people here seem not too worried about more ''sismos': "Whatever still stands, will also stand after the next one."

Feeling bad on a good day - Der Tag der toten Enden

They've changed the time here in Mexico, too, so I wake up at 8am instead of 7. It's dark in the hostel room without windows and still half an hour before coffee is made, so I spend my time reading messages on my phone. Yesterday I didn't even wanna go back to a city, after almost another week in the jungle, in Xilitla hostel and the campground on the river near the Tamul waterfalls. Yesterday I was upset, because I wanted nature, to be sleeping outdoors (well, in a tent) and to have lots of space. But then, how happy I was when we came to the hostel in San Luis Potosí, being online again, talking to friends...*bing!
By the way, for those wondering what happened at Easter: Mexico happened! All of them! We tried finding a quiet place for semana santa, aka the week the whole country goes on holiday, but because we're depending on public transport, Maik and I ended up right in the middle of it! And since personal space is more of an abstract idea here, there was no way to escape the crowds. So we were prepared and embraced the experience of camping amidst hundreds of people, frequently chatting with others, being supplied with German beer (Köstritzer!) by one group and with quesadillas from another. There was Mexican music blasting the whole day, children playing joyfully in the river and BBQs everywhere, and I was mostly happy about it. But I also hated when people chose to pitch their tent centimeters away from ours, despite having about 1ha of space, or when they kept asking, "De donde son?", when we just wanted to swim in the river. *bing! Yet, I'd say I had a great time at Easter, even without cellphone reception, a shower or the reliability of good food. *bing!
That's the third contradiction-alarm. So I went to the hostel's roof terrace with my coffee and started thinking about how the heck I'll share my experiences...

~~~

Ich weiß gar nicht womit ich anfangen soll, es gibt so viel zu schreiben aber irgendwie nichts zu sagen, und damit wären wir ja schon bei den ersten Widersprüchen. Es ist total viel passiert und trotzdem weiß ich nicht, was davon erwähnenswert wäre. Klar schreibe ich den Blog für mich, damit ich später mal sagen kann: "Da ist es doch, das geile Leben von dem Du immer geträumt hast!" Aber darüber hinaus möchte ich auch ein Botschafter fremder Welten sein, aus humanistischem Blickwinkel und garniert mit meinen typischen Fettnäpfchen. (zB als ich den Busfahrer entrüstet angehe, der Preis könne ja gar nicht sein und sogar lang und breit erkläre warum, bis ich merke, er meinte den Betrag für 2 Personen)
Ich frage mich schon ab und zu, wer liest das eigentlich, was denken die Leute, außer natürlich, dass ich einen an der Waffel habe, aber das ist ja schon bekannt... Manchmal erscheinen einem ja die Geschichten von anderen Leuten so weit weg als wenn es auf einem anderen Planeten passiert wäre. Dennoch geht es nicht ums Überzeugen hier, es geht um Inspiration. Und da es aber nichts langweiligeres gibt als über bloggen zu bloggen kommen wir jetzt direkt mal zum Thema. Reisen.

Und jetzt folgen zwölf Gründe, warum Reisen total Hit (hip) ist und du dir nächstes Jahr spätestens unbedingt dafür Zeit nehmen solltest [insert sarkastischen Unterton]. Jedenfalls fragt man sich schon, warum in die Ferne reisen, wo man die Leute nicht versteht, sein Hab und Gut mit sich rumschleppt und sich selbst auch noch durch die Gegend, unwissend ob das Ziel einem gefallen wird, der Weg dahin existiert und was eigentlich, wenn mir jemals jemand die Kreditkarte klaut? Doch trotz aller Widrigkeiten denke ich, gerade lange Reisen lohnen, denn:

Erstens, man hat endlich mal so richtig Zeit für sich selbst. Jetzt bloß aufpassen, dass man sich selber nicht auf die Nerven geht oder Seiten entdeckt, die man bisher nur gerüchteweise über sich gehört hatte.
Zweitens, man kann tun und lassen was man will, va wenn die Geschäfte lange auf haben. Nur hoffentlich findet man immer was sinnvolles und günstiges zu tun, denn spätestens ab der dritten Stadt reißt einem die architektonisch wertvolle Kirche aus dem ypsten Jahrhundert nicht mehr vom Hocker.
Drittens, man lernt unglaublich viel dazu, neue Sprachen, neues Essen, neue Kulturen. Es sei denn, man hat ein gutes Buch oder ein Fernseher, aber dann kann man wenigstens den Wikipedia-Eintrag über den betroffenen Ort lesen. Tsts.
Viertens, es gibt einfach zu viele schöne Orte auf diesem Planeten als dass man immer zu Hause hocken sollte. Kann natürlich sein, dass dann die Heimat nicht mehr so attraktiv erscheint nach Strand, Dschungel, Wasserfällen und so weiter. The grass is always greener...
Fünftens, zu Hause verstrickt man sich immer wieder in irgendwelche sinnlosen Konflikten und, naja, manchmal eingebildeten Problemen, daher tut es gut einfach mal raus zu kommen. Aber wer glaubt, dass man vor seinen Problemen flüchten kann, wird sich plötzlich in einem Teufelskreis von Selbstvorwürfen in einem blöden Reisebus zwischen Handymusik und Bergkurvengeschaukel wiederfinden. Beispielsweise.
Sechstens, man lernt die Dinge zu schätzen, die man hat, statt sich ständig zu wünschen was man nicht kriegen kann. Vor allem, wenn man seinen Besitz in einen Rucksack stopfen muss! Leider haben unsere Rucksäcke die blöde Angewohnheit, Sachen zu verlieren bzw. sich nach Ankunft in neuen Gefilden mit sämtlichen Inhalt über eine möglichst weite Fläche zur gießen. #packennervt
Siebtens, man merkt, dass man viele Dinge gar nicht braucht, die man schon hat. Wenn man 6 Monate aus dem Rucksack lebt, steht man daheim dann vorm Kleiderschrank wie Alice im Wunderland.
Achtens, die Möglichkeit sich ständig neu zu erfinden ist verlockend, neue Wege gehen ist quasi das geflügelte Wort. Aber angesichts der vielen Möglichkeiten verliert man schnell die Orientierung, man zieht getroffene Entscheidungen in Zweifel und macht sich gerne unnötige Gedanken über die persönliche Zukunft, va. wo man Geld für die nächste Reise herkriegt.
Neuntens, der Blick von außen auf die eigene Kultur ist für mich unschätzbar wertvoll. Eigentlich ist es unsinnig Länder und Menschen zu vergleichen, Prinzip Äpfel und Birnen quasi, aber das tut der Erkenntnis um den eigenen Luxus daheim keinen Abbruch. Ja, liebe Leute, dass es den meisten von uns mächtig prächtig geht im edlen Deutschland, ist nicht nur ein Gerücht. Wenn ich manche Mexikaner Frage, ob sie nicht auch mal Europa besuchen wollen, gucken die mich nur mit großen Augen an...
Zehntens, das Verlassen der eigenen Komfortzone lohnt sich natürlich, der bereits erwähnte Krach hier und die Menschenmassen härten ab, die Freundlichkeit versöhnt. Außerdem schafft die räumliche Trennung von bisherigen Beziehungen Platz für neue tolle Personen, die man dann zu Hause wieder vermissen kann.
Elftens, ich könnte mir jetzt noch etwas aus den Fingern saugen, aber eigentlich habe ich schon alles gesagt und diese sinnlosen Listen mit irgendwelchen Sachen sind eigentlich nur ein Eyecatcher (Hallo Tim!).
Zwölftens, das ganze Leben ist ein Widerspruch. Ich dachte immer, das löst sich irgendwann auf und alle anderen haben immer voll den Plan, aber so eine Reise, zeigt einem, dass dies Quatsch ist. Auch hier drängen die Leute bei Abfahrt zur Gepäckabgabe im Reisebus, um dann als erste bei der Ankunft ihr ganz hinten liegendes Zeug wieder haben zu wollen. Und ich weiß auch nicht, was ich will. In der Natur leben, aber nicht auf jeglichen Komfort verzichten, ruhig, aber nicht abgeschieden, etc etc. Also Leute, die alles ganz genau zu wissen scheinen, komplexe Zusammenhänge in A und B einteilen, also die sind mir suspekt. Ich lebe lieber meine Widersprüche (seit neuestem) und laufe mit unrasierten Beinen und gezupften Augenbrauen durch die Gegend und schreibe auf Deutsch und Englisch.

~~~

And now, finally, un regalo:




1. Elton John: I'm Still Standing (timeless, awesome, Soundtrack to Sing! Ich dachte immer er singt, sasser still steht, fande ich super)

2.  Becky G, Bad Bunny: Mayores (a reggaeton classic and maybe the best example why itsi great not to understand lyrics)

3. The Great Lake Swimmers: Your Rocky Spine (heard on the bus, a song for our dear Judi - mandoline!!!)

4. Enrique Iglesias: Duele El Corazón (you thought he was long gone? Uhuh, he's played everywhere here!)

5. Los Angeles Azules: Miss Sentimientos (how I enjoy that kind of music on busses)

6. Mariachi music: Jarabe Tapatio (another popular choice on public transportation, bars, cantinas, shops etc)

7. Kings Of Leon: Walls (heard in a café in Monterrey, what more to say?)

8. Molotov: Chinga Tu Madre (covered by a rock band at the beach party during the frisbee tournament. Everybody was singing along!)

9. Bob Marley: Jammin (our favourite song of the rancho times with Alice and Chilas, even better if you sing, "we're German, and I hope you like Germans too")

Great day today, as we're going to a farm near Guadalajara, if only I wasn't sick. But as it's the first time in Mexico, I may bear my cold with dignity (haha) - and yes, the stories of the frisbee tournament and how we camped on a rooftop in Mexico City will follow!

~~~

Dictionary
De donde son? - Where are you from?
Regalo - gift/ present
Chinga tu madre - f**k your mother