Ojo de Anetta

(Apparently attention-seeking me) at Frida's place

Today I learnt something about myself; that I am not as shy and introverted as I often assert. My friends and family have been telling me this forever but lessons about yourself are always more meaningful when you learn them yourself eh? This evening I was chilling in the trendy La Condesa district of Mexico city, drinking cervezas with Luisa, Mariana and Luisa´s friends. They all speak good English but obviously much of the conversation took place in Spanish. And as much as I enjoyed listening to the gorgeous cadence of their language, as i couldnt understand anything I had to sit quietly as the sweet, shy girl. So i discovered that I DO NOT LIKE being the sweet shy girl!!! Haha even though I couldn´t chip in as i had no idea what they were saying, i REALLY wanted to say something at all times! Sweet and shy does not suit. And i have realised that I must often speak JUST so i can speak. Am i one of those people who like the sound of their own voice?! FECK.

Anyways, another observation I made about social interactions is that often when we are talking with our friends we must find laughter and smiles SO contagious that when our friends are telling a story, it helps when they are laughing to lighten the mood in general and keep everyone compelled and uplifted! I say this because, again, even though I could not understand much of the conversation, I found myself constantly giggling when everyone else giggled and naturally beaming throughout the conversation just because everyone else were clearly enjoying themselves! What a beautiful aspect of human empathy. I really enjoyed discovering this.

Frida Kahlo's home

We visited the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo in Coyoacan today. This is where the famous artists and lovers Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived and it is such a beautiful and inspirational house. Everything about it is so warm and it seems the kind of place that if you lived there, you would never care to see the outside world. I can imagine them just staying in and being creative together. I loved the colourful monster puppets that Frida made and decorated the outside of the house with the most! And also, bizarrely, their crockery really caught my attention as they were handpainted with charming child-like creatures by Frida and Diego together. My heart broke though as Mariana translated a love letter from Frida to Diego whereby she asks him to not see other women (unless he really can´t help it) and ends the letter with ¨please love me a little, I adore you¨... But then next to this we were presented with a love letter from one of his Italian lovers written in the same year professing her love and how much of a sweet time she´d spent with him. ALL MEN ARE BASTARDS! Especially as Diego has been known to say such eloquent and touching praises of Frida and he clearly loved her. I guess, as with all men, his ego swallowed his dignity and his respect for love. We then walked around the lively Coyoacan, strolling around the Plaza San Jacinto. Filled with people and live guitar music yet extremely chilled and relaxing, I really enjoyed this vibe!

Coyoacan

Sitting in La Condesa this evening, I made my mind up that I should go to the eco village this Saturday… I realised that whilst I did want to see more of Mexico city, one of the reasons why i was putting the Bosque Village off is because i´m scared!!! I am so nervous that i will not survive there and everyone will think i am a bad example of a human being and i won´t like the outdoors living, the vegetarian food, the no smoking and the physical labour! And here in Mexico city i am getting very comfortable with my great company and English speaking hosts! It is time for me to throw myself in the deep end again. After all, this is exactly why i CAME to central america… it´s once again time for sink or swim! So i just booked my ticket to Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacán for Saturday morning so I will arrive at the Bosque Village on Saturday, where I will hopefully (if they let me!) spend the next two months…

Hasta luego!

Anetta xx