times they are a-changing

I repeat myself when I say that I don´t know what it is about Cathedrals but they strike me so deeply with their enormity and overwhelming sense of harmony that I always feel so insignifant and humbled and silenced (which takes a lot.) The cathedral in Morelia had no less an effect upon me. I was there on Monday and the meaning of the cathedrals really grabbed every breathing particle that makes up ´Anetta´ and inspired my very core, even rendering me emotional. It was intense. I was so awe-struck and deeply contemplative when sitting in there that I even got caught up in midday mass without even realising, until the Priest was standing at the front speaking in low biblical Spanish tones and I realised that every Mexican around me had stood in respect. I snuck out swiftly.

But the Cathedral´s impact, to me, is representative of how I wish to try and live my life. Aware of my contextualisation within lifetimes of history, culture, conflict, religion, philosophy and not taking it for granted.

Jacky & Yvonne

Today is my last full day in the Bosque. I will miss it dearly but having lived in this peaceful eco village for a month, I know that it is definitely time for me to move on... I am embarking on the next chapter of my latin american travels. Exceedingly nervous and exceedingly excited! I will begin tomorrow in Morelia, a colonial city about an hour away from Patzcuaro (journey time from the Bosque of course is 4hours!) Here I spent last weekend with the wonderful Brothers Woodward (Steven and Charles) from Denver, Colorado. They finished their 2-week stint in the Bosque and were continuing on with their adventures - cycling through Mexico - so I followed them to enjoy my days off and had a thoroughly entertaining ¨weekend.´´ We walked around the stunning Centro Historico and I introduced the brothers to my meditative habit of contextualising myself within every new experience to ensure I adequately live in each moment and savour every bit of my life. They called me a New Age Hippie which is laughable but I must admit that I am finding myself increasingly spiritual these days. I am just realising more and more how much incredible beauty there is to our very existence and it means a lot to me to attempt to appreciate that as much as possible.

Goodbye Bosque!

Filming in the Bosque has been fun and liberating. I have had deadlines but not the same money/ permissions/ crew restrictions as I do in London so it has never felt tedious or overly limited. Three short films/¨vlogs¨ later and I am very proud to have been able to document my first month in Mexico and have an enduring record of my time spent in the Bosque. I have conducted several interviews with volunteers here and one of my favourite questions is ´´Have you learnt anything from this experience?¨ I enjoy asking this question as answers are always extremely varied as there is just a multitude of personalities that make up the volunteer team. It is such an open question that it is interpreted to mean social, personal, environmental lessons. For me it means all as I feel the experience has enrichened me in all the above ways.

I have become more conscious of my impact on the planet. I have learned to ´listen to the land´ and my newfound mantra ´the forest is my friend.´ I have become more self sufficient and independent. I have learned how good it feels to eat healthily three times a day for a month. I have learned how good it feels to constantly be among the trees and to live in nature. I have learned many things about myself - that I am a bit more of an attention seeker than I would previously admit. That I LOVE getting to really know people and can grow attachments easily and quickly. That I still continue to judge people too fast, despite me thinking that I had grown out of this. That quiet people DOES NOT MEAN boring people! That I like to always be involved but it is probably better for me to not always be! That I enjoy working alone. That I do not enjoy playing alone. That I need my time to sit aside and reflect in my own calm. That I don´t need to party to have fun. That sitting around a fire with a book on Sufism can be just as pleasurable. That I actually love talking to people who are completely different from me and am keenly interested in other ways of living. That I enjoy being me without makeup! I am finally used to my own face :)

I am so excited about the next chapter of my travels... It is going to be very different without my safety blanket of the Bosque to go back to after a weekend´s trip away and the familiar faces all around me and a bedroom. I´ll miss the composting toilets - there´s no feeling like crapping in the great outdoors. I´ll miss the amazing food, hopefully I´ll continue these eating habits and not succumb to the quesadillas and tacos! But most importantly, hopefully I´ll keep up my newfound kinship with nature and continue to appreciate its importance in my life, for my strength of mind and body and for feeding my soul.

Peace out,
Anetta x

ps - I ain´t a hippie

The Forest is my Friend

View over Patzcuaro lake from the Bosque

Living out here in the forest is good for a person in general and I'm gradually discovering the ways, day by day... Firstly it has made me feel so much more CAPABLE. One of my best friends back home, Charl, always sees me getting out of stuff I don't like doing by pretending I'm not good at it and therefore someone will do it for me, this includes but is definitely not limited to: washing up, carrying stuff, turning on an oven (!)... She is the only one who doesn't let me get away with it by insisting that I NEED TO LEARN. She is so right and nothing like this experience out here in the Bosque has made me realise that more. As you are forced to do all this stuff, not just for yourself but for other people, you grow more confident in your own abilities and instincts and therefore feel more capable. I've realised that I actually prefer this feeling to feeling dependent on others...

Another way this forest has been good for me is in terms of my FEARS. Out here, I have realised that I am pretty much scared of everything!!! Ghosts, murderers, fire, falling down, dropping things, injuring myself, getting dirty... Basically, anything that anyone could possibly be scared of I have somehow thought of first and am already worrying about! I always thought I was a little fearless viking but being out here has definitely shown me otherwise! My biggest issue here has been the forest at night. It is VERY dark (especially on a cloudy night when there is no moonlight) as there are no lights here and so we use torches to make our ways back to our cabanas from either dinner or hanging out at the Casita. This involves walking through the pitch-black forest, more often than not - ALONE. My first night I was PETRIFIED by the thought of this and insisted my room mates walked back with me. My second night I conquered my fear to some extent by repeating over and over to myself the comforting mantra , 'The Forest is my Friend', as advised by Shaya. Gradually I felt more and more confident being out here in the forest and recognising that there was definitely NOTHING (human or otherwise) lurking behind any of the trees at night... However, for the past 2 nights I've been sleeping in the cabana alone and so Judith and Miriam have kindly walked me back both nights so I wouldn't have to face both the walk and the empty cabana as a double-scary-whammy. I'm confident that my childish fears will soon subside, I'm twenty-frickin-three so they better!

Brian left on Saturday whilst Shaya, Alejandra and Aaron left on Sunday. Some of the other volunteers went away for their days off but I decided I wanted to stay here at the Bosque and enjoy my time off without rushing about. Judith and Miriam, two super friendly and sweet German girls, have been here so it's been nice getting to spend some time with them. We hung out on Sunday night by the fire of the lodge, playing guitar and making animal balloons. Another thing I like about this place! I feel like my life here is so much more innocent and simple! No need for raves and debauchery for entertainment... Simple pleasures. Sunday night is when the rain started... It was so stormy and there was even occasional bouts of hail! The rain hasn't really stopped since...

Yesterday we were going to go to Tzintzuntzuan, another town in Michoacan to see some ruins but the weather was so horribly cold and rainy! So for most of the day we chilled by the fire and read instead... And then when we got hungry we hitchhiked in to Patzcuaro (with some policemen hahaha) to go to a German restaurant (the girls were food homesick) and ate enough meat for a week's supply! Last night we hung out by the fire again and the girls introduced me to a delicious Bolivian drink which is hot, spiced milk and vodka! Absolutely perfect end to my day!

Although today is also my day off, I am working on the vlog a bit more because I want to post it by the end of tomorrow!

Hasta luego!
A xx