LIVING IN THE PRESENT TENSE

I have lived in my house just one week today, and most of my stuff is put away, though I could dearly use some cupboards (or less stuff!). My Spanish gets better every day though I often find myself talking in the present tense rather than trying to search my brain for other tenses. I remember often hearing foreigners in the US, saying things like “I go to the store yesterday.” That’s me! My landlords (Mario and Marlene and their two children Pollyanna,10, and Jose Pablo, 8) invite me along whenever they go on shopping trips and other excursions, and Marlene often stops by to share something she has baked or to let me know about stuff, so I get to speak Spanish a lot. Mario’s mother, Amelia, lives right next door – last night she brought me a “little” dish of a soup/stew made of squash, potatoes and meat. Enough for two meals! And delicious.

There is much to think about and write about every day, and I find myself being too “busy” to sit down at the computer and write.

My mornings are like this: I get up and put the coffee on. When it’s ready, I take it out to my deck and drink a cup slowly and listen to the birds and enjoy the view. I make breakfast and return to the deck with more coffee, food (usually a plate of mango, papaya, pineapple, etc.), a magazine, and spend a little more time out there. I come in the house and practice meditation (I am just beginning), take a shower, get dressed, sit down at my computer and check email, etc.

Nothing is hurried. Today I am meeting a friend, Gloria, in Grecia and I have to catch the bus (40 cents, 6 km) into town in 40 minutes to meet her there. [A little note: the “puebla” that I live in, San Isidro, has a church, a soccer field, one restaurant only, open Fri-Sun. a liquor store, two bars and a small grocery store). Gloria and I will sit and drink a cup of coffee or tea in Café Delicias, a small delightful place in the center of town. She’s going to show me around a little – the hardware store where they speak English and you don’t have to figure out how to communicate “screw”, her favorite travel agent, pharmacy, etc. The pharmacists here have some training in basic illnesses, and this particular guy, Gloria claims, is wonderful. She has his cell phone number and is welcome to call him any time and discuss her health issues and get advice on what to do, what to take, who to see, etc. (He is the nephew of her landlady.)

I will be looking at paint colors – I’m going to paint a couple rooms in my house. Every room is painted a very strong color – salmon, gold, slate blue, etc. – which is fine with me but the colors don’t always work with my stuff and my visual senses. For example, I just bought a set of living room furniture yesterday (first time in my life I have paid full retail price for anything over $50) and the pillows are upholstered in a “microsuede”, a synthetic) and the rust-colored microsuede is not going to sit well in my salmon-colored living room. At least I don’t think so. I’m getting used to bizarre and strong color combinations – it may work.