Thomas Wolfe was wrong. You can go home again.
At least, depending on how flexible you are with your definition of "home."
I had three specific missions in heading north last month: 1) to get my replacement Oregon driver's license and government identification card; 2) to assist in the opening of the Salvation Army's Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Salem; and 3) to buy items I cannot find in Mexico.
Two weeks ago, I was reluctant to leave my home in Melaque. When my visit was over, I did not want to leave my home in Salem. I started to wonder if I belong in either place.
My narrow missions were easily accomplished.
On m first full day in Oregon, I quickly had both my Oregon driver's license and my identification card in hand. Polite, helpful clerks. Flexibility in accepting documents. Full explanations of what would happen next. I was pleasantly surprised.
On the full weekend I was there, I attended several lunches, dinners, and ceremonies for the opening of the Kroc Center. Having worked on the project for five years, it looked exactly as I expected it to. The test will be whether the facility will meet its goal of allowing disadvantaged children to exercise their dreams and live up to their own potential. If I lived in Salem, I suspect I would be spending a lot of my volunteer time at the center.
And then there was buying. My first real shopping trip was to Costco. Hardly an exotic shopping experience. I had to control myself there and at Fry's and Nordstrom's. If I had not, my luggage charges would have been incredible - even in First Class. It is funny that finding Off towelettes could be a cause for celebration.
Some bloggers have commented that they felt everything was buzzing and rushing around them during visits to The States. I didn't feel any of that.
Shopping was leisurely. Driving was easy. Everywhere I went where I was known, people stopped what they were doing and took time to talk with me.
But the thing I enjoyed most was the long dinner conversations and the longer early morning conversations (sometimes until 3 or 4; something I have not done since college). As a result, I ended up seeing only about 10 percent of the people I wanted to see.
And that is what made me reluctant to leave.
I have no physical ties to Salem or Oregon. And I certainly have no emotional ties to any houses or towns. They are simply material things -- with no substantial difference from their Mexican counterparts.
What I do miss are the people -- my relatives, my friends, my acquaintances. They are a ready-made audience. If I could pick up about 40 or 50 (I might even settle for 5) of them and transport them to Mexico, I suspect I could say that Mexico will be my permanent home.
But that is not going to happen. And that is the rub. At some point, I either follow Jennifer Rose's advice to settle in an area and build a new network -- or I return to Oregon and drop all this talk about adventure.
I do know one thing, though. I cannot make any decision until I have had an opportunity to discover the adventure that is Mexico. Jiggs has given me a great gift of Independence that I cannot squander.
Starting tomorrow I intend get out to see areas of Manzanillo and La Manzanilla that I have not yet seen. Places I want to see with new eyes.
You can go home again. But home is the place where you exercise your dream.
At least, depending on how flexible you are with your definition of "home."
I had three specific missions in heading north last month: 1) to get my replacement Oregon driver's license and government identification card; 2) to assist in the opening of the Salvation Army's Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Salem; and 3) to buy items I cannot find in Mexico.
Two weeks ago, I was reluctant to leave my home in Melaque. When my visit was over, I did not want to leave my home in Salem. I started to wonder if I belong in either place.
My narrow missions were easily accomplished.
On m first full day in Oregon, I quickly had both my Oregon driver's license and my identification card in hand. Polite, helpful clerks. Flexibility in accepting documents. Full explanations of what would happen next. I was pleasantly surprised.
On the full weekend I was there, I attended several lunches, dinners, and ceremonies for the opening of the Kroc Center. Having worked on the project for five years, it looked exactly as I expected it to. The test will be whether the facility will meet its goal of allowing disadvantaged children to exercise their dreams and live up to their own potential. If I lived in Salem, I suspect I would be spending a lot of my volunteer time at the center.
And then there was buying. My first real shopping trip was to Costco. Hardly an exotic shopping experience. I had to control myself there and at Fry's and Nordstrom's. If I had not, my luggage charges would have been incredible - even in First Class. It is funny that finding Off towelettes could be a cause for celebration.
Some bloggers have commented that they felt everything was buzzing and rushing around them during visits to The States. I didn't feel any of that.
Shopping was leisurely. Driving was easy. Everywhere I went where I was known, people stopped what they were doing and took time to talk with me.
But the thing I enjoyed most was the long dinner conversations and the longer early morning conversations (sometimes until 3 or 4; something I have not done since college). As a result, I ended up seeing only about 10 percent of the people I wanted to see.
And that is what made me reluctant to leave.
I have no physical ties to Salem or Oregon. And I certainly have no emotional ties to any houses or towns. They are simply material things -- with no substantial difference from their Mexican counterparts.
What I do miss are the people -- my relatives, my friends, my acquaintances. They are a ready-made audience. If I could pick up about 40 or 50 (I might even settle for 5) of them and transport them to Mexico, I suspect I could say that Mexico will be my permanent home.
But that is not going to happen. And that is the rub. At some point, I either follow Jennifer Rose's advice to settle in an area and build a new network -- or I return to Oregon and drop all this talk about adventure.
I do know one thing, though. I cannot make any decision until I have had an opportunity to discover the adventure that is Mexico. Jiggs has given me a great gift of Independence that I cannot squander.
Starting tomorrow I intend get out to see areas of Manzanillo and La Manzanilla that I have not yet seen. Places I want to see with new eyes.
You can go home again. But home is the place where you exercise your dream.
