blogging in place

We bloggers appear to be in a navel-gazing mood these days.


Or, perhaps, we are simply being analytically introspective.


Billie and Theresa have recently discussed changes in their blogs and talked about why we blog in the first place.


Felipe has blogged about a comment he received chiding him for the use of the term "yummie."  And it appears to be a topic of great interest.   As I write, there are 26 comments.  26!  Chatting about "yummie."


I started reading Mexico blogs about four years ago.  Back then, I was convinced that I was going to go native and live in a small fishing village on the Pacific, eating fish that I caught that morning.  Chacala would be my new home.

I do not recall how I picked Chacala.  I must have read about it in a tourist book.  Or maybe one of those airline travel magazines where someone has partially (and incorrectly) completed the crossword puzzle.


That is how I met Andee.  She had moved to Chacala in the same way that nuns enter convents -- renouncing the world to seek a simpler life.  (The change was not that drastic, as we were to discover.  Her life had long been based on the essentials.)


She blogged almost daily on My Life in Chacala.  It was the only blog I read, and each entry helped open my eyes to the reality of living in such a small place. 


There was joy.  She loved the village -- but she loved her Mexican neighbors even more.


But it was not paradise.  It was simply life -- in a new location.


I anticipated each of her posts.  Commented on them.  Emailed her.

At some point, perhaps on my trip to La Manzanilla, I realized I was not suited for Gilligan's Island.  After all, I don't even like fish.  So, I started looking at larger towns further south on the coast.


That is when I branched out to reading other blogs about Mexico.  I was surprised at the number -- and the wealth of information available from other expatriates' experiences.


I now read as many Mexico blogs as I can.  Over the years, I have added additional blogs to my daily fare.  The result is apparent from my blog roll in the right column.


This trip north has given me an opportunity to think about this blog.  I finally got around to a new design.  But the title remains unchanged -- for now.


Being separated from daily experiences in Mexico reminds me how much I am dependent on that type of immediacy for blog material.  At the moment, I feel like an outsider looking at my former home town. 


I have context to comment, but it is always based on memories.  Not new experiences.


For now, I will continue to write as an outsider.  Knowing that I will be returning to my home in just a few months.  Three, to be exact.

Until then, I need to find something as interesting as "yummie" to write about.