Friday, June 18, 2010

Birthday surprise

My dear friend Liz organized a gathering for me yesterday, a super-early birthday celebration. She filled the table with friends Oaxacan, Australian, US and chilango, and the conversation flowed into Spanish, English, and Spanglish. I felt so grateful for these kind, opinionated, creative women who love to talk about art and complain about homework, compare favorite markets and order their favorite dishes at Itanoni, our traditional meeting place.

Tina talked about insulating her house with Tetrapack, which is made from flattened milk cartons. Her mother-in-law spoke about her beautiful neighborhood of Coyoacan, in DF. Humberto had paintings to work on and people to meet, while Heather spoke of returning to Oaxaca someday, as she's leaving at the end of the month.

The morning was cool and rainy, and the Oaxacan women were bundled up in near-Winter looking clothes, while the expats wore their lightweight blouses and t-shirts. Our contrasts were telling, but the surreal timelessness of the morning, as if we had always been there and would always be there, made our coming together seem like destiny. Here's to Oaxaca friendships!

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