Mentos y Momentos Minorcan

Lithica stone quarry: the maze

Sunday, April 18, 2010

I love Menorca. It’s a beautiful little island, only 35 miles long by 10 miles wide, with about 90,000 people. About the size and population of Corvallis plus Albany, our piece of the Valley. It was a silly surprise to me that they don’t all know each other, or aren’t all related, or that there’s one square inch of the island they each haven’t seen; of course they don’t, they aren’t, they haven’t. A real eye-opener about how much space we really need, or can encompass. As well as the stewardship of it all: a mini-planet here, with all the same issues. And I like that. Like my thoughts about community, or arranged marriages: I am curious about what the lack of choice can do to, and with, one’s reality. Of course, there’s plenty of that in my life, too: I can’t choose to be taller, or male, or African. Maybe awareness of limits do make for more intentional living, more value placed on what there is, and less tendency to just dispose of places, people, or stuff when we’ve screwed things up too much. Maybe, maybe…

I love practicing my Spanish (every now and then, especially when I first arrived from Rome, I think I hear an Italian accent coming out of me in it, though!!) I’ve become much more fluent, just as I’d hoped, and plan to keep practicing with friends at home. It’s almost an obsession; I lie awake at night, translating and rehearsing the day‘s chatter. Feels like a part of my brain that’s loving the exercise!

My little villa is wonderful. The rocky-coasted sea is just across the road, the tourists are mostly not here yet, the lighthouse pulses all night, it’s lovely and quiet. Today I hitch-hiked the 5 miles up the road to the store for some supplies: very easy and fun! I’m trying to use this time to write for my work, but it’s hard to concentrate. I mostly want to lie in the sun on the roof, try out all the different chocolates, ride my bike around in the moonlight by the sea, and play the guitar someone loaned me. I did write a new song, though, half English, half Spanish, so that’s made me happy — first song-writing in 3 years! It feels encouraging to feel my creativity coming back. Also have done a little performing here, singing and playing, and that’s been fun. Except the bars are unbelievably smoky, yuk.

Decided to stay here ’till the end, after all. The relaxation, and the daily living Spanish-style, more precious than adding to my adventures, at least for now. And next time, I think intensive adventuring for 3 months, not 5, will be perfect. I have one more week here, and then a 3-day journey to the west: first to Mallorca, then to New York, then to Portland, Oregon. My kiddos will be there to pick me up, my friend will have my bed all ready, and this small epic of mine will come to a close. I have very mixed feelings about going home: some fear, some joy, some of everything. But I go!

Langosto. It has legs. Lots. I do what??

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