The Journey Begins

Diary Entries

Sept. 23, 10:45 pm

I’m sitting here at the airport next to a floor plug making sure all my gadgets are fully loaded for my midnight flight. I have 30 minutes before I have to board for my trip to Mexico, Guadalajara to be exact. I”ll be staying with some friends in Guadalajara and from there I will be taking a drive to Purepero, Michoacan.  I’m headed on this trip for a few reasons. Initially, I only had 2 reasons to go to Michoacan, but as I have been thinking about this trip and the way things have unraveled, this trip has turned out to be much much more.

Reason number one: I want to go document the house Abuela grew up in and the town. I’ve been going to that town since I was a baby and have so many amazing memories and want to share them with everyone even if it’s through video vlogging. I want to capture the beauty of the town. It has so much to offer and the way things are in Mexico (I’m sure you have all heard the rumors), who knows when any one of us will ever have the chance to go back. This might be the last time I get to go and I want my kids to experience it. I know Abuela doesn’t want to go back, and so this is my way to bring her home land to her, by capturing what I can first hand and taking it back to her.

Reason number 2: At the beginning of 2015 I decided to finally put my dream into action, to write a book. The way life’s circumstance and God have been leading me, the book I am currently working on is a cook book/story book. Recently, (more like in the past months) I’ve been having writers block and I felt I needed to go to this nostalgic, utopian place and be inspired by it’s natural beauty. I just want to sit in the big patio, under “the tree”, reminiscing of all the family that has ever stood under it. Some would sit and eat there, some would cross stitch and others would just sit and talk. I want to do the same somehow and have all those memories come back and even close my eyes and visualize my Great-Great Uncles and Aunts, my Great Grand Parents and everyone in between.  How or why I have been able to have met so many ancestors is beyond me. But in this trip I intend to find out… or at least relive some memories. (Rereading 10/29—reason—continue the history? Keep the family alive?)

I am nervous. I don’t know why. I already have this sense of wanting to shed tears and I don’t even know why. I have been there so many times. But this time it’s different. Why? Because the relationship between my Abuela and I have grown so much that anything I can do to be more connected and relatable to her has become somewhat my mission.  But I ask myself, “Why have I always had such a huge interest in my ancestry? ”  I can give you some random answer but honestly, I’m not sure why.

 

SEPT 24, 2015

Guadalajara

We got to Guadalajara at the break of dawn got picked up and went straight to sleep for a few hours.  We stayed today with our friends in beautiful Tlaquepaque, Guadalajara to regroup and visit before driving inland. It is such a completely different experience staying in the city. They have a nice little flat/condo in a private gated community with a lush park. It even has grass! It’s pretty rare to have yards with grass in Mexico. It was such a difference even from where I live in California.   It was such a nice change from California since we are in a drought and in most places the grass is pretty brown or non existent. But the city is definitely different than the rural cities in Mexico. I arrived at the break of dawn so I haven’t really gotten to see the city yet. I have been to Guadalajara before but I’m anxious to see if there are any changes or what the feel is like. One thing for sure, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into some good food. Is that really all we think about when traveling to Mexico? The food?! YES! YUM!  So we showered, got ready and headed to have lunch.  We had lunch at a nice, indoor torta restaurant.  It wasn’t just any regular torta restaurant.  They had specialty tortas, tortas ahogadas.

(Rest written at home)

That night our friends took us out to eat in the downtown area.  It was pumping!  Music was high energy all around with nightclubs in full swing on a Thursday night.  They took us to one of the best taco joints in the area.  It was a sit down restaurant in the open air and had a waiting list to sit.  They had the largest al pastor display I had ever seen in my life!  The waiting felt like forever even though it wasn’t because the meat display was staring at you no matter where you looked or turned, kind of like the Mona Lisa painting.  The smell was so amazing that there was no escaping it.  It was secretly calling your name no matter how much I tried to concentrate on the conversation I was having with our friends.  We finally got to sit.  I sat exactly where la carne al pastor was piercing my being.  There was several of us, so we decided to order a bunch of dishes that we could all share, buffet table style.  Once we got our food, I didn’t know where to start, but being the cheese lover that I am, I aimed for el queso fundido con chorizo plate.  My mouth is drooling just thinking about it.  They brought freshly made tortillas and all I could do was dig in like a cave woman.  My teeth sank right through my first bite as the cheese melted to perfection.  What a mix… it was truly a party in my mouth.  Next, I went for the carne asada, mushrooms and cheese.  I don’t know what kind of cheese it was and I should have asked, but MY-OH-MY, definitely something my taste buds won’t forget anytime soon.  There were so many different plates of carne asada or meats mixed with so many different ingredients.  When babies or puppies are full and you lift their hands or paws, it’s like they have transferred to another dimension of sleep, that is where I was after I was done eating.  I needed to be carried back to the car.  Clearly I had died and come back to earth once I needed to use the restroom.  But it was worth it. 🙂
Video to go along with blog: