Oregon

Why I Prefer Oaxaca

Posted on by Laughingnomad

We expats are finding what we did not find “at home.” Much  like the hippies did in the 60’s. I retired in 2002, traveled for 5 years, went back “home” for 2 months and was bored to tears. Most of my friends had moved on (or I had moved on). I was just going back and forth between the computer and the TV. I thought, I could just die here in this chair! Where are you going to go…the mall? Similarly, my son married a Thai who was used to colorful life on the streets and brought her to the states on a 3 month tourist visa to see how she would like it. She hated it and went back a month early. I understood completely.  Many of the comments I hear here I also hear from expats in Thailand.

As for why I am here and not somewhere else…I lived with a Mex-American family for 4 years of high school and then worked on behalf of the migrant community for 30 years…most of whom were from Oaxaca and for the last 10 years developed and administered a violence prevention/alternative ed program for Latino high school dropouts. I loved the families we were working with from Oaxaca and mentored several of the girls from the Mixteco. I wanted to come see the culture where they all were from and what made them who they are. 10 years later I am happily still here. But it is sad that we cannot find an authentic culture at home and have to “borrow” someone else’s.

Emergency Trip To Salem

Posted on by Laughingnomad

Lost my iPhone! And locked out of iCloud and email! But most of all family and businesses lost access to my phone number! But I lucked out this time. Weather is mighty fine! Sleeping in Doug’s trailer at the farm with Oso (his dog) plastered against me under the covers! It will be a relief to return to Oaxaca on May 10th.

The U.S. Is A Mess!

Posted on by Laughingnomad

Got back to Oregon in the middle of an ice and snow storm on Jan 5. The Lexus was sliding all over so had to rent an SUV. Had no idea it was so expensive to rent a car in the U.S.!

Bob flew up to Salem after spending 6 weeks in Las Vegas recuperating from his hip replacement. We spent 2 weeks in an AirB&B…which I wouldn’t do again. Weird being in someone’s house when you are not the guest.

Then spent 5 days with my dear friend Patty after which I moved to the cozy little “Nomad,” one of Doug’s trailers out on the farm.

So a month in Salem spent with a doc appointment, taxes and meeting with the Estate Attorney to redo my will. And a thousand other things among which was getting estimates from geologists to reinforce the house and keep it from slipping down the hill.

I was in Thailand during the election so I could just ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen. But back in the U.S….

Spirit Prayer

Posted on by Laughingnomad

It was an amazing experience.

I was in my familiar Governor’s Cup coffee shop in Salem Oregon talking with my friend when I told her I didn’t know what to do with all the Indian rocks my father inadvertently dug up while tilling the soil on his sheep ranch in Klamath County. She pointed to a guy with a long pony tail and said, why don’t you talk to him. He happened to be a Native American with a doctorate in anthropology. So he contacted someone with the Klamath Tribe. It just happened that people with the Tribe were coming to Salem for a Tribal meeting a few days after David picked up the rocks. So he transferred them to the Tribal members.

The reason so many of them were broken, he said, was that when someone was buried they broke up their household bowls and pestles and buried them along with the body. So the Tribe is going to rebury them on Tribal land. David asked me to write a prayer to the Spirits and to cleanse the house with a sage smudge.

    Prayer To The Spirits

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Nearing The End of Insanity

Posted on by Laughingnomad

I have been renting the house out in Salem Oregon ever since I retired in 2002. After traveling for 5 years I settled as an expat in Oaxaca in 2006. I return to Salem about once a year for regular medical checkups and follow up.

This February, while I was there, the renter, after 5 years, decided to move. All of a sudden 3 weeks turned into 3 months. So I took the opportunity, between renters to clean the house out of 40 years of s**t that had been stored in the basement.That was the beginning of insanity. Each item required a mental and emotional decision…get rid of it, save it or sell it. Then packing it all in boxes…taping, carrying, shoving…a pickup load at a time to go to a storage unit or Goodwill.
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Parting With Stuff In Oregon

Posted on by Laughingnomad

Darn, saw where the teachers, on strike, closed the airport in Oaxaca. But I suppose nothing lasts very long. I fly in next wednesday. Things should quiet down a bit after the elections Sunday. Now, of course, with the bloqueos and Pemex gas stations being closed I won’t be driving much…if they keep this up.

The medical follow ups turned out better than I expected so guess I’m not going to die pronto.

It was really harrowing in Salem…trying to get everything sorted and out of the house before the new tenants moved in. And contract for roof repair, fireplace repair and house painting and buying a new stove, repairing kitchen sink faucet, sending towel warmer off to be repaired etc. etc.

I sold some stuff on Craigslist, took a half dozen pickup loads of stuff to Goodwill, gave some stuff away and still filled up the storage unit. Filled up an entire large recycling can with Greg and Josh’s college notes. All while carting Doug around town. He is preparing his “babies” for planting in the greenhouse. Rules on the new legalization supposed to come out by July 1. I stayed with him in his little trailer and saved a couple thousand dollars on hotel. But he was really crabby with me in it invading his “space.” Glad to be out of there.

Some stuff I couldn’t bare to part with…children’s books, my books, all the artifacts we had collected traveling. And of course kept household stuff I’d need if I moved back to Salem in case of health. Bob said get rid of everything of his. Just don’t tell him what it was or he would say “oh no not that!” Ha! The new tenants are lovely. Professional photographers, middle age, no children and they fell in love with the house.

It was weird to realize I was sorting with the assumption I was going to come back. But the thought came to me…I am 70. I was sorting with the assumption of course is that I have years ahead of me…

Oregon Thailand Hong Kong 2013-14

Posted on by Laughingnomad

Need new crowns on implants I got last spring while in Bangkok. Need to see my son Josh and his lovely Significant Other, Polly, in Hong Kong. And spend some time down south in Krabi Thailand with my son Doug and his little fishing boat.

On my yearly trip to Asia, I flew from Oaxaca to Oregon for a week where I picked up 6 months of mail and paid property taxes and ran a myriad of errands. Then Nov 9 spent 8 hours on a cramped Delta flight to Tokyo and another 5 hours to Bangkok. Every trip seems to get more and more uncomfortable. Hard seats make my butt bones hurt even with a pillow. Jet lag and culture shock makes me feel like my body and soul is rubber…stretching out over continents. Getting too old for this shit. But what better to do with myself than visit adult children scattered all over the world. 😉

In the metro on my way to the dentist I see this lovely ad.

Details here are not especially for my readers (if there are any) but a kind of diary to remind myself where I go when and what I do. Memory going fast! But while I am on it, dental work at the Bangkok International Dental Center is excellent and VERY affordable. Dr. Preeda completed dental school at the Univ of N. Carolina and spent a year teaching implant technology there. And for health care you can’t do better than Bumrungrad Hospital. Want a face lift? Ask for Dr. Poomee who spent 30 years practicing in Atlanta Georgia before retiring with a part time practice in Thailand. I asked for a partial but he wouldn’t do it for me. Said I wasn’t ready! Not ready? If I’m not ready at 69 when will I be? He said if you are not ready then results would be disappointing. Oh well. I don’t care anymore anyway. My life is in my face anyway. However I did get upper eyelids done to keep them from falling into my eyes a few years ago.

Have spent 3 days in a dental chair with 3 more to go this week. But the weather is wonderful. Dr. Preeda said winter got here 2 days before I arrived. It is 30F 27C!

I asked him if he had been out in the street protesting and blowing his whistle. He said no but that his 2 year old has been blowing his whistle constantly for days! My yellow-shirt friend will take me to the protest sites. With ear plugs. Hope it’s better than the hand-clappers in 2009-10! But I’d rather be here or in Oaxaca than the U.S. any day where the political drama makes me sick.

Read this morning that the Street Art is getting painted over in Oaxaca. Probably the most egregiously political stuff. Apparently Oaxaca will host the World Congress of World Heritage Cities, a major event bringing together mayors from five continents to discuss the problems of their cities and promoting comprehensive strategies, in order to protect the heritage and promote human development … So they paint over the Street Art??? Arghhhhh! Ruined my morning.

Oregon Coast

Posted on by Laughingnomad

Before flying out to Las Vegas from Salem/Portland to see my eldest son, I drove a couple hours to the coast to visit my cousin, Cindy and her husband Jim who live near Waldport. They were kind enough to drive me along the coast so I could get some photos…and eat incredible Fish Wives Stew down by the harbor.

Church

Grazing Elk

Coastline

Coastline

Cooks Chasm and Blow Hole

Ubiquitous Seagull

Newport Harbor

Sea Lions in Harbor

Fish Wives Stew

Made By Mexican Chefs

Salem, Oregon 2013

Posted on by Laughingnomad

Won’t bore anyone with the sordid details of bureaucratic busy work while holed up at Howard Johnson’s Motel since March 19, 2013.

However I did meet up with the few remaining old friends I have here…very fun!

Tomorrow I’ll drive over to Waldport on the Oregon coast to visit Cousin Cindy for a few days. Then back to Salem and fly out of Portland to Las Vegas on the 9th to spend about 10 days with son Greg before flying on to Oaxaca on April 19. Whew! It’s been a long haul on this RTW trip…Oaxaca, Oregon, Thailand, Oman, Turkey, Oregon, Las Vegas, Oaxaca from the end of October 2012 until April 2013! I’ll be glad to be “home!”