Homeless

It’s amazing what a paper-trail can do.  Since Tuesday of last week, I have been without running water in my apartment because the water company capped the wrong tenant’s pipes.  After going through the appropriate channels to no avail, I wrote a formal letter of complaint and emailed it to the General Director of my school.  Within 30 minutes I had a reply from her, and miraculously I have water again.  No, the water company has not fixed its error, but the maintenance staff at my school managed rig my piping to feed off of a huge water container above my building, which they somehow managed to fill.   

The people here in Mexico are masters at making things work.  Everywhere you look you will find traces of patch-jobs and ingenuity that would make even Red Green marvel.  Most things here in Mexico are second-hand; just because you have gotten your use out of something doesn’t mean it’s done.  Everything from clothes to vehicles to electronics will see as many lives as a cat is thought to possess. 

Now I’ve always been resourceful (just ask my parents), and that has come in handy here.  The welcome-crate that contained food to get me started when I first arrived is my clothes basket; empty bottles and plastic containers become places to store odds and ends; pillowcases become carrying bags to tote my laundry to the lavandería; a gift bag doubled as a lunch bag for a while; my plastic tub doubles as a coffee table and storage; the list goes on.  When you have little to work with, you are forced to problem-solve and invent solutions with what’s readily available.  I understand this concept as this is how I was raised, and in many ways this makes me feel at home.  But I don’t think I will ever fully feel at home here.

Part of that is because Mexico is so far removed from my comfort zone, but the other part is I’ve come to realize (again) that this world is not my home.  It’s ok to be uncomfortable because it forces me to keep going and try new things.  I would much rather be back in Colorado Springs, sharing a meal with a good friend at Panera Bread, or watching TV with my parents because those things are known.  I don’t think I’m meant to live that kind of life right now.  I feel like the fictional characters that I read about who reach a turning point in their lives in which they can never go back to how things were.  There is sadness in that thought, but I am also encouraged because I feel like there is so much more waiting for me. 

I do not know what my future holds, but I’m excited to see how it unfolds… running water or not!