Me and Julio

In my last entry I wrote about New York and my experience in that city as looking backward. I'm excited to write tonight that my relationship with New York is going to change. It will be the place where I'll live, study and teach/research for the next three years.

Life is funny.

To prepare for this trip, I studied French and covered my apartment with maps of Africa. I was going to be in Argentina by March, Ethiopia by May and Paris by July. My pace through Central America was torrid.

It's four years and three months later and I'm still in Perú. I got stuck on Mazac. Now I'm going to the Lima, France of the US: Queens.

This is excellent news. I'm no longer slave to the rigid planning that kept me sane my last few months in Portland. I'm travelling in a new kind of direction that will take me further than I can go on maps.

I'm also sad. Not so much about Africa and France, but about Oregon. My plan was always to come back home. It still is. But not for a few years. Dany, eso es lo que es el destino pues sonsu.

In the meantime I'm still in Lima. Today I had arroz con pato (rice with duck) and dinner will be empanadas. I've got nothing to do except read, write and try not to get sick. This weekend I'll head back up to the mountains for Shubi's 9th birthday. I'm going to buy him a drumset and then stay for a while so we can learn how to play together. If I felt any cheesier, I'd say something here about life, learning and rhythm. Oh goodness.