June 12, 2017, 6:09PM
Today is our first day on the train ride! I didn’t sleep. I am too excited.
This is not the U.S. and we are not in New York City. If you miss your train you’re pretty much screwed and can lose valuable travel days. I dislike rushing and being late. So this morning was a quite stressful. Some of these writers can be diva like, they will learn quickly what I learned traveling for the doc Afrolatinos, it’s about tucking and rolling and living out of bags. I remember our first trip to Mexico I packed high heel shoes, pretty dresses, my maleta was the largest size you could get. I never wore not one pair of heels or dress in that bag, it was all about cargo pants and converse all day everyday. You gotta be able to move quickly and travel as light as possible. I warned them!
Luckily we made our train.
I decided to stay in my room today only stepping out to get food and hot water for tea.
Today I am missing Yoseli and I am thinking about some amazing things that are ahead for us. Relationships are complicated. It’s important to give people what they need. Me in relationship requires some quiet time. I love traveling alone. My room is cute, it’s tight but it’s enough. I have everything I need. A few books. My journals. And this story that won’t let me sleep.
I met an old woman today, her name is Klavdiya. She is so cute. She told me she loved my hair, well she didn’t actually say it, she just kind of reached over and patted my hair from behind saying something in Russian and smiling. Some things are just universal. Its funny how we can communicate with people just by picking up on social cues, body movement and gestures. I knew she was telling me that she loved the color of my hair. She loved my grays. Back home I would never let someone touch my hair. Boundaries yo! She felt different. She wasn’t intrusive and I didn’t feel like I was in a cage on display.
Lately I have been locking eyes with a lot of elders and I can tell they are sending me blessings. I feel so connected to elders right now. I am super sensitive and incredibly open. They remind me of my seniors back home. Many of them wished that they traveled more in their lifetime. Some wish that they could travel to the South, or cross country. It’s amazing to see that at 80 people still have dreams. I pray they get to have what they long for.
That’s all for now. I love you. Please tell Yo and the family that I love and miss them dearly.
Love you,
Mami
P.S. Today’s writing prompt was about a moment that scares my character, what I know about her is that she is pretty fearless, but there is one week in her life that will cause her tremendous grief. I will dig here! Also, I am paying attention to what my characters are saying without language. How do they communicate what they are feeling without naming the thing.
Love you,
Momma
The Writer and The Story 