I keep thinking that what I really want is a man – rich and good lookin’. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? However, I was saying a little prayer the other night, and what I wished for was this:
- health
- rest
- patience
The man, any man, is nowhere in sight, as you see.
I guess we forget that our health is our wealth, when all is well. But when things turn sour, we need that more than anything else.
Rest? Please! I feel like I have never had a day off in my life. Not one that involved no cooking and no cleaning. The past couple of years had been especially hard. I was hoping and praying that before the year ends I’d get a couple of days to myself with absolutely nothing to do. Sadly, looks like that is not going to happen. Next year, then!
And patience… I used to read this book about patience to my little girl (long gone, destroyed. The book, not the girl!). ‘Remember that patience is your friend’, – says the girl’s father in the book. ‘But why do I need patience when I have plenty of other friends?’ – the girl then asks. I wouldn’t have thought of a better question myself. Patience is something that I simply don’t have. Not with myself, not with others. Somebody once said: ‘I’m surprised you managed to stay pregnant for 9 months, when you have zero patience!’. Joke’s on you, funny guy, I was pregnant for 8 months only! Still, this is something I need to work on, desperately. I need patience, now!.. Told ya.
Back in Belize, men were not on my mind either. Although I found Beno very attractive and interesting, I was not going to change my plans. This was my trip, this was the time to discover the world on my own. I had fun while I stayed with Beno: I got to know his friends, listen to him play drums, cook and eat his delicious food, play silly card games, talk and walk around town.
I couple of times during our walks he’d pick a pretty flower or a blossom and give it to me. A sucker for gestures like that, I melted each time.
At the end of my stay I said goodbye, he said: ‘Keep in touch, baby’, and I left. I had 2 more countries to visit, before going back to Mexico: El Salvador and Costa Rica. Costa Rica escaped me once, I was not going to let that happen again. El Salvador, not such a popular tourist stop, was even more appealing to me. So I was really looking forward to visiting both, and I was not letting any man (sigh) stop me.
El Salvador is considered one of the more unsafe countries in Central America. It’s no surprise the sign in the central park once I crossed the border caught my attention:
My host and her family ended up being the most amazing people, who treated me like one of their own. They would take their jewelry off before going to the market for safety reasons, and they would take precautions leaving the house after dark. Surrounded by their care, though, I felt safe and loved.
Mar was like a sister to me. An animal lover with a big big heart, she’s as adventurous as I am, good with her hands and has the sweetest personality.
She likes a good beer and makes damn good pupusas. She’s my kinda gal.
During my stay with Mar we didn’t stop talking. She told me a lot about herself and about her country. In return, I’m pretty sure the only thing I talked about was the guy in Belize who I really liked. And I wished to see him again.