An Explanation/Reflection

It's not that I don't have a home, it's just that I can't imagine spending my life there.  I just finished college and I have few responsibilities, and I recently discovered the wide wonderful world of Latin America.  The three months I spent in Chile last summer after spending fall semester in the same city felt like home, and I could live in Valparaíso happily if I found a job that makes me happy.   Chile will always hold a special place in my mind as my first time living abroad. I can't justify settling down now though - the whole world is out there, and I haven't seen nearly enough of it. 

I have been traveling off and on for bordering on a year now, and I have been cooking for much longer than that.  I sometimes thought about keeping a blog, but my life isn't actually that interesting and the majority of the recipes that I love come from this blog, or are loosely based on something my grandma or my mom makes.  It took me losing my camera to start the blog, since I am sporadic at best with personal journal entries precisely because I can record and remember my life in pictures. I know you're probably thrilled, mom, that I am actually writing down everything so you can follow my life away from home, but pictures are still more vibrant in my mind.

Take last night, for example. Marlon took a special interest in little Carlitos last night.  Carlitos has a bike with a loose chain and no brakes to speak of, so rather than let him ride around, Marlon decided to make it into a roller coaster ride, running with his hands on the handlebars and Carlitos holding on for dear life as they made laps around the Tamarindo, outside, over benches, and narrowly avoided posts, walls, doors and toes.  The two of them laughed maniacally every time they came to a halt, and Marlon kept it up at full speed for the better part of an hour, stopping every few minutes to put the chain back on the bike.  Imagine that as a picture: an older boy leaning over the handlebars of a tiny bike, the younger cocooned inside the circle of his arms, leaning back slightly as the older steers them full tilt towards the door.  Both have huge grins and beads of sweat on their faces - you can see the glint of fear as Carlitos faces the oncoming obstacle, but his trust in the older boy is enough that he doesn't even put down his feet to slow down.