Hola again from Puerto Escondido!

I am sitting to write outside my little cabina, an hour before sunset, wearing a new purple tye-dye two-piece (shoutout to Sarah who would be in love with this look), sun-burned from surfing but happy about it, fresh off an Open Gym session where I was practicing my handstands with other Movement students… I have a short window of time before going out to dinner in La Punta with this little group of new friends, and I have been procrastinating on writing all this long weekend, so here we are now.

I’ve now been here just over a week and have already had quite the journey. Maybe you can tell – I am starting to settle in and bloom a bit!

Rough Landing & An Emotional Ride

At first when I landed here it was rough in many ways. It was hot and foreign. I didn’t know the language being spoken everywhere. I couldn’t sleep at night because of heat and bugs and a light outside my window, and construction sounds in the morning. I didn’t have friends and felt socially awkward despite knowing that this place is full of friendly travelers. Everything seemed wrong. I started missing my family. I wanted to go run home to my mom. And actually, my first few days, my highlight was talking on the phone with my mom. I’m not ashamed of that because my mom is so awesome. I owe my life to her and hope never to forget it 🙂

Anyway… maybe all of that seems dramatic but I had to live through it for a few days, give it time, and “trust the process”. And slowly but surely, the darkness is turning to light! One by one my challenges are turning from scary to fun… and my doubts about Puerto Escondido are being replaced with a budding excitement for my time here and a realization that I can live into all of my hopes for this time… God willing!

Okay now that you’ve got the emotional arc of the story, let’s talk details!

My first week here gave me a first for many experiences. I started at Level 1, the basics…. Which for me meant getting settled into my home space, doing my first week of remote work, and of course our first week of Movement practice with my new teachers and a cohort of other students!

Work, work, work!

First step as a budding digital nomad – actually doing the remote work part. I had a lot of anxiety about whether the WiFi would be good enough for me to actually do my job. I read and heard a lot about how poor the quality of Internet is here, even satellite. But good news – it works! Enough, at least. I didn’t have any major disruptions this week besides having to turn my video off in meetings pretty often. I’m crossing my fingers that it stays good enough, because it’s kind of a baseline need for me right now.

As for the balancing act of working while living in a foreign country… yes, there are lots of shiny objects here and I really don’t want to go inside and be on my computer all day. I did feel caught in the middle and had some difficulty with going back and forth between my new physical environment, and the digital environment where I have a job and responsibilities. But I noticed myself making better use of my time on the computer. Maybe it sounds crazy, but I think I worked more efficiently last week than I usually do. I actually feel really good about getting my work done, maybe in less time than usual. At least good enough. And really, that’s all I need for now. I need “good enough”, one day at a time. Work isn’t everything.

Movement Sessions

Movement practice started last week. We are meeting Monday through Friday for two hours every morning. The first week we laid a lot of conceptual foundation and actually spent more time talking than moving. It was good material though, and worth the time. I’m excited to get started in earnest this week. And in any movement discipline, it’s never bad to revisit fundamentals. It actually means more, the deeper you get into a practice, I believe. I found that to be true with jiu jitsu, with yoga… even with breathing! There’s a reason these things are practices. We practice because there are things we forget. We revisit, we refresh.

This movement practice that comes from Ido Portal is a systematic way of exploring my own body, the way I move, the way I relate to myself in movement and in all things. I can already tell this is such a rich opportunity for me to go deep into my movement practice in this group, with these new-to-me teachers. And to be with a group dedicating themselves to this study… it feels so good!

Why Movement? Why Here?

This is a personal question that I honestly don’t know the answer to, other than that I am pulling the thread on experiences that have been profoundly meaningful to me. Movement practices have been such a cornerstone of my healing journey, and seemingly are now a necessity for my daily and long-term mental and physical health. And this particular practice in San Francisco made for such a meaningful experience of Community. Now I feel really passionate about movement, health, and community… and the way they come together. I want to make my life about that somehow. And I guess for now I don’t know what shape that ultimately will take, but I am exploring. Sometimes I am worried I am being selfish, self-gratifying maybe… hedonistic even? Or am I just being true to what gives my spirit life? Somewhere in the middle there is a road, and I strive for that.

I know it is an incredible privilege to be here. That it took a lot of resources to fly myself to a foreign country to have this experience. I pray that it serves me, and gives me something I can share with others as well.

Friendship in a New Place

Remember Sarah the nomad? She was my angel for my first few days. I was mostly on my own, but we found time every day to sink into a nice deep chat. She got me out of the Casa Shanti bubble to go to a rooftop performance one night – I wrote about it last week, I think. I haven’t really done any other nighttime social activities. So, thanks Sarah for helping me get out there 🙂

Sarah left a few days ago. Safe travels, sweet non-digital nomad!

Now I am beginning to make friends with people in the movement group. Mostly by lingering after class or striking up conversation during Open Gym time. A few of us went to a climbing gym in La Punta for its opening day on Saturday – a 5 minute walk from here! And so much fun! I haven’t done any climbing or bouldering since college, and I forgot what a blast it can be.

On the topic of friendship and social life… lots of feelings of insecurity were present for me upon arriving, and have been showing up especially at night when I can hear a lot of social life happening in La Punta. I get this feeling of FOMO and maybe self judgement for not being “out there” having a good time like all these vacationer travelers are.

I think it’s actually been really good for me to practice being with myself in those moments. I actually do like having introverted evenings, going to bed early and resting well… when I don’t judge myself for it. I am trying to remind myself that I don’t need to go make anything happen. If my social life expands here and I get more opportunities and invitations to expand into the nightlife and whatever social scene is happening in La Punta… I can let that evolve organically. But I don’t have to force anything and it’s already pretty cool that I’m just HERE. That’s enough.

Daily Life

I’m feeling into the flow of daily life here and beginning to find my groove and enjoy it. Obviously weekdays vs weekends are very different because of my work and the movement school schedule, but some things stay the same day to day, and week to week.

One important daily rhythm is BEACH SUNSETS! Everybody goes to the beach for the sunset. It is full of people playing and watching and enjoying themselves… it feels so relaxed and so human. And God/Spirit/The Universe paints a glorious moving painting across the sky, different every single day. What a blessing to be able to enjoy this on a daily basis.

For food, I am mostly cooking for myself simple meals full of fresh veggies and tropical fruit (mamey sapote! maracuya! bananas! mm!) but taking some meals out as well for a change of scenery, for local cuisine, or just social time. Tonight I enjoyed a gorgeous meal out with friends from the practice. I even had ice cream. And deeply enjoyed it, while walking barefoot down the main street of La Punta with some new friends, amazed that I am in this reality of a warm summery night in a surf town in Mexico, in January.

I’m taking lots of spiritual time. Solo and with groups who I meet with online via Zoom. I’ve had a lot of solo time on the beach journaling, walking, swimming… This feels like a special time for me to go on a walkabout with God. To break some patterns I was struggling with and be in my own deeper process of healing and growth. So it’s very real that my daily life is rooted in that. And somehow, it’s coming easier for me here than it was in San Francisco.

Exploring La Punta… mostly has been happening on foot, mostly barefoot, mostly during the day. Like I said I haven’t been going out at night much except for dinners and walks on the beach, and for now I am at peace with that. I haven’t really explored “Centro”, the main part of Puerto Escondido, yet. I’m not in a rush. I’m perfectly happy where I am.

If I do want to get around, I know it’s possible to rent a scooter, and a friend recommended that to me. Maybe at some point. But for now I’ve only needed to get to the supermarket for the ATM, and to do that I hop in a “colectivo”, a shared taxi, and pay 12 pesos to hitch a ride.

Another fun life rhythm – laundry! I think there is a laundromat around the corner but I just hand washed some clothes in a XL ziploc bag with a single use detergent pack today (a tip from a woman at a travel shop in Reno!), and hung them to dry. Honestly this seems really simple to me in a hot climate. Maybe washing machines won’t be too regular of a need for me here. TBD.

Speaking Spanish….

Okay, this was intimidating at first because I don’t know a lot of Spanish. But I’ve been working on it a bit at a time, and now that I’m here I am remembering that even having teeny conversations in a new language is SO FUN for me!! This was part of the turning point a few days in… when my overwhelm subsided a little bit, I started just trying to communicate with what I do have, and finding that local people are friendly and fun to talk with. And patient. Thank goodness 🙂

Luckily, I don’t need a lot of Spanish to get by. But also luckily, there is abundant opportunity for me to grow my skills while I’m here. I hope I grow a lot!!

Weekend Sand & Surf

So after a week of working and doing movement sessions and getting out to the beach for sunset (usually)… came a 3 day weekend! Woohoo!

This is where the life started pouring in for me. Because I got into the water for surf lessons – twice! And it was SO FUN!

I am taking surf lessons from a local named David. He’s lived in Puerto Escondido his whole life. I asked him what his favorite thing about this place is, and he said its multiculturalism. Imagine that! So much change here due to the tourism, and he totally embraces it and loves it.

So what I found right off the bat, with surfing… Even just being in the water is magical. It’s gorgeous out there! Even just paddling around, or sitting around watching the horizon for good waves, is lovely. And then – standing up on a surf board is magical, too! Every wave is different.

It’s amazing to be having a dream “come true” already. Because I thought “maybe I can do some surfing while I’m there?” with some hesitation, worrying I was being too selfish or something? But yes, I can go surfing! I can spend time doing that! Hallelujah!

Next Up…

I’m a little sad this long weekend in paradise is ending, but I have a lot to look forward to this week! Forrest is coming to visit me tomorrow. We plan to explore some ecstatic dance and contact improv when he’s here. In a lot of ways, I can thank him for me being here at all, because he was a driving force helping me get out of my apartment this year and generally get started on the nomad journey. He’s starting a nomadic stretch as well, and this is Stop #1 for him! Lucky me 🙂

Looking ahead more – I’m thinking about extending my stay here instead of going to Colombia in February. TBD.

After thoroughly enjoying myself this weekend I hope to re-approach my laptop tomorrow with the spirit of giving back, and I pray that I’ll be able to do a job and do it well. And while I’m at it, I plan to appreciate the sound of waves, and the movement practice, and all the rhythms of daily life here, fresh takes on what life offers me anywhere – meals, coffee, movement, creativity, friends. There is so much to be grateful for.