Blogging: Favorite Posts of 2012

I enjoy reviewing a year's worth of posts and selecting a few to share once again with readers.

It was hard to choose my favorite posts this year in part because the blog's focus has evolved. I started writing here several years ago to share my experiences and observations about the life of an Alaskan living in the Mexican state of Yucatán. The emphasis was heavy on travel, nature, culture, and life in a foreign country.

This year was a challenging one personally and in my family, but surprisingly I found myself content -- not one hundred percent happy, of course, but optimistic and centered in my place in the world -- despite a lot of changes and stress around me. That's what I wrote about. An Alaskan in Yucatán became more personal and introspective in 2012.

One of my January posts amounted to a resolution for the new year which still looks good to me eleven months later. It was titled, Contentment: If I Had a Million Dollars.



A few months later, reflecting on many things that had quickly and irrevocably changed in my life, I found myself considering how much I'd learned about maintaining a perspective and finding meaning, even in times of change and stress. The result was a post called The Splendor of Each Day.

You can read more posts on the theme of contentment here.

In keeping with the theme of staying positive and feeling good, early in the year I posted about the fine art of napping, Mexican style (photo at top). The Art of the Siesta summarizes what I have learned about the techniques and benefits of taking an afternoon rest.



In 2012 I didn't abandon entirely the sorts of things I wrote about when I first started blogging. I continued writing occasionally on animals and our natural surroundings. My favorite on the topic this year was about the pair of tortoises I adopted several years ago and which live in my back yard.

I also continued writing the series of posts called Living Here, which focuses on everyday life and adapting to the culture of Mexico. Earlier this year I tried to help a Yucatecan friend resolve a difficult legal and personal situation, so I plugged into my network of friends and contacts in Mérida. I was gratified and humbled by the way Mexicans can come to the aid of a friend in need. I told about this experience in a post entitled The Power of Relationships.

Two thousand twelve was not among my best years, but nevertheless it was a year of great learning, and I had many things to be thankful for.

Best wishes for 2013.

Blogging: Writing From Mérida

My friend Joanna van der Gracht de Rosado, author of one of my favorite blogs, Writing From Mérida, sent me an email not long ago.

Joanna had a technical problem that resulted in a large part of her blog, consisting of hundreds of posts, being inaccessible to her and lost. So, although she was able to salvage some of her old material, she is re-starting her blog at a new URL. I told her I would do what I can to help readers find her at the new address.

Joanna writes on a wide variety of topics having to do with Yucatán and Mexico. I've read interesting articles and commentary on arts and culture, history, politics and current events, issues concerning women, as well as notes about holidays,  food, family life, worthwhile causes and a host of other topics. But her posts typically revolve around aspects of writing or intercultural living.

A Canadian who some time back became a Mexican citizen, Joanna has published an interesting book, Magic Made in Mexico, which tells her story of nearly four decades living in this country. She writes honestly about the challenges she faced as a young foreign woman coming to Yucatán, meeting her husband-to-be Jorge, making a home and having a family, building a career and with Jorge founding a successful college. Along the way she has experienced successes and difficult times. From all this Joanna distilled many valuable lessons about intercultural living and making dreams come true. She has a fine way of interpreting Mexican life and culture for those of us who have less experience living here.

Joanna also is a tireless mover behind the annual Latin American Bloggers Conference, held every November somewhere in Southeast Mexico. It was through the conference that we became friends.

Even if we weren't friends I still would read Joanna's blog. It is an informative and thoughtful resource for people, particularly English-speaking foreigners, living or interested in Mexico. So by all means, if you didn't click on it above, check out Writing From Mérida now.

Living Here: Monday Morning Coffee

It started only a couple of years ago, but has become a ritual for us. We congregate Monday mornings, around the shiny, wooden tables of a local cafe. We sip coffee from heavy old china. Spoons and cups clink against saucers, to a background of soft voices and faint music.

The core group consists of three: Paul, Eric and myself. From time to time others sit in but often it is just us three.

A few other morning regulars do the same nearby as white-guayabera-clad waiters move between tables, pouring refills and bringing food. Newspaper softly crinkles as someone scans the morning news or sports section. Sometimes a whiff of woodsmoke sifts in from the huge, brick bakery ovens out back. The place is old, and has changed little over the decades. Sitting here it is easy to imagine one has been transported back the 1940's.

Except of course that in the 1940's we likely never would have gotten together, because we first became acquainted through blogs. We are bloggers. When we talk about blogging, it's usually about comments or topics brought up in the community of blogs we follow. But mostly we dive into a variety of other subjects.

Eric and Paul

Although we don't get heavily into politics, it's there from time to time, along with occasional doses of philosophy and faith. We talk about the many things that interest us, and as mature people do, sometimes we reminisce a bit. But I think mostly what it gets down to is we're all interested in getting the most out of the years we have left to spend on this planet, and we like to share ideas along those lines. It's always an interesting and enjoyable conversation.

That's pretty much the way it is Monday mornings at La Flor de Santiago, when a few friends reunite to sip coffee and converse.

We don't exactly solve the world's problems, but sometimes we feel that perhaps we've made a little headway. That's a pretty good way to start the week.


Things are about to change. Eric leaves this week, as family and other obligations call him north. And Paul will do the same soon. I'll miss them and our Monday morning coffee sessions until they both return to Mérida in the fall.

Read Paul's blog here and Eric's blog here.

Blogging: Okay, I'll play along...

Nancy and Leslie, Mexico bloggers whom I respect and follow regularly, nominated me for what's called The Versatile Blogger Award. A number of my blogging friends have been so nominated. One of these, Steve, sceptically accepted his nomination and made some interesting comments.

I know nothing about the award, except that I gather it was created as a tool for bloggers to network, get to know each other and maybe rack up more pageviews. The way it works, each nominee is supposed to tell seven things about themselves that readers don't know, and then nominate 15 favorite blogs for the award. Steve commented that it seems like a big chain letter, which is true.

I am not much of a math whiz, but it appears to me that if everyone nominated did indeed in turn nominate 15 blogs, with everyone following the rules it would only take a handful of generations to have nominated every blog in the 'sphere. Fifteen to the seventh power is something like 38 billion. That's a whole bunch of versatile blogs for each and every individual on Earth.

But that aside, it seems interesting, these bloggers are my friends and I am willing to give it a go. Despite the fact that I blog about my experiences, I haven't ever intended to make this blog about "me." But I am curious. I'll play along...

1. Once I hung out in a hotel room with '60's acid guru Timothy Leary ("turn on, tune in and drop out") and talked with him for about an hour. What I remember of his words seems even more appropriate now than it did then: "We are dealing with the best-educated generation in history. But they've got a brain dressed up with nowhere to go."

2. I worked as an extra in The Godfather, Part 2. I achieved my tiny sliver of fame -- a blurry second on screen, not fifteen minutes -- (Warhol exaggerated more than once), when I was seventeen years old. The most interesting part of that three-day gig actually was in makeup on the first day, where I sat in a chair next to Pacino while we both got our hair styled.

3. While living among native people in Alaska's arctic, I regularly ate caribou, seal and whale meat they shared with me.

4. I was born in a log cabin...well, almost. My family lived in a small log home when I was born, in Ketchikan, Alaska, but actually I gasped my first breaths in the General Hospital. Later when I was running for treasurer of the student council in third grade, my father (a PR man) suggested I begin my campaign speech by telling my fellow students I was born in a log cabin (just like Abe Lincoln). Although I did not turn out to be student council material, the myth has stuck with me ever since.

5. Summer volunteer work in rural Colombia changed my life forever when I was 16.

6. There is a file on me somewhere deep in the musty archives of the former-Soviet KGB.

7. Contrary to the advice I give to everyone who asks me about buying a house in Mérida ("rent for at least six months"), I bought my house here on my very first visit, after a total of about two weeks in the city.

Now for the difficult part. There are many, many good blogs out there and it's hard to pick and choose. Besides that, a number of my favorite blogs already have been nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award. So I  am stealing an idea from Theresa, who seems to share many of my feelings about this deal. I am wiggling out of making individual nominations. I believe that all of my friends from the Latin American Bloggers Conference deserve The Versatile Blogger nomination.

Learning and Friendship with Bloggers

I am not much of a joiner, and prefer to socialize and work in small groups. So last year when I was invited not only to attend, but to present to the Third Annual Latin American Bloggers Conference, I didn't immediately jump at the chance.

However I went. I had a great time, learned a lot, and formed some new friendships.


All interested persons are invited to attend the fourth installment of this event, which in the past has attracted people from all around the Yucatán Peninsula, other parts of Mexico, Canada and the United States.

The meeting takes place in Mérida, Yucatán on Saturday, Nov. 5. The main session begins at 9:30AM and will run until about 6:00PM, with lunch scheduled from 2:00 to 4:00. Optional social events are scheduled Friday and Saturday nights.

The agenda includes presentations and roundtables on various aspects of blogging, and special sessions for those working in Blogger or Wordpress.

There is no cost to participants. The event is run by volunteers and the venue and technical support is lent or donated.

The Mérida area has a lot to offer out-of-town conference participants who choose to make a long weekend or vacation out of their visit. A variety of music and cultural events, great food, archaeological sites, museums and beaches are all easy to come by around here. Comfortable, reasonably-priced accommodations are plentiful near the conference site in the heart of Mérida's centro historico.

You can view the conference blog here, and email your reservation or ask questions at the email link on the blog or at:

latambloginfo@gmail.com


I hope to see many of you there.

Friends from the Blogosphere

Blog friends on a Yucatan beach outing

I have been participating in a phenomenon for some time now and it took me a while to realize it.

I've been e-dating.

Well, not really. It would be more correct to say I have been e-socializing.

To backtrack a little, I was invited to many parties and met quite a few expatriate residents of Mérida when I first came here about eight years ago. Although many were nice people, few of my initial acquaintances from those days became long-term friends. The expat population of Mérida is equivalent in size to a very small town. The pool is limited. Finding others with common interests or attitudes is not always easy if you want a relationship that extends beyond discussing the ins and outs of living here and restoring and decorating old houses, which is the topical lingua franca among expats in this area.

Actually, I have never been the type to hang out with a drink in my left hand and a little napkin cradling cheese on a cracker in my right and make easy conversation with strangers. My stock of small talk is not large, so at these events I tend to hug the wall and observe. That's not the best strategy if your purpose is to "meet and mingle." I now have a full social life with Mexican friends and a small handful of foreigners, so quantity of social contacts is not an issue. But I have at times longed for more of the type of friend with whom I have a lot in common, who always knows where I am coming from. That's not easy to find across cultures and languages.

I never considered the internet as a way to make friends (I am not talking about "friends," as in Facebook, here). However through blogging I have discovered a new way to get to know people and develop new friendships.

Steve, whom I met through blogging, has mentioned from time to time visits with people he has met via the world of blogs. Steve has traveled a lot throughout Mexico, and in many places he goes is able to visit with people he has gotten to know first through their blogs. It appears to me that Steve has made many interesting acquaintances, and some real friends, through his years of blogging. It looks as if I am on that same path.

What usually happens is that I start reading a new blog because the author has begun to make comments on An Alaskan in Yucatán. Or, I notice an interesting blog and begin making comments there. Occasionally that begins a dialog, which may lead to emails or other types of communication. Often we focus on a common philosophy or interest, usually having to do with Yucatán or Mexico. Some of my contacts are people who live here, and others are travelers, visitors or dreamers who hope one day to live or visit here.

Following a good blog for a while allows you to learn quite a bit about the author, who may be someone you've never met. If you read and comment back and forth a while, you get a good feeling for shared interests and attitudes. If you finally meet the blogger in person, the need for "getting acquainted" small talk has been dispensed with, and there is usually a lot to talk about.

Some months ago I met face-to-face for the first time a blogger whose point of view I appreciate and with whom I had communicated for the better part of a year. He'd been reading and commenting on my blog for some time as well. In a final email before he came with his wife to Mérida for a seasonal visit, he wrote, "I feel as if I already know you." I felt the same way. And when we sat down for the very first time to talk, the feelings were proven to be correct. We dove into a conversation that rambled as if we were picking up where we'd left off on a previous meeting, and we continue to get together on a regular basis when he is in town. The rest of the time, we keep in touch through our blogs.

If you read this blog you probably are interested in the Yucatán or Mexico. I encourage you to browse through some of my favorite blogs, listed in my blog roll, "Mexico Blogs I Read," to the right of this post. Some are informal and chatty like letters to family, and some are of professional quality or approach the status of literature. All have something interesting to offer. Take a look. Offer a comment. Who knows...you may make new friends.

Mexico Blogs: The Mexpatriate

I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Cotton, an Oregonian living on Mexico's Pacific coast, last November at a gathering of bloggers in Mérida.



His posts about Mexico are interesting, sensitive and very well-written. He's a great wit, too.

I highly recommend Steve's blog to anyone interested in Mexican history, culture, or the ins-and-outs of being a foreigner living here.

Today's post was particularly thoughtful. It is too bad that stories and analysis like this are not often found in the media north of the border.

A Year of Blog

One year ago I began this blog. It's been an interesting, hectic and sometimes trying year. I have actually had to be away from Yucatán quite a bit during the past eight months, and for that reason the blogging slowed down at times. I am back in Mérida and hope to get back to writing.

On about this date last year I started working on An Alaskan in Yucatán, so this is a good time to review what I've done and to reevaluate how people have reacted to what I have written. I started blogging to keep distant friends and family up to date, but the blog quickly became more than just a newsletter. As interest has slowly spread, most of my readers are now people I do not know, and a few of these have become new friends.

I have written on numerous topics, such as my fascination with Lila Downs, similarities between Alaska and Mexico, the beauty of life here, travels around Yucatán and Mexico, history and archaeology, the natural world, photography, philosophy, happiness, poetry, food, and the U.S. media's hatchet job on Mexico when it comes to coverage of violence here, to name just a few.

As I observe this anniversary and look back, I am going to review a few posts from the first year. Some are personal favorites and others are among the most popular with readers.

Last fall, I spent a couple of days with my friend Jonathan Harrington and his son Trevor (photo above), who was visiting from New York, on Jonathan's hacienda, San Antonio Xpakay. I always enjoy spending time on the hacienda, but this visit was made more enjoyable by the presence of Trevor, then aged 12. I wrote about a morning spent wandering in the monte with Trevor. The post is called Huck Finn Summer in Yucatán.

I love the Yucatecan countryside and its old haciendas, so whenever I have the time, I like to wander on the back roads looking for interesting vestiges of the past, in which Yucatán is incredibly rich. At times my romantic inclinations lead me to fantasize about actually living in a remote area on one of these old plantations. I wrote about one of my experiences wandering and daydreaming in the countryside and included a little Yucatán history in Hacienda Dreams.

My fascination with the history and romance of the old haciendas is always present as I observe and think about Yucatán. This has led to some interesting experiences. One of the most unusual was the very first night I spent on Hacienda San Antonio Xpakay several years ago, when I felt the presence of history late one night. I shared the experience and threw in a little Mayan poetry in two posts about La Princesa. Click here for Part 1, here for Part 2.

The culture and way of life in Yucatán fascinate and seduce me. One difference I notice between Mexico and the United States is the closeness of families and the respect between young people and the older generations south of the border. I saw a beautiful example of this one night on the streets of Mérida and wrote about it in Living Here: Between Generations.

In the spring, a neighbor of mine suddenly passed away. Missing and thinking about him I realized that he was probably one of the most successful persons I have ever known, although the outward trappings of modern "success" were in many ways lacking in his life. I wrote about my friend Alejandro last April in a post called, Goodbye Neighbor, and Thanks.

Some the most popular pieces I have written for the blog are about the practical aspects of living in Mexico and Yucatán. Mexico can be a very economical place to live. Living Here: Economy goes into the details of what is costs to run a household and live here, and touches on the philosophy of living simply.

There are many more posts I wanted to include here but in the interest of keeping it brief I've left them out. However they are in the blog for the reading, if you care to browse the index and labels for topics that arouse your interest. As always, I appreciate comments, so feel free to leave them on the blog or to contact me by email. Thanks for reading.