After a month in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, I returned to a snowstorm in Minneapolis. I hopped on an earlier flight from Atlanta so as not to arrive (or not arrive) into the ice-slush with which Minneapolis was welcoming me home. The trip home from an adventure is always a great time to reflect on my travels and life in general. I thought a lot about being in Mexico and how nice it was not to care what I was wearing, what stuff I had in my house, who I should try to get together with, etc.…I didn’t want to forget that feeling and lose the appreciation for the simplicity of life that I felt during my month of living in San Miguel.
On the plane from Atlanta—after making it off the standby list (hurrah!)—I sat down in row 14 and started attempting to read my book of Mexican short stories in Spanish; it took a lot of concentration. A man sat down next to me and said hello, so I gave up on the book and opted for conversation. Turns out we were like-minded (in some ways, though when he said he didn’t believe in people living together before marriage I just kept my mouth shut) and shared an appreciation for travel. He was telling me how much of the world his eight-year-old son has already seen and I told him to beware, because his kid was going to expect to be able to always live like that. I started traveling as a kid and now it’s something I can’t imagine living without.
After a great conversation about seeing the world, the search for a partner to see it with, and the great food to try while seeing it, I certainly felt even more committed to remembering the simplicity of life without worrying so much about clothes and leather couches and if I may have accidently offended a friend by saying the wrong thing or not going to a party I should have attended. Life can be simpler when you focus on what is really important and choose just a few priorities to focus on. The conversation reminded me of how much I enjoy life and try to live it with as much fervor as I possibly can.
When I got home, I took a couple days to get over the shock of a huge temperature drop, the return to a 9-5 workday, and the abundance of people I wanted to catch up with, and then I returned to the social scene. I went to a party which ended up being ridiculously clowny and fun, I judged the Drinkin’ Spelling Bee again at the 331 and attended an adult prom afterwards. I had brunch (tried my Mexican favorite, chilaquiles) at The Lowry with friends. I yoga-ed, relaxed on my lovely couches, celebrated Ninja’s sixth birthday, and had dinner with friends at the new Eat Street Social.
It was a lovely weekend in Minneapolis. It wasn’t simple and it wasn’t sunny, but it was still fantastic. Life can get crazy in the Twin Cities because there is always something going on. It’s not hard to relax and read or paint on the roof in San Miguel, because there aren’t 900 interesting events going on at every given moment. Here, it takes a bit of effort to turn down all invites, log out of the Facebox and the Titter, and curl up alone with a good book or your own thoughts. It’s not easy to remember that you don’t have to know who is playing at every music venue or which restaurant has half-priced bottles of wine when (but oooh, someone should make a list of these) and where the happy hour is the happiest.
It’s good to enjoy the offerings of the Twin Cities and I intend to continue to do that. But I also plan to remember to stop and smell the tortillas. Here’s a little list of things I miss about SMA and things I missed about Minneapolis.
San Miguel de Allende
- 80-degree weather, sunshine
- The smell of fresh corn tortillas
- Ginger margaritas at La Sirena Gorda
- Painting on rooftop terraces
- Chilaquiles
- Saying buenas tardes to everyone in passing
- Hikes up tiny winding roads in Guanajuato
- Elote with mayonnaise and fresh cheese and cayenne pepper (yes, mayonnaise)
Minneapolis
- Cozy booths with best friends eating curry (or pho)
- Amazing brunches
- Clowny parties full of lovely people
- Ninja
- My super-comfortable bed
- Yoga (I didn’t do as many downward-facing-perros in Mexico as I’d planned)
- Cocktails that aren’t margaritas (Hello, Eat Street Social, I already love you!)
- Friends, friends, and friends
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