Coming home and the Compulsary Corny Ending

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And so I´m at the end, after a couple of days in Mexico city again and meeting Anne and her family, which was great, I am flying back this evening (Monday), Mexican time and should arrive in the UK Tuesday evening for flat-hunting and work-shoe shopping before I start near Chester on 18th September.

I wanted to write a suitably sloppy blog to say thanks for reading and telling you all about all the things I´d learnt about myself and Latin America and the world during the past year. Such things could include my new-found patience (which may or may not transfer back to the UK), my improved Spanish, or insights such as the body doesn't digest the pulpy bits in orange juice, beer is often cheaper than water, never wear white and you don't need to wash your socks until they smell.

Then Anne showed me the poem below by a Cuban dude called José Luís Borges (Havana´s airport is named after him) and I realised almost all the important things that Latin America can teach you had already been said.

For those of you who read Spanish, please don´t spoil the original work by reading my dodgy translation. For those of you who need the translation, please forgive me ...

INSTANTES

Si pudiera vivir nuevamente la vida.
en la próxima trataría de cometer más errores.
No intentaría ser tan perfecto, me relajaría más.
Seria más tonto de lo que he sido,
de hecho tomaría muy pocas cosas con seriedad.
Seria menos higiénico.
correría más riesgos,
haría mas viajes,
contemplaría mas atardeceres,
subiría mas montañas,
nadaría mas ríos.
Iría a más lugares adonde nunca he ido,
comería mas helados y menos habas,
tendría mas problemas reales y menos imaginarios.

Yo fui una de esas personas que vivió sensata
y prolíficamente cada minuto de su vida;
claro que tuve momentos de alegría.
Pero si pudiera volver atrás trataría
de tener solamente buenos momentos.
Por si no lo saben, de eso esta hecha la vida,
sólo de momentos; no te pierdas el ahora.

Yo era uno de esos que nunca
iban a ninguna parte sin un termómetro,
una bolsa de agua caliente,
un paraguas y un paracaídas;
si pudiera volver a vivir, viajaría mas liviano.
Si pudiera volver a vivir
comenzaría a andar descalzo a principios
de la primavera
y seguiría descalzo hasta concluir el otoño.
Daría mas vueltas en calesita,
contemplaría mas amaneceres,
y jugaría con mas niños,
si tuviera otra vez vida por delante.
...



Translation by me.... (José Luís is turning in his grave, I´m sure!)

MOMENTS

If I could live my life over again
in the next, I would try to commit more errors,
I would not try to be so perfect,
I would relax more.
I would be sillier than I have been
and take things less seriously.
I would be less hygenic,
I would run more risks, make more journeys,
see more sunsets,
climb more mountains, swim more rivers.
I would go to more places where I´ve never been,
eat more icecream and fewer braodbeans,
I would have more real problems and fewer imaginary.

I was one of those people who lived sensibly and prolificly every minute of their life;
of course there were moments of joy,
but if I could go back
I would try to have only good moments;
don´t lose the present.

I was one of those who never went anywhere
without a thermometer, a bag of hot water,
an umbrella and a parachute;
if I were to live again I would travel lighter.
If I were to go back to live again,
I would start to walk barefoot at the start of spring
and continue until the end of autumn
I would take more turns on the Carousel,
watch more sunrises
and play with more children,
if I were to have my life ahead of me again.
...



Adios y Hasta Luego,
Charlotte xx

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