It's all about the experience (and a little bit about don Pancho)

This past weekend I went with Shannon to visit Morelia and Uruapan in Michoacan. It was the perfect trip and I had the greatest time ever. At one point we were talking about how it's so much better to have experiences instead of things. I didn't used to think that way, but now I'm convinced that the experience of doing and seeing things is worth infinitely more than owning things. This weekend was full of experiences, such as...

watching Mexico qualify for the World Cup

seeing street performers in the plaza

listening to an African (Mexican) drum group

riding horses to San Juan, a pueblo that was covered by a volcanic eruption. The church tower is the only thing still visible above all the lava (you can see the volcano Paricutin in the background).

eating gazpacho (mixed fruit covered in cheese and chile)

watching a fireworks show at Morelia's catheral two nights in a row

spending time with friends

Don Pancho: Our guide to San Juan was don Pancho, a man in his 80s who witnessed the volcanic eruption when he was 13. He's probably one of the most fascinating people I've met so far in Mexico. First, Spanish is not his native language since in his village everyone speaks an indigenous language. He's lived all of his life in this village near the volcano and told us that he's only been to one other city in Mexico. His only job is guiding tourists on horseback. When Shannon asked him what he did during the week when there weren't many tourists he said, "I wait for them to come." All of his family lives in this village and there's nothing that prompts him to leave. I'm intrigued by don Pancho. Imagine living your whole life in one place with extremely limited contact to the rest of the world. Imagine never traveling and never seeing more than what you grew up with. It makes me feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to go to university, to live and travel in Mexico, and to understand that there is so much more to life than what I know.