25 September 2020, 12:15am: Still no sign of el vecino gallo. Piolo reminded me that we did in fact hear someone shout, “I’m going to kill you,” directed at el vecino gallo. This is after all, Mexico and people just kind of do what they want. In fact, the society here only functions at all because there are a lot of good people here, because no one is really running the show. It does make it kind of a terrifying prospect to cross the street sometimes though, given I know a 13 yo whose father is teaching her to drive.
I do wonder what happened to el vecino gallo. I kind of miss him, but I think that what I miss is yet another constant in my life. One thing that has become very clear is that life is not really in our control. For someone who doesn’t deal with ambiguity very well, this has been one heck of a ride.
Misery Olympics
The coronavirus has meant that we have been inside together in one room since March. I didn’t get to go and comfort my very good friend whose father died recently here in Mexico. It has also meant that I missed out on a trip to Colombia and other countries in South America, a trip to Campeche, Spanish classes, seeing friends and basically living. Being excited about that rare trip to the supermarket, but being terrified of it at the same time. Visually stabbing someone who wears their mask under their nose or around their neck.
This is not how I thought my year away would turn out. The one year I go and do something just for me, there is a pandemic. I realise other people are in much worse situations, but it’s not a misery Olympics.
I have to admit that I am only yuman. I definitely don’t have much space for anyone else’s shit and I do have a bit of an eyeroll at certain things that shall remain unsaid.
Love + lockdown
I guess ultimately though, I came here to be with Piolo and build that relationship and that has gone from strength to strength. We spend most of the days together in one room and a couple of giant barneys aside, we are doing really well. I hate to think of the thought of separation. We have our own little sanitary bubble here and it’s a bit like a womb.
The separation is kind of inevitable though, given the halt on visa processing and international arrivals in Australia. Just another thing I can’t control.
You can’t sit with us
One of the most awful things in this mess is not being able to return to Australia any time soon. As far as I knew, until about 3 weeks ago, I had a flight from Santiago and Qantas wasn’t making any decisions on that flight until the end of September. I had no idea about the shitfight brewing and what the Australian government had done to its citizens overseas, by effectively abandoning them to the mercy of market forces and airlines. It is currently $9-18k to get home, if you can get home.
The part about it that is most hurtful about it though, is being used as a political football. While politicians point fingers and play games, people are suffering. Australia is the only country doing this to their citizens. What else is disappointing, is the reaction of many Australians. These are the same Australians who crap on about mateship and the ANZACs when it suits their bogan xenophobia, but ultimately, Australia is a country full of fearful individualists.
The Australian government and the premiers arguing over quarantine responsibilities.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to taco about it…
10 weeks ago, Piolo and I decided to start a live stream in Twitch, an online streaming service, mostly used by gamers. Piolo uses it for gaming, but we decided to put it to use to talk about the differences between Australia and Mexico. Today we celebrated our 10th episode.
We cover lighthearted topics such as movies, music, ghost stories, books, legends and animals. It is meant to be fun and it really is. Today we talked about koalas, quokkas and tlacuaches (the only marsupial in Mexico).
We broadcast every Friday or Saturday afternoon, generally around 4pm, Hermosillo time, so if you are at a loose end, please come by (you don’t have to have a Twitch account to watch, but you do need it to chat with us).
https://www.twitch.tv/piolobalbino/videos
El vecino gallo and other stories 