Arriving in Pátzcuaro
That first ride from Morelia was spectacular with mountains rising as high as 3,000 feet above the 7,000 foot high Altiplano (High Plains). We were delighted to find the main road into 475 year-old, Spanish colonial Pátzcuaro lined by a mixture of eucalyptus trees that reminded me of my childhood in Palo Alto, California, and pine trees that reminded Reed of summers on lakes in the Adirondacks of northern New York State. Pátzcuaro has been designated a Pueblo Mágico by the federal government because of its beautifully preserved colonial heritage. In a word, we were enchanted.
After wrapping up loose ends in the States, we arrived in Pátzcuaro permanently in August of 2008. Our first months were occupied with getting settled, learning new routines for daily living, and making friends along the way. Our intent was to interweave our lives as much as possible with the Mexican community. A small American community of about 200-300 people is scattered around Pátzcuaro and surrounding pueblos. But our focus was on improving our Spanish so we could communicate with the people of our chosen town and, hopefully, make Mexican friends.
Rather than buy a car, we decided to use taxis. This was an extraordinarily happy decision. We decided to work with Monarca—not only do Monarca cars have the beautiful Monarch butterfly stenciled on their doors, but the drivers deliver consistently superior service. We are quite impressed with our drivers. In the U.S. many of them could easily hold middle management positions. In fact, the best of them run their taxis like small businesses; they develop relationships with selected clients and can be trusted to run errands. I have run into drivers in Soriana’s Supermarket, buying supplies for our favorite local restaurant, El Camino Real.
Luis—A Humble Man with a Big Soul
Today I want to write about Luis, who is a Monarca driver. One morning he picked me up to take me to CELEP, our Spanish school. In the course of our chat, he told me that he loves to write, and he said he wanted to read to me what he had just written. It blew me away, so when he was finished, I asked whether I could copy it. When we arrived at CELEP, he dictated to me while I copied his words into my notebook.
With Luis' permission, I’m reprinting his words in the original Spanish, which I’ve also translated into English. As you read, take special note of the verb to "loan". Although Luis had originally written “gave”, when he read it out loud to me, he said, “No”, and changed the verb from "gave" to "loan" — an important change.
Somehow I think it's important to mention that when I saw his handwriting in his notebook, I realized that he is barely literate. Although this exchange is unusual for its profound insight, conversations of this nature are not uncommon in Pátzcuaro.
Here are Luis’s words in English and in Spanish:
Life Says: Life does not begin when when you are born but when you decide. There are some men who are already born, but they have not yet lived. I was born and already I have lived because God loaned me my life—and He also loaned it to you, and it is only one time. For this reason I will be happy. Yesterday has already gone, and perhaps tomorrow might not arrive. For just this reason, I will be very happy today. ~ Luis, Taxi Driver, age 40
Dice la Vida: Empieza cuando tú decides no cuando naces. Porque hay unos hombres que ya nacieron pero aún no viven. Yo nací y ya he vivido como y porque o para quien Dios me prestó la vida y a tí también y solo es una vez. Por eso hoy seré feliz. El ayer ya se fue y el mañana tal vez no llegue. Por eso solo por hoy seré muy feliz. ~ Luis
No comments:
Post a Comment