Did you all enjoy yourselves last month? With so much music happening in Centro, it was hard to decide what to do every weekend. I’d have to say the most spectacular was the third annual Dia de la Musica, with free music from multiple bands on six outdoor stages on a not-yet-uncomfortably-hot Saturday night. This event also included public art, and our cover by Tomas Guarena is one of the pieces created as part of "A la Vuelta de Venus 2." Thousands of folks of all ages happily wandered the streets of Centro Historico, enjoying all kinds of music from 7pm till after 11. Did I mention it was all free?! See Que Pasa? for a more detailed wrap-up of this wonderful event.

You know what they say: “Imitation is the blah, blah, blah...” Still, it’s been surprising the last couple of months to see such direct “flattery” on the pages of another English monthly here. I guess we’re doing something right, eh?

That said, by the time you read this I will have gone and returned from a quick trip to California. Each time I visit, the culture shock is more noticeable, sometimes verging on the uncomfortable, and so I travel with mixed feelings. Of course, a strong desire to see my family and friends, but also some trepidation as to how I’ll fit in - or not - in my former hometown. Who am I, anyway - to myself, to my family, to my friends, in public? Not completely American, anymore, that’s for sure - but not Mexican, either. When my two worlds collide, it can be exhausting, mentally draining and emotionally confusing. (But also fun!)

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve become more thoughtful in my demeanor, more internal, as it were, with how I look at life. Maybe it’s because life in general is slower here in Mexico, and so I’m able to think about things in a more contemplative and philosophical manner, things that in my “previous” life would only be fleeting thoughts at, say, a long stoplight or whilst reading a particularly intense novel of some sort.

Unlike many of you, it’s not that I necessarily have more time than before (I’m not retired), so perhaps it’s because living in this new and very different culture forces me to think more about almost everything I do. Even the simplest errand – buying a new hose, for example – is fraught with unimagined difficulties at every step of the way. I have to concentrate on every detail or face the often-confusing consequences. And I don’t just mean the language!

Recently I was reading a women’s magazine (in English!) and came upon an interview with a famous clothing designer. “Knowing when to splurge is an art,” he said. “There are just two rules: Splurge on the most classic thing in the world – you’ll have and cherish it forever. Splurge on the most insane thing in the world. You’ll have it and cherish it forever.”