Like a rose unfolds its thousands petals...

I am the nature's child.

When my work was done yesterday, I went to the woods. I enjoyed...

I love to run in the forest with my bare feet, play and laugh among trees;

I love to let the earth feel my body and let the wind play with my hair;

I love to smell the grass and breathe from the fountain of life;

I love to blow dandelion's seeds and spread the message of love;

I love to dance and sing with birds and set my spirit free;

I love to meet the sun with more of my skin and less of my raiment,

I love to let my soul unfold itself, like a rose of thousands petals...

Lost in translation? Gain in translation!

When we translate from language to language, we lost a lot of "juice". However, in a country full of immigrants like Canada, people needs translation everywhere. C'est la vie, and it is a part of my job.

At work, I translate and earn money for traveling. When I go traveling, I translate too, and I collect sweet memories...

Once in Paris, at Gare Nord, I was in a line waiting for Metro tickets. Because I was talking with a lady near me in French, three Korean women noticed me. They started asking me directions. Fortunately, one of them spoke English. I was able to get answer to them through the help of the French lady. When we met again in the Metro, they gave me a chocolate bar!

Music consists a great pleasure for my traveling. Sometimes I sit in a music store and listen to music for hours, choosing the ones I like. Once in Puebla, I was in a music store, when three students from Belgium came in. Obviously, they don't spoke much Spanish. I volunteered to help. Guess what? I got two CDs free as a gift from the nice salesgirl!

Old Havana has a huge market for tourists' souvenirs. I was doing my "treasure hunting" and I found some necklaces made of beans. I was amazed by them and started to ask questions. The owner of the store suddenly asked me if I read Chinese. He wanted somebody to translate the instruction of his Chinese herbal medicine. Guess what? I got those bean necklaces for free!

To me, it is not "Lost in translation" anymore, but "gain in translation".

Bésame mucho...

Evening in Oaxaca could be very sensational and charming.

I always want to stay close to the Zocalo whenever I visit a place, no matter in Spain or in Latin America. Zocalo is the centre of religion, transportation, business, culture and politics. It is usually crowed with local residents, vendors, artists, shows and nice restaurants. Palace, city hall, Cathedral and antique buildings are usually located around the main square.

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It was not a holiday when I visited Oaxaca. To my surprise, several bands and even an orchestra were right there at the Zocalo. Music lasted from afternoon to late night. They played saxophone, clarinet, drums, xylophone and other musical instruments.

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The ancient xylophone sounded very special and nice. I was amazed by it. I watched and watched, and finally I got a chance to try it when the orchestra had a pause.

Meanwhile, people were sitting or standing around them. Some were watching, others were dancing, singing, playing, eating, drinking, chatting or resting. The atmosphere was quite relaxing and dynamic. To me, as a visitor, it was electrifying and thrilling.

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While I was having fun with the orchestra, a pretty lady approached me and asked me if I would like to join her and her friends for a cup of Tequila. I looked back, a group of people were waving towards me. I hesitated. I told her that I never drunk alcohol. Then, a gentleman came over and introduced himself nicely. He was also a visitor, from Mexico City, and he was there for a sculpture exhibition. He told me others were artists too and they would like to show me their work.

Finally, I joined their group. They were curios about me, so I had to answer their questions. We chatted, laughed, and took photos. We drank and sang. We looked portfolios and we also exchanged email address.

By the time I had to leave, somebody called a trio band to sing for me. We sang together. The last song was "Kiss me, kiss me a lot".

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Suddenly, I got goose bumps.

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As if I was back in his arms, his warm and wet breath was upon my face. I saw my myself in his eyes and I had to close my eyes.

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How I wish to melt in his deep kisses!

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Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez
Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después

Quiero tenerte muy cerca
Mirarme en tus ojos
Verte junto a mi
Piensa que tal ves mañana
Yo ya estaré lejos
Muy lejos de ti

Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez
Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después

Memories of Oaxaca

Oaxaca is a city for you to travel alone.

Said Norma. So, I was on my way.

There was a empty seat at the first row of the bus, right behind the driver. I asked the lady there if I could sit, she gave me a nice smile. I introduced myself, and we started to chat. It turned out that she was the coordinator of all museums in Oaxaca, she just went to Mexico City for a conference and she was supposed to work at Centro Cultural Santo Domingo that afternoon!

She told me how she raised her three girls alone. She told me her career ambition and difficulties such as politics in the office. She told me about her lovers ... she told me a lot about her life. During the four hours trip, we talked and talked. When we arrived in Oaxaca finally, I thought I knew her more than her daughters! And my Spanish jumped into another level!

Her daughters and one daughter's boy friend came to pick her up. They drove me to a hotel very close to zócalo (main square). We exchanged our email address and we kissed goodbye. - I told her that I might visit her in the museum the next day, but I never went.

The charming colonial town of Oaxaca offers rich culture, uplifting architecture and a spring-like climate.

The region around Oaxaca is home to several thousand archaeological sites, with more being discovered all the time.

I went to see the remains of Zapotec and Mixotec civilization at Monte Albán and Mitla.

I also visited a famous rug weaving village inTeotitlan del Valle. This family makes rugs with all natural dyes. At their work studio we had an opportunity to see the weavers at work and to see dying process techniques and how the variation in color is achieved using plants and insects. The designs are unusual and based on Zapotec ancient designs.

What an unforgetable experience for me!