When we first arrived in Mexico, my senses were overwhelmed with the sights, sounds, and tastes of my new home. I was willing to try just about anything. I even managed to choke down the unpleasant bits in the name of experience. Everything was incredible. Everything was fascinating. It was a lot like falling in love.
As I’ve passed the 10-year mark here in Mexico, that initial euphoria has taken a nosedive. I am no longer willing to gag on my life experiences for the greater good. That doesn’t mean that Mexico still doesn’t inspire me to heights of great passion. It does, but it’s not the same as when I first fell in love.
There’s a word in Spanish that I think foodies would understand. Saborear. Literally translated, it means to savor. Saborear goes beyond that brief moment that the food actually touches your tongue. To saborear something is to hold it in your mouth and experience the flavor and texture of the food, to enjoy the act of eating. To seek out the individual nuances of the ingredients and ponder them separately and in conjunction with the other flavors. It’s not a sandwich cramming type of lifestyle.
I’ve learned to saborear my life in Mexico, which means making more deliberate choices, now and in the future. Unfortunately, living here in Mexico is often much like Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Jellybeans of the wizarding world. Sometimes you think you’ve chosen a nice toffee flavor and it turns out to be nothing more than ear wax. Alas!
Because of this alteration in life choices, my lifestyle over the past year has been undergoing some drastic changes. (See A room of her own) I’m still in the transition process. I’ve made some headway as you’ll see in my Mid-year Goals update, but there are still some aspects I’m working on. Meanwhile, I’ll saborear the moment I am in.
How do you saborear your life?
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Surviving Mexico 