I had this grand idea last year: I’d buy a bike to ride into town for supplies and to the farmer’s market that’s 2 miles from the condo. Even though I hadn’t ridden a bike in 35 years, I thought this would be a much better way to get around. It was tougher than I’d imagined. By the end of my stay last year, I still had not warmed to the bike. But this year, I decided I wasn’t ready to give up on it. Instead, I’ve taken the bike out more often to build up my stamina. Every day, I ride a little further. It has gotten easier. I don’t love the bike, but I don’t hate it, either. The hardest part of riding last year was the return trip from the farmer’s market, carrying a backpack loaded with food. Because of this, I shopped lighter than usual today. Roundtrip I rode 4 miles, and it wasn’t arduous. I’m pretty pleased with myself.

Last Thursday, I made my first trip to the flower market in Progreso. I told most of this story on Instagram, so you may have read this already. It was such a delight. The young lady that helped me with my weekly selections last year recognized me right away, and her whole face lit up when she greeted me. She was still unwrapping bundles of flowers and plopping them into buckets of water and told me everything was fresh. She pointed out the sunflowers, remembering how I ordered those every time last year. Then she held up a finger asking me to wait and went behind the counter to rummage around as she’d just remembered something. She pulled out a huge bundle still wrapped in brown paper. I could tell what it was before she started unwrapping: lilies! She knew this was one of my favorite flowers last year. The buds were still tightly closed, meaning they would last even longer in the vase than ones I saw that were fully open. I had her tell me the price of every bundle and stem. Last year, she gave me a total at the end which was fine, but without an itemized list, I never knew how much things were going to cost. I’m determined to learn more this year. I got lilies, sunflowers, roses, mums, alstroemerias, and carnations. I needed some greenery and recognized something familiar in a bucket in a corner. It was rue, one of my favorite fillers. I’d never seen it here before. I tried to explain that I grow it in the United States but wasn’t getting the message across until I pulled up a picture of the bridal bouquet I made last year. As she wrapped up my flowers, she asked me a question. I had to apologize that I only understood a little Spanish. She tried again and I understood Estados Unidos (United States). I thought she was probably asking if that’s where I’m from and why I am here. I said, “Si, Estados Unidos. Pero aqui para enero y febrero.” She smiled and said, “Ah!” She understood I was here for the next couple of months. Then I said, “Mi habitacion es en Chelem,” telling her I’m living in Chelem (but I think I actually told her my bedroom is in Chelem). She seemed to understand. Though I’ve been trying to learn for a couple of years now, my español is still muy mal. It’s such a satisfying feeling to converse with someone here in Spanish and be able to understand each other.

I’ve spent some time pouring over the first drafts of my first book to see what bits and pieces weren’t used. I’ve created a file on my laptop: Book #2. I hope to add to this file in the coming weeks. I leave you with my latest floral creation.