Life in the Lower South

When I started my blog I had in mind a way to keep in touch with family and friends on a more regular basis than I could by individual emails and phone calls, and perhaps entertain them with tales of life lived elsewhere. However, I soon realized that I had no good way of knowing which of my friends (if any) were reading my blog (and not even sure if my family members were, although more hopeful in that direction), and that without readers I didn't have much motivation. So I set about to become known to at least some people in the blogosphere.

I did linkups - both popular ones (like 7 Quick Takes) and less known ones (like Week Ending). I developed an off-blog relationship with some other bloggers in the process and learned what kinds of blogs (and linkups) I am most drawn to.

I really enjoy the linkups that challenge me to reflect: Week Ending, A Simple Woman's Daybook, and 3-2-1 (not exactly a linkup, but same result).

I find myself wanting to sound like the bloggers with meditative posts: Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter, Rakhi at Pitter Patter Diaries, Sarah at Everyday Elegance. They consistently find deeper treasures in the things of everyday life.

And I want to be a voice for a different perspective on life in another country - showing the fulfillment that can come by embedding yourself in an alien culture rather than trying to replicate your own culture in an alien place. Embracing and being embraced by the Other.

The Pirate and I have plenty of experience with that. In fact, most of our adult lives we have found ourselves in places/social milieus/situations that are WAAAAY different from what we had experienced before, and have found what a great gift it is to step into the unknown and partake of the richness there. That's the foundation from which all my reflections are born. That's the source of all our stories. That's the element that has shaped our lives more than any other.

So the theme of this blog is "Life in the Lower South", which is the English translation of "Baja Sur", the state in Mexico that our town is in. As with any small town in Mexico, much of life here revolves around the faith and the church, so there is plenty of that element in this blog as well - not only in relationship to our pueblo, but also how it affects us (especially me) on a deep level.