we meet on the street.. she is walking towards me barefoot with a huge grin ear to ear......she slows down and pauses near me and touches my arm.......... i can see she wants to share exchanges, so i practice with the spanish I’ve been accumulating over years of studying on Skype and talk with her
I learn some about her family..the life she lives with her son that lives conveniently just around the corner......... surprised, as we are about to part, she invites me to walk along with her and back to her home.... these are the kinds of moments that remain indelible in my mind...... Inside she introduces me to many family members... including other elders and children.......with pride she shows me her family home.....along with the chickens...cats and dogs running amidst the yard......what they are cooking from the huge outdoor oven.. with its billowing smoke.......tortillas being made by the dozens....... and her bedroom off in a small sacred space of her own.... picking up items that are special to her... a radio that looks like it came from another era.....
45 mins later, with a stranger from another world.. yet not a stranger at all... she feels familiar.. like my grandmothers.. yet two women.... different tongues.... diff backgrounds, nationalities...... generations apart ... but same... Always the same denominator........
it's more about what we have in common.. our humanity, connections, than what separates us...
we part with a hug.. i take several photos.. mostly she has these huge bursting smiles.. i tell her how beautiful she looks... (to me the face is wrinkled with the history of time, a life long lived) .......embarrassed.. humbled... she hides her smile and part of her face... we say goodbye
