CONCEPTIONS PART II: BOUNDARIES

Upon re-reading my first conceptions post, I realized it sounded a bit dramatic, especially when the entire post was dealing with motos. But the thing is that, it is through these small every day moments that we realize that our conceptions of somethings are perhaps not totally absolute and thus we start to wonder about other things. So many things I have experienced here have made me think twice about my approach to life and the things I hold as truths, and so whether it is motos or boundaries the consequences are larger for me. And now BOUNDARIES.


Boundaries in Providencia are fluid.



Nature seems to rebel against fences. Overpowering them; mixing the private with the public.



Even when there is not a sense of rebellion, the boundaries between what is man-made and natural blend. They exist as part of a continuum.



Public and private property exist, but walking into a restaurant in the middle of the day to Skype because it is the only place in the island where we get a good signal is OK.



Admittedly since the place belongs to the pizza



it really shouldn't be much of a problem.

Still things belong to people I'm sure, but it seems as if they don't always care to portray that. I mean, I have come into Pizza's Place only to find a group of hens sitting at the table, I actually felt I was intruding on a gossip session amongst old ladies. I'm sure the hens have owners but it is ok for them to roam around, hanging out in Pizzerias, trees (yes who knew hens liked to hang out in trees) or next to empty soda crates.


Yes the boundaries of property are just so fluid... Meet my dogs, Rex and Roxy,



They of course are not actually mine. As a matter of fact they are not even stray. They have owners and live in a house, but every time I walk by their house I whistle for them and they come out and walk the rest of the way to Pizza's Place with me, hang out while I do my internet business and then walk me back. Their owners don't seem to mind even though they don't know me.

And still surprisingly enough it seems important to put a lock on a space that has so many other points of entry,



But perhaps the most noticeable fluidity exists within the boundaries of physical space. Indoor and outdoor can sometimes be confusing concepts here. This is our restaurant,



we eat here every day and when we are under that roof we are inside even though we are still stepping on sand. Did I mention that if you don't feel like going in and asking for the menu this might help,



But even the mangroves seem to challenge the necessity for roots to be underground



Merging the air and the ocean



And at another local bar, why bother having separate tables and menus. When so often a table



also makes such a good menu



This is a local eatery,



bar also, but you are welcome to bring your own alcohol and just hang out, as a matter of fact you might have to because they are likely to run out but the party is likely to continue. The restaurant/bar is really the kitchen of their house, but the kitchen of their house is really a dance floor, as Matt and I discovered last night. If you run out of room there, that is not a problem because the restaurant/bar extends into the public road to the other side where there are bamboo seats and a tent with a hammock.



It is a larger establishment than it seems at first sight.

Even the boundaries between garbage



and decoration are fluid.



Not to mention between food and decoration,



and eating utensils and tree ornaments.



But I guess it is all part of the fluidity between real and imagined.



Who needs a real window when they can simply paint one?



Even the cemetery seems to challenge boundaries by being the liveliest cemetery I have ever seen.



At sunset it even makes sense that the dead would want to come out and enjoy the light.



The street is for motos,



also for cows;



for children to run and play.


And of course, the shower is a parking spot.



And most of all with its clarity,



and waves the ocean blends one world with another.



And with your feet being pulled into the sea, simultaneously on land and water you realize nothing is absolute.

CONCEPTIONS - PART I : MOTOS

The following is the first of a four part series of posts dealing with the difference in conceptions around everyday living in the island of Providencia, in comparison with life in Bogota or in the US. These posts, which will be spread out in the next couple of weeks but which will not necessarily be posted one after the other, will explore the difference in my conception of a certain idea and what I've experienced as the prevailing idea in the island. How has my set of experiences in a completely different environment with different sets of rules affect my understanding of an idea; an idea that once having seemed so absolute, suddenly is shattered by new experiences and presents itself as a creation rather than a truth. Here it goes; Part I: Motos.

I now drive a Moto. A moto is short for motocicleta-motorcycle and it basically includes all 2 wheeled motorized vehicles including our scooter. You might think that driving a scooter does not qualify as driving a motorcycle but since in the US no one makes a distinction between driving an automatic car and driving a manual car, they simply drive a car, I am going to just say I drive a moto.

Up until now I had a very specific idea of the type of people who rode motorcycles. The general idea always associated to motorcycle gangs or at least. especially after living in Williamstown, groups of middle-aged men with huge Harley's. But in Providencia where barely anyone has a car and public transportation is rare everyone drives a moto. A moto stops being linked to a style choice, a statement about lifestyle, and it becomes simply a mode of transportation.

It is a way to get to school



A way to transport one's family





Meant to be driven on the road



on the beach



and into the woods



It is used to get groceries and general purchases



whatever those may be



Boys drive them



girls drive them



older women


and men too



Made-up women going to meet up with friends (the absolute best Providencia-moto moment had to be the time we saw two women with rollers on their head driving next to eachother gossiping)



perhaps on their way to work



A man running an errand for his wife



There are those who ask you to mind your business



And those who offer you a ride



Or simply continue on their way, whatever that may be.



And ultimately in Providencia everyone is just going from one place to another, or hanging out by the side of the road chatting with people. Still, they ride their motos around a single street, with no implication attached to that fact. Motos become a convenient way to get around this small island and even I, who have always had a certain dislike of bikes, have to admit that feeling the wind on your face as you zoom by in the middle of the afternoon feels fantastic.