Man. What a crazy energy from my first week in Mexico. I have so many thoughts. So many feelings. So many emotions. I’m grateful to have the next week to be on my own to really give myself time to process everything that I just took in. Get back into a better routine of exercise and work that feels a bit more structured and less distracted. As I write today’s post, I find myself sitting on one of the COOLEST busses I think I’ve ever been on. There’s literally a screen in front of me, just like there is on an airplane. I have a ton of foot room, three suitcases in the storage compartment of the bus, and a book bag full of snacks under my feet. I was lucky to get a window seat, where I have access to the most beautiful view of the Mexican countryside.
As I make my way from León to Guadalajara, I find myself challenged to know where to start.
I guess I’ll back up a bit because a lot of people who have learned about my work and my business, Mezclada, don’t often know that much about my background or where the name of my business comes from. Most of my community in the U.S. and clients aren’t Spanish speakers, so they don’t quite get it when I say the name of my business. I’ve written a bit more extensively about what is has meant to me to be bi-racial on my personal travel blog over the years, but not so much in my business.
Something you should know: I’m a second-generation Mexican-American. On my Mexican side, my biological father grew up in San Pedro, Michoacán, México. When my parents got divorced, I was super young, and didn’t have contact with him or any of the members of my Mexican family until later in my high school years, and even then, it was just through Facebook. I felt pretty distanced from them and didn’t have much of a personal connection.
Fast forward to me as 28-year-old Emily, and having done a TON of work on myself, going to therapy, investing in personal growth and developing a deeper understanding of my own beliefs around spirituality, healing, and the kind of life that I wanted to create for myself, I decided to reach out and meet my dad, Juan, for the first time in person since I was 4 years old. This was two years ago. And boy am I grateful for the trip I made from Minnesota to Stamford, Connecticut, to learn and share a bit more about my life, to hear stories that I’d never heard before, and to resolve so many mysteries around my identity and background.
Since then, my dad and I have had great communication. Of course, never as strong or frequent as with my stepdad, who’s been around since I was 2, but nevertheless, communication.
From that trip, I learned that I had many aunts and uncles in California, and a couple of aunts in Mexico. As I consolidated my life into two suitcases last year, I knew that visiting family in Mexico and getting to know more about my own culture was a big part of my journey to come.
At the same time, I had no luck in identifying opportunities to study herbal medicine in Costa Rica (through locals….of expats offering courses, there are many), which is what I’ve wanted to do to prepare for my own farm business. When I started to research opportunities to do the same in Mexico, I was overwhelmed by the diversity of diplomas, certificates, and curanderos who had information online. To me, making the decision to meet my family, understand more about my own culture and traditions, and studying herbal medicine all in one place just makes sense.
So much of my brand and values revolves around helping people celebrate their own culture and traditions through agricultural foods and products, and I can think of no better way of supporting others by modeling what this looks like in my own business, for my own farm.
It gives me great pleasure to imagine what it would look like to carry on the herbal medicine traditions of my abuelitas and to combine it with the modern-day interests of those seeking healing today.
Having just celebrated my 30th birthday, I thought it would be fun to celebrate it with my family here in Mexico. So here I am! I landed in León about a week ago, spent a day in downtown Guanajuato with two of my aunts and my cousin, and truly, truly enjoyed the opportunity to get to meet them, to share quality time and our interests, do a bit of shopping, and master the art of making tortillas, among other things.
Sometimes you never know what you’re going to get into with family, and I was mentally prepared for things to go any direction, always ready to change plans at the last minute. What could have been an uncomfortable and awkward time was instead incredibly heartfelt and laughter-filled week. And to me, I think it has ALWAYS been worth taking the risk to know what’s on the other side instead of staying in a place of fear when deciding to do stuff like this.
To be completely honest, within about 24 hours of being in Mexico I had that feeling in my body that I knew I had found exactly what I was looking for all these years in terms of community and culture. The warmth of the people, the colors, the music! The books….
I would not be surprised if you find within the next year that I’ve purchased property here in Mexico and have finally set up shop, selling herbal medicines, hosting weekenders for latin dance, and yoga classes.
My advice to any of you that are seeking to find a place that you call “home” – Don’t give up on finding the place that makes you feel alive! Don’t be afraid to move away from your family. You can always create new networks no matter where you move. The worst thing that you can do is deprive yourself of the opportunity to create a life for yourself more beautiful than you could ever imagine.
Your cheerleader to chase your dreams now and always,
Emily
