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The nest is empty, so the bird flies

So now that Andrew is out of the house and claiming to never come back to Ottawa and given the fact that neither I nor my late husband Misha have any family in Ottawa I thought to myself, "What the heck am I doing here? Why stay here for the winter all by myself?" Covid restrictions are understandably strict, but also they have meant many lonely times for me. All of my immediate family is in a warmer climate, and so I made the decision to fly away and enjoy some time in Mexico. My mom is there for part of the year, and I love the culture so much that I am drawn to watch the telenovelas I can get in Ottawa just for the language immersion. Even though Spanish is my first language, I still speak better English than Spanish.

Another thing I have been doing to deal with the loneliness is meeting friends through online dating apps. I used one to meet men in Mexico, knowing I was going there eventually. Last April, I met a man named Luis, 55 who is a psychologist and former gymnast. He is very positive, wise and does not play silly games that a lot of "boys" play on the dating apps that give them full license to flirt then ghost you. Luis is just a friend, there is no romance between us and he video calls me often to share a cup of coffee in the morning, or to tell me about his day at night. I trust him and so when he told me he has an AirBnB property one floor below his own dwelling, we agreed I would stay there if it was available. 

I arrived in Mexico City on October 13, and secured a Luis' AirBnB for $22 a night. My mom won't know I am here for a few days as I want to quarantine before I see her and she is 72 Kms from Mexico City in a colonial town called Cuernavaca.

It was so lovely to meet Luis! And hug! And go for groceries with someone, and share an outdoor meal. There was no awkwardness at all, and we are happy to call one another amigos.

His AirBndB in Coyoacan, a municipality of Mexico City and the former village that is now the borough's historic centre. 

PHOTO description: Clara and Luis meeting for the first time after chatting online for 6 months. Note Clara did not sleep a wink the night before as she had to be at the airport at 4am. Second photo is Luis having lunch with me. Third photo is a Walmart display showing Day of the Dead confectionaries. 







Comments

  1. PerioNexUs17 November 2021 at 09:46

    Such an adventure, I think you are so brave Clara.! It is interesting to read the cost of your meals etc.

    ReplyDelete

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