Nighttime in Guanajuato
In the U.S., I never liked the night as much as the day. I'm an early riser, not a night owl, so my juice fades. I have never found much to do in the evening. I couldn't hike. Reading made me sleepy. I don't dance much, don't go to bars. I felt limited. I remember writing a theme in the weight-loss newsletter I used to publish, called "The Dark Night of the Eater," because nighttime snacking is so common among overeaters. One year, when I lived in Washington State, after the solstice passed, I checked the newspaper everyday faithfully for sunset times and would record the time in my journal, noting how much more light accumulated, slowly, a minute or two a day. It gave me hope. I sound like I have SAD, but I don't think I do.
I still feel more limited by night, but I'm affected less because I live in Guanajuato, a more southerly places. Here it is, 7:09 p.m., it's cooled off, yet it's still light. I love the soft air, as I sit on our 'front' terrace, facing the street. It's nighttime by the clock but not by the amount of light. In Guanajuato, the streets belong to the people. I can leave the house, go out awandering at 11:00 pm or midnight, and be surrounded by people and activities, whereas in Eureka if I went out past 9:00 in our neighborhood, though I wouldn't feel physically unsafe, I'd feel a little empty, a little sad, because no one's around. Being alone in the wilderness feels fine; being alone in urban environments feels 'off,' because I expect peoople. People are what make a town, a town.
Visiting San Blas, a coastal town north of Puerto Vallarta, a few years ago before Barry and I bought our house in Guanajuato, we met a German couple and had dinner with them. I remember so well what the guy said: 'In Germany, 'nice' people don't go out after dark. The only people out at night are the Turks.'"
In Guanajuato, nice people do go out after dark. The streets almost swim with people at night. I love living in a place where nighttime hasn't been abandoned. On the other hand, sometimes I walk around at night, like I did last night after the symphony, and I was so aware of how young everyone seems. All the chicas who could barely walk or even stand up with their boyfriends hanging onto them. The only 'older' folks looked like tourists. I wanted more middle-aged people out and about, like my neighbor R, in her 60s; she watches TV at night. Or another neighbor, N, same age: I never see her out at night.
Meanwhile I notice as darkness descends that the more powerful streetlights on Tecolote--the ones that, as one friend who lives up the street put it, "they make the street look like Costco!," are no longer in use. I don't know if the city just undid a switch somewhere, or, more likely, some part stopped working and they haven't gotten around to fixing it, but it's a blessing.
Oh yes. It's cooler at night. I like that, too.
Eureka, CA, USA
I still feel more limited by night, but I'm affected less because I live in Guanajuato, a more southerly places. Here it is, 7:09 p.m., it's cooled off, yet it's still light. I love the soft air, as I sit on our 'front' terrace, facing the street. It's nighttime by the clock but not by the amount of light. In Guanajuato, the streets belong to the people. I can leave the house, go out awandering at 11:00 pm or midnight, and be surrounded by people and activities, whereas in Eureka if I went out past 9:00 in our neighborhood, though I wouldn't feel physically unsafe, I'd feel a little empty, a little sad, because no one's around. Being alone in the wilderness feels fine; being alone in urban environments feels 'off,' because I expect peoople. People are what make a town, a town.
Visiting San Blas, a coastal town north of Puerto Vallarta, a few years ago before Barry and I bought our house in Guanajuato, we met a German couple and had dinner with them. I remember so well what the guy said: 'In Germany, 'nice' people don't go out after dark. The only people out at night are the Turks.'"
In Guanajuato, nice people do go out after dark. The streets almost swim with people at night. I love living in a place where nighttime hasn't been abandoned. On the other hand, sometimes I walk around at night, like I did last night after the symphony, and I was so aware of how young everyone seems. All the chicas who could barely walk or even stand up with their boyfriends hanging onto them. The only 'older' folks looked like tourists. I wanted more middle-aged people out and about, like my neighbor R, in her 60s; she watches TV at night. Or another neighbor, N, same age: I never see her out at night.
Meanwhile I notice as darkness descends that the more powerful streetlights on Tecolote--the ones that, as one friend who lives up the street put it, "they make the street look like Costco!," are no longer in use. I don't know if the city just undid a switch somewhere, or, more likely, some part stopped working and they haven't gotten around to fixing it, but it's a blessing.
Oh yes. It's cooler at night. I like that, too.
Eureka, CA, USA
posted by Louisa at 8:21 AM
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