Between Places

As you may have noticed, I haven't written here in quite awhile, so here is a little something, well overdue.

About two years ago, I managed to visit six countries: Mexico, Colombia, Singapore, Malaysia, Sydney and New Zealand. At one point, I left my home state of NM for about a month and traveled half across the world to parts of Asia and Oceania. Though I spent a good deal of time traveling through Latin America at this point in my life, I have not visited any parts of Asia until this point. I was looking for something different, so the trip to a couple of countries in Asia was definitely a welcome treat.

Ultimately, it was just the right, different kind of 'flavor' (so to speak?) I was looking for, even if unforgivably hot at times. I remember asking a fellow companion for advice on visiting Singapore and her first recommendation was to 'beware, it's hot!" That certainly proved true once I got there.

As you can see in one of of my instagram posts from that time, there is a photo of a laid-back Peranakan lunch I had with a friend. In case you're curious, Peranakan food is the cuisine of people who are a mixture of Chinese and Singaporean. Not sure how it shows online but that is what my fried and guide told me. Aside from the heat, the most unsettling thing about visiting Asia was the driver's seat being on the other side. It was very disorienting but interesting at the same time.

Overall, I feel super lucky to have gone on this trip. I've been meaning to venture out and explore the world outside of the US some more but due to work here and personal obligations, I just haven't had the chance. Maybe some day, again.

Not only am I curious about different cultures and places but I'm also very curious about sex work specifically, in all its' different forms and contexts. One of the (exciting!) purposes of this trip abroad was to catch a glimpse of what it's like in other places around the world. I've done a good bit of reading on it via books and academic journal articles, online, etc but there is only so much that can be learned about a particular social topic from reading.  There is so many different kinds of sw in the US as is, with its' different modalities and the regulations surrounding it, each varying from region to region, sometimes county to county. I've become pretty familiar with what the different forms and regulations surrounding it are in the US over the years. It was very interesting and exciting to experience (even if briefly) it in a different part of the world, where the legalities, regulations and the culture is different.

After my trip to Asia and Oceania, I settled back home in New Mexico. I stayed put awhile, making myself amply available to those who wanted to spend time with me locally and also, working on some personal projects. As you may or may not know, when I haven't been in my home state of New Mexico or traveling abroad, I have been spending a lot of time in the Midwest over the last couple of years. I think that just like in my wanting to visit Asia in order to experience something different, I wanted to spend an extended time in the Midwest to experience something different than the Southwest part of the country I have become so used to and quite frankly, almost bored of. I have lived so much of my life at this point in the sunny parts of the Southwest US that I was really yearning for something a bit colder and specifically in a few of the Midwestern places where I spent some time recently, also more bland. As someone who has somewhat of a novelty-seeking personality, I tend to get bored of living in the same place for too long, so this 'venturing away" and frequent travel makes sense.

I have been spending so much time in the Midwest that some have voiced concern over me moving there permanently but I can assure you, that no, it's not happening. I may continue to visit there though for extended period, at least in the foreseeable future. As tired as I may be of the SW and it's heat, I have very recently started to spend lot of time in El Paso, TX. I'm not sure how long that'll last but as of now, I'm still available in ABQ/Santa Fe, though extra planning may be required to arrange visits with me. I'm also available in West TX and anywhere within easy reach of there.

So all in all, it may seem like I'm in between places, with extended absences from my home state of NM. Still, I'm very much so within reach and not going to venture permanently too far away.