December 1, 2006

Patzcuaro, Mexico

I’m finally settled into my little house in Patzcuaro. Today I hung some colorful fabrics on the bare walls (borrowed them from Molly, a neighbor, who buys them on e-bay.) I’ll be here working on that story/cookbook until March first.

I am not going to even try to study Spanish or hang out with the locals. This is a working visit. Maria (who is sharing the work on the book) found me the house. It’s tucked into an area called Gringolandia, at the top of a hill, a comfortable walk to the center of town. There are several of us here, working on books, studying, or just enjoying retirement….nearly all ex-pat Americans; so there is community, even if it’s not Hispanic.

About that story/cookbook.
To those of you who sent me a submission:  if you’ve changed your e-mail, please let me know (asap) your current address. Or….even better, if you sent me a submission, write to let me know you are still out there. Remind me of the story/recipe that you sent so I can contact you when we are ready to chose, revise, or reject. I have a special address exclusively for cookbook business:  collaborativecookbook@yahoo.com

Everything we received is interesting….but some entries read a bit too much like travelogues. Others have no “plot.” Remember that we are looking for stories that deal with some kind of “connecting;” and they have to have a beginning, middle, and ending.

Maria and I have been rereading everything and we’ve discovered that most of the stories involve some kind of risk….talking to strangers, taking off for someplace interesting, joining the Peace Corps, following whims, testing your limits. There are all levels and kinds of risks, and we’re hoping that reading these stories will inspire everyone to step into the unknown…..even if it’s just to talk to the person standing next to you in an elevator.

The recipes too will encourage you to take some risks. I never saw a measuring spoon in Thailand or Bali or Tanzania….or a cookbook for that matter. Maria and I are hoping to get you to take some kitchen-risks via the recipes. We will probably put measurements in some of the recipes, but we’re hoping you’ll fool around with tastes and proportions.  Yeah, you might mess up……..but you’ll have fun trying.

I have no idea when the book will be ready, but we will be reading, editing, and cooking for the next three months……..and probably longer.

We’re accepting entries (see below) until the end of December.

Another call for nomadic women.  I’m still interested in putting together a bunch of women who
are doing something similar to what I’m doing. My e-mails tell me that there are thousands of women who would love to know that there is another way to live life………if they knew more about how fulfilling and exciting it can be. Once I have enough like-living souls, I will try to find a way to get us onto a TV talk show to spread the word. I think it would be interesting and inspiring…….and different. If Oprah doesn’t want us, there are plenty of others who might. I have a few people from my last search, but not enough.

TALES OF A FEMALE NOMAD is still selling. Word of mouth is keeping it alive….and so are book clubs. And I’m happily still living my very inexpensive life mostly in developing countries. I will be 70 in July, slower, and more forgetful than when I took off 20 years ago, but I’m not ready to quit yet.

Love, Rita

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