A Good Fish

Still in Ubud.  Thinking about Eat, Pray, Love, which is hard not to do here.
Ever since I told people I am going on a would tour the comments about that book have been never ending.  Then of course I decided to start in Bali, with my South American "romantic male companion" no less, and naturally the comments persisted.  While I do understand why people make the correlation, I would like to take this time to say a few things about it.

First of all, I thought of this 10 years before this lady ever even thought outside the suburbs.  Of course I was 12 years old at the time, which delayed the trip for a while,  but it was certainly my idea first (and probably someone else's before that).  Second, the book sucks; as in is not a good piece of literature.  Entertaining at times, but ultimately reads somewhat like a self-help romance novel. 

What is funny though, is how right now, here in Ubud, I am literally mirroring the end of her story.  She finished her year abroad in Bali, where she found a South American Prince Charming and fell in love.  So ends her book, as though the entire point of a year of introspection was more valid now that she could again find someone to be with.  I, on the other hand, started my travels with Bali, where I lost my South American Prince Charming, and fell out of love.    

Sounds tragic at first and seems like she got the better end of the deal, but a closer look and a little further analysis proves my situation to be much more promising in the next chapter.

She has to end her book there, because what comes next?  "Then we moved to New Jersey where we bought a house in a gated community.  Lately I have been falling asleep on the couch, and I can not for the life of me get Felipe to do the goddamn dishes." (Seriously though, I'm pretty sure they moved to New Jersey afterwards.)

Luckily for me, New Jersey does not come next and I've still got the whole world and a lot of story ahead.

Don't get me wrong, "in-love" is nice and all, but far too often mistaken for something much more final and definite than it really is.  It certainly is not an answer to any question and in fact, seems to just create a whole lot more.  That being said, I certainly do recommend it from time to time to anyone. 

Nevertheless, I will not deny I am a little bit (or a lot) heartbroken at the moment.  I have uncovered a "poem" I wrote last time I was heartbroken, which doesn't exactly describe the situation now, but it  does capture some of the same feelings.  Plus, I like this thing that I wrote a lot for some reason and would like to post it here anyway.  I also do not feel like writing another melancholy poem. 

So:

A Good Fish

I’m a good fish, you told me.
Lost in translation somewhere.
“Maria, you’re a good fish.”
So you bait your hook.
And you tease me
With your appealing lure
You tease me
With your shining façade
I investigate with caution, and swim away
Turning back I see
It was still there
A second inspection
Cautious
It was still there
Again I check
Did you give up?
It was still there.
I bite
You tug
Caught!
You got me
Proudly you boast your success
But only for a moment
Because the hook tore my lip
Just a regular fish after all
Not able to withstand the piercing power of sharpened steel
Now I’m flailing on the ground
Defenseless out of the water
Much less attractive, wounded and vulnerable
Many more fish in the sea

Mary-kate says: this world is vast and it is completely open to you and your adventure.....so leaving one persons arms is really like....going to your own welcome party, and everyone is happy you've arrived!  World Tour 2011!!!!!!!

And that is why I keep her close.

Everything is going to be OK, and reminds me of this quote which wikipedia tells me is a Persian proverb:  This too shall pass.