12/14/08
By Summer Shapiro
So! Today we woke up, shared a gorgeous breakfast made by Vinicio (our vegan chef) and Hannah (our super star sous-chef), had a massive bus meeting where we prepared for our upcoming newcomers. Scott, Marina, Todd, Treasure, and Wafaa all will be coming within the next 1 – 5 days! That will put the bus at a whopping 22 people. Each person is coming in to add their special flare. Scott and Marina are coming tomorrow and they are bringing their passion for photography and Scott also is responsible for having built our kitchen and cubby storage system, thank you Scott! I am really excited to have them come aboard.
Soon after our meeting we hopped in the bus to go to clean up Lake Chapala. The day before we were there at the Lake Chapala Virgin De Gudalupe Festival and we performed our new show. Today we went to clean up the lake. Lake Chapala is the biggest lake in Mexico and it is infested with lily pads, an exotic plant introduced by the wife of Miguel De La Madrid when she was the first lady. Now, the lake is used for very little because the lilies have taken over the entire ecosystem. Subsequently, there has been a disregard for the lake and littering. We went to the lake and scanned the shore for trash.
As we were bending over again and again to pick up bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, we knew it wasn’t the trash removal that was going to make the difference. We hoped that by doing what we were doing, a bus load of cultural sore thumbs, we could inspire those looking at us curiously to think about the impact of their littering. While Ryan, the brainfather of The Extra Mile Adventure, was picking up a piece of trash a man walked over to him and asked, “What are you doing?” and Ryan said, “We’re cleaning the beach and we’re here to raise money to protect Lake Chapala.” The man said, “AH, que bueno! We need people like that everyday. Thank you thank you thank you.” It was one of those quintessential moments of someone else being inspired. The fact that he was a local and moved by what we were up to was so great! We are finding that everywhere we go people are so thankful and so generous. We are so grateful for the kindness and the connection with the people we are meeting.
We left the festival and headed for the mountains where we organized a group meditation for the lake. Our hosts and a new friend we met who does eco-bus tours through the United States came along. We meditated together for the healing of the lake, we shared our visualizations, and we did a group vocalization, by the end of it many of us were bursting out into songs of peace and community. There were songs being sung in 6 languages. We walked down the mountain after the sun had set and the moon had come out. Ulises (our itinerary guru and local tour guide magician) said that he had a friend of his in the neighborhood he would like us to stop in and play some music for.
We arrived at the house and were shown such complete hospitality and generosity. This family opened up their beautiful home for us. We cooked a beautiful vegan meal with fresh local produce and offered songs that we have been creating on our long bus rides. Morgan, Shelley, Ryan, and Liz did an incredible job in leading through song after song and finally ending with a jam session that got the whole group, including the host family and our new friends. Suddenly, Alison yelled out, “los pallasos!!!” And she was referring to Ryan and I, the clowns. Ryan and I have been getting in front of the public, and all the communities we can to improvise clown and physical comedy. When Alison yelled that out, I honestly did not want to do it in the slightest. We didn’t have costumes or makeup or props. However, like the rock star team we are they wouldn’t let me sell out to such petty limitations. So, Ryan and I huddled for a moment to discuss a few ideas and then before people knew what was happening we started. We went on for about 20 minutes, which by the way is a tall order with no costumes or written material for that matter. However, it went great! The two kids that were there yelled out “Outré!” when we finished an act and the whole place joined in. We proceeded to make everyone laugh, engage, and even accidentally break a glass bottle and turn it into part of our show. It was a great night of recognizing that we do in fact make a difference everywhere we go and we will not let each other do any less. Our material is getting more polished and as a group we are continually looking for places to contribute with our art.
I am grateful for this team and grateful for this opportunity to make a difference. The smiles and the laughs that are echoing out of these people and these children is priceless and for everyone how contributed to making this possible, thank you.
With Love and Appreciation,
Summer Shapiro
