quiet in barra

straight from my hard journal

here it is, the middle of the night and i am awake. i am not necessarily inspired. rather, i can´t sleep. i am having a hot flash. my body has yet to hit equilibrium with the temperature here. i get hot. then i get cold. etc. it´s all good though because it is quite in Barra (my neighborhood).

i was annoyed my first week here because Barra is so freaking noisy. from the hour past sunrise until way late it is normal to hear one or a combination of the following:
a. somebody singing (live) or yelling
b. a cary honking
c. construction work (drilling, hammering)
d. firecrackers
e. barking of a small, bitchy dog
f. barking of a small, bitchy woman (who yells at her man every other night
g. a bus or busses barrelling down my short, narrow street. (trash pick-up is even late- 11 pm!)

so tonight, as early or late as it is, I am noticing that Barra actually gets quiet. sure there are still some noises including the damn buses (sp?), but the overall hum has lowered significantly. all of last week i was pissed because i thought this was the noisiest place on earth. so much so that i reluctantly stuffed my tiny, exczyma-having ears with earplugs every night.

perhaps living in the mountains of NC has spoiled me. during the daytime it is very quiet. lots of birds talk-singing, insects himming, Baby (my much missed dog) barking, the mailmain. at night it´s even more peaceful depending on Baby´s desire to protect us. even the noisy things are noisy such as daddy leaving for work around 1 and the trains, which pass by down the hill every few hours. I feel the trains passing by so closely kind of certifies that i live in the peaceful country.

Barra. different story. remember i dont have a traditional ceiling. these terra cotta slabs do not absorb any sound. Plus i am a light, finnicky sleeper. i complained about the noise to joe when we met. he reminded me of framework, way of viewing reality. he told me that all this noise is the salvadorans. "if someone decides to play their music very loudly with the window and door open, it´s not a problem. and their neighbor may come out and sing with them."

the proud, wise man is right. slowly i have been consciously trying to let go and let it be.

note to self: don´t drink soda when you can´t sleep at night.