Skip to content

Un anno (o poco più…)

 

È già passato un anno. Anche qualcosina di più, se considero la mia partenza da Amsterdam.
Normalmente questi pensieri si fanno a fine anno, quando ci si può guardare indietro e tirare le somme. È andato bene, male, peggio, così così. È qualcosa che facciamo tutti, consciamente e non, per cercare di dare un senso al passato e connetterlo al presente/futuro che da li a poco vivremo. È naturale, il calendario ce lo impone, e noi obbediamo.
Oggi, stasera, in questo istante, ho ancora due ore da passare prima di salire sull’autobus che mi riporterà a Oaxaca. Lo stesso autobus (o un suo simile) mi riporterà qui, nella grande Città Mostro, tra 4 giorni. Ho passato una settimana circondato da amici, con la persona che amo, a fare quello in cui credo da un anno a questa parte.
Sono felice, sento che sto andando nella direzione giusta, ogni giorno si aprono nuovi spiragli, persone si affiancano, nuove idee, progetti, opportunità.
Eppure, qui e ora, forse per la prima volta da mesi, mi sento solo. Non solo nel senso di abbandonato, semplicemente solo con i miei pensieri, dopo tanto parlare/ridere/scherzare/pianificare/agire. Mi guardo indietro e vedo una lunga sequenza di imprevisti, casi fortuiti, intuizioni estemporanee, idee e azioni che cambiano direzione ad ogni battito di ciglia, ma sempre andando avanti.
Ancora non riesco a capire come mai sono così fortunato, come è possibile che mi vada tutto così bene? Eppure non faccio niente di speciale, quello che faccio lo sanno fare in tanti, e molto meglio di me. Quello che penso non è mai un pensiero originale, la maggior parte delle volte cito altre persone, altre idee, rubo passioni altrui e le faccio mie con una facilità incredibile, a volte persino grottesca.
In ogni posto in cui vado c’è sempre qualcuno che mi accoglie, la mia “banda” non fa altro che ripetermi quanto sia bello, e importante, quello che faccio. Mi sento un po’ schiacciato da tutta questa attenzione, mi sembra ingiusto ricevere così tante attenzioni quando in fondo non sto facendo niente di speciale.  Come disse Newton:

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Tutto qui.
Piano piano, poco a poco, mi rendo conto che non servono grandi idee per fare grandi cose. Tutto quello che ci serve è già stato inventato, la tecnologia moderna potrebbe permettere a tutti di vivere in maniera felice e dignitosa. Eppure non è così, e non lo è per scelta. Vedo nelle ingiustizie umane che ogni giorno mi passano davanti agli occhi la volontà crudele e cinica di non permettere agli altri di essere felici, forse perché le stesse persone che commettono questi crimini non sono felici a loro volta, e il dover ammettere a loro stessi che nessuna quantità di soldi li renderà felici è una brutta sconfitta per chi in fondo ci crede da sempre.
Mi piace pensare che il cammino intrapreso qui, in Messico, in realtà sia solo un piccolo pezzetto del tutto. Che dopo questa avventura, quando oramai lo spirito iniziale si sarà sopito, le cose andranno avanti anche senza il mio contributo. Mi piace pensare che il seme piantato possa germogliare e crescere di vita sua, finalmente libero di andare nella propria direzione, senza aiuti esterni.
Ho ancora troppe cose da vedere, luoghi da vivere, persone da conoscere e idee da scoprire. Forse è questa la mia maledizione, o la mia salvezza. Chissà…
Scrivo questo post in italiano, dopo mesi di latitanza, perché mi piace pensare che qualcuno a me caro, leggendolo, possa pensare che in fondo anche stando lontani non ci si dimentica mai degli amici, solo si è troppo occupati a vivere la propria vita per ricordarsi quella degli altri. In questo momento vorrei sapere come state, mi piacerebbe sedermi a un tavolino di un qualunque bar di questo pianeta e condividere una birra, raccontare e ascoltare tutti gli aneddoti che si vanno accumulando negli anni. Vorrei essere più presente con la mia famiglia, vorrei poter tornare a Genova e pensare che in fondo quella è anche casa mia. Vorrei, ci provo, ma non mi riesce molto bene.
Ritornando al punto iniziale, guardandomi alle spalle, non posso che essere soddisfatto, e ringraziare (metaforicamente) la mia buona sorte. Mai avrei pensato di buttarmi in una avventura come il viaggio per poi finire in una avventura molto più grande, e bella. Non è stato tutto facile, anzi, ma forse è proprio quello che l’ha resa ancora più’ importante. Non si può apprezzare nulla se non si è fatto almeno qualche sacrificio, se non si è toccato il fondo almeno una volta, se non si hanno avuto dubbi su quello che si stava facendo, se realmente tutto questo avesse senso. È nelle piccole cose che ci si ritrova sorridendo come stupidi ripensandoci davanti allo specchio. (non so se questa frase abbia senso, a me piace scritta così) 😉
Davanti a me ho un mese pieno di impegni, praticamente solo ma mai abbandonato, e non vedo l’ora che sia già domani per fare altre cose, costruire qualcosa di nuovo e utile, conoscere persone nuove e, in fondo, vivere sempre come se fosse l’ultimo giorno.
Baci dal Districto Federal, Mexico, 25 Novembre 2013.

We are ON AIR! :)

I’ve been waiting for this moment, but now it’s time 🙂
We installed the first community-based GSM network, which is now starting to accept users. We’re around 30 users at the moment, with 50 more ready to be connected. Everything is working quite smoothly at the moment, and in a few days we’re going to have the first numbers in terms of calls, messages, usage.
It’s all quite thrilling, considering that we are the first to try something like that (as far as we know). I can’t say much more at the moment, as the amount of work that still needs to be done is huge, to say the least 😛
Never the less, this is an important first step, the culmination of 2 years of work, and I’ve been around here only since 4 months.
From now on, is going to get interesting… let’s hope for the best 😀
Project website: http://www.rhizomatica.org

back in Oaxaca, with good news

I’m back in Oaxaca, after 2 crazy weeks in Mexico City.
The GSM project is moving forward, and we just started a crowdfunding campaign to buy the equipment necessary for the first test.
This is the campaign link:
http://igg.me/at/rhizomatica/
Please have a look, watch the video, share it, donate if you can 🙂

Stuck in the Monster City…

It all looked pretty easy in the beginning. Go there, get the stuff, get out. It would be quick and easy, I tought. How wrong I was… 😉
The original plan was to stay here for 3-4 days, and I’m already 9 down… Getting the equipment looked easy at the beginning, and then it got worse. The mexican attitude is:
“Sure, we’ll have it by tomorrow!”
So you go there the day after, and it goes like this: “Oh shit, they didn’t bring me what you asked!” Then they start calling random friends around, pretending to be looking for what you need. After a couple of calls, they continue: “Don’t worry, I’ll have it by tomorrow! Gimme a call at this number…”
So you write down the number, double check it (just in case), and wait.
The next day, you call the guy… and the number is disconnected 🙁 You call another 2 companies, and they either don’t have it or they can’t see it to you directly. FINE.
You go back to the first guy, who immediately recognize you and says: “Hey, I’ll have your cable by Tuesday!” WHAT? BLOODY FUCKING TUESDAY? No, I’m not going to wait for another week!
So, I’m leaving the money here, and hope that my friends are going to join me in Oaxaca in a couple of weeks, with the only piece of equipment left… 🙂
Anyway, it feels a lot like home (Italy). They also have corrupted police, a ridiculous justice system, a gazillion of different languages (we call them dialects, but it’s basically the same), and a capital city which has only one purpose: to swallow money.
Yes, it’s exactly like Italy 😀

See you, somewhere, sometimes… 😉

Ping-Pong around Mexico…

It’s been a long while since I posted my last update, so let’s make a small summary:

– Spent another week (or 2) in San Cristobal, I attended the CIDECI conference (http://seminarioscideci.org/), worked on tech stuff and translations. If you have some time, have a look at all the material there, it’s quite interesting!
– Went for 4 days to Boca del Cielo, a small paradise on the coast of Chiapas. Basically the perfect place to relax, enjoy a beer in the sun and eat fresh fish every day! If you’re passing by, make sure to go at the Guiri-Guiri, one of the palapas there. Lovely people, cheap, and half of the profits go to the Consejo Autonomo de la costa de Chiapas. So, THE place to be in Boca del Cielo 🙂
– From there, a 20 hours trip to Mazatlan to visit the local radio (Radio Nhandia, http://radionandiafm.radioteca.net/) and help them with some technical stuff. Really nice place, everyone speaks Mazateco and I’ve been treated really well 😉
– Now, back in Oaxaca, where the GSM project is moving forward. We’re working on a funraising campaign, we’re about to finish a small clip which will explain everything about it. Stay tuned, we need your support (and money) 😛
So, what’s next? I’m going to Mexico City again to get some equipment and visit some friends. Maybe, I can even get a small job there for a couple of days… which is always good, considering that I’m not working since… June? 😛

Anyway, that’s all for now, I’ll try to be a bit more frequent in my updates. Please bear with me! 😀

Still in the same place (but with some news) :)

The end of the Maya calendar came and went, nothing happened, so we still need to live after all… pity 😛
Anyway, on the 20-21-22 I was around the ruins of Tonina and Palenque, just to make sure that if something ever happened, I was there! I also spent some hours at the Rainbow Gathering of Palenque, and I must say: too fucking hippie! (and not in a good way…)
Well, I’m back since 2 days, doing things left and right, with no plan whatsoever… As usual.
Last thing I did is a raw prototype of this:
http://worldstove.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/EverythingNice_Stove_Instructions.pdf
Easy to do, highly efficient, and no smoke 🙂 Try it if you have time… (and you just need two tin cans).
Well, that’s all for now. À la prochaine!

Hanging around in San Cristobal…

I know, my updates are not as frequent as before, but my trip is changing as well, on a slower pace… and so my blog 🙂
I spent the last week in San Cristobal, hanging around, meeting people, working or dreaming on projects. Tomorrow I’ll move to Tonina, and then to Palenque, probably for some days. Then I’ll come back here. I could move around a bit more, but I’m really enjoying the atmosphere here, the hostel is cheap and cosy, the people just great!
I have no plan yet for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, but I’m not in hurry… something will pop up at the last moment, as usual 😉
So, no big news, all good as usual…

Day (something) – Mexico City – Oaxaca – San Cristobal (Chiapas)

Ok, enough of counting days. 🙂 I haven’t updated this blog in a while, so let’s make a quick summary:
I spent almost two weeks in Oaxaca working on a very interesting project about GSM networks in the indigenous communities of Oaxaca. You can find all the details here:
http://rhizomatica.org/
Not much to say about it, beside the fact that I felt like working again 😛 No, I’m joking, it was a great experience, and I’m probably going back to Oaxaca in January to continue it. In the meantime, I moved to San Cristobal de las casas, in Chiapas. I’m only here since 2 days, but I already love it. Today I visited the Caracol of Oventic, the most easily reachable place in the part of Chiapas occupied by the EZLN. I’m probably going back there again, as today we only had time to visit the place, but we didn’t talk much with them. And I have lots of questions, and no answers… (for now).
Well, that’s it, at least for now. Hasta luego! 😉

My backpack

This is the first post about the philosophy of travelling. Hopefully, more will come in due time.

My backpack is all my life. In it I keep stored all the things that allows me to move forward.
There are clothes, light and heavy, because you can’t never predict which kind of weather you’re going to encounter tomorrow.
There are medicines, not that many, but enough to keep you alive if you encounter a bad flu.
There is a guide, but I’m using it less and less every day. Local people always know things better than any book.
There are a lot of little gadgets, like a pen, a swiss army knife, a spork (fork + spoon + knife), a water bottle, basically everything you need in a scout camp (yes, I’ve been a scout before) 🙂
There is a sleeping bag, because you’ll never know where you’re going to sleep tonight, or tomorrow…
There are a lot of electronic gadgets, because  I’m a nerd, and also because they are my tools, what I can use to help other people in a thousand different ways. A laptop (purple!), a e-book reader (knowledge is never enough), a camera (always), various memory devices, debugging tools, etc. etc.
Why I’m writing this? Because  today, like every day when I’m moving to a new place, I realized that you can’t keep your backpack the same every time you move. Different things have different priorities, and so you move them around to different places. The important ones on the top, the less important on the bottom. It’s like a constant relocation, and every time it forces you to think about your next step, keeps your mind flexible, lets you adapt over time, changing shape, color, texture, consistency. I never felt so alive in my whole life, and that’s because I’m never seeing life through the same lens twice. Every place, every culture is different, and you can’t keep your point of view static. If you do that, you’re completely missing out. The point is to let the world absorb you, destroy every single preconception you can have about the environment which surrounds you.
Only then, you can really discover yourself.
I’ve been thinking about  these words for a while, and only now I can really see what this trip is making of me… and I must say it, I’m really enjoying it! 😀
Ok, enough of it, I really hope you reached this point, and thanks for reading it all.
Until the next one…

Day 38 -> 45 – Mexico City – Zacatlan – Chignahuapan – Mexico City

First things first: I didn’t update the blog for a week, and I’m really sorry about that 🙁
What happened this week: I spent Sunday and Monday in Mexico City, then a friend asked if I would like to visit the Sierra Norte, in the state of Puebla. Well, why not? 🙂
So we went for 3 nights, visiting the villages of Zacatlan and  Chignahuapan, the first one famous for his apples and clocks, the second one for the christmas tree’s balls and the thermal baths. Was a nice trip, high in the mountains, lots of fresh air, nice sights and warm baths 🙂
On my way back I got sick, and spent the last two days in bed. Now I’m feeling better, my laptop is arriving tonight and I’ll probably pick it up tomorrow morning. If everything goes well, I should be on my way to Oaxaca soon…