The House on Carnaval Street

Travel Guide

Mazatlán and Patzcuaro Mexico.

A decision to move to Mexico is one thing – having decided whilst o a cruise to buy a house in Mazatlán and move there to start over. After a rather culture shock on her return to California from Afghanistan, there is a  need for a new life and a new challenge which Mexico provides.

This is  not your usual expat tale however for there are several descriptions of PTSD which she suffers due to her time in Afghanistan which are painful and particularly so for those of you who may have experience of this.

Mexico is of course not Afghanistan in many other ways  – as with Afghanistan we learn of the culture and the daily lives of women – how they have babies ins hospital here and how the burial customs are different. But a common theme is women and how their daily lives are formed by choices, some of them forced. But women here have more freedom and more of a say in how they live -yet the cloud of abuse and male dominance is not far from sight.
The traditions of Mexico are rich and steeped in history and religion such as the church setting off their ‘cohetes’ or rockets to scare away demons. The day of the dead is a way of remembering those who have suffered loss…..

The one woman who does change is Debbie herself – as she moves from her Afghanistan identity to her Mexican model. How our landscapes and nature around us shape us..

How life in one country can make help us to heal and how our lifes are shaped by everything around us.

Oh and if you’re really needing some coconut shrimp like Debbie does in the book then you can use this website to enjoy the book further: picurious.com/recipesmenus