Lyn Fuchs's Blog, page 5

Is Donald Trump America's Pancho Villa?

This week celebrates the revolution here in Mexico, so I would be remiss not to note some uncanny parallels between Donald Trump and Pancho Villa. Yes, I'm serious. I've discussed this theory with over 200 real Mexicans in Oaxaca who generally validate that comparison. So, you faux LA (Latino activists) in faux LA (Los Angeles) can stop practicing your deeply-offended looks and go get a Thai fusion taco then whine to CNN about the cultural appropriation on behalf of all Mexicans and people of...

Travel Writer In Residence Dream Job

Not many folks get paid to write. Much less to apprentice with a critically-acclaimed author. Yet, that opportunity is now available to you for a limited time. The daily routine of this job includes writing travel stories for three hours in a private office overlooking the Oaxacan rainforest, coaching university students for three hours on their communication skills, and being mentored for one hour by writer Lyn Fuchs.

The benefits include full professor's salary, full medical coverage, weeken...

Author Lionel Shriver On Political Correctness

I hate to disappoint you folks, but unless we stretch the topic to a breaking point this address will not be about the assigned theme of “community and belonging.” In fact, you have to hand it to this festival’s organisers: inviting a renowned iconoclast to speak about “community and belonging” is like expecting a great white shark to balance a beach ball on its nose.

The topic I submitted instead was “fiction and identity politics,” which may sound on its face equally dreary. But I’m afraid t...

Black Lives Really Don't Matter

I was the white-skinned member in a black church through most of university. Not because I was making a human rights statement. I just liked the blues-based music better than the country stuff across town. Most of the women I've loved have been Latina. Not because of a fetish. Just because I've often lived in places where the hotties within reach were brownies. I care about skin color about as much as I care about eye color. The lack of racism in my heart isn't because I'm righteous. I think...

My Brief Undocumented Migrant Phase

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Forboding creeps into my heart as the bus nears Copacabaña border crossing. I'm taking a gamble. All the other passengers are European, because Americans are supposed to get visas before entering Bolivia with a two-way plane ticket, but I'm relying on the schmoozing powers that have so magically transported me across many frontiers.
This could be a disaster. I'm an aging fermenting solo yankee dressed like a vagabond (in a group of glowing honey-...

Learning Stuff From Primitive Savages

Jack's Cafe may sit on Cuzco's most touristy corner but truly deserves its long line of travelers spilling out into the street. The famous Desayuno Gordo (fat breakfast) is flawless. The scrambled eggs are fluffy; the roasted tomatoes are ripe; the parsley potatoes are crispy; the bacon is fully yet gently cooked; the white beans are succulent; the sourdough toast is yummy; the cafe con leche is strong and foamy.

What more could you want? When I insist on using the sought-after real estate of...

Only One Situation Justifies Domestic Violence

The Inca-berry-slathered alpaca filet on my plate and the narcotic coca leaves in my teacup can only mean one thing: I'm in Cusco. Sitting cross-legged on a llama pelt at the Blue Alpaca cafe. The steep cobblestone lane outside has Quechua women in bowler hats coming in for the market while tourists head out for nearby Machu Picchu. This recalls local history.

Cusco was the capital of the Incan Empire when conquistador Francisco Pizarro showed up. The Spaniard sequestered Incan ruler Atahualpa...

Cracker Lives Matter In Lima Peru

Nirvana is to be experienced rather than defined, except to say that the airport in Lima is its exact opposite. Gray drizzly clouds block all window views of the natural world. Glaring florescent lights thrust a salty, greasy, sugary world of McDonald's, Papa John's, and Dunkin' Donuts into a traveler's throbbing brain. Peruvian women do little to restore my bliss. Many faces suggest human/llama crossbreeding, while many bodies offer a plus-size-version of Daddy Yankee's "Shaky Shaky" video....

Destination Two: Friendly Skies Over Peru

Interjet flight 2890 to Lima isn't packed with bookish lesbian hikers like the plane from Missoula to Salt Lake was or prudish mormon elders like the plane from there to Mexico was. These faces are browner and happier - as I'll soon be. The girls in boots and guys in suits have been replaced by smooching couples, nursing moms, and doting dads. Latino love is in the air - and so am I.

Goodbye gringo misery and hello South American food and music, peoples and places, spirituality and sensuality....

Globe Trekking Pitstop One: Missoula Montana

Readers who've been breathlessly awaiting the revelation of the first location of my global vacation can now breathe deeply from the fresh air on Montana's Lake McDonald. What a lovely spot! My 85-year-old father stands beside me for a photo, just as we stood together in front of Yosemite National Park's mist-and-rainbow-framed Vernal Falls 50 years ago.

Now, Dad's the short one. However, he will tower as a giant in my heart forever. While mom taught me that life is a beautiful gift from God,...