Fish Eyes

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Where to begin… This morning we left Oklahoma and drove down a long country road over rolling hills. With the wind in our (still wet) hair we headed further west to meet our first couchsurfer. Oklahoma. Texas. New Mexico! The countryside is absolutely beautiful. The drive was enjoyable thanks to good company, scenery, and a lot of music. We listened to This American Life, Aradnha, Bon Iver, Mariee Sioux, Elvis Perkins, (others) and finished out the drive with none other than the Avett Brothers. After meeting Kitty (our first couchsurfing host) and seeing her beautiful home, we explored the city of Albuquerque by bike. Boba Tea Company provided us refreshment and we scouted out the coffee houses for tomorrow morning. Later we watched the sun set from the Sandias Mountains and we finished the evening swing dancing at a community center down the street. Its now late in the evening, so we’ll be getting some sleep for the long drive that awaits us. –Amanda


A lot of people told us that we were going to get sick of driving on this trip. We’re traveling about 9 hours on the days we drive. But honestly, so far I don’t mind it. I know, it’s merely day 2, but really, I don’t mind it. It gives me time to think. It pulls me out of the constantly moving world and makes me sit still and think and read and write and listen to amazing Indian music. And as we drive, I feel that I’m becoming more acquainted with the land. It’s continuously connected and yet endlessly diverse. In Oklahoma it bunches up into fat rolls smothered in grass, forming hills. In Texas it irons out into flat, endless sky and fields of wheat, and in New Mexico it is rocky and rigid like sun-induced wrinkles.
In Albuquerque we biked around the beautiful adobe looking houses and stopped at the Boba Tea Company shop. I ordered a smoothie and the lady asked me “with boba?”…with boba? I’ve never heard of boba. Sure, I thought, why not try something new? Minutes later my smoothie arrived with a foreign food item layering the bottom. I took a gulp and a boba flew up my straw. It was a strange sensation…slimy. Amanda said it might be fish eyes. We later found out it’s tapioca. Next was sunset with our welcoming couchsurfer and swing dancing with the locals. Beautiful. ☺ Stephanie