The triumph of silence

When people here (and by people, I mostly mean taxi drivers) ask me how I like living in Valladolid, I say I like it very much. They invariably respond, "Es muy tranquilo, ¿verdad?" In other words, "It´s really tranquil here, don´t you think?" The tranquility of Valladolid, I think, largely comes from the quiet that takes over this corner of the world.
Something I have noticed after living here for several months now is that there are no airplanes flying overhead...I have never seen or heard one flying above Valladolid. I realized today, too, how quiet it is to teach at UNO. We are surrounded by lowland jungle (and, a bit further off, Mayan ruins) on nearly all sides. It is a wonderful thing to give a test and have the loudest thing you hear be a sprinkler watering the plants outside the window...
From my new apartment, in the afternoons, the bar across the street plays traditional Mexican music at a very reasonble volume. In the mornings, I don´t even hear roosters crow (a rarity in Valladolid). And at night, I have the luxury of total silence. The only sounds I hear are the ones I want to have in my environment.
So, today I am thankful for the triumph of silence in my daily life...I realize it helps me make room for other things.