Day Seven – Roswell and Albuquerque, New Mexico

So, I thought that I would go back and fill in the details of each day of our journey, but seeing as one of the goals of the journey is to stay in the moment, it looks like that is not going to happen. So, I’ll just reflect on today (we can call it the “relative” now, right?)

Day Seven – Roswell and Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ah, New Mexico. The skies in New Mexico are like none other I’ve seen. Vast, colorful, vibrant, lush, dark, spacious . . . . I understand why there are so many artists living in New Mexico. You just have to look outside your window for inspiration. And the change of terrain from the South (where we started in Roswell) to the central part of the state (Albuquerque) is distinct.


We started off the day at our new couch surfing friend Jeff Neria’s home. After a night’s sleep trying not to listen to barking dogs and sirens (was like NY in NM!!) we woke up and were not sure where we would head. We had tried to contact a bunch of folks in Albuquerque with no luck in finding a place to stay. We had arranged to have lunch with Rahim AlHaj in Albuquerque, so we knew we had to stop by, but the rest of the day was up in the air. After some researching we decided on going to Taos, New Mexico in hopes of staying with a friend of a friend. We left Jeff (who was the man!!) after a nice cup of New Mexican coffee and hit the road.

Before I left DC, I had gotten obsessed with learning about this guy named Tim Ferriss. Tim is a jack of many, many trades and among other things, is an author, a speaker of 6 (I think) languages, an international Tango dancing champion, a kickboxing champion, a lecturer at Princeton, and runs his own Angel investing group. He’s also an Argentina (especially Buenos Aires) advocate, which is close to my heart. All of this and he is only 30. I started his book, “The 4 Hour Work Week” right before I started the trip, trying to figure out how he accomplished so much and why I was so fascinated with his lifestyle. Upon the drive to Albuquerque, I stuck my head back into the book and almost felt guilty for reading it. Although Tim has accomplished quite a lot, you can from his writing and suggested techniques (such as “outsourcing life”) that the guy must think he is the most important thing since sliced bread and holds himself and his time above anything standing in his way. The whole idea of the book goes against the basic tenets of our trip, and I almost feel like I am plugging back into the world I was trying to get away from reading the book. Hearing about “outsourcing life” when you are trying to actually “engage in life” creates an interesting contradiction. (I know Tim would say that you outsource the parts of life that you don’t want to do, but this is just an example)

Anyways, enough about that!

So, we are driving to Albuquerque and we get a call from an Ashram in Taos, NM letting us know we can stay for the night. Perfect! Plans are in place.

We stroll into Albuquerque and give Rahim a call to grab some lunch. First off, Rahim. Rahim AlHaj is an internationally known Oud musician from Iraq, who I met through my former boss at Smithsonian Folkways. Rahim is a Folkways artist and his album on Folkways won a Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album. I was so excited he agreed to meet with us! Second of all, our first impressions of Albuquerque were awesome! The area around the University of New Mexico was filled with dirty college students, cool hangouts, internationals (likely students), homeless folks, and an arty vibe. Kinda like a desert Asheville.

We met Rahim and went to an amazing Aruyvedic restaurant where they functioned as a restaurant and cooking school. This was a revelation for Daniel as he has gotten heavily into Vedic Astrology and it was so cool to see him freak out about the place. It made me really happy. Not to mention the food and chai was killer.

We had an interesting talk with Rahim over lunch about love, music, his upcoming projects, and Folkways. After we said goodbye, we received a call from a woman named Adele, a friend of Rahim’s, who offered Daniel and I a place to sleep for the evening. After seeing how cool Albuquerque was and knowing that we had a place to stay, we decided to push back the Ashram for the day and stay another night. After investigating Albuquerque for a while, and having a strange experience at a New Age bookstore, we headed to Adele’s home.

We pulled up and from the start, I knew Adele would be awesome. She is a 65-year old woman who has an ageless spirit and is as excited as a 7-year old at what beautiful things life has to offer. She is a paper artist and her zest for life showed me that it is still possible (and probably essential) to stay creative and to keep challenging yourself in all stages of life. She is truly an amazing woman.

After saying hi and getting a tour of her home, we ran out to get a pizza for dinner. We sat on her porch, watching the New Mexico sky, eating pizza, drinking wine and talking about life. I really loved watching Daniel and Adele interact.

After a nice talk, Adele arranged a trip to Rahim’s house to have tea with Nada (Rahim’s wife). We drove over, and got to hang out with Rahim and Neda!!! Sooo cool!!! We sat in their backyard drinking tea and talking, learning about Neda’s work in the backyard and seeing Rahim’s assortment of pigeons. We shared some yummy cookies of Neda’s (made from Cream of Wheat no less!) and laughed and laughed. It was amazing because the age difference felt like it was nothing hanging out with these folks. I would have never thought in a million years I would be in Rahim AlHaj’s kitchen watching my brother and Rahim make fun of each other. An amazing day.

Daniel and Adele are sharing some astrological knowledge and I am smiling, thinking back on how things just fall into place.

Tomorrow, we have a quick visit planned to Santa Fe, NM in the morning, and then off to Taos, NM tomorrow afternoon. It keeps getting better and better.