indigo

During my time living in Nicaragua, I gradually lost my sense of time. Spanish was a foreign language to me - I could not read the newspapers, understand the radio broadcasts, or comprehend the television. I felt isolated from the world, and time seemed to have no meaning. Day after day, I came to truly understand the taste of exile. For me, the color of exile is the pure indigo. Perhaps the significance of leaving home to come to Central America is just this - this place has left behind all the unhappiness I carried with me. As I disconnected from the passage of time and was immersed in this unfamiliar linguistic and cultural environment, I found myself gradually shedding the burdens I had brought with me. Nicaragua, with its foreign tongue and disorienting rhythms, allowed me to let go and embrace a state of exile, whose color I see as the rich, deep indigo. In this displacement, I uncovered a new lightness and freedom.