arthur richards

Nearly 6 months after snapping my collar bone in half from a mountain bike accident, I got back in the saddle for one of Guadalajara's 'paseo de todos' - a critical mass-esque bike ride through the city's biker unfriendly streets. It was nothing short of epic.

It was a crowning moment that happily coincided with my general sentiments of feeling comfortable, at peace and very happy to be here. After re-reading my second-to-last post, I think I can safely say I'm over the nasty hump of culture shock, although I'm sure it will be an ongoing process. Finally getting two working bikes together, beginning to get a grip on the different ways of doing things and learning to let go has helped push me in the right direction.

Sarah and I are outta here in less than 32 hours. We're off to Guadalajara, Mexico to work on a grassroots media project to document community struggles with water scarcity.

Our project, Adapting to Scarcity, has been in the works for a year. And now, we're making our final preparations to head south.

Today we packed our bags full of documentary equipment and pulled together the rest of our gear. Checking things off our to-do list, an overwhelming sense of excitement and anxiety settled in. It's a bizarre and restless feeling - a feeling I haven't felt this strongly since I packed a truck to head to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.