meiadeleite.com – Page 135

jardin majorelle

on the last post, i mentioned this desire to collect botanical specimens and “bring all the green things” home with me, and it reminded me of the jardin majorelle, one of my favourite places in marrakesh. even crowded with tourists, i find it irresistibly beautiful.

i think part of the allure of the majorelle garden is just how unexpected it is. in the middle of a dusty ocre city, the gardens are a green oasis — like an escape hatch from the the traffic and the heat. everywhere you look, there’s complicated cacti, towering bamboo or blooming vines, twisted around and covering the pergolas that surround the buildings and fountains.

and part of it is also the fact that the whole thing is a love story, from beginning to end. french painter jacques majorelle curated this garden over a lifetime, bringing back all kinds of plants from his travels to nurture and grow here. and so over time, the gardens became an immense green collection, showcasing his love affair with botany.

after jacques died, the gardens fell in disrepair and the land ended up for sale… until yves saint laurent and pierre bergé fell in love with them too, bought them, and kept it going, even adding to it over time.

and though it’s not as peaceful today as it might have been 50 years ago, it’s still growing and flowering, a testament to all these love stories. whenever i’m standing below the swaying bamboo stalks from far away places, i feel like i’m in a pretty special place in the world.

in france

little green things

for all i talk about hiking, i guess it’s pretty obvious that i like wandering.

part of what i like is the company, the conversation that flows easily when we’re up on the hills without digital barriers to distract us. but part of it is just nature itself, the little green things that grow in all the landscapes we walk in. they’re beautiful and i can’t help but noticing them wherever we go…

this year started with a walk with friends on january 1st, and the woods in this corner of france were filled with fresh life, despite the winter slumber. i wanted to bring it all home so much, but hélas, i don’t think ryanair would be too happy about that…

just life

work in progress

i’ve been making an effort to write more lately, not just because it helps me think, but also because looking through the photos on our (freshly organised) backup discs gives me both chills and a pang of guilt. there’s so much i wanted to tell and write about on the blog… so many things we did and saw, which we’ll inevitably forget if i don’t write them down. somedays i feel like time is slipping though my fingers, and it’s been getting worse as we move on through life, routine and work slowly expanding to fill our waking hours.

and yet, so many beautiful things happen! some insignificant and some amazing — but in their small way, all these things i write about made me stop and look.

so i’ve been trying to write a few minutes everyday, just a few, keeping it simple and sustainable. sometimes i’m dead tired and it’s just one minute, sometimes i make it a full 20min before it’s 10pm and i need to be in bed *pronto*. yup.

it’s working though – words are quietly coming to my fingertips again, and i like it. let’s keep this success spiral going.

analogue wednesdays roll4roll

analogue wednesday #135

one more from R4R-24 — dandelions everywhere to celebrate spring! :)

just life links and ideas

pre-exposure prophylaxis

did you know that there’s a pill that prevents HIV infection?

my mom used to work on the infectious diseases infirmary at a big hospital, and the horror stories coming out of that department would leave me speechless, heartbrokean and infuriated in turns — especially people finding out they’re infected after years of being married to someone who had never disclosed their HIV-positive status to them. so my mind was blown when i read about PrEP (or pre-exposure prophylaxis) on a listserve email a couple of weeks ago. though not legal everywhere yet, it’s super effective — and such a game changer, for so many people.

while i’m amazed that this thing exists, i’m also dismayed that i had never even heard of it before, and neither had most of the friends i asked about. so to help spread the information, i’m copying Faith’s email below.

read about it and spread the word!

“Did you know there is a medication approved by the FDA and some Euro countries that prevents HIV infection? There is! And it’s incredibly effective. The concept is called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP. Right now, one drug is approved, but a lot of other medications are being tested for approval.

I’ve been working in the field of HIV research for 28 years. I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve watched a lot of people, including a lot of friends, die. I know that every one of these friends would be throwing this medication off the rooftops if it meant that one person was prevented from getting HIV. There is no controversy. This is a proven medical intervention to a public health crisis. Go learn, then inform your friends and family.

Gay men, especially white gay men, are using it with enormous successes. Feel free to look up PrEP effectiveness for more information. Unfortunately, the message that this medication is available hasn’t really gotten out to gay men of color or women at risk for HIV. Why?

Well, stigma for one. We don’t want anyone knowing what we do behind closed doors for fear of discrimination. We might also have some shame about our activities, even if they’re no one else’s business. Also, no one really wants to admit that they might be exposed to HIV during a relationship. So PrEP is for “other people” but not “me.” The fact is, if you are having sex with someone and you don’t know (really KNOW, not just assume) their HIV status, HIV infection is a possibility. And PrEP is as effective, if not more effective, than condoms! Don’t you think that’s something you should know about, even if you never take it? I do. That’s why I have been planning this since I signed up for the listserve more than 5 years ago. I think you should know ALL of the tools available to you in your toolbox.

Pass it on.”