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Austin. Bucharest. Cape Town. Cebu. Denver. Dublin. Lagos. NYC. Vienna.

These are some cities I've noticed that are having local Steemit Meetups.

Heck, Brooklyn -- @hansikhouse + @voronoi + @hitheryon -- has even collaborated AND FURNISHED their own interactive community garden called Steem Park, which is scheduled to open July 16th!

On my way to OXXO this morning, I saw the dogs pictured above. They reminded me of another gentle, stray pack I saw a few weeks ago.

They looked so... READY.

I actually waited to see if they had some canine instinct, and something was going to happen.

Nope.

It seems they were just starting their day because they are street dogs, and the streets were coming to life the way cities tend to, on weekday mornings.

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I am not suggesting correlation (!!!), but for whatever reason, I got to thinking about the considerable number of anarchists who live in Acapulco, and are also active on Steemit (as writers, as curators, and several as non-upvoting readers.)

In the other cities, people are scattered by distance or other life circumstances, and there seems to be an EAGERNESS for folks to gather... and then GREAT EXCITEMENT once they do. Oh, the possibilities!

In Acapulco, it's a bit different, as many of us have been living here -- aware of each other -- for more than a year or two. So we're not really new to each other, and there are varying degrees of closeness among us.

I think it's safe to say that we each insist on greater amounts of freedom, or we wouldn't be living here. But beyond that, it might be foolhardy or naive to presume we "agree" on much else, such as:

• diet
• race
• crypto
• science
• intimacy
• community
• spirituality
• security/privacy
• even anarchy, itself!

We are different from each other. No doubt about it.

And I think that's one of our strengths.

We're not an unnaturally homogenized mono-crop a la Monsanto. We are more like wild, pioneer seeds... blown into town from various places... ruled by none.

So, is it possible for us to gather, as naturally as that pack did, at the corner this morning?

Would we even want to... and if so, for what purpose? These are rhetorical questions. Musings. Maybe @lily-da-vine or @mikeonfire or @scottermonkey or @modprobe or @jeffberwick have ideas about the intersection between Steemians and Aca-dwellers... if there even is one, outside of our individual posts??

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Well, I am glad I asked! Check out these EXCITING ANSWERS from @lily-da-vine!

Announcing Our Intention to Fork the Anarchapulco Conference!

Steem Fest Forking: Acapulco Edition

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So, about that promised "sweetest sound."

This picture is representational. It looks very much like the actual OXXO I went to (which are like 7-Elevens, for a U.S. context).

The one nearest me I've been going to for more than a year. One day I realized I was embarrassed...

...for having gone there so long... for having seen the same faces so often... and for having NOT yet had a meaningful conversation with anyone in Spanish.

My linguistic embarrassment sometimes causes me to act more withdrawn than I want to. Maybe it was hanging back to watch the dogs, I'm not sure, but I had warmth and friendliness in me, and I wanted to share it.

So, as I was checking out, and the lady whom I've seen hundreds of times... as she bagged my things, I read her badge (same as the guy is wearing above).

"Muchas gracias, PAOLA!"

And I pronounced "Paola," like POW-la!

Upon hearing her name, (hopefully said correctly), she gave me the HUGEST smile I have yet received in Acapulco (and there are a lot of big, beautiful smiles here!)

Bottom line? I will no longer wish I was further along in my Spanish fluency. Instead, I will make greater use of two previously untapped resources:

1. MY INSTINCT. I easily trust it in English. But when Spanish is needed, I feel less sure of myself, and end up acting oddly/nervously. Today, it was a little thing. A human thing... to say someone's name, and load it with warmth and friendliness that was received. Those urges are communication, too.

2. MY SUB-CONSCIOUS. Which I've already instructed to create enjoyable, accelerated ways and experiences that will help me fast-track my Spanish comprehension and conversation.

Inadequacies can be perceived as paralyzing, or as penetrable. Use your developed strengths, as you build your lesser ones. @erikaharris