Floating Around Town

One wonderful thing about Immokalee is how easy it is to get around. One main way that people travel around town is by riding bikes. For a long time, I was afraid to do this because of one fear. Dogs. There are dogs in Immokalee. Everywhere. For those of you who are afraid of these animals, do not let this deter you from the town. Many of the dogs are chihuahuas, and, therefore, no harm to anyone but themselves. But there are a few bigger dogs. And the fear of meeting one kept me from riding bikes (for awhile), one thing that I had been so excited about trying before I came down to Immokalee. Everyone knows, of course, that dogs are more likely to chase a bike than someone who is walking.

Recently, however, one roommate and I started taking daily (or nightly) bike trips around town. Never before have I felt so free. A part of the community. The beautiful thing about riding slowly through the town is that we get to see so much that we would normally miss. We bike by men walking home from work with their lunch coolers and see our students playing in their yards. We swerve around men walking in groups down Main Street. Women doing their nightly food shopping. We travel to places where we might not have gone that night: to soccer games in the park, to the Coalition, or to additional trips to the library.

Just last Friday, we traveled into town where we got to see our friends’ three year old sons dancing around like crazy and singing Spanish songs in makeshift microphones. On Sunday, we traveled to the fiesta at the Coalition where we got to see several bands playing in an open-air setup in the Coalition parking lot alongside about 250 other community members. Mostly men, they stood around watching the bands, waiting for a chance to cheer for their country when it was announced over the microphone. Waiting for the marimbas, a wooden Guatemalan instrument. Waiting for dusk when people would start to dance. Many of the men and women dressed in their best. A nice shirt and jeans. A traditional Guatemalan shirt and skirt. When I left, I saw a little boy leaning against my bike. He liked it too, I guess.

People are excited about riding bikes in town. It is an easy thing to invite people to do. Recently, it has also brought me closer to my roommate. As we drift, we talk.

Side by side. Enjoying the sun. Enjoying the night. Feeling at ease. Fearless. Aware. Ready. Just ourselves. The stars shine up ahead. We pedal out our concerns racked up throughout the day. Our worries. We release tension at the way that things are. Share with one another our ideas on the way that things should be. The way things could be. Unsure. We feel ready to fight on ahead. Pedaling onward.

Sarah