It's been swell. But I pretty much took care of what I had to take care of here. So I am giving up my New Orleans apartment. With my mitigation work, I will have to travel between the U.S. and Mexico constantly. But this last year, in which I spent more time in the U.S. than I had in ages, I realized just how much Mexico City has become home to me. And how important it is to have a home.

New Orleans is a unique place. That is a Japanese pot-bellied pig playing with the puppy.

Sometimes it's a little jarring. The words on this house exhort readers to "shoot a thief," holdover instructions from the looting after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Just a few weeks ago, the owners of the property repainted the facade, with a sign for Dixie beer.

It's not always functional, in terms of infrastructure or distribution of goods and services. Sometimes I felt that I had to live for many years in Mexico to get to New Orleans -- the third world. It will always have an important place in my heart and remain on my map.