I'm Back
April 6, 2008
I have long been absent from writing. It is not for lack of things to write about, instead I am guilty of procrastination and laziness. It’s so much easier to play Sudoku than examine my life and write about it. I have been thinking…does that count?
I guess I should start with Spring Break. We booked a trip to the Dominican Republic. It was one of those all inclusive deals; we paid one price for the airfare, room, food, and booze. We have never done anything quite like that before. We also got to meet our friends Cameron and Anne there.
I must admit that I was skeptical. I was skeptical of the package and I was skeptical that Cameron and Anne would make it all that way. In the end, however, both happened and they were both great.
The resort was beautiful. We had a spacious room with a king sized bed and Jacuzzi tub. Out the door and down the steps to the bar, the pool, and the buffet. There were several pools throughout the facility, each one boasting a swim up bar. We played mini-golf, watched some entertaining shows, and spent a lot of time on the beach.
There must have been some kind of storm out at sea because the third day we were there, there were these huge waves. The water came way up the beach, catching everyone by surprise. Beach chairs were washed out and there was great scrambling for clothes as they floated out to sea. One woman leaped off of her chair only to realize that her top was floating away. First she tried to cover herself and chase after it, but soon enough she gave up on modesty and ran.
It was great to see our friends. Cameron and I are having our fortieth birthdays this year so this trip was sort of to celebrate them. He works too hard at home so it was good to see him in a place where work was impossible. He could only relax.
In the end, I know nothing about the Dominican Republic. We interacted not at all with the people and the place. We stayed inside our little bubble and pampered ourselves. It was good and I do not regret it, but it is definitely not the type of vacation I am used to.
We returned to Venezuela well rested and ready to take on the final ten weeks of school. It should go by quickly. Friday we went to a nice farewell party for a woman who works in the office. We got home way too late because the next day we had to be back at school at 9 a.m. for “International Day.” This is really nothing more than a big carnival with lots of games, food, and dancing. It was fun, but completely exhausting; we napped most of the afternoon.
Today we had lunch with the parents of a couple of my students. They are good people and the food was fantastic. The good (albeit weird) news we got this week is: our car has increased in value! I originally paid ~ Bs 60,000,000 for it and now it is worth ~Bs 80,000,000. If we convert that at the standard (legal) rate, that equates to a gain of $10,000. My car has increased in value by $10,000 in the last six months! How does that happen? Now I am sure that when it is time to leave I will get my money out of it. I only hope that money comes in dollars as the Bolivare is useless anywhere but here.
That’s all the news here. We are looking forward to going home this summer. We have scheduled time in New York and time in Seattle before returning to the Twilight Zone. I can hardly wait. I will be drinking fresh milk every single day…
MJR
I have long been absent from writing. It is not for lack of things to write about, instead I am guilty of procrastination and laziness. It’s so much easier to play Sudoku than examine my life and write about it. I have been thinking…does that count?
I guess I should start with Spring Break. We booked a trip to the Dominican Republic. It was one of those all inclusive deals; we paid one price for the airfare, room, food, and booze. We have never done anything quite like that before. We also got to meet our friends Cameron and Anne there.
I must admit that I was skeptical. I was skeptical of the package and I was skeptical that Cameron and Anne would make it all that way. In the end, however, both happened and they were both great.
The resort was beautiful. We had a spacious room with a king sized bed and Jacuzzi tub. Out the door and down the steps to the bar, the pool, and the buffet. There were several pools throughout the facility, each one boasting a swim up bar. We played mini-golf, watched some entertaining shows, and spent a lot of time on the beach.
There must have been some kind of storm out at sea because the third day we were there, there were these huge waves. The water came way up the beach, catching everyone by surprise. Beach chairs were washed out and there was great scrambling for clothes as they floated out to sea. One woman leaped off of her chair only to realize that her top was floating away. First she tried to cover herself and chase after it, but soon enough she gave up on modesty and ran.
It was great to see our friends. Cameron and I are having our fortieth birthdays this year so this trip was sort of to celebrate them. He works too hard at home so it was good to see him in a place where work was impossible. He could only relax.
In the end, I know nothing about the Dominican Republic. We interacted not at all with the people and the place. We stayed inside our little bubble and pampered ourselves. It was good and I do not regret it, but it is definitely not the type of vacation I am used to.
We returned to Venezuela well rested and ready to take on the final ten weeks of school. It should go by quickly. Friday we went to a nice farewell party for a woman who works in the office. We got home way too late because the next day we had to be back at school at 9 a.m. for “International Day.” This is really nothing more than a big carnival with lots of games, food, and dancing. It was fun, but completely exhausting; we napped most of the afternoon.
Today we had lunch with the parents of a couple of my students. They are good people and the food was fantastic. The good (albeit weird) news we got this week is: our car has increased in value! I originally paid ~ Bs 60,000,000 for it and now it is worth ~Bs 80,000,000. If we convert that at the standard (legal) rate, that equates to a gain of $10,000. My car has increased in value by $10,000 in the last six months! How does that happen? Now I am sure that when it is time to leave I will get my money out of it. I only hope that money comes in dollars as the Bolivare is useless anywhere but here.
That’s all the news here. We are looking forward to going home this summer. We have scheduled time in New York and time in Seattle before returning to the Twilight Zone. I can hardly wait. I will be drinking fresh milk every single day…
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 1:49 AM
1 Comments:
Hi, there, so glad to see you back, Mark! I just saw a very big advertisement in the New York Times for a grand new condo/resort in the Dominican Republic -- buy now! Maybe it will increase in value, just like the car! Your trip reminds me of the one cruise we went on -- good to do once every decade or longer.
Love,
Linda
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