Playa

We went to the beach today. Really it felt like we stopped by the beach. You can do that when you live pretty close and have access to a car. I learned a few things from this trip to the beach.

1. You know how young people love loud music and lots of people dancing and beer and placing all of this on sand? I don't like that. The last two times I went to the beach the beach was mellow, the beer was subtle, and the sand spacious. Today it was one person per square foot. I dramatize, but go away, you're taking up my space. I'm about to become a hotel beach goer. From what I hear you don't have to fight for the space as much. Also, I'm basically 23 going on 77.

2. Dominicans pose with everybody like they are dating. I took a picture of my friend with this lady I just met. She's on vacation from the states and her husband is there. They posed all sexy like a couple. I have no reason to believe they are. They barely even looked at each other during the other parts of the trip. I took a picture with the same friend. I was smiling like someone who finally wasn't sick anymore and had a nice day at the beach. He was leaning all in holding a beer and looking like Rico Suave. I decided it wouldn't be posted anywhere. (Later, when looking through the photos he will ask if he can post them to his Facebook. I will decide to hide those before it comes to that.)

He also posed with a beer bottle, and later filled two bottles with water so they'd look full and posed with them too. I love Dominicans with cameras.

(Update: we went to the river and the wife finally revealed her bathing suit. Beautiful, by the way. She wore it to pose in the river. Again, Dominicans have too much fun with cameras. I love it!)

3. People in the DR will throw trash anywhere. As in literally in the ocean water as they swim they will throw the wrappers from their candy, the plastic cups from the Presidente (beer made in the DR that I don't hate, but is probably garbage) they just finished, and the paper plate they just ate some delicious fish off of. I think the trash thing surprises me everyday.

4. You can bring glass onto Dominican beaches. Now, I know we've all snuck some wine bottles onto the beach, but about halfway through the trip I remembered that glass is normally a no no. I think it's because I was at that point thinking about all of the trash and hoping I didn't happen upon a broken bottle. (Don't worry. I'd say that that it rarely if ever a reality.) When I remembered, oh wait... That's why you don't bring glass to a beach.

5. Bilingual children. I met some of my first bilingual children. Not like the other kids I've met whose English level is as good as my Spanish level, but truly interweaving-both-languages bilingual. I am going to have to get me some of those. It's also interesting to see what language they use when. These girls were speaking Spanish most of the time, but when one was really frustrated she would look at the girl and give her crap in English. It was like this, "Spanish, Spanish, Spanish. STOP IT! Spanish, Spanish, Spanish. I MEAN IT, QUIT!" Fascinating. Bilingual kids have interested me ever since I was in Germany. (If I were on the Internet and not typing an email to post this I would direct you to my blog about living in Germany for that post. I'd put a nice link here and everything. But the reality is that I am sitting in a rocking chair typing on an iPhone that is so far away from wifi or 3G its forgetting what it was like to be American.)

Anyway. Wonderful day!