Multiculturalism.

Las Galeras is a noisy place: music, children laughing, birds singing, chickens clucking, pigs grunting, dogs barking, cats wailing… and these days construction sounds as a new aqueduct gets constructed nearby.  I’ve found it a nice background track to a lazy existence as we go from the beach to a hammock and back again.

We’re staying with a Dominican man and his American wife and spent Tuesday with a Dominican of German and Italian descent who has lived in New York, Paris and goodness knows where else, an American/Dominican and an older Italian couple.  It turns out I understand Italian fairly well but speaking back has been a bit more of a challenge.  By the end of the evening, after some beers and limoncello, we were congratulating ourselves on re-inventing Esperanto.

Our boat ride took us to two beautiful, deserted beaches: Frontón and Madama.  We enjoyed sandwiches from the local euromart and did some snorkeling.  Baracudas, sea cucumbers, fish of every color, huge urchins a sunken boat… wow!

Yesterday was a sit on the beach and read day and given the downpours today, it’s been more of a sit in a hammock and read day.  We’ve enjoyed the company of two middle school teachers from Boston.

Every once in a while I get a pang of ‘what am I doing in class next week’ but I’ve been pretty successful at bringing myself back to the difficult act of relaxing.

Sadly, though Yaw has learned a lot about the complex art of being white in the sun, I’m more burnt than tanned!