Scuba-dooo

I have been taking an open water diving course here. It is nice to have friends on the beach who are diving instructors, and knowing the captains who drive the boats that take us out to the dive sites makes it even more fun. On my first dive, I saw a barracuda. It swam right past me, minding its own business. That was fine with me, because it was quite large. Other fish came so close I could actually reach out and touch them. It was an amazing experience and I am looking forward to seeing what else is in the underwater world.

It is very loud in the cafe right now. Everyone is talking. About business, talking to friends, talking on the phone, placing their orders...clicking keys on the keyboards of laptops...barristas steaming milk for coffee...doors opening and closing...dishes being tossed into the sink behind the counter...motorcycles driving by on the street. When will there be peace and quiet? It is hard to think when there is so much going on. Some people can filter out all of these distractions and be in their own zone. Like meditation. But why can't I just filter it all out while I'm sitting here? Maybe I just need practice.

I'm going to let this one speak for itself...

Smile, it's a beautiful day!

One cannot take the internet for granted here. Sometimes it works, most times it doesn't. There is no use complaining about it. Because this is just the way it is. An annoyance, yes, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. It works at this moment, and for that I am thankful. I have said before, the gringos always get worked up over small things, and they just need to relax. It is too hot here to hurry and worry about every little thing.

If I allow it to bother me, I could think to myself...I paid for this service, I expect it to work every second of every day. That is how it would be in Canada. And if I wasn't happy with the service, I could phone someone and complain, and help them have a miserable day listening to how this is now thier problem and they should fix it. Because taking things for granted is the way we live.

But here, you can take nothing for granted. And when things don't work out, the people don't focus on the negative. Just smile, because it is another beautiful day in paradise. And on days like today when it is a beautiful day and the internet works, I am the happiest person on earth. But even if it was still broken today, life would have still been wonderful. I have wonderful friends and family, and the beautiful caribbean sea at my door. There is nothing else I need. Everything else is just extra. Nice to have, but not essential. And knowing this is the key to my happiness.

I don't even know his name

For some reason I cannot upload any photos with this internet connection that I have in my house. It is driving me crazy. I never leave home without the camera, and I have taking pictures of just about everything here. So I am on the lookout for a satellite internet card...hopefully I find one soon so I can visually share my experiences with you. But for now, all you can have is words.

  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then I have alot of writing to do! I will tell you a snippet of what occured yesterday...

Remember the boy who washed my flip-flops in the ocean? I saw him yesterday, in an area that Meghan and I refer to as "downtown" - if there is such a thing as a downtown here, this is where we were having a late breakfast and coffee at our favorite trendy gringo cafe. Meghan pointed him out as we were leaving, and he recognised us and came over to say Hola. School is still out because of Semana Santa, so he was out and about with his shoe-shine box trying to earn some pesos. He is 10 years old, roaming the streets alone trying to scrape together a meal. Sadly, this is all too common here.

  He is the cutest little boy I have ever seen, and I wanted to do something to help him. He was going to El Cortecito, which is the nearby beach strip of shops. We were all going in the same direction so we asked him if he wanted to come with us on the gua-gua (bus). If not for us, he likely would have walked, 30 minutes in the scorching sun to get to Cortecito. I paid 20 pesos for his gua-gua fare - less than a dollar. When we arrived in Cortecito, I asked him if he was hungry, and of course he was, so we took him to a friends restaurant and I bought him some dominican food (rice, beans, pasta salad, chicken) and water. Then we went our seperate ways.

  He went to find his friends, and I have no doubt that he will share that meal with all of them. In my culture, as a child, everything is "mine, mine, mine" We have to be taught to share, and as we get older there is still a sense of ownership, and giving things away without expecting anything in return is difficult at best. But here, that concept does not exist. Sharing is done without condition, without even a second thought. And yet, this is the third world country. The civilized world could learn so much from them...

Semana Santa (Easter)

Semana Santa on Macao beach. Old friends get reaquainted. New friendships are made. Children play in the water. Lovers play in the water. Presidente Beer. Hot dogs. Rice and beans. Warm sunshine. Clear turquoise ocean. White sand. Dominoes. Police. Rum. Ice. Music. Garbage. Laughter. Memories...

What would the world be like if we all let our imaginations loose?

Many words can be used to describe this delightful hotel. It is a mixed fusion of architectural worlds colliding. None of it goes together, but somehow it all fits together like it was meant to be. What kind of person dreamed up this box of cement and windows? I envy this person. They had an idea and made it come alive. Without any thought of what other people might think or say. They just did it. Sometimes I wonder what the world would look like if we all let our imaginations loose?

Grocery shopping is for gringos.

It's simple: If you want fruit, you go to the fruit stand. Or, if you're lucky you can catch the guy who loaded up his pickup truck full of bananas or mangoes this morning. If you want meat, you go to The Butcher Shop. There are many to chose from in the village of Otra Bonda. Every other shop has raw meat strung up in front, baking in the sun. I asked someone once, "What about flies? What about food poisoning?" These questions were quickly dismissed with a shrug. Gringos worry too much and make everything complicated. Just eat it.

Sure, just eat it...

How about an empañada? See the 2 people standing with the tray of pastries? Go ahead, gringo..try one...if you're lucky you will keep your stomach intact.

Who said trees are green?

Where else can you find pink palm trees? Yet another sign that I'm in the right place...

Day One

Thanks to a delayed flight which messed up my connection flight I arrived here a day late. One day lost...never to be found again. But I made up for it my first night here.

House party + nightlub = stumbling in the house at 4:30am.

Meghan and I walked to town today along the beach, with our feet in the sea and our flip-flops in our hands. It's about a 30 minute walk from our villa (which by the way is a different place than last time I was here.) When we were in town I bought 2 mangos. It cost 24 pesos for both of them. They are huge mangoes by the way, and 24 pesos is less than one dollar. I was stunned. Mangoes weren't in season last time I was here, but I'm sure glad they are now!

But the best part of the day today was when we were on the beach hanging out with some friends. A little boy came up to Meghan and I and he had a beer bottle in his hand. It was full of sea water, and he proceeded to use this water to rinse off our flip-flops. He became so intent on cleaning our shoes that he actually carried them into the sea and scrubbed them.

It's Now Or Never

Tomorrow while all my friends are sleeping, I will be 30,000 ft above sea level in a Boeing 757. On my way to life in the Caribbean. Sometimes it feels like this is all a dream. But please don't wake me yet, the good part is just about to begin...

Home Sweet Home?

Packing up and moving can be very stressful. I should know, because have done it many times. I can recall 13 different places that I have called home in my life. But this time it's different. Because most of the things I am packing, I am not taking with me. When I get to my new house, there will be no boxes to unpack. There will be no pictures or paintings to hang on the wall, no cutlery to fill up the kitchen drawers, and no heavy furniture to tilt on its side so it fits through the door. Just a few suitcases. What will be in them? That is what I am struggling with right now. What things really matter? I can admit that I am somewhat materialistic...ok, well maybe a little more than the average person, but I admire quality and I appreciate fine things. Clothing is definately high on that list. So, my biggest suitcase is full of clothes. Lots of clothes. I will have to sit on it to zip it up. The next suitcase...well, I haven't really started packing it yet. But it will probably be mostly shoes. I find it fascintating that I am having a hard time parting with so may of my things. I have many boxes that I have packed up, of things that will be donated to charity. But, I still can't let go of some things, so I am putting them in storage. My popcorn machine, my wok, my china...Maybe one day I will send for them to be shipped to my new home. But I find myself asking, what really makes home home? Is it the things we fill it up with? Or maybe, is it the people who live in the house that make it home? I live alone, so does that mean that can I be home, wherever I am? I don't know about that. There must be something else.

I hope I don't leave it behind.

Then again, maybe it's already waiting for me in the Caribbean.

Word On The Street

You may have already heard, but here is the offical word: I just bought my plane ticket last night, and I'm on my way back to the Caribbean on March 22nd. This time it's not a test, it's gonna be the real thing. Only 30 more days to go...

Another Week In Paradise

Once again I found myself frolicking in the Caribbean sun, this time to see one of my best friends get married in Mexico. Todd & Karen picked the Mayan Riviera as the location for their wedding, and no one needed to twist my arm to be there! I was fortunate enough to go to the same place in Mexico to see Hazel & Alex get married in 2005, and I was really glad to be able to get back there again with a completely different group of friends.

Some of the highlights for me were: bike riding among the ancient ruins in Cobá (with my dad, Sue, Brian, Sandeep & Nicole), diving in Cozumel (my first time diving!), drinking rainbow shooters, swimming in the Caribbean Sea in Tulum, relaxing in the spa, and of course, the best part was Todd & Karen's wedding.

Back in the Caribbean

Hola from Mexico! I have to write this really quickly because my internet minutes here are almost up. And I really should be at the beach! I´m having a really great time here, the weather is beautiful, and the pina coladas are delicious! I will post some photos and give an update tomorrow night.

Adios Amigos!

janet
xoxo

My First Book!

Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone! Or, if you speak Spanish, feliz navidad y prospero año! I have put together a collection of my favorite photographs taken in the Dominican Republic, and published a book. I named the book Tesoro which means "treasure" in spanish. I chose this title, because I discovered so many wonderful things in the Caribbean - beautiful sights, new friends, a new perspective on life...it feels like I discovered a treasure, and now I am richer because of it. The photos in the book really capture the spirit of life, in the people and places that I visited, and I would like to share them with you. Click here to buy it, or click on the picture below.

Discover the treasure of faces and places in The Dominican Republic. A collection of photographs from the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo, to the Yaque del Norte river in Jarabacoa, to the beaches of Punta Cana, and places in between.

What Now?

People have been asking what is going to happen with the blog now that I'm not in the Caribbean anymore. I still intend to post here on a regular basis, I'm not going to abandon this! Plus, I know in my heart that I will be back in the Dominican Republic one day. And I don't mean when I retire. I mean one day soon.

I remember on my last day there, when I was in the taxi on the way to the airport, I dropped off Meghan at her new apartment, and I wasn't sad to be leaving. Because I knew it wasn't the last time I was going to see her, and I knew it wasn't really my last day in the Dominican Republic. It wasn't "goodbye". It was more like "until next time". It was a happy feeling. And for me, that feeling is so easy to find when I am there. Every day.

So keep checking in here, because you never know. One day I will be posting messages from the beach again!

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Here is the last photo of me in the D.R! After a night of fiesta-ing, and not sleeping, I took a 20 hour journey home to Vancouver. There was no way for me to prepare for the cold weather, so I found myself wearing flip-flops and capri pants in the snow at 2:30 in the morning.

I miss the Caribbean already...my body is still on Dominican time, I think it will take a while for the jet lag to wear off.

But it will take even longer to get used to the fast paced urban life again. There is so much traffic, and people rushing to be here and there. There are Christmas lights, but it doesn't feel genuinely festive like it did in the Dominican Republic. It feels commercial and fake. Nowhere does it say "Merry Christmas." Because people want to be Politically Correct. It's like we are being brainwashed. It's not Christmas anymore, it's a Happy Holiday. There are so many things to be cynical about! I am beginning to feel like I have to fit into a little box that that I spent the last two months escaping from.

I've been back in Canada one day, and I already want to go home.

Can I still live as Caribbean Janet here? Can I relax and have all the time in the world? Can I live each day full of life? Will I smile and and say "Hola!" to every person that I walk past, as they smile say hello to me?

Am I going to see flowers, or heaps of garbage?

Making Memories

This was a busy weekend. I went to a museum in Santiago. I walked across a series of rickety wooden bridges to get to a waterfall. I was one of 8 people stuffed into a 4 seat car. I saw a Dominican cowboy. I saw the aftermath of a shooting in Sosua. I drank rum in a cave. I stood in the Atlantic Ocean. I paid three dollars to ride a bus from the North Coast of the island to the South Coast. I ate tofu for the first time in two months. I stood outside of the oldest church in "The New World." All this, and more. Yes, it was definately a busy weekend.

Time After Time

I feel like time is running out. There is not enough time. How can that be? Isn't time infinite? I think it is, but we are not. That is why we try to hold on to time. We try to make time. But time cannot be bought, or sold, or manufactured. Time is free, but free time is priceless. Time can be spent, and wasted. But there will always be more time.

Tomorrow.

But not today. Today there is never enough time.

Often we say we would do this or that if we had more time. But if time is constant and infinite, how can there not be enough? How can we need more of something that will never run out? And if we truly believe that we would rather spend our time doing something else, then why do we keep doing things we don't want to, day after day? My friend Meghan says the definition of insanity is repeating the same act over and over again expecting different results. Isn't that what most of us are doing? The same routine, Monday to Friday, with the hopes that one day it will be better? Maybe it will be better on the day when we turn 65. We can retire...then will we have more time? What will we have more time to do? Live?

What will we be able to say we did for all of those 65 years? We let life pass us by because we were busy trying to save a little bit of time...

My days here in the Caribbean are coming to an end. I have not wasted any time here, I have not tried to save any time, or make any time. I just lived every moment here full of life, and time went by at its own pace. In many instances I didn't know what day it was, or what the clock said. I didn't think about time at all, and somehow that gave me all the time in the world.

I suppose there are people who have figured this out where they live. They didn't have to come to the Caribbean, or some other place to find out. But to me, there is something here, on this island that speaks to me. Maybe it is simply my own inner voice, but I've never heard it before. I want to keep listening to it. If I can't hear it when I come back to Canada, then I will know that this place is truly my home.

Only time will tell.