lessons learned

i learned so many things on my 4-day extravaganza in the dominican republic with my family and my 2 haitian brothers. naturally, as a neurotic type-A i've made a list. i tend to make a list of things accomplished as well as experiences lived as a way of navigating the never-ending transitions in life. i definitely recommend it. so here we go:

1. i can fly without extreme agony/tears upon take-off. solution? a strong vodka drink to "take the edge off" and lots of prayer and deep breathing techniques. (and subsequent prayers from close friends. thanks for all the positive energies sent my way, you know who you are).



2. peacocks are beautiful, but they make the most ridiculous sounds i've ever heard. at all waking hours of the night. where we stayed was a bit of a peacock paradise. they were seriously. everywhere. also like ducks, the males are the only ones with colorful tails.



3. apparently, my haitian brothers Shaddy and Robenson told me that in Haiti broccoli is "food for goats." and they've never tried broccoli until this trip. they still aren't sold on the deliciousness.




4. pop culture, although problematic for 99.9% of many problems of the world, helped bridge cultures. who knew that connections would be made over conversations about the east coast vs. west coast rap wars? thoughts concerning tupac & biggie were shared, favorite rappers and singers were discussed as well as their credibility (as pictured below):



5. we as Americans complain a lot. shaddy and robenson know haitian creole, were taught in school using French (and learned English then as well), and are now forced to learn Spanish to take classes in the dominican republic since the earthquake kicked them out of their native country. i complained about waiting way to long at a stop light today. so mom and i decided to challenge ourselves and purchase our little friend, Rosetta. (my apologies to Lauren that its not the Spain version...can't wait to leave you a message in ALL SPANISH SOON).



6. the merengue and the bachata latin dances only differ in the number of counts. merengue has 2, bachata has 3. i have no clue how to discern which is which or which dance i'm doing in this photo. (but who cares?!)



7. playing 3 games of volleyball in 3 languages (Spanish, English, Russian) is exhaustingly fun and left me surprisingly competitive. (and speedos will never be attractive on men because i kept mistaking them for a topless woman on the beach).



all in all...this is my family.