Thursday, October 29, 2009

What was that?

So, what about Doubles and Boomerangs?

Ivanka (Sasha's sister), Karim, and Alex (friends) picked us up and drove us to Marabela where the Chalco's stay. When we went outside in FL it was warm, but at midnight in Trinidad it was even warmer. Thank God we came to in the rainy season. It's cooler now but still muggy enough to make you sweat in under ten seconds.

The car stopped in front of a two story house in the middle of Marabela and immediately Chamelly and Franco (Sasha's mother and brother) came down the stairs to greet their long-expected daughter and sister. How the affection flowed. It was evident how much they love each other by the way they kept holding on to each other. Once I got to the top of the stairs and went through the door with our bags, I saw Dante and Sasha embrace. He didn't let go of her for a very long time and kissed her face over and over again. A father's love is strong for his children. God's love surpasses any love man can muster. This is truly extraordinary after seeing this meeting of family.

We stayed up until 4 AM getting gifts out of the suitcases and talking. Only when Franco lay himself down to sleep and looked at his phone was the time recognized. Just a 24 hour trip. I love it.

Sleep crept over us, and we endured a night of heavy rain. Or so they tell me, I slept straight through. Eventually waking up and managing to get out of bed in the heat (which seems much more difficult) I had two sandwiches for breakfast and some orange juice. Island life, can't get enough. At this point it's noon, but considering the time of lie down, that's acceptable. Even if I was the last one up.

After greeting everyone and getting ready for the day. We (Sasha, Ivanka and I) went to the market where Franco works and got some groceries for dinner. That was great. If only markets were more common in other places. No complaints, it makes it more memorable here. Franco got us a deal on some ginger. Trinidad being an island, lots of goods are imported. They were selling almost half kilo packages of ginger. It wasn't fresh and it didn't seem worth it, so he took it in the back and got it re-packaged in a smaller quantity for us. What a guy. We also got a discount with his work card.

On the walk to catch a taxi we stopped at a little stand and got doubles. They're two flat bread pieces overlapped with some beans and spices, then wrapped together. So spicy, but it burns so good.

Upon our return I sat down to blog and Dante came upstairs. He was working on making boomerangs and I went down with him to learn how. Step by step we went through the sanding process. Now I can say I made a boomerang in Trinidad with the infamous Dante Chalco. Next week he's going to take me through the primary steps of cutting the shape out and creating angles. Again the reminder flashes in my mind that there's always more to learn. There's just enough time to learn what God wants us to know. Be the sponge!

Now I'm smelling Chamelly cooking some delicious dish in the kitchen and relaxing in the heat. There's no water on Thursdays or Sundays so we did dishes with the reservoir water and a bucket. Talk about a different way of living. Oh yeah, the shower doesn't have a temperature option. My custom of finishing every shower with cold water has paid off. The water isn't freezing by any means, but even if it was it would just feel nice.
"This is the only place you get out of the shower sweating." -Franco

Tot siens, my chomies.

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