The past month has been an interesting exercise in solitude as I have lived by myself here in the DR. The following are some snapshots from the past month – nothing has really materialized as a productive blogpost – so I shamelessly took this snapshot format from another friend's blog. May it be a window into my life here however mundane & uneventful it might be. Enjoy!
Friends: April 3rd, 2010
I have recently been marinating on this quote:
"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away." – Dinah Craik
How great is that quote?
What first comes to my mind are good friends and grace. Friends give grace and the benefit of the doubt when needed. That essential "belief in you" component that is so often crucial to success.
Pegagozo: April 6th, 2010
I am completely OBSESSED with Chris Brown's "Forever" song. I know it's old but apparently I didn't catch on when it came out & when I have the office to myself (an occasion that is about as frequent as a lunar eclipse) it's a favorite of my mid-afternoon pick-me-up hits. Also – fun Spanish word for the day pegajoso – it means sticky in the sense of a song, object, etc. Unfortunately I mix up my "j" and "g" so that I will often say pegagozo (which is a made up Claire word found in neither English or Spanish dictionary) which after one of my co-workers corrected me enough times I finally explained that, No! es que me pega-gozo (it sticks joy to me!) never again has she corrected my mispronunciation of that word.
Curry & other spicy fridge items: April 9th, 2010
I think I may have permanently seared by taste buds off of my tongue in the name of GREEN CURRY! I have a pretty high tolerance – but as cooking by myself makes me all the more gutsy (combined with the fact that I currently have 6 different types of high quality hot sauce in my fridge that I feel compelled to sprinkle on everything – I think I may have gone too far.
I mean, I could hardly finish my meal. Ouch.
Rain: April 11th, 2010
The rain has returned to the Dominican and has brought along with it its first cousin; humidity. Dang.
Finding my Zen: April 12th, 2010
A find in the "cheap-and-something-other-than-rice-and-beans" lunch category has recently appeared on the gringo horizon in the form of an Indianesque vegetarian restaurant, close to my house. We also found out that they offer yoga classes Mondays and Fridays which perked my un-athletic interest. [sidenote: I was told before coming to the yoga class that I was to dress in long white flowy clothes – to which I quickly replied "I have none." Obviously throwing off the instructor's chi, she continued with other instructions around drinking water before and eating after and saving energy – I nodded all too complicity for her believe me.]
During our yoga session, myself and my too kind neighbor and first-time-yoga buddy could barely keep it together as we twirled our arms in circles and touched our toes and curled up in a ball and rolled on our back – and then everything over again – but faster! (I couldn't get the image of preschoolers learning motor skills on those primary color, vinyl covered wedges – or my little brother before a T-ball game doing warm-ups in baggy uniforms out of my mind.) As our yoga session progressed I realized that the goal was relaxation and meditation versus a workout. "That's fine," I thought to myself, if only the windows weren't open and the studio across the street from a boisterous colmado blaring meringue music, moto-taxis roaring by and the smell of street food – it made it a little harder to create that inner peace as I tapped my fingers to Shakira's "Tu," again blasting from the colamdo. I love this place.
Home : April 15th, 2010
I have come to thoroughly enjoy my evening walk home from the office. The day is cooling off and as I stroll through Gazcue (the name of my neighborhood) – I get reprieves from the scent of trash ripped apart by stray dogs, urine and pollution – by heavily scented honeysuckle. It is odd hours like these when I have come to feel this is my home. I know these streets and I feel comfortable here. I have a sense of ownership and even though I still dislike living in the city – there are moments when the air thick with flowers and a cool breeze that I can just be; defying lines of Dominican or American.
KITTENS: April 17th, 2010
Oh my gosh. My cat, named Chin Chin (which means itty-bitty ,because when we rescued her she was tiny.) Is going to have KITTENS! She is officially not Chin anymore, she's HUGE & fat…and ornery for that matter. I'll post pictures of the proud mom after the fact.
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ReplyDeleteI love your blog, don't stop writing! It gives me a little dose of "Claire" when I miss you so much, and helps tie me over until we meet again!
ReplyDeleteI am still obsessed with "Forever" too, every once in a while I play in on my computer, crank it up to get the house bumping, and dance around like a crazy woman. Ryan simply responds by shaking his head and sighing, hehe.
Oh my goodness, I can't believe you are going to have little kitties running around! How fun, and hopefully it won't turn into a nightmare ;)
Your yoga adventure made me laugh out loud, I love how you describe things.
How was Jenna's visit? Hope you post a blog about it, I wanna hear everything!