The “Things That Surprise Me” Chronicles (originally written on July 1, 2008)

In the last two weeks I’ve come to understand some things about me that I never knew. I expected this whole adventure to be a learning experience, but I guess I didn’t really think about it being an opportunity to learn about myself. I thought more in terms of getting to expand my knowledge about other cultures and geographies. There has been that, too, don’t get me wrong. I guess I just thought I knew myself better than I did. Me, the World, and how the Universe can unexpectedly hand us comfort when we need it … all are infinitely wondrous miracles. Here are some of the things that have surprised me … things I’ve learned … in the two weeks I’ve been here …

1. It surprises me how dirty the air can get here. And when I say “dirty”, it really is dirt. Not smog with a bunch of chemicals and deadly stuff … just plain dirt. Dust. I don’t know why it gets like this, but I know it’s like a cycle. For the first couple of days we were here the air was really bad but it cleared out and has been beautiful. This morning it was like this again, and will probably be like this for a few days before it clears out to what I’m optimistically calling “normal”. My own personal thought is that maybe since there is very little grass (and by “very little” I mean “none”) there’s nothing to keep the dirt on the ground where it belongs, so when the air currents pick up, so does the dust. It’s like when it’s windy and you drive by a place where they are working on the road (and in Houston, where AREN’T they working on the road?) and the wind kicks up all the loose dirt to make the air dusty just right there. I’m guessing it’s the same deal here … only it’s the entire island rather than just a spot in the road. At first I was really afraid that it was just going to be this way all the time, never again to know a happy sky. But, there really is a beautiful blue sky against the white sand most of the time … when the air gets brown, it surprises me all over again.

Above: The date palm and beach at the end of our drive taken June 24th.

Above: Same date palm and same beach at the end of the same drive ... except it is July 1st and a baaaaaaad air day!

… stay tuned for Part 2 of the “Things that Surprise Me” Chronicles.