I am not your Mommi

Finally, the jet lag has subsided and I’m feeling like a normally functioning Wino.  Because of that normalcy, I’ve been out and about to explore my small area of safety all on my own.  Other than almost being hit by cars twice due to not being used to looking the opposite direction, things have been pretty interesting and uneventful.  I’ll either quickly learn to adjust to the change in which side of the street people drive, or I will most likely learn the hard way which is the less preferred method.

Other than sleeping for a copious amount of time this weekend, some frustrating Skype connection issues with my other half and the fact that it gets dark here at 5:30, things have been pretty normal and very similar to home.   There are some great outdoor cafes and restaurants, live music – including some of the best street musicians I have experienced in some time – and nice pricing here.  It’s much cheaper here than at home thanks to favorable exchange rates.  I have been making sure to enjoy this time, little stress and comforts of home because it appears that all of this may abruptly change once I step my little piggies into Mozambique.  Which, by all accounts, is much more chaotic and challenging than here.  I’ll keep you posted on that one. For sure the hotel where I’m booked there had some less than favorable reviews – the kind that make you dread your pending stay.  I hope to find an apartment as soon as possible!

So my hotel room faces the main street, which has resulted in some interesting nights.  No matter where you are, there will be drunks screaming and laughing at all hours of the night and for some reason, abrupt sing-alongs that break out at odd times.  I can’t say that I mind it because it’s new, but I could see how it would wear out its welcome if you were here for a much longer time.  The street people and beggars haven’t been an issue either because I don’t speak the language so I’m oddly spared the explanation of the need for my change – but they do call you “Mommi” here all the time – Ms. Scowby will have to fill me in on the meaning of that one.  To my knowledge, I haven’t birthed no babies, but I doubt seriously that’s what it means J Probably something more like %!#@& you white bitch.  Ignorance is bliss!

Today I went to the African outdoor market.  More really gifted musicians, but not too interesting of items except for the Batik cloth, but I decided to wait to purchase any of that.  Not much haggling either and anyone who knows the Hillbilly knows that I just love the art of crafting “the deal” but there wasn’t much budging so it wasn’t much fun.  Did acquire a shirt and skirt, but can’t say I was blowin’ em over with any huge savings – thankfully they were pretty affordable from the start.  Much of my wardrobe has been purchased on the street in other countries, so I plan on continuing that trend.  I will really be screwed if and when I ever obtain a normal office job as very little of it would fly in that environment.  I’ll make sure to be concerned about that later, but until then, I will continue to exist as the wild-mid-life-child that I am.  Oh yea, the good kind of wild J 

Musicians rocking their marimbas

I will close with a few observations – the continuous horn honking and whistling has at moments almost made me homicidal.  This is due to the mini buses that drive along honking while hoping to attract passengers by letting EVERYONE know they are coming.  The whistling is the result of informal parking attendants who stand in the street and guide people into empty spaces in hope of some spare change.  In general the people here are “big” – in all senses of the word – girth, height, big behinds – not necessarily fat, just big.  A co-worker told me that to be thin or too thin is not a sign of success and also makes people wonder what is wrong with you due to the AIDs epidemic.  That would not be a current concern with my appearance thanks to having sold all of my kitchen appliances five weeks before I left and having to eat out.  Trust me, the Wino has been eating lots of salads and healthy alternatives to recover from that dangerous moment in history!  Especially salads as I’m not sure how often I will be able to enjoy them while in Mozambique where I was cautioned against eating anything I couldn’t clean myself or that didn’t exist behind the safety of a peel.  Being that I will most likely be walking a mile or so each way to work, I would prefer to avoid any emergency gastro-intestinal issues during my stroll to and from.  So, I’ll heed those warnings. 

I hope everyone had an enjoyable 4^th – I heard it was a rainy one back at home.  I’m off to accomplish a bit of work at the local café.  So until next time!

Drink of the afternoon – a sassy, chilled chardonnay 

Hillbillies, Winos and the Dark Continent - oh my!

Where does the time go?  ... what a year.  This time last year I found myself in Dubai and readying myself for another trip to Afghanistan.  That adventure completed, I returned home and had a slew of life challenging events.  The kind of challenges that really change a person and now, having come out the other end of that shit-storm wormhole, I'm finally feeling like the new and improved version of myself those difficulties may have been intended to create.  So... it was time for a job and a new adrenaline packed adventure.  I was able to combine both in this new position.  After many close flirtations with employment on the home front, I reluctantly accepted a position overseas.  I now see that this was certainly the thing to do!  I write this from South Africa where I am enduring an orientation before I actually depart for Mozambique to rein in the madness, get things under control and then close down a decade plus program.  This has become the Wino's "thing" - cleaning up and closing down... and it's certainly not for the feint of heart.  I can sum up the myriad of reasons that many programs close in one word - fraud.  While I cannot name the organization I am performing my magic for, I will say there are a few employees awaiting my stewardship in Mozambique who will not be happy campers after I arrive.  That said, I'm ready to put some lipstick on this pig and combine as much fun and life experience as I can with the necessary grind of work duties!  It's Africa after all.

I'm into day three of work, the cruel mistress that is jet lag and being a punchy drunky from a horrifying lack of sleep.  The trip here was without incident except for a small delay into Atlanta that caused me to miss a greatly anticipated beer with my brother who also happened to be passing though.  While not able to upgrade to business class, the nearly 16 hour flight crammed into economy was endurable and without any major incidents, smelly seat mates or obnoxious children in my vicinity - so it was pretty damn good.  My arrival in Johannesburg also went smoothly and the nearly 45 minute trip to Pretoria was spent enjoying sunset and the smell of bonfire due to controlled grass burns that are apparently popular this time of year.  The hotel is nice, close to work and in an area that has been deemed "safe" by my coworkers.  Someone on my floor is smoking the bejesus out of weed so that wafts through the hallways in the evenings. Bars, restaurants, coffee shops and a nice amount a street activity thanks to the University have made lunch and early evenings pretty enjoyable - once I can stay up past 8pm I'll let you know about the night life!  Planning to hit some live music and open markets this weekend - all right around the corner. English is very popular here and the people extremely friendly so for now I'm meeting new people, getting settled in and preparing myself for Maputo at the end of next week.

View from hotel

Another view from my hotel room - Pretoria, SA

Mozambique is going to be quite an experience and one that I'm very much looking forward                                                                      to immersing myself.  I'll be alert by then as well and ready to knock this project out!  I still don't have an apartment there so I will be in a hotel for the time being until something satisfactory can be located - this might be tricky on an NGO budget in a city where the property prices are continually increasing thanks to the oil and gas industry. By mid-August the Wino's new "special friend" will be joining me for a few months to partake in an African adventure and a much needed break from the stresses of existing back home - we don't speak Portuguese, but what the hell, right?  The new friend was the one major bright spot in the past year, so I'm very much looking forward to having someone to share my experiences - especially this particular someone.  My coworkers seem to like Mozambique as a country, but are completely stressed out over the project.  This assignment appears to pale in comparison to the nightmare that I was involved in during my last trip to Afghanistan. While I know it will be tricky work, I am shockingly absent of any nervousness or anxiousness regarding what I am about to do - and that's such a great feeling.  Could it be that the knowledge of the distinct lack of explosions, gunfire and radical Muslims just may have calmed me the hell down?! Yep.

This is short and sweet, but what do you expect after a year of no blogging :)  Good things are on the horizon and I'm simply just looking forward to discovering them.  Thanks to Katie and family for taking on Django and Fat Kid Ninja during my departure and also to an excellent group of friends for your support and fun send-off. Cheers to Africa and the next six months.  Happy 4th everyone!!

Drink of the night - A South African Pinotage - delicious!

Apparently, I missed Afghanistan

Well guess what ... after almost 10 months, I'm finally doing something interesting enough to blog about. Since I last documented my adventures, I was in the Dominican Republic for four glorious months.  It was wonderful, I never wore shoes, spent my days on the beach, had some friends visit and became used to the enormous bugs and mosquito bites.  I finally returned home near Christmas Eve and surprised my family, resulting in a wonderful Christmas after I had missed two due to being away. Reintroduction to "home" was a bit strange and I spent many weeks just feeling disconnected because nothing was familiar in comparison to what I had experienced over the past two years.  That slowly ebbed and some semblance of normalcy finally settled in for me.  Now for the other parts...

Good-bye you evilly funny, wonderful woman!

So far, 2012 has been some type of Mayanesque apocalyptic bag-of-burning-shit-on-your-doorstep kind of year - you try to sort it out, but end up with hot poo on your shoes that you then track all over your proverbial house.  While in the Dominican, I was informed by an extremely close friend that she had pancreatic cancer.  There's really not much good to say about that as you are pretty sure what the ending to that movie will be, but have no idea how long it will take to get there.  In her case, six months.  Fortunately, I was home for the last four, spent some great time with her and was there, with her partner, as she moved on to her next big adventure.  It was incredibly sad, a huge loss and really changed my thinking about many, many of life's journeys and our purpose here while passing through - all for the better I might add, but I would have greatly preferred to cull the same information in a different manner.  Did make an excellent friend in her partner and realized that I was actually capable of showing a level of compassion that I usually kept well hidden.  So I can chalk through "watching your friend die" off my list of life experiences.

If you're in a relationship, leaving for two years - even with some fantastic vacations thrown in there - does not parlay into the best of outcomes when you return home.  We worked hard to salvage that well worn relationship, but there were too many loose strings in the sweater and the damn thing unraveled.  So after 9 years, that went kaput as well.  Welcome home!  You're life is now full of very tough lessons learned.  In addition to all of this, I was absolutely unable to find a professional job.  Oh yes, there were some flirtations with employment, but I felt a stinging suspicion that I was asked out on those dates just to question me about my old flame, Afghanistan.  That good for nothing bastard has, for the time being, ruined me for many employment opportunities stateside considering the current job market situation and the fact that my most recent skill sets don't obviously parlay into white bread work back in the U.S.  I, of course, think if you can get it done there then you can do anything at home, but it may take quite a time before someone recognizes those aspects in my resume. Anypoorme, these three themes for 2012 were really bringing me down ... and then the old boyfriend came knocking with an offer to come back for 90 days AND I JUMPED ON IT!  So now, I sit in Dubai typing the first of many new entries into my blog.


Although 2012 has had some intense challenges, there were some bright spots as well.  Other than spending time with my excellent and supportive family and friends I really have not accomplished too much in the form of entertainment since I have been home.  My biggest life commitment surrounded the acquisition of a small, furry devil who is named Django ... but just like all devils, he is known by many names - "Stink" (he is housetrained on a potty pad), "Nugget" (he's a nugget of all good things rolled into one), "Bo" (courtesy of my mother) and "Jingies" (that slipped out one night after too much wine, and it stuck).  To summarize... I love this puppy and he's helped me immensely in dealing with the challenges of 2012 - often he is one of them, but I don't care.  He's a positive force even if he often thinks his name is "G#* Dammit Django" - I had to leave him behind for the 3 months I am gone and was quite torn up about it.  I hope I don't return home to find him lounging on the kitchen counter tops like I did with the cats - my huge pet peeve, literally, but the counter lounging cats are going with the other due to the breakup.  I will miss them very much though and so will the dog since his life's ambition is to know where the cats are at all times.

Django Wolfgang aka Devil

...So, I'm currently in Dubai awaiting my flight in a few days to lovely Kabul.  To go along with the theme of "challenging" for 2012, my travels so far have been just that.  Everything is working out they way it should, but after an enormous amount of vein throbbing stress.  My 15 hour flight from Atlanta was delayed for 13 hours, requiring a hotel voucher, the purchase of an Atlanta T-shirt and shorts to sleep in, 2 hours of sleep and then back to the airport - the good news is that I had been able to upgrade to Business Class so I was pretty comfortable when we finally left the gate. 

View from plane approaching Dubai

Beautiful full moon the first night here

They had to change out an engine ... a bit of TMI if you ask me as I would have been satisfied with the normal "bathroom needs fixed" excuse we usually get.  I met up with another new hire on my project immediately after arriving in Dubai so that we could go and get our Afghan Visa's at the Afghan Embassy.  She had no problems but I, on the other hand, didn't have enough blank pages left in my passport to satisfy the Afghans ... so it went like this - cab to American Embassy, American Embassy only takes electronic appointments, cab back to hotel to make appointment, finally drop my bags in my room, appointment can't happen for 6 days, make appointment, inform my employer that I can't fly to Kabul the next day but rather the next week,  walk to the office (it looked much shorter on the map) in incredible heat, meet my Dubai office co-workers while covered in sweat and with no shower for almost 40 hours, walk back, collapse in bed, wake up 3 hours later not knowing where I am, at last a hot shower, 3 glasses of wine courtesy of my purchase at Duty Free, a sleep aid, wake up next morning at 3am and in the gym by 5am... 

Today I worked from the office and laughed out loud when several people I met the other day didn't recognize me - I suppose I clean up well!  Today ended with a flurry of similar hand clenching experiences while trying to figure out how to get my cash advance wired to my bank - 3 cab rides and 3 stops later, I finally end up at an Exchange in the Wafi Mall, mission accomplished, and I ended my frustrating experience with this:

Glass of wine at Raffles Hotel Lobby Bar

Delicious!  In Dubai, if you don't buy your alcohol at the Duty Free store at the airport, your only options are to drink in hotel bars.  The hotel I'm in does not have a bar, so I literally wander around the desert until I hit the next hotel.  They are close, but so huge that the walk is further than you would anticipate.  So, Friday and Saturday nobody works here - that equals two days off while being paid to wait to fly to Kabul - not bad!  I'm planning to hit the gym and then lounge in the pool for the afternoon.  It's actually as hot at home as it is here ... and that's sad for you guys, because it's incredibly hot here.

Before I sign off, I must share that I stepped away from the computer to storm out of my room in order to flash some stink eye to the Arabs standing in the hall talking at extremely loud decibel levels ... only to find nobody was there and it's actually the ass-munches in the room next to me.  I can hear them through the connecting door and the one is a chatty obnoxious a-hole.  Now I don't feel bad about my alarm going off for an hour in my room while I was at the gym early this morning...

Hope everyone had an fun-filled July 4th!

Drink of the night - back to good ol' Chai Spiced Tea

Surf's Up...soon :)

Sunrise

View from condo

As I sit in my beachfront condo, enjoying the sounds of the ocean, sauteing garlic and onions for my pasta dish and sipping on red wine, I am amazed at how much a week in the Wino's life can change.  Last Saturday I was in the Kabul airport waiting to fly to Dubai and wondering if leaving a well paid job - that I hated - was going to be me my undoing.  I still don't have the answer to that question, but to say that I'm glad to be out of Afghanistan is an understatement!  After 26 hours of flying and being in airports, I finally arrived - sweaty, tired and with a cold - in the lovely Dominican.  There was even a little mariachi band to greet us as we walked through the airport.  I'm not here in high season, so there weren't many people on the plane which meant I got through quickly, was picked up and taken to this lovely little beachfront condo.  There couldn't be a place more different then where I have been living the past 18 months.  It's lush, humid, and right on the water - tons of flowering plants, palm trees (and bugs, but I'm getting used to those) and no burkas or anyone making doodies on the street - as far as I can see.

My flight from Dubai included a middle seat in between two enormous men - the hotel was kind enough to drop me off at the arrivals area so I had to haul all of my luggage and myself to the correct departure terminal in the unbelievable Dubai humidity and heat - therefore, the refreshing shower I had just taken before my long journey was utterly useless and I was as sweaty as a whore in church to begin my trip out of there.  So, I can't complain too much about being smooshed between to massive guys, since I was most likely not making a positive contribution as the sweaty middle seat person that they were sticking to.  To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement and still wouldn't fully describe my 15 hour plane trip, but I was too excited about leaving to really care.

Goodbye Dubai!

So I arrived with one of those plane-colds and I was jet-lagged and exhausted.  I opened the sliding glass doors and took it all in - beautiful!  I love how the ocean smells and managed to take a nice long stroll on the "ocean's liver" as I like to refer to the sandy, sandy beach.  Cleaning and straining all the whatnot from the ocean.  My favorite time is early in the morning - it's like the ocean had a big night out and has coughed up everything it doesn't want in its system anymore.  Seaweed, coconuts, wood, seashells and these weird little hard jellied balls - what a par-tay!  I love it.   Fortunately, I'm not on a cruise ship channel and therefore do not need to be appalled at beach garbage from the ships.  Just me, the ocean hang-over and my little bag for collecting sea shells.

I'm so twisted from the time change that I've been waking up at 1:30am, then 2:30, etc. - I seem to be catching another hour every day.  I see some amazing sunrises because of it, but it hasn't made me much of a late night Hillbilly so far. I'm also not in much need of shoes while outside and am establishing a wonderful natural pedicure routine with the beach walks. Just walking, for hours, is a treat because I've been so confined for such a long time.  I did lose a couple of days being down and out from a terrible cold - my condo is "Balinese Style" which apparently implies no air-conditioning.  That's been a huge adjustment since I came from desert heat and am now dealing with high humidity, two days with a fever - and I had a rough first night with the mozzies that bit the hell out of me as I festered on the couch with my cold.  Nothing that two cans of lavender scented bug spray couldn't cure AND a roll of tape that I found to cover the gaps in the windows and screens.  Imagine that little home project with Kleenex stuffed up my nose because it was running so bad, sneezing and sweating like a hooker on Georgia asphalt (yes, I love my prostie references). 

morning view from the kitchen/LR

There's a thriving bug business here in the Dominican.  Fortunately, I just came from the land of rats, mice, ants, scorpions and Sally Struthers flies - which is actually a blessing because I am not freaking out as much over the roaches - not Palmetto bugs, but actual roaches - ants and spiders ( the Wino HATES spiders).  Once again, my two best friends - cans of bug spray - have helped me get things under control and I am just getting used to it.  I don't have an infestation by any means, but am not used to the tropical area yet and am laying down the law with my chemical six-shooters.  The bugs and I just need to come to an understanding that we can live in harmony, but I have my damn limits.  I am paying rent - they are not - but all is working out nicely so far.  I pour myself a glass of wine and serve them an Ortho cocktail - see, it's harmony!  The lizards can stay and I have no opinion on the dragonflies, other than I like them...

love it!

Kite Boarders

circus/surf school next door

This place is beautiful - every morning I have a whole wall of windows that open to the deck and overlooks the beach that I am only about 50 feet from.  Everywhere I sit, I see the beach and it's doing a soul some good.  I catch myself just sitting here watching it while doing absolutely nothing.  I'm in Cabarete and on Kite Beach - this is apparently a world renown Kite Boarding beach so there are a few schools next to me and every day there are tons of beautiful kites floating by my windows as they surf from right in front of my pad.  I hang out back on this little deck patio that's right on the beach and watch them for hours - totally entertaining as they encompass experts to beginners - I see as much huge air kiting as I do people being kind of dragged through the water.  I begin my Paddle Board Surfing classes on Monday with Maui John - that should be interesting, but it looks like a ton of fun and one of my favorite things is to watch the paddle boarders out on the ocean in the mornings.  I can't wait to be one of them, although I have a feeling I'll initially not be seeing too much of the top of my board until my balance is on track.  I do need something to do in addition to finding a job and this seems to be something I can focus on and practice - in between drinking wine, staring into space, walking on the beach, killing bugs and working on my Spanish. 

I'm adjusting to the incredibly uptick in my lifestyle and it's truly an adjustment.  The absence of all the adrenaline is weird and I find that I'm really, totally exhausted.  I'm still jumpy and startle at loud noises, but I'm improving. My better half shows up next week for a 3 week visit and during that time my bestie will also be here for a week - I absolutely cannot wait.  I will be in excellent, calm and caring company - who could ask for more than that?! By then I should be totally adjusted to the time and have most of my quirks and kinks worked out (well, you know, the ones that aren't part of my actual personality).  Who wants to be with a tightly wound, impatient, twitchy asshat - not I and I'm certain they will both enjoy the more laid back Wino.  I am quickly putting Afghanistan behind me and hope, hope, hope I do not have to go back there for work.  Trust me, I am avoiding all Afghanistan applications, but once people find out you were there, that's where they want you to go since so many won't work in that shithole.  Just typing the name of that country makes my jaws clench!  I would love to actually be home with my partner-family-friends, but the tax man cometh if I show up before my tax year ends, so I will be forced to stay in this ugly place until then - or a new job begins!  I will be a tanned, relaxed and paddle surfing Hillbilly by the time I leave this place.  Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Drink of the night - wine, and then some Dominican Rum with an assortment of juices

Eat, Play & Surf

Well it's certainly been an eventful past few weeks.  In addition to not being able to sign into Blogger, I've also been enjoying the fruits of a tyrannical, micro-managing, conniving, passive-aggressive project management twosome who've made my life and job extremely difficult.  The beauty of reaching your middle years is that you realize that life is too fleeting to tolerate a very short-list of situations or issues.  This would be one of them.  To begin with, I cannot do my job to the best of my abilities and that drives me crazy.  It's nearly impossible to manage projects and programs when a). nobody asks or listens to your input (which you've been hired to contribute) which then results in pursuing bad projects in the wrong way and you ultimately being blamed for it, b). having the big boss meddle in every microcosm of the process thus creating 3 times the work because he basically won't admit he doesn't know what he's doing, c). the bosses unofficial second in command going out of his way to circumvent your project planning timeline by doing everything from changing due dates and deliverables to making sure that you are not included in key meetings... that's my short list and I think you get the point.  Plus the "big boss", who's actually an insecure, short, Irish guy with a failed political career bid behind him, likes to scream in people's faces.  I've taken to calling him "Teflon ----" because none of his bad decisions or misdirections ever seem to stick to him. 

So - this situation is one that the Wino can't function within.  The Hillbilly has tendencies towards being a Type A, but usually pretty laid back - combined with a short fuse and the need for a good deal of creativity - and is almost incapable at this point in life, of dealing with these types of situations.  I had one really seriously bad and abusive employment issue which involved working for the Mayor of Toledo.  I had one other  more recent issue that involved having to deal with a total asshat who was also a conniving, useless POS.  For some reason, due to the hard work of others, had been given a big title but this person was totally incapable of handling the job - however personally thought they were fabulous.  I don't think Wharton offered a degree in what that person was actually good at doing...  Both of those were US jobs, but while here it's been pretty good until now.  Two idiots (now 3) out of a 25 year working history is still damn good!  The odd thing is that after all of the hard living conditions, dangerous situations, jaw breaking stress and just being in Afghanistan, it takes just conflicts of personality/management style to finally get me to leave this place.  So I'm leaving this job and leaving Afghanistinkistan!

The Hillbilly is without any employment, but doesn't care right now, and must avoid the tax man until February of 2012.  So I'm doing my own version of Eat, Pray & Love in the Dominican Republic for at least 2 months - my version is less spiritual and most likely will be more ornery, but will certainly influence the desired outcome of a more relaxed and healthy Wino.  By day, I plan to learn Stand Up Paddle Surfing - which should be great because I'll be living right on the beach.  By night, I will be looking for j-o-bs.  The end result should be the version of me that existed prior to my little adventure here in Afghanistan.  At this point, I feel totally unhealthy, stressed to the max, out of shape and not as positive about life in general as I usually am.  Plus, I could have worms from eating here, so that will be the first thing on my agenda - to be dewormed!  The Hillbilly Wino blog will continue, but you can expect surf reports and descriptions of life in the Dominican Republic which will hopefully not include explosions or too much gunfire.  It will be a different kind of "excitement" and one that involves the development of my infantile Spanish skills, shorts, sandals, local beer and a SUP Board.  I'll just be a Hillbilly on the beach.  Although I'm worried about the employment situation, right now I'm more excited about achieving a dream that involves living on a Caribbean Island - at least for 2 months, but it may be longer if I can't find work.  My other half and partner in all things, who should be canonized as a Saint for putting up with me - but is Jewish, so the Saint part won't happen - will be joining me for 3 weeks in the DR to share in part of the Caribbean dream.  Good times!

So, I'm skeedaddlin' and fly from Dubai on the 5th.  I have enjoyed the majority of the people I work with - both the expats and the Afghan staff.  I have a particular affinity for our guest house cleaning and laundry crew.  I don't know why, but I simply adore these 3 women.  Maybe its because they have the hardest lives and toughest jobs - I think all 3 are widows and this is their only means of support.  Maybe it's because there are few things worse in the world than being an Afghan woman.  Who knows, but I always take the time to tell them hello or find someone to translate my thank-yous for doing my laundry so nicely and cleaning my room so well.  They range in age from late 30s to somewhere in the early 60s. The don't speak English and I don't speak Dari, but they will have long conversations with me anyway - and I will sit there, listen and try to understand.  The only English they know, and say to me often, is "we like you" and "I love you".  One of them gave me a hand embroidered handkerchief and for some reason just loves her some Hillbilly.  Yesterday I think she was trying to warn me of something, but I don't know what - it may have had to do with being outside on the 3rd floor balcony and very visible, but I have avoided sitting out there ever since and that seems to have made her happy.  Today I gave them beautiful scarves to wish them a happy Eid holiday and thank them for taking such good care of me - when I was able to communicate through a guard that I was leaving, two of them cried and it just about broke the old Wino's shriveled, cold lump of a heart.  I'm leaving to face employment uncertainty, but doing it on a Caribbean island and these women remain, working their fingers to the bone, within a country and culture that have a long way to go in appreciating them.  Life is certainly what you make it and mine has certainly been a good one - great family, friends and partner - but it makes you wonder if a significant part of the "goodness" is just the luck of where you are born.  Who knows, and that will give the Wino something to think about on the beach. 

So, the next posting you read will be from the good ol' DR - on to the next adventure!  Lets make some memories, folks!

Drink of the day - some weird beer (Russian) that I cannot read nor pronounce, but it's good and in a can!