I was reflecting with a friend the other day that I inhabit many different worlds in which I am the only common denominator. This is not a great revelation, I realize, but rather a truism.... everyone has this same experience. Nonetheless, since I have people around me that are picture-takers, and a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd share a bit about the world I'm in right now: Puerto Rico.
One of the highlights (as you might expect) of being home is that i get to hang out with my niece. She is 2 1/2, like puzzles and has a ear-piercing scream when she doesn't get her way. Here, Tío (Spanish for uncle) is cracking almonds with Amaiyah.
Its also been great to loaf around the house with my sister (Raquel, down from Harrisonburg) and my brother David (proud parent of the little face).
Puerto Rico is a colony of the US (we still have colonies?? WTF!) and has seen rapid societal changes in the past 100 years (like a lot of the world, I guess) My grandmother, at 93, has seen a lot of that. She told me while we were visiting this past weekend how she bought her first pair of shoes at 10 years old when she made enough money harvesting tabacco to buy them herself. She started first grade in school and dropped out when an American came to the classroom and she was terrified that the tall white man was going to eat her. That is the total of her formal education.
However, there are still a few ancient traditions that are fighting their death. A "parranda" is the Puerto Rican version of Christmas caroling where the neighbors gather and play traditional instruments (cuatro: the guitar-looking thing; güiro: the hollow gourd; maraca: you've seen The Mask) and sing folk music, sometimes terribly out of tune. The girl in the salmon shirt is my sister-in-law.
This man is my crazy uncle who, after a long professional career retired to a "traditional" life-style where he cooks over open fire and plows land with a team of oxen. You've probably heard me talk about him. Also, he looks just like my late grandfather did at that age.
Of course no trip home would be complete without letting my mother shower me with nice things and an off-season (It's winter!! Cant you tell?) trip to the beach.
If you care to know, ask me sometime about "becoming an adult" both in a family context and in a societal context (the last time I lived in PR I was 16). So there, 7,000+ word email! Wow, that is the longest email I even wrote!
Much love.
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