Just got back from my vacation that started on the 13th until last night and I miss my girlfriend and the DR more than ever. Darn.
Leaving via US Airways was as usual, great, except for that kid that his father could not tell to stop kicking my seat until I told him to make him stop.
At my arrival, I was greeted by my best friend of 21 years, Ramon, and my girlfriend's ex-student's boyfriend, Frank. I wanted to savour the air and sit somewhere and have a presidente with Ramon and my new-found friend, but my girlfriend was waiting for me at the condo with Frank's girlfriend, Xemy. As soon as we got into Frank's car, I did the same thing that I do every single time I go to the DR, offer to fill up the car of whomever went to pick me up and pay for the parking, and was more than surprised when he told me that " keep your money so you can buy us a presidente later because your girlfriend took care of everything". I thought, " contra, this is going to be fun". Within 10 minutes of that thought, someone mistook an Italian with a kidnapper and people started to throw rocks at almost every passing vehicle that was going thru Avenida Las Americas. The traffic came to a complete halt and people were running on the avenue, some with 4x4 on hand. After asking a truck driver what was going on?, he told us and also told us to back up the car because the rocks where about start flying again. How can we back up when there was hundreds of cars behind us. I knew that some Dominicans like to take the law into their own hands, but this was ridicule since they were throwing rocks at every passing vehicle. Me, being raised in New York, told Frank to give me his car's CLUB and told him that if any of the runner or rock thrower would hit his car, that I would come out of the car and belt him one on the ribs or ankle. Very stupid of me but after seeing those kids and ladies in one bus cleaning blood out of their bodies, I lost it. I told Frank to call the cops and I tried calling my Coronel friend but his darn phone was busy. After what seemed like 2 hour( actually, it was about 30 minutes), I saw about 10 cops with rifle on hand trying to restore order. Traffic started to move and poor Frank hit that gas so fast that I think that he went from 0 to 140 miles in 2 seconds. About a 3/4 of a mile we saw that damage that was done to buses and cars. They had stopped to take care of the injured. We saw people laying on the floor and people cleaning themselves of blood. I was told that there was no casualties, just injuries. My second thought was, " oh boy, what a start ". I voiced my worry to Ramon and Frank and they told me the same thing; " don't judge the whole country for a few fools that were thinking with their balls, it happens all the time because some morons can not hold someone until police come".
I was more sad than worry.
On our way to the condo, we stopped to buy my girlfriend 2 bouquettes of roses and some wines and order some more flowers and cake for the next day, valentine's day. At my arrival at the condo in El Naco, was greeted by my wonderful Amber and Xemy. The presidente was real cold, the company was amazing, the place was nice, what more can I ask for?. Well, it got real nicer when out came the hot, home made lasagna, the arroz con coco, the flan, all made in her home town and brought my her by bus ( she could not drive because of a recent operation). Do I have a winner or what?. All of us spent the whole night and part of the morning just talking and talking.
The following days were amazing. My girlfriend had to go back to her town to teach at her institute but would be back in 3 days. Now it was time for me to call and visit my family and friends. I called Jan and let a message on her cel so she could join Amber, our friends and I for some fun, but I found out later that she had called my cell and left a message, but I never got either.
Went to visit my father, as usual and had a good time with him and his wife.
I was dying to go see my adorable Mom Elena. When I saw her, I was so happy that I forgot that she is 73 and I just needed to lift her off her feets. She is one person that would not ask me for anything because as she says; " just knowing that you care about me, that's enough gift for me". And she means it because I can see it in her eyes. Frank and I had a great time with her and her old stories of me when I was a little boy. I never get sick of her stories. What a memory.
To my surprise, my girlfriend decided to only stay in her town for one day and came back to the capital. We went out to dinners and visited a few places and and spent some quality times together. I went to visit Mom Elena and my dad a few more times and all was fine and well. I finally got in contact with Jan and invited her to either come to the condo or to go the The Beer House because Amber wanted to see her too but she told me that she had already made plans with a couple from DR1.
On this trip, was more of spending time with my girlfriend, my new-found friends and my friends from way back when I was a kid. I got to get to know a few friends from my childhood that treated me like a person that was truly missed. Who knew that, that person that I have not seen for 23 years would see me talking to Mom Elena and he would get out of his car and just hug me like I was his brother. I am not a sissy (or maybe I am), but I could not stop the tears to come down when I saw his face and he was crying telling me how much he has thought of me and my brothers over the years. He would ask Mom Elena all the time about us. Congo (Jose), would only say over and over thru his tears that my brothers and I made him what he is today. He was always with us because his father was abusive and he would just be with us 24/7 while growing up. He turned up to be a very productive and smart person. Not only he is general but has never forgotten about his roots and he visits his childhood friends once a week and has helped many in the old town of Villa Duarte.
From now on, I will need to go to the DR for more days than this time. I needed to stay much more days because there was not enough hours in the day to do all I wanted to do. I thought that I was going to be able to visit some of the places that AZB had told me about and visit Eddy's but I could not. What a Drag.
The "apagones" were more frequent than when I was there on September, but I am still enamored with the country and the people. I am a simple man and I get used to things very easy. I may say that I would stay in one place of 30 minutes but if I am having a good time (example, at Mom Elena's home), I would stay for 3 hours. I took a few walks and was invited to Bani, Higuey, San Francisco, San Pedro, etc, by some friends that were going but I could not go becasue there was not time in the day to do all I wanted to do. I spoke business almost every day with my business partner and girlfriend but only for a few minutes because I needed to get to know some people better and the business can wait until my next trip, that I am already planning.
I basicly did all I wanted to do and much, much more. I had the time of my life and it was all because of Amber, Frank, Ramon, Xemy, Mom Elena, Dad and all the childhood friends that I got to see again. Taking the kids to eat, to Funtastico, Arcada, to the Plaza, to multicentro and me even playing air hockey and basketball with Amber and the others was an amazing experience.
When it was time to come back, it was very painful. The only time that I had been more sad was when my beloved mother passed away. My friend Congo told me that he did not wanted to see me face to face to say good-bye because it would hurt some much. He wife, who is a delight of a person, told me that he could not stop talking about finding his long lost brother.
After nine great days, it was time to say goodbye. The most painful goodbye was to my girlfriend when she was driving away to go back to her town. What an amazing human being, I do not deserve someone so wonderful and caring. Que troco de mujer/persona. It broke my heart to say adios to Mom Elena. Not easy saying goodbye to dad and to my new and old friends. I really wanted to meet AZB, and I thought of inviting him but there was no time at all (in case you are asking yourself why?, we had a little disagreement at the beginning but he is someone that tells things the way he feels it, and weather I disagree with him or not, he is not a bullshiter, he tells you straight to your face and not lose any sleep over it). I am sure that I will disagree with him many more times and attack each other but when all is said and done, he would not hold anything against you and he would be there if you need any information with anything. Besides, he is from Pakistan and I dated a great Pakistani gal a while back. Great person. On my way to the airport with Ramon, Frank and Xemy(she is also a new meber to DR1), I was already planning my next trip. nexttime, I will tell nobody. I want to surprise all.
When I got in the plane, I made some call to the people that I had left behind and after holding back my tears, took my mp3 out, closed my eyes, started remembering the fine moments that I had just experinced and I big smile came to my face. The thought of my 2 adorable kids (well, not kids since they are 20 and 22) came to my mind and I could not wait to land so I could call them. I got home to Pa and since my ride was late, as usual, I called Jessy, Miguel Jr and Amber to let them know that all was fine( pleasant trip with no kid kicking my seat).
Thanks DR, I can not wait to go back.
Leaving via US Airways was as usual, great, except for that kid that his father could not tell to stop kicking my seat until I told him to make him stop.
At my arrival, I was greeted by my best friend of 21 years, Ramon, and my girlfriend's ex-student's boyfriend, Frank. I wanted to savour the air and sit somewhere and have a presidente with Ramon and my new-found friend, but my girlfriend was waiting for me at the condo with Frank's girlfriend, Xemy. As soon as we got into Frank's car, I did the same thing that I do every single time I go to the DR, offer to fill up the car of whomever went to pick me up and pay for the parking, and was more than surprised when he told me that " keep your money so you can buy us a presidente later because your girlfriend took care of everything". I thought, " contra, this is going to be fun". Within 10 minutes of that thought, someone mistook an Italian with a kidnapper and people started to throw rocks at almost every passing vehicle that was going thru Avenida Las Americas. The traffic came to a complete halt and people were running on the avenue, some with 4x4 on hand. After asking a truck driver what was going on?, he told us and also told us to back up the car because the rocks where about start flying again. How can we back up when there was hundreds of cars behind us. I knew that some Dominicans like to take the law into their own hands, but this was ridicule since they were throwing rocks at every passing vehicle. Me, being raised in New York, told Frank to give me his car's CLUB and told him that if any of the runner or rock thrower would hit his car, that I would come out of the car and belt him one on the ribs or ankle. Very stupid of me but after seeing those kids and ladies in one bus cleaning blood out of their bodies, I lost it. I told Frank to call the cops and I tried calling my Coronel friend but his darn phone was busy. After what seemed like 2 hour( actually, it was about 30 minutes), I saw about 10 cops with rifle on hand trying to restore order. Traffic started to move and poor Frank hit that gas so fast that I think that he went from 0 to 140 miles in 2 seconds. About a 3/4 of a mile we saw that damage that was done to buses and cars. They had stopped to take care of the injured. We saw people laying on the floor and people cleaning themselves of blood. I was told that there was no casualties, just injuries. My second thought was, " oh boy, what a start ". I voiced my worry to Ramon and Frank and they told me the same thing; " don't judge the whole country for a few fools that were thinking with their balls, it happens all the time because some morons can not hold someone until police come".
I was more sad than worry.
On our way to the condo, we stopped to buy my girlfriend 2 bouquettes of roses and some wines and order some more flowers and cake for the next day, valentine's day. At my arrival at the condo in El Naco, was greeted by my wonderful Amber and Xemy. The presidente was real cold, the company was amazing, the place was nice, what more can I ask for?. Well, it got real nicer when out came the hot, home made lasagna, the arroz con coco, the flan, all made in her home town and brought my her by bus ( she could not drive because of a recent operation). Do I have a winner or what?. All of us spent the whole night and part of the morning just talking and talking.
The following days were amazing. My girlfriend had to go back to her town to teach at her institute but would be back in 3 days. Now it was time for me to call and visit my family and friends. I called Jan and let a message on her cel so she could join Amber, our friends and I for some fun, but I found out later that she had called my cell and left a message, but I never got either.
Went to visit my father, as usual and had a good time with him and his wife.
I was dying to go see my adorable Mom Elena. When I saw her, I was so happy that I forgot that she is 73 and I just needed to lift her off her feets. She is one person that would not ask me for anything because as she says; " just knowing that you care about me, that's enough gift for me". And she means it because I can see it in her eyes. Frank and I had a great time with her and her old stories of me when I was a little boy. I never get sick of her stories. What a memory.
To my surprise, my girlfriend decided to only stay in her town for one day and came back to the capital. We went out to dinners and visited a few places and and spent some quality times together. I went to visit Mom Elena and my dad a few more times and all was fine and well. I finally got in contact with Jan and invited her to either come to the condo or to go the The Beer House because Amber wanted to see her too but she told me that she had already made plans with a couple from DR1.
On this trip, was more of spending time with my girlfriend, my new-found friends and my friends from way back when I was a kid. I got to get to know a few friends from my childhood that treated me like a person that was truly missed. Who knew that, that person that I have not seen for 23 years would see me talking to Mom Elena and he would get out of his car and just hug me like I was his brother. I am not a sissy (or maybe I am), but I could not stop the tears to come down when I saw his face and he was crying telling me how much he has thought of me and my brothers over the years. He would ask Mom Elena all the time about us. Congo (Jose), would only say over and over thru his tears that my brothers and I made him what he is today. He was always with us because his father was abusive and he would just be with us 24/7 while growing up. He turned up to be a very productive and smart person. Not only he is general but has never forgotten about his roots and he visits his childhood friends once a week and has helped many in the old town of Villa Duarte.
From now on, I will need to go to the DR for more days than this time. I needed to stay much more days because there was not enough hours in the day to do all I wanted to do. I thought that I was going to be able to visit some of the places that AZB had told me about and visit Eddy's but I could not. What a Drag.
The "apagones" were more frequent than when I was there on September, but I am still enamored with the country and the people. I am a simple man and I get used to things very easy. I may say that I would stay in one place of 30 minutes but if I am having a good time (example, at Mom Elena's home), I would stay for 3 hours. I took a few walks and was invited to Bani, Higuey, San Francisco, San Pedro, etc, by some friends that were going but I could not go becasue there was not time in the day to do all I wanted to do. I spoke business almost every day with my business partner and girlfriend but only for a few minutes because I needed to get to know some people better and the business can wait until my next trip, that I am already planning.
I basicly did all I wanted to do and much, much more. I had the time of my life and it was all because of Amber, Frank, Ramon, Xemy, Mom Elena, Dad and all the childhood friends that I got to see again. Taking the kids to eat, to Funtastico, Arcada, to the Plaza, to multicentro and me even playing air hockey and basketball with Amber and the others was an amazing experience.
When it was time to come back, it was very painful. The only time that I had been more sad was when my beloved mother passed away. My friend Congo told me that he did not wanted to see me face to face to say good-bye because it would hurt some much. He wife, who is a delight of a person, told me that he could not stop talking about finding his long lost brother.
After nine great days, it was time to say goodbye. The most painful goodbye was to my girlfriend when she was driving away to go back to her town. What an amazing human being, I do not deserve someone so wonderful and caring. Que troco de mujer/persona. It broke my heart to say adios to Mom Elena. Not easy saying goodbye to dad and to my new and old friends. I really wanted to meet AZB, and I thought of inviting him but there was no time at all (in case you are asking yourself why?, we had a little disagreement at the beginning but he is someone that tells things the way he feels it, and weather I disagree with him or not, he is not a bullshiter, he tells you straight to your face and not lose any sleep over it). I am sure that I will disagree with him many more times and attack each other but when all is said and done, he would not hold anything against you and he would be there if you need any information with anything. Besides, he is from Pakistan and I dated a great Pakistani gal a while back. Great person. On my way to the airport with Ramon, Frank and Xemy(she is also a new meber to DR1), I was already planning my next trip. nexttime, I will tell nobody. I want to surprise all.
When I got in the plane, I made some call to the people that I had left behind and after holding back my tears, took my mp3 out, closed my eyes, started remembering the fine moments that I had just experinced and I big smile came to my face. The thought of my 2 adorable kids (well, not kids since they are 20 and 22) came to my mind and I could not wait to land so I could call them. I got home to Pa and since my ride was late, as usual, I called Jessy, Miguel Jr and Amber to let them know that all was fine( pleasant trip with no kid kicking my seat).
Thanks DR, I can not wait to go back.
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