[on the road]

Aunt N: "This isn't the way to the wildlife reserve"
Uncle P: (driving) "But this is a good road"

Have you ever come back on to land after being on a boat/ship and still felt like you were bobbing on the sea? I hope I only still feel this way because of the free-flowing rum punch.

Today I was over, under, and amidst many schools of fish, it was intense. There were hundreds and hundreds of different kinds of fish - most were bigger than my hand. They really like bread. I'm going to have to go snorkeling again before my stay here is over. I wonder what the fish or turtles think about us finless mammals swimming amongst them. I've noticed that schools seem to have a shared consciousness. This is because when I touch one, a whole bunch of them instantly dart away. How do they know that I'm actually touching their neighbor? They don't care that I'm very close to them. But there's some instant communication, or shared consciousness when it comes to being touched. I only did this twice today, and I was gentle... I'm not a meanie.

I haven't worn socks and closed shoes since I arrived in Barbados. Can you remember a time in your life where you didn't wear socks and shoes for a period of 2 weeks? Infancy doesn't count.

Today I saw a calculator used in 1904 (and many other antiques) at an old plantation house. I didn't even know they had calculators in the Western world that long ago. It looked like a mini typewriter. In the Orient they've had abacuses for ages, and many people still use them today.

Wagwan = what is going on?

About 90% of the kids in Barbados are in single-parent families. People here don't tend to want to get married. If they do, it's pretty inevitable that the husband will go off with some other woman. Many women have and raise children from different men. This trend extends throughout the Caribbean, and things have been this way for hundreds of years. How many cultures in the world have this dynamic?

If Michael Phelps was a nation, he'd be 9th on the Olympic medal chart.

What one word can describe pain, pleasure, hate and love?

I really don't like Judge Judy, and I'm not one to really not like people.

Today I was stung by a jellyfish. I'm actually happy about it. The pain only lasted for half a second. But, now I know what it's like to be stung by one and not many people can say that. I'm not afraid of them... although I wouldn't want a huge one stinging me with many tentacles.

Natural disasters are terrible, but let's keep things in perspective: (approximate values)

Hurricane Charley- 16 dead, 'thousands' homeless.

This month's monsoon in South Asia: 1,930 dead, 70,000 homeless, 20 million in need of food. Over 1,500 died in last year's monsoon.

In a blackout that happened tonight -

Uncle P (to my aunt): Here, light this candle.
Aunt N: That's not a candle, that's a sewing kit.

I killed a centipede today (nearly 2 inches long). It was in the kitchen. In the tropics you need to check under your pillow for them.

"One who marries for love alone will have bad days, but good nights."
- Egyptian proverb (which I heard on the radio today)

By the way, I swam with turtles. Some were over 3 ft long. They were cute. I also swam with huge tarpon, which was unpleasant at first - for a second I thought the first one I saw was a medium-sized shark. There was also a big blowfish (the biggest I've ever seen), flying fish, sea urchin, several schools of fish, and what I believed to be a barracuda but didn't stay and investigate long enough to be sure. It had a long cylindrical body, but wasn't shiny. I didn't get a very good look at its teeth.

In Barbados, where I am now, there is a trend of local men hanging out "on the block" (i.e. chatting, gambling, etc. out on the street) and local woman spending time at churches. It's interesting to think about the possible explanations for this.

I'm also wondering about whether I should go swim with big turtles in the sea.

I had a pretty interesting experience last night. Someone at a club shoved me on the shoulder and tried to start a fight. I was pretty shocked by the shove and turned to look at the person, silently. In his drunkenness and testosteroneness he perceived this as deserving a further attack - so he shoved me harder in the center of my chest. After this other people held him back and spoke to him. I was wondering why I didn't see his arm coming and sidestep or rotate my torso (which would have made him lose balance and possibly fall over). I suppose it was because of me having some alcohol in my system, it being dark, me being surprised/unprepared and me being out of sparring practice. This person actually tried to pick a fight with a friend of mine earlier by verbal taunts. The person wasn't thrown out of the club - I don't know why.

Forgetting things lets them be reborn into another form. Keep things close and not forgotten.

Jewel of wisdom, or fluff?

jaded or unjaded?