DOUBLE POST: Party in Punta!

Party last night!

Doreen, one of the Max Planck Institute researchers, had a garden party to celebrate two years here in Punta. She invited all the researchers and staff, her boyfriend from the US Coast Guard based in San Juan, and some others. It was a lot of fun. Doreen has been here for long enough that she has a really nice little place with a fenced in back garden area, tents and umbrellas set up over big lawn chairs and recliners, and a barbeque. She made homemade burgers and veggies burgers, pina coladas and pasta salad. Everyone brought something to help out: beer, lemons, pies, chips, etc. Gisele made Monkey Bread (heh!), one of the best desserts ever, and Sasha made a chocolate walnut pie. It was a good time and delicious, lots of bonding, beer, and delicious food to go around. 

There was also a really cool performance by one of Doreen’s boyfriend’s friends. He apparently is Hawaiian or something and knows how to fire dance. This is essentially doing traditional dance with a baton that flames on both. So around 10PM, we all headed across the street to an empty lot, where the guy had set up. He was shirtless (to avoid necessary bits catching flame) and holding a flaming baton, and as soon as everyone arrived, he began twirling, tossing, hopping, and bending. It was really impressive for someone who is a reported amateur. It was very festive and tropical and added to the ambiance of the evening noticeably.  I didn’t have my camera or I would have taken photos, but I have a little video on my cellphone.

Unfortunately, we had to go out to the island this morning, so staying out any later than 11 PM was really out of the question. Most people began drooping eyelids around 10:15PM, and we had to be reminded of the time so that we would avoid operating on such a lame schedule. Not surprisingly, when we got out to the dock this morning, the usual crew of 15+ was cut down to 8 or 9 total, and our group ended up being the only group that stayed the whole day today. It was actually somewhat odd to be on the island with so few other researchers. I think even the monkeys could sense the lethargy.

On another happy note, I received my Amazon shipment! I have already cracked open Spanish for Dummies and now can say “¿Dónde estás las monas?” (“Where are the monkeys?”), but that’s about all so far. I am very excited about all the others, too. I got Water for Elephants, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, V for Vendetta, and a few memoirs. I needed some more brain fodder. J

Alrighty, I gave you all a very long post from two days ago, so I’ll keep this one short.

Much love,

B