Corriendo bici por Pinones

Yo estaba mojada mojada mojada, buscando refugio de la lluvia cuando me di cuenta que era el dia perfecto. Con este pensamiento, tome un trago del agua de coco frio y me senti aun mejor. Gotas de lluvia estaban corriendo por el techo, por los arboles, por la bici, y por la nariz, pero no me importaba de nada. Terminamos los cocos y seguimos corriendo los caminos por el bosque y por la playa, y seguimos aun mas cuando la senda oficial termino. Hoy, encontre mi franja favorita de Puerto Rico.

Cinco dolares por alquilar una bici
Cuatro gomas desgastadas
Tres caidas y choques
Dos horas corriendo por el bosque
Un dia impresionante con el vegitariano

For everything else, there's MasterCard.

Headline News: Wisconsin Girl Loses Identity

It all started with a little cup of coffee. I don't do caffeine, but today I did. And I liked it. It dawned on me, I am not who I used to be.

• I always tabooed fried food...now my indulgence is fried plantains.
• Gym time?? Hahaha, I don't even HAVE a gym here.
• Mountains used to call my name, but now I dream of crashing waves.
• High heels kill your back. But they are sooooo cute.
• Triathlon isn't in my vocabulary (much less my every waking thought)
• Hablo espanol. En serio, lo hablo bien!!
• I read for fun.
• I care about meeting new people (and take the time to get to know them!)
  
• Work doesn't run my life. I do!
• My life isn't mapped out with a 3 year plan, and it's okay. (WOW.)
• I sing out loud.
  

Does anyone else worry about my general health/sanity after observing these facts? I sure hope it helps that I'm eating my vegetables!!!!

Comi la luz

Comer la luz

• Literal translation: To eat the light
• Puerto Rico Translation: To run a red light

Comi la luz. Those who have studied a language will note that the verb is different. A change in verb congugation tells us who performed the action. Who ran the light? In this case, it was me. Yo comi la luz. I ran a red light. Let's try a more complicated one now.

La imajen del espejo retrovisor me dijo que yo tenia problemas.

• Literal translation: The image in the rear-view mirror told me that I had problems.
• Puerto Rico Translation: @#*(%#&* it's a cop.

Which of the "fight or flight" instincts won? Neither. I couldn't move OR breathe. Mother nature you get a big FAIL. My vegetarian friend later said that I was as white as a sheet. I believe it. Somehow my car ended up on the side of the road with my window rolled down.

La policía me habló. The cop strolled up to my window and started talking (no this is NOT an exact translation of the previous sentence). Started talking, that is easy to understand. What he was saying? Hells bells if I know. El vegitariano (as I will henceforth call my vegetarian friend) looked at me and (in Spanish, of course) said “KATIE, your LICENSE”. Reality check. Breathing initiated.

Hablé con la policía. I looked at the cop and said apologetically (in Spanish, of COURSE). “I am so sorry, I speak Spanish but not perfectly. I am from Wisconsin. My friend is helping me”. I proceeded to dig for my license. In the meantime the cop and el vegitariano have a brief and serious chat about the GPS and its distracting qualities. Their conversation ended with the cop asking – so, you’re from here? You’re teaching her how to get around? El vegitariano le dijo que si (El vegitariano told him yes).

Let’s pick apart the previous conversation (and simultaneously thank my lucky stars for gaps in communication). Sure, my friend is helping me. Helping me visit the best beaches in PR. Helping me learn how to cook with platanos. Helping me understand what crazy Puerto Rican cops say when they speak quickly with an insane accent? Yes, he’s helping with that. Helping me learn my way around???? Hahaha. Nope, that’s not on the list.

But that’s what the cop thought. And that’s why he walked away without even looking at my license. And that’s why I didn’t get a $250 fine, which is the PR standard for comiendo la luz.

I NEVER thought that I’d find myself in a situation here (where my life goal is to eliminarlos) actually appreciating the gaping holes in my Spanish language skills. Hurrah for irony. Hurrah for close calls and cost avoidance.

3rd Time's the Charm

Perhaps you are getting excited on my behalf because I have posted pictures...which would insinuate my new camera arrived, right? Right! But then it broke again... so these pictures are a mix between the brief week I had before the replacement also proved to not be waterproof , and some stolen pics from my lovely visitors. Nonetheless, it's PR at it's finest!

City on the Beach: The view from Old San Juan.
Cascadas: Waterfalls in El Yunque Rainforest
Pink: Tropical flowers in El Yunque
Irony: Pitufo Burbuja de los Pinos. The one. The only.
Oceans Park: The beach where I swim every weekend (with the turtles!!)

I've learned my lesson! I did NOT wait for Panasonic customer service to prove their worth (or lack there of). This time I called and complained like a champ right when the service center opened today. Result? Free postage paid return of the broken camera. A brand new replacement camera (aka NOT a refurbished one). And, best yet, an upgrade to the nicer/more expensive waterproof model TS3. Do you think this replacement camera is going to get wet? @)&%#!(#$ NO! Hahahahha, I can't live another 2 months without a camera!!!!! 3rd time's the charm

Pessamists would call it a failure.

Lucky for you, I live life with the glass half full.

Things to evaluate before you judge:

• Sick. I couldn't eat anything Saturday on. One banana. Some sprite.
• Rain. Downpours after we left Crashboat on Saturday, downpours while we were at the crowded crowded balneario (different kind of beach).
• Broken camera. Yes, you remember correctly. This is my SECOND waterproof camera that proves to not be water proof.
• Car problems. NOT Pitufo (thank god!!) it was the rental car!!!!! Random emergency flashers, honking, and door locking.

But here's the thing, it was really an awesome weekend. I cruised around the island for the first time with my fabulous girlfriends! True, I didn't eat almost anything but WHO CARES?!?! We went to the bio bays of Fajardo (google it - the water glows due to microorganisms). It was all kinds of adventures - kayaking in the dark, running into mango groves, tipping the kayak (hahah, proving that my new camera isn't any more waterproof than the last one), discovering we could paint the glowing in the water with our kayak paddles, scaring the fish and watching the water light up as they raced away. A natural phenomena. A roomie bonding trip. Freaking cool.

And, about the rain - is it really surprising? I live in the Caribbean AND it's hurricane season. Today's rain was a bit crazy though, resulting with us powering from the beach (sprawled out and reading/hanging out) to the car, making a quick transition from dry and happy to soaking, dripping inside the car. We RACED to the parking lot (along w/the local crew!!) and piled in with raindrops pouring into the open doors and dripping from our chins. Soaked. It smelled like old banana and wet dog, and we couldn't leave because the roads were so crazy and the visibility was non-existent. Hahahaha.

We played the beach paddle game (beat 7 hits, I dare you), we got tan lines, we got food from the kioskos, we stayed in a hostel, we got lost, got found, and ultimately got back to San Juan. True, the car pulled a bit of a Herbie, taking on a life of it's own at the end, but that added to the cracking up. Mayaguez, Aguadilla, Ponce, now cities of the past. The unintentional PR beach tour, and the random horses grazing by the road, the heard of goats, the rooster crowing as we drove by, now just vacation memories for the girls that fly out tomorrow.