After Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, my friend Kathy and I went touring through South America in November of 1983

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Dominican Republic: Peace Corps Dominican Republic : The Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic: After Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, my friend Kathy and I went touring through South America in November of 1983

By Admin1 (admin) on Sunday, July 01, 2001 - 2:40 pm: Edit Post

After Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, my friend Kathy and I went touring through South America in November of 1983.



After Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, my friend Kathy and I went touring through South America in November of 1983.

After Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, my friend Kathy and I went touring through South America in November of 1983.

Mis (and missed) adventures 2000-11-09 - 23:12:52

Thu November 9, 2000

The other day I started talking about "What ifs...", "what if I had stayed in acting", "what if I had not gone into Peace Corps", "what if I had not taken that dance class in Santo Domingo", etc. I said that it would be really hard for me to play out those scenarios since they didn't happen.

However, there are some that I would like to talk about today. For example:

After Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, my friend Kathy and I went touring through South America in November of 1983. Our first stop was Colombia and then we went on to Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Kathy went home at that time and I continued on with a new friend through Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica.

When Kathy and I got to Ecuador we stayed a few days in Otavalo. This town is famous for its Saturday market. We made friends with the son and friend of the owners of the place where we were staying and took many side trips through the countryside there.

One night Kathy and I were headed out to eat at a place mentioned in our guide book. From far away we could tell it was packed, but we walked up to the door anyway. As we neared the establishment I saw a group of travelers speaking German. My eyes landed on the biggest hunk of male I've ever seen. My mouth must have dropped open. This man was tall and broad shouldered and had a mass of wild golden blonde hair that snaked around his red beard (just imagine a wilder looking "Grizzly Adams"). I honestly couldn't stop staring, such was the impression that he made on me, and the cool thing was that he was staring back! Well, Kathy ended this little electric moment with a "Let's go somewhere else" as she tried to get me to move in an opposite direction.

We left Otavalo the next day on a bus for Quito, the capital. Again, trusty guide book in hand, Kathy said "Get out, get out of the bus now." We jumped off the bus and headed up the street to a hotel that a friend of ours had recommended. We were loaded down with bags as we pushed open the doors to the "Gran Casino Hotel" . We were about to pass the hotel's restaurant when I looked up from under my hat brim to see my "Grizzly Adams" from Otavalo. He was at a table with a bunch of his friends and locked such a hard stare on me that his friends all turned around and looked. I stopped, soaked up a bit of that sensuous stare, blushed, ducked back under the brim of my hat and broke into a run for the reservation desk. What a CHICKEN!!

So, if you are the Grizzly Adams of Otavalo or you think you may know him (if he's related a similar version of the story to you-ha, fat chance), I AM IN JAPAN, COME AND GET ME!!

Ok, another missed adventure:

Takahashi, Japan May 1985

I had just come out of an English conversation class that I considered a flop. I was angry at myself about it and trudged off to the train station to take the train home. I was sitting at the train station lost in my mad ruminations when I heard a banging drum and cymbal from across the street. I looked up still feeling the frown on my face to see what was going on. My eyes caught a small group of strangely clad people banging on instruments and making their way to the corner where a cohort of theirs was sitting on the curb chin in his hands with a big frown on his painted face mimmicking me! As soon as I realized this, I brightened up. I thought that was funny and was on the verge of getting up to so see what they were all about when my train arrived and blocked the acting troupe entourage from my view. I reluctantly got on the train, knowing that I probably couldn't communicate with those people, but also realizing that it would have been as fun as hell to try. I swore to myself that if I ever got back to Japan that I would never pass up such an opportunity again.

Dang, I can't think of any PG rated misadventures, so I am going to have to stop for now. Frankly, I think I have been pretty lucky in all my travels. I am glad to be back on the road again, but hey, you don't have to be on the road to have an adventure! Keep your eyes and your heart open, listen to your intuition and enjoy!I think it is at those moments that the universe really provides.



<< before - after >>

The Hikone Street Musicians - 11.09.01 Nuddhist Buddhist - 11.03.01 A Bizen Birthday - 11.02.01 Birthday plans - 11.01.01 Fuzzy navel - 10.28.01



Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Personal Web Site

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Dominican Republic

PCOL3256
91

.


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: