3 odd things I saw
-Big white birds flying across the Arabian sea, chilling in the water
-Something I thought was a rock. I wanted to take a rock home, so I dipped under the water and picked it up. I tossed it from hand to hand as I shook the salty water from the eyes, and in the first blurry glimpse of what was flying between my hands, I saw a hiding snail-body, and swiftly dropped it back into the water, shaking my hands. oops.
-The beach from 100 feet into the water, the sea still only up to my hips. I walked out farther than the plastic raft I had climbed up on, to where the sea turned from a bright turquoise to a darker aqua where the sand dropped deeper. I stopped walking before low lull of the waves reached my elbows.
3 odd things I heard
-The generator grinding in constant accompaniment to the rhythm of the waves (tiny waves, like those off of late Michigan)
-The soft hush of sand sliding under my feet as I climb up a steep sand-dune, toes pointed down like I learned to in California, on my home beaches.
3 odd things I thought/felt
-I got sunburnt. I always get sunburnt. No matter how much sunscreen I use, I always forget some part of my body. This time it was my upper chest, where my necklace hangs. And that is why I carry Vaseline.
-There was a small Indian man who served the food, and moved back the lawn chairs from the beach where we had laid them when we were leaving. I felt awkward not helping him move the chairs, even though I had not moved a chair. It seemed to be his job to take care of the facility, though I do not think he owned it–this is just a feeling though. I was afraid I would make him uncomfortable by helping to move the chairs, that I would be violating his expectations unnecessarily. People here seem to expect to be served, and are a great deal more comfortable with it than I am.
Food Notes:
We had a standard barbecue with an Arabic flavor–hot-dogs (no pig-meat), lamb kebabs (yum), beef (tough), and grilled chicken (too full to eat it, but it looked good), on rice. 7up tastes the same here as in the states.
Inspirational Quote:
The wind is in from Africa
Last night I couldn’t sleep
Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here Carey
But its really not my home
My fingernails are filthy, I got beach tar on my feet
And I miss my clean white linen and my fancy french cologne
–Joni Mitchell
