Holy Quenepas! The beginning of an epic end

On Sunday morning I went to Church for the first time in a while, and it was quite unsettling. I’m sure the fact that the service was in Spanish didn’t help. My Spanish skillz have grown quite considerably since I’ve been here (or maybe my mind is finally remembering the seven years total I took in school), but it wasn’t enough to follow the Priest’s rapid-fire sermon. By the end of the hour, I was in a pretty bad mood.

It’s not that I’m anti-Christianity. Not at all. But 1) I don’t like being forced to go to religious events, so I resented dad for making me go, and 2) I feel like an intruder, an outsider. And I get awkward during the “peace be with you” part, because sometimes people shake my hand and say “may the peace of Christ be with you” and I have NO idea what to say back. It’s so much more awkward in Spanish. Trust me.

After Church, we went shopping and I FINALLY have all the stuff I need for the weddings I’ll be attending in the next few weeks. Then we met up with my grandma’s sister Maggie and her husband Pedro.

We went to a Cuban restaurant, and I finally got to have mojito! It was so good!



Then I got shredded beef in sauce, with sweet plantain and Cuban style rice and beans:



Everything was amazing, and even though my stomach hurt, I was definitely a happy camper. We drove along the coast for a while, and saw countless people enjoying a dip in the Ocean. Then, Miracle of miracles, we found QUENEPAS!



After two weeks of searching, we found them, and they were every bit as tasty as I remember them to be.

On Monday, Grandma arrived, and I moved to my Great Aunt Elba’s house to stay for my final week.

My first night there, Tai (my dad’s cousin, so… my second cousin, right?) let me join him on his evening walk along the beach. It’s nothing special:



Yeah. I meant that sarcastically. It was BEAUTIFUL. As we walked, the sun set, so we decided to take some epic pictures of epicness:





Then we went home and watched Remember Me. I wasn’t too enthused when Tai suggested it, but ZOMG that movie is amazing. It was an amazing example of a quiet film that tugs at your heartstrings. If you haven’t seen it, please go watch it now.

Next post? Viejo San Juan Part 2; The young folks

Note: I promise, there are only like, three or four more vacation posts before I get back to the whole writing thing. Promise.