Foreign countries are wonderful. Every breath you take is new. The preconceptions that you have lived with daily for decades do not necessarily apply.
culture shock.
The best way for me to get over it is to jump right in. I may blunder around a bit at first but I have found that I am pretty quick on my feet when it comes to adapting and a smile and a sense of the ridiculous work wonders when you make a mistake.
It only took me 4 days to learn to HEAR what was being said to me. At first I simply could not wrap my head around it. Then I almost didn't want to because knowing me, it might not be a good thing for me to believe what I found myself immersed in. And then it was too late.
Only a few times in my life have I experienced that intensity of positive attention by complete strangers who looked me directly in my eyes when they spoke to me. Softly but with a conviction and body language that could not be denied no matter how paranoid I was at being played. Intense and steady like the ocean. The quiet refusal to take no for an answer, and I said no many times. The persistence to find me three or four times a day for a conversation or a knowing wink and a cheshire grin - so sure he'd get what he wanted.
The infinite game of cat and mouse that has mesmerized humanity for millennia. Yes no maybe. The flash of a smile that read like an adventure novel and a sense of self that simply refused to be ignored. It was like looking into a historical mirror. I knew that guy. And gradually I realized I was still that girl.
He innately knew just how to find her. Laughter and smart ass cracks, crinkled eyes and and a voice so deep you wanted to find out how deep the well was. Always with the quick repartee, the master of patter trading shots with the newly minted come back queen. Brutally honest and straight forward and simple words. Full of himself and going after what he wanted. An ambitious young man with a plan who still took time to play.
We traded stories and secrets, laughed at ourselves and our framilies. Compared recipes and educational systems, politics and travel. We questioned each others motives and principles. Where did you want to be someday and why? What would you do there? What's the best/worst thing about your life right now? If you could change one thing what would it be? The answers from both of us were surprising. And music. Endless conversations about music.
An unexpected hand on my elbow as I went up the beach, a mug of magic coffee early in the morning, a brush of a hip, a breath on my neck as he whispered a compliment. Never overt, it was against all their rules. I caved. I wanted to play the game.
A last adventure with no hidden agendas. A tiny villa in Negril town, wrought iron grills surrounding the almost empty bar instead of walls. Ice cold guinness in the heat. Jazz in the background.
Beautiful hands and a kiss sweet as demarra. Smooth, lean, strong and with a latent sense of purpose that you could cut with a knife.
Hot showers. 1 towel.
Fingerprint bruises.
Welcome home girlie, you've been away for looong time.
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