El vacation mojado!

July ends tomorrow. We're in Sarasota, and it's raining. "It never rains in Sarasota, but boy, don't they warn 'ya, it pours, man it pours." It promises rain all week; its been raining since we arrived! What happened to the famous Sarasota drought? It ended when our vacation began.

We drove down. Stefan's friend came with us. They're already bored; but they're also exhausted. Obviously, they're having too much fun to realize it. But that's a kid for you. They're too busy to know they're not bored.

I'm doing the language class, walking regularly, eating good food, baking, sleeping lots. Vacation. Not a beach person any more, except maybe to walk along the shore at dusk and remember how it used to be. Speaking of which....

My ex-neighbor lives down here now, so I've been seeing her. That's fun. We talk a lot about me moving down here; I'm game. I just need a job to make the move. I could live without New Jersey...its downright ridiculous... always escalating taxes, corrupt politicians, congestion. It's down here, too, I know, but its starting point is less, which means less tax, fewer crooks, less people in every neighborhood. Less can be a great thing! I've already sent out a resume. I'm ready to make the move. Boy am I ready!

A foreign desire

I've long had an obssession with people born outside the US. Perhaps it started when I was a teen with my Welshman who had a voice I still treasure today, but it developed from there. All through college, my dearest friends were from India and the UAE. In fact, I married a Greek from Africa who spoke Ethiopian. Some of my favorite performers have also been from anywhere else... Italy, Spain, France.

I admire those who can speak multiple languages fluently. There aren't many Americans who can start a conversation in English and finish it in Arabic. It's a talent all by itself...one I've never had.

Maybe that's why I value it so much; we always want what we can't have. But why can't I have it? 'I don't need it' is the best excuse; 'I'd never use it' is another. And there's also the fact that I can't roll my r's. Only foreigners seem to do that well.

But wouldn't it be nice? Speaking just one other language would dispel my sense of the isolated American; it would open my world. I could read more, listen more, talk more. You might think I'd have learned Greek after all this time with a Constantinou, but to me, Greek is just not practical outside of an occasional family dinner.

And Italian? I'd love to speak Italian. My father did. But teaching your kids your native language wasn't drawing many fans in the fifties.

Of course, there's Spanish, and a reason to learn it. Especially in the States. I think one day this country in this growing globality of ours will be full of people who speak at least two languages...by necessity.

I had four years of French in high school. Never used it, of course. But it sounded great when a real Frenchman spoke it. Wish I knew one.

Truth is, you only learn a language when there's a need or a want. Therefore, I will want it. I'll open my world and take a class this summer. My Greek and I will learn together.

So all Spanish aficionadoes beware. I just may be a foreigner one day.