This is almost a week late because there were only 6 ppl on the press trip. But hey, if you figure out who I am, just don’t tell, man!
Jessika: Ha, good suggestion, except press trips are totally not child-friendly. “Who’s up for the research on the sex tourism article!” (Not quite that bad. But not far off.)
I made it…I thought long and hard about it and decided it would be relatively safe if not entirely comfortable for Noah to stay with my parents briefly. At about 10 pm Tuesday, that is 5 hrs before I had to leave for the airport for my hellish early flight, Carl was unsequestered, so Noah spent a few hrs at my my parents’ that morning before school and then Carl picked him up. I did leave. If I had not know the cavalry was arriving I’m not sure what would have happened.
Please forgive any misspellings; I haven’t had more than 5 hrs of sleep any night this week and I have been out in the sun all morning, drinking and eating all night, and then catching up on work in the wee hrs.
Aruba…is beautiful and I’ll save most of the words for the actual stories. However here are three things I didn’t know about Aruba:
- it’s actually kind of a desert, especially on the northern side, and this has made it poor but resourceful; with it being sort of part of the Netherlands (although mostly independent since 1986) it’s also sort of – orderly.
- the tourism industry is built based on 85% of visitors coming from ye olde U.S.A. which means it is full of people who have sort of made it their mission in life to understand what Americans want and give it to them, nicely (no Canadian attitude). The best I can describe it is Aruba is “the fun aunt” – they let you get away with murder and supply free booze, but they also make sure you don’t drown from your own idiocy. (Sorry Americans. But today I saw a mother of the bride — so understood as her husband was wearing a shirt that not only said “father of the bride” on the front, but which on the back said “the bank of
- it is perfect for people who want to try an island without freaking about the water, because it is really quite Dutch in some ways (not in others) and everything is very clean, and everyone continually explains to you (or at least to the press) just how clean it is. I have been drinking the water since I landed, since I was accosted with a glass and the discussion. I have eaten salad and fruit. I have barely seen any bugs.
As far as PR trips go this one has been a good one; there’s been more free time than usual. Mind you this is a relative thing. In three days I have driven a Land Rover, visited 5 sites, visited a shopping district, had tours of the resort, gone to the casino, snorkelled in three places, eaten at too many places, gone to the obligatory “bar full of locals” (this one actually did) and had a spa treatment. I am not complaining AT ALL, but it is a totally different world.
On the plus side, I am learning to hold my own in some ways. I’m okay. I have decent clothes. I’m not stupid. I kind of know how to network and smile and the right things to say and when to tip and when to take pictures and to just ASK THE QUESTION because that is the point.
On the negative side, I’ll never be one of the cool kids. No, I was not on the Inca Trail trip and no, I have never had dengue fever. Nor do I have an opinion on [insert area in India/Thailand/Indonesia]. And yes, I’m married. And no, I don’t want a 4th cocktail. Or a 3rd. Actually I sort of wish I hadn’t had the first.
But it’s been a great group and really, really well organized. I will be glad to get home ’cause I miss Noah, but this is a pretty fun fantasy life.
I’m laughing at some of this. It sounds like a good time, but yeah, a long time to be away. I’m glad Carl was unsequestered and all went well on that front.