12 November 2012

Cabo - Day 1


Nov 3, 2012

This was our third annual trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico so I decided to keep a journal of our travels. Jimmy and I invited his cousin Antwain and wife Shawntee this year for a week's stay in a condo near the marina.

We arrived safely to the Los Cabos, Mexico airport at about 11 am Saturday morning. We were in the new terminal which means we de-boarded onto a jet bridge instead of directly on tarmack like we have in previous years. We sped through customs and tried to avoid the throw-up of guys trying to sell or sign us up for something. It’s quite overwhelming if you’ve never experienced it. I imagine it’s like being on the New York Stock Exchange floor but everyone is yelling at you. “What hotel...you need a taxi...you need a shuttle...my friend what activities are you doing on your vacation...and on and on.” Thankfully, we’re pros at this now so we made it through unscathed. We were supposed to meet Jimmy’s cousin at the bar outside of the terminal. However, we didn’t count on them flying into the old terminal which was about 1/2 mile walk from where we were. Instead of making the jaunt, we decided to go pick up the rental car and then swing back over and pick them up. 

Tourism in Cabo must be picking up because Dollar was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it. Our tiny commuter bus was packed so we positioned Jimmy right at the door where he could jump out quickly and hopefully get a good spot in line. Despite this strategy, we still ended up being there 30-45 minutes before pulling out of the lot. While I was waiting, I ended up meeting the most interesting young woman. Her name was Lara. She was a 25 year old UN translator, born and raised in Lebanon but currently living in Detroit. She was in Cabo with her husband, a Finnish man, who also works for the UN in Defense Ministry but lives in Afghanastan. Most striking was the fact that this was the first time they were seeing each other since 2010 when they were married. Because he works in the “war” industry, he constantly moves to different war-torn countries. First he was in Egypt, then Syria, and now Afghanastan. 

“We fight all the time,” she said. “Does marriage get better,” she asked me. Since I haven’t been married much longer than she has, I didn’t have much to offer but I did suggest that living apart for their entire marriage could have some impact on how they relate to each other. She also admitted that she bickers with him over little things and with this I offered the question that my godfather Happy Howard often asks: “Do you want to be happy, or do you want to be right?” She thought about this for a minute and then said, “I guess that makes sense but does that mean I can’t always say what’s on my mind?” Bingo! “That’s exactly what it means,” I said. “Sometimes you have to pick you battles and realize that keeping the peace is often better than saying how you feel and ending up in a fight.” I also asked her why she wasn’t living with her husband in Afghanastan and this launched us into a new conversation about Women and Islam. 

“In Kabul?” she said as she turned up her nose. “It’s so restrictive there for women.” Lara is a muslim woman but very progressive according to her. She shared her opinion that the restrictions placed on muslim women is more cultural than religious. Her rationale was that all religious sects have failed to explicitly give women rights but that women in history have had to demand their rights before any were realized.  “Muslim women are not demanding their rights and until they do this nothing will change.” We went on to have a very interesting discussion and I remembered why I love to travel internationally. You meet the most interesting people. Lara was very insightful for a 25 year old women. I was impressed. She speaks three languages, English, French, and Arabic, and had passion in her voice. Hers was a passion I feel is missing in my life. I yearn to be passionate about something that will give my life direction and purpose. Yes, being a mother has fulfilled me in ways I could have never imagined. However, I sense there is a greater purpose for me. I just have to discover it; or better stated, it has to discover me.

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