To the beach

On day two we walked to the beach and enjoyed swimming and sunbathing under an unpolluted sky. We were thrilled to have a women on the beach teach us Tai Chi and in turn Noel taught her his version of Irish dancing, which is kicking his feet around like an Irish dancer, but without a predictable step. Others on the beach joined in on the dancing and Stacy taught them the Time Warp, you know from Rocky Horror Picture Show. After dancing, Noel and I entertained with “traditional Chinese fighting.” I hadn’t heard of it but Noel convinced me that for the fight I had to balance on one leg and hold the opposite foot over my knee. Standing up straight, the leg position looks like a number four. Once we were in place we hopped around trying to knock each other down. Being the sore looser that I am, and seeing how much I love to win, I knew I had to be the last man standing. I was successful and the islanders laughed and cheered when Noel tumbled to the ground. The people of the island do not see many “Foreigners”, so I felt we were viewed a little like circus performers. All we needed was a monkey with a top hat, an elephant, and a bearded lady and we could have charged money. That night the headmaster of the school took us out to dinner and we had another incredible meal with many dishes. The most unusual dish was called “The Buddha hand.” At first I thought it looked like a turtles hand and was happy to learn it was instead a type of shellfish. Once you crack it open, there is something similar to a clam inside.