A Bit of Culture

Every Thursday night there is an art festival on 5th Avenue, the pedestrian shopping and dining boulevard 1.5 blocks from our home. Local painters display their art for sale and various musical and dance groups perform small acts. Occasionally cleverly dressed clowns parade around on stilts. Allan and I often enjoy a nice humid walk, taking in the sights, just happy to be out of the office.

We appreciate having a bit of culture in Playa. Granted Playa isn't really known for being a culturally rich spot. 20 years ago it was a quaint fishing village. Today it's a vacationer's paradise with pristine white sand beaches that stay cool to the touch, breathtaking turquoise waters that stay a refreshing 85 degrees or so year round and sunny summer like days 300+ days annually. Travelers come to relax, scuba dive, drink and explore the Mayan culture to name a few - not to attend the ballet or visit the local museum, if there even is such a thing in Playa.

For Allan and I, both from Boston , a city filled with diversity of people, food and culture, it's hard not to notice the differences. Sure the Boston is better in many ways - better shopping, it's easier to make a buck and it's generally more organized and run more thoroughly. However, Playa has many pluses as well - it's more laid back and the weather is better to name a few. Quite frankly Playa has no culture at all. However, we have never been big on culture anyway. Granted I have traveled all over Europe and have seen some of the the biggest and best museums and churches globally- but I've never really had a love of art or dance or museums.

Watching the dancers and musicians on 5th Avenue tonight I could not help but notice the drastic difference in training between Boston and Playa. Boston has much better artistic training compared with Playa. However as mentioned I don't really care. It's just interesting to note the difference and just appreciate it.

Relocating from the first world to essentially a third world country, many "gringos" or what one may term foreign white folk living south of the border, there are big differences. And many people tend to complain about them. That's not what I'm about. Sure things frustrate me, but I'm a guest here and I've chosen to call his my home. Love it or hate it, just get used to it and try to appreciate it.

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