It’s funny how a pot of refried beans can open up a fault line of memories.

I had been eating peanut butter & honey on tortillas for about a week because I haven’t felt hungry or bored enough to buy groceries for anything more interesting. Until today that is.

I started looking through my cupboards again, and actually saw the pinto beans that had been sitting there since before October. I couldn’t understand why I had ignored these cans of beans when I had been eating pb&h on tortillas for a week.

Wouldn’t you think that I would have made the mental leap to make refried beans and cheese?! I mean Jeff and I used to make them from scratch together all the time…

… and then all these memories started flooding back.

Even an hour later when I was walking to the grocery store, random pictures kept popping into my head. For some reason I had a clear memory of how I used to grab onto his upper arm and how he’d instinctively flex so I could feel his muscle. Such a strange and random memory.

All because of the refritos.

On my first trip overseas I learned the following:

1. 11 year old german girls with tourist braids know all the words to “My Humps”
2. None of my beach volleyball teammates knew how to say “got it!” in any language
3. You will NOT be shot if two of you run back through customs, the airport, gate and right back on to the plane to retrieve a lost purse (with wallet and passport inside)
4. People in the DR are also wondering ¿quiénes dejaron los perros hacia fuera?
5. Oh yeah, and a gingerale costs $4 American dollars at the DR airport