When I crossed the old, iffy bridge I should have known, this shortcut might get us in trouble. Aaron, Julian, Gerco’s 4-week-pregnant sister, my mother-in-law and me were on our way to Punta Cana, a beautiful beach resort in the Dominican Republic. Somebody had suggested to take this little detour, promising that it would save us at least half an hour on our three hour trip, less traffic and beautiful scenery. What shall I say, for sure there was less traffic!

We ended up in the middle of one of the country’s huge sugar cane fields and the Bateys, little villages where the Haitian workers live. The scenery is beautiful, but there is no garage, petrol station, electricity, running water, well you get it. Anyway, the shortcut turned out to be a dirt road like this, full of bumps, puddles and ruts:

My sister-in-law was starting to feel sick, my mother-in-law grumpy and the kids, let’s not even talk about that! I just tried to stay happy and positive, making remarks like: “Look, such beautiful skies, how lovely the colors of the fields and the dirt! The Haitian children are so cute, don’t you think?” In the mean time we were driving from bump to bump and I was seriously starting to worry about our tires and shock absorbers. What if the car broke down here? How could I get help, would we have to spend the night at the Bateys? I really had no clue where we were and how to get out. But then there was this one very reassuring thought:

“At least we have enough Club Social Crackers to get through the night!”

You see, Club Social Crackers are the best you can get. Together with Julietta’s chicken, it was my family’s biggest comfort food in The DR. The boys ate them for snacks at school, I ate them when I was pregnant, happy, sad, hungry, full. Gerco ate them at night, well you get the idea. I used to take stacks of them on the road to share with my favorite beggars on the corners of the streets. Every place has its specialties, this for sure was the one for me! Fortunately, the car didn’t break down, we found our way out and I managed to keep my sense of panic hidden. We ate our crackers under very normal, safe circumstances and enjoyed our weekend at a nice resort.

Last Wednesday, Julian had his first baseball training. I took him there and liked the place immediately. His trainers are from the Antilles and it’s Caribbean all over. The smiles, the way they approached the children, the laughs and games, it was simply lovely. But the best thing about it was when we walked back to the car. I found a Club Social Crackers wrap on the ground! I picked it up and stared at it with amazement. Julian thought I was really weird, picking up this piece of dirt and putting it in my pocket. “Aren’t you going to throw it away?”, he said. I felt a bit dumb and did. But I kind of wish I hadn’t.

This little piece of plastic took me back to beautiful landscapes and wonderful people. Days that couldn’t get harder than they get, days that were absolutely splendid. Times with toddlers and babies, beaches and mountains. Floods, cockroaches and rats. Times of facing the poorest of the poor while living a life among the richest. Nights of partying and loud music, generators running and our crazy next door rooster cocka doodle doodling non-stop.

Times that will never come back, but all of a sudden caught up on me. A clear, plastic wrapping, with ‘Club Social Crackers’ written on it.