What a super weekend of sand and ocean.
Like it or not, our environment - its people, places, and traditions - influences who we are. Whether we decide to change for better or for worse is up to us, but in order for change to occur, we must first acknowledge the source.
Every culture & country has good and bad points; rather than slamming the environment that shaped us and saying, I am ashamed to be associated with this culture/place, it would be more conductive if we could say I don't like the way X is in our culture/place; how can we improve?.
As with sports, you gotta root for your home-team, through thick and thin. It's a beautiful thing to meet a person who is proud of the environment(s) that shaped them, who works to improve it, and is happy to share a piece of it with others.
