Columbus was a Ginger?

So, as always, I feel I have so much to talk about since I last “blogged” (I don’t think this counts as a word). So lets start with Saturday! We had a buscador de tesoro! That’s a scavenger hunt (or treasure hunt) for all of you non-Spanish speakers. I rode a concho for the first time, which was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. It’s crazy crowded, the concho driver turns the radio up super loud, and, of course, the drivers of Santiago don’t seem to have any rules of the road. First rule of the road that I learned: Pedestrians do not have the right of way. My team and I successfully navigated ourselves around the city, finding the post office, the bus station, and the cultural center. In fact, we were so successful we won the scavenger hunt! Unfortunately, there was no prize, and even the lottery ticket we bought as part of the scavenger hunt ended up being a dud.

That afternoon, we had a dance class with los estudiantes de apollo. I now know how to dance the bachata, the salsa, and the meringue. We had to dance, first in a line, and then in partners to make sure we knew the dance. There were just two problems with this: first of all, I am not at all coordinated and can’t dance. And second, I am about half a foot taller than every estudiante de apollo and pretty much every boy in the country of the Dominican Republic. Although I made a fool of myself, I had a good time.

On Sunday, we went to Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic, and it is also the oldest city in the Americas. It is where Columbus first landed, where the Spanish first colonized, and has a Hard Rock Café. I heard many stories, especially one about an orangutan and a baby, all of them dealing with historic places and famous people. We walked on the first paved road in the Caribbean, saw the first monastery in the Americas, and the ruins of the first European-style hospital in the Americas. I also saw my first Dominican ocean and beach, which was beautiful!!!! So so gorgeous!

Later that day, we went to the ruins of a sugar plantation that was the site of a slave revolution back in the day. It was cool because the owners had kept half of the ruins, and restored the other half, so the main building is half ruins and half restored. It lets you see what the plantation really looked like when it was running.

Today, I had more classes, and tomorrow, surprise surprise, more classes. But I am going to try to venture to the shopping mall, called Plaza Internacional, and the Dominican version of a K-Mart, called La Sirena. Sirena means mermaid in Spanish, and the logo and the S of La Sirena is a mermaid tail. I will have to take a picture and post it! And the movie “The Little Mermaid” is called “La Sirenita” in Spanish. I’m trying and trying to find my way around the city, and will hopefully be going to the discoteca on Wednesday for ladies night.

Albendazole=NASTY

Hi everyone! First of all, can I just say that I just realized today that people are actually following this blog? Exciting! I’m glad you are interested in my journeys! And if you have any specific questions, just ask!  Today was my first day of classes, and boy was that exciting! I only had one class today, because one of my Thursday classes doesn’t start until next week. So today I had “Historia del Caribe” which means, for all of you non-Spanish speakers out there, history of the Caribbean. It is a class through the Spanish for Foreigners program, but it is also open to Dominican students. Because of this, I walked into a classroom full of Dominicans who all stopped talking when the blonde gringa walked into the room. I was certain I had the wrong class! But nope, I am in history of the Caribbean with two other Americans, who are with a different group than me, and between 15-20 Dominicans. But they are all really nice, and my professor said that if any of us Americans needs help, she will be glad to help. I hope it will be a really interesting class!

However, I’m not positive which classes I am taking. I am definitely taking Spanish and a Procesos class, which is basically like culture. Those are both required. I need to take two more classes, so I am going to go to at least one class of 5 different classes. They include: History of the Caribbean, Society and Culture in the Dominican Republic, Cinema and Society in Latin America, Dominican-Haitian relations, and Jesus: The Person. The last class is the only one that isn’t through Spanish for Foreigners, and is with only Dominicans. But it sounds interesting! One last class that I am definitely taking is, wait for it, ping-pong.  Yes, that is a real class. Not only is it a real class, but it meets for 2 hours a week! And it has a final! But basically I get to play ping-pong for 2 hours a week and get credit for it. Legand-wait for it-dary!

Today, my friend Shana and I explored our neighborhood. We live in the same neighborhood and walk to school together. The path we take to school is really weird, because it turns into this canyon that totally caught me off-guard the first time I walked there. I will take pictures, because it’s super hard to describe unless you have walked it. But you can’t walk it when it is raining, because it gets super muddy. So Shana and I decided to figure out where to catch a concho. A concho is basically a small sedan that acts like a bus. It costs 15 pesos (or about 50 cents) to take, and it follows a set route. But unlike a bus, you can get on and off wherever you want along the route. The crazy thing about conchos is that, when full, there is a driver, two people in the front seat, and four people in the back seat. I haven’t ridden one yet, but I am definitely riding in one on Saturday when we have a scavenger hunt around Santiago.

Also today, me and three of my friends decided to take Albendazole, which is an anti-parasite medicine. We went to the on-campus pharmacy and got it, but they only had it in liquid form. It is about the size of a Kool-Aid packet, but full of this gel stuff that tastes like cough syrup. It was NASTY!!! And the way you take Albendazole is that you take one, and then you take another 15 days later. Then you are good for about a year or so. So we have to take this nasty stuff again! But it beats getting a parasite, that’s for sure!

Anyway, it’s getting late here and I have to be at PUCMM at 9 tomorrow, so I will end it here. And our trip to Santo Domingo is Sunday! I’m excited!!! You will definitely be able to read all about it!

First official day at PUCMM!!

I have officially signed up for classes, I have a Dominican cell phone, and I am being eaten alive by mosquitoes. So basically, I’m really here. I still can’t wrap my head around that!  But a quick recap on my last couple of days, since my last entry was crazy rushed, and I was attempting to play cards while I was writing.

I have officially moved into my house, which is nice. I like it. I don’t have wireless, which some host families have, but it’s probably good that I don’t. It makes me turn off my computer and go socialize with my family. Speaking of family, I apparently have a huge host family, and they all live within a block of one another. I have met so many family members it’s crazy, and I don’t remember the names of most of them! My other problem is that my older brother’s name is Carlos, and my sister’s boyfriend’s name is Carlos, so I never know which Carlos is coming until they arrive. They don’t say “My brother is coming!” or “Melissa’s boyfriend is stopping by,” no, they just say “Carlos is coming over.” And then one of them arrives.

Yesterday we were given a tour of Santiago by los estudiantes de apollo. They are students who are actual students at PUCMM, the university I am studying at, who want to interact with international students. It’s like a volunteer position, and we will work with them throughout the semester. They are really nice, and have a lot of patience with us trying to speak Spanish, probably because they are used to it semester after semester.

Today I got a mosquito net, which is a fantastic thing because, as I said earlier, I am being eaten alive. No exaggeration. And I have been bathing in bug spray!! Earlier today, my host mom thought that I was wearing gross perfume, but no, it was just bug spray. Yet the mosquitoes seem to love me. According to Lynne, the person in charge of my program, they like “la sangre nueva,” or new blood. Apparently after about the first month, the mosquitoes will stop wanting to drink my blood, which is good news I guess. I just want this first month to have already happened. After a month, Dominican life is supposed to start making sense, and right now it seems crazy and I feel a little stupid. As someone said today, “We are like retarded kindergarteners!” But I am still having a good time.

I think my host mom wants me to leave 20-30 pounds heavier. She keeps feeding me fried plantains, which are delicious! And whenever I come home from orientation, she has some sort of cold blended drink ready for me, like a frozen lemonade or a non-alcoholic piña colada. Delicious! And unhealthy. But you can’t tell her no. I say I don’t want it, and she asks if I like it, and since I do I say I like it. Then she says, “Then you want one.” And gives it to me. But all of the food here is really good so far, and I’m pretty sure I could live off of fried plantains if I had to. Yum!!!!

Tomorrow we have a tour of PUCMM, which is just in time because classes start on Thursday! So hopefully by this time tomorrow, I will know which building is which. Wish me luck!!

La Republica Dominicana!!

I am, officially, in the Dominican Republic! Well, I have been for a couple of days now, but this is the first time I have had internet since Miami. And a LOT has happened since then. First of all, I met my host family. They are really nice. I have a mom, Josefina, a brother, Carlos, and two sisters, Carolina and Melissa. Carlos and Carolina are both married and don't live at home, but Melissa is 19 and still lives there. She likes to watch E! and MTV on the television, so I think we are going to get along great. Yesterday, we had our first day of orientation, and we went to this place outside of Santiago called Casa Club, and it was gorgeous! It was in the mountains, so we had this view of a valley that was so green and full of trees, it was amazing. We learned so much information, and I probably only remember about a third of it, but we got to swim after. Casa Club is an all-inclusive resort, and we used the conference room.

Today, I just took my Spanish placement text (yikes), and this afternoon we are getting a tour of Santiago from students at the university here. And I will hopefully (fingers crossed) be getting a cell phone! And tomorrow I get to choose my classes.

I have discovered that I love love LOOOVE Dominican coffee, but unfortunately it is more caffeinated than US coffee. Which I found out after drinking a cup and a half. But it was delicious and worth it! My host mom seems to think that if I eat something, that's the only thing I like, so she keeps serving me the same foods. But more later!

On my way!

So I am now officially halfway to the Dominican Republic. After flying all night, I have made it to Miami. Fun stuff, I know! But right now, it's about 6 in the morning in Phoenix, and I only slept a couple of hours on the flight, so I am tired and ready to go to bed. Unfortunately, that probably won't be happening for a while now, although I'm not sure what the schedule is for when I arrive in the Dominican Republic. Hopefully there is a lot of time for SLEEP! But the good news is that the movie for the next leg of my journey is "How to Train Your Dragon." I'm crazy excited, and will probably have to stay awake and watch it. But it's an awesome movie, so oh well.

I have never been to the Miami airport before, and I must say that from what I have experienced, the people aren't the nicest and the airport is pretty low on my list of airports. I was trying to sleep a while ago, but I couldn't because they had the televisions turned on too loud. Did not make me happy!

Anyway, moving on from my problems with the Miami airport, the next time you hear from me, I will be knee deep in Spanish, I will have met my host family, and, fingers crossed, will have both of my suitcases in my possession once again. But for now, I am watching TV online and frantically reading up about the Dominican Republic. Sounds like a solid plan to me!

Hey look, a blog!

So this is going to be an interesting experiment. Can I keep a blog going the entire time I am in la República Dominicana, or will this, like many of my journal attempts, last about a week? Only time will tell.

But the facts are these: In just a few short days, I will be on a plane, on my way to spend four months in the  Caribbean country known as the Dominican Republic. I will be living with a host family in a city called Santiago de los Caballeros, taking classes at PUCMM, and attempting to communicate using Spanish skills. But for now, I am just furiously packing, trying not to forget anything and wondering about my future host family, the others attending the trip, and life in the DR in general. And to keep you all informed, I will (possibly) be updating this, making sure everyone that wants to hears my adventures and journeys can hear them. What will this semester have in store? No freaking idea. Be sure to tune in!