So I haven't written in a week, but, as usual, a lot has happened. I don't think I am going to get an uneventful week until I am back in the states. Even then, probably not...
Anyway, so last Wednesday after I blogged, I went to La Escuela de Bellas Artes in Santiago to see about helping them teach violin lessons. And they really wanted me to help! I am working with Alberto, who is actually in charge of the lessons, and we have 12 7-8 year olds who have never played the violin before. It's so much fun, but it's exhausting at the same time! And Alberto has never done this before and doesn't really know how to keep the kids attention for the full 3 hours (Can I just say, who in their right minds makes a kid's violin class 3 hours?!?!?!) but we are both getting better. I now know the parts of the violin in Spanish, as well as the notes on a do-re-mi type scale. Yes, I do go around singing that song. The first week, we just went over the notes and the parts of a violin, and I tuned all of the violins. For some reason, these makers of little kid violins decided that it was a good idea to not have fine tuners. Makes life fun. Yesterday, the kids started playing their very first song! They are learning "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and some of them are naturals! But they are all very cute, and try really hard during class to get it right.
Last Thursday, I went a Dominican movie theater for the first time. And while it was a lot like American movie theaters, it was still different. First of all, they don't have Junior Mints. I know, I'm shocked too. Second of all, the trailers and the commercials are interspersed. But the movie, "Dinner for Schmucks," was in English with Spanish subtitles, and the theater gave us free posters, so it was a big win in my book! The movie was crazy, and Jemaine from "Flight of the Conchords" had possibly the best part ever.
Last weekend, my whole group went to Constanza. It is up in the mountains, and has the highest elevation in the Caribbean. Also, it is the coldest spot on the island, which means that at night, I had to wear a sweater. The first day, I went with a group of people to tour a flower factory. Basically, they grow all of the flowers that are sold in bouquets. It was really interesting, but unfortunately our tour got cut short because it started raining. So then Lynne, our fearless leader, said we should go check out this old hotel called Nueva Suiza. It was a hotel during the reign of Trujillo that was for the upper echelon of society, but is now in ruins. So it's raining, and we pull up in our bus to this locked fence and all get out, and then watch in shock as Lynne crawls through a hole in the fence. Someone said, "Are we allowed to be here?" and Lynne replied, "Nope. Come on!" It was such a creepy-cool experience. It reminded me so much of Scooby-Doo!! Plus, what I think is the super-creepy part is that Trujillo's room is locked and no one can get in. Personally, I think his ghost is haunting that room.
The next day, we all woke up and piled into these safari-like jeeps and rode up to a waterfall. It was a two hour journey in the jeeps, and so much fun! It was like a real-life Indiana Jones ride, without the poison arrows and snakes. When we got to the waterfall, we had the choice to swim in the water at the base of the falls, so of course I jumped right in! The water was freezing. I seriously don't think I have been in colder water. It was crazy cold, and I'm surprised that it wasn't frozen! It was funny, because we all jumped in off of a rock, and no one was expecting it to be as cold as it was, so everyone was screaming when they came back up in the water. It was a lot of fun, and I am really glad I went swimming. But since I had forgotten my swim suit, I went in a sports bra and shorts, which meant that I had nothing to change into afterward. I was FREEZING the entire way back to the hotel, which is crazy to think since normally in the DR I am sweating my butt off. That afternoon we had free time, so three of my friends and I went on the zip line at the hotel. It was fun, but it was pretty tame compared to other zip lines I have done in my life. However, I was the only one who had done a zip line before, so the others thought it was terrifying. It was still fun, though! That night, we had a barbeque and an impromptu dance party, which was great. The food was wonderful, and a nice change from the usual Dominican mangu (mashed plantains) and rice and beans, and everyone joined in the dance party. I know many of the popular Dominican songs now! One of them is called "I want an American so I can get a visa." That one I'm not to crazy about, since people sing it to me on the street when they see me. But I like most of the other songs I have heard! All of the music here is so happy and it is hard not to dance when you hear it!
On Sunday, we went to downtown Constanza for about an hour, which was a great experience. There was a church parade, which included a church ambulance! Here, most of the hospitals and ambulances are privately owned, and they wanted to show the town of Constanza that they had an ambulance. It is used to encourage people to join the church, or at least hear what the church has to say. While I was downtown, I bought a box of strawberries! They were really good, and I realized how much I miss a lot of the fruit that I eat in the US. Here, most of my fruit is avocados, tomatoes, and juices. I know that I am getting enough fruit, but it is still nice to be able to eat berries! Then we went back home to Santiago, and I spent the remainder of my Sunday doing homework. Super exciting, I know!
Another post is coming either later today or tomorrow, I promise! Sorry about my slacking with the blog!!
After the batey, my parents came over to my host family's house so they could meet. My host mom doesn't speak any English, and my parents don't speak any Spanish, so I had to be a translator, which was a crazy experience. But I think both sets of parents liked the other, and my dad took a picture of me with Melissa and my host mom, so now I can finally show you all what they look like!
