Parents! Parents! Parents!

My parents came to visit! It was super exciting, and I was glad that I had a chance to hang out with someone I knew before I came here. It was a nice chance to relax and take a break from my everyday life here. Unfortunately, they got to go back to the US, and I would love to have gone with them. But just for a couple of days, and then I would come back.

The first day my parents got here, I met them for breakfast at a restaurant across the street from PUCMM, where I spend a good chunk of my free time between classes. While we were eating, there was some excitement! This girl and her boyfriend got in a fight in the parking lot, and when he came in to buy coffee, she took his car and drove it into a pole and a sign! Everyone was ok, but it was pretty jarring first thing in the morning! Then we went across the street, and my parents joined me on a CIEE outing to a batey. A batey is a community of Haitian workers, so bateys are very poor. Most of them grow sugar, although the batey we went to, Batey Libertad, grows rice. All of the kids at the batey knew that Americans would give them attention, so as soon as we arrived, they glued themselves to us! This one little girl ran up to me like she knew me, and wouldn't let me put her down the entire time we were there! It was really cute.

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!

After that we went to Jarabacoa for the weekend. Jarabacoa is in the mountains, although not as high as Constanza. It is quite a bit cooler than Santiago, and we took advantage of that. On Saturday, we rode horses to a waterfall, and on Sunday we hiked to a different waterfall. And we basically relaxed for the weekend. We went to this amazing restaurant that was on the mountain overlooking Jarabacoa, and the view was fantastic! The food was really good, too.

Mom needed a small boy named Ali to guide her horse

Dad and I are both old enough to have our own horses.

Look at that view! The view from the restaurant in Jarabacoa

My parents brought me all kinds of American food, including Sour Patch Kids and pretzels, so I think they are trying to fatten me up. I'm glad they brought the food, though, because it reminds me of home. During the week, I had classes and my parents went to explore the country. They had some interesting adventures, including being pulled over by a policeman and having to bribe him in order to escape a ticket, but hey, you can't say they missed a true Dominican experience! They came back to Santiago on Wednesday night, so on Thursday, after my class ended, I showed them around PUCMM and we went to Chili's to eat. What can I say, I was craving a good American meal! That afternoon we went to the mall and La Sirena, and then went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Now, before you judge our place of dinner, here Pizza Hut is a nice, sit down restaurant with non-paper plates and laminated menus! We had a waitress and everything! And the food was good, too. It was the first pizza I had eaten since I went to the Jardin de los Niños. This morning, my parents left the country, and are, as I type, journeying back to the city of the sun. Although I am sad that they are gone, I'm glad they came!

Me at PUCMM

This weekend is Halloween, and I am very excited. Hopefully, my next post will be all about my Halloween adventures in la Republica Dominicana!!

Also, this is my fourth, yes, fourth post of the day. So keep reading to hear about my previous adventures!!