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!