entertaining foreigners

Before the summer school started, the volunteers had a couple days to wander around the island One of the local volunteers for the school offered to take us hiking up La Loma (literally, "the hill") near Cabarete. On reflection, it was a great way to get us foreign white people accustomed to the Dominican environment in a way that wandering in and out of shops does not do.

I think this is a government building. not sure. anyway, that's the DR flag

thank goodness we had a guide...

me.

one-eared mule. or donkey. i don't know the difference

an underground pool! in a cave! with sharp rocks! so fun!

Yup, it was entertaining. I think my favorite entertainment though was the 4th of July celebration. Obviously they do not celebrate American independence, but since the school had so many American volunteers, they made a special dinner for us: hamburgers (using fried salami for the meat) and hot dogs, with slightly mushy ice cream sandwiches for dessert (in truth, a real treat, even if refrigeration is sporadic).

"international traveler"

For those who cannot understand my personality in writing: I put the title in quotes to note the fact that I failed as an international traveller.

A couple hours after I saw my aunt get married, I flew off to the Dominican Republic. I had a red-eye flight from Salt Lake City to Atlanta, and then carried on to Puerto Plata in the DR. I don't think that helped my brain much. My tennis shoes got stolen, and really I have no one to blame but myself. I had packed my bags according to typical national standards: 2 carry-ons, 2 checked bags. So I had strapped my tennis shoes on top of one of my carry-ons, but then found out I could check another bag, and handed it over. Hey, it was heavy. Somebody relieved me of those tennis shoes. Really disappointing, because I had only had them for a month.

I was really nervous about this trip, because I was going to spend 6 weeks in a foreign country with a foreign language and culture. (again, let me point out that I am not an international traveler). But then I flew into the country, and I saw all of the green--thick, encroaching green--and I loved it. Reminds me of home.

Of course, it was really hot. and humid. but it looked nice.

The view out of my hotel room

My hotel. and my co-teacher, Bjorn.

My hotel has a pool, and the room has a stove and fridge, although the electricity is only on at night. And it's not consistent. Which is a country-wide problem. Probably because of this:

notice the wires EVERYWHERE





Preface

So it actually took me forever to decide to do something about my lack of documentation for my Dominican experiences. and even now I am delaying. I decided electronic layouts are much more my thing than actual scrapbooking, hence the creation of this blog. Now I just have to track down all of my pictures and memories. Oh, well. One thing at a time.