still sickly/la capital otra vez!

Hiiii...so I ended up not going to a single class this week. Felt fine on wednesday but my resident director didnt want me to risk it (probably a good call). Then just bopped around doing nothing again on thurs, that night hung out with friends. Friday I went back to the doctor and basically learned that an amoeba is scraping the insides of my intestines causing blood and scary things, the doctor made it seem really scary and worrisome, but then she said it was okay if I went to Santo Domingo that same day. She prescribed me another medication to protect my organs (that totals up to four different pills a day!!) And I can't eat fat, vegetables, or lots of flour aka NOTHING. My mom hasn't been home all weekend and there is no fruit so all I have been eating is rice and juice...

I saw Allison on Friday! Because I was at the retarded clinic from 9 until 1 in the afternoon, I got to the bus station at 2 30 and that bus was full so I had to wait until the 330 bus which meant I didnt get to la capital until 6 30 or so! (It was late). My original plan was to stay there for the day and then return early in the morning and go to the beach. But no way. We hung out, and let me tell you, I am so glad I have guy friends I go out with. When you are an all girl group it is seriously every 10 seconds someone is trying to get your attention.

Me and allie still had fun though, and it was really nice being able to talk to someone who actually knows you for real. I feel like I really need to write a post about all the cultural observations I am taking. For next time, hopefully I will discuss how literally all the taboo subjects in America: religion, politics, gender roles, the way people look--is not taboo here. All out in the open. Let's hope I can fight off the amoeba!

mountain town and sickness

From friday to sunday my program and I went on an excursion to Constanza, a mountain town which is about three hours away from Santiago. It was meant to be a nice and relaxing getaway from the city, which it definitely was. The weather there was sooo nice, I could actually wear zip ups and jeans!! So exciting. During the day it got hot, but the air was definitely way less humid, it was great.

The first day we had a choice to do a hike or to tour some greenhouses, I obviously chose the hike. It was super fun and we ran into many adorable animals on our climb such as a piglet, a puppy, and baby cow! Very cute. After that we had a delicious dinner of pizza and then we got to see a dominican baseball game! It was pretty sweet, the baseballs they were using looked the size of softballs though...there were bats (nocturnal animal kind, not wooden kind) flying all over the field, it was awesome.

Next day we got up early to have breakfast (8 am) then we were on our way to the tallest waterfall in the dominican republic (which is actually made up of two waterfalls)! We went in two safari vehicles which had a truch bed in the back with benchs on the sides and little rails so we wouldnt fall. It was about an hour and half drive, we got to see some gorgeous country side. And we also got to see our lives flash in front of our eyes when driving down the most narrow roads I had ever seen with a sheer cliff on one side. AHHH. My friend said he actually saw our wheels go off the road one time. So scary.

Finally we got to the waterfall, and it had long been decided by fate (and the fact that my mom would be ashamed of me) that of course I would be swimming in the waterfall. OMG. It was SO cold, I could not believe it. I went in and was swimming for where the waterfall was actually hitting the water, but halfway there I felt my limbs start seizing up and I couldn't really breathe and all I could think was calm down kali, just keep moving or you will sink to the bottom and DIE! So I swam back to safety.

Later that night we had a delicious bbq, a huge bonfire, and lots and lots of dancing. We also made friends with some medical students from Santo Domingo all of them from different places: Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, it was really interesting.

Next day we were off after packing and having lunch.

Yeah....then Sunday night slept not a wink because I had a fever so I either was getting up to turn on/off the fan or getting up to go to the bathroom. Awful. Didn't go to school on monday, felt like shit the whole day. Then thought I was getting better, went to sleep only to wake up at 4, 6, and 8 in the morning to run to the bathroom. My resident director Lynne said I shouldn't try to go to school so I didn't go to school again. And now I feel okay, but you never really know...I hope I will be able to go to school tomorrow. So funny, because this week was only going to be a three day school week anyways because thurs all school is cancelled because it is a national saint's day (mercedes) so basically I have one day of school!

bonfire or should I say fogón
beautiful countryside
waterfaaaall
baby piglet!

baby puppy!!

is it possible my spanish is improving!?!

Hey everyone! Just a quick post because I should really be reading all of the reading that I haven't done for the past few weeks...So on Friday I found the place I have been searching for in Santiago: outdoor chilling spot where you can just chill and talk. It is called H20 and basically is a huge square surrounded by buildings (i think in the day it has shopping) with all these tables with lights around them and places you can buy drinks and music is always present of course. So that was great and I was sitting around talking with my dominican friends in spanish and all of a sudden they are like oooh heey!! getting all excited and im like what what, and they were like: just then your spanish was so good, just like a dominican would say it! and it happened once more that night, it was so nice! So perhaps I am improving? Some dominican phrases/vocab of interest:

estoy jodiendo=i'm just kidding (literally it means I am just fucking with you but I dont want to hurt innocent ears hahha too late)

eso es una vaina bien= this is a good thing

pelu=hairy but very dominican way of saying it

After that night saturday I was off to la playa!! My friend Jorge drove, while Boli, Ben, Michelle and Luana sat (yes four in the back, it was not a comfie drive). My friend Boli's dad had a guy who owed him money and couldnt pay, as a result they inherited a huge four story mansion near the beach of sosua, however in pretty big disrepair. That is where we stayed, it was fun! But no furniture except beds bc they are trying to sell it. Went to the beach, swam my heart out, went to the discotecas right on the beach danced my heart out. Met some of Jorge's bffs that night who were very charming (not to mention cuuute). That's about it! Love everyone, miss you!

Our boys (minus the one on the left, that's Carlos their friend) Ben, Jorge y Boli.
The girls! Mike (michelle), Me and Luana.
While jumping off huge cliffs, and climbing up again, a few of us incurred injuries (not me!).
This is an example of one of the many "sanky pankies" you see especially at tourist beach places like this one. Dominican prostitutes hired by rich gross white ladies.

Claaaass.......

Finally done with my week of classes. Ughh. So tues I felt like crap. I had to go into downtown to do a project for my semiar class which was to take 3 photos we found obvious, and three we found to be curious. We were assigned to go to the municipal cemetary and omg it was so cool! Like seriously a mini city. Because of the water table/the fact that the soil isnt very deep, people are usually buried mausoleum style, not in grave graves. So there were all these structures and there were actually like cobblestoned streets among them, it was nuts. But I didnt get to fully enjoy it because the whole time I was nervous I was going to faint or throw up on someone's dead relative... I dont know I think the heat is getting to me. Thankfully it was a lot cooler today than it has been but man! So yeah I had a killer headache and my stomache felt like I'd been punched. So I get home around 6 and tell my mom I cant come with her to this cultural talk about (I think) Arabs and the middle east? I try to rest and I feel a bit better. Talk to my MOMMIE!

Then Tuesday nights here are movies for only 50 pesos, so at 9 30 I went to see the hangover (finally!). The spanish title is qué pasó anoche (what happened last night) hahhaa, just another night for dominicans. So that was fun, hung out with my friends for a little while after which was a bad decision because I had to read a short story in spanish and make an entire powerpoint presentation in spanish and write a thing in spanish aaaah. So when i woke up the next morning at 9 30 I was pretty much busy until 9 that night when my classes ended. uugh. So after all that hard work, I, of course, deserved an award.

Went out with my friends. I usually chill with this girl almost in my neighborhood but not quite (michelle) she has dominican parents/grandparents and is really good at spanish and awesome, Benjamin (pronounced the spanish way of course) who is so sweet and lives down the street from me, his host brother Bolí who seriously goes out almost every night, therefore all of us go out quite a bit, Jorge, another dominican who also lives with Ben and Bolí but he is not related to Bolí he is just from another town, so stays with them during the school year, aaaand last but not least, Laura! She is from Virginia and super cute and blonde and we are both goofy together and have lots of fun. So thats a little break down of the usual suspects, at least the ones that are the nightlife scene. I also have Rachael who is awesome and from the Seattle area too and I love her, she definitely needs to have a convo with Cliff about vegans and environmentalism (although she is not a vegan here/she will tell you her views are complicated) She's really smart and opinonated and we have all the same classes, so yes, we hang out lots and she is the one I was doing the obvi/curious photos with!

Anyways not sure what I will do tonight, probably dance the night away. Then tomorrow should be really cool we are going to the Mirabal Sister's museum (I will just explain that story in the next post), lets just say it is from the Trujillo era. And then on sat/sun I am going to the beeeeach!!!!

las discotecas y el campo

Hola mis amores!

So I haven't written in awhile, so prepare yourself for a long post (you can always just find interesting looking parts, i wont be offended) SOoOoo...What have I been doing? Wednesday night I have no idea what I did it was too long ago, but THURS night it was one of the girls on the program's birthday, so we all (twenty of us and few dominican amigos) went to a restaurant to give her a surprise dinner/crazy man singing karoke party! She thought she was going to a friend's family event, but no! So yes, more about this karoke. First of all, the thing you have to know about karoke here is that about 94% of dominicans are really good at singing, wtf. Or they just sing their hearts out and thus, sound a lot better than timid retards in america/drunkards. So yes, there are karoke nights in a lot of places because everyone loves to sing, and theyre good at it. Anyways..point is, there was a guy probs around 50ies singing his heart out opera style and like he would only sing love songs and he was sing them looking at all the pretty americans and when porsha (thebday girl) finally came, he went right to her side and was sing i love you i love you (english w/heavy accent), te amo te amo (keep in mind opera style) it was HILARIOUS. After that we all went out to las discotecas and danced the night

away! It is also really fun to dance here because everyone has been dancing since they were babies so they are all really good and the music is fun and WOO!

Then friday I left for un retiro de trabajo (work retreat) for 3 days in the campo (country)! We have several work retreats scheduled, maybe just two, and they are optional, but I am def going on every single one. It is a really good opportunity to see how the majority of dominicans live because the vast majority live in the campo, not in the cities. So we went to a pueblo called los brazos way high up in the mountains, SO BEAUTIFUL. I tried to take pictures out the window, but i dont know how to make it so its not blurry, so it didnt really work, but the ride there was amazing, I have never seen a landscape like the one they have here.

So we went to this place called el jardín de los niños, the garden of kids, and basically this french-canadian woman has adopted 22 children, and also started a free public school for other children in the campo! Pretty awesome. We went there to help repaint the school house, make murals, paint the chairs, etc It was so fun! They live right by a river, we got to play with cute little kids, swim, and do art! and eat really good food! But yeah, you will see from my pictures that there were def scary bugs and things, but the good outweighed the bad by far.

Superfun, got back yesterday, went out with mis amigos, came back and fell into a deep dreamless sleep. haha then this morning the mission was to find my supplies for sculpture class. I was with two other girls on the same mission, but one for painting class. uuuugh. In summary, we walked all the way to one place only to get directions to go back in the long hot sweaty direction we had just come, then we go from store to store trying to talk in spanish and figure out whats what. Finally we get to a legit art supply store (the first few ones were like weird school supply things) and turns out they are basically out of everything we need so we have to come back friday. AAA! I have my escupltura class tomorrow at ten and all I have to show for myself is the ugliest apron ever and a plastic bag... hahah it is so weird sometimes being the foreign kid. Btw, my class has four other people in it, 3 dominicans, 1 other american, so the semester should be interesting. Then I was sooo tired after all that walking but for some reason could not fall into my siesta, then I had class from 4 to 9 blaaah. I dont want to do school!!! I guess I'm learning, but it is kind of hard when you are learning about events that happened long time ago with all different groups of people and countries and dates involved IN SPANISH. All the professors are really nice though.

Now for some pictures!

glimpse of the country
huge lizard, usually they are just teeny babies
Some of the kids!
Washing chairs in the río
huge spider we saw in our room right before bed...sweet dreams
water cycle mural!
My mural I worked on! Except the flowers and trees were already there, we just made them prettier, and then there was this really freakily drawn person that we erased it was sick.
Beautiful river

concerts, beaches, friends, what more could I want?

Hello Avid Readers!

So much has happened since I last updated. Let's see...on Friday I went shopping and bought some awesome makeup in cool colors and these really high heels that are cute. Then that night met some friends for drinks and dancing, which is always fun.

Then on Saturday Allison and her program came to tour Santiago!! Luckily another girl on my program has a friend on that program too so we were able to go together (otherwise it would have been a lot more troublesome not to mention scary). We met up at el centro de león, which is an awesome museum and also site for cultural events. We took a tour of the museum and it was really cool, touched on a lot of factors of dominican life and many centuries. Then the upstairs was filled with wonderful paintings and sculptures that were very unique, it was cool learning about those (the tour was in spanish by the way heheh). After the museum we went around Santiago, they of course went to see the monument which is at the heart of the city and I have already put pictures of it on here. Then we went to this crazy awesome folklore museum (you will see the pictures at the end). It was chock full of cool stuff: lots of carnaval masks, tons of pictures, newspaper clippings, religious relics, I dont even know. Really interesting.

Then, sadly, me and Allison had to part...but THEN, I went home quickly to eat dinner and then it was back out on the town! I had made plans to meet with this girl who ran up to me and my friends walking home from university and was like "hey sorry I know this is awkward but I heard you speaking in english and ive been here since july, lets hang out!" Turns out, she is a graduate student doing research here and has done a lot of cool stuff. She was in the Peace Corps for 3 years and I dont know, has had an interesting life so far. So my friend and I met up with her for yogen fruz--its frozen yogurt that you pick what fruits you want to go in it (my fav flav is strawberry and apple it is SO GOOD), absolutely delicious..

After that I headed to the monument to meet up with other friends because there was a huge merengue concert sponsored by the fav beer, el presidente, happening. We get to the top and look over, there is seriously half of Santiago there! So many people!!! It was great. Whew!

Then Sunday, got up pretty early (after a pretty late night) and got on the guagua (bus) to Sosúa, a beach town!! Its about an hour and half ride and I literally blinked and we were there. The beach was beautiful, so gorgeous, but lots of dominicans trying to accost us. So we decided to explore the other three beaches we heard about. We met some dutch boys and they took us to their resort beach which was empty which was nice because we didnt have to worry about our bags getting stolen, etc. SO PRETTY!!

Yesterday first day of real classes, didnt start until 4 but went until 9, three in a row, so much spanish, but I think its going to be okay. I already have two presentaciones to prepare for though so eeek!

Well the pictures are in reverse time...but here they are:

The lovely beach at sosúa.
Monument concert at night. That green tent is one of many that was selling presidentes.
Th stage, lots of people.
Folklore museum, religious shrine.
Example of a carnaval mask.

Hasta Luego mis amigos!