la playa y otro

Hey,

Finally I can download dominican music, it is awesome, i am listening to chino y nacho niña bonita right now. It is so funny how songs can mean so much to someone but can mean nothing to the next person. I know i will be one of those people who listen to reggaeton and merengue in the estados unidos and people will think i am a poser but really no one can imagine what joy it brings to listen to music and recall times and places and people and to understand lyrics in not your native language.

Anyways, this weekend Allison came to visit me on viernes (friday) we went out, she met my friends, we got best empanadas ever, claro. Then saturday us and the gang went to caberete. We went to sosua and then rode motoconchos (motorcycles!!!) to the other beach town it was SOO fun, except a little scary because basically they were racing each other so we would go really fast. My face was numb when we finally got off.

Not going to lie, went skinny dipping about five times that weekend. Dont worry it was dark! What else, tomorrow i am going to volunteer for the first time ever at a guarderia (daycare) for the zona franca (free trade zone) workers. I am so excited. I love little kids. Here are some pictues of the weekend!

me and boli being awesome. My best friend/best dancer

I am so disturbed! being double teamed by creepers. Anahay is laughing on the side
The girls! me, allison, michelle, laura, anahay!

los charcos, cortar de pelo!

Hello people who supposedly read this,

Thursday night was chocolate chip cookie night, it was delicious and very filling. The next day we were all up early to meet at puerta II at 8:00 in the morning to go to the 27 charcos! I had been anticipating this trip from the very beginning of my stay here. I had read about it in the lonely planet and it was described as one of the favorite activities of everyone. So what it is is a series of pools (charcos) and waterfalls you climb up them, helped by very muscely guides (they seriously launched me into the air) and then you get to jump off cliffs into the pools and slide down naturally formed water slides!! It is sooo beautiful. The pictures I have I got off the internet because obviously I couldn't exactly bring my digital camera. The colors are not exaggerated. The water looks like that, and better. The rocks in the shallow parts have beautifully colored algae (or something). Blue-green is definitely my favorite color.

So, that was thrilling. Then went and hung with the homies. The next day went shopping and got yogen fruz--I don't think I have talked about yogen fruz yet!--It is the BEST THING EVER. Basically it is frozen yogurt that you can choose up to three fruits to go in it, but that does not describe the magic it creates with your taste buds. It is orgasmic, I have no idea why it isn't in the US. Then at four I got my hair cut! Its super short, below you can see what it looks like both straightened and curly. That night hung out with the homies again, as you can see. Also rode my first motorcycle, sooo fun, I don't know why I've never done that before...

Sunday chillaxed with Laura at la plaza internacional, got bon (yogen fruz) again, and went and saw the worst movie ever. Do not see the Time Traveller's Wife, I repeat, do NOT see it. Definitely should have stayed a book.

Ok, love you guys!

straight hair!

you swim through there and then climb up
charco
curly!

Michelle, me, Luana, Boli, Ben

vudú, niños y enseñando inglés!

Hello,

This week has been pretty fun. In my Dominican Haitian relaciones class, we had guest speakers both days. Last week we watched a movie called the serpent and the rainbow, which was about haitian voodoo. The portrayal of voodoo in the movie was less than pleasant. However, the movie itself is very entertaining, just don't believe everything you see if you choose to see it. On monday a Haitian-Dominican student came to a interview type session in our class. He was born in the DR, so he is technically Dominican, but he identifies more with his Haitian ancestry even though both of his parents were born in the Dominican Republic too. This is perhaps because he grew up in a Batey, where most of the community is Haitian. However, he "knows nothing of Haiti" and when he first went to Haiti, couldn't understand anyone. He had interesting things to say in respect to color. He is very dark-skinned, thus, people immediately identify him as Haitian. But, he pointed out, in the capital, Santo Domingo, there are more people of color and nobody knows if you are Haitian or Dominican soley based on color. But Santiago is a city where there is a bigger number of lighter skinned people, people assume more about you based on color. He is also of the opinion that people discriminate not based on nationality, the fact that he is Haitian, but on color of skin. He used two examples to illustrate this: he has a Haitian friend who is very light skinned, but is obviously Haitian by his accent, yet Dominicans do not call him Haitian, but because of his dark skin, people will automatically call him Haitian. Another example is he has a Dominican friend who had two Haitian girlfriends. The first was lighter skinned and no one had a problem, the second was darker, and so it was a problem. When asked who has more ignorance about the other, his answer was dominicans towards haitians. When asked how to better relations with each other he said, more talking, more working together, getting to know each other better, accepting each other, forgiving the past.

The other guests came to talk about voodoo. It was very interesting because he talked about the balance of catholicism and voodoo. They coexist together. I can't say that much about it because I had a hard time understanding a lot of what they were saying after the official presentation. But basically, the main sentiments I got were that voodoo is often misunderstood by people who do not take the time to actually understand and learn about it. People in Haiti are ashamed to say they are "vuduísta" because there are bad connotations, but really, voodoo is at the essence of Haitian culture because it is not simply a religion, but a "herramienta para la existencia" (tool for living). It is a religion brought from Africa by the slaves in the sugar cane plantations, and so has even longer roots than just in Haiti.

Next, I observed my first english class and am about to teach my first class this evening. I can't really comment much more until that happens.

This morning at 9 30 I went to visit three guardarías (daycares) for workers of la zona franca (i think that translates a free trade zone aka the huge factories of gross american corporations like nike/gap). All of them were basically organized in the same way. There would be a room of 5 year olds (the oldest), 4 year olds, 3 year olds, and then babies! So cute. We would walk into a room and they would all shout BUEN DIA! (dominican buenas dias), I am not sure which one I will choose to volunteer at. But I am leaning towards one in a barrio called cien fuegos (100 fires, intriguing right?) and they have a pretty big playground, which is fun, and I liked the kids there a lot. But we shall see.

Tomorrow I go to the 27 charcos!!! We get to climb up waterfalls and then jump into pools and its going to be awesome!

Tonight I am going to a chocolate chip cookie dough party, we are going to make dough and eat it and then cook cookies and make ice cream sandwiches with the cookies, and eat pizza and watch a funny moooovie!!! It is going to be great. Wish me luck on teaching!

Bad Weekend

This weekend I was supposed to go on an amazing eye opening work retreat to a Batey and help clean a soccer field for a youth soccer tornament and talk to people and learn things and be awesome. Instead, I set my alarm for 7:10, apparently turned it off in my sleep, woke up at 9 to be devastated because the bus left at 8:00. No one could call me because my phone had limited service and when that happens no calls come through. They tried calling my house phone, but my mom had left early in the morning to see her sister who had just gone through an operation, so no one answered. I would have tried to get there myself, but I felt by the time I got all my shit together, I would have basically missed the first day and it was a short retreat in that it was only saturday and return on sunday evening.

I am really disappointed because I was very interested in taking the tour of the Batey- a batey is a community that was originally formed by workers of the sugar cane plantations. They are the poorest, most marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic. The tour was planned for 9:30 am, so I would have missed it if I had tried to come later anyways. We get to see another batey later on in the semester but it is the batey that has received the most international attention, and thus, has been radically changed (for the most part for the better) and isn't exactly a true representation of a batey now.

This coming week I will teach my first english class to university students at my school! I am really nervous. I'll give an update of how that goes, but as of now I'm feeling like I have nothing to show for myself. Let's hope that changes soon...

DADDY YANKEEEEEEE

Hola mi familia y mis amigos, que lo que???

So, this weekend was a weekend filled with joy, laughter and excitement! Me, Benjamin, Luana, Michelle and Laura (the gang) went to la capital! We got there Friday night, and went to Michelle's Aunts/Uncle's house, which is HUGE and awesome. We settled in, had dinny (2nd time ive had mustard here I MISS IT SO MUCH!), met her 16 year old cousin, Daniel and then later met her 22 year old cousin, David. He took us out on the town, but we literally didnt go out until almost 1. hahha Went to a discoteca, pretty sweet. Also, he brought his friend along and both of them paid for my drinks (wtf? so nice!) Got awkwardly serenaded to like you see in the movies.

Ate some delicious french fries at 4 30 in the morning.

Next day: off to the beach, Bocachica! Sooo pretty. The water was so clear and the sand was white, which makes for a beautiful color. Maggie eye color hehee. So pretty. Then it was time to head back for the LATIN IDOLS CONCERT FEAT. DADDY YANKEE, DON OMAR, FRANK REYES Y LOS ILEGALES! so awesommmme! Supposed to start at 6, we didnt get there until like 7, but it hadnt even started yet (claro) It lasted from 7 30 at night to 3 30 in the morning! It was so fun, but alas, me and Allison (who was also there) were not destined to meet. However the boy gang (jorge, boli, kiki) managed to find us...? It was so fun, but a little dramatic. Ben got his wallet stolen but noticed immediately and him and boli tackled these guys and they gave it back and ran. Then everyone started throwing things and going crazy when Daddy Yankee was being a diva and taking forever to come out and it was already like 2 30. But all in all, I danced the night away and I knew all but one song of Daddy Yankee's and it was sooo fun! Afterwards we were of course ravenous, so we got some more hamburgies and fries.

So now, I am relaxing, going to 50 peso movie night as usual, I like that I have a pretty good routine going on. Love my friendalins, here's some pictures of the crew:

me looking like the only un cute one, luana, michelle, ben and blondie laura!
Bocachica!
Mike, me, Lu, Beautiful Benjamin!

Example of a discoteca bar...not that dark in real life (sometimes!)

hola

This week hasn't been very exciting. I had two parciales (tests), so I was just studying. However, I did go to the movies on 50 peso movie night, as usual, and saw The Orphan which is MESSED. Other than that, I went shopping yesterday on calle del sol and learned that they dont have the type of eyeliner I use here, only pencil or liquid, which is suuuucky--mom send me some.

Went to a bday party last night and it was fun to know everyone around and not be scared some creep was going to be creeping (there were still at least two creeps though haha) Had some of the best bizcocho (caaake) of my life. Really delicious. They like drench the cake part in milk or something so it is kind of the texture of tiramisu, very moist. Delicioso.

Other than that and personal drama, this week has been alright. But TODAY i am off to la capital!!! I am staying with the relatives of my friend michelle, I will get to see allison, saturday is the latin idols concert with Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and two others that I always forget one is bachata and prob other is merengue the first two are reggaeton! It is going to be insane, I hope I survive. So more news about that next week, babies!