Holiday Weekend

This week went so fast! It was wonderful! Monday was a holiday celebrating Saint Mercedes, so there was no school. The Catholic churches celebrated by having services in the evening for nine straight nights, then ended it with a big party. My family is not Catholic so we didn’t actually partake in any of that, but we did go to “La Confluencia,” it is kind of like a strip mall, on Sunday night. Originally we went just to get ice cream and let my little brother Darrell (who is full of energy) play on the playground, but when we got there it was packed with people and tons of horses, there to celebrate the holiday, I guess. Darrell LOVES horses, so naturally this was very exciting for him. He just sat on one horse, not even riding it, for probably fifteen minutes and was very content.  After, we got ice cream and Darrell got to play.

 

For dinner, we went into town and ate at the “Dominican McDonalds” Picca Pollo. They serve deep fried chicken and fried green bananas (very healthy J). After, we visited our grandma, Anna and aunt, Elizabeth. We got to sit on a couch. This may seem like a very trivial fact, but our house doesn’t have a couch, so Edith and I have come to really appreciate couches.  This time out was our first time going anywhere with our family, other than t church, so it was a big deal for us.

 

There is some speculation as to why we went out with our family that night, but one theory is we were being bribed to work the next day.  When Edith and I were first told about this, I misinterpreted that we were going to be have a family party on Monday and I was quick to agree because I was excited, but later in the night when I asked Edith about the arrangements I realized it was a work project. I won’t lie and pretend I was excited about this at all! It was going to be my one day off and I had to work; I had a terrible attitude about it. But Monday morning, as I was doing my devotions, I decided that I was going to chose to have a good attitude about it.  After all, my family is sacrificing so much for us by housing us this semester; the least I can do is help them. So I went down to breakfast and devotions with the small work team including Daniel’s boss, Paul and a couple from the states that was here to celebrate their first anniversary. We painted the front of the house and dug some holes to put beams in to start a “galleria” (porch) on the front of the house. We had a great time, and I even had fun! They worked the rest of the week to complete the project.

 

I haven’t really mentioned any aspects of life in the DR that I’ve experienced this far, but there are a few different things I would like to share.  First, it has taken some time to get used to not flushing toilet paper, but instead throwing it in a trash can (this is common in other countries). There have been times when I accidently throw it in the toilet and get mad at myself, then I realize it’s not that big of a deal they just don’t have the water pressure that we do in the US and they don’t want the toilet to get clogged. Second, “motos” (motorcycles or mopeds) are very common. Because cars are expensive, a lot of people use motos to get around. We found out one morning that they also use them to transport and move their things. For instance, we saw a moto with a guy holding onto and balancing a love seat behind him on the seat.  Another time, we thought there was a piano on the back of one, but then realized it was a big wooden box that is used for bread. We have a competition to see who can find the biggest, longest, widest, or tallest thing on the back of a moto. The reward is a mango smoothie from Brent. Lastly, it is not unusual to see life stock out in the road or out in the open. One morning, Edith and I were on our way to Josh and Vickie’s house and we found a huge cow in our path. We were surprised and freaked out! When we felt it was safe, we speed walked past it. When we rounded the corner, we found another lying on the ground under a tree like a dog would. It was so bazaar!
 

 

(This is actually the second guy we saw with a love seat; the first time no one had a camera, but we kept talking about it.  So when I saw this I was SOOO excited!)

                I hope from my stories you can tell I’m having a wonderful time here! It’s been a great time of learning, team building, and fun. One more fun story! On Tuesday night we were walking out of the base. About to get in Brent’s SUV, I said I missed his truck because we could ride in the back out in the open. Brent told me the SUV had a sun roof so I could ride with my head sticking out if I wanted to. So I decided I would just do it to experience it while we were driving in the parking lot of the base. I stuck my head out, doing the princess wave. He saw that I was taking this pretty seriously so he told me if I did this all the way to Josh and Vickie’s house and said, “Hola!” to everyone I saw he would buy me a chocolate bar. Well, I saw this as a dare and really wanted chocolate so I took the challenge. Now, we get enough looks anytime we go anywhere because we’re American so it was hilarious to see people’s reactions to a white girl sticking her head through a sun roof, saying hola in a really weird way, and waving like she was royalty. By the time we stopped at the colmado (a very tiny store), I had tears running down my face from laughing so hard and having wind hitting me in the face! These are the kind of things that make a great trip, awesome!

-Brittini