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Well, I’m not exactly overdosing on it, but I’m sure eating a lot of it. Almost every evening I find myself at Rey’s Tacos, just a few blocks from my apartment. They have great Mexican food and I’ve been trying everything on the menu, from tacos to burritos to the chile con frijoles with nachos and the Mexican Potpourri. Very good and highly recommended, close to the corner of Sarasota and Churchill Avenues, across from the Universitaria Plaza if you’re ever in Santo Domingo.
I haven’t been doing too much yet, mostly reading and refreshing my memory about curriculum and syllabus design, materials design and trying to get my Spanish language ability a bit better than it is now. Ellen Duce, the outgoing, friendly Minister of Higher Education, was supposed to call me yesterday about meeting with various school administrators and/or teachers about giving workshops, talks, etc. I’m still waiting to hear from her, but I’m sure she is very busy. She holds dual U.S./D.R. citizenship and has lived here for 43 years. I’m also supposed to meet with the Yankee brass sometime next week to discuss my duties at the baseball camp, my main focus here, of course.
Not much else to report on–I’m doing a lot of walking, getting used to my surroundings, etc. I plan to visit the old Colonial Zone on Saturday, and then on Sunday I hope to visit the Malecon later in the afternoon than I did last Sunday. Hopefully, the place will be hopping by 2 or 3 p.m. More later.
I took a looooooong walk along the Malecon today (aka George Washington Avenue). This is the main road along the Caribbean in Santo Domingo, lined with high rise hotels and apartments on one side and the sparkling ocean on the other. On Sundays, the avenue is closed to traffic and it’s supposed to be a very festive atmosphere. However, I was early for the party, getting there about 12:30, and vendors were just beginning to set up food and beer stands, portable skateboard parks, and other activities facilities. I saw several people dressed up in clown costumes, but I have no idea what that is about–just part of the scene, I guess. Next Sunday I’ll arrive a bit later in the afternoon to see what the hype is all about. It’s a beautiful area, though, with the ocean crashing against the jetty along the road. I walked for about an estimated 6 miles and I’m pretty bushed right now.
I discovered that my apartment is not too far from a very large park, Mirador Del Sur, a good area for jogging and other recreational activities. I’ll have to get up early in the morning to avoid the heat if I’m going to do any running. Once I get settled into the Yankee camp, I expect that I’ll have a great place to jog and exercise. I’m hoping they’ll have a weight room that I can use.
Since last night was Saturday, I kind of expected the apartment building would be noisy: it was. One gal started walking around outside my apartment about 2:30 in the morning, screaming into her cell phone at someone. The person above me got home about the same time and started moving chairs around, scraping them across the bare floor, a sound akin to fingernails scraping across a blackboard–very hairraising and not conducive to sleep. I think this person followed me from Morocco!
A note to all of my friends who have emailed me lately or left comments on this blog–I’ll start getting back to you as soon as I move into the Yankee campus on Oct. 10, when I’ll get my own fast internet connection. The connections here in S.D. are pretty sketchy and can be frustrating at times. Former Moroccan students–be patient and I’ll explain why I’m in the Dominican Republic and not in Korea, like you expected me to be. More later.
Here are some observations of the DR and Santo Domingo so far. First, the traffic is horrendous, not necessarily in numbers (Bangkok holds the record in that category), but in danger. Drivers often ignore traffic lights, and crossing major intersections as a pedestrian can be quite a challenge. Looking both ways is not enough–you have to watch for drivers turning into the pedestrian crossing lanes, which are basically ignored. You frequently have to cross at your own risk. Riding a bicycle here is out of the question, though I’ve seen a few brave souls doing so.
There are very frequent electrical outages, perhaps as many as 5 or 6 each day. They mostly last less than a minute and Dominicans are quite used to them.
Santo Domingo is very expensive. Prices are frequently higher than in the States, and restaurants add on a 10% service charge and a 16% tax. For example, I ate at McDonald’s yesterday, something I am usually loathe to do. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, french fries and a coke, a combo meal that costs 210 pesos, but with the tax and service charge, it came to 264 pesos. There are about 33 pesos to the dollar, so the meal cost about $8. Can’t eat out too much, so I stocked up on a few items at the grocery store. I did eat at a taco place last night, Reyes Tacos. They were fairly cheap at 45 pesos each and not too bad. The waiter told me they were “picante”, hot, but they were actually very mild.
So far, I’m getting around ok with my limited knowledge of Spanish, but I find myself mixing Spanish and French in the same sentence. It was an interesting experience when I bought a cell phone yesterday, but the sales lady and I managed to communicate ok. In case you want to call me, just dial 1-829-905-7998 from the States. 829 is one of the DR cell phone country codes.
Hey, I just discovered yesterday that I can see the Caribbean from my apartment and it doesn’t look like too far of a walk to get there. I think I’ll do that this weekend also. Later today, however, I have to go to the Cultural Affairs section of the embassy, Rex Moser’s office, to meet with someone from the DR Ministry of Education. Should be interesting. More later.
Yes, I’ve finally arrived. The Yankees are putting me up in an apartment until the baseball campus reopens on Oct. 10. The weather is great, with high temperatures in the mid-80s, but humidity levels are about the same, so whenever I leave my air conditioned apartment, I start sweating profusely. I’m getting around ok with my limited amount of Spanish, but the people are very friendly and helpful. I haven’t yet had a chance to partake of the local cuisine, nor have I been to the beach, yet. So much to do.
I plan to tour the old colonial zone this weekend, a remnant of what was once one of the first settlements by Europeans in the New World. I got a glimpse of this area last night when Rex Moser, my immediate supervisor at the Cultural Affairs section of the embassy, invited me to a photographic exhibition at the French Embassy. It’s housed in a very old building, very beautiful and atmospheric. I hope to get some pictures of this area posted when I move to the baseball campus. I was told I’ll have a good internet connection in my apartment. The internet cafe I’m using now is very crowded and noisy, so I’ll look forward to having my own quiet space.
On another note, I’m not surprised to hear that a military coup has taken place in Thailand. It’s been coming for a while. I don’t think it will have much impact on the tourist business, one of Thailand’s chief money makers. I was relieved to see that it was a non-violent takeover, and I hope the military leaders keep their promise to return the country to civilian rule soon. More later.
It’s my last night in Montana, just in time. There’s snow in the mountains, and it’s been cold and rainy in the valley of Missoula and the high plains of Great Falls. Winter’s coming. I, however, will be back in the tropics. I leave for the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning, the 19th, at 7:30 a.m. It’s been a quick trip back to the U.S. I arrived on Sept. 3 after a grueling, 26-hour trip from Bangkok. Then, on Tuesday the 5th, I traveled to Washington, D.C. Then it was back to Montana on Thursday, the 7th. Friday was my physical. I only just recovered from extreme jet lag near the end of last week, when I traveled to Missoula for a few days.
Tomorrow night I’m supposed to be driven to a hotel in Santo Domingo by Demetrio, who will be wearing a Yankee cap. So will I. Thus, another year in another country begins soon. More later.
At last, I’m posting a new entry. My apologies for those who have been wondering why I haven’t posted in so long. I suppose it’s a combination of laziness, boredom and hanging in limbo about the new job. After several roadblocks, the Yankee job is finally a go! I leave Montana at 7:30 a.m. this coming Tuesday, the 19th, arriving in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic around 9 p.m.
The Yankee baseball campus is completely shut down until the 10th of October, so the club is putting me up in a hotel until then. I won’t be idle, though. Supposedly, I’ll be doing some work with a few of the local universities and with the Cultural Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy. I promise I’ll keep the blog updated, depending on when I can get an Internet connection.
I arrived back in the States on Sept. 3, but before then I was mainly hanging out in Vientiane, Laos and in Bangkok. There’s not much I’m going to write about those weeks, except to say that, as usual, the time spent in both places was fun, interesting and exciting. Laos was very rainy, torrentially so at times. Bangkok’s weather was more mild, some rain, but mainly partly cloudy. I always love my time in Thailand, but I’ll be happy to get back to work so I can pay off the bills I ran up. I’ll go through my photos and post some of the better ones soon, hopefully. More later.
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