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Finally, I’m with the Yanks. There are few people here right now, but some of the young players are supposed to arrive today and the rest tomorrow. I’ve got a very nice apartment, shared, I believe. I met 3 fellows from Venezuela–Tonito, JJ and Andre. JJ is a sports medicine specialist and he and Tonito work in the training room. Andre is one of the coaches, I believe. I think I’m rooming with Tonito; they all speak English, but their accents are a bit difficult to understand at times.
This is a beautiful campus–reddish-colored infields and sparkling green grass elsewhere. There are 4 fields, 2 for practice and 2 for actual game use. Were way out in the sticks, probably not too far from Boca Chica and the beach, but too far to walk. There are no houses, markets or anything else except for trees surrounding the place, which seems to be self-contained. We have wireless internet connectivity, cafeteria, laundry and maid service in the apartments. The food seems pretty good and plentiful. I’ve been told that I’ll have 3 classes per day starting in the afternoon, with about 7 students in each class. The size of the classes makes it much easier to teach. I’m happy about that, but each class will probably be at a different proficiency level, meaning I’ll have 3 lessons plans to prepare each day. Not to mention that there are no textbooks, so I will be developing my own material. This makes for a LOT of work, but that’s what they’re paying me for (plus, there’s not a whole lot of anything else to do.)
I pretty much have run of the place, able to use all the facilities, including the weight room. The complex is large enough that jogging won’t become too boring. All in all I’m happy about the whole deal, as you probably can guess. Below are some photos I just took of the place. More to come.
This one is looking toward home plate of one of the main playing fields.
The outfield of the same playing field.
Looking across the way at the other main playing field. The two practice fields are behind the main playing fields and not very visible in the above photos.
The main building where all the offices are located.
My apartment is on the 2nd floor, all the way to the right. There is a good-sized bathroom, but with 2 king-sized beds they are a bit cramped.
Yup, the Yanks are out again in the first round of the playoffs. Very disappointing. I sometimes think that baseball is all about failure and how to handle it. Think about it–good hitters, traditionally those with a .300 batting average, fail 70% of the time. The most famous baseball poem, Casey at the Bat, is all about failure:
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,
but there is no joy in Mudville –
mighty Casey has struck out.
Well, the Mighty Yanks have struck out, but I’m not going to dwell over it. Baseball is also about hope, so “Wait until next year.” Who am I rooting for in the AL playoffs? Certainly not for a team that has just bested the Yanks, so I’m going with Oakland. I’ll only root for Detroit if it makes it to the World Series, since I can’t stand the National League and would NEVER cheer for ANY of its teams.
As an aside, like I’ve noticed in other countries, Yankee hats are extremely predominant in the DR also. I did see one misguided soul wearing a Red Sox hat–I assume they let him out of the hospital for the day. 
It was a beautiful day this past Sunday, so, as has become my habit, I strolled along the Malecon. I went even later than last week, so many more people were out. Once the heat of the day dwindles, the place really gets hopping. I would like to have stayed into the nighttime, but I live quite a ways from the area and I’m not prone to walking in the dark by myself, though I could take a taxi. It was probably my last walk along the area on a Sunday, since I move to the Yankee baseball campus this coming Saturday, the 14th. I can hardly wait!
Another observation is about security guards here. You see them everywhere, guarding banks and other places of business, housing areas, and some private residences. Most of them are not armed, just like most of the official police are not armed, but there are quite a number of them who carry what look like sawed-off shotguns! Maybe it’s a “Barney Fife” situation–you only get one bullet, but you can’t put it into the gun. I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out! More later.
There was quite a large thunderstorm last night. There are also quite a large number of cars parked in the apartment parking space and outside on the street. What do these two things have to do with each other? The theft alarms in the cars go off very frequently, for no apparent reason, and most of them are very loud. About 2 in the morning there was a huge thunderclap. Almost immediately every car alarm, it seemed, went off simultaneously, set off by what? . . . the noise? . . . the air pressure? I don’t know, but it woke me from a fitful sleep. It was somewhat amusing, the chorus of alarms sounding off as if on cue. Pretty weird, too.
Sunday was a beautiful day for another long walk, and again I headed for the Malecon along the Caribbean. I started out a little bit later in the day so that I might see the area when there were more people enjoying it. The surf was pretty rowdy, crashing into the rocky outcrops and seawalls, sending spray across the walkway. There was enough that I had to clean my glasses periodically and I had to be careful with my camera to ensure that the corrosive salt water didn’t have a chance to accumulate on the lenses or get into the electronics. Anyway, here are the first photos of the DR, taken along the Malecon in Santo Domingo. With winter not too far in the future in Montana, Korea, Boston and elsewhere, you may, of course, salivate over the gorgeous, year-round tropical weather enjoyed here. The big hotel in both pictures is the relatively new (and expensive) Hilton. Notice the calm sea in the first picture, taken the Sunday before, and the rough surf in the second, taken this past Sunday.
There were quite a few people out enjoying the day, some rollerblading, others riding bicycles, some strolling along the shaded sidewalks and others enjoying picnics with family or friends. Obviously, this section is closed to traffic on Sundays.
My walk ended near the old Colonial Zone, but not having my city map with me and not wanting to get too lost, I walked back the way I came. I stopped along the way to enjoy some fresh popcorn and a soda as I sat on one of the numerous benches, shaded by the palm trees and enjoying the breeze coming in off the Caribbean. This is a great place to enjoy a Sunday afternoon. I’m supposed to be moving out to the Yankee camp either near the end of this week or the beginning of the next. Hopefully, I’ll get to spend another weekend in Santo Domingo so that I’ll have some time to visit the Colonial Zone.
Speaking of the Yankees, the playoffs begin today. Yanks vs. Detroit this evening. I have a couple of relatives who are Tiger fans; all I can say is enjoy the Tigers while you can–Yanks in four games. More later.
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