Sunday on the Malecon

I forgot how noisy and hot Santo Domingo is. Noisy from the traffic and hot from the concrete soaking up the heat, although, right now, the first part of December, it is not as hot as it probably is in the middle of summer. Compared to the campus, though, it seems much warmer. I miss the Yankee camp already, the peaceful quiet, the beautiful landscape, the players and coaches–everything. I hope the two months go by quickly.

I have to meet with Rex, the Cultural Affairs Officer at the Embassy, tomorrow. He emailed me and said that we have LOTS to talk about. Nothing serious, I hope; I imagine he has more than a few assignments for me. That’s ok–keep me busy and the faster that time goes by. I’ll be back in Yankeeland in no time.

I took a walk along the Malecon today, as is my Sunday habit. Wow, was it busy. I stayed later than usual, past sundown, and it seemed that half of SD was there. However, I think it must have been a special day, like a National Holiday or something, because very large stages were set up at both ends of the closed-to-traffic avenue, something I’ve not seen before, and music groups were performing. I sat on one of the benches about halfway down the area, sipping on a cold drink, when a very large batting cage, drawn by a truck and enclosed with netting, pulled up. Sponsored by Presidente Beer and featuring VERY large speakers playing salsa or merengue music (I don’t know the difference), it offered folks a chance to take a swing at a pitching-machine-thrown baseball, with the reward of beer for doing well. I’m not sure what the sponsors said that the criteria was for winning a beer, since my Spanish is not quite that good yet, but many hombres (and chicas) gave it a swing. It was a good time for all.

I’m not that keen on walking around at night, no matter where I’m at. I’m very cautious and aware of people who might not have my best interests in mind. But, walking the 1 1/2 – 2 miles back to my apartment doesn’t seem to be a problem. I just have to be sure to walk back on the main thoroughfares, the ones with lots of other people or traffic. No problem. I wouldn’t walk at one or two in the morning, but, then again, there’s no reason I would be walking at that time of night. I’ve been warned by the Embassy to be careful, but, so far, I’ve never had a problem getting around. You just have to use a bit of common sense and caution to be ok. More later.