Not much to report lately. Tomorrow I’m traveling to Santiago, in the northern part of the country, to talk to folks from the Agriculture Institute about setting up an English program, something they really want to push. I’m going to the bus station right after posting this to buy the ticket. It’s about a 1 1/2 hour ride, not too bad, and Rex told me that the bus system is very good, very modern. I’m coming back on the same day, around 7 at night.
Then, it’s a 4-day holiday, more or less, with Christmas coming up. I’ll probably take a few strolls along the Malecon and maybe spend some time in the old Colonial Zone. I want to take some photos, something I haven’t done in a while.
In the meantime, Merry Christmas to everyone.
P.S. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. I was walking back from the Malecon last Sunday, and I had to use a restroom pretty bad. I decided to stop at the Hispaniola Hotel and use the facilities in the casino (there are lots of casinos in the D.R.). When I got there, I found that someone had fallen in the entryway and she was surrounded by hotel staff. I didn’t know what to think–maybe she was ill and had fainted. She looked like she was going to be ok. I walked further and when I got to the entrance doors of the casino, I noticed there were lots of people milling around and the lights inside were off. Something was going on! As I stood peering through the doors to the inside, I noticed that the lights were on in one room towards the back end of the casino, but there was a lot of smoke billowing into that room. Fire!! Strangely, people, mainly staff and security, were going in and out of the main casino as if there were no danger. Perhaps the lady who was being cared for in the entryway had taken in some of the smoke. Security finally closed the doors, but only after calling in a few more of the staff who had been waiting outside. I walked out of the hotel and continued my journey to my apartment, noticing that a fire truck had arrived at the other entrance and that most of the patrons had been evacuated to that side of the building. I didn’t hear anything about what might have happened–I suspect a grease fire in the kitchen. I’ll probably walk by the hotel soon to see if it’s still standing. I did make it to the apartment in time to use my own bathroom. 😉