Ups and Downs

Today has been both exciting and sad.

My day began by getting up as if it were a workday, because, it was.  I decided though that because I only work 4 hours on Saturday that I should take the public car to work, because the hour total of walking just isn't worth it.  So, I practiced all the phrases that Marola and Carlos taught me and learned a few others from Andrew over breakfast.  And off I went.  I'm still a bit timid with my public car hailing skills, but I ended up finding an empty one which was nice (there was another lady who was waiting at the same time as me so she got in as well).  However, after we passed Nacional, the car was full.  I had sat in the front, which meant that I had to scoot over and sit in the middle part of the car (between the driver's seat and the passenger seat).  This driver had a little cushion there which helped, but my one leg was still falling asleep from being awkwardly placed between the shift and the other lady.  Luckily, since I was RIGHT beside the driver, I didn't have to yell to tell him to stop (which also meant that no one else heard my horrible Spanish). 

When I got to work, there was no one at the main desk, so I couldn't get in the front door.  I decided to walk over to Pola and get something to drink (I forgot my water bottle at home) hoping that by the time I got back, someone would be there.  When I returned, there was still no one there, but another man was coming to work at the same time, and then when he saw that there wasn't anyone there, he said to me in Spanish that we could go in the back.  Not sure how I understood that, but I did.  Then as we were walking to the back, he started talking to me in Spanish.  That, I didn't understand, so I had to shamefully say "no entiendo," and he was like, oh, okay.  Like usual, it was just me and the cleaning lady on our floor, we greeted each other as we do every day.  I had some leftover work from Friday so I finished that up and ended up writing a few emails for Sr. S during the rest of my time there.  O and J didn't come into work, so my area of the office was quite quiet. 

Shortly after 1:00, I went out to catch another public car to go home.  I had some issues with this, as a lot were very full and I didn't think I could fit.  Finally, there was one that just had two people in so I flagged him down and hopped in.  Of course, by the end of the trip, the car was packed.  Still, being able to take the public car by myself made me very happy and a lot more confident!

I managed to do some laundry today, which was nice and I finished unpacking.  This is where the down part comes in.  After putting one suitcase in my closet and the other in one corner of my room, I sat back down on my bed, looked around, and then got hit by a wave of "freak out."  "Yep, I unpacked, I guess that means I'm actually staying," my brain said, "This isn't just another vacation."  Now I'm homesick.  It didn't help that while talking to mom, she was showing dad cooking in the kitchen at the condo.  I miss my kitchen... a lot. 

The other down is my cold.  Jonathan said to me today, "How does one catch a cold in +30 weather?"  It's true, it feels weird, kind of like when you get a cold in the summer - it just doesn't feel right!  However, it is here and I just need to get over it.  So no going out tonight and no going to the beach tomorrow.  Just resting and eating more fruits and veggies.  I think that my body is having a very hard time adjusting to the heat.  That and the fact that I am often cold at work because of the air conditioning.  I don't think it is healthy for me to be going from one extreme to the other so frequently.  Hopefully, I will adjust soon. 

And now, I will return to the book I've been reading - that Beth gave to me before I left AND that I just found out has been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts - called "eat, pray, love."  So far, I am really enjoying it, and am nearly half done. 

(Also, for those of you following my list of things I enjoy about the DR, I am hoping to try to sneak a photo of the purple and yellow Reinaldo building so that you can understand what I mean!)