24 and Dust

While getting ready in the morning, I usually check to see how hot it will be for my walk to work.  Yesterday it said, "24C, feels like 31C and Dust."  Dust?

Yes, apparently there was "widespread dust" throughout the city.  More googling informed me that this is frequent in the Middle East and Africa (which makes sense) and some places in the US.  But dust on a tropical island? And when the humidity was sitting at 89%?  Regardless, it felt fairly normal outside, just a bit more "stuffy" than usual.  That was until later.  I've decided that dust makes it more hot.  Really hot.  Which was what it was like at lunch and later on that day.

I ended up running a bit late, so took a carrito again this morning.  The first one that had room had only one person in (bonus!).  The driver was unable to pick anyone else up so he stopped just passed Nacional and waited.  Then he turns to me and the other guy in the car, and says he's going to go down Lincoln instead of Lope de Vega.  I'm confused since carritos don't usually go down the rest of Lincoln, but I'm like, well that's still okay for me - just a few extra blocks to the office.  So another girl gets in who wants to go down Lincoln.  But we wait longer.  Another girl comes by, but she wants Lope, so she doesn't get in.  We wait.  Finally, since the other girl who wanted Lope was still waiting, he changed his mind again and said, okay we'll go Lope (he wanted that extra 20 pesos!).  The girl who wanted Lincoln was unimpressed but stayed in the car.  Also, since the car was so empty for half the way, I got this shot of the inside door.  Probably about 1 in 4 carritos I take doesn't have panelling inside the door.

I had lunch with Marola at Wendy's.  It was yummy, but then I was too full for ice cream.  It was crazy hot out at lunch (yeah I know I mentioned that already).  Marola thinks I should buy a car so that I can drive us around haha.  If only I made that much money...  I was also very happy, that for the second day in a row, I got coffee in the morning and afternoon!  Excellent!

After work, I met up with Pavol and Orlando to get groceries for the evening's dinner.  I had some issues being in the fish section as too many of them still have eyes, and that's just not cool with me.  There ended up being 7 of us over at the apartment.  We made salmon, rice, beans, chicken and potatoes.  Maria brought some amazing fruity ice cream (more like gelato) for dessert.  It was ridiculously hot (especially in the kitchen), but a lot of fun!

7 Weeks in the DR

I decided not to write yesterday because it was just an overly bad day for me.  Nothing too serious, just a lot of frustration at work which made me stressed and homesick. 

When I woke up today, I decided that indeed, it was a new day, and considering I still have months of work to go, I need to figure it all out.  When I got to work, I opened up a new word document and started from scratch.  Lots of extra work, but at least I will be able to feel like the end product is good enough for the client.  Only problem is that I'm still waiting on the answers to a few questions and new data from J.  So there is only so much I can put together right now.  But at least I have a plan of attack, and that's all that matters.

Also, here is a picture of the garbage outside the Chinese restaurant which I had mentioned the other day. This is actually better than it usually is. The dark kind of ring around it is some sort of grease. It stinks really bad.

Lunch made me laugh.  Again, I was at EmpareDado (since I don't know how to order at anywhere else yet) and there was a new girl who took my order.  I thought I was clear with what I said, but then she asked me again which small size I wanted, and the other girl who was nearby (and who has helped me the last few times) was like "6" (the size I always get) before I could answer.  This made us all laugh.  Then the girl was confused and was asking me something about the water and I swear she said 20oz (which is the size of a bottle), so I said yes, but I guess this wasn't quite her question, so I ended up repeating my order and then she understood.  I then proceeded to sit down at my favorite table and when she brought out the sandwich, she asked me a question.  I had no idea what she was asking me, so I just gave that look of helplessness and said thank you.  She thought this was funny, and started laughing and so did the other girl.  And I laughed at myself.  Once I looked at what she brought I decided that perhaps she was asking me if I wanted a cup with ice.  Normally they bring that regardless, but today they didn't.  I have no idea though.  Even though they laughed at me, I think they still like me, so it's all good.

I also have to admit that I've become rather obsessed with Kady O'Malley's liveblogs on cbc.ca.  The political geek in me has been indulging a lot lately in her writing along with several others from the various media outlets.  But there is something about her liveblog that I am particularly attracted to. 

ALSO!  I got served coffee twice today!  The first time, it was already made with sugar (but not nearly as much as the first time) but this afternoon I was able to tell her "no azúcar" (although my azúcar comes out more like sucre - my constant issues with similar sounding French/Spanish words - but she got the point).  I hope I continue to be on the coffee round.  I'm still trying to get used to the small size of the coffees.  I'm a regular morning Grande Pike drinker at Starbucks, so this is fine for an afternoon sip, but in the morning I usually feel like I need more.  I'll adjust soon enough though.

Randoms from Yesterday:

We finally got toilet paper in our bathroom at work after a week without it.  I'm not really sure how this happens.  I've gotten used to having to carry around kleenex when out and about since several places will not have toilet paper, but you would think that at work, I wouldn't have to worry about that.

At lunch I saw the Pola security guard, who stands out near the parking lot entrance under an umbrella, giving himself a dry shave with a disposable razor.  No mirror, just casually going over his face.  Regardless of how silly this looked, it's definitely not good for his skin. 

Grab the Nearest Plastic Bag

My weekend was short, even more so than usual.  On Saturday, I woke up and found that we didn't have any water.  Some dry-shampoo and splash-and-go wipes later, I was off to work.  I ended up having to working until 4:30.  This caused me to miss out on meeting up with several friends to do a tour of the museums in the Colonial Zone and also saying goodbye to Andreea in person.  By the time I got home, I had enough energy to make dinner and settle in for the evening. 

Sunday was not overly exciting.  I slept in a bit and then proceeded to do a lot of cleaning and other things around the house.  I scrubbed (and I mean really scrubbed) the tub to get it looking a bit more respectable along with the rest of the bathroom.  I also attempted to mop the floor in the main area and kitchen but I really suck at mopping.  I tidied up my room, mopped, did laundry, hemmed a pair of pants, did some ironing, etc.  Lots of fun...  Once again, I took the late afternoon and evening to just relax and prepare for the harsh reality of having to begin another work week. 

The work day today was quite stressful for me.  The report we've been working on for the past while (the same one that caused me to work an extra 3.5 hours on Saturday) now has to have a lot more changes done to it.  I spent most of my time trying to shrink* the report and ensure there was no duplication of data.  All of this led me to be quite frustrated, but it is all a part of the learning experience. I'm trying to find a way to gradually introduce some more efficient ways of doing things. 

It was raining at lunch today.  I always carry my umbrella so this doesn't really bother me.  What I do enjoy though is watching people and their use of plastic bags as a rain shield.  The other weekend, when Maria and I were waiting at Nacional, I saw countless women, dressed very well, walking out of the store with the bright green Nacional bag tied around their head, protecting their hair (looking almost like a shower cap or kerchief - there appeared to be a sort of art to it).  Today, while eating lunch, I watched the delivery boys come and go, replacing their large black garbage bag with a new one, for their main cover-up, and placing new small grocery bags on their feet to protect their shoes.  There's something about all of this that I like.  I think it is the way that no one cares that someone is wearing a grocery bag on their head.  In my mind, I still go, oh, they look silly, but that's because in Canada, most people I know would not consider doing such a thing.  I know I wouldn't.  I could not imagine myself being at Safeway, realizing it is raining out and asking for an extra bag so that I could wrap my hair up into it while I run to my car.  It sort of makes sense though.  I mean, if you put all that effort into your hair and makeup, why let the rain ruin it.  Sure you may look a little bit silly, but when you arrive at your next destination, the beauty will still be intact.  Yeah, I still couldn't do it.

I made a very yummy supper tonight.  One of the girls that I lived with in residence in my second year has a blog with some yummy recipes and even yummier pictures.  I saw the one with the strawberries and thought that would be good.  So I made that, along with some pasta that just had a simple sauce of olive oil, lime juice and pepper with a bit of Parmesan on top, and I treated myself to a glass of wine as well.

And because I haven't had a Reinaldo picture in a while... this is the truck that was outside his headquarters today:

*Today I had to explain to Sr. S what shrink means.  He thought it was a funny word, which, in turn, amused me greatly.

Green Beans and an Award

My sort of exciting news from yesterday, that I forgot to mention, is that I, along with my fellow project team members, received a Diversity and Inclusion Award for our work on The Way We Live: Edmonton's People Plan.  Obviously, I was not there to accept but Bart picked up my award for me and sent me a picture of it.  Definitely made my day better, although I wish I could have been there in person!

When I arrived at work this morning, for some reason, I could smell green beans.  This caused a craving, so after work I went to hunt down some green beans at Nacional for dinner.  They were delicious!

The day, in general, was rather lonely.  O and J were not at the office and no one really stopped by for more than just a hello.  I was hoping that Marola might have been able to make it for lunch but I guess she is out of town at the moment.  So I only went to Pola to get some fruit and such.  All of this left me a little sad. 

Also, I wanted to thank those of you who take the time to comment on my posts - it makes me happy!  Keep it up!

Smells like...

Well, indeed my understanding of there being a rat upstairs in the office was true.  JCL confirmed this today when I got to work.  Apparently everyone but me can smell this.  Maybe it's because I have never had to smell a rat before... I mean, in the literal sense.  The rat that I saw on the way home yesterday was still in the same spot.  I really hoped he would have been removed along with the garbage. 

All of this rat business has led to the need for a new strategy to deal with this mentally.  During my walk, it dawned on me.  I know a really cool rat.  A rat that even turtles were friends with... that's right, Splinter.  See, rats aren't that bad after all.  Photo Source

I also had a Mr. Baby Lizard sighting this morning.  He was chilling in the kitchen.  I scolded him for not eating enough mosquitoes.  We have far too many in the main area.  Plus, he needs protein to grow up to be a big Mr. Lizard. 

Enough of my silliness. 

The power was out for about 2 hours at work this morning.  Of course, my work laptop is old and only lasts so long, so boredom set in rather quickly.  I had received my "care package" this morning and I ended up opening it and checking it out since I was rather bored (due to my inability to do work without a laptop).  It was very lovely and made me very happy! 

It was very hot today and I spent most of the day feeling ill and lethargic.  The other downside to the heat is how it smells outside.  Garbage is a big issue in this city, often people just throw it out, not in bags, into or around garbage bins (or just anywhere for that matter).  There is a Chinese restaurant I walk by on the way to EmpareDado and I swear they just dumped a bunch of used cooking grease/fat near their garbage bin.  When it is this hot, it is disgusting to be wandering around.  The other place I have a smell issue with is in Pola near the meat section.  I don't know why it smells the way it does, but it is so bad that I gag.  So if you see me smelling my hand and wandering around Pola, you'll know why.

I ended up taking a carrito home since I was so tired.  I'm starting to get used to being crammed into a car with strangers, although the way I ended up sitting today left me with a bit of a cramp in my leg.   Just had an early supper with the plan of chatting quickly to mom and Bart and then heading to bed!

Oliver & Oliver

Tuesday was the latest event in my Dominican Rum Adventure.  Shortly after 1:30, I left work to meet Pavol at Nacional.  We met up with Maria and Ramon (Pavol's bartender friend who works at the Hilton) and headed to Oliver & Oliver - located outside of Santo Domingo.  The drive was fun as I got to see more of the city and got to experience an even greater variety of goods being sold by the people that wander between cars at stop lights.  So much so, that I made a list of all of the things I could have bought while sitting in the car yesterday:

• Strawberries
• Lollipops
• Potted Orchids
• Drinks of all varieties (water, Gatorade, soda, juice, etc.)
  
• A puppy
• Newspapers
• Windshield wipers
• Candy
• Freezies
• Peeled and cut oranges
• Coconut sticks
• Straw hats

Of course, there were the usual phone cards, sunglasses, nuts, regular flowers, regular fruit, and so on.

The tour of Oliver & Oliver was quite interesting.  I wasn't sure how the experience would be since my rum knowledge is quite rudimentary.  The employees were incredibly gracious and taught us so much.  We were able to see most all of the processes, including the aging process, the formula creation and testing, label and bottle design, bottling and labeling, and so on.  We were also able to try several of their rums - they have quite a good variety.  We were lucky to be able to meet the creator of Vizcaya.  He was pretty cool and said that he wanted to create a rum that would taste like what one imagines rum should taste like.  Quite poetic, for rum.  I also enjoyed meeting the graphic designer as he showed us some of the new label designs for a few of their new rums (a few of which we were fortunate enough to get to try!).  I was able to take several photos which was a lot of fun.   

We finished the day with many thanks and goodbyes, and they sent us on a way with a few bottles.  The drive back seemed quite long as we were in rush hour traffic and I was just really exhausted.  Pavol should have a more in-depth post on the tour and tasting on his blog soon.

Today was back to normal.  I have had quite a bit of work to do, so the day went by fast.  One odd experience was having J ask me if I would mind leaving our area for a bit so he could spray it with air freshener.  I was like, um okay... (It smelt normal to me) So I wandered over by the door and he sprayed away.  I think he told me that there was a rat* upstairs - but I have no idea.  Maybe I just think that's what he said, but in reality he was like, you need to stop being sweaty and smelly - the place stinks because of you and your Canadian body that can't yet cope with the heat and humidity.  Kidding.  I know he didn't say that.  He might have thought that though...

My package from Bart made it to Santo Domingo today, but did not make it to the office before I left.  So I have to wait until tomorrow to get my surprises!  

I also saw another dead rat* on the way home.  It appeared as though someone had thrown it out with the trash.  It was gross.

*Leslie, I'm sorry for mentioning rats twice.  There is a picture of a cute puppy from the rum tour below.  Just forget about the rats and focus on the puppy...

Here's a few more pictures from our trip:

Old Gold

Sunday was full of adventure.

The beach plan fell through since we woke up to rain. Instead, since it started to look a little nicer out, we made a plan to take Paula to the Colonial Zone (plus I wanted to take pictures of it during the day). The plan was that Paula would meet Maria and I at Nacional. When Maria and I left the apartment it was, once again, pouring rain. In the two blocks it took for us to get to a carrito, we had very wet feet and shoes.

We waited at Nacional for about an hour before we heard from Paula (she doesn’t have a cell phone yet). It turns out she had gotten confused and went to a different Nacional on Gomez instead of the one on Lincoln. But all was not lost. Maria and I did take time to enjoy a coffee at Nacional. We ended up going to the hotel by Paula’s place and just meeting her there. And then… we were off!

It actually turned out to be a nice day once we arrived and as such, we proceeded to walk around, took some pictures, checked out some of the historic buildings and then had pizza. After that, we headed back to my apartment so that Paula could learn where Pavol and I live. On the way, Paula told us that in Costa Rica they eat green mangos with salt. Since we were passing a tree with said green mangos, she picked some and then made it for us when we arrived at the apartment. Tasty!

Maria then took Paula to get some more stuff for her place at Nacional and I had the great plan of napping. However, Quentin and Jody ended up coming over to do some rum tasting with Pavol, and some how, I ended up rum tasting with them for the rest of the evening. Pavol opened up one of his best bottles of rum.  Prior to which I had to take several glamour photos of it...  I'm the unofficial photographer for the DRA (Dominican Rum Addicts) now.  We also tried hard to be true connoisseurs but that led to a lot of random descriptions of the look, taste, after-burn, etc. including Quentin's color description of "Old Gold."  Details and photos should be on Pavol's blog soon.  Needless to say, we had a lot of fun and I ended up being very tired this morning.

It is extremely humid today. I woke up and everything felt damp. Yuck. At 1:00pm today, when I went for lunch, it was 29 degrees out, but with humidity, 41. Also, JCL gave me some “literature” on the bible this morning. I’m not exactly sure why…  she said I should read it.  But my assumption is that she would know how much Spanish literature I'm surrounded by at work if I just wanted to work on reading Spanish... so perhaps she thinks I need to learn more about the bible. 

J didn't get into the office until I was back from lunch.  Then he took an hour lunch break.  When he finally got back he started singing loudly along to his music.  He is not a good singer at all.  That and it was a female vocalist singing a sort of easy listening yet passionate ballad...

I also had an excellent dinner tonight.  I cooked up some asparagus and had pasta with a really good roasted garlic sauce I found the other day.  MMM.

Champagne and Swedish Meatballs

Today was a lot of fun.

Although, if you asked me how I thought the day was going to be when I got up, I would have grumbled to you that I was tired and just wanted to stay home.  Good thing I didn't!

Work was a regular Saturday.  People randomly showed up whenever and left whenever.  O and I were both wearing navy polo shirts which was kind of funny.  No one asked us what band we were in though.*  I had more issues with my work laptop this morning - it took about 45 min until I actually got it to boot up.

After work, I walked over to the MC House to meet Paula and to go to IKEA with her, Andreea and Orlando.  I figured we would be taking a taxi there, since it's pretty far away.  We started walking, and I asked, "are we just walking to Lincoln?"  Andreea replied, "yes."  I just figured perhaps we would catch a taxi there.  However, we kept walking down Lincoln and finally I said, "are we walking to IKEA?"  Andreea just laughed.  I said, "had I known we were walking, I wouldn't have come!"  Now this is not because I'm opposed to walking - I'm all for walking.  But I was breaking in a new pair of sandals today... so I didn't really want to do a lot of walking.  But it was all worth it, even with the currently sore feet.  I also got to see the park that I had read about recently in the news.  It is filled with giant dinosaurs and such and is getting a lot of bad reviews as people think the land could have been better used.  I don't necessarily disagree as it is an odd place to put a "family oriented" park...

IKEA here is awesome.  Not for any real reason other than its IKEA.  It is almost an exact replica of the one in Edmonton (and assumedly most other recent IKEA buildings) which made it very easy to get around.  I made a few small purchases: a rug for my room, a new tea towel and a regular towel that is now my "beach towel."

One thing that was different about IKEA here is that in the restaurant your beverage choices also include beer, wine and champagne (well not real champagne champagne, but the champagne not from champagne...).  I don't know how I feel about uncorking a small bottle of champagne at IKEA...  It just doesn't seem right. 

I had my usual pasta to eat at the IKEA restaurant.  It was yummy.  I sent this picture of me to Bart shortly after it was taken and he said, "it looks like you are in Edmonton."

It was also great to have some time to get to know Paula.  We ended up chatting quite a bit when we got back to the MC House.  I'm looking forward to having her around!  I headed home just before 5 and chilled a bit before heading to Nacional to pick up a few things with Pavol and Maria.  We decided to have ice cream first and we also ran into Ozumy and Andreea while we were there.

Pavol was going to make mojitos so we were getting ingredients for that.  He wanted ginger ale and I said, you need to get Canada Dry - it is the best type!  And because I was in a goofy mood (and because no one has a clue where Edmonton/Alberta is) I pointed to the little map of Canada on the Canada Dry logo and said, "see this, I live behind the A."  This garnered a lot of laughs from the two of them.   In case you're wondering, the mojito that Pavol made was amazing.  I will have to get him to teach me in more detail.  I also found out that getting pedicures and manicures here is ridiculously cheap!  This excited me because it is actually feasible to include a monthly pedicure into my budget.  In fact, where Maria goes, the pedicure costs less than I usually spend on lunch!

Tomorrow, we are hoping to go to the beach, as long as it isn't raining.  This also means I should probably get some sleep.  I will leave you with a few more pictures that I took from the MC House balcony.  This is the area around where I work as well.

*Maria and I both like these dresses at a shop in the Colonial Zone.  We plan on getting each other the dress that each other likes for our birthday (we share a birthday).  I jokingly told her that we should both wear them on our birthday too.  She told me that here, when two people are dressed similar you ask what band they are in.  I like this a lot.

Cooking Without a Kitchen

Notice anything different?  A new layout and design perhaps?

I have been trying to learn how to create a custom layout and design (ie: teaching myself html in my spare time and also finding out I should understand PHP too), but this is a slow process, so I ended up finding this pre-made one online which will do for now until I can create my own that's a bit more personalized.  I like this one a lot though, it's clean and simple.

The last few days have went by quite quickly for me.  Wednesday, at work, was painful as I didn't have my laptop back until about 1/2 hour before it was time to leave.  R gave me some excuse about the wireless not working properly (which we had figured out when I first got the laptop) and that I'd just have to hook up to the internet via cable (yeah, pretty sure that's not what is causing my computer to crash... but good try). My poor blackberry battery was struggling to stay alive since I'd spent most of the day on it (and my eyes hurt from reading so many news articles on it).  On Thursday I kept quite busy at the office, although I left a little late since our pay wasn't quite ready and I had to wait around to get that (not that I mind waiting around for money...)  Today was similar, day went by quickly, nothing too exciting.  Ate lunch again at EmpareDado.  Had my usual 3 Quesos sandwich (see picture).

My evenings, however, have been busy and exciting.  Bart was hosting a gathering tonight and I had promised to help him make the food.  We spent all of last night and 2 hours tonight getting things ready.  It was actually a lot of fun, except for not being able to taste the delicious food on my end!  I'm looking forward to hearing how it went! 

A new intern arrived yesterday, Paula.  I was hoping to get to meet her today, but she was out looking for an apartment during my lunch break and I wasn't available this evening.  Hopefully I will get a chance to see her tomorrow after work.  We still have two more interns coming to the city in the next month.  One more that will be working with Paula and then.... so excited... another one who will be working at my company! 

And... bed time.

There is a Lizard Under My Bed!

Today started off well.  Then my work laptop crashed and I took it to R again.  I haven't seen it since.  Which made for an interesting day at work since the project I was working on, was on my laptop.  I had a bit of editing to do here and there, which is the only thing that kept me remotely busy today.  At lunch, I met up with Jennifer and Andreea to go to Jardin Verde, a vegetarian restaurant a few blocks from the MC.  It was such a lovely place and the food was great.

Here is my rice with curry:

Here is a iced/slush passion fruit drink that was AMAZING:

Leaving work, I saw lots of things - and traffic was crazy insane, more than usual.  So I happily walked along thinking, I'm totally going faster than most of you in cars.  There were two men on one corner, just a few blocks from the office, and one was shouting into a megaphone about something.  He sounded quite passionate but I wasn't able to make out any of the words.

They finally took down some of the walls around the construction site for the ESSO station.  It looks pretty nice!  I mean, for a gas station.

I also saw the result of an accident.  Someone had rear-ended another person.  I felt bad though, because the lady who did the rear-ending was a very frightened looking Caucasian woman.  The officer was writing her a ticket and she was on her cell phone looking quite desperate.  

Then, I figured out why traffic was so crazy today.  There was a seemingly huge party at Reinaldo.  Traffic had parked two to three wide along Lincoln.  What a mess!  I ended up having to walk on the road just to get around.

When I got home, I headed to my room and when I opened the door, Mr. Baby Lizard was on the floor, he scurried a bit, closer to my bed.  I let out a small, but surprised, "AH!" Then he scurried under my bed.  I have yet to see him emerge.  So yeah, there's a lizard under my bed.

And this kleenex I just thought was too cute.  It makes me smile:

Computer Diagnosis

Recently, at work, I've been having some issues with my laptop there.  It will often crash and go to a screen with a lot of squiggles on.  Usually, this happens maybe once or twice a day, but today, it happened 5 times in the first hour I got to work.  O told me to take it to R right away while the squiggle screen was showing.  So I wandered over to R's office with my laptop in tow.  R looked at it, seemed puzzled, then turned it off, turned it over and felt it.  He was feeling the laptop as if he were a doctor checking to see if he could feel any damage.  I tried hard to keep my laughter inside.  He looked up at me and said, it's hot.  I said, a bit yes. (In my experience, this laptop is far from being hot... my old Dell would actually heat up my table so much that I could feel the heat underneath the table...) Then he started taking it apart.  He would take out a little green piece, read it, and set it aside.  He took out a drive, shook it to see if he could hear anything, and set it aside.  Finally he put it all back together, gave it another feel, turned it on and told me it was good.  It seemed to work fine for the rest of the day!

At lunch, I was extremely determined to get a sandwich from EmpareDado, so that is what I did.  The lady understood me and I got exactly what I wanted.  I was quite pleased and decided to treat myself to a Ritter Sport since I had to stop by Pola after anyway.  It's amazing how much confidence and independence you feel when you have an accomplishment like that.

One month from today mom and dad will be arriving!  I'm getting quite excited for their visit and am now constantly thinking of where to take them, how to take them, etc.

Since I've been a bit skimpy on pictures lately, I've got a bunch today.  The first two are from last night in the Colonial Zone.  After I did some editing, I got them to look half-decent, as it was quite dark and I didn't want to use the flash and just had my small camera.

Here are some shots from the way home.  First is the intersection where Lope de Vega and Lincoln meet (also where the little park is that I like: see #18).  If you want to hear a good variety of car horns, this is the place to be.  Shortly after this picture was taken, a truck tried to get through going one way which blocked two both of the lanes of traffic that are trying to merge onto one.  It was very noisy!

Here is the walk home, and if you look between the tree and the pole you can see the ocean.

And this pole was there in the morning.  Nothing has been done with it.  Which kind of makes me laugh.

And here is a mosquito on my mosquito net.  If they were really smart, they would figure out how to squeeze through, since I think they would fit...

Feeling Much Better!

I'm happy to say that today I was feeling so much better.  Still sick mind you, but not the type of sick that causes you to be unable to do something.  Just the type of sick that puts a damper on your day but that's about it.

I did spend most of the day at home though.  I was able to sleep in finally, since I had a black tank top draped over my eyes and ears while sleeping.  This sounds odd, but actually, my ears were very sensitive the last couple of days and were being bothered by the breeze from my ceiling fan when I slept.  So I just covered them up with a tank top, but the only way to do that was to also drape the tank top over my eyes.  The added benefit of not waking up to the morning sunlight didn't even occur to me.  But was welcome, nonetheless.

I had a bit of excitement when I was getting ready this morning and discovered that the baby lizard we saw in Pavol's room was now in my closet.

Here he is close up:

And here he is with a bit of perspective as to his true size (yes that spot at the top corner of the closet...):

Anyways, he seemed fairly harmless.  I have no idea where he is now, but I'm trying not to worry about it.  It rained quite a bit today, off and on, so I didn't go out for a walk as I had planned.  In the evening though, I went with Maria and her friend Nicole to the Colonial Zone for some ice cream and a wander.  I was able to find the hotel that Mom and Dad are planning to stay at, and it is quite lovely!  I'm excited to see the inside when they arrive (which is 1 month away!)

What a Show Off!

Today began like most Saturdays... alarm went off, turned the water heater on, crawled back into bed and read my email/facebook/twitter, showered, got ready, ate breakfast... except while eating breakfast, I sat there thinking how much I didn't even have the energy to eat breakfast.  And then I realized that I was so hot due to the crazy ingredient in the cough syrup that I was sweating even with the fan on.  So today, instead of me convincing Andrew to go to work, Andrew convinced me to stay home again.  I think this was definitely for the best.  First of all, this meant that I was here when Andrew left today.  That was a sad moment, having to say goodbye.  I laughed at how little luggage he had and then laughed at myself for how much luggage I have.  When I went to go back into the apartment, I noticed one of the small chirpy-window birds was strutting around, pumping himself up and showing off his feathers.  Must have been some cute female birdies near by.  It was quite funny.

I proceeded to eat a mango and watch some Yes, Prime Minister before taking a nap.  Now this nap, was perfect.  I woke up feeling 10 times better.  I chatted with mom briefly and then took a walk to Nacional for some groceries.

My favorite purchase of the day (besides cheese, heinz ketchup and nutella):

Yeah, this time I thought I'd get a name I knew - even if it is a 2008 - and in a smaller bottle so none goes to waste.  Bart tells me that if I drink wine I will get better.  So I'll give it a try.

A lot of people were staring at me on the way home.  The bag boys once again assumed I must have a car due to the sheer amount that I was buying, but I said "camina" (walk).  I had brought along one of my reusable bags so they helped me load that up and even put it onto my shoulder for me (since my other arm was full of bags too.  So yes, I hobbled home with a gigantic bag on my right shoulder, a baguette in my right hand, and 3 other bags in my left.  I really wish I had a picture of this for all of you to see...

I made a very yummy grilled cheese sandwich when I got back, had a quick chat with Bart and then relaxed for a bit.  Until... I heard a marching band/drum line outside.  So random.  At first I'm like, is that what I think it is?  I went and asked Pavol and he acted like this was normal and he said if I went outside I should be able to see it and that people will be gathered.  Well I must have waited too long because when I got outside, there was nothing to see and the sound was getting further away. 

Cockroach!

Another day at home sick.  This cough syrup really does increase your body temperature, but it is helping with my cough.

When I went to make supper tonight, I walked into the kitchen, and in front of the fridge was a very icky thing laying on its back.  A cockroach.  He was a solid inch long.  Luckily, Pavol was home (I don't know what I would have done if I had been by myself) and I was like eeeeeeeeewww look what is in the kitchen.  Pavol was very manly and got the icky thing into the garbage.  Luckily he was dead.  We don't know how he ended up there, dead.  Very odd.  I blame it on the tiny ants.  They probably put him there just to spite me for putting little chalk circles around their hideouts...  Pavol says that is the 2nd one in 3 months.  I really hope we don't find any more!

On a side note, our apartment search continues.  Pavol checked with the place across the street, and it is too expensive.  We'll probably have to stick it out here for another month before we'll find something.  But for now, the search is on!

After tomorrow, the place is going to be quiet.  Andrew is off to his new job in Sosua.  I will definitely miss having him around! 

Welcome to the Gun Show

Since I stayed home sick today, I have no actual stories to write about.  However, after a chat with a few people, I've decided to try to give an additional type of insight into life here.  Up until now (perhaps with the exception of my hissing men post) I've been fairly focused on the positive things and random adventures.  This won't change, mind you, but there are certain things I think I need to write about as well.

Today will be focused on guns.  I know, odd.  While talking this evening with Bart, somehow I got onto the topic of how I see a lot of guns each day here and not just on police officers.  He told me that he was glad I had mentioned this because he probably would have been a bit surprised not knowing this when he comes to visit.  So here we go.

When I first arrived, the other Canadian intern had mentioned that I would end up seeing more guns than what I was used to.  My impression was that maybe once every couple months I'd see a regular citizen walking around with a gun.  Surprisingly - even to her - my first experience with this was on my 4th day here, at the Botanical Gardens.  The man who helped us get a taxi had a old western style hand gun (literally one with a western style embellished handle) stuck in his pants.  He also had broken Armani sunglasses on.  But that's besides the point.

Since then, I see regular citizens with a gun stuck in their pants maybe once every week or so.  Although on a daily basis I see several security guards at stores and banks that stand outside leaning on their rifle.  At first, I won't lie, I found all of this rather alarming and it tended to make me quite nervous.  Rarely do you see someone other than a police officer with a gun at home.  Those in their military garb (appearing to be off duty, going about their daily lives) can be seen with various types of guns on their person here as well.  I have gotten used to it, as much as you can get used to such a thing.  Already here, I have learned to be in a constant state of awareness as to what is happening around me, so it is just one other thing to be aware of, I guess.  I believe, that like a lot of things here (another post for another day), it is mainly for show - to prove how manly/macho one is.  Of course, it is also a form of protection too. 

In the end, this is just another one of the joys of adjusting and adapting to a new country, culture and society.  Although in this particular case, my preference still lies with living in a country with less guns.

Sweaty Cows

Today was not my best day.

I woke up with incredible back and neck pain, so much so that I actually took pain killers/anti inflammatories, and my cough was back with a vengeance.

The highlight of my day, perhaps, was the discussion between myself, Andrew and Pavol about how they have never seen cows in the DR.  My thinking is, they are probably found more in the centre of the country, where its a bit cooler and where agriculture is more predominant.  Pavol agreed and then said, plus if cows were here they'd be stinky.  No one wants a sweaty cow.

The first half of my walk to work was delightful as it always is with the roomies.  The second half was not as delightful.  Even my sunglasses could not protect me from the hissing and the comments today.  Additionally, because my cough has come back and seems worse, I figured it was time to get some medication for it.  Marola took me to the pharmacy and we got an expectorant.  Since it is not an American brand that I've seen before, I decided to look up the ingredients and compare it to the ingredients in brands I knew.  Turns out, one of the ingredients (while in a very small quantity) is legal for use on horses with breathing problems in Canada and isn't FDA approved.  In fact, it is banned by the IOC.  I also learned that it is sold on the black market as an extreme weight loss drug.  Thankfully, my amazing doctor had told me before I left that if I ever had any questions or concerns while I was gone to just email him.  So I did, because, this stuff seems pretty extreme.  I haven't heard back from him yet, so I'm still dealing with my cough.  I'm hoping he says it is a small enough dose to not have any unhealthy side effects because I really need help battling this cold/cough. 

One positive was that I just ate a yummy plum.  Now, all I want to do is curl up and sleep.  So, I think that is what I'll do.

Ah! A Membership Card!

After several attempts by the lovely and adorable cashier at Pola to explain to me what she was always asking me about, I finally figured it out! (To clarify, I was pretty sure she was referring to a membership/discount card, but today, I knew for sure.)  We have this sort of amusing relationship forming.  She recognizes me as, I assume, the lady who is always buying random food at lunch and doesn't understand Spanish.  She always looks amused when she sees that I'm next in line.  I find her adorable because she is always trying to get me to understand (a lot of people just quit trying when I tell them I don't speak Spanish).  When she was explaining the card to me today, the man in line behind me held up his to help explain and then he continued to tell me about it, and then she said to him, she doesn't understand Spanish.  I found this all very amusing.  I have a knew goal to find out (and learn) how to say that slowly I am learning Spanish!  That or perhaps I should just get a membership card and then avoid the explanations...

Experienced a few drops of rain on the walk home.  It was cloudy out but I chose to still sport the shades.  However, when nearly at home a man hissed at me.  Ugh.  I wish I knew how to tell them off in Spanish.  Something so powerful that word would get around to never hiss at a woman again.  I can dream, can't I?  I found it interesting, also, that the ocean was a dark gray, as opposed to its usual blue, even though the clouds seemed to end before the ocean.  It looked a little eerie, but in a good intense way.

And, since I did not have a good sleep last night and I feel like I'm getting sick again (!) I need to sleep now.

Arroz!

Well, Easter is over, for another year.  It was very different spending a major holiday away from my family.  I spent much of the weekend thinking back to all of the wonderful Easter weekends I've had.  So I was pretty homesick, but in a happy way.  That is kind of how I've been feeling recently a lot.  I miss things, but I remember them so fondly.  Everything a person had or has becomes even more special when it is not around anymore. But it also puts a good perspective on things.  You realize all the things you can do without and who your real friends actually are. 

My weekend recap is pretty simple.  I just chilled at home.  The highlight of Saturday was a nearly 5 hour online boardgame date with Bart.  He may have won 2/3 of our Monopoly games, but I dominated in Battleship and Scrabble!  We're such geeks!

Sunday, involved more chilling.  I did some "spring cleaning" around the house, which included washing my bedding, mopping my floor, and cleaning the bathroom.  In a way, I was kind of sad that I didn't get out and do anything, but at the same time, it felt nice to just get even more settled at home.  Plus, being around my ceiling fan the entire weekend instead of being in the hot sun was a treat.  However, one of my fears came true - the lizards have made it to the back of the apartment!  Pavol had a very tiny one (about an inch long) in his room!  Luckily they are very skittish so I don't think they will bother me...

The morning walk was extra nice today because of a lovely breeze that kept me from getting too hot!  Work was good. 

My triumph today was at lunch.  I had yet another day with no lunch buddy, but I couldn't stand another day of my usual fare from Pola (random food stuffs that I don't have to talk to anyone to buy).  So I marched over and headed directly to the small hot food section.  I had this great hope that I'd be the only one there so that no one other than the guys serving would laugh at me, no such luck though.  I got in line, and when it was my turn, I said, "arroz" and pointed to the yellow rice.  The guy behind the counter asked me what size, he saw my complete loss for words (this happens a lot because I'm starting to understand what's being said to me but my vocabulary is still too small to reply), held up one of the plates, and I said "si!" Yep, he then packed it up for me, I said thank you, and then headed over to find something to drink.  However, in my excitement, I ended up buying a diet V8, sweetened with Splenda (the label is even in English so I had no excuse).  So slightly less of a triumph in the end.

I finished off my day by making a stop at Casa Cuesta to spend some of my hard earned money.  I bought a little shelf unit, an iron and some small containers to help organize my stuff.

Yeah, We Totally Fight Beavers!

As much as I had hoped for a morning without construction noise, I didn't get it.  They started at about 8am and went until noon.  However, I had a great nap after they went home!

Most of the day was spent lazing around.  I got to chat with a lot of my family this afternoon which was cool.  Mom, dad, Jonathan, Grandma, Lynelle, Aunt Lois, Uncle Duane, Aunt Sandra and even Lynelle's cat, Pumpkin.  It was a lot of fun.  I gave Grandma a tour of the house, and they got to meet Andrew. 

This evening, we went over to Maria's place as she was making a traditional Dominican Easter dessert: Habichuelas con Dulce (sweet beans).  It was very yummy, and it was even Maria's first time making it.  She did great!  Here's a recipe.

I got to meet a few more people, including a lovely couple from France.  Which meant that I got to practice a little bit of French - although I forgot a lot of words...  Also, Pavol has this thing about how Canadians can't drink too much because we get violent and throw chairs.  I'm not sure where he got this from, but that's not the point.  So I said, "No, Pavol, we don't throw chairs..." and then he says to the French couple, "and they fight beavers." To which I replied, "well that, we do."  "Really?" says Pavol.  Hee Hee.  Anyways, this led to a discussion about beavers and then some confusion between beavers and otters.  So for the information of anyone who would like to know the difference between beavers and otters, wikipedia is here for you.

Anyways, it was a fun evening.  Andrew and I took off a bit early and headed back to the apartment since he had work to do and I was just tired.  Like usual.  On the way back, Andrew and I ended up talking about how I would enjoy getting into politics one day.  This, of course, was pretty funny to Andrew.  I don't necessarily disagree.  It is kind of funny.