Mucho Calor!

I cannot even begin to explain how hot it was at the office today, but I don't think I need to worry about the post-Canada diet based on how much sweat I produced today.  The day started out fine, with the air conditioner running, but then one of the maintenance guys came up to take a look at it.  This was good news in the long term since it hasn't been working well lately (moreso blows non-cooled air, but hey, I'll take that over nothing), but bad news in the short term.  For some reason, today seemed worse than all the other days that we've been without air conditioning.  Not only is it hot, but it gets really stuffy and stinky.  Plus it is hard for me to get work done, because one hand is always busy (see video):

The day in general was quite good.  It went by really fast.  In the morning, Robert and I stopped by Sweet Bakery for some espresso and croissants.  I had the croissant that was filled with cream cheese.  So delicious!

I adore their packaging

Cream Cheese Croissant and an Espresso

I had a project with a morning deadline so I worked on that right away, and before I knew it, it was lunch time.  Robert and I met up with Mari at Pola.  We all had pasta.  One random thing that happened was that we saw a woman who was in the process of dying her hair, come into Pola to get some lunch.  Literally her hair had the dye on and was piled on top of her head with a clip keeping it in place.  Mari and I were kind of shocked.  We stayed and chatted with one of Robert's coworkers before heading back to sweet bakery for another espresso and dessert.  I only had an espresso though.  I ended up having to stay late again today.  As it turned out, Sr. S. was in a meeting and so I couldn't even get done what I needed to.  Additionally, J plans on emailing me two more reports to review for him tonight.  Today, even though J sometimes asks me very odd/obvious questions, I felt as though he was really wanting my opinion on his work.  It felt good to be able to provide advice over and above the proper English usage.  Definitely feeling more like I have a real job again!

Cupcake for Mari, Brownie for Robert

Mari

Robert

Me and Mari, with our espressos

The weekend went by really fast.  Friday night, Robert and I had to stay late at the office and because of that Sr. S. gave us some taxi fare.  The evening was pretty chill.  On Saturday, both Robert and I ended up having to work until around 5:00pm.  We were able to snag some food from the buffet that was set up for some of the employees that were having a meeting.  While Robert and I were eating, J came up and was clarifying that I am vegetarian.  He then said, "I'm vegetarian too."  I didn't believe him since about 5 minutes earlier I saw him eating a piece of chicken along with the rice which contained bacon.  Turns out he was trying to be funny.  He said he was vegetarian because he likes all vegetables.  But he also likes meat too.  Robert and I had a little laugh.  Sr. S. gave us some money for a taxi and we made good use of that by going and getting our groceries at Pola and then taking the taxi from there.  On our way we saw a dead carrito.

Dead carrito on the corner

 I spent the evening playing Monopoly and chatting over Skype with Bart.  We had 3 really long games that were rather frustrating for both of us at various times. 

On Sunday, Ozumy came over to teach me how to make fresh chinola (passion fruit) juice.  It turned out to be very good!  I also taught her how to make grilled cheese sandwiches.  It was a great lunch and a lot of fun to spend some time together.

Chinolas going into the blender

Straining!

Mmm Lunch

 We also got to enjoy a bit of a storm on Sunday.  There was rain, thunder and lightning off and on for most the morning.  In the afternoon, I went to the MC with Ozumy and Robert.  I was asked to be a mentor to one of the new AIESEC members here in the DR.  The event was sort of a meet and greet and an opportunity for the new members to get to know the potential mentors and eventually choose one.  I had to leave just before the mentors were selected so I didn't find out who mine was until later that night.  I was matched with a very fun chica, Lostania, who is originally from Haiti but studying marketing here in the DR.  I'm really looking forward to getting to know her better and to help her get the most out of her AIESEC experience!  In the evening, I spent a bit of time doing some work that Robert and I had left over from Saturday.  I was pondering going to the colmado but ended up not having anyone to walk over there with (the further away colmado, not our usual one).  So instead, I just relaxed and got to bed relatively early!