The Final Post

The last month has been a bit of a whirlwind.  It has been a bit of an adjustment, in a lot of ways, but also fairly easy in other aspects.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about something from the Dominican, the people, places and things I miss.  Sometimes I forget that my friends are so far away.  Take the other day for example, when I was standing at the bus stop waiting to catch a bus downtown and I saw a silver VW drive by, exactly like the one that Manuel owns.  My first thought was, "oh, I wonder if that was Manuel," and then immediately my brain kicked in and reminded me that it was definitely not Manuel.  I've had a few skype dates so far, but it still feels weird and horribly distant.  Luckily, all of the various forms of communication we have are really handy.  I finally got a blackberry again and I love being able to instantly send pictures in the moment to Ozumy and Maria showing them what I'm doing or seeing, and I love being able to receive pictures from them of those people, places and things that I miss so much.

At the same time, I have enjoyed a lot of what I love about home.  Being able to see my family and friends on a regular basis, going to my favourite restaurants and other places in the city, wearing my favourite clothes and shoes, cooking, getting to feel cozy again - it is all so wonderful!  I have even got to take in 2 Oilers' games since I got back, and even though we lost both of the games, it felt really good to be singing my national anthem, drinking Molson and cheering on my team!

Today, I started my new job, and because of that, it seemed fitting to write my last post that would wrap up the insane adventure that was this past year.  Going to work today made reality set in.  I'm back in Canada and here to stay (at least for the foreseeable future).  So now, I just get to reminisce about all the crazy memories, both good and bad.  Everything from eating green Mangos that Paula picked off a tree on our walk home, the day David lit the sink on fire to kill a centipede, having rats eating at our kitchen door, living in the princess room, relaxing on catamarans, eating beach food, breakfasts with Ozumy, Saturday afternoons with Maria, learning how to play Dominos, drinking at the colmado, power outages, explosions in the night, the pouring rain, the insanely hot sun, Orlando and I with our fry masks, Pavol making his own rum infusions in our fridge, looking out to sea on the Malecon with Andrew, videotaping the morning commute with Robert, Marola teaching and testing me and my Spanish over lunch, driving with Manuel, riding in carritos, chinola juice, mentoring Lostania, never understanding Yeimy when she spoke in her extremely quick Spanish, Sylvia's driving making me car sick, paragliding with Arturo and his friends, pilates with Mari, all those crazy Norwegians, prepping O for his move to Canada, teaching JCL English, all the laughs I shared with Sr. S and J, finding ways to communicate with L, learning I had a good friend in E, the girls at Sweet Bakery, Super Pola, lunches at the MC with Zak, rides to and from the airport with Don Pedro, Gerardo and 2 Pinocchios, eating at IKEA, the watchiman, the fruit vendors, to the slow internet, the ants, Marlon and Mariangeles' wedding, my mosquito net, moldy clothing and Zona Colonial.  All of it.  I wouldn't change a thing and will cherish all of these moments forever.

Gracias por todo!  Abrazos y besos!

One Week Later...

Similar to how I felt when I arrived in the Dominican, I feel like I've been here forever already.  So far, the adjustment has been good and the "reverse culture shock" hasn't been too strong.  The biggest adjustment has been the cold.  Living in 30 degree weather for an entire year, and then having to come home to -25 (-35 with windchill) was a huge adjustment.  However, I am happy to report that yesterday, it was about -14 and it felt bearable to me!  Hurray for becoming acclimatized!

The thing I miss most so far are the people.  Oddly though, I still sort of feel like I'm on vacation and that soon I will be going back.  I think I'll actually go through a much harder time in a few weeks.  Since I left, I've also gained a new friend I didn't know that I had back when I was there.  One of my coworkers just started talking with me during my last few days in the country and then sent me an amazing email earlier this week in which I learned just how much we have in common.  While it was sad to think that we could have had this friendship for longer and in person, I am happy that it was able to be discovered, regardless of the timing.

I am definitely more aware of my surroundings and how crazy we Edmontonians are to live in such a climate.  While driving over to Bart's place yesterday, I started laughing about the size of the snow piles on the lots of the houses.  I just thought about how ridiculous this would seem to most of my Dominican friends.  I made sure to snap some pictures to give you an idea.

Also, when I'm out driving with Bart or my brother (I've yet to put insurance back on my own car) I keep thinking to myself, if we were in the Dominican, we could totally run this red right now, or we could totally decide this was a turning lane... But at the end of the day, I am comforted by the order and all the rules we have here.

I've also been working hard to push myself back into my old life - but only into the parts of my old life I want to keep.  Bart and I went to the symphony last weekend, I've done a bit of shopping at some of my favourite stores, attended my first committee meeting in a year for Encore, and tonight, we went to the Art Gallery for the new exhibition opening and a lecture on Emily Carr.  I get really excited by these things, it is like the parts of me that had to be suppressed before, for survival, are able to be freed again.

I've been spending most of my days at the condo, organizing and unpacking, although it is slow going.  The job search is still happening, with more applications going out every few days.  I have also been making a lot of time for my goals, especially the cooking one.  Bart has been spoiled by lots of homemade meals and treats!

I also got my hair cut yesterday.  It feels quite different, especially after going for a year without one!  I am also taking every chance I get to drink water straight from the tap and, slowly, I am becoming less paranoid that every little tickle I feel on my arm is an ant or a mosquito.

So overall, lots of little changes, but so far, things are going rather smoothly!  It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks bring!

Out and About in Edmonton

On Thursday, I got up early, had Egg McMuffins with Bart before he went to work and then sat at home and wrapped presents all morning until it was time to meet the girls (Leslie and Benita) for lunch.  I bundled up and headed out to catch a bus downtown.  Of course, I just missed the #2, so I ended up having to take the #112 which made my walk to Karma about 1 block longer.  Not a big deal as there wasn't much wind outside so it was just a normal crisp and cold day.  The food was tasty, like usual, and the company was lovely, like usual!

After we exchanged gifts, the three of us walked over to the Legislature.  Benita carried on across the River Valley to head back to work, and Leslie and I went inside the visitor centre so that she could go back to work and I could do some shopping for things to bring back to the Dominican.  Before we headed in though, we took a couple shots of me outside for my Dominican friends:

Face tuck when the wind blows.

Full face showing when wind isn't blowing

After I bought a few gifts, I hopped on the LRT to go to Holt Renfrew.  I had a particular item I wanted to pick up for Bart, but when I got there, I found out that they only carry it in their Vancouver and Toronto stores.  So I ended up just getting him some awesome socks!

I then met up with Bart and we headed back towards my place, making a quick stop for groceries on the way.  We dropped off a bunch of the groceries at my place and took the rest with us.  Our next stop was Bart's parent's house for a quick dinner.  I was greeted at the door by giant hugs - even a running hug from Ola!  It was a nice evening!  Afterwards, we headed over to Bart's place to just relax for the rest of the evening.  It was so nice to have the fireplace on and to be all cozy in my favorite sweater.

I also had a few gifts that I got to open from Bart.  They included some sweet pink headphones, tea, chocolate, a "commemorative" Will & Kate magazine, and a bookmark!

We finished off the evening by eating the gingerbread men that Leslie had made for us!  Very yummy!!

Office Christmas Party and the Trip Home

Tuesday, after work, was our office Christmas party.  I was hoping to get to Blue Mall between work and the party to pick up some jeans I had tried on the other weekend when I was there, but by 5:00 I still hadn't received my Christmas bonus pay.  I needed to get the pay that day since the next morning I had my flight home.  I was told that I'd be getting the same amount as my monthly salary as my bonus, but when I went in to get the pay I got less than what I was supposed to.  My boss ended up asking me if I had received the pay and I said that I had gotten it, and mentioned the amount.  Then he was sure to send me back in to get the rest, which made me happy.  

O ended up giving Robert and I a ride over to the club where the party was at.  It was an outdoor area with a dance floor/stage and several tables set up around palm trees that were lit up with Christmas lights.  Of course, we had to wait a few hours till supper was served.  It was a buffet dinner, so of course, only portions of it were non-meat for me.  For the amount we paid, it wasn't really worth it as there wasn't a whole lot of left overs for people to have seconds.  Like any good Dominican party, there was loud music and dancing.  A lot of people were trying to get me up dancing and finally I did with one of the auditors.  I ended up having a lot of fun.  I also found out that my "Angel" was V.  For my main gift, I received some body wash and lotion.  Quite nice.  My secret person wasn't there again so I have no idea if he liked the tie I got him.

Here are some pictures from the evening:

After the party, I took a cab home with Robert and proceeded to pack until about 1am.

I was up early doing the last minute packing before Don Pedro came to pick me up at 9:15.  We had a nice chat on the way to the airport.  I told him how cold it was back home, which of course he found to be unbelievable.  He was also sure to tell me to pass along to Bart his greetings, in fact, he even reminded me twice to make sure I tell Bart when I arrived.  At the airport, my baggage had to go through an extra scan to check for any agricultural products.  During this process I ended up chatting with an American couple who had been traveling through the Caribbean and South America since October.  They were both quite nice.  The check-in at US Airways was a disaster.  They were able to print out my luggage tag that went all the way to Edmonton, but couldn't check me into my flights.  However, they tried to figure it out for over 1/2 hour.  By the time they just gave up and told me to pick up my new boarding passes in Philadelphia, I had to run since the plane had started boarding.  Security was a breeze and when I arrived at the gate, everyone was still sitting and waiting.  So I took the time to grab a snack and then sat down by the American couple and chatted some more.  We finally boarded the plane at 11:30 (the time the flight was supposed to leave).  Once we were on, we still had to sit there for quite a while.  Finally the pilot came on to tell us that the Captain had been detained at security due to an identification issue.  They expected that he would be released soon.  Another 15 min or so later, the pilot came on again to tell us that the Captain had been released and was heading toward the plane.  I was glad that I had such a long layover in Philadelphia, since a lot of people on the plane ended up having to take later connecting flights.

While in the air, there was a neat occurrence where a rainbow circle appeared against the sky and the shadow of the plane was right in between:

When we landed in Philadelphia I wandered through the corridors to customs, then to pick up my baggage, and then through the second customs and then to drop off my bag.  The next section directed me right into the next security section, but of course, I didn't have my boarding pass.  This was a bit of a hassle, since they had to send me out and I had to walk outside from Terminal A to Terminal D.  Luckily, it wasn't too cold, so being in just my hoodie was okay.  But through the entire process, everyone - even the US security and customs officials - were super friendly!  My layover in Philadelphia was long but good.  I had dinner and wandered around and did a bit of shopping.  Even picked up a new watch for myself and for Bart, along with the Lug travel blanket/pillow combo that I realized was cheaper there than I had seen it previously in Canada.  The flight to Toronto was uneventful and short.  I watched "Salt" but didn't quite get to see the ending.  I saw enough of the ending to know how it turns out but didn't get the details.  

Toronto was also a breeze, although I did have to have my hands swabbed at security.  I hit up the Tim Horton's for a sandwich and then made good use of the free wifi to catch up on some picture uploading that I had to do.  The flight to Edmonton seemed to take forever, as it always does.  I ended up watching "The Other Guys" and "The American" on the plane.  When I got into Edmonton, I walked out of the doors and looked around for Bart.  I checked my phone and he had written to me that he was going to be in the right spot this time.  I had a good chuckle, since I came out of a different door than I had the last time.  He had already realized this though and met up with me moments later.  The luggage took forever to arrive, but it gave me lots of time to get myself bundled up and prepared for what awaited me outside. It was cold and at first I had issues with the breathing since I had forgotten what that cold air inside your lungs and nose feels like!  Bart, of course, found this funny.

La Cucaracha! La Cucaracha!

On Monday evening, I decided to open up a little package that Leslie had given me before I came back to the Dominican.  On the back it read, "open when you need a reminder of Edmonton." Well a week of being away from Edmonton was enough of a wait.  When I opened it, I was so happy to discover an adorable card and two lovely and unique pendants from both Leslie and Benita, which they had bought at the City Market back in the spring.  It was such a thoughtful gift and made me so thankful to have amazing friends like the two of them!   Here are some pictures of the pendants - they are made from Scrabble tiles!  Funny thing, when I opened the card, the Scrabble tile side was showing and I kept thinking, why I and E.  And then I turned them over and realized there were pretty designs on the other side!  Silly me.

Cute black and white design and a birdie

I and E

On the weekend I bought my first plantain (platano) as I was determined to cook something that was more Dominican.  So on Monday evening, my goal was to make platanos frites - which are essentially fried plantains.  The ones in the restaurants look (and taste) much better than the ones I made.  But for my first try, I was happy.  Usually in the restaurant they are more squished/spread out... but when I tried to squish mine, they just broke apart.  I also think that sometimes they are deep-fried.  I'm also unsure of the right ripeness.  

Plantain in the peel

Chop Chop Chop

Add a bit of salt and pepper

Frying

Done!

Tuesday was very hectic at the office.  However, I am so excited to be working on a project for an international firm that involves me doing real actual International Business work - the stuff I learned in school!  It has me quite excited.  It's actually a project that I kind of took on voluntarily.  When it was originally assigned to me, I was given a contact in another Caribbean Island to speak to in order to get the information.  But once I looked at the list of questions in more detail, I figured it was all information I had the knowledge to understand and obtain.  So I've been working away at it and have, so far, been successful.  Lunch was spent at Pola again with Robert and Mari, and again, we went to the bakery afterwards for an espresso.  We're enjoying going there a lot, especially now that we are regulars!  I also learned something random that I should have known before.  While in the pest killing device section of Nacional we came across some traps for cockroaches.  I then read the Spanish text which indicated it was to get rid of cucarachas.  Cucarachas?!  My entire view of the song, "La Cucaracha" was suddenly changed.  And then I felt silly - how did I not know this before?

Chocolate Croissants that rival ones I've had in France

In the evening, I went to pilates with Mari.  It was a good workout!  We also bought tickets for an event there on Friday, where there will be sushi and a jujitsu presentation.  While it is not really my thing, it will be nice to spend time with the ladies.  After I had my nightly chat with Bart, I went over to Robert and Mari's apartment to try Mari's guacamole.  We found out that people think we both make excellent guacamole and we make it differently.  So it was time for me to try her version.  It was very yummy!  She also showed me this crazy bug.  He looks like a bunch of leaves and is quite large and sort of scary!

Mari checking out her guacamole

Crazy Leaf Creature

Today has been another busy day.  I forgot to buy more cereal yesterday, so I didn't eat any breakfast at home.  However, this did not upset me since it meant I had an excuse to purchase multiple pastries at Sweet Bakery.  Along with the Croissant de Chocolate, I also decided to try a Croissant Dulce con Queso Crema.  I'm pretty sure my face says it all.

Mmm cream cheese goodness!

 The power was out at the office, so J and I packed up our stuff and headed over to the framing shop to do our work there.  On the way there, J was driving down this kind of narrow street, when he turns to me and says, "I think maybe this is one-way..." This kind of made sense since all the traffic was going in the opposite direction.  I loved how no one, not even the other drivers, was fazed by this.  I do enjoy working at the shop (and there were less ants as compared to last time) since I get to check out the art well working.  I was sad though because going there meant that I had to miss out on lunch with Robert and Mari at Wendy's.   Instead, I ate lunch with J at La Sirena.  It was kind of awkward but not as bad as I thought it might be.  However, their salad bar did not compare with the one at Pola and I ended up throwing most of it away.  We stayed at the framing shop for the rest of the day.  It was nice to work in a silent, air conditioned space.  Every once and a while, J would interrupt the silence with some random story.  Usually they didn't have a point, but they were kind of amusing. 

The plan for tonight is to head to the colmado and celebrate both Costa Rica and Guatemala's Independence Days!

Back in the DR

After two flights and a bus ride, I'm back in Santo Domingo.

The remainder of my time in Canada was quite nice.  Bart and I drove back to Edmonton on Sunday morning, after a tough goodbye at my parent's place, which allowed for enough time to pack and to get in a couple more Alias episodes in the process.  We ordered in pizza from Panago for dinner and then we stopped by his parent's place for another goodbye.  His mom insisted on making me a mini pita pizza and giving me a giant chocolate bar for the trip.  Ola came with us to the airport.  I checked in and dropped off my baggage then the three of us hung out at Tim Horton's until about 20 min before I had to board my plane.  Another hard goodbye.

Me, Bart and his parents

Ola and I at the airport

When it was announced that my plane was boarding, I just sat there.  I was kind of in a daze.  There was a part of me that didn't want to get on that plane.  I hesitated, considered calling Bart and telling him to turn around and come back to the airport, but then told myself that I had to finish this.  I got on the plane and was unhappy to discover a woman with a newborn baby in the row behind me and a couple with a small child in the row behind and to the left.  UGH.  Of course there was crying from the children.  I was actually able to get a decent amount of sleep.  It helped that I had the row to myself.  When I arrived in Toronto, my first stop was starbucks.  I then found a cafeteria/restaurant near my next gate that had a half decent cheese omlette.  It also came with toast and hashbrowns.  I was really hungry.  The airport was freezing cold.  I was shivering for the entire layover.  I went to one of the shops to see if maybe they had a decently priced blanket.  They had a blanket, for $40, but I just couldn't bring myself to purchase it.  I went back to the waiting area and wrapped my light scarf/wrap around me and tried to stay warm.  It sort of helped, but not enough.  I ended up going back to that store and buying a pair of "travel socks."  It helped a bit to have those on but I still couldn't shake the chill.  Once on the plane, I was really hoping that I would have the row to myself again.  I knew that the plane wasn't full.  At first, a rather large man and woman sat down beside me - they were also with another two women.  There was an empty row in front and to the right, so once we got going, he went and sat there with one of the other ladies, and the other lady came and sat in my row with the original lady.  I think they were either Ukrainian or Russian.  They got in trouble a lot with the flight attendants for standing when the seatbelt sign was on, giving their liquor to the other lady (the flight attendants have to monitor the amount of alcohol passengers have), etc.  They were also really loud.  I understand though, most of the people on the plane were excited to be going on vacation to the Dominican.  I was just tired and wanting to sleep.  I dozed in and out for that flight, but felt horrible afterwards.

I had no problems at customs, although the agent took a while to figure out my visa.  I'm guessing they don't see a lot of non-tourist visas at that airport.  I caught a taxi to take me to the bus station.  I was too tired to argue/negotiate with him so I ended up paying RD$1080.  Technically that is their standard fare, but it is obviously hiked up since the majority of people coming and going to that airport are tourists.  The taxi driver tried to convince me that I should take a different bus to Santo Domingo, but I insisted that Expreso Bavaro was the one I wanted.  I had to wait about 45min at the bus station before we could get on the bus.  I was really excited to have my own seat, but that was shortlived as more people got on at a second stop in the area.  They played two movies on the bus: Dennis the Menace and Cobra.  Both in Spanish.  I was not overly successful at sleeping on the bus and maybe got half an hours worth of sleep during the 4 hour ride.  When I arrived, Gerardo was there to pick me up and take me to my apartment.

Upon my arrival at the apartment, I was greeted by David, Pavol, Robert and Mari.  Mari and Maria had went to Krispy Kreme earlier that day to buy doughnuts so I got to have my first Krispy Kreme doughnut (and my second, third and fourth since then...)!  I was very glad to finally get to meet Mari - she is going to go to pilates with me tonight!

The Post-Canada Diet

Work today was good.  I didn't have much to do, but that allowed me to catch up on a few things that I neglected while away.  I ate lunch with Robert and Mari.  I just had a salad (since I ate too much the last two weeks) and grabbed a table while Robert and Mari waited for their pasta.  The pasta guy took forever though and I had to tell several people that they couldn't sit at my table.  I think that some of them didn't believe me anymore, since I'd been sitting long enough to nearly finish my meal.  A lot of people at the office asked me where I had been (apparently people don't gossip here like they do back home) so I told them that I had gone back home to be with mi novio while he had surgery.  It was nice to actually have a more personal conversation with a few people.  I often feel like I barely know people here - it is so different.  I'm used to having info on what everyone is doing at work, but here, no one really talks to me about that sort of thing.

I'm still really emotional today.  Lots of ups and downs.  I feel like I did when I first arrived, except things are less scary since I know my way around and can speak some Spanish.

My Last Week at Home

The remainder of my week was extremely relaxing.  For the most part, Bart and I just lazed around home, eating yummy food and watching Alias (we're nearly finished Season 2).  On Sunday night, Leslie and Ryan stopped by with pizza from Funky Pickle for a games night.  Even though we were just having pizza, I set the table nicely and we opened a bottle of my favorite wine.

Luigi Bosca 2007 Malbec

After dinner we played Monopoly City and Pictionary.  The results were similar to our last game night.  Leslie won Monopoly, followed by myself, then Bart and then Ryan.  Pictionary was won by Leslie and I, although Ryan and Bart put up a much better fight than the last time.

Monday was a lazy day - I don't even remember what we did.

Tuesday was similar, although in the evening we went over to Bart's parent's house for dinner.  As always, there was way too much food and I was stuffed by the end of dinner.

On Wednesday, Bart had an interview so I left the house for the majority of the day so that he could prepare and such.  I went over to my condo, did some laundry and then went out to Oliver Square to run a few errands.  I picked up Leslie at around 2:00 and we headed to West Edmonton Mall to do a bit of shopping.  I had to drop off a bottle of rum that Pavol had sent with me to give to a fellow Rum Expert from Edmonton.  I took care of that and then had lunch at Jugo Juice.  I tried to find a pair of dress pants on sale.  While I was able to find some nice ones that were a good price, nothing seemed to fit me.  I gave up.  We met up with Ola and Eva and did some more shopping with them.  Ola decided to get a makeover done at Sephora and since Leslie and I were on a bit of a timeframe, we continued on just the two of us.  We went into the new Victoria Secret store.  It is quite nice, although, of course, the one thing I did like didn't come in my size.  So frustrating.  We also made a quick trip to Bath and Body Works since I was wanting to get a new Body Mist.  I was successful in that endeavor.   When it was time to leave, I had Bart call Karma to order some Indian takeout for dinner that I would pick up once I was back downtown.

Rice, Naan, Chana Masala, Gobhi Kaju Masala and Samosas!

Ola also came over that night and we rented Date Night.

We decided to take a mini-vacation to Lloydminster so that Bart could relax and recover in a new setting and I could see my family.  After Bart's appointment and my running around we drove back to my home town.  The first evening, after a lovely dinner with BBQ pineapple chicken burgers, rice, and asparagus, we headed out to the neighbourhood park to partake in some Bocce.  Dad was the overall winner.

Jonathan's Mad Bocce Skills

On Friday, I took Bart out and about to see the sights of the city, which included Bart's first trip to Saskatchewan (hee hee).  I had a terrible time attempting to find a couple kettles like the one I took to the Dominican with me.  However, I was finally successful at Home Hardware, even though I had to return again today to pick them up since they had not yet been unpacked from their warehouse.  Mom made her very yummy broccoli casserole for me that night and the rest of the family had ribs.  In the evening, we went out to the tennis courts and played a few matches.  I was better than I remembered myself being.  I don't think I had played tennis since high school.

Me and mom playing against Jonathan

Me with a great shot (obviously!)

Today, I was able to finish my errands before heading to Bud Miller Park for a friendly game of mini golf.  Dad ended up getting 3 hole in one's which was ridiculous.  That gave him a hefty lead over the rest of us and he ended up being the only one under par at the end of the game.

Putting

Bart and I

Hello Gorilla

Jonathan and Dad

Dad and Jonathan then went over to play some more tennis while mom, Bart and I took a walk around the lake.

Oak Tree

Flowers

Canadian Geese

Dad's Serve

Mom had cold feet

Spectator Bart

Jonathan

We had another lovely meal.  My other food request was zucchini casserole and my mom made that for me tonight.  After dinner, Bart and Jonathan played a lot of Mario Kart on DS.  It was pretty funny as the two of them kept giggling whenever they took the other one out or visa-versa.   I find it hard to believe that I will be heading to the airport in 24 hours.  My visit home has been so enjoyable.  A part of me wishes that I didn't have to go back, but at the same time, I want to go back and to carry on with the life I have built in the Dominican.  I am now half done my internship and I know that the next 5.5 months will go by very fast!