The end of last week puttered along as usual. It was a whole lot of going to work, coming home, going to work, and coming home. Thursday, the 6th, was the Dia de Reyes and so I decided to give two small gifts to the family I live with. Instead of having the holiday that Thursday though, we got Monday off instead. That was okay with me, because having 2 whole days off in a row always feels good.
I spent the entire weekend just chilling at home. I was hoping to get out and go to the beach but everyone else seemed to have plans. On the home front, I had to deal with a lot of noise. Since the family has sold the apartment, it seems as though they are starting to get rid of a lot of stuff and are starting to pack up and move some things. The worst part of being at home for so long was having to deal with hearing, in their entirety, every Skype conversation they had. Their computer is hooked up to speakers and usually, the music is on quite loudly, which I don't mind, but when its a Skype chat, it's a different story. I even recorded how loud it was on my blackberry, while inside my room with the door closed and sent it to Bart as proof. My other dealing with the loud Skype chat occurred on Monday morning. I was in the kitchen, making my breakfast in silence as I was the only one at home. Then out of no where comes the ringing of an incoming Skype call, through the speakers on full volume. Scared the crap out of me. Bart also had a few laughs on Saturday night as Allison had a friend over and they were playing video games in the next room, of course up loud, and shrieking every once and a while like young girls do. Bart could hear it all on his end. Later on they also watched a movie in the living room, and again, Bart could even make out the songs that were playing during the movie. Yep, over 10 months in and I still can't deal with how noisy the DR is. I did, however, get a chance to watch two movies this weekend, Changeling and The Kids are All Right, both of which I enjoyed.
Robert was back at work today after having taken a bit of a vacation touring around the countryside. It was nice to have someone to chat with and someone to eat lunch with. We ended up going to Quiznos and I was quite impressed at how close they got my name this time (they take your name to go along with your order). I usually get Christina (thus my Spanish nickname is Christina) or Christian, but today, I got Kirstin. Pretty good, especially because in Spanish an i makes an ee sound. Keeersteeen. Good times. Anyway, I had been hoping for a relaxed day with just a bit of research and translation work to do, but instead we were given a few high priority tasks that ended up filling the entire day, a bit of which has been carried over till tomorrow. I also got a bit of bad news today. Originally the plan was that Paula and I were going to go to Puerto Rico on Jan 21 for a few days (another long weekend) but she told me today that she can't go anymore. I'm still planning on going on my own (and I've put the offer out there to anyone else who might be interested in going), although if I don't find an AIESECer to bunk with or someone to split accommodation costs with, it may become too expensive since it is high season... We'll see though.
Now, back to working on job applications!
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, November 22, 2010
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
First of all, an apology. I neglected my blog for a bit longer than I like to without having an actual reason to do so. That being said, it was a fairly busy week!
It all began last Monday, and being back at work after vacation. It seemed as though I was missed as I got a lot of "KIERSTIN!" at the office. When O came in, he said right away, "Oh good, you're back, I tried calling you!" Uh oh. In the end it turns out that he had wanted some advice on his impending move to Canada. At least it wasn't work related. It was nice to be back at the office and I got stuck with a lot of work. Some of it was interesting, at least for a while, and the other stuff, well not so much. I ended up spending a lot of the week doing research on poultry farming. Random. I met up with Ozumy, Marola, Robert and Mari for lunch at KFC. I haven't eaten there in a long time! We also grabbed some ice cream at Wendy's on the way back! Mmm...
On the way home from the office, I met up with Mari and Robert at Nacional. A few exciting things happened there. First of all, we saw something that was ridiculous but because it was ridiculous, I had the urge to buy it. I resisted though.
Then I found star fruit for RD$20 which is less than $1 Canadian! Amazing! And they tasted way better than the ones we get at home!
Then I decided it was time to start getting into the Christmas spirit, and what better way to do that then by buying a festive box of tissues!
The three of us decided to make dinner together. Rather, I made some pasta and Robert and Mari made some bruschetta. It was nice to sit and have a meal together.
On Tuesday, I was supposed to meet up with Lostania at lunch to go over some of the things that need to be done for the mentoring process. She ended up having to stay at school longer than planned, so I called up Mari to see if she was interested in a late lunch. Luckily, I caught her just as she was heading out the door to get some food. We met up at Sweet Bakery and had giant salads! In the evening, we went to pilates. We both had to pay our November fees and that's when we found out that starting in December the monthly rate is increasing from RD$1000 to RD$1300. Unfortunately, this means pilates is now unaffordable. In addition to the increased rate, our usual ride home from Sylvia will be no longer since she is moving back to Wales in December. Since the taxi costs us RD$150 each night, plus the RD$40 for carritos to the studio, we're looking at a total cost of RD$2220 per month, each.
I was able to meet up with Lostania for a late lunch on Wednesday. We went to Emparedado for some sandwiches and had a nice chat. I was also quite happy to finally get paid on Wednesday. It was only 2 days late, but still. I mean it shouldn't be late at all. I miss direct deposit. In the evening, we went over to Sylvia and Arturo's place. It was a bit difficult to find but eventually we saw Sylvia standing out on the street outside the house. Gerardo, Paula, Yeimy and Pavol were on their way as well. They were a bit lost so Sylvia was on the phone with them and had them honk so that we could figure out how close they were. It was rather amusing. We were originally supposed to have a movie night but ended up playing Cranium again. I was on a team with Arturo and Pavol. We sort of won. By that, I mean, when we called it a game, we were one card away from the win, and no one else was in the middle section yet. It was nice to have the gang all together again. It's been awhile since we've done that. It was a really late night though which set me up for extreme exhaustion for the rest of the week!
I had another late lunch with Mari on Thursday. Just as she was about to leave to meet up with me, the Gas Guy showed up to look at their gas tank. Luckily my lunch hour is flexible so I was able to chill out at work and wait for her to finish up at home. We decided to go to Pola, and while I was waiting there for her I saw a kind of funny sight: a motorbike with about 10-15 plastic lawn chairs piled up on the back. I really wish I was able to get a picture of that. Mari and I also saw a monk at lunch time too, as we were heading over to Sweet Bakery, dressed in the awesome brown robe. I was so tired after work but I still managed to drag myself to pilates. More and more businesses and other areas of the city are getting all of their Christmas decorations up. Judging from the sheer amount of lights that are put up, I fear that there will be more power shortages in December! This is at one of the big banks. From the other side, their giant nativity scene is visible.
I left work a bit early on Friday to meet up with Adaica. She was taking me to see the apartment in which David had been living in before he left. The apartment is quite close to where I currently live. In the mornings, it will be a slightly shorter walk to where I go to catch the carrito, but a longer walk home in the evenings. The lady was very nice. She lives there with her young daughter. She is a music teacher and had opera on in the background when we arrived. I knew right away that I would like her! The apartment is small but quite nice. It has a modern kitchen which I enjoy. The room that she has for rent is affectionately known as the "Princess Room." This is because there are princess murals on the walls and the bed is in a princess type shape (I can't remember if it is like a flower or a crown or what). It's cute and while not really my style, I can deal with it for 3 months. There is also a TV in the room with cable which excites me a lot since I never get to watch TV here and I really want to watch more shows in Spanish to help me learn! So, I said I'd take the place and decided to move in this coming weekend. I'm so relieved to have a place to live! I'm also nervous and a bit excited too.
After viewing the apartment, we headed back to the current apartment so that I could get changed out of my work clothes. Then Adaica, Robert and I headed over to the AIESEC office since the trainees were having a meeting with the MC team. The meeting went well and afterwards many more AIESECers and other friends showed up for "Russian Night." Sasha had prepared several dishes for us to try and a St. Petersburg shot (vodka, grenadine and tabasco). She also did a short presentation on Russia and had us learn a few words in Russian. We also had the opportunity to meet two of the interns that are in the other city, San Francisco de Macoris. At the party, we got some bad news about our Saturday plans. We were supposed to go to 27 Charcos but because multiple cholera cases had surfaced in the Dominican, they were advising us not to go since the chance of ingesting water is fairly high when you're jumping into waterfalls... We're all wondering if someone is trying to make it clear to us that we shouldn't be going on that trip!!
Since we were no longer going up north, I went into work on Saturday morning. As I do every morning, I wandered over to Sweet Bakery before heading into the office. While I was walking, a gray car pulled up beside me and someone did the sssssst ssssst thing at me. For some reason I actually turned and looked. It was A, the driver from work. He asked me where I was going (he seemed confused, since I have to pass the office to go to the bakery), and I replied, "Sweet Bakery," and pointed up ahead. He seemed confused by this but realized that I wasn't going far. I added in, "tengo hambre" (I'm hungry) to make sure he understood me. We waved goodbye to each other and then I carried on my way. It was J's birthday so once I found out I made a point of saying Happy Birthday to him. He was very happy that I did so! After work I picked up a few groceries and headed home to have a nice nap.
That evening, Mari and Robert invited Pavol and I to go to the movies with them. We went to see Social Network. It was actually quite good! That and I was happy to have some popcorn. Mari is always cold (I don't understand this at all!) and had brought along socks and a blanket to the theatre. I'll admit that by the end my feet were a tad cold but still. After the movie, we headed to the colmado for some drinks and sandwiches. They messed up my order though and gave me a sandwich with only cheese instead of tomato and cheese. Oh well.
On Sunday, everyone went to the beach. I decided to stay home since I wanted to get some cleaning and packing done plus I had plans to skype with Leslie earlier on in the day, and an early date night with Bart later on. A fairly low key day overall but I definitely needed the time to myself. Plus it rained a bit that day at the beach anyway, so I didn't miss out on much.
It all began last Monday, and being back at work after vacation. It seemed as though I was missed as I got a lot of "KIERSTIN!" at the office. When O came in, he said right away, "Oh good, you're back, I tried calling you!" Uh oh. In the end it turns out that he had wanted some advice on his impending move to Canada. At least it wasn't work related. It was nice to be back at the office and I got stuck with a lot of work. Some of it was interesting, at least for a while, and the other stuff, well not so much. I ended up spending a lot of the week doing research on poultry farming. Random. I met up with Ozumy, Marola, Robert and Mari for lunch at KFC. I haven't eaten there in a long time! We also grabbed some ice cream at Wendy's on the way back! Mmm...
On the way home from the office, I met up with Mari and Robert at Nacional. A few exciting things happened there. First of all, we saw something that was ridiculous but because it was ridiculous, I had the urge to buy it. I resisted though.
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| Vodka wrapped in faux fur. |
Then I found star fruit for RD$20 which is less than $1 Canadian! Amazing! And they tasted way better than the ones we get at home!
 |
| Cheap Star Fruit |
Then I decided it was time to start getting into the Christmas spirit, and what better way to do that then by buying a festive box of tissues!
 |
| Christmas Tissues |
The three of us decided to make dinner together. Rather, I made some pasta and Robert and Mari made some bruschetta. It was nice to sit and have a meal together.
On Tuesday, I was supposed to meet up with Lostania at lunch to go over some of the things that need to be done for the mentoring process. She ended up having to stay at school longer than planned, so I called up Mari to see if she was interested in a late lunch. Luckily, I caught her just as she was heading out the door to get some food. We met up at Sweet Bakery and had giant salads! In the evening, we went to pilates. We both had to pay our November fees and that's when we found out that starting in December the monthly rate is increasing from RD$1000 to RD$1300. Unfortunately, this means pilates is now unaffordable. In addition to the increased rate, our usual ride home from Sylvia will be no longer since she is moving back to Wales in December. Since the taxi costs us RD$150 each night, plus the RD$40 for carritos to the studio, we're looking at a total cost of RD$2220 per month, each.
I was able to meet up with Lostania for a late lunch on Wednesday. We went to Emparedado for some sandwiches and had a nice chat. I was also quite happy to finally get paid on Wednesday. It was only 2 days late, but still. I mean it shouldn't be late at all. I miss direct deposit. In the evening, we went over to Sylvia and Arturo's place. It was a bit difficult to find but eventually we saw Sylvia standing out on the street outside the house. Gerardo, Paula, Yeimy and Pavol were on their way as well. They were a bit lost so Sylvia was on the phone with them and had them honk so that we could figure out how close they were. It was rather amusing. We were originally supposed to have a movie night but ended up playing Cranium again. I was on a team with Arturo and Pavol. We sort of won. By that, I mean, when we called it a game, we were one card away from the win, and no one else was in the middle section yet. It was nice to have the gang all together again. It's been awhile since we've done that. It was a really late night though which set me up for extreme exhaustion for the rest of the week!
I had another late lunch with Mari on Thursday. Just as she was about to leave to meet up with me, the Gas Guy showed up to look at their gas tank. Luckily my lunch hour is flexible so I was able to chill out at work and wait for her to finish up at home. We decided to go to Pola, and while I was waiting there for her I saw a kind of funny sight: a motorbike with about 10-15 plastic lawn chairs piled up on the back. I really wish I was able to get a picture of that. Mari and I also saw a monk at lunch time too, as we were heading over to Sweet Bakery, dressed in the awesome brown robe. I was so tired after work but I still managed to drag myself to pilates. More and more businesses and other areas of the city are getting all of their Christmas decorations up. Judging from the sheer amount of lights that are put up, I fear that there will be more power shortages in December! This is at one of the big banks. From the other side, their giant nativity scene is visible.
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| Christmas lights at Banco BHD |
 |
| Mari and her socks to keep her warm at pilates |
I left work a bit early on Friday to meet up with Adaica. She was taking me to see the apartment in which David had been living in before he left. The apartment is quite close to where I currently live. In the mornings, it will be a slightly shorter walk to where I go to catch the carrito, but a longer walk home in the evenings. The lady was very nice. She lives there with her young daughter. She is a music teacher and had opera on in the background when we arrived. I knew right away that I would like her! The apartment is small but quite nice. It has a modern kitchen which I enjoy. The room that she has for rent is affectionately known as the "Princess Room." This is because there are princess murals on the walls and the bed is in a princess type shape (I can't remember if it is like a flower or a crown or what). It's cute and while not really my style, I can deal with it for 3 months. There is also a TV in the room with cable which excites me a lot since I never get to watch TV here and I really want to watch more shows in Spanish to help me learn! So, I said I'd take the place and decided to move in this coming weekend. I'm so relieved to have a place to live! I'm also nervous and a bit excited too.
After viewing the apartment, we headed back to the current apartment so that I could get changed out of my work clothes. Then Adaica, Robert and I headed over to the AIESEC office since the trainees were having a meeting with the MC team. The meeting went well and afterwards many more AIESECers and other friends showed up for "Russian Night." Sasha had prepared several dishes for us to try and a St. Petersburg shot (vodka, grenadine and tabasco). She also did a short presentation on Russia and had us learn a few words in Russian. We also had the opportunity to meet two of the interns that are in the other city, San Francisco de Macoris. At the party, we got some bad news about our Saturday plans. We were supposed to go to 27 Charcos but because multiple cholera cases had surfaced in the Dominican, they were advising us not to go since the chance of ingesting water is fairly high when you're jumping into waterfalls... We're all wondering if someone is trying to make it clear to us that we shouldn't be going on that trip!!
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| Robert and Mari |
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| The party. And Mari. |
Since we were no longer going up north, I went into work on Saturday morning. As I do every morning, I wandered over to Sweet Bakery before heading into the office. While I was walking, a gray car pulled up beside me and someone did the sssssst ssssst thing at me. For some reason I actually turned and looked. It was A, the driver from work. He asked me where I was going (he seemed confused, since I have to pass the office to go to the bakery), and I replied, "Sweet Bakery," and pointed up ahead. He seemed confused by this but realized that I wasn't going far. I added in, "tengo hambre" (I'm hungry) to make sure he understood me. We waved goodbye to each other and then I carried on my way. It was J's birthday so once I found out I made a point of saying Happy Birthday to him. He was very happy that I did so! After work I picked up a few groceries and headed home to have a nice nap.
That evening, Mari and Robert invited Pavol and I to go to the movies with them. We went to see Social Network. It was actually quite good! That and I was happy to have some popcorn. Mari is always cold (I don't understand this at all!) and had brought along socks and a blanket to the theatre. I'll admit that by the end my feet were a tad cold but still. After the movie, we headed to the colmado for some drinks and sandwiches. They messed up my order though and gave me a sandwich with only cheese instead of tomato and cheese. Oh well.
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| Me, Pavol and Robert with a giant coke outside the theatre |
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| Umm Yumm Yuumm |
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| Cute new Presidente bag for the beer |
On Sunday, everyone went to the beach. I decided to stay home since I wanted to get some cleaning and packing done plus I had plans to skype with Leslie earlier on in the day, and an early date night with Bart later on. A fairly low key day overall but I definitely needed the time to myself. Plus it rained a bit that day at the beach anyway, so I didn't miss out on much.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Truffled Popcorn and an Injured Toe
This weekend felt like a blur. On Saturday, it was off to work, like usual. The morning was quite lovely and then I got called into Sr. S's office for an audit project I've been helping out with. Of course, this was about 1/2 hour before I was supposed to head home for the day. I ended up leaving work at 2:30pm. Robert ended his course at about the same time so we were able to share a ride home. First though, I headed to Pola to pick up some snacks for date night. I spent Saturday afternoon relaxing and doing a bit of cleaning and laundry. Pretty normal for a Saturday.
On Sunday, I slept in a bit and awoke to find David in our living room on Skype. This was odd to me, since he had moved out the other day, but as it turns out there was a bit of miscommunication over the entire ordeal. It has since been worked out and clarified. Anyway, I ended up going to Nacional with Robert and Mari. We decided to enjoy the nice day and walk. On the way, I received a text which I wanted to read right away, so I did. Problem is, I stopped paying attention to where I was walking - which is a dangerous thing to do on Dominican sidewalks. I ended up stubbing my toe on some raised cement, which, since I was wearing flip flops, led to the side of my big toe being cut open. At first, I thought it was no big deal and tried to shrug it off. Then I looked down and saw blood. As we stood on the sidewalk and I searched through my purse for something that I could soak up some of the blood with, Manuel pulled up beside us. I was thankful for this as he took us the rest of the way to Nacional. Once there, I headed to the pharmacy to get a bandaid. Side note: it drives me nuts that I have to go to the pharmacy for things like bandaids, tylenol, cough syrup, etc. Mainly, I get stressed out having to ask for things in Spanish, most of which are items I've never had to learn how to say... So here's your mini Spanish lesson. Bandaid = curita. I was happy that I could buy just one bandaid for RD$6. I didn't need more, since I had a big box of them plus a first aid kit back at the apartment.
My main reason for going to Nacional was to get some clothespins. I wanted to be able to dry a few of the roses that Bart sent me. So I created a little drying rack in my bedroom. Mom later informed me that when roses dry they can be stinky, but I didn't want to hang them anywhere else. I'm also trying to dry some petals too. We'll see how that works out. My trip to Nacional also included purchasing some silicone caulking so that I could seal up the gaps between the sink and the counter in the kitchen. I'm hoping this will help to keep the ants away. Although, I know they will find another way in! They are sneaky and kind of smart.
In the evening, I ended up going over to Robert and Mari's to try to make some truffled popcorn. I had bought a small bottle of truffle oil on Friday and some popcorn on Saturday so I was keen to give it a go. I had done some reading online about how to do it. Most everyone recommended putting the truffle oil in with the kernals so that it would "infuse" the popcorn. Well, this didn't really work. You could kind of taste the truffle, but not really. In the second batch, I put a bit more truffle oil in, but this didn't seem to help. (I have since spoken with a chef friend of mine and am looking forward to trying a few of the options he gave me!) In the end, we ate lots of popcorn along with some fruit, chocolate and chicken nuggets while watching Monty Python. An enjoyable evening!
Monday morning at the office was really slow. We essentially didn't have power until early afternoon. Because of this, I took an early lunch. I really wanted to try the sandwiches that Sweet Bakery prepares, so Robert and I headed over there. I assumed that since they are a bakery, they would have a generator. I was wrong. They didn't have power and we were told that they couldn't make a sandwich because there was no light. We sat and had chinola juice, in the hopes that the power would come back on. Eventually we got too hungry, so we decided to head over to Emparedado. The rest of the afternoon ticked along nicely. In the evening, I joined Pavol, Mari and Robert at the colmado for a snickers and some Presidente.
Today, for the first time in a long time, I was freezing cold at work. I had forgotten that it actually got this cold. I just have to remember to bring a sweater to work each day now. Once again, the workday was typical. One exciting thing is the new painting that Sr. S has in his office. It is still partially packaged up so I can only see the top but I am incredibly intrigued by what I can see. Next time I'm in there I am going to ask if I can see the entire piece. I had pilates tonight. I was really tired but knew that I should go. However, I soon realized how exhausted I actually am. It wasn't that the movements were difficult physically, it was just that I didn't have the energy to do it. I made it through though. Apparently, Dominicans start decorating for Christmas really early. On the way to pilates, I noticed that Plaza Lama already had giant Christmas decorations attached to the side of their building. This was kind of depressing.
On Sunday, I slept in a bit and awoke to find David in our living room on Skype. This was odd to me, since he had moved out the other day, but as it turns out there was a bit of miscommunication over the entire ordeal. It has since been worked out and clarified. Anyway, I ended up going to Nacional with Robert and Mari. We decided to enjoy the nice day and walk. On the way, I received a text which I wanted to read right away, so I did. Problem is, I stopped paying attention to where I was walking - which is a dangerous thing to do on Dominican sidewalks. I ended up stubbing my toe on some raised cement, which, since I was wearing flip flops, led to the side of my big toe being cut open. At first, I thought it was no big deal and tried to shrug it off. Then I looked down and saw blood. As we stood on the sidewalk and I searched through my purse for something that I could soak up some of the blood with, Manuel pulled up beside us. I was thankful for this as he took us the rest of the way to Nacional. Once there, I headed to the pharmacy to get a bandaid. Side note: it drives me nuts that I have to go to the pharmacy for things like bandaids, tylenol, cough syrup, etc. Mainly, I get stressed out having to ask for things in Spanish, most of which are items I've never had to learn how to say... So here's your mini Spanish lesson. Bandaid = curita. I was happy that I could buy just one bandaid for RD$6. I didn't need more, since I had a big box of them plus a first aid kit back at the apartment.
My main reason for going to Nacional was to get some clothespins. I wanted to be able to dry a few of the roses that Bart sent me. So I created a little drying rack in my bedroom. Mom later informed me that when roses dry they can be stinky, but I didn't want to hang them anywhere else. I'm also trying to dry some petals too. We'll see how that works out. My trip to Nacional also included purchasing some silicone caulking so that I could seal up the gaps between the sink and the counter in the kitchen. I'm hoping this will help to keep the ants away. Although, I know they will find another way in! They are sneaky and kind of smart.
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| Beginning of my rose drying contraption |
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| Mari's photo of Robert and I cooking |
Monday morning at the office was really slow. We essentially didn't have power until early afternoon. Because of this, I took an early lunch. I really wanted to try the sandwiches that Sweet Bakery prepares, so Robert and I headed over there. I assumed that since they are a bakery, they would have a generator. I was wrong. They didn't have power and we were told that they couldn't make a sandwich because there was no light. We sat and had chinola juice, in the hopes that the power would come back on. Eventually we got too hungry, so we decided to head over to Emparedado. The rest of the afternoon ticked along nicely. In the evening, I joined Pavol, Mari and Robert at the colmado for a snickers and some Presidente.
Today, for the first time in a long time, I was freezing cold at work. I had forgotten that it actually got this cold. I just have to remember to bring a sweater to work each day now. Once again, the workday was typical. One exciting thing is the new painting that Sr. S has in his office. It is still partially packaged up so I can only see the top but I am incredibly intrigued by what I can see. Next time I'm in there I am going to ask if I can see the entire piece. I had pilates tonight. I was really tired but knew that I should go. However, I soon realized how exhausted I actually am. It wasn't that the movements were difficult physically, it was just that I didn't have the energy to do it. I made it through though. Apparently, Dominicans start decorating for Christmas really early. On the way to pilates, I noticed that Plaza Lama already had giant Christmas decorations attached to the side of their building. This was kind of depressing.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dad and Jonathan then went over to play some more tennis while mom, Bart and I took a walk around the lake.
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!
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| Luigi Bosca 2007 Malbec |
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.
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| Rice, Naan, Chana Masala, Gobhi Kaju Masala and Samosas! |
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.
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| Jonathan's Mad Bocce Skills |
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| Me and mom playing against Jonathan |
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| Me with a great shot (obviously!) |
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| Putting |
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| Bart and I |
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| Hello Gorilla |
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| Jonathan and Dad |
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| Oak Tree |
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| Flowers |
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| Canadian Geese |
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| Dad's Serve |
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| Mom had cold feet |
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| Spectator Bart |
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| Jonathan |
Friday, August 13, 2010
Poo and Japanese Garbage Trucks
The lightheadedness I complained of yesterday still persists today, along with a solid headache. Not sure what is up.
This morning on the way to work, Robert and I were about to round the corner onto José Contreras when I noticed a pile of poo. It was gross and big, and had a lot of flies and other bugs around it. And it wasn't like regular dog poo... that's all I'm going to say about that one...
Then while waiting for a carrito that had space for two, a small dump truck pulled up in traffic. Oddly though, it had a lovely Disney scene with Peter Pan and what I assume was supposed to be Wendy, but looked much more like Princess Peach from Mario, flying over London. Both of them had anime eyes. And then underneath this large mural that took up the entire side of the small dump truck was a quote that said, "We must be able to fly to the sky." This was very random. I thought about how the two men driving this dump truck must feel. Then I began to notice that there was a lot of Japanese writing on the more official parts of the truck and assumed that it must have been imported from Japan. The carrito we finally got into ended up behind the dump truck. It was then that I read in Spanish that the truck had been donated as a gift from a particular city in Japan. Interesting. Here are the two pictures I was able to get:
When lunch time rolled around I decided that I needed a splurge on some food that wasn't at Pola. I spoke with Pavol and Robert and they agreed to go to Emparedado with me. I then realized that it had been so long since I had gone there. Most of the staff were new and thus no longer recognized me! After we finished our meals, we went next door to Bon to have some ice cream. We sat outside at a table and were able to catch a good breeze! Very enjoyable!
The plan for this evening is to see Inception with a few people. I need a big nap first though. However, I am looking forward to the popcorn!
This morning on the way to work, Robert and I were about to round the corner onto José Contreras when I noticed a pile of poo. It was gross and big, and had a lot of flies and other bugs around it. And it wasn't like regular dog poo... that's all I'm going to say about that one...
Then while waiting for a carrito that had space for two, a small dump truck pulled up in traffic. Oddly though, it had a lovely Disney scene with Peter Pan and what I assume was supposed to be Wendy, but looked much more like Princess Peach from Mario, flying over London. Both of them had anime eyes. And then underneath this large mural that took up the entire side of the small dump truck was a quote that said, "We must be able to fly to the sky." This was very random. I thought about how the two men driving this dump truck must feel. Then I began to notice that there was a lot of Japanese writing on the more official parts of the truck and assumed that it must have been imported from Japan. The carrito we finally got into ended up behind the dump truck. It was then that I read in Spanish that the truck had been donated as a gift from a particular city in Japan. Interesting. Here are the two pictures I was able to get:
When lunch time rolled around I decided that I needed a splurge on some food that wasn't at Pola. I spoke with Pavol and Robert and they agreed to go to Emparedado with me. I then realized that it had been so long since I had gone there. Most of the staff were new and thus no longer recognized me! After we finished our meals, we went next door to Bon to have some ice cream. We sat outside at a table and were able to catch a good breeze! Very enjoyable!
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| Robert |
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| Me |
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| Pavol |
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Start your Engines! (Via the Hood)
Still no internet at home.
I watched another movie last night, "W." It was alright. Makes Powell look like the good guy and makes Rice look kind of stupid and homely. I watched "Precious" on Monday night and it was MUCH better - very intense.
It seems as though my carrito rides often prove to be the most interesting/random part of my day; today was no exception. I got into one that had no outside door handles, and the inside ones were essentially broken, so the driver had to open the doors for the passengers all the time since he knew the "trick" to them. He seemed like a very impatient driver as he kept going into the far left lanes to get around traffic. We were in the middle lane and were waiting for traffic to clear so that he could pull over to the right, since the girl in the front (there was just the two of us) needed to get out. He ended up stalling the car. So I was expecting him to restart the car and get going again, but he didn't. He waited until traffic cleared, got out, opened the hood, and started the car from there. This seemed odd since he had a key in the ignition. I learned later that the key was there more as a place to keep it, although he had to take it out once and a while to change the radio station. (Don't ask, I think the buttons were kind of broken so he needed a smaller point to press the buttons with?) Speaking of the radio, it was on VERY loud. I had to essentially yell to get him to stop where I wanted!
The architect was back at the office today. He seemed excited to see me. I also got to meet his son who had accompanied him to the meeting. He told his son, in Spanish, about how I was from Edmonton, Alberta, which was close to Banff. I assume his son has heard even more about his experiences in Banff than me, so this seemed to resonate well with his son. It was also funny when he was telling his son that I don't know Spanish. I kind of chuckled at this though, and Sr. S clarified that I could understand quite a bit! I also think that Sr. S had a pen explode on him, as most of his right hand was covered in ink...
I asked O about the chicken the other day. He did not see the chicken and seemed even more surprised than I did about its existence. Unfortunately his girlfriend called just as we were about to really discuss the chicken, so that conversation kind of finished abruptly with no chance for any sort of explanation.
I ended up having two treats today. At first, it was just going to be the Coke, but then, Ozumy said she wanted chocolate - the same one that I usually get - and I just couldn't resist getting one too.
I'm greatly looking forward to Canada Day tomorrow - stay tuned to Friday's blog post for the details on how I spent Canada Day in the Dominican!
And finally, today I get to celebrate nine absolutely amazing months with Bart! Yay!
I watched another movie last night, "W." It was alright. Makes Powell look like the good guy and makes Rice look kind of stupid and homely. I watched "Precious" on Monday night and it was MUCH better - very intense.
It seems as though my carrito rides often prove to be the most interesting/random part of my day; today was no exception. I got into one that had no outside door handles, and the inside ones were essentially broken, so the driver had to open the doors for the passengers all the time since he knew the "trick" to them. He seemed like a very impatient driver as he kept going into the far left lanes to get around traffic. We were in the middle lane and were waiting for traffic to clear so that he could pull over to the right, since the girl in the front (there was just the two of us) needed to get out. He ended up stalling the car. So I was expecting him to restart the car and get going again, but he didn't. He waited until traffic cleared, got out, opened the hood, and started the car from there. This seemed odd since he had a key in the ignition. I learned later that the key was there more as a place to keep it, although he had to take it out once and a while to change the radio station. (Don't ask, I think the buttons were kind of broken so he needed a smaller point to press the buttons with?) Speaking of the radio, it was on VERY loud. I had to essentially yell to get him to stop where I wanted!
The architect was back at the office today. He seemed excited to see me. I also got to meet his son who had accompanied him to the meeting. He told his son, in Spanish, about how I was from Edmonton, Alberta, which was close to Banff. I assume his son has heard even more about his experiences in Banff than me, so this seemed to resonate well with his son. It was also funny when he was telling his son that I don't know Spanish. I kind of chuckled at this though, and Sr. S clarified that I could understand quite a bit! I also think that Sr. S had a pen explode on him, as most of his right hand was covered in ink...
I asked O about the chicken the other day. He did not see the chicken and seemed even more surprised than I did about its existence. Unfortunately his girlfriend called just as we were about to really discuss the chicken, so that conversation kind of finished abruptly with no chance for any sort of explanation.
I ended up having two treats today. At first, it was just going to be the Coke, but then, Ozumy said she wanted chocolate - the same one that I usually get - and I just couldn't resist getting one too.
I'm greatly looking forward to Canada Day tomorrow - stay tuned to Friday's blog post for the details on how I spent Canada Day in the Dominican!
And finally, today I get to celebrate nine absolutely amazing months with Bart! Yay!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Shades of Muted Citrus
Thursday was a holiday here, which I was quite grateful for. I spent the day at home, relaxing and napping. The morning began with a storm that included pouring rain, big thunder and lightning. However, this made for excellent morning nap conditions as it kept my room nice and dark. I've been feeling very tired lately. I am still not used to the longer working hours and longer work week. I'm getting used to the heat, but it still drains me. And another symptom that expats usually face is exhaustion, generally. So my focus for the next bit is kind of recovering and also getting myself back to feeling positive about the whole experience!
Also, at lunch yesterday, I went to Emparedado and was waiting for Adaica to show up and ended up being mesmerized by this guy's suit. He seemed to maybe be an owner of the company or the building or something. He had a guy who drove his big Chevy Tahoe and who also carried his portfolio with his files in. He seemed very stereotypical wannabe TV style Italian mafia in the Caribbean. The oiled back hair, never took off his sunglasses, cheesy suit... And yes, those are lemon dress pants, paired with a lime green dress shirt and a mint-lime blazer. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Trabajo? Trabajo?
Well now that I know I have bagworms, life is back to normal. Or at least as normal as it can be here.
Yesterday was quiet, boring, slow, etc. The only exciting thing that happened was that I walked home for the first time since the ankle injury. It was still fairly sore when I got home, but worth it. Especially since I save an average of 15min by walking home as opposed to taking a carrito! On my way home, I saw this on one of the large electronic billboards. I was hoping the person would have something scandalous and compromising on their desktop for all of Santo Domingo to see. No such luck...
This morning, I did something that left me kind of embarrassed.
While waiting for a carrito to come along, I got honked at. A man in a black Toyota stopped, put the car into reverse and tried to get me to get in his car. Now he was saying trabajo which means work. My brain went, I think that guy works at my office, but I'm not sure. Do I recognize the car, maybe? Since I estimated my level of sure-ness at about 75% I just kind of looked confused and shook my head no. He looked confused and then drove off. A carrito came shortly thereafter and in I got. While in the carrito, I kept seeing a blue BMW just like that of JD at work. Turns out it was him. As I walked towards the office, I noticed the same black Toyota in the parking lot.
O and I had a little giggle fit together this morning when J started belting (and I mean BELTING) out a song. It was a type of Christian Gospel song and he didn't know most of the words and it was loud. O and I just turned to each other and started laughing. J couldn't hear us though, he was singing that loud. O says to me: "and I thought I was weird." I may have gotten audio footage of the singing... I need to do a quick edit on it, since there is a lot of dead space, and then I will upload it. It's not the most intense part of his singing, but at least will give you an idea of the way he sings.
Then, after I had gotten back from lunch, the man from the black Toyota came by our area. It was then that he realized I didn't speak any Spanish. This seemed to make him understand more. He told O and J the story of this morning, and how he was like, "Trabajo? Trabajo?" O explained my side of it and translated back to me. The guy just thought I looked dazed and confused. I got O to tell him that I will know it is him for next time. Ugh. I felt really stupid. At the same time though, my gut wasn't positive that it was someone from work and I mean, I can't just be getting into vehicles with guys I'm only 75% sure I work with. And I'm sure that they understand that it is easy for everyone else here to remember me. It is not so easy for me to remember everyone here, at least not yet. Plus I've said, "hola!" to this guy maybe once before.
It's RD$50 movie night! Tonight's pick: Prince of Persia.
Yesterday was quiet, boring, slow, etc. The only exciting thing that happened was that I walked home for the first time since the ankle injury. It was still fairly sore when I got home, but worth it. Especially since I save an average of 15min by walking home as opposed to taking a carrito! On my way home, I saw this on one of the large electronic billboards. I was hoping the person would have something scandalous and compromising on their desktop for all of Santo Domingo to see. No such luck...
This morning, I did something that left me kind of embarrassed.
While waiting for a carrito to come along, I got honked at. A man in a black Toyota stopped, put the car into reverse and tried to get me to get in his car. Now he was saying trabajo which means work. My brain went, I think that guy works at my office, but I'm not sure. Do I recognize the car, maybe? Since I estimated my level of sure-ness at about 75% I just kind of looked confused and shook my head no. He looked confused and then drove off. A carrito came shortly thereafter and in I got. While in the carrito, I kept seeing a blue BMW just like that of JD at work. Turns out it was him. As I walked towards the office, I noticed the same black Toyota in the parking lot.
Crap - I do work with him. He probably thinks I'm extremely weird. I hope I didn't offend him... he'll understand, right?I met up with JD as I was heading into the building, turns out he also tried to get my attention and pick me up, but he did so after I had already performed the finger wiggle to get the carrito to stop for me. He said that the next time he is going to work around that time he will bb text me so I know to watch for him.
O and I had a little giggle fit together this morning when J started belting (and I mean BELTING) out a song. It was a type of Christian Gospel song and he didn't know most of the words and it was loud. O and I just turned to each other and started laughing. J couldn't hear us though, he was singing that loud. O says to me: "and I thought I was weird." I may have gotten audio footage of the singing... I need to do a quick edit on it, since there is a lot of dead space, and then I will upload it. It's not the most intense part of his singing, but at least will give you an idea of the way he sings.
Then, after I had gotten back from lunch, the man from the black Toyota came by our area. It was then that he realized I didn't speak any Spanish. This seemed to make him understand more. He told O and J the story of this morning, and how he was like, "Trabajo? Trabajo?" O explained my side of it and translated back to me. The guy just thought I looked dazed and confused. I got O to tell him that I will know it is him for next time. Ugh. I felt really stupid. At the same time though, my gut wasn't positive that it was someone from work and I mean, I can't just be getting into vehicles with guys I'm only 75% sure I work with. And I'm sure that they understand that it is easy for everyone else here to remember me. It is not so easy for me to remember everyone here, at least not yet. Plus I've said, "hola!" to this guy maybe once before.
It's RD$50 movie night! Tonight's pick: Prince of Persia.
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