Y las clases empiezan... (and the classes begin)
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2008
1
3
4
Trip End
Apr 25, 2008
Santiago, Dominican Republic
Monday, January 14, 2008
I had my first class today! I was late because I couldn't find it. Who'd have thought that there would be two parts to the same building?? I was confused, to say the least. But someone say me looking around and helped me out. I have two more tomorrow, luckily none are in the morning!
Last weekend I went to La Romana/La Isla Saona with the program (ISA). It was incredibly beautiful. The DR has the some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We stayed in this little fishing town and the next day went to and island by boat. We listened to Bob Marley and danced bachata. SO good. There were free cubra libres and lunch too! We went to "La Piscina Natural," which is this gigantic sandbar offshore where there are a lot of star fish. It was fun. The only thing I didn't like is that a couple of times we stopped at big malls to grab food. I would have liked to stop at more local places. Places less heavily influenced by the US. (good luck, right?)
My roommate and I have made friends with our neighbor. Patirck is Haitian and here studying biology. He was a doctor in Haiti and had his own laboritories there for study, but he came here to take more biology classes so he could better understand the AIDS virus. Patrick is very amiable but a little... chauvanist? He's nice and he has good intentions, but he's always grabbing my arm to help me cross the street, or paying for out concho... things that I could do without. I've also had to explain my Women's Studies major several times. It's not too different from the US, but here they can't understand the purpose of a major without a career attached. I had a bit of a debate with one of Patrick's friends about that... It's going to be an interesting semester, I can tell.
That's all for now!
