Settling In
Trip Start
Feb 14, 2006
1
13
41
Trip End
Apr 06, 2008
Altamira, Dominican Republic
Monday, May 22, 2006
I have a few minutes to kill on my internet time so I thought I would give a quick update on what is going on here. I have now been in my site for two weeks and am getting settled in. So far I haven't done too much aside from getting to know members of my community, which I do by walking around talking to anyone and everyone. Dominicans are very friendly and will call out to every single person who walks by "Entre!", which means "come in." They do this whether you are a friend, family member, neighbor, or complete and total stranger. They could have no idea who you are or what you want, but they never fail to invite you in to sit down. It is such a different culture from that of the US. We would never invite a stranger to sit down and chat for a while, but here it is perfectly normal and expected. Sometimes it is a bit awkward and I have sat for more than a few minutes in dead silence trying to come up with something to say, but for the most part it is OK. When I am not walking around door to door like a traveling salesman, I spend a lot of time reading, writing in my journal, swimming in the river, going to church with my host sisters, and watching Mexican soap operas on TV. The pace of life is really slow, but I am adjusting. I start teaching my English class this week, so that will help fill up the time, and pretty soon I have to get going with the interviews for my diagnostic. It is a little daunting to look ahead to everything I have to get done in the next three months, especially since I am not even sure where I am supposed to start! I just keep reminding myself to take things one day at a time. That's about it for now, nothing new to report other than that I am hanging in there! Hope you all are well.
Love,
Margaret
