Vamos a la playa

Thursday we went to the Dominican flea market as part of our culture class. As was to be expected, it was crowded, hot, and full of random stuff. There was a TON of shoes and clothes and it was difficult to tell whether the stuff was new or used. I wondered around with some guys and we had fun. At one point we saw a bunch of shirts in a pile with American companies on the back. It looked like one of those shirts they give away at events. Sure enough we turned it over and it was a shirt from the Race for the Cure. Another time we saw shirts that said, "Vote Yes on Nov. 2." The whole thing was pretty funny. One guy reached out and touched my arm and I brushed him off (eww). He got kinda pissy, but dude, don't touch me. I expected that kind of stuff though, I'm white, a chick, REALLY AMERICAN, and we were at the flea market. So I took it in good stride.

Friday was fun. The morning was slow and I did a bunch of homework and talked with our Senora. In the afternoon, Tiffany and I went with the directors to the Mirabel sisters museum. I had such a "good" time. It was so sad, but it was cool to know the history as I walked through the rooms. So that the rest of this makes sense, I'm going to add in a condensed version of the history. There were four Mirabel sisters. Three of the four began and ran an underground movement against the Trujillo regime (a brutal dictator of the Dominican Republic for 30+ years). One day the three fighters were driving through the mountains on the way back from visiting their husbands in jail (because they too were fighting against the regime) and their car "randomly drove off the side of the mountain." However, they were actually beaten to death, then put back in the car before the car was pushed off the road. The museum was in the house they'd lived in for the last 10 months of their lives. All the furniture and clothes and artifacts were original. There was one display that had their purses, shoes, rosaries, and such from the car they were killed in. Next to it was one of their shirts, covered in blood to show that they were brutally murdered rather than died in a freak car accident. I almost started crying. On the 40th anniversary of their death, they moved the girls' remains from the town cemetery to the garden of the house. I really enjoyed the trip. I bought a book about the true history, which is slightly varied from the fictional account I'd read by Julia Alvarez. (Gram, it's in Spanish, but you can borrow if you'd like--once I'm done, of course!) Oh, and I bought Lisa a present (no Spanish, I promise).

On our way back from the museum (in a taxi) we went over a REALLY high speed bump. We went really slow, but it didn't matter. The speed bump was so high that you could feel the ground push against the bottom of the car. I jokingly apologized for eating too many rice and beans for lunch. A few minutes later we pulled over--flat tire. They teased me as we got out of the car and I offered to change the tire. My director from here gave me a look like I was the craziest white chick she'd ever met and just started laughing. It was really funny. I couldn't help but think about the bus incident of last summer.

Friday night we went to the mall (yes, there is a mall here) with our "sister." We had breadsticks from Pizza Hut and then went to the movies. We saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was nice to have a break from Spanish for a little while. We had so much fun with Ivonne!!!

Saturday was a day for rest and HOMEWORK. I had so much to do this weekend. I tried to stay as concentrated as I possibly could, but it was really hard. I got my essay for one class written and a good bit of reading done. Saturday afternoon we went to the mall again. I FINALLY found the book Dr. Gosser wanted me to pick up for her here (after two stores that didn't have it and probably half a dozen phone calls to other stores). I also picked up The Purpose Driven Life (in Spanish) for our Senora. She's having a rough time right now, and I thought it would help. I asked her if she'd ever read it before and she said no and started looking through it. She didn't realize that I'd taken one to the register. When we were leaving I handed it to her and said I really wanted her to have it and that she needed to read it. She was pretty overcome and graciously accepted it. She said from what she'd seen, she really wanted to read it and was going to look for it later (presumably where she could find it cheaper or something). It made me feel so good to connect with her like that. Before we left the mall, Tiffany and I stopped for dinner at Taco Bell. Yes, Mom, I found the Taco Bell here. It wasn't the same as at home, but still good.

After our outing, we went to church again. This time the sound system was better and I thought I might actually follow it this time. Nope. There had been a wedding just before the evening mass, so there were these GIGANTIC flower, greenery arrangements in the front that blocked the view of the people speaking (it's much easier for me to understand Spanish if I can read the lips at the same time). To top it all off, the Priest was from Spain so he spoke with a VERY different accent. The Spanish accent sounds like the person is talking with a lisp, among other things. But I tried! I sang along with one of the really repetitive, simple songs, and I prayed in English. I feel His presence and figured He would be able to figure out what I was saying even if I couldn't figure out what He was saying.

Sunday we went to the beach with our family. I sent a text message to Mom that said "Vamos a la playa" which means "We're going to the beach." Several minutes later I got a text back in English saying to have fun and don't forget my sunscreen. Mami, Papi, Moises (lil bro-8), Mami's son, his wife, his son (4), and his wife's sister (16). It was SO much fun. The beach was beautiful (it was the same beach as in the pictures online, if you want to see for yourself)!!! Yes, I took, wore, and reapplied sunscreen, but this white skin just can't handle it. I'm pretty toasty today. We played in the water, I passed on playing in the sand, ate lunch, read for a bit (they were all in the shade while I sadistically laid in the sun), and went shopping. They bought us icecream from some dude walking the beach selling presumably homemade icecream, and they bought some Dominican candy--it was PURE sugar, but really good!! While we were sitting there, an old man passed out near the water's edge. He was old, frail, and DRUNK! I was really worried and about to use my CPR certification for real, this time. Most of the rest of the family wasn't concerned. They said that's not unusual, sad, but not unusual. Papi went to help and told us he was just passed out and fine. Mami's son laughed, "He may be alive, but fine...no." They were amused by my concern and more so by my offer to do CPR. Finally some of his family showed up and half way started helping him. After a bit, we went shopping. I was on a bargaining role. I bought some souvenirs, including something special for my mommy!!! Nope, not telling!!

On our way back we went through the country side. We stopped at a lot with a half built house. They told us that that land had belonged to Papi's family. The house on the lot had burned down when the electrical wires over head snapped. They're rebuilding it out of block for a weekend/summer/party home. It was really nice. Then we stopped at a river where a bunch of people were swimming. We got in too, to rinse off the salt and sand. It was cool and refreshing. It was so much fun!!! We stopped somewhere on the road at a seemingly random location to buy some more candy. It was different from the candy on the beach, but still REALLY good. We drove most of the way home with the van door open so enough air would circulate. It was SO odd. But hey, whatever works!!

Then it was back home for some chilling out and more homework. I had to write another (one page) essay and prepare for my oral exam this morning. I just finished the exam, actually. It went really well. He gave us 4 questions several days ago for us to prepare. Today, he picked one of them for us to talk about individually. He picked the question I was most comfortable with so I was glad. Then he started asking me rhetorical questions related to the topic. I started fumbling trying to answer them and he smiled and said, "there's really no answer, just something to think about." Whew!! I had no idea how I was going to come up with an answer to those!! But overall, I think it went okay.

Okay, time to go home and read, eat lunch, siesta, and read some more before class this afternoon. I'm REALLY going to miss my siestas when I get home. Hope everyone has a terrific 4th, sucks not being able to celebrate with everyone!! Love you all and miss you bunches!!!