Cualquieras

Aug 30

Hey guys! Just thought I should update whats been going on so far. Well I had my first class on Thursday! Pretty odd to start classes on a Thursday, but no worries. It sounds like it’ll be an interesting class. Its my Contemporary Hispanic Literature class. We get to read a lot of famous Latin American authors which I’m pretty excited for. The prof is really interesting, he’s half Chinese and half Dominican but speaks perfect Spanish. At one point I forgot he was half Chinese when he was talking to us. But the class should be really interesting. Anyway, later that night I was just exhausted from the heat and passed out on the couch watching the movie Sunshine. (Good movie btw, at least the parts I watched…haha)

This past Friday was a fun day too. Our entire group, with the exception of Jenny, went to a huge Wall-Mart-like store for some clothes shopping for David and the girls. I just kinda came for the adventure. I have plenty of clothes. Anyway, once we arrived and were looking at the clothes, David and I both agreed that the Dominicans and us have a HUGE difference in style. Everything they wear or sell down here is all designed with crazy random drawings on the back or all over the shirts. It’s a bit much. Even when David was looking for jeans, I checked in on his search every now and then and there was a bunch of jeans that were just ridiculous by American standards of style. Just all kinds of zippers, weird pockets, and again random designs on the ass or thigh parts of the jeans. Just kinda crazy. Anyway, later that night we had a reunion of all the families and the students at Lilly’s house (the CIC program director here at PUCMM). That was really fun, getting to meet some of the other families and familiarize ourselves with them. The food was awesome, we all had to help make a dish or two for the dinner. My host mom and I made the rice and salad, which we got many complements on. So thats always nice to hear. But even before we ate, we chatted. Lilly had some icebreakers so that we could get to understand each family and the relationship they have with their students. At the end we all could comment on how we enjoy our experience and our relationship and my family (my host dad) told everyone that I was a real pleasure to have at the house. He said I was a diplomat, very patient, well educated, and very accommodating and easy to please, and for them it was a joy to have me in their house. It was just really incredible to hear that, just too really make you feel a bit more confident. But I can say as well, they are the nicest people, just a joy to be around and talk to you. They make me feel like a son and really welcome here, and I really do appreciate that this is going so well. Anyway, after that cliché gushy reunion, we were able to go out last night to a discoteque called the Vintage Club. We went there last night, danced some merengue, salsa and some well more popular dances. But I got to dance well all the girls in the group, and I know who the best dancer is! But I’m not going to tell! :) Hehe there was an open bar too, which helped with my confidence to dance. After leaving the club though, I couldn’t really hear well until the next morning. Oyi!

Anyways yesterday, was very calm. At least I thought it would be. My host family told me that Maria José (their 5 year old daughter) needed to go to a swimming class at the Centro Español. They said they would be back around 2, but they called me at 11 and told me to come out here taking conchos. I was really nervous to take the conchos out there, cause I had always used the conchos with a Dominican who knew what he was doing, but today I can say I successfully took two conchos to El Centro Español all by myself! Since there are no public buses, these conchos are just cars similar to taxis but just follow a certain route. Similar to CATA, expect they try and fit 6 people in the car made for 4. You get very close to the people you ride with. But hey it only costs 13 pesos which I think which I said before was only like 36 cents back home. But once I arrived there my host dad Juan José was waiting for me and took me inside Centro Español. Just so you know, this was not like a plaza, its like a Country Club, and let me tell you, it was IMPRESSIVE! I met up with Rosanna (my host mom) and Maria José and they gave me two hot dogs with ketchup, mustard and cheese (I told them I don’t really enjoy my hot dogs with mayo-they love it down here on their hot dogs!). But let me tell you, going there it was just very impressive. They have parks for kids to play in, they have multiple tennis courts (you definitely could see that majority of the kids there were well off, with their brand name bags and rackets, etc). The pool was impressive, but what was really impressive, the restaurant and main building. It has the most impressive view of Santiago; it was just incredible to see! There was also a discoteque inside, two bars, billiards room and poker room. I’ll be going back most definitely! Enjoy the pool, pay billiards, and just relax away from the city. Otherwise, I’ve been just lounging around the house. Finally yesterday we went to a concert which was really cool. We got to see a bunch of mergengue and bachata singers and have a few beers (the concert was sponsored by Presidente and boy did they remind you of that everywhere you went). But we checked it out and stayed for a couple of hours enjoying the music and seeing the people, and let me tell you. It was packed! It reminded me of the Folk Festival back home like times 10. But Santiago is wayyyy bigger than EL. Gotta remind myself that every now and then. Otherwise I’m enjoying a Lazy Sunday (like the song! Hehe) and getting ready for my first full week of classes this week! Getting a bit anxious and excited. Kinda hoping too to get some homework to do. Kinda been dull around here without homework, but I’m sure my blogging will slow down after this one once classes finally get going! Well hope all is well down there guys! Miss you all and enjoy your last week of freedom all you MSU kiddies! I’ll see you guys in finals week! :) Que disfrutas y nos vemos!

Jarabacoa, Clases, Etc.

Aug 23 2009

Hey guys! Hope all is well back in Michigan if you guys are still there! Just thought I would tell you guys whats been going on so far since I last blog. Yesterday was really interesting because we went to Jarabacoa, a city in the Dominican Alps. In Jarabacoa we meet Stacy’s and Jen’s families and got to tour Jarabacoa a bit more and see where they lived and studied for the summer program. It is completely different from Santiago in so many ways. It’s a little slower paced, less people, more relaxed but also more impoverished. But seeing this is what really gets me interested in the social factors of public health and how education is taught in these regions regarding health issues. Hopefully we’ll be able to go back and see more of Jarabacoa and really get a good idea of what those cities in the “campos” are like.

Anyway, besides seeing Jarabacoa we also went to the Salto de Jimenoa which is about 20 minutes outside of Jarabacoa. The Salto de Jimenoa is basically a huge waterfall with an area to swim in the runoff area of the waterfall. I’ve got some pictures I’ll put up later when I have more time to do so. Anyway, we were told that there was a path you could take from the Salto de Jimenoa to the other waterfall about 40 minutes away. Well that’s a story in and of itself. Haha, what happened is that we got separated and sort of lost. :( It was like a movie, a bit of a disaster, but a happy ending. We climbed all the way up to a green water tank which took about 50 minutes to do so, and realized that we had no idea where to go, since Stacy, who took the path before, had been separated from us. So it was just a Dominican student, David, Kelly and I waiting for any kind of signal from the girls. Well, no signal came and it started to rain! We had no choice but to climb down the hardest path I had ever climbed up on. I slipped a bunch of times and have a bunch of scars right now, but I can say it was a definite interesting experience. A bit like Man vs. Wild except I really had no idea how to survive like Bear Grills. But I’m alive, a few scars, and a bit more confident in the Dominican wild! Haha. Anyway, today I’m just relaxing after yesterday’s adventure and just enjoying the company of my family. Tomorrow I get to choose my classes, and I think I’m going to take the Balie class! Just have to figure if any of my friends in our group are going to take it as well! Anyway, that’s all for now guys! Hope you guys are getting ready for classes, school, internships or any other thing that might be going on in your lives! Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you guys on the flip side! :)

Aug 25

Hey guys, what’s up? Hope all is well. Its been a pretty sweet couple of days. Sunday was really awesome cause David, Stacy and I just bought a couple of beers walked to El Monumento. That was really cool, we just walked around enjoying the Dominican culture as much as possible and just talking about plans for the future. Maybe a wee bit cheesy but still it was pretty fun. That night was just a calm night watching the Miss Universe competition at my house with my host family. Stacy, David and Mollie came over and we made bets on who we thought would win. Unfortunately Miss Dominican Republic came in at second place! Apparently one of our new Dominican friends is friends with Miss Dominican Republic, so maybe I could comfort her! Hahah, jk, but maybe I’ll meet her later. Probably not, but one can hope.

Anyway, yesterday we picked our classes! I’ve already decided which classes I’m going to take. I’m so far taking 13 credits, which include: Contemporary Hispanic Literature, Medical Sociology, Community Medicine, and a Dance class! I know! The dance class, I figured since other people were also interested in taking it, I should take it and maybe learn how to dance. Not all of us are in the same class, but we’re all in different sections together. So that was cool to finally get our classes picked out and ready to go. After that we got to go to a Jazz concert at the Gran Teatro de Cibao. It was just a like a really nice bar where we got to hear some really interesting experimental jazz. It was a really cool experience, apparently they do that every Monday, so I think I’ll definitely go back to listen to that sweet music. Otherwise things have been pretty slow since classes have started yet, but I’m sure next week will be a lot busier. Well thanks guys for reading and I’ll write another blog when more exciting things start happening. Nos vemos chavos! Saludos de Santiago.

Aug 26

Today has been really interesting. We had to get up early like around 7, and be at PUCMM at 8 so that we could go to a poorer region of the Santiago municipal. We got to go Pequeños Pasitos which is an clinic for the poor region of the outside rural areas of Santiago. The group that runs this clinic is called the Mother’s Wish Foundation. They have a website if you’d like to see it; www.motherwish.org They said they have pictures and describe what they do. It was really awesome to see what they’re doing for the poorer parts of the Dominican Republic. We meet the founders of the clinic and they gave us a tour and told us that this is where we’ll be having class (our Medical Community class) every Tuesday. So that was really awesome to hear, that we’ll be able to work with the community to really understand how education, prevention and medicine works in these rural areas. It was really incredible to see how this clinic works, its ins and outs. Diego (Jim actually-they can’t pronounce Jim here in DR haha) So anyway, he was telling us about the problems they face in their clinic and the towns they provide health services to. They have issues with water, which is a huge area for study, also with STIs, pregnancies, vaccinations and Dengue. Although I don’t want to be a doctor, seeing more of this clinic and what they’re doing, I feel like working as a doctor would be really beneficial, yet I feel like if I do research or become the middle man between these clinics and the goverments in which the clinics reside in, so much more could be done to help these people. Seeing this type of community, even just once, has made me more motivated to help doing what I can. I’m very excited for this class to start in order for us to really understand what needs to be done to make these types of clinics even better and more efficient. This is what I hope to do one day, but hopefully these next four months will really help me figure out what I want to do as a career. Otherwise, we’re making dinner tonight, everybody in our group has been at me for a long time to make my salsa verde, only thing is they don’t have tomatillos here, so I’m planning on making some salsa roja and una salsa de mango. Should be good, since we got some peppers from the campo of the clinic outside of Santiago. Everybody seems really excited for it. :) Anyway, just thought I’d share some thoughts about today’s experience. I’m really excited to get out there and really help out with the community. Hope all is well you guys! Enjoy your last couple of days of summer! We start classes tomorrow! Que chulo! Pues, nos vemos chavos, que tengas una buena noche. Ciao.

Los Primeros Días

19 de Agosto

I don’t really know how to start this, but I just I’ll just go ahead and start by saying I really think this trip is going to change me. I can’t even describe how awesome things are going so far. Not even 48 hours ago was I freaking out, but now I’m just so calm and loving Santiago. Man I can’t even tell you how odd being at the airport was waiting for the other people to show up. I was waiting like an idiot for any kind of sign for another student and that didn’t even happen till 12. I waited 2 hours and thought nobody was going to be on the flight! But of course people came and it was really awesome getting to know everybody; Jenn, Stacy and Mollie from Wisconsin; Kelly from OSU; Cristina from Washington of St. Louis; David from Illinois; and eventually meeting Jen from Minnesota. I can tell already we’re all going to be really good friends. We spent that night in Puerto Plata enjoying the beach and just having the best time with our only beach time! We all ended up wanting to stay even longer but we knew the next day we would be heading out to Santiago.

Santiago is just incredible. Its in the middle of the Cibao valley and makes it interesting a city as big as Santiago could be here; but here I am! We all were so nervous when we finally arrived in Santiago at PUCMM. I absolutely loved the campus, the parts that I saw anyway, but we get a more in depth look at it tomorrow! Then the moment I was honestly most worried about; meeting our host families! I was so excited and nervous at the same time but I can say confidently I am really going to enjoy living here with them. They are the nicest people. There’s Rosanna, Juan José and Maria José, their 5 year old daughter! They are just the nicest people! They were so welcoming and made me feel so much more at ease. I was just so happy when I finally meet them and realized they are the nicest, easygoing and courteous people. We went the supermercado today and that was really cool seeing actually Dominicans grocery shopping! I really excited to get know this city well and other Dominican students. But I’m just so psyched about being here right now that I forget sometimes about sleeping. But its about time I got some right now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll post something up soon! Ciao guys, miss ya all!

Viernes 21 de Agosto

Hola chavos! I hope everything is going well back home with all of you. Just thought I might wanna share some more info about the trip so far. I think the reason I’m writing so much right now is cause I don’t have any homework yet, and we don’t start classes until next weeks Thursday the 27 (how weird, start classes on a Thursday!) Anyway, yesterday was really awesome cause we got to experience the Santiago experience; we went throughout all of Santiago using conchas (taxis here) that are basically buses because they take you a route and only cost 13 pesos which is about 36 cents for a ride throughout the city! Anyways Jen Long and I were together with a Dominican student, Leó, who was originally born in the states and moved to DR to study at PUCMM. He was fun to have walking around Santiago to see the city, like the busy parts of Calle de Sol and El Mercado Moderno. I still wanna go see the Monumento de los Heróes, but I think my family said they’ll take me there soon!

Yesterday we also had the Placement Exam for Spanish! I felt pretty confident on most of the material, but the oral exam had me a bit nervous, but we’ll see how the results turn out next Monday! But what was really fun was when after we had the Santiago tour with our Dominican students from the Grupo de Apoyo, they invited all of us to go out with them to a club called Camus. We all decided we wanted to go and try and learn some Merengue and some Bachata, but in the end all we could do was some salsa! Which Jen was so eager to learn! :) The club was fun, and we meet other Dominican chicas who are also members of the Grupo de Apoyo and we were able to dance together and just have a really good time. All of them were very nice, and its good to know we’ll have good friends who are actually Dominicans! After the night was over we all were just so exhausted and ready for sleep, but nonetheless it was fun to see everybody let loose.

Anyways today is a pretty easy day. We already had the tour of campus which is just amazing and Leó was our guide (again) and showed us the whole of PUCMM. Its going to be a lot of fun to studying over there and Leó told us it’ll be a lot more interesting once classes start and we start seeing PUCMM in action. Later today we have more orientation at the house of our Director. Its really amazing our program cause we really do get individual attention from Lilly and from the Dominican students; they know us personally, they love hanging out and just are so helpful with questions or concerns. And like I said before I can tell already our group of friends, all from different colleges, we’re going to be good friends even after we leave here. We all get along great and we’re getting to know each other very well, I’m sure by the end of these 4 amazing months we’ll all stay in touch! Well guys, I should get going and learn how to cook some Dominican food with our family’s maid! Well thanks for reading and check back soon, cause tomorrow we’re leaving for Jarabacoa which is a city in the mountains where we’ll be visiting Stacy’s and Jen’s families and then doing some hiking and maybe water rafting, which Stacy said was really intense! Well check back soon guys and I’ll have more to say most likely! Thanks for reading, and I’ll talk to you guys later!