Viva Santo Domingo! It’s been one month since I have arrived in this beautiful place! It’s hard to remember that I am not on vacation because the Mariapolis Center and the street we live on looks right at the Caribbean Sea! I am living in a house with two other youth (gen) of the Focolare, Juanny and Inmaris, and an older lady who is also in the Focolare named Mercedes. When I first arrived, the other girls were not here, and it was me and Mercedes for a few days. She doesn’t speak much English, and I don’t speak much Spanish (yet!), but they are all sweet as pie and have taught me a lot in just the one month I have been here.

In the first few days I was Mercedes’ shadow; following her to the store to learn how to navigate the streets, cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, taking and learning how to use the public transportation, and visiting some of the sites in the area of Ciudad Colonial, which is where I am living. Ciudad Colonial (or in English, Colonial City) is the first established city in the New World and was erected by Columbus’s brother, Bartholomew, and his son, Diego. A lot of the buildings here in Ciudad Colonial date back to the 1500s, so it’s kind of cool to think that I am living in the place where the first Europeans came to the New World. Mercedes has taken me on tours of the Cathedral Primada de América (deemed the first cathedral of the New World by Pope Paul III in 1542) and Alcázar de Colón (the home of Diego Columbus).

She also showed me how to get to El Café, which is the part of town I work in.  I’ve been teaching for two weeks now, and only two of the teachers speak English, so they translated for me a lot! The staff at the school welcomed me with open arms (literally…I got a lot of hugs!) The building itself is a very nice place for the kids to come and learn. It has a gym, a cafeteria, nice bathrooms, a recess area, many classrooms, a technology room, and a beautiful view of the mountains. The children at the school are so awesome! They have amazingly big personalities! When I first started at the school, the kids thought it was really funny when I spoke English…and even funnier when I tried (and try) to speak Spanish! I am really trying to learn some classroom phrases I can use while I’m there so I don’t sound so goofy! The kids also really like to say “Hello” to me and they also like to touch my hair! Haha! I don’t know why they would want to because it always looks so terrible from the ridiculous heat! Sweat is, and will be a part of my everyday routine here in the DR…!

I’ve learned a lot of Spanish while I was here, and the language is not the only thing that I have had to get used to in this new country. There is the wonderfully exciting and exhilarating experience of taking public transportation in Santo Domingo….! Aye! Take all the rules of driving in the US and throw them out the window! Seat belts, not important. Stop signs, not important. Doors on guaguas, not required. It’s a different world! I find myself holding my breath sometimes when I ride around this town because things are just not like they are in the US. There are a lot of other things I’ve learned here too: dominoes is a way of life and building neighborly connections; in the streets it’s normal to play bachata, merengue, and salsa at any day any hour at any volume level; ask before you eat because you might have just eaten pig’s feet.

I’ve also gotten the chance to go with friends to the beach twice already! My friends here are so awesome and their families are so welcoming of me and have allowed me to become a part of their families as well! Today I will travel to the north to Santiago Rodriguez with one of the girls I live with! We will stay at her family’s house, and I’m excited to get to experience a new part of the Dominican Republic for a few days! I hope to update my blog at least once a month, so I hope you all can continue to follow me on this adventure!

Saludos de mi parte!