I have officially been in-country for 1 week. Can you believe it? It feels as though I have been here about 1 month! My rusty spanish has been dusted off and I am no longer a stranger in the community in which I live—both necessary and exciting updates for my success as a future volunteer. Outside of our ~8 hours of Peace Corps training a day, I live a very slow Dominican life. I rarely leave my small barrio (neighborhood) and many afternoons consist of getting together with a volunteer or Dominican friend and sharing a Coke on the porch (a glass liter—very retro!). My neighbor taught me how to play Dominos the other night, which is the Dominican national pastime (besides baseball of course). It is a very fun game that gets rowdy fast! Lots of shouting and pounding on the card table, but all in good fun. We also practiced merengue and bachata in class the other day, which are the Dominican popular dances. The men here are great dancers (and I am not—not yet!)!

I also had the opportunity to venture with my classmates to downtown Santo Domingo, which I hadn’t yet been to. It was blazing hot and the busride took about a half hour—we were drenched in sweat by the time we arrived. From there, we were shown the hospital that we would need to go to if we were hurt, and the Peace Corps office and the American Embassy (which has a free pool not to be “abused” by us). After lunch at a restaurant (I got the pizza especial which consisted of pizza topped with corn, pepperoni and ham) we toured the sites. This included the zona colonial which contains old Spanish buildings including the first cathedral of the new world and the house of Christopher Columbus’ family, and the tourist shopping area. I must say, I favored the shopping area myself…

However, my favorite part of class yet has been our lessons on food (duh). We are learning the foods grown in the DR, the main food groups (of which there are only three), and how to cook various dishes. I am in a spanish class with 2 guys who know nothing about food, ingredients or cooking (including not knowing what an eggplant looked like or what it was), so me and Juana (our spanish teacher) took over (I felt so proud when she brought anise into class and I could identify it by simply seeing the seeds!). I often like to hang out by the kitchen at our training center, which is manned by 3 old Dominican women. They not only know how to cook the most amazing food for 75 people (in huge pots over open flames), but help me practice my spanish and help me identify foods. They are also the friendliest, wisest women I have met thus far!

Last night was an exciting adventure! My Dona, who rarely leaves the house, invited me to go shopping with her (which is great because I have been needing some more blouses/skirts). She suggested we go to the Carrefour, which is a french Walmart. And, as promised, it was exactly like Walmart. I was able to get 2 blouses for ~$20 which is expensive (in the Dominican), but I needed them. I also got huge pearl earrings for 60 cents, which I was excited about because I didn’t bring my real pearls from home. The adventure came when Dona and I became separated and I couldn’t find her. I went to the entrance, where she said we would meet in an emergency. So, I waited and waited and waited. For at least 30 minutes. I went back into the store to look for her, to no avail. Finally, I saw her walk out of the store and I chased after her. Turns out, she had been waiting at another entrance for me! She said she had an employee looking for me in the store (because of course, I would be the only young, white girl) and she almost had them announce my name over the loudspeaker. Now that would have been embarrassing! Gracias a Dios que no lo pasó.

Also last night I had my first scary encounter with the local fauna. In my neighborhood you find many street dogs, cats, geese, roosters and even goats that freely walk around—however I have never felt threatened by this menagerie. Rather, it was in my own room that I encountered the scariest local wildlife: A SPIDER THE SIZE OF MY PALM. Now, look at your own palm to grasp the significance of this size. Story: So I dropped my USB drive under my bedside table, and as I looked under the table, I saw my USB drive and this gigantic spider (A skinnier cousin of the tarantula, I’d say). While I am not someone who is scared easily of insects, I immediately screamed for my Dona, who came rushing in. I showed her the monster and she just laughed, as she picked up her flip flop and beat the spider to death (which had crawled onto my suitcase at this point)—this took a good 5 whackings. When I asked her what she was going to do with the crumpled carcass on my suitcase she said—“just leave it, I’ll clean your room in the morning”. Whelp, I woke up and the many ants had already gotten to the carcass. Lesson: it’s a doggy dog world.

Tonight I was invited to the “Car Wash” to celebrate another Peace Corps member’s birthday. There are many “Car Washes” around the city, which are real car washes during the day and bar/nightclubs at night. Whoever thought of this combination is a real entrepreneur! Unfortunately, the car wash that everyone is going to is many neighborhoods away, which means different modes of transportation late at night. My Dona has disallowed me from going, as apparently it is very dangerous to be a young, white American woman and take transportation (Peace Corps workers aren’t actually even allowed to take public transportation past 7pm because it is dangerous). So, while I can’t sample the nightlife, I have been invited next door to play Dominos and drink beer with a Dominican family. Some Peace Corps friends are coming too, so it’s a good compromise! Ah, the simple life. May all of you reading take some time out to enjoy friends and family!