Today was mostly filled with orientation stuff. We learned about the history, current society and different education systems of the DR. We did have time to do some exploring in the town surrounding the base. We walked down the main road leading from the base to downtown Jarabacoa. We didn't go all the way into town, but a few of us girls did visit Halto Viejo, the town most of us will be living in the next several weeks. While walking, we met up with a school boy who took us up to the top of the road. We were able to see into the valley.


Lunch was amazing. It consisted of a meat/egg casserole topped with cheese. A variety of toppings ... tomatoes, salsa, lettuce, ranch dressing, corn ... were available.


I may be addicted to coffee by the time I get back. I really don't like it, but the coffee here is different. It is sweetened as it brews, so "black" coffee is similar to American coffee that has been doctored up.


This afternoon, we went into the main part of Jarabacoa for a photo scavenger hunt. It was kind of stretching to go out into a town where Spanish is basically the only thing spoken. I realized I knew a lot more than I previously thought. We were also able to exchange some of our money for pesos. We ate at Pico Pollo, a little outdoor restaurant that serves mainly chicken fingers. I also got fried green bananas which taste quite a bit like french fries, especially after you put salt on them. A stray dog sat under out table while we ate. Somebody must have fed him, because he followed us for a couple of blocks after we left.

I saw my first lizards today. They are all over the outsides of the buildings and boy are they fast!

la republica dominicana

We made it safely and mostly without incident to the DR. We left Bethel at 7 this morning and headed to Chicago. Our plane boarded on time, but we ended up sitting on the runway for almost an hour. Turns out the original flight crew for our plane was delayed, so a replacement crew had to be found. A lady was also escorted off the plane, which took some time. Apparently she was intoxicated and causing a bit of a scene. Because our flight was delayed, our layover in Miami was a bit shorter. We had plenty of time to get a bite to eat and contact people for the last time via cellphone. It was quite the feeling getting on the plane leaving Miami, knowing it was going to take us away from our country and into a place none of us had ever been to before. Our flight was a bit turbulent ... at one point, we even saw lighting. Unfortunately, it was pitch black by the time we landed so we couldn't really see much of Santiago. However, we'll be visiting it during our travel week next month. We got through customs and baggage claims without a hitch and quickly met up with the man in charge of Students International (I don't exactly know his name yet ... :P). We piled all of our luggage into a trailer and then piled most of ourselves into a fifteen passenger van and made our way up to the mission base in Juarabacoa. We are staying here for the next couple of days while we go through some more orientation. I was told we will be seeing lots of lizards and possibly cockroaches & spiders. Me and rodents are going to have a whole new relationship by the time December rolls around. It's pouring down rain right now. I understand this is a normal thing in the tropics.