My very long trip started at 2pm on Sunday. We went through Wisconsin to get to Minneapolis. We stopped in Spooner to get gas and I realized that I had forgotten my passport back in Ashland. So my brothers drove it to Drummond and we turned around and met them there. This was only the first hitch in a myriad of other hitches n

We made it to the cities around 9pm and slept quickly. We left for the airport around 3:30am. After getting checked in, I had to say goodbye to my parents. That was incredibly difficult.

Fast forward to Miami...Due to hurricane Irene, it was doubtful that there would be any flights going to the Dominican Republic. After sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours, were finally in the air. Flying into a tropical storm/hurricane is super scary. Every time we went through a cloud cover, there was horrible turbulence and it felt like we were crashing. But we landed without incident.

I made it as far as San Juan, Puerto Rico where we found out that all flights to the DR and various other islands in the Caribbean were cancelled. We were put on standby for the 7am flight the next morning (Tuesday). I found a hotel, in the airport, and tossed and turned for hours before finally falling asleep.

Hurricanes are interesting things. Even when the actual hurricane passes, there is still an incredible amount of rain, thunder, and lightening. This kept me up for a really long time.

The next morning, I made my way to the gate to see if there was room on the flight, but it was cancelled. We were then put on standby for the 11am flight, but no sooner had that happened, then that flight was cancelled also. I returned to my hotel room and took a nap. We I got up, I decided that I would call the airline and have them book me a seat on the next available flight...this turned out to be 7am on Wednesday.

I still had the opportunity to get on standby for the last flight out onTuesday. There were about 40 of us that had been given blankets from the airline because it was so cold in the airport. We were very easy to identify and as the amount of red blankets grew, I knew that my chances of getting out any earlier than Wednesday morning were shrinking. When I checked, the plane held 64 people, and there were 87 people on standby. So I got a hotel room again and went to bed.

At 6am the next morning (Wednesday), I got my first ray of hope...the departure monitor read "Santo Domingo-on time." I almost cried with joy!!

But then, upon arriving in Santo Domingo, I found that my luggage had not. But then, everything else went okay. I made it through customs with no problem because, according to the customs agent, I am "very pretty" and "speak Spanish with a pretty accent." if that gets me through customs, I am totally okay with being objectified!

I got settled in my hotel, got a cell phone and took a nap. My friend Peters met me after work and showed me an apartment that is a 2 minute walk to the school and is directly above his apartment.

Now here is the point where all of you people paying rent in the states, especially those of you in place like Boston, can get jealous! My new apartment is three bedrooms, two bath (one in my room), kitchen, living room, dining room and balcony. I have a washer, but I'm not sure how to use it. I guess you put it in the bath tub? How much will I be paying for this? $525/month! And that is if I decide not to get a roommate!

There are things that are very different here. For example, instead of paying a one month's deposit, you pay two months deposit and a one months amount for some lawyer fee. That sucks, it makes things so much more expensive at the beginning.

There is this awesome store here called Jumbo. Side note: is that not the best name for a store! Right up there with Bimbo bakery. Anyway...they not only sell things like clothes, school supplies, and food, but they have a deli counter where you can buy weird things to eat, already cooked. Some of them look good, like lasagna, pork chops, and such, but some look horrible, like this weird mashed potato lasagna stuff, gross looking okra, etc. But for some reason, it seems like the worse looking the stuff, the more popular it is. I've stuff with lasagna!

So that is basically it so far. I've met a couple people. In fact when I went to Jumbo today to get my lasagna, I recognized two people and they said hi to me! I am going on an adventure tonight to try to find this church. I really want to walk there, but it has been raining really hard on and off today. Also, I think it is about 10 miles from where I am living. It will be an adventure. Thankfully I live in a very safe town. There is crime, but it is almost exclusively drug and gang related. It is rare that any one not involved is hurt or killed.

It feels like there a no other foreigners here, but I was told by my friend Peters that there a plenty of travelers here...I'm just the only one that is white! Even in Ecuador, there were natives whiter than me. Here I have not seen anyone that is as white or even close to me. I stand out like a sore thumb! But maybe after I tan, I will fit in a bit. No one here thinks I'm American though...still the Spanish argument!

I know that this is a little long...hopefully the rest of the posts won't be novels, but in my defense, there was a lot that has happened in the last four days. I am off on my adventure. This could be a bit interesting because everyone will give you directions whether they know where to go or not. Wish me luck!