I finally got a car. It's a 2003 Toyota Duet. It was such a blessing. It was about $1000 less than I wanted to spend. The only thing I had to do was fix the alarm system, get a radiator flush, and an oil change. The nice thing is that labor is super cheap here, so I got an oil change and radiator flush, air filter, an air freshener, and the bushings (no idea what those are) tightened for $50. I also found a great car accessory place. I went to get a new radio and they fixed my alarm, cigarette lighter outlet, clock, headlights for free and gave me a free steering wheel cover and air freshener because I had to wait a while. It is really hard to find honest places with good customer service. It's good to know they exist here!
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| My Car! |
I've been making a lot more friends. I went from thinking that there were no other English speakers at my school, but everyday I discover more and more. I am feeling much more at home here now. I always have been really happy living here, but it's been a little lonely. But now, I have a few really good friends. It's really refreshing!
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| Yajahira, Me, and Isabel |
We (Me, Isabel, and Anthony), have found a house for this coming year. It's beautiful. We are calling it Big Red. It is the most modern looking house I have seen here. They were trying to sell it, so everything is newly painted and remodeled. It has a usable roof, but a super scary set of stairs that lead up to it. Besides being big and beautiful, one of the things that I like the most is that the gas tank for the stove is outside. Most of the houses have the gas tanks inside the house which makes me so nervous. It also has a parking space (for my new car!) and a nice outside area for the animals. We are going to have a virtual zoo at our house because I have a dog, Anthony has a dog and Isabel has a cat. It's going to be fun!
I've gone to the capital a couple times this semester. It is so much more modern than where I live. They have a couple malls and American restaurants. In the last month, I have gone to three American restaurants that I have never been to before, not even in the States: Chilis, Johnny Rockets, and Nathan's. I also got a membership to PriceSmart, which is like Sam's Club or Costco. This way I can get imported food for cheaper and bulk dog food. I already paid for my membership because I saved $2' on 40 pounds of dog food and about $20 on shredded cheese.
On a related note, cheese. Any dairy products that are made here taste kind of funky. I don't know what the difference is, but they just taste weird. I buy powdered milk because it tastes the same as the milk in a carton and lasts longer. Also, cream cheese and sour cream taste like they are rotten. Cheese tastes like they mix chalk in with it. But the other day, I found out that you can buy Wisconsin cheese here. I found a sharp cheddar spreadable cheese and sliced cheese also made in WI. And when I bought my 5 pound bag of shredded cheese at PricesMart, I found out it was also made in WI. California has nothing on us!!
We have had a very inactive first month of hurricane season. We've had some rain, but nothing like last year...so far. Still have five months left. The winds have shifted, and the Caribbean has had four so far, but we haven't been hit by anything. It's been so hot lately, that a tropical storm wouldn't be so bad.
I started running in May. It's been really fun actually, or at least after the initial agony! I am up to a 10 minute mile, which is pretty slow, but considering I haven't run in probably 10 years, I don't think it's too shabby. Running in the Dominican Republic is an experience. I have to either go early in the morning (which never happens) or after 5:30pm because it's too hot and humid to do it earlier. I picked a horrible time of the year to start running. It's either super hot or raining. Most days I start sweating by just putting on my running clothes.
I think that is enough for now. As always, if you have an questions or want to hear about something specific, just let me know!
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