After a LONG day (or two) of travels (an evening flight from Minneapolis to New York La Guardia and then a taxi to a hotel closer to JFK, and then a 7 am flight out of JFK to Santiago...which we almost missed due to some troubles paying international taxes for Soren...but we made because of one REALY NICE Delta worker...yay!)...we were a little tired when we got to the Dominican! Thankfully Soren slept really well on the flights, and in the hotel in NYC, so he was pretty much on his regular schedule...pretty much. In any case, we didn't slow down once we landed since the community was geared up to party. And then we discovered that our (American/Dominican) hosts were flying out of the country the next morning so we would stay at the home of the preschool's cook/custodian/woman in charge, Belkis. In the neighboring town in an authentic Dominican home. With Soren. OK! Change of plans!
And you know what? It turned out awesome.
Our room. This is a very nice Dominican house, with slatted windows that close and real furniture.
Belkis lives right on the main (old, bumpy, pot holed) road through the mountain villages. Her mom recently passed away but she ran a "Vivero" which is a nursery for tropical plants. We stayed in Belkis' mom's house with her father-in-law. He is a funny, old man, who is hard to understand but loved showing Soren the ceramic animals that were in the house.
Soren seems happy with his new surroundings and just wants to run around.
You can see the termite damage on the doors behind Soren (which leads into Grandpa's room).
You can see the termite damage on the doors behind Soren (which leads into Grandpa's room).
The only problem with our situation...well...one problem, in any case, was that we were there Sunday night, which is Dominican social night. And there were motorcycles (LOUD, no muffler ones) zooming past our room (maybe 4 feet away?) what felt like all night (but really just until maybe 10 or 11) and bachata music (love you Antony Santos). And it kept waking Soren up. Boo. And we were HOT because it was the Dominican! In June! And the power went out and never came back so the fan didn't work (just one light bulb). And there were termites, which had demolished nearly all the wooden door and frame, and I found a few crawling on the bed (eww!). But I write all this because it will remind me that we survived! And had fun! And to remind me that the Dominicans are such wonderful, kind hosts, and will give you everything they have and then more, too. And to remind me that our lives are so different here in the States...so quiet, so orderly, so individualized and not the whole-community-shares-your-business (in an ok way) like in the DR...
We especially loved the next morning when Belkis' husband and his father showed Soren around the Vivero. They had a lot of animals, and then were so kind and gave us freshly picked bananas from their trees, and some cuajuil (which is either translated as "Peruvian Apple" or "Brazilian Pear" depending on which spouse you ask!). Soren really liked those. He gobbled an entire one up while watching the chickens and geese run around, looking at the turtles in their ponds and the pool of fish. It was a fun morning indeed!
Eating cuajuil and loving it.
Playing on the patio in the morning. That there's the road where the action happens.
Freshest banana ever! The Vivero is out that door.
This second day we also spent in the mountain, visiting with some friends, eating Cheima lunch and ridiculous amounts of mango and other fruit, and returning to the school to see the first day of summer camp. Photos to come!
That was a rough start for you, but I trust you managed well. Now you can just laugh at those little annoyances that you were initially in. Except of course, if those infuriating termites are still around to bug you in your sleep. I hope not. I assumed you’ve already done something about that. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteJoshua Harvey @ Invader