Alison's Journey to the Dominican Republic

Destiny Quest is the best thing to come to students (and teachers!) at Columbus North High School’s Library. Destiny Quest is a catalog to search for library materials – but it is so much more than that too.

Personalization: The first thing you should do when accessing Destiny Quest is to log-in and view your account. You can easily see what books you have checked out and their due dates. It’s not just a list though – it brings up full color images of the cover of each book you have checked out.

Users can also modify the “Theme” of Destiny Quest when they are logged in. A change in theme changes the colors and background pictures. It’s a small thing, but, as a teacher I’ve found that students love personalization and choice.

In addition to this personalization students can also add books to their own “shelves” these “shelves” are labeled “Books I’ve Read,” “Book I’m Reading” and “Books I want to Read.” To add a book you simply open up that book and select “Add to Shelf:”

Currently, my shelves are pretty bare, but I will be working to fill them up so I can see all the books I’ve read, keep track of what I’m reading, and most importantly, keep a ready list of books I want to check out and read in the future.

These book shelves are not just for me. With Destiny Quest students and teachers can make “Friends” in a social networking style and share their shelves with their friends. If I know that Susie and I have similar reading preferences I can browse through her shelves to find my next read.

If I don’t have a friend to browse her selves I can go to the Destiny Quest homepage and check out the top ten books being checked out of the Columbus North High School Library. Or, if I’m interested in the newest books our library offers I can browse the “New Arrivals” on the homepage.

Well, above there is lots of information about what “cool” things you can do with Destiny Quest, but what about it’s main job, searching for library resources? Destiny Quest does this too. In fact, Destiny Quest does a great job offering ways to sort through search results. For example, if I’m looking for information about Immigrants and I search “Immigrants” I get 134 results. To narrow that down I can choose to browse by: Author, Subject, Genre, Publication Year, Length of Book, Awards, Language and Format. So, if I am looking for non-fiction biographies on immigrants I narrow by genre and choose “Biography.”

I could give a million examples of all the great ways I can use the sorting tools in Destiny Quest, but you get the idea. Overall, I encourage all teachers at Columbus North High School to become familiar with Destiny Quest so that you can help your students use is (and use it yourself). I encourage everyone at CNHS to log-in, fill your virtual shelves, check out books, write review, make recommendations and overall to use the great tools out library has to offer!

Now, I’m off to fill my “shelves” and read a new book!

We've been in Cabarete for a few days now and this is where I will be staying the rest of my trip. Tomorrow I will switch to a different hotel when the other ISV participants fly home. Overall it has been an amazing trip. Cabarete is a very international town; many people come to visit it in order to go surfing, kite boarding and/or wind surfing. There are a lot of little shops with people trying to see you souvenirs. There are many great places to eat and hangout, some right on the beach.

It is much easier to get around in this town as a non-Spanish speaker than it has been in other places. Most of the employees around town speak at least some English. Being in a country where I do not speak the language has really shaped my views about language. I think that in our home countries we take for granted the ability to communicate. It is something I feel is very personal. With another English speaker I can explain myself clearly, ask questions and even make jokes that use idioms, metaphors or other figures of speech. Without the ability to communicate I have felt very vulnerable. I also feel like I understand so much about another person by what he or she says and how it is said. I use language to read a person and decide if I should trust them or like them. The times I have not been able to communicate have been the most frustrating parts of my trip. I remember one day stopping at a fastfood place as we were traveling. I did my best to order chicken fingers and a drink and then understand the price. The woman was fed up with my inability to communicate/understand her and I felt she was down-right rude. I did manage to pay, get my food and move along but I was almost in tears over the frustration of this simple task. I want to be clear that this is not a typical experience. Most places I have been people are much more understanding and they will show you the price on paper or calculator and together the Spanish speaker and I can awkwardly manage a mutual understanding. These experiences have just reinforced my distaste for people who complain about Hispanic immigrants in Columbus (or any American town for that matter) who cannot speak English. Being the language minority automatically puts you at a disadvantage -- to be treated cruelty, cheated or just to be unable to express your needs on a daily basis.

All the time I have been here I have wished that I could speak Spanish-- just to have a fair advantage, to communicate with people, to learn to follow directions -- everything. I cannot imagine that any immigrant or traveler would not feel the same way -- but the truth is language is difficult and complicated, even for myself, a college educated high school teacher. So, my request is if you ever find yourself complaining about a minority language speaker, remember my stories and if you here others complaining please, on my behalf, stand up to them -- because speaking from experience not being able to speak the language is one of the most frustrating, embarrassing and disadvantaged positions you can be in.

Well, it's almost time for our ISV group to move on to our next location. We have all enjoyed the cool air of the mountains in Jarabacoa. We went white water rafting, my first time, and it was awesome. It was a beautiful course and we also go to stop and jump off a 20 foot cliff into the river. The best part for me was on a slow portion of the river where we all got out and just floated in our life jackets. You could lay on your back in the water and just look up ant the cliffs, mountains, greenness and everything beautiful surrounding you. The rapids were also exhilarating.

Today we were scheduled to go rappelling and cliff jumping but it rained all night and a lot of today so the river we were going to be jumping in was too high and it was canceled. Some people in our group went on a second day of rafting instead -- but I chose to enjoy a slow day here at our awesome hotel, Gran Jimenoa and then GiGi and I went into town together later on in the afternoon.
.

Tomorrow we're driving for several hours then stopping to go horseback riding to a waterfall where we'll get to stop an swim and then horseback ride back. Tomorrow night we'll be lodging in Las Terranas, which is on the north coast of the country. Goodbye mountains, hello beaches!

Friday afternoon we arrived at the Mercure Comercial hotel of Santo Domingo in the Zona Colonial. The Zona Colonial is centered around a pedestrian street with lots of shops, hotels and places to eat and drink. It is called the Zona Colonial because the buildings and statues date back to the colonial times with the Columbus brothers, Christopher and Bartholomew founded the first streets and churches of the “New World.” The hotel was an indescribably amazing change from the rural accommodations of Rancho Campeche. We basked gleefully in the air conditioning, wi-fi, hot showers, access to civilization and the overall glory of being in the capital of the DR.

We toured the area with a guide who showed us ruins, churches and statues. It was a really great experience. We saw a fort that has an underground dungeon (We did not get to go in) that Trujillo used to hold and torture political prisoners.

That night we searched all over for a pharmacy to buy contact solution for Alyssa. It ended up costing equal to $20 USD for a large bottle of Renu. After that we pigged out American-Style at pizza hut.

Saturday we went on our first official Adventure Tour outing. We drove about two hours to a Rancho Capote which is in Hayto Mayor. There we were warmly greeted and sat down for fresh squeezed orange juice and a breakfast of small sandwiches. We were then suited up in stylish rappelling suits and harnesses. We mounted our horses, hard-hats in tow and trotted off. Eventually we reached a place where we could no longer ride our horses, and we set off on foot. We were promised a forty five minute hike that was “mostly flat” well… I’ve since learned what “Dominican Flat” is like: uphill, down hill, rocks and more rocks. We came to a place where there was a hole in the ground. Rappelling ropes were bolted into the rocks above. Third in line after our brief lesson on how to rappel, I did all I could to contain my anxiety and waited my turn. Sidney went down, followed by Kori, and next was me. The guide fastened my “figure 8” with the belt and I was reminded once again the three rules: hold the rope in your right hand low and behind you, use your left hand to push on the rock wall and look up. Into the darkness I went. It took everything to concentrate on slowly lowering myself using my right hand; which was good because it left nothing in my mind left to think about the situation I was in. Needless to say, I did it and, it was awesome. We all descended into the “devil’s mouth” and then followed our guides through a series of caverns and passage ways. One point was so low we had to crawl and others were so cavernous I can only compare it to standing in a majestic cathedral . In fact, many majestic cathedrals all lined up in a row, one after another.

We saw stalactites and stalagmites… with huge circumference. They had been “growing” there for thousands of years. We saw rock formations that resembled Bob Marley, The Predator, a mother and her child, Aladdin’s Lamp and more. Eventually we began reaching pools of water, and the pools of water became deeper so we swam. Nothing was terribly deep, but there was no way to see the bottom. I was leading the line, following the guides as we reached a point where, in order to continue, we had to go underwater—under a rock. The guide went first and held out his hand for me to hold on to. Uno, dos, tres and I dove under for a only a second and emerged on the other side. He guided my hand to a rope where I was able to swim and pull myself along until the water was shallow again. At this point in the cave there were many ropes that zigzagged across the cavern at about shoulder height. We were told that if the water had been higher due to rain we would have been harnessed to the ropes in order to safely swim through the next section of the cave. As we reached the end light began to filter through and in the distance we could see the green foliage from the outside world and the silhouettes of bats flying near the entrance of the cave. It was and amazing feeling. Where we exited the mouth of the cave was a large cavern. Overall, I know my descriptions fall short of the awe I felt throughout this experience. At the mouth of the cave we were met with our horses (brought by other employees of Rancho Capote) and buckets of ice cold beverages. We relaxed with our drinks then mounted our horses for the ride back to the camp. Downey, my horse, and I cantered up a hill to see a beautiful Dominican countryside and I knew this had been one of the greatest days of my life.

That evening we returned to Santo Domingo. We went to dinner at a far-from-typical Italian restaurant. The food was Italian; I had prosciutto and mozzarella balls, but the atmosphere was far from Italy. The back “room” which was under a canopy was filled with “beds.” King size leather(ish) mattresses, each with its own sheer red canopy lined one wall. We should have known by the neon sign “BED” … but nothing could have prepared us for this club’s level of suave.

After dinner we walked to Casa de Theatro. We stopped shortly at our hotel – which had no power—and then went along on our way. Xiomara Fortuna was playing and we were determined to be her American cheering and dancing crowd. The concert was awesome, the music was all in Spanish but beats and notes are universal. It was an amazing way to end a day of a lifetime.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

You haven’t truly lived in the Republica Dominicana until you’ve traveled in the back of a pickup with 26 of your friends. Yesterday we took our first of two “field trips” while we are at the project. We went to the town of San Cristobal and went to a large Wal-Mart like store. It was air conditioned and they sold bug spray; it was amazing. Next we went to a park area where they have damned up parts of a river to make swimming pools. They have slides and several levels of seating. We had a waiter and ordered drinks and snacks. Some people swam, others just sat and relaxed, a few people danced – it was a blast. And then we were back in the best type of transportation – the truck. The wind in your hair, holding on for dear life, singing, waving at the adoring fans (locals)…. It can’t be beat. And we had to be quite the spectacle: a group of mostly female Americans (or at least whites) packed in the back of a truck. The riding in the back of a truck part is actually not that uncommon – it happens all the time here – but we still got a lot of attention.

Today we are taking the truck again to the beach. This will be my first Caribbean beach ever. The beach we’re going to is west of Santo Domingo and not too far from San Cristobal. Monday we go back to working on our community projects – my group has “school” on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then we’ll do construction Tuesday and Thursday. Friday around lunch we’ll be leaving Rancho Campeche. Most of our group is coming along on the adventure tour but we are going to have to say goodbye to a few people. The first night (nights?) of our Adventure Tour will be in Santo Domingo – the capital. I’m already excited about having wi-fi in our hotel room. The hotel that ISV has booked is only a couple of blocks from the hotel that I am planning on staying at on my way back, Hotel Freeman, so I will get to walk down and check it out and probably make a reservation for the last few days of July. I also found out that Christiana, one my project leaders will be staying in Cabarete and Santo Domingo during the last week when I am here without ISV. She is also taking an extra week – so it will be nice to have another person I know in the area. Also, ISV will probably have other tours in those areas while I am there. When we are in Cabarete there will be a Wind Surfing Competition and the last days of July when I am in Santo Domingo there will be a annual Merengue festival going on – so there’s a lot to look forward to.

A couple of other tid-bits...

I had my first “Back to School” dream last night where I wasn’t ready to go and ended up wearing Chuck Taylor All Stars and a hoodie to class.

The 200 Peso bill here has a picture of the three deceased Mirabal sisters on it – which just shows how important they are to the country. I’ll be bringing home some bills to show everyone. Their money here is really pretty.

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Last night Xiamara spent another hour or so talking to us about her community, country and the culture here. She described more details about religion, education and the time of Trujillo.

The people of the Republica Dominicana who are from African decent still practice a form of their native African beliefs. However, in the constitution of the Dominican Republic it states that everyone here must practice Catholicism and native religions are not allowed. If someone is found guilty of practicing an African ceremony in current times they would probably be thrown in jail for a day or less and then released. The punishment is not harsh and usually it is the priests or other church workers who are on the lookout for people who break the law. The way that most people still practice their African religion is by covering it up with Catholic symbols and icons. For example, they might bow down to pray to a specific saint but each Catholic saint has a “partner” saint who is an African saint or god that they are truly praying to in their hearts. They might make an alter with pictures, candles and other icons and there would be a cloth covering the table – but under the cloth would be the names of the African saints whom they are praying to. The community here in El Limon follows more of the African religion or “voodoo” than in other areas. The whole country varies between degrees of Catholicism, Christianity and other practices including religions that originated here, before colonization, in Africa and also in other parts of Central America before colonization.

Another common practice here is to give each person a “secret” name and also a “public” name. This is part of the African religion. The “secret” name, often known only by the parents and the child is believed to be powerful. If you have a wish or desire and you go to a “mystery man” who will take your secret name and help you to achieve your wish. However, if someone other than you knows your “secret” name then they could use it for evil against you in a type of voodoo.

Another part of the community that Xiomara is trying to improve is education. There are several primary schools in the area. School is usually formatted so a child would attend four grades and that would be like elementary school, and then four more years and that is like middle school. In order to attend high school, known here as “college,” a student must travel back and forth from a farther away town. It is rare for students to go to high school because of the costs involved in travel and because their families often need them to work and help support the family instead of attend school. Unfortunately, this causes the community to not have any professionals and as the generations mature the pattern is repeated.

Most students start school around the age of seven and if they go through the eight years that count like elementary and middle school they will finish around the age of 15. Jason said that overall the in the Dominican Republic students test three grades levels lower than their peers in other countries. On average it would costs a student about $5 USD (or 180 pesos) a day for transportation to and from high school and for a lunch while they are there. Some of the teenagers that work here at Rancho Campeche are getting scholarships from the foundation to go to school and get an education. It would cost about $1000 a year to sponsor one student with a scholarship to meet the basic needs of transportation and food to go to high school.

After high school the public university is not terribly expensive. It might cost $100 USD a year, however the cost of living near the university is what hinders most students from continuing on after high school. A student would need to rent a studio apartment which would be about $200 USD a month and then pay any other bills, groceries, books and the university fees.

Before our time with Xiomara was over I asked her to talks some about the time when Trujillo was in power and the influence of the Mirabal sisters. Basically everything she talked about backs up the details that are in In the time of the Butterflies. She talked about how the fear of Trujillo overpowered the nation and people were killed and tortured for displeasing him. She told about spies and workers who were (as the book says) on “double pay roll.” She also talked about how difficult it was to move on for the country because of all the backstabbing and spying that had been done. In the book there is a line about how the hardest part would be “forgiving each other.” Xiomara explained that almost no one will talk about the time of Trujillo because it was such a dark and difficult time for the country. Dede Mirabal is one of the few people who will tell the whole story. Dede is still alive and she is living in Salcedo at the Mirabal home.

Recently, there has been a journalist who is uncovering military documents and preparing to publish them. There is a feeling that there are still many unanswered questions about Trujillo and some of the military may not want information to come out. Some people also question the validity of his death – perhaps he was wisked away to a secret location. Although this is unlikely it is something that people question, much like theories about Hitler’s death. Part of the reason some people are saying that he was not killed is because no one wants to have the blame of killing him – even if he was a horrible dictator.

Apparently, one of Trujillo’s daughters who lives in Miami is publishing a book about how great her father was and she is also hosting a celebration in his honor in San Cristobal in a few weeks. It will be interesting to hear if there are protests or what exactly happens. San Cristobal is known for being a dangerous place anyways.

It was a thrilling experience to hear the story from a person who lived through the end of Trujillo’s reign and even more so that Xiomara’s stories confirm that overall In the time of the Butterflies is an accurate story about the lives of the Mirabal sisters, Trujillo’s reign, other revolutionaries and the recent history of the Dominican Republic.

Rancho Campeche – Saturday June 26th AM
Rancho Campeche is amazing. It is so peaceful compared to the busy city of Santiago. This place has a spirit like church camp in my childhood.

Almost nothing here looks commercially made. I imagine volunteers over the past years have created most of the bunks, chairs and tables. Many things have special touches, design in the mosaic rock, colored tiles in the floor or pain on the tables.

Here you are never truly inside. We eat and talk under a canopy made of dried palm leaves. At night we sleep with the cabin doors open under our mosquito nets. In the morning we wake up to cicadas buzzing, birds singing, roosters crowing and peacocks (which I have never seen) making the strange cat-like sounds that they make.

Electricity is minimal here. Our cabins and bathrooms have no outlets, only lights. The shower rooms have no roofs and the water comes out of a pipe in the wall – cold. Our group leaders seem really great. They are very laid back and seem invested in making this an awesome experience for everyone involved.

I am interested in finding out more on how to work for ISV from my group leaders. It seems like an awesome experience. However, I haven’t forgotten how hard it was to leave home but being here makes me wonder what type of opportunities might be possible in the future.

Saturday, June 25th PM
Today our entire group was invited to a local family’s house for a celebration. They were celebrating the one year memorial of Yolanda’s father’s death. To memorialize him they invited many friends to play drums – one of his favorite activities. They had a table set up with flowers, candles and pictures. They gathered around playing drums. There was intense energy in that room. It felt like a great privilege to be there. Sweat was dripping down everyone and the drums were loud and filled the whole space, people were shouting and singing along with the music. You really can’t imagine it – and I only say that because I would not have been able to imagine it. After a while one woman started dancing even more strongly, her body was convulsing and she seemed out of control of her body. It is believed that when families have these celebrations that the spirit of the passed family member returns to speak to the family. He or she returns in the body of one of his children. This woman was one of Yolanda’s sisters, a daughter of the passed father. We all stepped back as she continued to dance. Her family members gathered around her to keep her from hurting herself because it was as if she had no control over her body herself. The people here practice a religion that is based out of Africa. They worship African gods. However, because of Spanish colonization the official religion of the country was Catholic. It was at one time against the law to practice their native religions and so they began using Catholic iconography mixed in with their original beliefs and African traditions.

Sunday June 26
Tomorrow begins the intense work. My group has three construction days (MWF) and we are working with the kids two days (T/R).
It is starting to feel like a home here… more and more like camp. Together we suffer through whatever trials are—homesickness, spiders or just the sweat -- trivial or significant-- we are all in this together.

I’ve learned more about how one becomes an ISV leader. It requires two full months in the summer and a week of training in May. I don’t know how I would be able to get off work for a full week in may—maybe taking it with no pay? I still don’t know it is the right option for me but I have some time and five more weeks in this country to think about it.

I finished the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and it was amazing. It did give me “heavy boots,” just a little but it is an intriguing story and I would recommend it to anyone. Special things to Evelyn for letting me borrow her copy.

This afternoon we had some discussion time with Ziamara, who is one of the two main founders of this camp. She also heads up a women’s group, or foundation, made up of mothers in the community who are working with Rancho Campeche and ISV to improve conditions in the area. Ziamara is a musician who has lived all over the world and then she returned here to do this community work. The foundation receives a small amount of money from the women involved, it also receives money from our donations. The physical donations we give are sold at a small price to the people of the community then that money is put back into the foundation. They use the money to offer no-interest loans when someone is sick and needs to go to a doctor.

At our first group discussion we talked about Sustainable Development. We covered the areas of economic sustainable development, social and ecological sustainable development. We talked about how the goals of RC and ISV both aim to meet sustainable development in all three areas so that the work we do can have an impact long after we are gone. We also each wrote down our personal goals for the two week s of work here. Here are the goals I chose:
1. To gain a greater understanding of Dominican Culture.
2. To make new friends and learn from their experiences and life perspectives
3. To reflect on my life and my future from afar and think about what goals I have for myself back at home.
When Natalia spoke of her goals she said she wanted to be “necessary for someone” and I felt like somehow by breaking it down to as simple as that it meant something strong. We want so much (as Americans, as young people) to be independent –we don’t want to depend on others and we do not want to be depended on. That mentality is so very isolating and selfish – but safe – because if you don’t have to depend on others then no one can let you down except yourself and if no one is depending on you then only you can let you down. But, if you are so very independent then what can you gain from others and what can you give to others? Jason, our group leader said his goal was to help us receive the benefits of how good it feels to give and to become life- long givers. Depending on others, being depended on, giving and taking from others is all a risk but the rewards greatly out- weigh any possibility for disappointment.

Tuesday, June 29th
Yesterday was our first day of construction. We cleared brush/compost, hand-mixed and laid concrete for a sidewalk on the edge of a basketball court and laid block to make a wall.

The area we are working on will become a community center. It is “in town” and next to their school. There is already a basketball court and later we(ISV) will finish building walls for the tutoring center (there is already a roof and floor). The women’s group here will also use the building to sell their goods in the community and therefore help to keep money both in the community and to keep up the community center.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 AM
Yesterday was my group’s first day working with the kids. The way the program is set up is children are chosen based on their good attendance and behavior in school during the regular school year. Then each day there are 2 “classes” on in the morning from 9-12 and one from 2-5. Each class is a different set of kids, and we do the same lessons and activities. There is a pickup truck that busses the kids from a central bus-stop to Rancho Campeche. The ISV curriculum is set up to teach on topics of safety, personal hygiene, recycling, some English words and phrases, as well as arts and crafts, and games and songs.

Working with the kids is a lot of fun. They mostly seem happy and excited to be there. Some of the older kids seem to think it is a little too kiddish and some of the kids who I imagine have either little education or just difficulty in general get upset and frustrated easily – just like any other place.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 PM
For once, right now, I am not sweating; this is a miracle. Usually, I’m living in constant sweat and bugspray… I’m still wearing busspray but it’s nice for an evening not to be completely sweaty. Speaking of bugspray and bugs… last night we discovered two giant tarantulas. It’s become common to all the sudden hear someone screaming bloody murder. Often it is a moth as big as your hand or a beetle larger than a golf ball or a giant cockroach but last night took the cake. The first tarantula was in the bathroom chillin on the ledge. The second one was in our cabin and it crawled out of Chivanie’s bag, over her hand and then onto her backpack. Imagine a furry black mouse with eight creepy crawly black legs crawling around under your bed… you’d scream bloody murder too. All of you animal lovers out there will be happy to know that neither tarantula was killed both were escorted out of the buildings and back into the wild so that they can give someone else a heart attack tonight after dark. Sweet Dreams ;)

Thursday, July 01, 2010 AM

There’s nothing quite like starting the morning with a cup of Dominican coffee. It’s another beautiful day here at Rancho Campeche. Yesterday our group had a successful day at the construction site. We finished the wall/fence, we cleared more brush and put a smooth layer of cement on the outside of the small storage building that had been built out of cinder blocks – it looked like brown stucco when we were finished.

Last night we all watched the movie In the Time of the Butterflies. Jason and Christina asked me to lead a discussion over the movie and talk a little bit about the background and the book. I really enjoyed getting to talk about the movie and felt like there were so many things I could have said that happen in the book. I highly encourage anyone to read the book, even if you’ve seen the movie because the movie pretty much just focuses on Minerva when there are three other important sisters involved. After the movie several people had questions and we talked a little bit about it. Leah said at her other project up north in El Limon they weren’t very far from the death-site of the Mirabal sisters and that many people in their community have three butterflies painted on their house to pay tribute to the Mirabal sisters.

Today we had more Spanish lessons. They are going well. I find it more and more interesting to observe my teachers from the point of view of myself as a teacher and not just as a student. I believe each teacher follows a similar “plan” that the school gives them. I have seen English students carrying workbooks – but we do not have workbooks. We started out with some basic phrases “Cuales to nombre?” “Me nombrees Alison;” “Queedad tines?” “Yotengovientesieteanos” We covered topics like name, age and job. We also had phrases based on favorite food, drink, color and type of music.

We do a lot of call and response. We repeat and repeat and repeat… and even then I do not feel I have learned near as much as they have tried to teach me – but I’ve tried! The teachers always play music while they are setting something up or writing a lot of stuff on the board. It is nice, it keeps an upbeat atmosphere in the classroom. We also play games and use visuals whenever possible. Sometimes it seems cheezy but it keeps us interested, it keeps us moving and we don’t dwell too long on any one thing and so that helps the time pass quickly. It makes me wonder how Spanish is taught in the states, or even in my own school. I believe that the teacher teach English to Spanish speakers the same way that they teach Spanish to the English speakers. One important thing is that the teachers obviously love their jobs. They are always energetic and excited. Although they know some of it is silly they don’t apologize. I think they know we are having fun.

It is interesting to see the differences in culture here compared to the Midwest. Some of the differences I think are based on socio economic status, but others I am sure are based on traditions. Walking down the street there are street vendors who mostly sell food. They have some hot/fried items but also a lot of fruits, like pineapples and bananas. There is a lot of trash in the streets. I am unsure if there is an underground water system but the sides of the streets have ditches that don’t seem to go underground but they are used to keep the water out of the streets and off of the sidewalks. Most sidewalks are not concrete, but tile. They can be slippery when wet—walking down the sidewalk takes a lot of paying attention. There are tons of taxis and motorcycles/bikes. The cars here are all non-American. I don’t think I’ve seen a Chevy or a Ford since I’ve been here. Some cars are old and others are new – there is a large variety. When driving everyone honks. You honk when you are in someone’s blind spot or are about to pass them, as if to say “ Hey, I’m here!!” The taxis are not commercial cars, they are just any old car with a special sticker on the side to signify that they are a taxi. When you get to a gas station everyone must get out of the car while you get gas. I don’t know if all cars are this way but my host family’s car, which is probably a 92 or so, has a visible tank in the trunk that is used for gas rather than a hidden gas tank.