What Happened Tonight

Today we went to a friend's house out by Boca Chica to play in their pool and watch a movie.  We drove home, following the Andersens back to Santo Domingo.

While we were driving back, the Andersens, who were right in front of us, got hit by some sharp metal thing in their tire.  We stopped behind them while my dad helped them change the tire.

So we were:  A bunch of obvious Gringos, in the middle of the night, with nice cars, in the bad part of town.

I was very touched when two guys on a motorcycle pulled over to help them change the tire.  That is until one of them tried to steal my dad's wallet.  There was a scuffle between them, and Elder Andersen went after the guy with the tire iron he was holding.  The guy hopped on his motorcycle and drove away.

Now at this point I was a little freaked out.

About three minutes later they came back, this time from the front.  They tried to come in around the car, but thankfully Elder Andersen was quick and blocked them with the passenger side door.  Thankfully they left again.

By this time my nails were little stubs.

We sat there for a half hour.  I was terrified that the guys had gone to get some friends.  But thankfully everything went alright after that.

So that was my exciting story for the night.  It will probably be a while before I am asleep.
The End

Roosters

Every morning I hear roosters crowing outside of my window.
 

The weird thing is that I live in the middle of the capital city.

They are always roaming around the street right outside of the high rise apartment building.  I guess someone needs some chicken to eat with their arroz y habichuelas.

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas

So I am here in the Dominican Republic for Christmas.

I don't mean to complain, but I really miss snow.  I haven't seen snow for two years.  This endless summer is starting to get to me.

Sometimes I wish that it would snow here.  How amazing would that be?

But then I think, maybe not.  If it snowed here, people would freeze.  In 68 degree weather they are wearing jackets and scarves.  It would ruin their crop and people would starve.  It would ruin the tourism industry that many people depend on.

So maybe I don't want it to snow here.  I will just have to wait until next year, and then miss the sunshine here.

Its because of the Rain

For some reason, every time it rains there is horrible traffic.  Which means it is worse than usual.
probably because of this.
.
(This is a picture from Hurricane Tomas)

So I was on my way home from school at about 1:00.  (Finals Week.  I am out early).  We were sitting in traffic,  not moving at all.

The taxi behind me pulled off the street and drove down the sidewalk.  It was obviously quicker than sitting in traffic.  I wish I had gotten a picture.

In the picture above, you can see that one of the cars is parked halfway on the sidewalk.  That's pretty normal.

The End

I really want to buy a coat.

A really long one.  With buttons.  And I want to wear a scarf and mittens with it. 

Awesome.

Too bad it's more like beach weather.

Things I hate about the Dominican Republic

• Everything is disorganized
• No one follows traffic laws
• Police don't follow traffic laws
• It takes forever to get anywhere
• People speak Spanish and I sometimes can't understand them
• Trying to speak/understand Spanish gives me a headache
• Some of my teachers won't speak English during class
• Boys speaking in Spanish next to me and I think they are saying bad things about me although I can't be sure
• Having to be around rich Dominicans during school
• My hair is always frizzy and/or puffy
• Men always wolf whistling and/or checking me out when I am being innocent and minding my own business
• Drunk people
• People on the street begging me for money while I sit in my big fancy car eating pizza hut
• I can't go out of my house by myself
• It's always hot, never cold
• It's always humid
• I have to wear a uniform to school
• Stupid rich Dominicans who think they are better than everyone else
• Rich Dominicans who have never had to work a day in their life
• Poor Dominicans who make me feel like I am selfish and rich
• This country is very dirty
• Beer bottles all over the streets
• It feels like I am just sitting here in this country, waiting to go back to the U.S. so that my real life can start again

Things I love about the Dominican Republic

• People kiss each other on the cheek when they greet each other.  It's very warm and inviting
• It's always hot, never very cold
• Dominicans are very friendly
• I have to wear a uniform to school.  Makes getting ready so much easier
• I speak Spanish
• My sister is my best friend
• My skin is never dry
• The American Embassy-if it wasn't for them I would have no friends
• The other countries' embassies too- they also have some pretty decent kids
• I am taller than everyone
• I get to be on the school's varsity basketball team even though I have zero basketball skills

Creepers

I was on my way home, sitting at a stoplight, when we were double-teamed by two street people.  One of them washed the windshield, ignoring our protests, and the other wrote "te amo"  and drew a heart with an arrow through it in the dust on the back window.  He then winked at me.

Creeped out.  But it was also pretty funny.