A day in my life...

Since moving to the Dominican Republic for the semester, my life and schedule has completely changed. So, I would like to share with all of you what a day is like here and what it is I do exactly. This morning I got up at 6:05 to meet some of the other Bethel students and run, but normally I get up around 8:30 or so, which is considered sleeping in here I feel. There are a lot of dogs, chickens, and motorcycles, so all of the noise takes some getting used to. Even with being here 3 weeks, I still am considering buying my “watch dog” here a shock collar. Apparently, barking dogs don’t bother the Dominicans.

I don’t normally eat breakfast in the states when I have classes, but eating three meals a day here seems to be very common. Breakfast usually varies. I have had lots of different things such as: an egg sandwich, pancakes with honey, a bowl of fruit, or corn flakes.

After breakfast I usually take a shower which is always different. A good day would be good water pressure with warm water. I love those days. A not so good day would be a freezing cold bucket shower when the water is out. I have actually been lucky and only had to take one bucket shower where as some people take them every day. Sometimes the water pressure is bad and the water is freezing from the shower, so each day is a mystery.

I then usually spend my morning doing homework until lunchtime which is around 12:30 or so. Lunch is usually a mixture of the followings: rice, fried bananas, boiled bananas, plaintains (which taste like potatoes), beans, avocado, meat and yucca (a root vegetable that tastes like a potato). The food is really good, but I do get tired of eating things that all taste the same. My family has discovered that I like peanut butter, so they bought me some, but it seems that most Dominicans don’t like it and they let me know that it causes them to have diarrhea.

After lunch I go to the Students International base until class at 3pm. Classes are from 3-7. I live close to the base so I walk with two other Bethel students. Classes are fun; we have a grammar section and a vocabulary/speaking section. My favorite part of classes may be the break and snack that we have though because we get an American dessert every other day. J

After classes I walk back home and spend the evening doing different things. A normal dinner would be yucca, salami and fried cheese. Then we either take chairs outside and sit by the road talking, play dominos, watch Spanish soap operas or I do homework.

Besides having classes starting at 3pm, everything seems to be on Dominican time which means it happens when it happens and the time you set to get something done is not usually the time that it actually gets done. Also, you can usually count on seeing some sort of “wildlife” that you would not see in the states or “wildlife” in places you would not normally see it. Today, for example, I saw a giant dead tarantula on my run. Every day brings new experiences and more opportunities to understand this culture and the people here. This trip has been such a great opportunity so far.