FIRST WEEK IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
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The first week of my stay I have been in orientation, organized through the study abroad program. Classes at the university don’t start till Tuesday of next week. I already got my notebooks!! ; )
I have a feeling I will be very dedicated to school this semester!! Muahahaha (evil laugh)
Monday, we spent most of the day on a trip to La Vega, a town outside the city of Santiago. We went to Casa Club which was like a country club that is used for events like quincean`eras, meetings, etc. I went into the pool as soon as I had an opportunity. The hosts of Casa Club were playing all kinds of native Dominican music while we chilled. Some students even started dancing.
I want to talk about los Estudiantes de Apoyo (translated as Support Students). Estudiantes de Apoyo (EA) are a group of 30 Dominican and a few Haitian university students who volunteer as guides and mentors for international students. Throughout orientation week they have participated in some events and even coordinated activities for us. Their function is to help us out in anything we need, answer questions, give us tips on how to integrate ourselves to Dominican culture etc. All of them are very friendly and open to help us in anything we need.
On Thursday some EA students gave us a private lesson on native Dominican dance! Aaaaahhhh!! Merengue, Salsa and Bachata.
I was pumped!! One of my goals while in the DR is to learn how to dance!
I learned a couple things when I partnered up with 3 different Dominicans muchachos (young men). All of them told me that I already knew how to dance, and that it was obvious that I had danced to these styles of music before. It made me feel proud to hear their compliments but encouraged to learn more complicated steps.
On Wednesday we were tested to evaluate our language fluency. The test consisted of a listening part, fill in the blank part, write a five paragraph essay part, and an interview. I scored a 98 in my oral part and an 89 in the written portion. =)
Receiving a high score allowed me to directly enroll into classes of the university with Dominican and Haitian students. <<<whoooop whoooop!
I have already registered for classes. I will be taking: Advance Spanish 3, Political and Social Processes, Dominican and Haitian Relations, Dominican Dance, Latin-American Social Cultural Relations, and Latin-American Film/Society. (Not the best translations, but you get it)
I am very very excited to start!
On Friday, our program organized something special for us. Accompanied by two EA students (Julio and Andrea), study abroad students who live around the same neighborhood went house by house to eat a different meal/snack. We went to 6 different houses. In the first we ate salad, 2nd – soup, 3rd – main course (spaghetti), 4th- dessert, 5th- tea/coffee, 6th- juice.
I was sooooo full!!
Good thing that we walked from house to house therefore we had some exercise and time to digest. This activity allowed me to see how close I live from other girls in my program, taste amazing Dominican cuisine, get to know other host families and their beautiful homes, and learn more about family functions. I noticed that every home had a delicately decorated Christmas tree, Christmas decorations and nacimientos (I don’t know the translation but here is a picture).
In my house, my host mom, served tea/coffee. It was really nice to have my fellow study abroad friends and EA students in my host home.
I am looking forward to the rest of my semester here in the Dominican Republic! I am very very happy that I decided to apply to study abroad. I am grateful that Oxy (administration/IPO) permitted this eventhough I am a senior on the verge of dippin out their school.
Eventhough I will miss (and maybe at times feel sad) about not spending my last semester with all my buddies at school, I have no doubt that spending my last semester in college abroad will be of most benefit to me. At this point in my life I feel much more prepared and mature to handle whatever is thrown at me. I am growing spiritually, mentally and intellectually. Because I am getting older (in age, but not in spirit), I feel that spending this time in another country will give me space and time to reflect on my last three and a half years in a private liberal arts college. Furthermore, this semester will help me think about where I come from, who I am, and what I am becoming, my purpose and passion. This is very important to me. I will make the best of this wonderful experience! And as Marlynne told me, absorb as much as I can.
I appreciate every one of you who reads these postings. I thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I am grateful for the time you spent reading what I have to express. So thank youuuu!!!! From the bottom of my heart, it really does mean a lot to me!
Many many blessings from the Dominican Republic!!
-Sazon!
