First week

I finally was able to walk around SD today by myself.  At least walk around my neighborhood a little bit.

Today I went to a mall with all the other new hires--around eleven--and spent THE ENTIRE DAY trying to get cell phones.  Mine was easy because I'm not here for that long.  I bought a cell phone and an hour of minutes for 1,800 RD, which equates to about 50 dollars.  Every time I want to put more minutes on my cell, I need to apparently get a card that anyone sells--cell phone companies, grocery stores, street vendors, etc., and then put the number in my phone and I'm off.  If you have skype and I'm away for a day or weekend and you're wanting to get a hold of me, my phone number is 829-696-2700.  You should put it in as an American phone number so it dials with the 829 as an area code.  The Dominican area code is not valid and I have a different, "lesser known" one.  Whatever that means.

Today I sat down and had a cold Presidente with two senors at the closest El Colmades to my apartment.  El Colmades is very much like an American convenience store, only they sell water, beer, wine, cigars, and candy.  But they deliver it to your door.  I met two older gentlemen sitting outside of it today and struck up a conversation.  And by conversation, I mean that I understood a total of about ten percent of whatever they said.  They probably think that number is closer to fifty because I nodded yes to a few questions instead of looking confused to all of them and saying "No comprende, lo siento." to every question they posed.  I think their names were Eduardo and Andrew.  I cannot be sure though.

PS, a five-gallon water jug delivered to my door costs around 45 to 50 RD, which equates to somewhere between one and two dollars....after tip.  It's a beautiful thing.  I've been rationing my water drinking, but I'm not really sure why.  Clean water is "hard" to come by in this country, but it costs me around three dollars every two weeks.  While it may be a strange process to get it, it's coincidentally cheaper to get than clean water in the states.

I also met my super today.  Her name is Aimee.  Or Amy.  She is in her late 40's and married, and I talked to her and her husband Jorge tonight about doing dinner once a week just to talk and learn Spanish.  You see, Aimee is great at English, but Jorge wants to learn more Ingles.  Yo hablo espanol no bueno, muy poquito.  I would like to learn how to hablo mas espanol.  Hopefully Jorge, Aimee, and I will be able to figure out a night where we can do dinner every week and help each other learn a different language.

Tomorrow I am going to a beach called Boca Chica, and going to a really good restaurant called Boca Marina.  I will let everyone know how tomorrow goes.  For now, I still am missing a shower curtain rod, and wondering if I should start looking for a squeegee to start mopping the floor up.  Which one will be easier to find?  Either way, at least I have a bed to sleep in tonight.

Pray I have patience to wait till the school year starts in order to maintain a busy schedule.  Right now I feel like I am twiddling my thumbs just waiting for something to happen.