My life is full of new things lately and I have been enjoying writing notes on my iPhone every time I see something to blog about. You can see in the title of this post how my note taking all began. Banana tress and stray dogs are pretty self explanatory but I'm not so sure about the skinny cows. I saw the skinniest cow I have ever seen on one of the farms here! It was either malnourished or the people here don't fatten up their cows with junk like they do in the states. I am choosing to believe the latter. Other observations I have had was the "fun" experience of the mall bathroom having no toilet seats. They also have tons of huge supermarkets that are similar to a "Target" because they have everything inside. The power goes out from time to time whether in a neighborhood or the fast food restaurants in the mall. It goes out everywhere but luckily our apartment has a generator to prevent this from happening or at least from lasting long. Another experience I had was while in a supermarket when I needed to change Joaquin's diaper. Jesus's aunt Lala told me it was fine to do right there in the aisle. So ever since then I have no shame changing the baby in public wherever I am. It's rather convenient! One thing that I've loved has been several other young moms with new babies trying to be my friend whether in the mall or at church or wherever. This gives me hope that I'll find some young moms like myself to be friends with even if we don't speak the same language. I am able to get by communicating with my limited vocabulary and a few charades. I have had ample opportunities to practice while shopping for our apartment by myself while Jesus is at work. Oh and I can't forget to write my restaurant observations. So far the Dominican restaurants have not disappointed...except for one but that's bound to happen. I love empanadas and quipes! I love how fresh the seafood is and I loved ordering "seven seas," an amazing seafood stew, for only 11 bucks which would have been at least 20 in the states.
I also enjoy my tostones and salami but I already ate that plenty of times in the states since marrying Jesus. As far as American restaurants I was not impressed with the TGI Fridays or Burger King (I enjoy them more at home). Pizza Hut on the other hand had a different menu of delicious appetizers and the pizza crust was amazing and they excelled my Pizza Hut in the states! One more interesting food was when I ordered a hot dog somewhere only to find it being served with corn, mayonnaise and some kind of meat along with the ketchup and mustard I'm used to. I think I have no problem with corn on my hot dog, I just didn't like the hot dog itself but this was just one restaurant and there's more to try!
So how am I feeling now? It's been a week since I've moved here and I'm still in a hotel until our appliances get installed and our electricity gets turned on. So it still feels like vacation. However the overall feeling I've had the last couple days is that I am hopeful. I am hopeful that this is all going to turn out OK and that I am going to appreciate this experience so much. The language barrier is the hardest thing but I am able to get by as I mentioned above. I am learning my way around town and the malls and grocery stores are just like any other for the most part. I am grateful for the people that have already befriended me. The other day I hung out with Jesus's family (lots of cousins and aunts) while he was at work. I was hesitant to go because I am busy preparing our apartment and he wasn't going to be with me and my Spanish isn't that great. However I loved it! There were a couple English speakers to help me translate and he has cousins our age that were very fun to hang out with. Here is a photo of his cousin Dayi, who I like a lot, taking a little nap with Joaquin. She's expecting her second baby so was getting her rest.
Jesus's cousin Manny has been super helpful taking us around and also very fun to hang out with! He loves Joaquin and here they are at work together!
Although there are malls, grocery stores and restaurants that I understand, the country is also sadly full of poverty. There are so many shacks and so many people asking for money and selling products on the streets. It's difficult to see all of that and not know how to help. Jesus and I want to do good while we are here and I am sure there are so many opportunities so hopefully I'll be able to write more about what we come up with in a future post. For now we are just trying to get settled. Jesus loves his job and he is from here so for him it is very easy to be here. For me obviously it is not as easy as it typically isn't easy for anyone moving to a foreign place. I have to be patient with Jesus and remind him that I need to feel supported because while he is fine, I am still adjusting. On the other hand I have noticed him being more affectionate in public like holding my hand more or putting his arm around me and I don't know if that's him being supportive or if he just notices more people doing that here!
The other hard thing in addition to the language has been people staring at me. There are not many Americans here. I can tell there's a difference when people stare at my cute baby or when it's at me. I asked myself if I was being paranoid or if I was just thinking they were staring but I'm pretty sure I can tell. I also already had someone selling things on the street to our car window make some derogatory comments about the white girl in the car. This whole experience makes me understand why so many communities from other countries band together in neighborhoods in the US. They are able to rely on each other to what is familiar and support each other in their language and customs and when there are so many of them together then it's not just one person sticking out as I feel here. However most of the people are very nice and welcoming and this is why overall I feel hopeful and excited to be here! And...I'm excited for all the swimming!
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