Today was wonderful. I waited an hour for the guagua, sat in the cocina (the kitchen literally but is the way back of the bus where it's the hottest), got hit on by a 19 year old and the only thing that I thought about was how happy I was that I could understand him enough to blow him off :D I saw a sign for Amway that I had never seen before in the capital and now I know where the office is! But after that, things that were familiar were no longer in sight. So my heart stopped, I yelled for the chofer to leave me at the corner which I thought was the right one. Turns out I was quite a few blocks too early. Luckily with the grid system I knew where I needed to head to make it. But that entailed a lot of walking in unfamiliar streets. Eventually I made it down to 27 de febrero, took a carro público across to Máximo Goméz and as punishment for being antsy, forced myself to walk down to Ave Bolivar. Which wasn't terribly far but far enough where I broke a glistening sweat. I tried to pretend I was a pretty vampire with glittery skin in the sunlight... So, after leaving my site at 8:30am, I arrived safely at the office and glittery at 11:45am. I was damn proud :)
I played Internet for a while and met with Ann. I expressed my concerns about the aquel lado and she was super understanding. I won't do this, but Ann gave me the go ahead to drop that community if I needed to. But like I said before, that director isn't going to win. I'm just going to be very busy... Lol
Amber came, we went to Chinatown with her man and another couple for lunch. The Chinese food was awesome and the dessert? Butter cookies from the bakery next door. Oh my god how I love the way they melt in your mouth... A splurge maybe, but well worth it. We went back to the office so they could finish some work up and then we were gonna do some of my shopping together. But the skies opened up and altered our plans a bit. And I couldn't be happier that it did.
Amber offered to let me stay with them in a hotel. For free. That way we could have more time together and finish up the shopping tomorrow. So we headed out late, got Pizza Hut for dinner, she had an interview for a job in Africa (!!) at 9, and we talked the night away. And as if it couldn't have gotten any better... I skyped with Nate and...(sorry baby, you're important but this was nuts)...
I had a hot shower for the first time in 3 months. Remember last time I said I didn't think I wanted one? Oh. My. Word. I got in, got a quick chill and slowly turned the knob... Apprehensive as if it was going to make some sort of monster reach out and grab me from the faucet. I stood still as it took its time warming up and... Heaven came down to my level for a moment. I just froze (but wasn't frozen) in shock and let the heat burn my skin. I wanted so many layers to fall off so I could start fresh but even still I could feel the dirt buildup of three months just melt off. I washed up and proceeded to stay for a little while longer; I wasn't ready for it to end. It's just incredible the little things that you would think you would miss everyday but you don't. Until you have it again. No, cold bucket showers aren't pleasant but when it's hot or as long as I hurry, it's not a big deal. But once I got into that shower and the water rose in temperature, I realized how much I missed it and how good it felt. Incredible.
I woke up in the morning and took another one. Shamelessly. I went down and had free coffee and bread with jam for breakfast. I don't know when it started but my stomach just shot pains inside and I spent the entire day not feeling so hot. We left our things and headed to America (Agora Mall) via Metro (did I mention that it's so clean and beautifully new?). Amber helped me with the Spanish to pay for my first month of Wifi and we went to Jumbo where I loaded up on materials for my summer classes (and next year too). I wish I could make a list of what I bought but I won't remember it all. In pesos, it felt like a ton but in dollars, it turned out to be around $50 for a crazy amount of stuff. And that's also something I'm forgetting here. I'm not here to save money. The money I get on a monthly basis is to spend each month. Granted, I should be saving a bit for when I move out to compensate for the lack of the Settling-In Allowance, but other than that? It's there to spend. And in my site, I rarely spend money. Maybe RD$5 on a Ducle from Mayelin's mother but that's just cuz their freaking delicious. So yea, I spent a lot today, but it's for the kids and I'm still alright if there is some sort of emergency and I need something :) okay, now that I've justified it all to myself, I'll continue.
We ate yogun fruz (Amber thought it might help settle my stomach) and then went to Ikea (MOM!! There's an Ikea! And it's JUST like in the states! But in Spanish). There, they have the infamous charla paper. A huge roll is about RD$200 and should last me a long time. After, we headed to The Conde to meet up with a friend of hers for lunch. I drank chinola juice...
After, we sorted through our stuff back at the hotel and with my book bag and new, giant, stuffed blue Ikea bag, we parted ways. It's only been three months here and I had to say goodbye to an incredible friend. I just hope she knows how much she did for me in such a short time. Amber? Good luck in all you do. Though with your personality, infectious smile, and talent, you won't need it. Keep in touch always.
I was a little nervous about the trip back but I found out through taking the Metro how to get to my bus stop, and it was easier and cheaper than by car. I made it, tried to find a bus to Santiago to make my life easier but didn't see one. I turned and a bus to Villa was pulling out. I booked it with my heavy bags and yelled for them to wait for me. He stopped the bus and said something which I didn't understand. When I boarded (or tried to), however, I got it. The bus was jammed packed and we had to stuff my things down by a woman's feet and I stood in the doorway with the cobrador for an hour long trip. I had to climb up and lean over some women to let some people out and pretzel my way through seats when one finally opened up. Then I got to talking with an old man and a woman maybe in her 30s in front of me. The one thing I saw and loved with Amber and Fabian was the way they were with people. Wherever we went, whatever we were doing, they were meeting people and learning their stories. It reminded me of you Gram Irene, and how I always aspire to be like that. I believe it's a beautiful gift and something that doesn't exist enough in this world. And here, it's so common, so easy. You're squished on a guagua for hours possibly, where personal space is unheard of and you just start talking. I love it. But my lack of confidence in my Spanish has left me silent thus far. On that bus to Villa, however, something switched. I don't know if it'll be permanent (cross your fingers!) but it lasted the rest of the day (and after speaking just English for two days!). The woman asked if I lived in Villa. Asked what I was doing there. She knew of the Peace Corps. I told her about my job, people I knew, how long I had been there, etc. The older man was difficult to understand but I managed to understand him. They complimented me on my Spanish. And wished me well as they got off. And when I got off? It was the right stop. Not a walking-half-hour early stop. There was a car waiting, I put my things in, engaged in conversation with the women in the car, and we stopped at the Fundación Rica so a woman could buy orange juice (lol). We made it to my stop (the right one again!!!) and I booked it home in the rain. Tons of people greeted me from the safety of their galleries, told me I was gonna get sick from being wet, and laughed at me as I said, "I'm walking as fast as I can!"
I walked up to my house, Dulce greeted me, and I talked a bit with Moreno about his leg and joked around with him. He's doing better :). I unpacked my things and shared them with 5 kids that came over. They were in awe of all that I bought. It was so cute to watch and I managed to explain so many different things in Spanish that I am planning on doing with it all (so much foreign language poured out of my mouth and fairly easily!). I told my Doña I didn't want dinner because of the way I felt, she made me juice and brought me galletas anyways, and I fired up my Wifi for the first time in my room. Man, that's an incredible feeling too. To not be completely disconnected from home... Skype/FaceTime didn't work with my family but I'm hoping it's just cuz of the rain... Well try again some other time. The good thing is that the contract ends in August so if this doesn't work out, I don't have to renew it. I can try Claro instead of Orange.
So with my hard stomach still giving me pains but my heart pounding from the excitement of a much needed escape and a return of a brand new Julie (at least for the day), I'm headed to bed. Buenas noches.
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