Getting in Deep

*Sorry if the blog is a bit choppy, I write when I can and it also may contain a lot spelling errors.
I feel at home already. It was worrisome for a little but all it took was reminding myself that I chose this and for a good reason at that. Life is pretty amazing here. There is a lot more time since I do not have things like television, constant internet access and a car. Instead I wake up and visit with my host mom and my new best friend who is a nine year old girl. She has more life than anyone I ever met in my entire life. Then on days I have training I catch a taxi or ride the bus to the training center. The roads are intense here, you have to be careful and there is no such thing as crossing the street because it would be like an unfortunate game of Frogger. Then we come back around 5 and do what ever we want play in the streets with kids, play dominos with adults, dance the meringue, and the bochacha (I don’t know how to spell it yet) and salsa is not as popular as I thought.
There are only two people who live in the same house as me. However during the day there are many people who come over and visit. Many people live in different houses but not far away. It would be as if your entire family and the friends of your entire family lived in one neighborhood.
The food is also a treat. My host mom thinks it is weird that I drink my coffee with no sugar but I guess it is not normal in the states either. In this culture it is popular to treat people with extra sugar and oil in some foods as a sign of hospitality. I think she understands that I am a bit of a health freak but that does not mean I turn anything down.

We are getting in deep. While we have only been able to experience life in Santo Domingo, I feel that we are slowly turning into Dominicans. For one thing, my skin is getting a darker and my Spanish is getting faster. My desire to take showers are limited to when I go to bed and not every time I break a sweat…which is every second here. And for the most part, the mosquitoes are beginning to leave me alone. If you come to visit me you will have to accept that you have new blood that the mosquitoes go crazy over. One thing that you will need is a good mosquito net, some spray, and malaria pills. Also it is recommended to take B-Complex which works for some and not for others. I suggest taking malaria pills a month prior to coming. You will have crazy dreams but that is free entertainment as I see it.
Every day we have training but yesterday are training consisted of a field trip into the city. What I mean by that is right now we live in an area that is concentrated with many barrios and the city is the metropolitan area where there is historical buildings and sites and shopping galore. I guess I can refer to it as the Zona Colonial. It is a great place with many things to do, but I was a bit turned-off because I have been enjoying my barrio life so much. It is an adventure every day. Sometimes you wonder how anyone can live in a place like this, and some days you wish that you grew up here. The barrio life is much different than anything I have ever seen or experienced in my life. It is the real deal; muddy streets, dogs everywhere, loud music, and people always sitting and enjoying their time together.
Today at training we learned a few dances and to play dominoes. I can see why it is so popular here and I am not sure why American doesn’t have a game people play all-day together other than World of Warcraft. On the other hand I can see why people play those online games. There is something lacking in American culture. It is not like people here don’t work all day or go to school. They do, but when they come home they play, dance, cook, clean, sing, dream, and visit with neighbors. Some how I lost a lot of those things when I got so wrapped up in my own personal life. I hope when I return the United States I can continue to live this way. Work is great, but it shouldn’t spill into my family and friend time. However, if I am the only one who thinks this way, it will be difficult to find others who are willing to enjoy their time with me and not think of all the many things they need to accomplish for work and themselves.
Enough bagging on American culture. I was able to really exercise today for the first time. I ran about a mile and a half to play basketball with my friends at the park. We played 5 on 5, Americans vs. Dominicans, and I am pleased to announce that we won twice. I was sweating like a pig but we won none-the-less. I can get used to working out here; the hardest part is sucking in all the bad air from the pollution. The cars here would not pass a smog check if their life depended on it. It makes me believe that the hardcore environmentalists in America are delusional because the amount of pollution same as other 2nd or 3rd world countries in the world. It is expensive to be green…Maybe environmentalists are on to something…something profitable???? The Industrial Revolution created such a mess.