Profe in the DR 11

Profe in the DR 11

I have now been in the DR more than eight months and in my sight for six.   

My soccer teams had bad luck this weekend.  Saturday a town nearby was to bring both their boys and their girls teams.  We chalked and cleaned up the field, bought water and ice for them, set up new sticks and rope for goals, etc. in preparation for the game, but they never showed up.  Sunday the boys were to play in Batey 7.   They asked the local government office for transportation; however the driver never showed up.  Very frustrating, but very common.  (One of our biggest problems with playing games against other communities is the lack of money to pay for transportation.

            It finally rained the other night.  There’s a lot less dust now, however the ants that adventure all over my house are back, and so are the mosquitoes.

            The woman across the street has a young boy, and she is always calling him, Angel!  Angel!!  Ange1!!!  I am beginning to think that the boy was not properly named.

            Semana Santa (holy week) just ended.  They don’t do a lot to celebrate it here.  Most people had work off on Friday.  The colmados could still sell beer but they could not play music at all Friday.   Easter was not much different here either.  There were tons of relatives visiting from the capital, a little more drinking than usual, but that was it.  

            I went to the capital on Thursday, and got to the beach on Friday, and came back to my site on Saturday.  I spent Easter relaxing and reading, with only a few visitors playing chess.

            I got a chess program for the computer while in the capital, and last night I beat it.  I think I am getting a lot better at the game.  So are the kids.  They are always at my house playing chess.  More young kids are also showing up to learn everyday. 

            I got out on the mt. bike for two hours yesterday.  I went out with a young man of 22 years of age, and he was able to ride a little longer than the teenagers I normally take out.  We tried a new trail, which ended up with us jumping over a small river, riding through another, and me getting tossed into a cactus.  (My front wheel hit a loose rock as I was climbing a steep path.)  It took a little while to remove the 3 inch long needles.

            This morning as I was putting on a pair of pants, I felt something on my lower back, and swatted it off.  It turned out to be about a 2 1/2 inch black fuzzy spider.  That’s what I get for forgetting to shake out my clothes before putting them on.  At least it wasn’t inside my pants.  

            I am getting to the point with my creole where I can ask quite a few questions, but I still can’t understand the answers.  I have decided to also start studying Spanish again.  I am not sure how studying two languages at the same time is going to go, but I will let you know.