On Saturday, Darling told us he'd pick us up at 9:30. We figured that meant around 10. When it hit 11, we walked down to the cantina at the gas station to drink a couple beers. We each a couple of the liter and a half Presidentes, hanging out in the late morning sun and listening to the Bachata music playing from behind the bar. We talked to the people at the cantina, all of whom were extremely friendly (just like everyone else in this warm country). I finally got ahold of Johnny at the office. He said Darling had left to pick us up, but didn't have minutes on his phone so we wouldn't be able to contact him. This was just as well to us, as we were happy to have a day of relaxing and talking to some new people. Around noon, we talked to Darling and he sent a cab to pick us up. We got to the school and I realized I'd left my Blackberry in the cab. I figured it was as good as lost, but just then Benjamin came down the stairs and asked me if I lost my phone. He said the driver heard it ring and was coming back to give it to me. Not only are the people here friendly, but many of them are very honest as well. We got into the building later than usual and immediately each went to a class. Cory went to the beginning English class and I went to one where the students were preparing to take the English TOEFL exam, something that is taken very seriously here because it can mean the difference between getting a regular job or one with great pay and benefits and is, oftentimes, a start to a ticket to the United States (Darling even said, when joking about the Cholera problem in Haiti, he doesn't want to die here, he'd much rather die in the United States). The teacher in my class is a woman named Catherine. She's originally from New York and came here a while ago on a vacation. She liked it so much that she hasn't gone back home since then. She got her degree to teach English from a university here and has been teaching this class since then. The class only has 2 students, girls around my age who are really good at English. Their vocabulary and grammar is impressive, as well as their comfort with using the language to express what they want and to try to flex it to use new words, patterns, and sentences. I hung out with them for the entire 4 hour class, acting as a second teacher. Catherine is going to be taking her first trip back home in a few weeks and I'll be taking over the class for as long as I want after that. The girls are in book 3 of a 4 book course. We're working through the books to get them as ready as possible to take and succeed on the TOEFL exam. However, we have to keep the class interesting so last week they watched Black Swan and analyzed it on Saturday, speaking about the different personality traits and characteristics of Nina, the main character. I was again impressed at their vocabulary and ability to use the words in grammatical context. They were at first a little thrown off by the difference between my PA accent and Catherine's slightly Dominican New York accent. We both tried hard to speak as clearly as possible and the girls became acclimated to my accent. At the end of the class we discussed some of the political problems in this "Rich Country with Poor People."
Afterwards, we went to an actual restaurant. This place was a very nice restaurant with an awesome atmosphere. I got Teriyaki Chicken with, as usual, a notable Dominican twist and flavor. We sipped on some Piña Coladas and ate, getting ready to go back to the TV station for yet another show. At this show, we were interviewed by the head of the University on her educational program. I actually had to speak a lot of Spanish for this one. We promoted the camp. Darling told me I had to be a politician on this one, explaining that while I was abroad and around the world, the common language was English. Since the show was so late, the target audience was an older crowd, presumably the parents of the campers. We had to sell them on the benefits that the camp would have for their kids in an English-dominated world. After a long drive around the city laughing about the ridiculous differences between the DR and US (you can just go on TV if you know the right people and you don't ever have to worry about stop signs or red lights - especially on Saturday) and jokingly stopping at a corner home to some "ladies of the night," we headed back home to get some early sleep so that we could get up around 7 (read 8:00 in the DR) to go to the beach on Sunday.
Darling was actually "early," showing up only a half hour after the agreed meeting time. We got in the car with him and his two sons, Benjamin and Bryan, and headed to the beach. The drive took a little over an hour and gave me a little more time to sleep although the bumpy, unpaved roads outside of the city jolted me awake more often than not. We got to the beach town and grabbed some breakfast (the customary mangu and eggs) and then headed out to the beach. The beach was pretty empty when we got there (at around 9:00 in the morning). The sun was still out in force and the sand was nice. The beach was lined with little thatched huts and chairs. We immediately grabbed the baseball and started throwing it around. After a while, the sun's rays became too much to bare so we all ran and jumped into the Caribbean. The water was warm and crystal clear. This was the day that all our work so far was leading up to. This was the ultimate weekend relaxation experience. This was what you think about when you think about the Caribbean. Except instead of high prices and foreign, snobby tourists, we were at the local beach with Dominican people, Bachata and Merengue music, and no costs at all. Eventually, we went back to hang out under the hut and a little kid (who claimed to be 16, although he couldn't have been a day over 11) came by with a bucket of clams or mussels or some kind of shelled animal. He offered us some and I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Nobody else wanted any but, after some persuasion from me (I can't believe the gringo is the only one brave enough to try your food!) everyone ate some. The little kid cut open the shells with his knife and we added some lime juice, salt, and hot sauce then sucked the food down like a fishy, spicy shot. It was actually incredible and I ate about 10 of them. We hung out at the beach for almost 5 hours, soaking up rays (later to come back to bite me) and throwing around the baseball. We taught the kids the TIPS game and then played some Dominican ocean games. It was a great day, and desperately needed.
We returned to the cabaña to shower and immediately headed to Darling's house for the customary 4:00 Sunday meal. We met most of his extended family and played some guitar. Then we sat down to eat platanos, potatoes with cheese, sliced avocado, and grilled fish (which yes, I did eat). After dinner, we walked around town a bit and came back to take turns strumming the guitar. We headed back to the cabaña and were told to just hang out because there would be a dangerous huelga (strike) the next day. The whole country had been preparing for the national strike to protest the corrupt, money-stealing ways that have come to be synonymous with government here (when I told Darling I majored in government, he was curious because he said I seemed like a good person - I guess politicians have that stigma everywhere). We hung out drinking some Dominican rum and throwing around the frisbee and then hit the sack in our respective places for the evening.
The next day, we were able to sleep in to the afternoon for the first time since we'd gotten to the country. We got up and walked down to the gas station to see if the cantina was open. When we got there, we noticed several uniformed military men with large m-16 machine guns guarding the pumps. We went in to the station to buy a beer each and some food to snack on. We then caught a taxi and headed down to La Sirena where I was able to change some money and get a taste of home at the Dominoes. The pizza was actually much sweeter than our Dominoes, but it was very good. After hanging out at the supermarket for a while and buying a box of real, handmade Dominican cigars, we bought a frisbee and headed back to the cabaña. We through the frisbee around for a while and then I went to finish my book. After a while, we ordered some dinner. I got shrimp and rice (it was the first thing I've eaten so far that I really didn't like) and learned the valuable lesson that its always smart to stay away from motel shrimp, no matter where you are. We then went our separate ways and I watched the home run derby. When the English ESPN stopped working, I watched in Spanish - an exciting shower of Noooooo no no no no came every time a long ball hit the upper deck. I eventually fell asleep and got up this morning to head to the University.
We were greeted by the honking of a taxi (the same guy that brought my phone back on Friday) at around 9:00 (interestingly the time we were told to be ready). We got to the University and began coming up with some games and activities for the campers to do every day. We've been racking our brains to make sure that they're not bored, that they learn English, and that we get them all excited every day with new games and activities. We also came up with some songs to signify the changing of periods, and more for dance contests and just general listening. We're going to be heading to La Sirena later to pick up the necessary camp materials (potato sacks, ropes, eggs, dodgeballs, balloons, water balloons, beach balls, etc.). I'll be training tomorrow and will have some more updates then and again when we start the camp. There is internet in the school where I'll be training the staff and in the hotel where the camp is located. I'll hopefully have some great pictures of the staff and the camp/campers up soon as well. The camp starts on the 15th so there is a lot of training an planning we have to do until then. So, buenos tardes, hope all is well back in the US of A.
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