A few weeks ago I had two different friends visiting me. You usually don’t think of having visitors from home when you study abroad. But it really is a great opportunity, especially in a place like the Dominican Republic. When most people think of the Dominican Republic, they think of going to the beach. The DR is much, much deeper than that, and I truly think it’s a shame that people rarely see any other parts of the country. My first visitor had the same mindset as I do, and he proved this to me when he told me about how he wanted his vacation to go. He told me “get me as far away from Punta Cana as you can. I want to see how real Dominicans live”. The fact that Santiago and Punta Cana are practically on the other side of the country did not make this feat too difficult. We rented an apartment in the city of Santiago, and for 5 short days, I gave him a taste of my life here. If we forget what I just recently said about the beach, a vacation to the DR would still be incomplete without one. Here my friend Greg and I are pictured at Playa Sosúa right after lunch.

The other days that my friend had here were spent in the city of Santiago. Pictured below is my friend walking up to the famous monument in the center of the city.

Although there are some very nice restaurants around the city, Greg insisted that we eat like locals. So I took him to the places that suited his request. Although we were very out of place, I was able to use my Spanish to get some great meals. Dominicans are also not shy when it comes to portion sizes. They definitely give the US a run for our money. I have gotten used to the portion sizes by this point, but Greg had trouble finishing his piles of rice a few times.

I had another opportunity to see a friend from the US, but this one has Dominican roots. I met up with Pavel as he was passing through Santiago. We headed to his uncles house in Santo Domingo for a night, where I met his aunt as well as three of his cousins. I had never spoken Spanish with Pavel before this trip because I had never spoken Spanish at all before this trip. However, I needed to speak Spanish with him when I was around his family. This was a really weird experience for me, because I never imagined that I would speak anything with Pavel besides English. However, this experience broke down a little mental block that I had. If I know that someone speaks English, it becomes hard for me to speak Spanish with them. However, there are situations where I need to speak Spanish with someone because someone else involved in the interaction doesn’t speak English. The next day, Pavel and I headed to Juan Dolio, a coastal town west of Santo Domingo. We had a great day at the beach, and somehow were only able to snap one picture.

I’m really glad that I got to have a taste of home through the visit of my two friends. It was very cool to experience the best that the DR has to offer.

Photo Of The Week

This past weekend I went to Laguna Dudú. There were cliffs that you could jump off of into the Lagoon. Here is a picture of people right after jumping. It was quite high, as you may be able to see how far I am from where the picture is taken. See you next time!

Location: Santiago, DR