No post... sorry. It was a busy weekend, and much of it has been at Amy's, where I do not have internet. So many adventures, but Amy has covered most of them.
The school week finished. Whew. And we got to party after! It was really fun. This party was a prime example of attitude of the DR. We decided to have the party barely an hour before it happened, and the girls were running around getting beer for everyone, and then Andrew and 2 other teachers were in the kitchen throwing together some food(drowning in garlic, so it was delish), and they put on some music, pushed the couches out of the way, and there were salsa and bachata lessons, and it was loud and fun. The DR. It was really fun to watch the different dancing styles, since many of the Dominicans have a more "club" style that is very informal, but Javier, an American teacher of Latin descent, has a more educated style, and it was really fun to watch him dance with some of the other teachers. He also danced with Amy a lot cuz she's so good. ;)
Yesterday we went grocery shopping and money exchanging at a different store that is further away. Other than Amy's gut-busting experiences, she also had a milk-carton-busting experience right outside the store and we got to ride home in a guagua(like a concho, but a big van). Now I feel like a real Dominican. To have traveled in a guagua with an arm-full of groceries. This van managed to fit 22 people and all of their belongings. No personal bubbles allowed.
Last night Andrew and I also got a chance to practice our new Spanish skills to order yaroa from a street vendor. It was better than the last we had because this place made it with green peppers, onions, and corn.
And today we went to church!!! For the first time in 3 weeks! We traveled with Keith , an MLC grad who's been here for 5 years, and he showed us how to catch a guagua to Moca. This one was air-conditioned. Heavenly. And we got to the church, and the first thing I thought was "Well, it certainly is WELS." There was an "altar"(a table with a table cloth and altar vestments)and a pulpit, and the pastors wore the white robes. There were a few Dominican touches, though. It was an open-air building with no walls, the liturgy and hymns were almost identical to CW but translated, the pastors were wearing jeans under their robes, and offering was not passed but rather a line was made to a table with a basket on it. I didn't understand a word of it aside from the hymns. I was able to figure them out for the most part. We are all looking forward to next weekend. We will be joining the church for a weekend at a resort in Puerto Plata.
That's all I can think of right now, I'll probably post this and remember a ton of stuff I meant to include. Oh well. Until next time!
Hang in there Steve! You'll catch on to more of the Spanish soon I'm sure. The more you get the chance to hear the church service the easier it will be to pick out words you know. I'm glad you got to go to church even if you didn't understand it all. It's nice isn't it?
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