Un poco más información

Ok everyone, I have some time to tell you a little bit more about the trip. We flew from SEATAC to JFK with no problems and had a 4 hour lay over. We ate dunken donuts and and people watched for the majority of the time. Then we had our flight to Puerto Plata which wasn´t full and I got some most excellent sleep. Customs was a breeze but we came out of the airport and it was a huge mess. Our directions were sketchy at best. Basically we knew we had to go to an area called Sosúa and look for a street called Calle Piano and from there we had to look for a restaurant called Casa Vientiuno and then it was the last house on the street. The guy we were CouchSurfing wiith told us that we could take a Guagua on the nearby highway to the house. Well, we got there and it was rainy extremely hard, we didn´t see the freeway, and we really didn´t know where to go. We exchanged some money in a bank and did the unthinkable... we took a taxi. We hosed the hell out of us and charged us 23$USD in the end, but we really didn´t have to much bargaing power in the whole issue. It was their airport, we were white, we didn´t know where to go, and it was raining. So we took the hit and got screwed. To put it in perspecive how much 23 USD is, the currency here is the Dominican peso and it is a roughly 35 to 1 conversion ratio, so multiply 35 by 23 which is like 700 something. The cost to take a guagua into town (which is three times as far) was 30 pesos for each of us. Anyway, we get to the house and it is super nice. The guy who we are couch surfin with was a Spaniard and he had just moved into this nice house. He was employed by one of the hotels as an architect. His name was Josep and he came to meet us at the house. He then took us to nearby Cabarete and went back to work. We just wandered around the streets. Cabarete was the classic tourist trap. Apparently Cabarete was dubbed the best place to go wind surfing in the world and has been a hot spot ever since. Anyway, we were hasseled the most I have ever been hasseled. Buy this, do you want a ride on my motorcycle, do you want weed, do you want this prostitute. The place had lots of prostitutes and they always seemed to be with old male german clietns. Dirty germans. So we walked around, had an excellent meal in a hole and the wall that ran us about 5 dollars for a large plate, salad, and two beers each. At around 7´30 Josep came and met up with us. Josep is originally from Barcelona and he moved to the US to do graduate school at Colombia University. He then got his Ph. D from MIT and moved to New York where he worked as an architect. Last November Josep was hired down here to come do some hotel work and he accepted. He is about 34 years old and very New York. He had a baseball cap, jeans, and zip up hoody at all times. He was a bad ass and could speak Catalan, French, Spanish, English, Italian, and German. He seemed to be very well off and told us stories of all the places he´s been. The next day we woke up and decided to have Norma (Josep´s maid) cook us a traditional Dominican meal. Josep said it was ok for her to do that, and given that Josep had moved into the house just two weeks before and it was nearly empty of furniture, Norma was glad to have something to do. She is employed full timne and it seemed she was being employed to be bored because there was absolutely nothing for her to clean. Josep told us about the price of labor in Puerto Plata which is very cheap. He pays Norma around $150 USD per month, and he pays his security guard who lives at the house a bit more. The security guard seemed so sad. He had a little plastic lawn chair in the garage where he sat to keep watch ovre the house. He just had on a tshirt, jeans, and sandles. Apparently he is supposed ot stay up all night to keep watch over the house. It seemed like the most boring job I have ever seen. Just sitting in a plastic chair, all day... Anyway, back to Norma, we bought groceries and she cooked us up an excellent meal that I will share with you guys when I get back. Its very simple, beans, rice, tomatoe sauce, onions, meat. You´ll see. And it´s excellent. After we ate that we went to downtown Puerto Plata by Guagua. Essentially we just walked down the street until one of the frequent jam packed minivans drove by. We flagged it down and crammed in. At one point I counted 17 people in the minivan. So we just cruised down the road with Reggaeton blaring. The lack of concern for safety in the DR is impresionante, there are these things called motoconchos and there are everywhere. They are just simple dirt bikes but everyone uses them as transport. You´ll see an entire family on these motoconhos, the Father driving, with a 5 year old behind him, and the mother carrying a baby in her arms. No lo puedo creer. Nobody has helmets. We walked around Puerto Plata which was a fairly bland city for a few hours and then took a guagua back to the fortress like Playa Dorada hotel complex to eet up with Josep for some drinks. We had dinner and talked more before going home, saying goodbye to Josep (since he had work early)and went to sleep. The next morning we bought a bus ticket to Santiago (where I am now) for 160 pesos and the trip took 2 hours. We were picked up in the down town by Mike´s friend Bibiana and she took us to a car wash. Apparently it is a very Dominican thing to take your car to the car wash and drink a beer while it is washed. Its a great concept although it lends itself to drinking and driving. I haven´t really said much about Mike yet. He is a very easy going dude that I met in my business spanish class at UW. He work for JetBlue which is how we got the tickets and he has been all over the place it seems. He has spent a year in Argentina, 3 months in Spain, 3 months in Aruba, 3 months in China, and has been to every major American city since he get to fly for free on Jet Blue. His spanish is better than mine as well. That night we went out with Bibiana and her friends to TGI Friday´s and later a chic restaurant. Bibiana is like 26 and her friends are around the same age so I feel a little young. Plus when they talk they cut off there words it makes it very difficult to catch everything they say but I get the gist. Luckily, they all speak excellent English. Bibiana sounds native. So we got back early last night because Bibiana had to work the graveyard shift last night and we slept at the house of some other guys who work for JetBlue. They are both really cool guys and have been very nice to us. This morning we went to the market with Yaul, one of the guys, and got supplies for a locro. We were a sight. There are no white people where we are and I have seen no tourists. Although Santiago is the second biggest city in the DR there is no reason for tourists to come here. There are no beaches and it is in the middle of the island. People just stared at us and the school children shouted any bits of English they knew ¨How are you?¨, Gringo, Heeelllooo. Stuff like that. It was kind of amusing. Most dominicans are very dark skinned and we have absolutely no chance of blending in ever. Like none. In Argentina I flirted with the idea that I might be able to blend in sometimes, but here I know it is impossible. So after we cooked up the food, Bibiana dropped us off in the downtown and we have just been wandering around aimlessly until we stumbled into this internet cafe. The Dominicans are all very nice and have been very helpful. The two guys who were are staying with now are by no means rich, the have a little apartment, probably around 60 sq. meters but they have shared everything with us. Also, I have discovered the secret to Orange Juliuses. Dominicans drink them all the time and I am convinced that a Dominican started Orange Julius with this recipe. I can´t disclose the secret over the internet but I´ll make it when I get back. Ok, I got to run, I have more to say but my fingers hurt and already I have rambeled bastante. Hello to everyone, chau chau.
Taylor