A Dominican Thanksgiving/Cigar

Thanksgiving Day = El Día de Acción de Gracias (lit. The day of the action of thanking)

Anyway.

I’m not really too too used to spending holidays away from family. Since I started college, I’ve spent two Easters in Pittsburgh, but I always had a solid group of friends or my Godparents to spend time with. Never Thanksgiving though- this one was the first one I’ve spent away from home. O sea, the first Thanksgiving I’ve spent away from my family, cause I have spent a few Thanksgivings in Jersey. In a good part of Jersey. Good parts of Jersey do exist. Para que sepan ustedes.

But I digress.

So yesterday was a Thanksgiving unlike any that I’d ever had. First of all, I got up at 7. Ugh.
730-830 Gym
9-11 Film class (all Americans, waiting for their Thanksgiving lunch. It was torture)
1130-1230 Hung out at the ISA office and stared at all the food people were bringing in
1230-4 Potluck lunch!/ISA meeting
4-6 Did homework at the Shell [gas station] with a friend
630-7 Skyped with about half of my Mom’s side. Which is still like 15 people. I think. I couldn’t really see. It was blurry.
7-8 Culture and Society class

For our Thanksgiving lunch, ISA had us all bring a dish to share (they provided the turkey)… (well, technically, Supermercado Nacional provided the turkey). I brought another Oreo Pudding Pie, which was one of like five other pies. There were also a ton more desserts too… cheesecake, cookies, Jello…

And I guess normal food too. Stuffing, green bean casserole, salad, Irish soda bread, potatoes, etc. One of the ISA directors even brought rice. No. No rice on Thanksgiving. It doesn’t work that way. Yesterday was probably the third or fourth day out of the whole time I’ve been here that I did not eat a single grain of rice.


MmmMMmm dessert table.

Anyway, that was yesterday. Today I went for a walk and bummed around, then at 3 a bunch of us ISA kids met up for an excursion to a cigar factory. It was only about 10 minutes away, and it was actually pretty cool. There were two guys working there, and they roll all the cigars by hand. All the tobacco had aged for at least two years, and up to seven years. I’m hardly a tobacco connoisseur and had no idea that it was such a long process.


A guy rolling cigars.

A few of my friends and I bought a box of five to split among us, and I bought another box for some friends at home/school. I bought the cheapest box there was, and it was still $12.50 for 5. One kid in my group is really into cigars, and he spent over $120. These cigars were really nice though- especially because they’re hand rolled. They’re one of the DR’s main exports (along with rum, fruit, coffee, and sugarcane). I did smoke one (sorry Dad) and it took me over an hour to finish it. These things are massive.

MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE. Ish.

A few weekends ago, my group took a trip to Samaná, a peninsula on the eastern side of the island. I’m going to be a bad blogger and just link you over to my friend Rose’s entry, instead of writing my own, simply for reasons of laziness. Also Rose did a good job.


Samaná is the smaller peninsula, further north

However, I will comment on one part of the trip. We were on our way back to Santiago and had stopped at the top of a tall hill/small mountain to take some photos. I got out of the bus. I took some photos. I put my camera on a fence. …and then I got back into the bus.

After about 2 minutes of driving, I realized that I didn’t have my camera with me and stood up and yelled for the driver to stop the bus (…in slightly more words).


My friend Meghan and I, before my camera was left. Obviously.

Unfortunately, we had been driving through MAJORLY steep, narrow, windy roads in a less-than-mint-condition guagua. Physically turning the bus around right there really wasn’t an option. So… one of the ISA directors, Jonathan, hopped out of the bus and started to run up the hill. And I just couldn’t let him run up on his own- it was my own fault that I left my camera there. So I started to run too.

This hill was steep, by the way. Like, REALLY.

So we were running… with our pace definitelyyy slowing down after the first few minutes… when a guy on a motorcycle came up to Jonathan and they talked for a minute. He then came over to me and told me to hop on the motorbike. So I did.

And I had never been on a moto before! Here, or in the states! It was pretty cool. /terrifying. Like I said, we were on narrow windy steep crazy hills. But the guy gave me his helmet and didn’t seem to get too annoyed when I kept screaming things like WHOAAAAA MAS LENTO, POR FAVOR, etc.

We got to the top of the hill, I got my camera, and we headed back down. A few other students got out of the bus and took photos of me coming down the hill, but I don’t think that any of them are on Facebook yet. Once they are, though, I’ll post them here.


Nowww I'm off to a Thanksgiving lunch with ISA Santiago! Have a great day everyone!

Campus France update.

Good news-

Campus France decided to stop being terrible for like 5 minutes yesterday and approved my application/payment.

This doesn't solve everything, but it's one more key step that has now been completed.

I found this blog entry about a month ago about another student's French visa application process. And how royally screwed up it is. Expect a similar one from me, when/if this whole process is done with...

Dominican Republic in a Cupcake?

Not so much. I've already spent wayyyyy too much time ranting about my attempted cooking experiences (pizza, pancakes, etc) in this country. This blog is not going to turn 100% into a food-related blog.

However, I am going to link you to a food-related blog that I've been following for about a month, and really like. Here's Spain in a Cupcake. This blogger has been taking flavors from traditional Spanish foods and making them into cupcakes! LOVE IT. She's actually doing a giveaway right now for some cupcake jewelry from Etsy (for readers from outside España) and a hugeeee package of food for those who do live in Spain.

Reading her blog over the past few weeks has gotten me thinking about what I would do if I were to try and do the Dominican Republic in a Cupcake...

...don't worry darlings, I'm not going to try, I'm just musing...


Habichuelas con Dulce

Flan cupcakes? Anything with coconut, cinnamon, or pineapple... Habichuelas con Dulce? (aka "Sweet Creamed Beans")... Tres Leches?... That's all I can really think of. The DR doesn't really seem to be that that big into desserts. Rum flavored? Quizás...

Rainy Santiago.

Today is a rainy day in Santiago, and I’m feeling some weird parallels to Pittsburgh.

Why? This is why.

First of all, it is raining. That enough should be enough of a relation to Pittsburgh. I spent my morning dragging myself around in oversized jeans, an oversized neon green Pittsburgh sweatshirt that has DEFINITELY seen better days, carrying a mug full of hot tea, and getting soaked on the way to class. I'd say the only difference here is that I was surrounded by palm trees and Spanish, not tall buildings and the overuse of the words "yinz" and "pop".

Secondly, I had no umbrella. I have really bad luck with umbrellas. I don't know why. I forgot to bring my one from home to the DR... however, my host mom had an extra so I was doing fine... until I left it in a movie theater after a Miley Cyrus movie. The DR isn't big on the Lost & Found idea, so there goes that.

I bought one at La Sirena (MAS DE UNA EMOCION), and we had a nice long relationship... but then one day I was in the middle of using it as a Lightsaber or dancing with it (...or something) and it split in half. Now, it only works if I hold the handle AND the top part... as I'm walking. Needless to say, while doing this, I look like more of a tool than I already do for simply being American.

Anyway, where was I? Right. Pittsburgh.

I don't have anything more to say about Pittsburgh.

Classes are winding down here. Our last day is next Weds, so a bit over a week left. And I feel... barely any stress. This is in contrast to the semester as a whole, where I felt... absolutely no stress*.

*The stress I am referring to here is school-related stress. Visa-related stress is a totally different story. A horse of a different color. ...wrong context for that last one.


Wizard of Oz reference

Seriously, though. I've got...

A swimming final.

A mini paper due for film, a class in which profe has already practically guaranteed us all As, as long as you A) Come to class B) Don't fall asleep during class and C) At least attempt the homework.

A group paper.

A "research" paper, which is only 3-5 pages.

A 2-3 page paper, in English. (And I already did it. It took me under 45 minutes. Funny how easy writing in one's native language is.)

A take home final. Also in English.

Everyone should study abroad. Cultual benefits, language learning, blah blah blah it's also the easiest course load you'll ever take. I'm getting all sorts of credit at Pitt for taking classes I just breeze through.

The Sad Bagel Story

This is a story of a sad bagel.

One day (and when I say one day, I mean this happens every day), I had a craving for a bagel. Alas, the only place in this country that sells fresh bagels is in the capital, 2 ½ hours away. Or so I have heard.

So I had to settle for second best. I went to the Supermercado Nacional near my house and bought a bag of sad looking bagels. These bagels had travelled all the way from Florida, which, while being the closest state to the DR, is still pretty far.


The internet I'm using is so slow, it would take me about 10 minutes to rotate the photo after having uploaded it. So I'm just not going to bother.

And while a fresh bagel doesn’t always need to be toasted, because it is fresh and delicious, these sad bagels just cannot be eaten in their non-toasted state.

Regrettably, there was no toaster on the premises (err... and when I say that, I mean in the apartment). However, there was a panini-maker.



So I put the sad bagel on the makeshift-toaster/panini-maker. After a few minutes, it was as close to decent as it would ever be. I then put some mantequilla de maní and sliced guineo on it, to make it look presentable.


It doesn’t look too too bad here… but…

However, upon starting to eat the sad bagel, there was no denying that it was just an imposter. Look at how flat it got, thanks to being smushed in a panini maker. Poor sad bagel.



Side note: From across the room, my host mom thought that I was putting slices of cheese on my bagel. Along with peanut butter. Eww eww no. Maybe cheese with sauce, if I were making a pizza bagel (oooh… that sounds like a good idea actually. Dinner tonight?), but cheese and peanut butter? I’m American but I have at least SOMEwhat of a culinary palette.

Spanish plateau

I leave the DR in un mes, exactly. one month. And while my Spanish has definitely benefited from me being here, I don’t feel as if it has been improving as much as it could be. I’ve been perfecting the stuff that I already knew- mostly working to speak with less breaks or UHHHHHs, and also trying to get a really good hold on the godforsaken subjunctive. However, my vocabulary has barely grown at all. Most of this is due to the fact that I speak a lot of English. Why? Well, despite being surrounded by Spanish-speakers all the time, and living with Spanish-speakers… I also spend a lot of my time with gringos.


First Google image for 'Spanish lanuage' + first Google image for 'Plateau' = Spanish plateau

It’s just so easy though, to speak English. There’s always an excuse- you need to say something fast, you need to say something quietly, you’re stressed, you don’t know the exact word in Spanish so you just go around it, you’re talking about people around you and you don’t want them to understand (usually this is only true when there are people hardcore creeping on us) or you’re just lazy and don’t feel like it. I’ve been totally guilty of all of these.

Sin embargo, I need to stop making excuses and start actually speaking Spanish. I’m not going to have these opportunities in the States. Yeah, I have a few Spanish-speaking friends and I know that my school has a pretty active Spanish Club… but there’s really, really no comparison to actually being in the country.

One of the guys in my group made a promise to his Spanish advisor two weeks ago that he was going to stop speaking English. Since then, he’s been speaking about 98% Spanish. Props to him, really… but isn’t this what we were supposed to have been doing all along? We all started off being all YES SPANISH but that has obviously faltered in these past few months. I was talking about this with my friend Erin the other day, and we decided that we were both going to do the same. So I have been.

Okay, okay… I have been trying. Por lo menos. IT’S SOMETHING.

My friend who hasn’t been speaking English, he told me that he feels has if he’s improved so much in these past weeks, and that he really does notice a difference. If he notices such a difference after two weeks, what can I do with a month? Granted, I should’ve been doing this all along… but whatever. I still have a month.

Anyway. When I was in nyc last month I bought a book called Dirty Spanish. It’s not “dirty” Spanish as in inappropriate Spanish (well… not entirely), but instead slang, regional words, and words in pop culture. I went through and made a list of words that I thought would come in handy, showed the list to a Dominican… and she proceeded to cross out about half of them. No se dice aquí. They don’t say those things here.

That’s the thing about Spanish. There are so many native-Spanish speaking countries. And some of them are pretty freaking big. Chile is like a million miles long. And both Mexico and Argentina are pretty fat. So in addition to country-specific words, you’ve got region/city-specific words… even the DR- which is pretty pequeñito, in comparison to many other Spanish-speaking countries- has words that are used in Santiago and not in the capital, and vise versa.

Anyway, here’s a list of some new words/expressions that my new book has taught me that are actually used here:

Estar en la luna- To not be paying attention, to be a space cadet

Todo el asunto está seriamente jodido- This whole situation is seriously screwed up.

¡Tranquilizate!- Calm down! (lit. “Tranquilize yourself”)

Un tipo cualquiera- Some random dude

Cursi- Tacky

Lio- Chaos

¡Lárgate!- Get out of here!

Preñada- Preggers/preggo

Valer la pena- To be worth it

FYI. Okay, back to Spanish now… I should write a blog totally en español just to throw you all off...

Eat, Pray, Love / Comer, Rezar, Amar

I know that everyone and their cousin has probably read, seen, or at least heard of the book/movie Eat, Pray, Love. The first time I heard of this book, my mom was reading it a few years ago for her book club. I thought the cover was interesting-looking, but I never actually picked it up.

However, after the hearing that a movie version was to come out (and also after hearing so many people sing the book’s praises), I decided to read it. Except for I didn’t actually read it. I listened to it on audio book. Which, in some people’s minds, constitutes as cheating… but whatever.

I downloaded it from iTunes one morning before one of my drives to Pittsburgh this summer. I listened to it on-and-off on the ride down and also on the ride back. I continued to listen to it sporadically throughout the entire summer… while I was at the lake house… when I was in Québec… on the way to the DR… while I’ve been here in the DR… and I just finished it yesterday when I was on a group excursion to Samaná.

Call me lame, but I feel such a connection to this book. For two reasons. First of all, she’s going through such a journey leaving everything that she knew in NYC to spend a year 1000s of miles away from anything/anyone that she knows. For those of you who don’t know, she’s spent 4 months in Italy (eat), 4 in India at an ashram (pray), and 4 in Bali, where she was planning on studying under a medicine man, but ended up falling in love (…love).

My plan? 4 months in the Dominican Republic (burn? sweat? get stared at for being white? …any other suggestions?), 4 months in France (who knows. “eat” would probably work for this), then 4 months of summer either at home or in Pittsburgh. Probably in Pittsburgh. Okay maybe the last 4 don’t really count… but whatever. Even though it’s for completely different reasons, and unintentionally, I’m still splitting my year up into thirds just as she did.

Secondly, as I listened to her journey, I was starting to go through my own. Even just on that first drive to Pittsburgh… when I saw the movie version, and she was in Italy, all I could think of was my drive down to Pittsburgh.
As the movie continued on, I could pretty much remember where I was when she was watching the Italian soccer game, arriving in India, going to the Guru Gita, meeting Ketut or nearly getting run over by Felipe… granted, the movie isn’t exactly like the book, but it’s close enough. I’ve still managed to link my journey (and the few months before) to hers.

I think everyone should read this book… while it’s not flawless, it’s still pretty freaking good. I’ve talked to many other people who’ve read it- mostly people my own age, but also some older, and this book just seems to resonate with everyone. Everyone can benefit from taking time off and learning about yourself. You don’t need to travel to another country/countries to do it (although that’s what I’m doing). When you’re way, way, way out of your comfort zone you learn things about yourself that you wouldn’t have otherwise learned if you’d only spent time behind a school desk or in a cubicle or wherever else the day-to-day life holds you captive.

/End sentimental BS


French cover (random)

Mi cuarto

I've done a bit to personalize/decorate my room since I got here- and I've realized that I haven't posted any photos of my room on here, only on fb... so here's my room...


My bed, windows, beach photo that was there when I arrived here, class/volunteering schedule, gym classes schedule...


Messy desk, but cleaner than usual. Dictionary, notebook, Nalgene bottle... I've tried like 5 times to put my map of Pittsburgh up there, but thanks to wind/my fan, it never lasts for more than a day...


Messier drawer/stand thing, a glowstick, winter snowflakes, trees, Taylor Swift "Got Milk?" ad (thanks Eilish!), map of Santiago, list of cupcakes sold at Crumbs, article about Krispy Kreme coming to the DR, a care package, a pen and ink drawing of the Cathedral of Learning, a TV, books...

Las Aguilas!

Baseball is to the Dominican Republic as soccer (fútbol) is to the rest of Latin America. It's huge here- there's a national league that many people follow, but it also seems as if everyone here has a favorite American team as well.

This is what wiki has to say about it:
"The Dominican Winter Baseball League (Spanish: Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana) is a winter baseball league consisting of six baseball teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the top domestic baseball league in that country. The league's players include many from Major League Baseball, and its champion plays each year in the Caribbean Series.
Each team plays a sixty-game schedule that begins the end of October and runs to the end of December. The top four teams engage in an 18 game round-robin play-off the first three weeks of January; the top two teams in those standings then play a best-of-nine series for the national title. The league's champion advances to the Caribbean Series to play against the champions of Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico."

Wednesday night, 5 of my friends from my Cultura y Sociedad class and I went to an Aguilas game here in Santiago. The Águilas Cibaeñas (Eagles of the Cibao) are Santiago's baseball team... and apparently are pretty terrible. While they did win Wednesday night, it's apparently pretty out of the ordinary. I asked my host brother if they were worse than Los Piratos (the Pirates... like I said, people here are very knowledgable about baseball in the states) and he laughed and said that No, they're not that bad...


The outfield

Main differences between Dominican baseball games and American ones?

Ticket prices- Between 50-700 pesos ($1.34-$18.82). We bought ours for 200 ($5.38) from a guy outside. We gave him about 100, walked though the gate and got them scanned to see if they worked, then left again and paid him the rest of the money.

"Security"- There were about 5 or 6 girls in each section of the stadium wearing verrrrry short shorts and crop tops who would act as "security" and also check tickets. They also would dance every five minutes, in a way that I never would imagine a security guard dancing in the states.

Actual security- Is it normal to get scolded for putting your feet up on the seats while at a stadium in the states? I've never been yelled at for it. Also, normal security guards don't usually creep as much as these were.

The attention- Guys coming up to our row with video cameras and just filming us watching the game for extended periods of time. They didn't work for the stadium, nor for a newspaper (as they said). They were just, you know, filming.

Food prices- Here, everything was soooo cheap. An empanada usually costs 35-40 pesos on the street, and here it cost... 40 pesos. A soda usually costs 30 pesos... here it cost 30 pesos. Pizza? 50 pesos a slice. Water? Also cheap. I was expecting the worst, after having gone to Heinz Field and PNC Stadium and the Dome... but nope. I was pleasantly surprised.

The type of food they were selling- Apples. Oranges. Hunks of cheese. No, not mozzarella sticks. Not fried cheese. Just... cheese.

There were also a surprising number of Americans on the team. Our favorite was a guy named Daniel Murphy. Can't get more gringo than that...