When I had my bout of the worst diarrhea this earth has ever seen back in October, I couldn’t handle the taste of rehydration salts. See, with diarrhea, the big fear is that we’ll all die from dehydration because it is a killer in the developing world. So, the PC makes us take these ridiculously disgusting salts to get over being dehydrated (they are simply sugar and salt mixed with water, but try it and you’ll see how gross it is.) If there is Gatorade to be had, we are allowed to take those as well, thing is, it’s so much more expensive than the salts. So anyways, back in October I took them both a ton for about a week not really even drinking water (or eating any food, obviously.)
Gatorade used to sort of be a luxury in my family, a nice treat for dinner or a job well done at a soccer game or something. The other day we went golfing, my Dad, brother and sister. At the end of the day everyone was, of course, tired and thirsty so Dad ordered us some drinks, 4 Gatorades. The experience brought me back to October, and not any of the good parts. Now PC has ruined Gatorade for me.
When my brother came to visit me in March I drank a coca cola everyday with him (he drank soda here the way some people chain-smoke.) When he left, I found myself craving a coca cola every afternoon, and on the afternoons when I didn’t give in I had terrible headaches. It’s happened again. I spent the whole week my sister was here enjoying sodas when she got them and then the whole week almost all of the rest of the family was here enjoying coca-cola lights.
Now, anyone who knew me in high school (and college for that matter) will tell you I’m quite opposed to soda, it’s high in teeth-eating-sugar and unnecessary calories, but here… I just can’t resist its sugary-caffeine-pick-me-up- and most importantly COLD afternoon goodness. So I officially HATE the coca-cola company for making me a bit of an addict.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
First of the Fall and There She Goes Back
Four weeks of visitors has just ended and I’m back at my site. It’s a great time to evaluate and feel and whatnot.
First was 2 weeks with Rebecca, a good friend from high school. She and I did a lot of super fun stuff and kept really busy. She was quite a hit in my town and people still ask about her, where she is, when she’s coming back, etc. She was willing to do it all and we really did. She and her wonderful family procured some Spanish-language books to donate to a library project that I want to do down here and I was so thrilled to open them all up and look at them. She also brought some candy and she and I ate that to our hearts’ delight. We also watched some DVDs, played with Lina, went for walks, went to the beach (and out to our famous sand island), and much more.
The next week was my wonderful, sweet sister’s visit to my town and she was also a great sport about it. I’d imagine she would say her favorite thing to do here was play with Lina, and she really got a lot of opportunities to do so. Unfortunately, I was visited by 2 PC peoples while Julie was here which really tied up 2 of her days here. On the second to last day we made it out to the sand island and the beach, and on the last day I took her up the mountain (with some youth group kids) to the waterfalls where I also went with Rebecca. Both of these days really tired us out.
The following day was the day we went to Puerto Plata to join our parents and our brother Tim at a 5-star resort. Walking in to that resort, especially because I was with Julie who wasn’t as used to my campo life, was INCREDIBLE for both of us! The resort (as it did all week) smelled wonderful. Everything was white and the ceilings were way off of the ground. After checking in and bringing our stuff to our rooms, Julie and I sat around and compared what made the lobby of the hotel different from my house here. There were some notable differences.
Seeing the family after the longest stretch I’d ever gone (8 whole months) was great and how beautiful it was to be greeting them in such a beautiful location as well. We spent the first few days relaxing beach and poolside. It was so lovely to have water and power 24 hours a day as well as a TV with some decent channels (although no Olympics).
Sunday night we explored the malecon in Puerto Plata and the old fort (built around 1600 to protect the city from pirates such as Sir Drake.)
On Tuesday I took them to the 27 charcos. They are 27 pools beneath something like 17 waterfalls over which you can climb with a strong guide who knows the terrain well. It’s an intense day, hiking, climbing, lifting your own body weight, swimming, wading, etc. I warned the family of that, but they still decided to go for it all, so we did. My parents’ reactions were the funniest. They both put on their “oh my God!” faces and were quite funny, but again, very good sports and really got into it after a while. (The first time I went up, with Rebecca, I remember being a bit surprised at how much involvement was required on my end to actually do it.) Tim described it as the best activity he’s ever done. SCORE! I didn’t jump many of the waterfalls when I went with Rebecca, and when I went with the family I did all but one, the biggest jump rock I’ve ever seen that only Tim was gutsy enough to do.
The next day we set out on a mission. All of us but Tim had read In the Time of the Butterflies and so we embarked to find the house of the Mirabal sisters (which is now a museum) in Salcedo. It was a bit of an adventure because we went in search of a hat (in Santiago after having looked for it when Tim was here in March and on this trip in 2 stores in Puerto Plata.) Luckily, we found it. Once getting to Salcedo we all agreed that the museum was lovely, very quiet and very beautiful. We didn’t spend too long there and on our way out encountered some more to make the trip an adventure. Some “thieves” (as they were described to me) had vandalized the road and effectively blocked it from letting traffic pass through by lighting tires and tree branches on fire. I wanted to be extra careful considering the fact that we were a car full of gringos. We waited for the police to arrive and eventually went through.
Thursday was a golf day. Playa Dorada Golf Course, ranked among the Top 100 Outside of the US by Gold Digest in 2005-06. I’m not sure we would have ranked it as high due to extremely dry conditions on the tees, fairways and greens. It’s the dry month after all. (I decided I think I’d rather the people in the towns have water before the golf course get a drop of sprinkler water… but I’m not really in charge.) It was still a very fun day. I made par once. That was nice. (For those who don’t know, between about summer 1995 and 2007 I never played golf once and of course hadn’t played since last summer until the other day.) After the waterfalls and the golf outing, I was QUITE sore.
Friday was a relaxing day both because we’d planned for one and because Tropical Storm Fay rolled overhead. Julie and I went to get massages in the afternoon and boy were those wonderful! I love massages and feel that 16 months is too long to go without getting one.
Which brings us to Saturday, today. Saying goodbye for months-long spans is never fun, as I’m sure many can relate, but this one was especially tough. Now that I’m not trying not to cry, I feel as though I let the flood gates open. I cried 3 times today and held back tears a lot more often. Every little thing almost set me off. Why was it so hard? Because it had been too long since the last time I’d seen my family? Perhaps. Because December seems far off? Perhaps. Because we’d had such a great week? Perhaps. The good thing was that I was not at all sad to be coming back to my town; it was really all about saying goodbye to them. Julie put it best, they should either stay here with me (which would be my vote) or I should go home with them. That’s what it’s really all about.
When I feel sad I find it’s the best time to gage just how I’m really doing. There were moments on my (long but not terrible) trip home when I felt disappointed to be leaving such luxury to be coming home to a bucket with which to bathe, to a home that had Julie in it last time I was there, and to wonder if I’d have power to use to drown my sorrows by watching DVDs. But, when I pulled into town and saw one of the kids from my youth group I felt a lot better and have felt okay since. And of course, picking Lina up helped a lot.
First was 2 weeks with Rebecca, a good friend from high school. She and I did a lot of super fun stuff and kept really busy. She was quite a hit in my town and people still ask about her, where she is, when she’s coming back, etc. She was willing to do it all and we really did. She and her wonderful family procured some Spanish-language books to donate to a library project that I want to do down here and I was so thrilled to open them all up and look at them. She also brought some candy and she and I ate that to our hearts’ delight. We also watched some DVDs, played with Lina, went for walks, went to the beach (and out to our famous sand island), and much more.
The next week was my wonderful, sweet sister’s visit to my town and she was also a great sport about it. I’d imagine she would say her favorite thing to do here was play with Lina, and she really got a lot of opportunities to do so. Unfortunately, I was visited by 2 PC peoples while Julie was here which really tied up 2 of her days here. On the second to last day we made it out to the sand island and the beach, and on the last day I took her up the mountain (with some youth group kids) to the waterfalls where I also went with Rebecca. Both of these days really tired us out.
The following day was the day we went to Puerto Plata to join our parents and our brother Tim at a 5-star resort. Walking in to that resort, especially because I was with Julie who wasn’t as used to my campo life, was INCREDIBLE for both of us! The resort (as it did all week) smelled wonderful. Everything was white and the ceilings were way off of the ground. After checking in and bringing our stuff to our rooms, Julie and I sat around and compared what made the lobby of the hotel different from my house here. There were some notable differences.
Seeing the family after the longest stretch I’d ever gone (8 whole months) was great and how beautiful it was to be greeting them in such a beautiful location as well. We spent the first few days relaxing beach and poolside. It was so lovely to have water and power 24 hours a day as well as a TV with some decent channels (although no Olympics).
Sunday night we explored the malecon in Puerto Plata and the old fort (built around 1600 to protect the city from pirates such as Sir Drake.)
On Tuesday I took them to the 27 charcos. They are 27 pools beneath something like 17 waterfalls over which you can climb with a strong guide who knows the terrain well. It’s an intense day, hiking, climbing, lifting your own body weight, swimming, wading, etc. I warned the family of that, but they still decided to go for it all, so we did. My parents’ reactions were the funniest. They both put on their “oh my God!” faces and were quite funny, but again, very good sports and really got into it after a while. (The first time I went up, with Rebecca, I remember being a bit surprised at how much involvement was required on my end to actually do it.) Tim described it as the best activity he’s ever done. SCORE! I didn’t jump many of the waterfalls when I went with Rebecca, and when I went with the family I did all but one, the biggest jump rock I’ve ever seen that only Tim was gutsy enough to do.
The next day we set out on a mission. All of us but Tim had read In the Time of the Butterflies and so we embarked to find the house of the Mirabal sisters (which is now a museum) in Salcedo. It was a bit of an adventure because we went in search of a hat (in Santiago after having looked for it when Tim was here in March and on this trip in 2 stores in Puerto Plata.) Luckily, we found it. Once getting to Salcedo we all agreed that the museum was lovely, very quiet and very beautiful. We didn’t spend too long there and on our way out encountered some more to make the trip an adventure. Some “thieves” (as they were described to me) had vandalized the road and effectively blocked it from letting traffic pass through by lighting tires and tree branches on fire. I wanted to be extra careful considering the fact that we were a car full of gringos. We waited for the police to arrive and eventually went through.
Thursday was a golf day. Playa Dorada Golf Course, ranked among the Top 100 Outside of the US by Gold Digest in 2005-06. I’m not sure we would have ranked it as high due to extremely dry conditions on the tees, fairways and greens. It’s the dry month after all. (I decided I think I’d rather the people in the towns have water before the golf course get a drop of sprinkler water… but I’m not really in charge.) It was still a very fun day. I made par once. That was nice. (For those who don’t know, between about summer 1995 and 2007 I never played golf once and of course hadn’t played since last summer until the other day.) After the waterfalls and the golf outing, I was QUITE sore.
Friday was a relaxing day both because we’d planned for one and because Tropical Storm Fay rolled overhead. Julie and I went to get massages in the afternoon and boy were those wonderful! I love massages and feel that 16 months is too long to go without getting one.
Which brings us to Saturday, today. Saying goodbye for months-long spans is never fun, as I’m sure many can relate, but this one was especially tough. Now that I’m not trying not to cry, I feel as though I let the flood gates open. I cried 3 times today and held back tears a lot more often. Every little thing almost set me off. Why was it so hard? Because it had been too long since the last time I’d seen my family? Perhaps. Because December seems far off? Perhaps. Because we’d had such a great week? Perhaps. The good thing was that I was not at all sad to be coming back to my town; it was really all about saying goodbye to them. Julie put it best, they should either stay here with me (which would be my vote) or I should go home with them. That’s what it’s really all about.
When I feel sad I find it’s the best time to gage just how I’m really doing. There were moments on my (long but not terrible) trip home when I felt disappointed to be leaving such luxury to be coming home to a bucket with which to bathe, to a home that had Julie in it last time I was there, and to wonder if I’d have power to use to drown my sorrows by watching DVDs. But, when I pulled into town and saw one of the kids from my youth group I felt a lot better and have felt okay since. And of course, picking Lina up helped a lot.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Julie Hearts Lina
Hello all, this is Julie and E
We’re here on our 2nd day in E’s community and we wanted to write a blog post together with Lina. Lina says hola because she speaks Spanish and not English. ¡Ay ay ay ay ay!
Julie can’t stop laughing.
Julie got in at 1:45 on Sunday and then we went to get a cab to the bus station in Puerto Plata and then took a bus to Santiago. There we stayed at a budget hotel (US$15 a night) and we hung out with some of E’s PCV buddies at the place where the PCVs like to stay in Santiago. Julie liked it; the official language there is English. That night was dinner at an Italian place (delicious) and then talking and singing until 1AM. The next morning we took the time for one last warm shower before leaving for shopping and a very intense few hours en route to the community.
Julie will now describe the shopping trip: It was a store kinda like Target with a grocery store on the main floor and a Kohls on the top floor. We got ramen noodles, mac and cheese, and knock-off cereals. Then we went to get me my very own pair of havaianas in green. Then we went and we left to walk to the hotel bus stop and then E wanted to leave me at the soda bar by myself and I did not want to stay alone so we ditched our groceries, ran to the hotel and grabbed our bags and came back. Then we got hit on by some creeper and I was very happy that I didn’t stay there by myself.
And now E will describe the experience in her own words: So, when you have a 16 year-old sweety coming to visit, you think about all of the best case scenarios possible for a trip. You might also think about the worst. So far, Julie has seen some of the worst, including what she so accurately describes as our run-in with that “creeper.” Biggest ass**** I’ve met in the DR and of course, Julie is there to watch me chew him out. Here’s the play by play:
(Man stares at 2 white girls in a bus station in major metropolitan area of Caribbean. It’s a hot day and the girls are unable to sit in another spot of the bus stop because of the sun.) Girl speaks.
E: What?
Creeper: You’re hot.
E: Leave me alone. (Girl looks away then turns to her companion. Man mumbles something.)
Creeper: What did you say?
E: I said leave me alone.
Creeper: (Something snotty.)
E: I’m not going to talk to you.
Creeper: I’m not talking to you!
E: Good.
Creeper: (Irate) I don’t even like American women. (Pause) I like Dominican women. (Creeper looks around at other chauvinistic Dominican men in area as if to get them to agree with the sentiment. Instead of looking at the man they look at E as if waiting for her head to explode. Head remains intact.)
So that was it. Later, once the creeper had left, the men who were watching the scene were pleasant, offering directions, seats for our wait and asking what E’s companion’s shirt said, showing an interest in English. So… I suppose it could have been worse. Still, I was thrilled to be getting out of there!
(Told from the perspective of both, again.) Then we got on the bus with our smartfood popcorn (which we dropped more on the floor than were able to get into our mouths) and then we took a long bus filled with smelly eggplants and little kids heads sticking through the seat to E’s site. Once we got to our final destination we picked up Lina!!!!!!! (Which E’s companion was looking forward to very much!!!!) Next was a youth group meeting followed by cooking 3 boxes of mac and cheese because the first 2 were discovered to have maggots in them. (Julie discovered it was the water supply. Word to the wise, when storing contaminated water for extended periods of time, put some bleach in it first to kill the potential critters who might want to make it their home.) Sodas and sitting in rockers (as Julie says, “like good-old-fashioned whities,”) was next as well as ample time for Julie to bond with Lina. They are now lovers.
The next day there was some sleeping in followed by cereal consumption with warm milk. A visitor stopped by for a while and we ate cookies. After some reading and naps on the hammock together, the fun was to begin. E was expecting a routine visit from the PC doctor. When the doctor got here, she obliged E in removing Lina’s stitches from her recent spaying. Julie fed Lina peanut butter while E held her upper half and another PCV held the lower half while the doctor went in to remove the stitches. After about 5 minutes, the hot-pink stitches had been removed. Lina seemed more comfortable afterwards. Just as a bunch of random community members were coming for a visit (which is a very rare occurrence) a glass bottle of olive oil fell and shattered leaving a delightful cleanup while trying to ensure Lina was okay and keep the visitors from coming in and prepping for a class set to start in a few minutes and wrap up the visit with the PCV and doctor. E was a bit stressed, but she calmed down. The doctor found, in a hole in wall of a back building of E’s house, a brand-new litter of kittens. One is all white, one is spotted gray and white, and Julie didn’t see the other one.
The class went well, first aid and today’s topic was CPR. Julie sat there while everyone… “no offense E, but none of them did it right.” Then we had some spaghetti and cream sauce and again sat in the rockers like good old-fashioned whities and the power came on. Around this time we saw a large spider. A while later a large flying cockroach entered and went flying all around until E clobbered it with a shoe. (This was after cleaning up hoards of mouse poop that had not been seen before Julie’s visit began.) A few minutes later, Julie spotted a mouse in the corner and we made the decision to get in our bed nets. E would later describe this in a blog as a banner day.
We’re here on our 2nd day in E’s community and we wanted to write a blog post together with Lina. Lina says hola because she speaks Spanish and not English. ¡Ay ay ay ay ay!
Julie can’t stop laughing.
Julie got in at 1:45 on Sunday and then we went to get a cab to the bus station in Puerto Plata and then took a bus to Santiago. There we stayed at a budget hotel (US$15 a night) and we hung out with some of E’s PCV buddies at the place where the PCVs like to stay in Santiago. Julie liked it; the official language there is English. That night was dinner at an Italian place (delicious) and then talking and singing until 1AM. The next morning we took the time for one last warm shower before leaving for shopping and a very intense few hours en route to the community.
Julie will now describe the shopping trip: It was a store kinda like Target with a grocery store on the main floor and a Kohls on the top floor. We got ramen noodles, mac and cheese, and knock-off cereals. Then we went to get me my very own pair of havaianas in green. Then we went and we left to walk to the hotel bus stop and then E wanted to leave me at the soda bar by myself and I did not want to stay alone so we ditched our groceries, ran to the hotel and grabbed our bags and came back. Then we got hit on by some creeper and I was very happy that I didn’t stay there by myself.
And now E will describe the experience in her own words: So, when you have a 16 year-old sweety coming to visit, you think about all of the best case scenarios possible for a trip. You might also think about the worst. So far, Julie has seen some of the worst, including what she so accurately describes as our run-in with that “creeper.” Biggest ass**** I’ve met in the DR and of course, Julie is there to watch me chew him out. Here’s the play by play:
(Man stares at 2 white girls in a bus station in major metropolitan area of Caribbean. It’s a hot day and the girls are unable to sit in another spot of the bus stop because of the sun.) Girl speaks.
E: What?
Creeper: You’re hot.
E: Leave me alone. (Girl looks away then turns to her companion. Man mumbles something.)
Creeper: What did you say?
E: I said leave me alone.
Creeper: (Something snotty.)
E: I’m not going to talk to you.
Creeper: I’m not talking to you!
E: Good.
Creeper: (Irate) I don’t even like American women. (Pause) I like Dominican women. (Creeper looks around at other chauvinistic Dominican men in area as if to get them to agree with the sentiment. Instead of looking at the man they look at E as if waiting for her head to explode. Head remains intact.)
So that was it. Later, once the creeper had left, the men who were watching the scene were pleasant, offering directions, seats for our wait and asking what E’s companion’s shirt said, showing an interest in English. So… I suppose it could have been worse. Still, I was thrilled to be getting out of there!
(Told from the perspective of both, again.) Then we got on the bus with our smartfood popcorn (which we dropped more on the floor than were able to get into our mouths) and then we took a long bus filled with smelly eggplants and little kids heads sticking through the seat to E’s site. Once we got to our final destination we picked up Lina!!!!!!! (Which E’s companion was looking forward to very much!!!!) Next was a youth group meeting followed by cooking 3 boxes of mac and cheese because the first 2 were discovered to have maggots in them. (Julie discovered it was the water supply. Word to the wise, when storing contaminated water for extended periods of time, put some bleach in it first to kill the potential critters who might want to make it their home.) Sodas and sitting in rockers (as Julie says, “like good-old-fashioned whities,”) was next as well as ample time for Julie to bond with Lina. They are now lovers.
The next day there was some sleeping in followed by cereal consumption with warm milk. A visitor stopped by for a while and we ate cookies. After some reading and naps on the hammock together, the fun was to begin. E was expecting a routine visit from the PC doctor. When the doctor got here, she obliged E in removing Lina’s stitches from her recent spaying. Julie fed Lina peanut butter while E held her upper half and another PCV held the lower half while the doctor went in to remove the stitches. After about 5 minutes, the hot-pink stitches had been removed. Lina seemed more comfortable afterwards. Just as a bunch of random community members were coming for a visit (which is a very rare occurrence) a glass bottle of olive oil fell and shattered leaving a delightful cleanup while trying to ensure Lina was okay and keep the visitors from coming in and prepping for a class set to start in a few minutes and wrap up the visit with the PCV and doctor. E was a bit stressed, but she calmed down. The doctor found, in a hole in wall of a back building of E’s house, a brand-new litter of kittens. One is all white, one is spotted gray and white, and Julie didn’t see the other one.
The class went well, first aid and today’s topic was CPR. Julie sat there while everyone… “no offense E, but none of them did it right.” Then we had some spaghetti and cream sauce and again sat in the rockers like good old-fashioned whities and the power came on. Around this time we saw a large spider. A while later a large flying cockroach entered and went flying all around until E clobbered it with a shoe. (This was after cleaning up hoards of mouse poop that had not been seen before Julie’s visit began.) A few minutes later, Julie spotted a mouse in the corner and we made the decision to get in our bed nets. E would later describe this in a blog as a banner day.
A Hike in the Woods
On another adventure during Rebecca’s trip in the DR we embarked on a very remarkable mission. She and I with a pretty large group from my youth group went for a hike into the hills/mountains near my town. The hike up was INTENSE to say the least. We hiked up a very steep hill (in the sun) and then up and down the hills behind that one until we reached a thick forest with very steep parts along a path up to our water source. The source, I found out upon getting there, is a beautiful set of pools under a few trickling waterfalls. (The idea that I am 30 minutes from the most beautiful beach in the world and 2.5 hours from those fantastic waterfalls was almost overwhelming, and seemed to be a great piece of info to mention in a blog so potential visitors would see one more reason to come visit.)
The other fantastic part of the trip was the fact that a young boy in my youth group cooked a fabulous Dominican meal for all us hikers when we were up in the mountains. You see, we were all responsible for bringing a few pounds of rice or spices or something to cook for the meal and he put it all together. The food was incredible, and the “con-con” (the burnt rice on the side of the pot, a Dominican delicacy, usually given to the pig, dog or other animal in the house, or the local PCV) was to die for!
The hike down the hill was much easier than up (obviously) and along the way we tried coconut water (and had limoncillo and passion fruit on the way up.) We made it home in much less time and I was delighted to see all of the little old ladies in my town waiting alongside the road to catch a glimpse of the crazy Americanas who went up the hill. They all seemed very validated when I told them that I was indeed quite tired after the hike as they knew I would be.
The other fantastic part of the trip was the fact that a young boy in my youth group cooked a fabulous Dominican meal for all us hikers when we were up in the mountains. You see, we were all responsible for bringing a few pounds of rice or spices or something to cook for the meal and he put it all together. The food was incredible, and the “con-con” (the burnt rice on the side of the pot, a Dominican delicacy, usually given to the pig, dog or other animal in the house, or the local PCV) was to die for!
The hike down the hill was much easier than up (obviously) and along the way we tried coconut water (and had limoncillo and passion fruit on the way up.) We made it home in much less time and I was delighted to see all of the little old ladies in my town waiting alongside the road to catch a glimpse of the crazy Americanas who went up the hill. They all seemed very validated when I told them that I was indeed quite tired after the hike as they knew I would be.
Lord I Was Born a Traveling (wo)Man
My good friend Rebecca came to visit me for the first 2 weeks of 4 weeks of visitors I was fortunate enough to entertain between July and August. She wanted to see the sites as well as get a feel for PC life and I’m pretty sure she was successful in both.
I decided to see some of those sites with her. We decided to make our ways up to Sosua and Cabarete on the north coast, and the experience in Sosua was quite interesting.
After a lovely (but sunny and hot) day (during which we brought my sweet Lina in to get spade), we decided to go out for the evening and discovered there wasn’t a huge night life. We found a few bars open with a good mix of a foreign and local scene. What we didn’t know at first (or perhaps always suspected but didn’t want to believe) was that the locals present at the bars were mostly prostitutes looking for clients. Rebecca and I watched as couple after couple paired up. I went to the bar to get her and I some drinks and noticed someone making eyes at me. She was a very beautiful woman, with surprisingly large shoulders, and an usually thick neck. “Oh my, that’s a man,” I then realized.
Later Rebecca and I were approached by a young man (showed his ID to us and was saw he was 20 years old or so, though he looked like he could have been 17). He looked at Rebecca a lot (she had the lower cut shirt) and got me to interpret for him. He explained to her (or was it to both of us?) that he was a decent guy, worked security at a motel, and was nothing like these prostitutes all over the place here. She and I took it all in stride and eventually went back to our hotel unaccompanied.
I decided to see some of those sites with her. We decided to make our ways up to Sosua and Cabarete on the north coast, and the experience in Sosua was quite interesting.
After a lovely (but sunny and hot) day (during which we brought my sweet Lina in to get spade), we decided to go out for the evening and discovered there wasn’t a huge night life. We found a few bars open with a good mix of a foreign and local scene. What we didn’t know at first (or perhaps always suspected but didn’t want to believe) was that the locals present at the bars were mostly prostitutes looking for clients. Rebecca and I watched as couple after couple paired up. I went to the bar to get her and I some drinks and noticed someone making eyes at me. She was a very beautiful woman, with surprisingly large shoulders, and an usually thick neck. “Oh my, that’s a man,” I then realized.
Later Rebecca and I were approached by a young man (showed his ID to us and was saw he was 20 years old or so, though he looked like he could have been 17). He looked at Rebecca a lot (she had the lower cut shirt) and got me to interpret for him. He explained to her (or was it to both of us?) that he was a decent guy, worked security at a motel, and was nothing like these prostitutes all over the place here. She and I took it all in stride and eventually went back to our hotel unaccompanied.
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