8 o'clock traffic in Estero Hondo!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
4th of July
For the fourth of July we headed to Samana, the peninsula on the east side of the country. It was a long drive back and forth but worth it. It was beautiful! Here are some pics:
We wanted to go to a different bay a little ways down. The easiest and fastest way to get there was by boat.
This is a fresh-water, freezing-cold river that comes down from the mountains and flows into the ocean. It makes this bay so much colder than the other one.
This is the bungalo we stayed in.
Some good old American Football to celebrated USA's B-day.
We wanted to go to a different bay a little ways down. The easiest and fastest way to get there was by boat.
This is a fresh-water, freezing-cold river that comes down from the mountains and flows into the ocean. It makes this bay so much colder than the other one.
This is the bungalo we stayed in.
Some good old American Football to celebrated USA's B-day.
Fifteen
15 Most Important Words to Know in the Dominican Republic AKA words I´ve said and heard so much in Spanish that they sound foreign to me in English
1. colmado – small shop on every corner, like a gas station without gas. Also, things like rice, oil, etc. you pay by how much you want. It’s not pre-packaged so the attendant measures it out.
2. guagua – bus or truck
3. apagon – black out (electricity)
4. bola – free ride, hitchhiking
5. baracho – a drunk
6. Sientense – “sit down,” the first thing you’ll hear when entering a house
7. mosquitero – “mosquito net,” is a must
8. Si Dios quiere – “If God wants!” Everything happens if God wants it to. See you tomorrow --- Si Dios quiere. We’ll go to Santiago tomorrow --- Si Dios quiere. Have a good day --- Si Dios quiere!
9. tigere – “tiger” or a bothersome man, the ones hat say mean piropos (cat calls)
10. platano – “plantain,” the most common growing plant here, can be fried and eaten verde (green) or ripe fro breakfast, lunch, and dinner
11. morro – habitualas y arroz, “beans and rice¨
12. gripe – flu, cold, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, any illness known to man except diarrhea (which is diarrhea in Spanish)
13. rubio/a – “blond,” white person
14. barrio – neighborhood AKA family
15. guapo/a – “angry” or “pissed off,” unlike in Mexico where guapo means pretty. So if you say, “She is guapa” here, your not saying that you think she’s cute.
1. colmado – small shop on every corner, like a gas station without gas. Also, things like rice, oil, etc. you pay by how much you want. It’s not pre-packaged so the attendant measures it out.
2. guagua – bus or truck
3. apagon – black out (electricity)
4. bola – free ride, hitchhiking
5. baracho – a drunk
6. Sientense – “sit down,” the first thing you’ll hear when entering a house
7. mosquitero – “mosquito net,” is a must
8. Si Dios quiere – “If God wants!” Everything happens if God wants it to. See you tomorrow --- Si Dios quiere. We’ll go to Santiago tomorrow --- Si Dios quiere. Have a good day --- Si Dios quiere!
9. tigere – “tiger” or a bothersome man, the ones hat say mean piropos (cat calls)
10. platano – “plantain,” the most common growing plant here, can be fried and eaten verde (green) or ripe fro breakfast, lunch, and dinner
11. morro – habitualas y arroz, “beans and rice¨
12. gripe – flu, cold, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, any illness known to man except diarrhea (which is diarrhea in Spanish)
13. rubio/a – “blond,” white person
14. barrio – neighborhood AKA family
15. guapo/a – “angry” or “pissed off,” unlike in Mexico where guapo means pretty. So if you say, “She is guapa” here, your not saying that you think she’s cute.
Modern Pirates of the Caribbean
I’ve been meaning to write this up for a long time but kept forgetting. This took place during my CBT training in Arenoso:
One night I was sitting in my room reading when I heard the family shuffle into the living room and start a movie. Movie time equals family time in this family so I finished reading the page I was on and went out to join the movie.
“Cual pelicula es esto?” (What movie is this?) As I sat down. Just then the title came on the screen “Rapido y Furioso” (Fast and the Furious) with some more Spanish written under it that I didn’t have time to read.
Okay great, I thought, one of the F&F movies. Probably number two or three since it had a sub-title. Hopefully not three because that one was really bad.
So the movie started, and within five minutes I was really confused. First off the picture on the movie was bad, it was like a close up of the film. Second of all, I recognized all of the characters but not the storyline. Then it hit me, this is Fast and the Furious 4! Even those in the US it’s only been out in theatres for two weeks, I’m watching it from a DVD in the Dominican Republic? That’s right the DR is full of pirates…with pirated movies.
These movies are not illegal here; they are the norm. On the street corners of at least the two major cities, Santo Domingo and Santiago, you can find pirated movies by the truck-load. The price range is 50 to 100 pesos (which is US $1.50 to $3). All of the movies are already either dubbed in Spanish or have Spanish subtitles. The quality ranges from okay to really bad.
With my family in Arenoso I watched: Fast and the Furious 4, Twilight, Push, and Prom Night. All very new movies.
One night I was sitting in my room reading when I heard the family shuffle into the living room and start a movie. Movie time equals family time in this family so I finished reading the page I was on and went out to join the movie.
“Cual pelicula es esto?” (What movie is this?) As I sat down. Just then the title came on the screen “Rapido y Furioso” (Fast and the Furious) with some more Spanish written under it that I didn’t have time to read.
Okay great, I thought, one of the F&F movies. Probably number two or three since it had a sub-title. Hopefully not three because that one was really bad.
So the movie started, and within five minutes I was really confused. First off the picture on the movie was bad, it was like a close up of the film. Second of all, I recognized all of the characters but not the storyline. Then it hit me, this is Fast and the Furious 4! Even those in the US it’s only been out in theatres for two weeks, I’m watching it from a DVD in the Dominican Republic? That’s right the DR is full of pirates…with pirated movies.
These movies are not illegal here; they are the norm. On the street corners of at least the two major cities, Santo Domingo and Santiago, you can find pirated movies by the truck-load. The price range is 50 to 100 pesos (which is US $1.50 to $3). All of the movies are already either dubbed in Spanish or have Spanish subtitles. The quality ranges from okay to really bad.
With my family in Arenoso I watched: Fast and the Furious 4, Twilight, Push, and Prom Night. All very new movies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
