The Fateful Story of My Art History Class

When I signed up for Dominican Art History Class at la UASD (the huuuuge public university here that looks exactly like University of Hawaii or a Cali State School), I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I registered for the class in January, and was told that the class would start January 18th. Stoked. Soon after, I received a cryptic email that said that classes at la UASD would be postponed until the following week with no explanation. Okay, sounds good. Soon, I received a similar email: Classes postponed until the following week. So, the first week of February, a few friends of mine who are also in the class and I went to la UASD to find the classroom (a near impossible experience) and were told after a significant amount of confusion that our teacher was sick, class was cancelled, and we were to come back the next week. So the next week, we came back...guess what? Teacher still sick! Lucky for us, she had left us a reading to do. Great. Next Thursday, we returned to la UASD with no idea what to expect. There was a teacher in the classroom who informed us that he had just found out he was now teaching our Art History Class the hour before. He asked us if we had read anything for the class and when one student showed him our reading packet, he goes, "Ahh. Yes..this looks good. Keep reading this. Come back next week to discuss." With that, class was over. Yesterday, we returned to la UASD for class and...guess who wasn't there? The teacher. We waited around for about 30 minutes before someone informed us that apparently the teacher was at a graduation ceremony. Ohhhh. Okay. So we are two months into study abroad, and I have not even started one of my classes. But no worries! Instead of class, I can just go to the beach. :)

Cliff diving and watching kite surfing in Cabarete!

Caño Hondo y El Parque Nacional de los Haitises

I spent this past weekend in Caño Hondo/El Parque Nacional de los Haitises in the east of the DR with my study abroad group. Our hotel was an incredible ecotourism hotel ~ the pools were real rivers with waterfalls in them! We went on hikes through caves and saw old Dominican cave paintings and got to eat bananas straight off the tree and also cacao – the stuff that chocolate is made of! On Saturday we went whale watching in Sabana de la Mar and saw so many whales flopping their fins against the water. Some actually jumped all the way out of the water and made the LOUDEST noise and a huge splash when they landed. Then we went to a beach in Samana, a town that is internationally famous for its beautiful beaches. My roommates’ parents are from Sabana de la Mar and came to visit me for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon, which was fun. They knew the co-owners of the hotel so I got to meet them and we all sat around talking/they laughed at my English accent. Our group spent some of Sunday planting mangrove trees in the mud which was…interesting, before taking the 3 hour bus ride back to Santo Domingo. There has been a cold front the past couple of days, which means the highs are about 75 degrees – definitely cold. J It’s been a nice break from the blistering WINTER heat in this city! I don’t know how I’m going to survive in April or May… stay tuned.

Gascue

It is my 7^th week in the DR and lots has been going on! I am now living with 2 other students in an apartment in Gascue, a fun part of the city (still right on the ocean!). All of my classes have officially started, although little setbacks often prevent class from being held…which is fine with me. I am taking 5 classes in Spanish at 4 different universities—Literatura Latinoamericana at El Bonó, Desarollo Económico at INTEC, Historia del Arte Dominicana at la UASD (a HUGE university that looks like a California state school), a Spanish Language class at FLACSO, as well as a Pasantía (internship) class where we work for a non-profit organization. I have been interviewing for internships, so hopefully I will hear back soon and get to get started! Not much other news for now, so I will leave you with a few fun facts about the DR:

1) Pedestrians do not have the right of way.

2) Bare feet are considered inappropriate, and even disgusting.

3) The DR is the #2 happiest country in the world.