Study Abroad :)

Pics

2009-10-22T18:33:00.003-04:00

Life

2009-10-22T18:20:00.001-04:00

Dating

Here it is not uncommon for a girl to date someone five years older than her. My host sisters say it is because of the maturity levels. For example 13 year old girls are dating the 17 year olds in your class and the girls in your class are dating guys in college who are 21 and up. Of course there are some cases where you date someone the same age, and then there are some cases where you date someone ten years older than you and it is not looked down upon.

Money

The money here is in bills and coins but there aren't any cents. Currently the dollar is 36 pesos and most things are about the same price as they would be in the US with the exception of clothes and food in the supermarket. Food like snacks and water are about the same price. The thing that gets me everytime with the money is 100 pesos seems like so much to me when in reality it's just $2.78 but the coins like 25 pesos makes me think it's $0.25 when really it's 69 cents.

Current Prices

One Piece of Gum or Halls Mint: 2 pesos
Photo Copy: 2 pesos
Plantain: 5 pesos
Carpool Ride: 15 pesos
Bottle of Water: 15 pesos
Bag of Chips (about 3 oz): 18 pesos
WaterCooler Bottle (about 5 gallons): 25 pesos
Random Brand of Good Enough Nail Polish: 36 pesos
Helado Bon Ice Cream Cone (2 scoops): 50 pesos
McDonald's Cookies and Cream Sundae: 70 pesos
LifeSavers Sour Gummies: 88 pesos
Cell Phone Card for Ten Minutes: 100 pesos
Salon: 100 pesos
Acrylics: 150 pesos
Movie Theater on a Friday Night: 200 pesos
Pizza Hut Medium Pizza: 400 pesos

Entertainment

If you have Sky Cable, then you have many American networks plus some Spanish and other random networks as well. The shows are either in English with Spanish subtitles or in Spanish already. Some networks are TNT, E!, MTV, VH1, Disney, Nickelodeon, Health, etc.
Everyone watches movies on TNT or other movie networks, the movie theaters, and a lot of bootleg videos. Here a common passtime is watching movies. Many of your friends will say let's hang out and usually dinner and a movie is what you do. Also there are networks where you just hear music. Here American music is popular but mostly Reggaeton, Merengue and Bachata are heard. The radio has Disney and they play English songs as well as the Spanish songs of their Disney stars.

School

2009-09-11T23:16:00.004-04:00

In the morning at 8, all the students line up by class (in my school there's one class in each grade) and one student prays. Each day a student is picked from a specific grade. I think 11th and 12th grade is Monday. Then after the prayer, the Dominican flag is raised, and the national anthem is sung. Afterwards we go up to our room and start first period. I have three periods, recess, and then three more classesperiods. Every single day so far (5 days) the lights haven't been working (se fue la luz) until about fourth or fifth period, so it's hotttt (no fan)!

Here is my schedule:
Organic Chemistry- MTWRF
Trigonometry- MTWF
Sociology- MTWR
Spanish (level 5 at Classical HS)- MTWF
French (level 4 at CHS)- MWF
Economy- TWF
Civics- RF
Art History- TR
Sexual Education- R
Gym- R

Some teachers actually explain things on the marker board but some just give you questions and then a section in your book and the whole class period you work on that. Also, if there was reading assigned, the next day if you're called on you need to explain what you read without looking too much at the book, and in some classes not at all. I haven't been called on yet, but I will have to be soon because it's a participation grade, and we're given a class grade every month.
The notebooks are very organized: the title of the section is written in one color, the questions in another, and answers in pencil. The girls have colorful notebooks while the boys have blue, black and gray (lead) but it's still very cool.
Senior year is very important, it's not only studying to pass the National Exams to go to college, but you have a lot of fun. There are many field trips, dances, activities to raise money like a no uniform day, and free periods to plan the Promocion. The Promocion consists of making a class name and logo and then you have your own uniform for three days a week and everyone knows you're a Senior. Then there's the graduation, a prom type event afterwards and then a trip to a resort for the last time as a class. It sounds like a lot of fun, can't wait!
My class is called Fire Mix. Fire stands for Forjadores Intelectuales Rumbo a la Excelencia. I think that means Intelligent Inventors on the Road to Excellence..or something (I haven't gotten a good explanation for Forjadores). Our colors are Green Apple and Black. We get a polo shirt, tshirt, sweater, hat, bag, towel, key chain, banner, and some other stuff.
　
　
-The date is different, and I always get confused, but it's not hard: 11/09/2009
-Sirve and Funciona are not interchangeable. Sirve is only if it's yes or no, funciona is if there's a defect. For example: No sirve means it doesn't work. No funciona bien means it's not funcioning well. You can't put sirve where funciona is.
-Cars run on gasoline and gas (the one used to cook?). Gas is cheaper and goes longer, we can't use it in the US because it's illegal (I don't know why). Well when you're filling up your car with gas, everyone has to get out.
-I have tried crab, cow's heart and something made with yucca (like a fried ball)

New Words
a tu orden: (a saying) you can borrow it
ajentado: snobby
asunto: problem
basofia: trash
bolas: bowling
catedra: five subject notebook
cidra: sparkling juice
colero: hair elastic
empresa: business
fichas: flashcards
gallo: rooster
halago: compliment
luna de miel: honeymoon
pleito: fight
pi, trebole, quiña: spades, clubs, diamonds (cards)
rebatir: to take away rapidly
rimando: alliteration

Tigueraje: Slang
apero: cool
bonche: party
chevere: cool
desacatao: crazy
fiñando: bothering
gelga: made up words
guapo: mad
jevi: cool
killao: mad
lambon: suck up
le llega: do you understand
nitido: cool
no le pare: forget about it
nueve: chick or dude
pila: a lot, or energy
sueltame en banda/hilo: leave me alone
tate manzo: stay still
tato: all good
tripeo: laughing at the expense of someone

Observations

2009-09-04T16:17:00.006-04:00

Weather
It was always really cloudy on one side and then the clouds would end in a perfect line and it would be super sunny on the other side.
The weather was nice because it was hot but not humid. It was only really hot if you were standing right under the sun. At night time it was really fresh especially with the ocean breeze.

Animals
There were wild turkeys and peacocks in my community just strolling around. The turkeys would cock-a-doodle around 7am. There are stray dogs everywhere. It was not uncommon to see one on the side of the road. It was possible to see cows and horses in nearby farms, as well as just horses pulling carts, or just horses in the fields.

Driving
The laws are followed when they want to be, basically. At night a red light doesn't mean anything and they are passed if the road is empty. The same applied with signs such as Stop. Some traffic lights had a clock that counted down how long the light would last on red and on green. There are many motorcycles and if are used as a type of public transportation. It is called a motor concho.

The lines on the road are used for parts of the city with traffic, but if not, then you can just drive right in the middle of lanes. I think that because everyone switches lanes so much and there are always motorcycles, driving in the middle gives the driver a better chance to react fast if they need to switch lanes. Also if there is a lot of traffic in one direction and none in the other, cars can go over the cement that separates the directions to the other lane. It was also fine to drink and drive.

Environment
No one recycles and everyone litters. I don't think there was much pollution though. "Se fue la luz" (the lights went out) only happened three times while I was there and there are plantas that turn the electricity back on with gas for the meantime.

Lifestyle
As soon as everyone in the house was awake, music would be turned on until la comida (lunch) and then it would be turned back on at night until bedtime. Sometimes some neighbors would still have music on when I would go to bed. Here, lunch is the most important meal of the day. The dishwashing soap looked like an actual bar of soap, but it is specifically for dishwashing, it's just not liquid form in a bottle like in the States. The ketchup bottles look like the ones in diners in movies. It is a completely red cylinder with a cap that twists on and has a little cone shape where the ketchup comes out. There aren't any clocks in the house, everyone uses their cell phones. My theory is that they arrive late everywhere because of this.

(Observations are from Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo)

First Day

2009-08-23T11:50:00.002-04:00

Alright so after the plane ride from Miami to Santo Domingo on Friday we slept in a welcome home for the night. Then in the morning we went back to the AFS center and we met people from different parts of the world like Thailand, Iceland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, etc. I had to go on a bus to Puerto Plata with one of the AFS volunteers, Mario. The ride from Santo Domingo to Santiago was two hours and then we had a two hour break and ate lunch (locrio, salad, platano maduro and dominican raisin cake) and got back on the bus to Puerto Plata which was another 2 hours.
When I got to Puerto Plata, Melissa and Francia came to get me and Melissa introduced me to her friend Marie and from the house we went to the pool where Melissa had other friends waiting. They make so many jokes and like to talk to you because you're new. They call me Boston hah.
Then Melissa, Marie and I went home and chatted then went back out to see the Malecon, clinic, the school and Ocean World. We are going to try to go to Ocean World park soon and maybe even swim with the dolphins! We also want to go on a telerifico or something which is like a skyway to a mountain.
I have learned so many new words, well actually I forgot a lot of them but I am learning! And the weather is great, its hot but its not that humid and you do get a nice little breeze. And it really is beautiful with all the palm trees and beach right there :)
Yeah I basically had a great first day. Talk to you soon.

Love, Hannelyn

The Beginning

2009-08-15T12:34:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone!

I'm leaving in five days to Miami for my Orientation and then on August 21st at 7pm I will be on my way to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic! My host family lives in Puerto Plata, which is on the north coast of the country. I'm not sure how I'm getting there yet. My host brother is currently in Alaska for the year with AFS, but I will have a host sister so I am excited about that. My host mother has a veterinary clinic and she's a vet, and my host father is a lawyer. I've talked to Francia (host mom) and Jose (host brother) and Delenia (family friend and secretary). Delenia is going to show me the historical side of the DR. I can't wait!
Next update I'll be in the Dominican Republic :)

God bless you