Mi última día en la República Dominicana

Unfortunately, today was my last day here and it was kinda sad. I hung out with the guys ALL DAY! Bought a bunch of gifts for family and friends and just enjoyed life. I ate, drank (a lot), talked (even more) and had a lot of fun. Got to see my American friend Whitney aka Alexis for an hour and we took a bunch of pics and just had fun. I had some deep conversations about how I'd survive if I returned and they all seemed to be extremely supportive about helping me start a life out in la RD. We drank a lot during the last few hours and we all got kinda twisted. I can honestly say I adore the people of this country and I hope that I can return here and stay for a little while longer next time. This trip has been amazing, despite the days that were boring. I love how blessed I am and I appreciate everything. They paid for me to eat and drink and to enjoy myself the entire time I was here. One of the waiters at the restaurant at my hotel gave me a ring with the word love all over it. Everyone wanted my facebook info and I can honestly say that I've gained an enormous amount of friends here. I can't walk down the street of my hotel without talking to someone that I know and that feels amazing. I'm sad to have to go tomorrow but I know I'll be back one day. Until then, I'll be in contact with my friends.



This is my friend Eladio. He owns the store that I hung out at everyday. We began to get really close and hang out everyday. He's a lot like me and we had lots of fun together.



This is Jairo, my boo for the 10 days that I was here. Yea I know, black like always. lol



Me and Whitney aka Alexis. She's American and I adore her! Wish I met her earlier.



Don't know her name but she worked next door. They always watched out for me and bought me ice cream and food and protected me from the weirdos. <3 her




This is a picture of what you'd see everyday on el Conde (the street where the store was).

Hablas como una Mexicana...

SO, once again, they think I sound Mexican. oh boy.

Today was a great day even though I didn't do much. I sat around and drank and talked for the entire day with my friends. They bought me pasteles off the street vendors and nonstop alcohol. I argued with some and made jokes with others. I'm finally understanding their street lingo and I have to leave so soon. We spent a lot of time laughing at everything today and it was so fun. The guys are trying to convince me to move here once I graduate. I actually had to translate a sale for them because they know english a little but obviously not as well as I do. I chased around one of my friends sons all over the place cuz he's a little kid and wanted to play. After I was done playing around like a child, we continued to drink and carry on and act so obnoxiously because we could. Today was a great day. I seriously have been considering how I could possibly move here and get a job, even if only for a year.



Through watching people today and the other days I've realized a few things. 1. They have no manners here. Words like please and thank you are actually annoying to them. WTF? 2. Dominican men do not care about have six packs or eight pack abs. As long as they feel good, they'll stay that way. 3. Dominican women never learned that see through pants and patterned underwear do not go together. lol.



Afterwards, I walked around with an American friend for a while and we came across a free concert so we were there for about half an hour until they closed down. That was a fun experience because there were so many people there. We chilled for about another hour and a half just walking and talking and now I'm back in the hotel room. Tomorrow I need to buy some gifts and the guys promised to celebrate big tomorrow because they don't want to see me leave.

Mi amiga quiere saber si tu asiento es natural o no...

Some guy really asked me today if my ass was real or not. lmao. seriously man? And on top of that, he said his female friend wanted to know. lol. And then they had to nerve to sit on a bench right behind me. Seriously? People here are bold as shit. lol.



Today was a much better day than I was expecting thanks to my American friend Whitney or Alexis (people here can't say Whitney). We walked the Malecon which is like a boardwalk and then she took me to the flea market! omg, I loved this flea market! I bought a few things that I didn't need but it's all good because they're things I can use. After our walk around, we chilled with the guys for a bit and ran into a friend of Whitney's named Kiersten. We hung out with her for a while and walked around with her, enjoying ourselves the entire time. Then, Kiersten had to leave and Whitney and I ate some dinner at a fast food joint called Pollo Rey which was yummy.



Afterwards, she and I chilled out with the guys for a while and just joked with them. Soon after, they told us we were going to a party. We seriously drove about two blocks and ended up around these ruins that I love and there was a free party outside in the field with free food and beer. Of course I ate a little and drank a lot and danced a tad. Then, we all left for a spot where we could drink more and dance a lot more. I didn't stop dancing the entire time we were there unless it was to down a drink. I wound up a tad drunk but the guys drove us home so everything was great. But just being with them made everything better. It was so fun. <3

Que bonita, la piel de ella es bonita!

I've never met so many people who were obsessed with my skin color. They seriously love it here. It's kind of funny.

SO, yesterday was actually an extremely boring day. I had nothing to do and the person I'm here with wanted to stay in all day because she wasn't feeling well and I wasn't about to stay in all day. So, I walked down to hang out at the store that I'm always at. (Photo below) I chilled with the guys for a few hours while being entertained by the many people who stopped by to say hello.



Amongst these people were a few Americans and this one lady from here who wouldn't stop talking about how beautiful she thinks I am and she went on and on about how gorgeous my skin color is. lol. I'm over here tryna get darker so I actually have color and she's in love with the color I already have. lol. I met an American who is studying abroad and invited me to come party at some point before I leave. Meeting her might be my saving grace in this country because I've started to get so bored with the same routine. The people I know here aren't big enough partiers and I love having fun. They all get tired by 9 and wanna go home. Where they do that at?

We ended up going to the pool hall down the street to listen to music and I watched everyone play pool. We seriously left at like 9:30. WTF?! At the pool hall though, someone asked me if I danced salsa and I told him of course because Puerto Ricans love salsa and you know what he said?! He thought I was Mexican because I "talk like a Mexican". Shut up! lol. Never got that one before but there's a first time for everything I suppose.

To be honest, if I could party tonight and do the beach one more day, I'd be ready to come home. Next time I take a vacay I need to go to a party place. I'm too young to enjoy just sitting around like an old head seriously.

Helado Helado!

Today was a pretty uneventful day actually. It was still a good one nonetheless, and kind of hilarious.



I woke up and talked on g-chat and facebook for a few hours before actually leaving the hotel. I was left on my own so I went to the store that I normally hang out at and chilled with the people there. I was actually there for like 5 hours just taking pictures and being silly. So, Leonardo (the guy I was with all day yesterday) popped up suddenly and I wasn't expecting him. He popped up and saw some other guy sittin on my lap talking to me. He was pretty upset when he walked away too. Welp! This is the picture of the guy sitting on my lap. I met this guy as soon as I got here.



Then, I realized that I didn't eat so one of our friends took me to a spot around the corner where I enjoyed the best sandwich of my life. lol. Then he bought me ice cream and we walked around for like an hour. He laughed at me because I got really excited about eating ice cream. I love it so much and I have it as many times as humanly possible (hence the name of this post). We took a few pictures and then he walked me back to the hotel. Life here is so funny. Now I'm in the hotel at 9:30 annoyed cuz I'm not tired at all.

Tourist Day! (free!) lol

Yesterday was such an amazing day as well. But I'm sure that's not a surprise at all. (Be jealous, be very jealous).



Woke up and ate another free buffet breakfast, score! The we went outside and sat around waiting for a friend to walk with us to all the touristy stuff. Needless to say, he didn't show up thus we went alone. But the wait was very entertaining. While waiting, a few people sat down on a bench with us. One guy told me I look Puerto Rican so I told him I was and the other guy said I don't look Puerto Rican at all. They started arguing about whether or not I look Puerto Rican. It escalated and they started smacking each other over the argument. lol. I was like this is too serious for me. Then they continued to tell Ava that she wasn't Dominican because she doesn't speak Spanish or think in Spanish. This continued into an argument and we got up as we realized it was time to go.



We walked the Calle de las Damas, which is a street with a ton of history. This was the first street in the New World. We walked to the different sites to see the history play out. There's a gorgeous plaza that we walked through where the first home of Diego Colon is (Christopher Columbus' son). We went to the library, and past a bunch of cool historical places and museums taking a million pics. Then, we head back to the hotel and who's standing at the front desk waiting for us? Exactly, our friend Leonardo.



So, we all go to the aquarium (sooo cool!) and then the Faro a Colon (lighthouse). The lighthouse isn't your typical lighthouse. It's built in the shape of a cross. The lights are so bright at night that you can see them in Puerto Rico. The lighthouse was built for the 500 year anniversary of Columbus landing here. It has over 50 rooms full of all sorts of memorabilia from a ton of countries. He also takes us out to eat for lunch and we drank coconut water out of the coconut sitting on the side of a highway. lol. After visiting the faro and taking pictures, we head back to the Colonial area that our hotel is in.



In the colonial area, we walked to another friend's business and hung out with a bunch of the people who work there just sitting around drinking and talking. By the way, it's 100% legal to walk around drinking outside and there isn't a real drinking age here. They just drink whenever they want to start. lol. Ummm, ok. So, I stayed outside until like 9:30 just chilling and talking about the states, school, and after graduation plans. They all decided that I have to move to Santo Domingo once I graduate. lol.



The best part of this day is that everything should've costed me a bit, but Leonardo paid for everything! lol. Can't say no to that.

Taxi, Taxi!

So, today was a pretty freaken amazing day as well. Would you like to hear why? If not, close this window because I'm gonna tell you anyway. :D

We slept in today a bit because we were both tired. Then we headed out and explored a bit, reading the history of Dominican Republic's fathers of independence. I had the yummiest lunch, rice and chicken, at this cafe and bar called Grand's. Then we walked around doing some more wandering while ignoring the hisses of the old men and cat calls from the young guys on El Conde (the street our hotel and lots of shopping is on). We passed by the many men yelling out taxi so they could get paid to take us some random ass place for too much money. The group reunited and we finally took a taxi to the Museum of the Dominican Man and on the way saw some important sites such as the Governmental Palace (BEAUTIFUL)...

After that, we came back to the hotel to shower, rest and then change. Walking to the meeting spot, we ran into somebody that we met on the bus yesterday name Leonardo so he walked us the rest of the way to our destination. We got some ice cream, courtesy of Leonardo. Then he accompanied the group to a Bodega (not a corner store [to my family], here it's a bar with a tiny dance floor). He paid for the drinks and we all danced for a while. Then we left and went to a pool hall for an hour or two and then we returned to the hotel, with plans for tomorrow.