QUE LO QUE HAY no. 1

HELLO from 12:42 pm on monday, January 12. I just finished lunch with Doña Iris Grullón de Montessert, the (vivacious and youthful) 82-year-old woman who I'm living with for the next four months. She made spaghetti and meatballs (not Dominican), fried plantains (VERY Dominican) and a salad with a homemade viniagrette (for which her daughter told me she is famous). After lunch we drank "Dominican coffee," meaning it was really strong and served in tiny porcelain cups with lots of brown

sugar. 

So I've been here now about 8 days and they've all been great. There are about 28 other students on my program (only 4 of them are boys!), all American, mostly juniors in college, and they are all really nice, friendly people who are fun to get to know. We had a really full week of orientation and exploration centered around the offices of the program (CIEE) at FLACSO- the Latin American Facility of Social Sciences, where I'm going to take three classes. The staff there are constantly friendly and unfailingly helpful: there is one middle-aged woman in charge of everything (she's also a professor at the huge university in Santo Domingo where I'm going to take two classes) and then five or six staff in their twenties and thirties who have various jobs at the office. All but one is Dominican,

and the one American (I just learned) went to Lewis & Clark and studied here with the same program I'm doing! Crazy world. 

Speaking of crazy, this is the TROPICS. I wish I knew the temperature but the point is I haven't had to wear a jacket outside even once while I've been here, not even at 1:30 in the morning. Every morning I have fresh fruit for breakfast (bananas, papayas, pineapple, etc. etc.). Santo Domingo is right next to the big, beautiful Caribbean sea, and yesterday we took a bus to a beach called Palenque where we played in the waves and sunbathed and rode a giant inflatable banana pulled by a motor boat (in JANUARY! there's pictures below... sadly not of the banana boat, wish I had a waterproof camera).

I was a little nervous when I heard that I would be staying with an 82-year-old woman who lives alone-- I had visions of a family, with little kids and relatives running around all over-- but Doña Iris is one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. You wouldn't expect me to have much in common with a catholic

 Dominican mother of 5 and grandmother of 14, 62 years older than me, but I agree with and admire her beliefs and philosophies almost always when we talk, about religion, relationships, marriage, all sorts of things. She regularly reminds me of the importance of having a Positive Attitude, Moderation in all things, and keeping an Open Mind. If I can feel half as good about about life when I'm her age I'll be ecstatic. She inspires me. 

I don't know what else to say, ask me questions! Oh and YES I'm speaking Spanish and I think it's getting better. It's fun. Here are some photos for you. Til next time...

I miss you,

Anna Joy