'There appears to be a delusional rooster in the courtyard of the hostel. I met Ziggy, the hostel guard dog, and heard some chickens out there last night, so it isn't completely shocking that a rooster is also on the grounds. However, I say delusional, because 4:00 a.m. is NOT when the sun comes up, and neither is 4:42, 5:12, or 5:50. The rooster, however, must of thought he glimpsed a ray of light on the horizon because he deemed all of the aforementioned times as appropriate to begin his wake-up call. And by the way "cock-a-doodle-doo" is not the correct onomatopoeia for a rooster. I might not have minded being awoken to a sweet sing-songy "cock-a-doodle-doo," but whoever came up with that was giving the rooster far too much credit. It really sounds more like "SQUAWK-a-SQUAWK!" Or perhaps my poor delusional rooster also just fails miserably in the song arena as well.
In any case, I managed a few more hours of sleep before rolling out of bed at 8:00 a.m. I showered and took a lovely stroll through the streets of Santiago from which I have drawn several conclusions.
1. Honking your horn in the Dominican is used just as much to accompany the music you are listening to as it is for actual traffic purposes. Probably more so.
2. I should plan on being hot and sticky most of the time.
3. Expect "psssts" and cat-calls when walking. Even from the police (La Policia Nacional), which is super comforting.
4. Selling the most adorable little puppies out of cages on the street corner seems to be common-place.
I was pretty cautious and didn't go far since I don't have a map, or any Dominican money to run errands with. I did buy a mango at the corner store and the lady was happy to accept my American dollar and provide me with some Dominican change. My mango-picking skills need some improvement however, because it was too green to eat. Darn. I don't meet with my program director until 2:20 so I may need to venture out again in search of real food.
Holy Shit a RAT just sprinted across the floor!
In any case, I managed a few more hours of sleep before rolling out of bed at 8:00 a.m. I showered and took a lovely stroll through the streets of Santiago from which I have drawn several conclusions.
1. Honking your horn in the Dominican is used just as much to accompany the music you are listening to as it is for actual traffic purposes. Probably more so.
2. I should plan on being hot and sticky most of the time.
3. Expect "psssts" and cat-calls when walking. Even from the police (La Policia Nacional), which is super comforting.
4. Selling the most adorable little puppies out of cages on the street corner seems to be common-place.
I was pretty cautious and didn't go far since I don't have a map, or any Dominican money to run errands with. I did buy a mango at the corner store and the lady was happy to accept my American dollar and provide me with some Dominican change. My mango-picking skills need some improvement however, because it was too green to eat. Darn. I don't meet with my program director until 2:20 so I may need to venture out again in search of real food.
Holy Shit a RAT just sprinted across the floor!
Ok, so i'm adding this picture post-rat traumatization. This is a picture of the rooster in the hostel courtyard (far right corner of the cage), taken from my room. I might add that I will be changing rooms tonight in order to sleep in a bunk bed that will hopefully be harder for a rat to climb...
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