The night of the rat that is. I've only seen him twice and both times in the living room. Needless to say I'm keeping my bedroom door shut (not much of a deterrent since he can def fit under the crack) and my luggage zipped up. And when I'm in the living room, I just keep my feet off the floor while I'm sitting on the couch. I hauled all my stuff to another bedroom with a bunk bed so I could sleep up there, which had the added bonus of being farther from the rooster as well, although the mattress was less comfortable. But when all was said in done, I actually had a pretty sound night of sleep.
I went for another stroll this morning; just trying to get my bearings on this place. If I had to describe it one word, it would be colorful: lush greenery and ruby red flowers sprout from every courtyard, patio, and sidewalk crack; the stores are swathed in shades of purple, pink, and yellow; fruit stands catch your eye at every corner; and the people seem to have a particular affinity for neon fashions. And let's not forget the other senses. Smells range from sweet and fruity, to spicy, to sweaty, to cat piss. And the city itself is pretty much a symphony of horns (although I have to mention that I found out that aside from being used as musical instruments, they are also a way of picking up passengers and letting passersby know that you have seats available), twittering birds, blaring bachata music, and piropos (catcalls). So pretty much just stepping outside the doorway is sensory overload. And awesome. And terrifying. All at the same time.
On a completely separate topic, yesterday I learned that there are some key differences in meaning between Dominican Spanish vocabulary, and the rest of the world's Spanish vocabulary. Example A: Bolsa, in the majority of the Spanish language, is regarded as a "purse, bag, or sack", In the DR, it means "scrotum." Well that explains why the nice Dominican security guard at the airport who was helping me put my luggage on the conveyor belt to be x-rayed blinked twice when I asked him "mi bolsa también?" I had effectively asked him if I should put my scrotum on the conveyer belt to be x-rayed, instead of my purse.
I went for another stroll this morning; just trying to get my bearings on this place. If I had to describe it one word, it would be colorful: lush greenery and ruby red flowers sprout from every courtyard, patio, and sidewalk crack; the stores are swathed in shades of purple, pink, and yellow; fruit stands catch your eye at every corner; and the people seem to have a particular affinity for neon fashions. And let's not forget the other senses. Smells range from sweet and fruity, to spicy, to sweaty, to cat piss. And the city itself is pretty much a symphony of horns (although I have to mention that I found out that aside from being used as musical instruments, they are also a way of picking up passengers and letting passersby know that you have seats available), twittering birds, blaring bachata music, and piropos (catcalls). So pretty much just stepping outside the doorway is sensory overload. And awesome. And terrifying. All at the same time.
On a completely separate topic, yesterday I learned that there are some key differences in meaning between Dominican Spanish vocabulary, and the rest of the world's Spanish vocabulary. Example A: Bolsa, in the majority of the Spanish language, is regarded as a "purse, bag, or sack", In the DR, it means "scrotum." Well that explains why the nice Dominican security guard at the airport who was helping me put my luggage on the conveyor belt to be x-rayed blinked twice when I asked him "mi bolsa también?" I had effectively asked him if I should put my scrotum on the conveyer belt to be x-rayed, instead of my purse.
Calle del Sol...the main shopping street in Santiago
cocos on the corner.
puppies anyone?!
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