My lovely little sister Leanna and long-time friend Mallory flew in to visit me last Wednesday. And of course, I couldn't take them to the beach until they had experienced the real Santiago city life first (and also I still had to work Thursday and Friday). Since I only had one class on Thursday, I decided we could spend most of the day exploring around the city and they could get a taste of true Dominican non-tourist culture.
So real quick, here's the run-down:
They girls started the morning bright and early with a 5:00 a.m. rooster wake-up call.
Despite this fact, they managed to go back to sleep for a few hours while I headed to my 8:00 a.m. class. I made it back around 10:00 and stopped to buy some roadside fresh-slice fruit on the way home, thinking this would be a nice little Dominican breakfast for them. Fresh fruit at this time of year consists of pineapple, cantaloupe, bananas, and another melon called lechoza. The only problem is that Leanna is not much of a "fruit person" and Mallory hates bananas and melons. -1 for Santiago.
But they were good sports and we figured we would be eating soon, so little-to-no breakfast would be ok. We all strapped on our walking shoes and headed out the door, our first destination: El Mercado Hospedaje, a large outdoor city market with every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable.
I think its safe to say that the market made quite an impression on the girls. The colors, sounds, and smells are a lot to take in. Not to mention, we three very American girls were drawing a lot of attention. The cat-calls were pretty much non-stop. Mallory and Leanna both decided that if they were ever feeling down, they'd just walk to the Market for an instant confidence booster. +1 for Santiago.
After purchasing a few pineapples we hiked back up to "La Sirena," the closest thing the D.R. has to a walmart, where we made a few more purchases. We decided to head home and drop off our groceries before heading out to eat. By American standards, it was a long walk back (half mile up-hill) in the middle of the day with our heavy grocery bags and the hot Dominican sun beating down on us. -1 Santiago.
So real quick, here's the run-down:
They girls started the morning bright and early with a 5:00 a.m. rooster wake-up call.
Despite this fact, they managed to go back to sleep for a few hours while I headed to my 8:00 a.m. class. I made it back around 10:00 and stopped to buy some roadside fresh-slice fruit on the way home, thinking this would be a nice little Dominican breakfast for them. Fresh fruit at this time of year consists of pineapple, cantaloupe, bananas, and another melon called lechoza. The only problem is that Leanna is not much of a "fruit person" and Mallory hates bananas and melons. -1 for Santiago.
But they were good sports and we figured we would be eating soon, so little-to-no breakfast would be ok. We all strapped on our walking shoes and headed out the door, our first destination: El Mercado Hospedaje, a large outdoor city market with every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable.
I think its safe to say that the market made quite an impression on the girls. The colors, sounds, and smells are a lot to take in. Not to mention, we three very American girls were drawing a lot of attention. The cat-calls were pretty much non-stop. Mallory and Leanna both decided that if they were ever feeling down, they'd just walk to the Market for an instant confidence booster. +1 for Santiago.
After purchasing a few pineapples we hiked back up to "La Sirena," the closest thing the D.R. has to a walmart, where we made a few more purchases. We decided to head home and drop off our groceries before heading out to eat. By American standards, it was a long walk back (half mile up-hill) in the middle of the day with our heavy grocery bags and the hot Dominican sun beating down on us. -1 Santiago.
We did stop to get some coconut milk and a boruga on the way back though, which neither of them liked much.
-2 Santiago.
But they did like the machete cutting action! +1 Santiago.
-2 Santiago.
But they did like the machete cutting action! +1 Santiago.
The girls were sweaty and hungry by the time we got back and I decided to take them to Centro Leon (Santiago's cultural museum) for a little bit of air-conditioning and lunch at the attached café. The plan was perfect, we would get to walk through some Dominican history and cultural exhibits, cool off, and get some good food. Plus, we would need to take a concho to get there, and I was really eager to see what the girls thought about the Dominican public transportation system. So we headed to the concho stop and squished in: 4 people in the back seat, 2 in the front. The ride took at least 15 minutes and the poor girls had to seat on each others laps (or the laps of complete stangers) practically the whole time in the very hot, not air-conditioned concho. I am not sure they left with a positive opinion of Dominican public transportation. -2 Santiago.
Needless to say, they were quite happy when we finally made it to our destination. Only when we got there, the museum was closed. Some kind of opening ceremony for a new exhibition or what-not. Well, that´s the Dominican Republic for you. Plans never go as planned. -3 Santiago.
So we reluctantly hopped back into another concho and took a ride back to the mall on the opposite side of town (not quite as cool as the museum, but just walking through the stores is kind of like walking through an exhibit....kind of). Plus it was the only place I could think of that we could go to get them air conditioning and food.
Needless to say, they were quite happy when we finally made it to our destination. Only when we got there, the museum was closed. Some kind of opening ceremony for a new exhibition or what-not. Well, that´s the Dominican Republic for you. Plans never go as planned. -3 Santiago.
So we reluctantly hopped back into another concho and took a ride back to the mall on the opposite side of town (not quite as cool as the museum, but just walking through the stores is kind of like walking through an exhibit....kind of). Plus it was the only place I could think of that we could go to get them air conditioning and food.
By the time we arrived, it was approaching 1:30 and the girls were ravenous. They ordered a combo plate of nachos, tacos, and quesadillas. I think they had had enough Dominican culture for the day and just needed some good old American (or Mexican) comfort food. Once I had the hungry bears fed and cooled off, we did a little bit of shopping and things started looking up.
We looked at fancy shoes.
(Mallory really started getting the hang of the whole Dominican fashion thing: find the tallest/blingy-est shoes you can find and you´ll fit right in)
(Mallory really started getting the hang of the whole Dominican fashion thing: find the tallest/blingy-est shoes you can find and you´ll fit right in)
We bought rum (which always makes everyone happy). +2 Santiago
And we got our nails done!
Ok so Mallory may have ended up with green nails instead of turquoise (small language barrier problem), but overall it was a pretty good experience. +1 Santiago.
We started our walk back home around 5:00 p.m., just as school was letting out. Little did we know that we would have to fight our way up hill through a throng (literally about 100 students) of stir-crazy middle-schoolers going the opposite direction.
Little kids are my favorite though. They are not afraid to say whatever they want to whoever they want, and foreigners are a special treat in their eyes. Its a chance for them to either try out their English skills, or point and stare openly at the "exotic" Americans. In this case, most of the kids took the point and stare route, including one little girl who stretched her finger out at Mallory and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Blanca! Blanca!"
Literally translated, "white girl! white girl!"
I think Mallory and Leanna were as equally amused as the kids were. Draw for Santiago.
We started our walk back home around 5:00 p.m., just as school was letting out. Little did we know that we would have to fight our way up hill through a throng (literally about 100 students) of stir-crazy middle-schoolers going the opposite direction.
Little kids are my favorite though. They are not afraid to say whatever they want to whoever they want, and foreigners are a special treat in their eyes. Its a chance for them to either try out their English skills, or point and stare openly at the "exotic" Americans. In this case, most of the kids took the point and stare route, including one little girl who stretched her finger out at Mallory and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Blanca! Blanca!"
Literally translated, "white girl! white girl!"
I think Mallory and Leanna were as equally amused as the kids were. Draw for Santiago.
Siesta time!
Once we finally made it home a little snooze was in order.
After all, a long day of sun and walking can really take it out of you.
Once we finally made it home a little snooze was in order.
After all, a long day of sun and walking can really take it out of you.
For dinner I was planning on taking them to a nearby Dominican roadside restaurant with fabulous "pinchos" or kabobs, a sure-fire hit between the two of them, but of course, immediately when we stepped out the door it began to rain. -1 Santiago. We ended up calling a taxi and heading to a slightly more upscale restaurant (with a roof). We started off with a couple Presidentes...always a good way to begin a meal.
And just look at those beautiful freshly manicured nails.
You just have to love the "presidente" green color.
You just have to love the "presidente" green color.
Then Leanna played it safe with grilled chicken and fried plaintains, or tostones, and Mallory tried to be daring with a "Ricky" a traditional Dominican sandwich which I have actually never tried before.
Leanna´s was a hit. +1 Santiago.
Mallory´s, not so much. -1 Santiago.
( The sandwich came drenched in a "special sauce" of mayo and ketchup, which Domincans put on EVERYTHING, and which Mallory happens to hate)
( The sandwich came drenched in a "special sauce" of mayo and ketchup, which Domincans put on EVERYTHING, and which Mallory happens to hate)
After dinner we headed over to la "Plaza Internacional" (a.k.a. Maddy´s rooftop) to celebrate the Lovely Alexis´s birthday, pictured above with her birthday brews.
Plaza Internacional is so-named because there is always an eclectic mix of people from all over the world on that rooftop: Haitians, Belgians, Americans, Venezuelans, and Dominicans unite! It makes for some very interesting conversations, if you can speak enough languages to keep up. Maddy throws the best parties :)
After a couple piña coladas in a pineapple (made with our freshly purchased market pineapples!), we were invited to a spur-of-the-moment midnight pool party. And we went. Because that's how things work here in the Dominican Republic. Everything is spontaneous: the plan is, there is no plan. Unless you get invited to a swimming pool in the ritziest part of town. Then that is the new plan. That is always the plan.
We didn't make it home until the wee small hours of the morning.
Final Score: -5 for Santiago
So at the end of the day, Santiago ended up a few points down, but for bettor or worse, at least the girls got to experience the "Real Santiago" and hopefully make a few memories they won't soon forget.
P.S. I will possibly be editing this post later in the week to add in more pictures (once the girls get their camera pictures uploaded), so check back later!!
Final Score: -5 for Santiago
So at the end of the day, Santiago ended up a few points down, but for bettor or worse, at least the girls got to experience the "Real Santiago" and hopefully make a few memories they won't soon forget.
P.S. I will possibly be editing this post later in the week to add in more pictures (once the girls get their camera pictures uploaded), so check back later!!
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