Translate

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Tres Semanas


Three weeks. That’s how long I’ve been in the Dominican Republic for. Our program is 6 weeks long, so I’m officially half way through it.  Rumor has it that this is about the time that everyone starts getting homesick. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I’m definitely feeling it. It’s a strange feeling for me, because I’ve never gotten homesick before. I was never homesick during my 2-week music camps over the summer during high school, or even when I went off to college. It’s not like I’m here missing Gainesville or Melbourne (my college town and my hometown in Florida) in particular. And of course I miss my family and friends, but that’s not the reason I’m feeling homesick. I think it’s more the way I miss the lifestyle I had back in the US. I think I’m more America-sick than anything else.
            I think one of the things I miss the most is my lack of independence here. If I want to go do something like go get some food, I have to have someone else come with me. If I want to go anywhere while it’s dark out, I have to call a taxi, even if it’s a short walk. Alone time is nonexistent here. I share a room with Catherine, which doesn’t really bother me at all, because I shared a room with my best friend Melissa for an entire year. The problem is that people will just walk into our rooms whenever they please. I feel like I have no personal space. There are times that I just want to take a short little nap or something, but even if I retreat back to my room, people will walk right in and try to talk. I don’t have anywhere where I can just have some time to be alone. I’m a really social person, but as any American knows, I value my personal space. And having some personal time as well.
            Here, it comes to be the biggest problem when it come to doing homework. I’m so used to being able to walk to library West, and sit down and focus. If I really wanted to, I could completely isolate myself in one of those cubbies. I get so much homework done at the library. I find that doing homework in the DR to be nearly impossible. I  don’t have any place to call my own, or even a place to call a quiet spot. I can’t do homework in my room, because A) there’s no desk, and I can’t do homework sitting on a bed, and B) because there’s no wifi. I can’t do homework at the dining room table, because that’s reserved for meals only (which is sad, because that was my favorite spot back in high school). So my only option left is the table on the balcony outside. Which sounds pretty and all, but it’s pouring outside right now, and I’m still here writing my blog. It’s also hard because the balcony is a common space, so it’s full of distractions. My house mom will pull up a chair and start chatting, and I feel like I’d be so rude if I told her I was trying to get my work done, so we’ll talk, and I’ll just not be very productive. We’ll also have family friends and UF friends just come over whenever they feel like it. And I’m all for hanging out with my family and my friends, just not when I have an assignment due in an hour or so. I miss being able to isolate myself when I need to be productive.
            These are mostly minor things, though. And I feel like as someone with a very American mindset, I’m not going to be able to adjust to these differences within the 3 weeks that I have left. So I’ve decided that I’m just going to try to not let these things bother me too much. I’ve had so many positive experiences here, and I’m choosing to focus on those instead.
            This past weekend, we went to the capital, Santo Domingo. I thought it was such an interesting place, because half of the city includes very modern (and American) stores, like a Krispy Kremes, a Forever 21, KFC, and even a TGI Friday’s. The other half consisted of ruins from buildings that were created in the 15th century, around the time that the Europeans were just starting to discover America. We visited a Palace (that looked like an off-white version of the White House), the Colonial Zone, national guards who keep watch over the eternal fire, the pier where the naval ships are, and the ruins of the first hospital in the New World. It was a lot of tours and museums crammed into a few short hours. Then as soon as we had finished eating our lunch, we were whisked off on another excursion to go see some caves.
            These caves we went to were about an hour of so out of Santo Domingo. There were two sets caves. The first set was all the way up a mountain. It would have been really enjoyable hike, except for one small detail. The day before we left for Santo Domingo, our teacher told us to wear comfortable clothes and shoes, because we’d be walking around a lot. So basically all of the girls, (myself included), figured that we’d just be walking around the city. We all wore sandals and maxi skirts, which was perfect for walking around the city. But it’s probably the worst thing that we could of worn for a hiking trip. Our teachers seemed to have forgotten that small, really important detail about how we would have to hike for around 30 minutes in order to get to the cave. When she realized that nearly all of us were in sandals and skirts, she insisted that she told us what shoes/clothes we were supposed to wear.
            That hike though. It was awful. I could feel every rock under my feet as a climbed, and I slipped on almost every step in the sandals I was wearing.  I had to hike up my maxi dress above my knees in order to be able to climb anything without tripping. So this meant that since I had one hand holding up my dress the whole time, it was much harder to grab onto trees to pull myself up. I spent so much time worrying about my next step that I didn’t get the chance to really enjoy the journey up to the cave. When we finally got to the cave, it was absolutely gorgeous. We couldn’t go far into that one, so we admired it from the opening. After around 10 minutes or so, we turned around and headed back.  Funny thing was, the trip back took only 5 minutes, and the majority of the walk was on flat terrain.  Apparently there were 2 pathways to get there, and even though all of us were extremely unprepared to hike, someone had decided that they wanted to take the longer route. UUUUHHHGGG.
            The cave was so much nicer, because there was a short, paved path leading right up to the cave. We actually got to go inside this one. The guide had a lantern, and we were all told to turn on the LEDs of our iPhones. Turns out that that cave has a labyrinth inside it. We explored, and walked through the maze. It was very dark, even with the lights, but still a lot of fun. We came to one part that had thousands of bats flying around it. Another had cave drawling. One part of the cave (my personal favorite) is known for being the quietest, darkest place in all of the world. We sat down on the ledges in the cave, and the tour guide had everyone (except him) turn out their lights, and remove anything reflective. Then he flickered his lantern, and turned it off.  It was pitch black. I held up my hand a millimeter from my face, and couldn’t see it. I couldn’t see a difference between when I had my eyes open, and when I had them closed. The cave was completely void of any sound, unless someone from our group moved. It was surreal having that much silence. It was kind of uncomfortable, because we’re used to always having some noise, but also very peaceful. It reminded me a lot of my dad, who likes to meditate in his free time. He would have loved this cave. Apparently, this spot was sacred to the Taino people (the people who lived in the Caribbean before the Europeans came). It was used for religious ceremonies, and for very obvious reasons. This spot deprives you of the two most important senses that humans have. Without having your hearing and your sight, you feel absolutely alone, even when you are with 25 other people. It was refreshing, after spending three weeks of never being alone.
            The next day we got another hour or so to spend in the Colonial Zone, then we explored some other caves, and headed back to Santiago. For me, the caves were stunning, and such an incredible experience, but I feel like I didn’t get enough time in the city itself. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we had only barely begun to explore it.  Maybe next time?

Hiking Outfit! 

Tres Ojos Cave

No comments:

Post a Comment