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