The New Neighbors

As of today we are officially the new neighbors on the block. We managed to get our place put together enough that we're gonna try sleeping here tonight. The place is looking pretty good, though there will be some furniture that we need to acquire. There is some serious charm to this house, and I think we're gonna like it.

The only downer is that we don't have a solid internet connection yet. We don't have an inverter installed yet, so we don't have 24 hour power yet. Actually, I'm not even sure when I'll be able to post this note! Ah well, I'm certainly not here for the creature comforts.

I'm learning a lot about Dominican life. There are many things that are similar to the US. In some ways I'm doing more "American" things than I usually do in Portland. Twice I've gone to the Dominican equivalent to Walmart, and I was so relieved to have the prices marked on the products that I didn't even mind my sub-cultural betrayal. When asked by the kind lady from my school where we wanted to eat when we got here, Kisha said salchicha (a DR sausage on a stick, served with hot sauce) and I said pico pollo (fried chicken and plantains). She didn't take us serious, though, and offered us either McDonald's or Burger King. I don't even eat like that in the states!

I'm learning some of the differences, too. There are lots of social do's and don'ts, some of which I may never learn. Our friends that we've been staying with won't let us do ANYTHING. Sometimes people start cooking for you and you don't even know it. Kids do all kinds of stuff that we wouldn't let our kids do. The peso to dollar ratio is still killing me, even though I practiced. It rains like mad every day.

We had some American friends over for coffee today, and talked about how this is actually one of the more stable things we've done in the past few years. For one, I actually have a solid teaching job. We have more than a 6 month lease on an apartment. It feels good to have made a decision, follows through on it, and to see how God was opening doors all along the way.

Hoping to have an inverter and solid connection sometime next week. Until then I'll keep posting on the occasional wifi I can scrounge up!

Fried Eggs with Onion & Salami

Mangu (mashed plantains)