So it seems like I’ve been here for months already, so much has happened in these first few weeks!  Some highlights:

•  Our group went to a baseball game on Friday, called play de beisból, which was very fun.  People are into baseball here like nothing else: this morning I was taking a bus to school and the driver, conductor, and many of the passengers were having a heated argument about last night’s game.
• The Dominican empanada is my new favorite food.  Its very very deep fried, and filled with your choice of chicken, cheese, and vegetables.
• I bought a guitar!  My host dad came with me so that they wouldn’t rip me off.  Its a classical acoustic guitar, and I have spent many an hour out on my balcony, playing and watching the traffic go by below.  Also, I met this guy in my apartment complex who also plays.  He’s 35 and lives with his parents and loves classic rock, so we are working on renditions of Sweet Child of Mine and Santana songs, among others.  It’s really interesting to hear him sing in English, because he knows the lyrics perfectly and has the inflection of the words perfect, he just couldn’t tell you what he’s saying.
•  As you’ve heard, the Earthquake in Haiti has definitely had a huge effect here.  The night of the earthquake everyone in Santo Domingo stayed indoors watching TV: we were on a tsunami warning, and I live two blocks from the ocean, so I’m glad that didn’t happen.  On Saturday I went to one of my universities (Bonó, the Jesuit seminary), and helped load truck fulls of food and medical supplies off to Haiti.  I have met a couple Haitians in my classes, and its been very humbling to talk with them and get to know them.
• On Sunday I hung out with my family, and we visited my mom’s extended family in the suburbs of Santo Domingo.  We basically ate all day and sat around and talked about the earthquake:  It is a huge topic of debate here, as the DR has a very tough relationship with Haiti.  There are many Dominicans that think we should help our Haitian neighbors, but there are also many Dominicans who do not believe we should help them.  The main argument that Dominicans make against Haitians is the same one many Americans make about Mexican immigrants: that Haitians are taking all the jobs and lowering the average wage of Dominicans.
• I am going to be doing an internship here with a consulting organization called ALEPH.  I will be working on a revision to plan between the United Nations and the Dominican government, using my computer and web skills along the way.  I’m really excited to learn a lot of new web and computer vocab in Spanish.