Hello Readers
I hope this blog post finds you all doing well. Just wanted to give another little update. So far, my Spanish is improving. I am able to string several sentences together when talking, and this morning I did so with only one hand gesture to substitute a word! Understanding people is still "una lucha" but I am trying to listen hard to my host family, even if I don't understand their words, just in case it helps my brain differentiate between Spanish words in the long run. That's the way babies learn and if I have to behave like my sobrino, Zach, so be it. Happy 5 month birthday Zachy! I tried to send a message to your parents on the 15th but I don't know if they passed it on to you or not, so I'll make my well wishes public.
In other news, I've learned how to sled Dominican Style. Those palm fronds are tough little suckers to break apart. I always thought they would be flimsy like a leaf but breaking one off was like trying to fold a really thin bit of wood. Wish I'd brought my knife to the park but that was the last thing I thought to pack. Guess I'll know for next time. Not like my little pocket knife would help much but it would work better than a rock.
I hope that video is good to go. Might be a bit grainy because it was filmed with my Dona's phone. The point, however, is to provide videographical proof that I know how to slide down a hill on a palm frond. The word for palm frond, for those interested in the linguistics, is jaguacil. Don't know if I spelled it right but that is how I saved it to my Peace Corps cell phone.
This afternoon I'm going on a tour of the colonial zone with a local historian who provides tours to Peace Corps groups. I'm meeting up with some of the other trainees around noon and we are taking a guagua downtown. For those unfamiliar with a guagua, imagine a very old, very shabby little bus, pack it to the rafters with humanity, and you have an approximate idea. I swear either they or carro publicos are the reason behind the Dominicana's insistence on personal cleanliness.
I hope this blog post finds you all doing well. Just wanted to give another little update. So far, my Spanish is improving. I am able to string several sentences together when talking, and this morning I did so with only one hand gesture to substitute a word! Understanding people is still "una lucha" but I am trying to listen hard to my host family, even if I don't understand their words, just in case it helps my brain differentiate between Spanish words in the long run. That's the way babies learn and if I have to behave like my sobrino, Zach, so be it. Happy 5 month birthday Zachy! I tried to send a message to your parents on the 15th but I don't know if they passed it on to you or not, so I'll make my well wishes public.
In other news, I've learned how to sled Dominican Style. Those palm fronds are tough little suckers to break apart. I always thought they would be flimsy like a leaf but breaking one off was like trying to fold a really thin bit of wood. Wish I'd brought my knife to the park but that was the last thing I thought to pack. Guess I'll know for next time. Not like my little pocket knife would help much but it would work better than a rock.
I hope that video is good to go. Might be a bit grainy because it was filmed with my Dona's phone. The point, however, is to provide videographical proof that I know how to slide down a hill on a palm frond. The word for palm frond, for those interested in the linguistics, is jaguacil. Don't know if I spelled it right but that is how I saved it to my Peace Corps cell phone.
This afternoon I'm going on a tour of the colonial zone with a local historian who provides tours to Peace Corps groups. I'm meeting up with some of the other trainees around noon and we are taking a guagua downtown. For those unfamiliar with a guagua, imagine a very old, very shabby little bus, pack it to the rafters with humanity, and you have an approximate idea. I swear either they or carro publicos are the reason behind the Dominicana's insistence on personal cleanliness.
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