Spanish final!

This morning we had our written Spanish final, and I think it went pretty well.  The concepts were all fairly straightforward and the layout was easy to understand.  I also got a 98% on my midterm, so I do not need to do super well on this to get an A. The other part of the Spanish final will be an oral exam, which is ten minutes of my powerpoint presentation about my research topic.  This will be finished on Sunday when I present.  I am just thankful that I am able to get credit for Spanish 311 here instead of needing to take that class in Madison, since that class is notoriously difficult.

Rain rain rain

This past weekend it rained practically continuously for 2 to 3 days.  This was awesome because it kept the temperature down.  It was not so awesome because the rain is extremely loud against the corrugated metal roof of the house.  Also there are holes in the roof.  Holes above my bed.  So my bed is in a perpetual state of dampness.  Also, when it rains, water does not flow through the pipes, so the toilet did not flush and bucket baths were the name of the game (not like that is all that unusual).  There was also no effective way for me to get from my room to the bathroom without getting drenched in the process.  However, there was no permanent flooding, and it appears that the people here are accustomed to this sort of thing.  It does seem to rain a little at least every day here. 

I hate spiders

I hate spiders.  This is no secret to anyone who has known me more than a week.  Therefore I find it important to point out that the spiders here are terrifying... and in my room.  My first week here I found a tarantula the size of my hand on my dresser... 4 inches from my hand as I was applying sunscreen.  After screaming a few choice expletives, I alerted my mother to this fact.  She promptly laughed at me and told her husband, who also laughed at me.  He then proceeded to grab his machete and impale the tarantula.  Being male, he then found it necessary to chase me around the house with the corpse of the giant spider on the tip of the machete.  Last night I found a different spider, the size of my palm on my wall.  I did not scream.  Instead I grabbed my 98% DEET bug spray, sprayed twice, and watched the spider ¨sprint¨ out the window.  It is probably dead, or at least partially melted.

Campo

On Saturday we arrived in the campo to begin the second half of the program.  My mom is pretty old, but she is a sweety.  I also have a dad and a 30 something year old brother that lives in the house.  The first day here they slaughtered a pig in the backyard and were cleaning and preparing the intestines for future consumption.  The smell was a bit overwhelming.  Yesterday I tried the intestines, and just could not do it.  It was too much. Oh well.  I am otherwise well fed and nearly always hopped up on the sugary coffee that my mom offers me every three hours.  Today we will go to the nearby pueblo of Nagua to check out what that place has to offer. 

Tearful goodbyes

On Saturday I left Jarabacoa with many tears.  I was very sad to leave my host mom, Daisy, because I feel like we had grown quite close over the three weeks we spent together.  I have her phone number and intend to keep in contact with her, and she wants to keep in contact with me.  I am also friends with her son and daughter on facebook, so keeping in touch should not be a problem.  She gave me a photo of herself before I left, so I will always be able to remember her.  I do intend to return to Jarabacoa, and I hope I can come back in the summer of next year for a week or two. 

Sickness

So, Ive had the pleasure of getting sick here in the Dominican Republic.  Last Monday I woke up feeling a bit under the weather.  Nausea, intestinal discomfort, you get the picture.  Im fairly certain that it was caused by my accidental ingestion of water the previous Saturday while we were white water rafting.  In any case, my Monday was filled with worship of the porcelain god.  The Tuesday that followed I felt a bit better, still could not eat anything, but I was keeping water down, which was a distinct and much appreciated improvement.  However, feeling better does not prevent me from being an idiot.  My mom here gave me two 500 mg tablets of ampicillin to speed my recovery, and I took them.  Apparently I am allergic to ampicillin, because 20 minutes later I got really cold, which should not happen when it is 90+ degrees outside.   After a few more minutes I began to shake uncontrollably, which led to a full body seizure which lasted 45 minutes.  20 minutes in my mom found me and got someone to take me to the clinic where they promptly gave me something that gradually stopped the tremors.  One hour later I was back home.  It was quite possibly the scariest experience of my life, but hey, live and learn, and dont take strange pills.  Also, the whole thing cost me 540 pesos, which is roughly 18 dollars, so that was pretty nice.

More stuff I've been up to!

Well, it's been more than 2 weeks now and I'm having a great time here in Jarabacoa.  I'm really getting to know my host mom and brother fairly well and I'm very comfortable hanging out with them.  I find that it is getting much easier to understand the Spanish spoken here than it was last week.  I've narrowed down my research question, created my survey instrument, and have nearly finished my literature review, so I am well on my way into my research.  In the next few days I will be interviewing people!  I am a bit nervous about this, but it has to be done!  In other news, last Saturday we went to a place called Ebano Verde.  It's a cloud forest and nature preserve on a mountain.  The 15 minute hike to the summit was easily the hardest hike I have ever done.  It was disgustingly steep.  But I have to say the view was worth it.  From the summit we hiked down for 5 kilometers, and the vegetation was absolutely breathtaking (we didn't see much wildlife).  At the bottom there was a waterfall and a swimming hole.  The water was COLD (and I slipped on the rocks) but it was so awesome.  Sunday I went out dancing with a group of Dominican women.  I dance poorly, but it was still a lot of fun!  Yesterday myself, 3 other students, my host brother, and a few of his friends walked to the river after class.  It was pretty sweet.  Apparently the river is the place to go in Jarabacoa if you wanna hang out!