Ive learned two new Spanish words (at least). 1) Hormiga, which means ant. 2) Picadura, which means bite. Now, put the two together.
Oh, how the insects love me! Im just sweet, what can I say? I am speckled with bites, as I often am anywhere there happens to be bugs of the biting variety. It started right away: my first night in Santo Domingo my bed was full of ants. I couldnt figure out what was itchy because they were so small, but they were there. And oh man, they were biting!
Now, on to other Dominican things

Hormiga!!!

Lets start with something Ive seen in most of the less fortunate countries Ive been to: shoe-shine boys. These little rascals roam the street with their wooden boxes of supplies, propositioning tourists to partake in a shoe-shine. They work hard pounding the pavement and I cant help but admire their where-with-all. One little guy tried to convince me today that he would shine my shoes better then they had ever been beforeand I had to agree with him because they were red suede sneakers. Cant fault him for trying I guess.

So that’s how they make flip-flops?!?

Next up: Dominican chicswow. Ive named the prevalent style here Hooker Chicthey sure do like to show off their breasts. You can find Dominicanas of ALL sizes wearing extremely skimpy, low-cut shirts, their breasts all but visible. And when I say all sizes, well, Im trying not to generalize, but there are many over-sized girls here, unafraid to show off their goods. They all dress neatly with a bit of flare, but even if their sleeves or skirts are long, their breasts are on displayits almost a given.
And my final topic of the day: Spanish. I spent much of day two in Parque Colon, watching children play baseball and having random, passing strangers strike up conversations. I didnt resist, because I liked my spot, so I talked to a cast of characters. There was quite a bit of language exchange, Spanish for English and I am now convinced that if I spent three months in a Spanish speaking country I would be fluent. (My time in Barcelona doesnt count because: A) Many of the citys residents consider Catalan their first language and speak it primarily and B) All the other students at my school were German and spoke German with each other, giving me no practice.)

Sunset in Parque Colon

Day three I hung out with a student named Carlos that I met in the park on day two. He promised to take me to Los Tres Ojos (The Three Eyes), a series of caves surrounded by park land, on the other side of the river. I wasnt too keen on going solo because I had heard it was an incredible tourist trap with rabid merchants hawking postcards and such. It was a very beautiful place with cold, blue-green water flowing through the oppressively humid caves and bats flying overhead. The vegetation was lush and relaxing in the park, watching butterflies flitter about, was quite nice.

In the caves…

Carlos and I spent the day chatting in Spanish, and he pointed out lots of small things that will greatly improve my fluency. There are so many tiny errors that have become ingrained habits for me, which people let slide by, so having someone correct me was great. In return for his help I took him to lunch and made him practice English for the duration. It was a perfect trade.

A slightly fuzzy Carlos in the Caves

Tomorrow morning Im off to the north coast to Caberete for sun and surf. Im ready to move on, because Santo Domingo hasnt been the easiest place to visit. Between the heat, the language barrier (my listening comprehension needs a lot of work, especially when people talk a mile a minute), the subtle, though ever-present, cat calling by any man I pass on the streetI cant help but think it would be more fun here with friends.
But now the ocean calls and I shall answer it. Im looking forward to just hanging out, washing off a bit of Santo Domingo grit, reading, writing and drinking things in fancy glasses with umbrellas. Lifes not half bad