Awkward First Date!

 Mi Compa: Hermana Nunez--We´re a little different...in a lot of ways! :) But she´s a sweetheart.

My first week in Bani has felt like a first date with that guy you barely know from one of your classes. He thinks he´s pretty great, but you´ve seen better, and you realize that you have nothing in common. So pretty much what I´m trying to say is awkward.

I finally left the capitol for the campo, but instead, they sent me to the city of Bani. 15 minutes out in any direction will put you in the mountainy jungle, but my area happens to be right in the middle of the city. Except, occasionally goats walk through the streets, so I guess it´s campo-ish.

I finally feel like I´m in a foreign mission, because I live in an all Latin house. Adiós Inglés. I planted my marigold this week so I could have something to talk to in English. And it´s grown so fast I don´t know where I´m going to find it a new planter! I could make a sister missionary analogy about how it represents the growth I´ve experienced being taken away from all that I know and love and put completely out of my comfort zone, but I´ll spare you. :)

Day 2








Day 4

I´ve found 2 CDs now that I don't like. The first is an Indie hymns that turned out not Indie or hymns, the second is my comp's favorite, jazzed up primary songs. "I hope they call me on a mission" with rap section is my favorite, if that´s any kind of indicator of the quality level.

The thing about living with Latins is that the language barrier isn´t the biggest thing. I can speak spanish pretty well (I even asked them to imitate my gringa and they said that they couldn´t because I have good pronunciation! Woohoo!). But for instance, I thought the house was clean this morning, but they did not think that, so we spent four hours cleaning (and even cleaning is completely different) and at the end, it looked the exact same to me. They can´t believe when I stand up or move after a meal to wash my dishes because they have to sit for at least ten minutes to let the food settle. Food is completely different. I feel like a greenie again. But it´s been a fun new adventure.

Woohoo for mountains!! And the breeze right now is so nice! When it´s blowing, the temperature is lovely! (When it´s not, it´s normal DR infierno)

Bani is fairly clean, because they actually have a garbage system, and litter laws! So that is super good news!
Until next time,
Sarah Plain and Tall