Day 22: ¡Adiós!

¡Que lo que! Regresé a los Estados Unidos este tarde. Extraño mis amigos dominicanos, el tiempo bueno, y la bandera. Aprendé mucho de este viaje. Fue una experiencia reveladora. Voy a visitar República Dominicana si tuviera la oportunidad. Tanto como yo echo de República Dominicana, me alegro de estar de vuelta a casa. Muchas gracias para un tiempo bueno.

Almuerzo en el avión.

Vamos a Royal Azul Lagoon!

Parque Colon

La Playa Juanillo

Day 21: Poseidon Restaurante

Hoy es mi último día en Punta Cana! ¡Que loco! Fuimos a la playa Bávaro y comimos en un restaurante llamado Poseidon. Este restaurante está en la playa y todo el mundo puede tener una buena vista. Comimos pescado frito, arroz, y papas fritas. El jugo de naranja es mas bueno que el jugo de Estados Unidos. Pero es mas dulce también.

Almuerzo!

Por la tarde, tomamos el sol otra vez. Porque es muy frío en Texas. Disfrutamos el sol antes de regresar. Al fin del día, no me sentí bien. Creo que estoy deshidratado. Pero, todavia disfruté el tiempo pasó aqui! 

La Playa Bávaro

Day 20: Royal Azul Lagoon

Hoy es jueves y fuimos a Royal Azul Lagoon después de la clase. Comimos en una café pequeña. Yo comé una ensalada con pollo. Todavia tengo hambre. Entonces, yo compré un pastel de zanahorias; fue muy delicioso! Me gusta mucho dulces. Llegamos a Royal Lagoon y necesitamos caminar un poco. El agua es muy claro, azul, y frío. Nadamos para una hora y luego salimos a la playa Juanillo (otra vez). 

Lagoon

Omega Zeta at Royal Azul!

Day 19: Juanillo Otra Vez

Hoy es el día ultimo libre. Gala, María, Farrar, Amerigo, y yo fuimos a la playa Juanillo otra vez. Tomé el sol y ahora soy mas morena. Nuestro chofer fue Farrar. Y ella necesito regresar a su casa. Después de la playa, yo todavia quiero tomar el sol. Entonces Gala, María, y yo fuimos a la piscina. 

La Playa

Estoy tomando el soy.

Luego, fuimos a la Plaza San Juan para ir de compras y comer. Cenamos a Chef Peppers; fue muy delicioso. ¡Estoy satisvecha! 

Day 18: Basílica

Hoy, comé un plato nuevo. Este plato se llama habichuela dulce. Normalmente, comimos habichuela salado con arroz para almuerzo. Hoy, para tratamos habichuela dulce para postre. ¡Me gusta mucho! ¡Que rico!

Habichuela Dulce

En la tarde, fuimos a Higuey para ver una iglesia se llama La Altagracia. Este iglesia es muy grande y muy bonita. Hay muchas personas vinieron aquí para la fiesta religiosa. 

Basílica

Para Lady Altagracia

Day 17: Bailando

Olvidé su nombre, pero él is muy talentoso. Él puede hacer un sombrero de hojas de coco. También, él hizo un frutero.

Haciendo un sombrero

Frutero

Después de almuerzo, fuimos a clase de bailar. El instructor es muy divertido y apasionado. Nos enseño salsa hoy. Primero yo estaba confundida. Pero luego, yo estaba bailando bien. Disfruté bailar salsa mucho. Quiero enseñar mi novio cómo bailar. Me dijo voy a necesitar mucha paciencia. 

Day 16: Fun Fun Cueva

Lo siento, no tengo un foto para este entrada de diario. Hoy fuimos a Fun Fun Cueva. Se puso su nombre de sonido del vuelo de los murciélagos. Con el fin de llegar, primero es de guagua para tres horas, entonces montamos la cabella para 20 minutos, y caminamos para media hora. Mi cabella se llama Naffy. Naffy es blanco con lunares negros. Tengo un poco miedo cuanda yo monté. En la cueva fue agua muy frío! 

Comimos la bandera para almuerzo a las cuatro y media! ¡Que loco! Yo estaba tan hambriento. Después, regresamos a Punta Cana. Emily y yo llegamos a nuestra casa a las once por la noche. Estábamos cansadas. 

Day 15: Plaza San Juan

Hoy tenemos una día libre. Mis amigos fueron a la playa, pero no fui porque fue nublado. Entonces, mi sede de la hermana y sus amigos y yo fuimos a la Plaza San Juan. Es un centro comercial muy grande! Compre unos regalos para mi familia y mis amigos Estados Unidos. Tambien, comemos un churro con chocolate! Fue muy bueno! Quiero regresa aqui otra vez!

Churro Nutella

Day 14: Taking It Easy

Todos los días, la clase de español se supone que empezar a las nueve de la manana. Pero no llegamos a UNIBE hasta luego. Hoy, aprendimos mas palabras. 

Almuerzo

Después de clase, mi sede de la hermano trae Emily y yo regresar a casa. Yo cocine brocali chino. Ella le gusta mucho! Ella quiere traer nosotros visitar unos lugares. Pero, Emily y yo tomamos una siesta para cuatro horas.  

Day 13: La Playa Juanillo

Hoy montamos motocicletas. ¡Fue muy divertido y emocionante! El chofer para mi se llama Rafael. Él es amable, simpático, y alto. Rafael sabe mucho sobre Punta Cana. Fuimos al verdadera Agora.

Motocicleta

Mi amigo Rafael!

Después de almuerzo, fuimos a La Playa Juanillo. Es muy bonita. Muchos estudiantes tomaron el sol. Pero no es para mi. Pensé mas calor y no me gusta mucho. Bebí una Malta Morena, es mi bebida favorita, y un mojito. ¡Fue un día relajante!

La Playa Juanillo

Day 12: We're coming Punta Cana!

Off we go to Punta Cana! On the way there, we actually made a few stops to see some tourist attractions before leaving Santo Domingo. One of the attractions we went to is called "Tres Ojos," literally meaning "three eyes." These "eyes" are actually pools; and there are three of them. As you can see from the photo, the water is pretty clear, unexpectedly. I dipped my fingers into the water and it was cool, and very dirty. 

Tres Ojos

There was also a local, I forgot his name so let's call him...Luis, that seems like a common Dominican name. So Luis took over his brother's occupation when he got sick. What Luis does is a type of performance. He would collect some money from tourists and when he is pleased with the amount of money, he climbs onto the rocks and dives into the pool. Unfortunately, my photo taking skills isn't one of my strengths..sooooo that's why I don't have a video clip. I'm sorry! Please don't hate me. 

This picture is deceiving, I'm only 2 ft. off the ground.

Day 11: Last day in Santo Domingo

Wow. I cannot believe that tomorrow we are leaving Santo Domingo! We have been to so many places, met so many people, and made so much memories. I have had such a great time with my host family as well. Quick shoutout to the Fadul family! Y'all are awesome and thank you for hosting me! 

Michelle

Today we were scheduled to go to the Agora mall. It is "2 years old" and is the newest mall in Santo Domingo. Since it was optional, I didnt' go to the mall. I didn't need to get anything and I just wanted to get some rest from the past few crazy days. I hungout around the house

with my host family and it was just a great time. At night, we went to a restaurant called "Chef Pepper" and had burgers there! I really needed a pick-me-up, and that did the trick. 

Here is a quick recap of the fun memories we made during our stay here!

Reppin' Omega Zeta in Salinas

It has really been an amazing experience so far, and I can't wait to see what Punta Cana has in store for us!

Santo Domingo

Day 10: Happy Birthday Agusto!

Sunday is basically a free day for everyone. Today, we explored a bit more around Parque Colon. We walked by the dock so we could see the sea. The weather was really nice, as usual. And all of a sudden, it started raining. Strategically, we took cover in a restaurant/bar. It was quite a nice place actually; I felt bad afterwards because we were not wearing the appropriate attire. Oh well. This is why everyone hates Americans. Thank goodness I'm Chinese.

Parque Colon

But on a more serious note, the view from the restaurant was really sweet. There were palm trees, stone sidewalks, altogether very well put together. I wish I could come here more often. 

Just wow

When I got back home, my host mom, Ana, told me I had ten minutes to get ready for a birthday party! Wooo! I was like a pro, we left the house before she could even tell me my ten minutes were up. (Only because the dad, Miguel, took 20 minutes to get ready hahah.) Anyway, look at that huge birthday cake (above)!!!! That is insane. The birthday boy is Augusto! He has curly, blonde hair and he is just the cutest! There were so many people there! I think I met Ana's whole entire family that night, literally. 

Host sister Michelle!

We were there for a little while. And pizza, fried chicken, and other small assortments were served; I really liked this one (shown below). I don't remember what it is called but I know it is good! What a great snack. It's like a snadwich, but without the buns. Overall, not enough food, but great night! 

Ham,cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, this is good.

Day 9: Bani

Wow. How do I even begin talking about this day. Well, we went to the Dunes, it was SO HOT. Thank goodness I was wearing sneakers. Those who wore sandals and flip flops were complaining hot the sand was burning their feet. Sucks to suck. We got to the top, and the view from there was breathtaking. The water was blue, and the wind was cooling. Unfortunately, we weren't going to stay there. But I'm also glad, because it was incredibly hot! And the bathroom was so far away. 

Dunes

After the dunes, we went to the salt mines. We didn't really do much there. At this point, all of us are ready to whip out our bathing suits and jump in the water. The hotel at Salinas is really nice! There was a dock, a pool, and a bar. Excuse me, don't mind me a margarita! We splashed in the water, took photos, and tanned. Oh and FYI, salt water + contacts = no bueno. I learned it the hard way. 

I have friends!

Sooooooo after "working out" and enjoying the view while eating lunch, all of us hung out on the dock. I fell asleep. It was a great nap! And I'm so glad, and slightly surprised that I didn't get sunburned. Yay!

Omega Zeta está en Republica Dominicana! 

Day 8: Botanical Garden

It started out raining as soon as we arrived at the Botanical Garden. What a cool, breezy day. The Botanical Garden was actually pretty interesting. It not only has indigenous plants, but it also consisted of foreign species as well(, including the United States palm trees and Hong Kong's national flower). I am not entirely sure, but I believe this garden is preserved in behalf of the military. 

The Roo crew!

Below is a picture of the Japanese Garden. It is actually quite huge, it can be considered as a little park. The plant species that were found here were definitely really "Japanese." There was a pond in the middle, and a red bridge; it was picturesque. We saw a family having some kind of photoshoot! We couldn't really tell whether it was for a quincinera, dance, or something else. 

Preserved Japanese garden

After our tour, Patricio gave us 20 minutes of free time and I wandered off. I wanted to go to the Butterly Garden, but it costs extra in order to go in. Naturally, I walked away. I found these standing lilies next to the Butterfly Garden and I thought they were very unique. 

Standing lilies!

Day 7: Chinatown

Technically, today I was suppose to go to the Amber museum. But honestly, it sounded kind of boring. My host family suggested that we could check out Chinatown, and we did! I have never been to Chinatown before, not even the one in New York or San Francisco. I was beyond excited. 

The Chinese people here mainly speak Cantonese; so they are most likely from southeast China. There were a lot of supermarkets and stores that sell toys and accessories. We went into a supermarket and I saw some snacks and drinks I had when I was growing up in China. It was reminiscent, and I couldn't stop myself and bought a couple of my old favorite snacks. 

Exploring Chinatown with Kayla and Patricia, my host sister!

In front of the big gate, I took a picture with the "wealth god" or 财神. He is suppose to, well, bring prosperity. I do not believe in these idols, but it is part of my culture. Unfortunately, we were not able to stay for dinner. However, overall, we had a great time exploring Chinatown and what it has to offer! 

Money, money, money!

Day 6: Sugar Mills

I love to eat sweet things! Whether it may be candy, cake, or plantains; I love to eat sweets. So it was interesting for me to see how sugar is extracted from the sugar canes. I don't exactly know how far this place is from UNIBE because I fell asleep. But it shouldn't take more than an hour. This sugar cane "factory" is more than 500 years old; it is the oldest one in the Americas. What was interesting about this was that these remains were just left there to the public. The government does not take any part in attempting to protect or preserve this area. Visitors can go in and out as they wish. This is just something very different than what we would have in the United States. It almost seems like the general population loves its own country than do the authorities who are in charge.

This place is huge!

The tour was actually quite long, we went to three different places in the area. Some of us got some food while we stopped at a gas station. Robert and Grant can't resist that fried chicken.

Ooooh so seductive

We have a Lake Campus back in Sherman, but I don't think it is nearly as pretty as this lake is. It was very calming and relaxing. 

This was breathtaking!

Day 5: Sight Seeing in Santo Domingo

Today we took a tour around Santo Domingo! Our tour guide's name is Alejandro and he was really sweet! We went to a couple of places and one of them is the Parque Colon (Columbus Park). It is a little square where people can walk around and buy souvenirs. Alejandro took our group into an enormous souvenir shop. I think it was a couple of shops combined together. Here, we tried a drink called "Mama Juana." It is a mixture of rum, wine, sugar, and herbs. It has a very unique taste. There is also another alcohol that I tried; coconut rum! But this one has a better flavor than the one's we've had back in the United States. It has a stronger coconut taste, and a little sweeter; by far my favorite rum! :)

Christopher Columbus

Afterwards, we also visited a Jesuit Church where the heroes and the founding fathers of Dominican Republic are buried. This church is guarded from 8am-6pm, and each guard has a 2 hour shift in which they very still at the center of the church. Inside the church, the interior design is magnificent. Everything is intricate and detailed. It was eye-opening. 

Jesuit Church

Day 4: Epiphany

I woke up sore today; hiking at the 27 Charcos was definitely a workout. Today is a national holiday in the Dominican Republic called Epiphany, a Christian holiday. There is not a special "thing" that people do on this day. They usually spend it with their families, just relaxing and enjoying the day off. And I guess my host mom wanted her day off too! (Just kidding, she cleaned the house this morning, inside and outside. She's exhausted.) And so she sent us to Jumbo, a supermarket nearby. 

Food court at Jumbo.

There were more American fast food restaurants than there were Dominican ones! This surprised me. I really wanted to try some more dishes unique to the Dominicans, but for convenience my host siblings and I settled for Wendy's instead. And of course, I can't leave without having some dessert! We went to this ice cream place called Bon, and they serve over 20 different flavors! I had a cone with Bailey's and coffee flavored ice cream, it was bliss in this hot and humid weather :)

Bailey's ice cream! :)

In the evening, I went out with Michelle and her friends to watch "El Hobbit" at the Blue Mall. The movie was great! However, I did happen to have some language barriers. When the characters began to speak in elf or orc, the translation was in Spanish. Let's just say that my language proficiency in all three is very, very limited. 

Blue Mall

Day 3: 27 Charcos

¡Hola! Today we went on our first excursion: 27 Charcos! It is located in Puerto Plata; it took us about 2 hours to get there from Santo Domingo. 

Heading to UNIBE at 7am.

After an hour, the sun is finally in our faces! We took a quick break at Plaza Jacaranda. I wanted to take a picture with the mountains as my background, but it didn't turn out so great as you can see below. 

Yes, my eyes are open!!!

Unfortunately, we were unable to bring our phones and our cameras with us to the pools, which makes sense. We hiked for about 20 minutes. The trail was muddy, slippery, and had a lot of poop! Nature is great. The water was really cold, as they would be in the mountains. The most exciting thing about this trip was jumping off a mini cliff and into the water. It is 27 ft. high from the top. I'm not going to lie, I almost refused to do it. But thanks to my loving friends, I had the courage to do it. It happened all so quickly! One second I was on the second, another in the air, and finally submerged and touching the bottom of the pool. It was quite the experience :)

Puerto Plata

We didn't get to do all 27 pools, but we did do 7! It took us about 3 hours, and I was exhausted and famished. Lunch consisted of salad, rice, BBQ chicken, sausage, potatoes, and bread. Afterwards, we headed back to Santo Domingo. On the way, one of Marjorie's colleagues, Josefine, bought us Brugal rum to try. That was cool! It was way too strong for me; she even added coke for me! Krishna told me to chug it, it was a horrible idea...I did it anyway and slept like a baby! 

Cheers!

Day 2: I Met My Family!

The hotel we stayed at is called Carey House Hotel. It has a cute, little dining cafe on the second floor. Cleo and I enjoyed our breakfast and the cool breeze. 

Photo credit: Patricio

Afterwards, we went on our first mini adventure. We strolled down the street and saw many different buildings. Some of the architecture is really beautiful and unique to Dominican Republic. Marjorie told us that Dominicans don't walk to places even though it is very close. Now, we understood why. After walking outside for 5 minutes we were all sweating like crazy!  

The girls!

I wanted to try something new, so I bought this drink called Malta. I really liked it! Definitely going to get some more the when I get the chance. I can't remember exactly how it happened but I took a picture with this other consumer at the convenient store. His name is Alejandro; he gave me his number and told me to call him when I get back home. Nice guy, but not my cup of tea. Hit me up if you're interested!

This is Alejandro.

After the welcoming reception at the Adrian Tropical Lincoln, I finally met my family! They're super sweet and their names are Miguel (father), Ana (mother), Michelle (younger daughter), Patricia (older daughter), and Luis (son). They took me roller skating and we had a great time! 

Skating with Patricia!

For dinner, we went to a famous restaurant unique to central Santo Domingo. It is called Yokomo (play on words "yo como"). Yokomo serves sushi with a twist. You have your traditional sushi, which includes fish. And if you're not into fish you can have it with other meats including chicken, beef, and shrimp/crab. I ordered a traditional roll and a "BB Roll." The latter consists of chicken and plantains, a fruit unique to Dominican Republic. 

The right is traditional sushi, and the left is the chicken and plantain sushi!