The Travel Issue (Part I)

The reason I haven't posted in a while is 1) because I'm super lazy, and 2) because I've been going back and forth, back and forth about whether to make this the transportation issue or the food issue. Both transportation and food related issues here in the DR have caused Jess and I endless hours of mirth (in addition to a few hours of pain--both mental and abdominal). However, since we just got back from a 9-day trip around the country, we'll just call this the travel issue. In reality, that means a smorgasbord of food and transportation woes and delights with a few landscape descriptions thrown in for atmosphere.

Just to get things rolling, here's a  couple of pictures of Jess doing dare-devily things. These didn't happen on our most recent trip; I just think they're funny. Probably we should have sprung for that extra extreme-sports rider on our traveler's insurance, but c'est la vie. If any of you who are coming to visit would like to try either these super fun/probably dangerous things we can easily arrange it.

Onto the travelers' tales! Jess's parents came to visit for Chrismukkuh and treated us all to a lovely 5-day stay in a two-floor condo/palace in Cabarete on the north coast of the island. Our condo had a gorgeous view of the ocean, the rocky beach, the palm trees...and the cemetery. Anyone who knows me well knows that this was a big bonus for me.

View with water, dead people, and rainbow!

The most exciting thing that happened to us here (if you were to ask Jess) is that we found a restaurant called "Fresh, Fresh" that served California-style healthy food. Having been deprived of healthy, vegetarian, or flavorful food for some time (the Dominican flavor palette is somewhat limited by the overuse of chicken bouillon cubes as a "secret spice"), it would be an understatement to say we were overjoyed. Jess's parents having recently come from the land of flavor formerly know as Cincinnati, Ohio, were not quite as enthusiastic as we were about the hummus-y, tofu-y options, but they nonetheless suffered gallantly through our repeated meals there. Now whenever Jess is feeling down all I have to do is utter the words "fresh, fresh," and her eyes glaze over as she gazes wistfully into space, sighing happily at the idea that it must be a glorious world indeed for such a place to exist.

Next, we were off to Santo Domingo (the big city!) after a couple of days back at home to recuperate from the ecstasy of Fresh, Fresh. We saw Jess's parents off at the airport and headed into the city for some serious city-like fun. All we really wanted to do was experience some kind of culture (there's no movie theater or playhouse or much of anything going on in our town other than the beautiful beach--boo hoo for us). So, we ate sushi with plantains (very cultural), saw some live music in the Plaza Espana (I even danced a little), ate falafel in the Colonial Zone, and toured all the bookstores we could locate. Our best find in a little store where the Dona and several old Dominicanos were chilling together in rocking chairs was a little handbook titled "El Ingles Necesario Para Vivir Y Trabajar en Los Estados Unidos." It includes hundreds of useful phrases and examples that are guaranteed to get you hired on the spot for some super high-powered job in Nueva York or the state of Miami. A few of our favorites are: "Yackety-Yak: Robert got tired of his wife's silly yackety-yak." And, "Junky Talk: I had to listen to that junky talk." And, "All With (sic): If the (sic) thinks I'm going to the party he's all wet." What?! And, finally, "Shut Up: Shut up. You (sic) making me dizzy." We would have happily paid a thousand dollars for this book--that is how goddamn great it is.

Love this one of the old-school Dominican intellectuals rocking their worries away in the bookstore.

Stay tuned for the Travel Issue Part Dos, where we will encounter a bus ride to the town at the end of the world, some intestinal woes, and another librarian named Jenny!