Juan Dolio Beach

       Today was by far the best day that I have had in the DR so far. My host sisters and a bunch of friends invited me to a beach called Juan Dolio. The company was beyond nice. Since I have arrived, Luissina and Patty along with their friends have made me feel so welcome. Without them, I would probably be on a plane home already. I had such a great time listening to them talk all day. Sometimes they feel bad because I am really quiet, but I always have to remind them that I am trying to understand what they are saying, and it is good for me to listen. It helps my comprehension skills.

        As for my beach adventure. We had to take two cars because there were 9 of us. It was a 45 minute drive to Juan Dolio, and the entire drive is on the coast line. Dominicans drive so crazy I feared for my life the whole time. They don't use blinkers, just their horns. It is insane! The drive was beautiful. I got to sit by the window so I could enjoy the view. This was also my first experience listening to the different types of music that the kids my age here like. Most of it was in Spanish, but there was a couple songs by Usher and Fergie that I knew! (And they were in English so I finally got to sing along). I also googled popular Santo Domingo songs before I came so I could get used to the music, and one of the songs that I had on my computer was playing in the car. I really am a dork, but I got to sing along with that one too!
       Once we arrived at the beach, we used a private neighborhood walk down to the beach. Luissina's boyfriend Angel had the keys to a friends house there and so we were able to use lounge chairs from there. As we walked towards the beach, I already knew I was in love. Words cannot begin to describe how beautiful this place was. I have never seen water so clear in my entire life. You always see it in the pictures, but I can honestly say, those don't do the Caribbean any justice.  I was in heaven. I was a little skeptical at first because most of you know my fear of the ocean. I was instantly reassured that no sharks would get me if I waded in to my shoulders (and they were right). Right away, Patty offered to walk with me along the entire beach so I could explore the different areas, different types of people and see some other Americans since this is more of a tourist/resort area. The first group of people we walked by the spoke English made me smile from ear to ear. It felt SO great to her my language once again. After a one hour walk and a couple pictures, I was ready to get in the water. We spent most of our day here. We waded in the water and I listened to everyone talk stories and joke around. Our friend Victor had a sister that was visiting from New York so I got to speak English with her. She and Victor are both very good at English, so it helps when I don't understand what it going on. That is when they inform me! Everyone is really great about making sure I know what is going on. I am sure by the confused look on my face, they feel I am lost A LOT! The water was SO warm, it almost was not refreshing. I loved the fact I could see all the fish swimming under me, and my feet were visible the entire time. This is my first time in an Ocean that this happened to me. Hawaii water is clear, but they have NOTHING on the Caribbean. We spent probably 4 hours at the beach and then decided to head back. I think we all fell asleep once on the way home, except for Angel who was driving our car.
        When we arrived home, Gertrudys had made us some type of a Dominican rice with a bunch of yumminess mixed with it, a a delicious mozzarella and tomato salad and some boiled plantains. What a wonderful way to end the day. We were planning on going to to Discoteca tonight, but we all got a little tired. We went and saw Inception instead. And like I mentioned earlier, the movies are in English so I really enjoy going. Except Inception was in English, and it still confused me. Everyone else was confused and we discussed it on the way home. But of course I hardly understood what was going on because they were speaking in Spanish and Dominicans talk extremely fast! So, that was the run down of how my day went. If I could go to the beach everyday, I probably would never make it home. It truly is paradise. I hope we get to go back soon. Tomorrow a girl from Canada is supposed to arrive and I told Elina (the women she will be living with for the next 8 weeks) that I would accompany her to the airport. Gertrudys and the girls just invited me to go to a small mall in the morning and I think I may take up there offer. Of course I won't buy anything because I have no room to take it back considering I overpacked, but I would at least like to check out what a mall is like to them. I will fill you in about my next adventures as soon as I can. Hope all is well in the states! Hasta Luego!

Elle