hmmm…

i should write an update for the month of september buuut…i rather feel like writing a list of the odd things that i’ve learned since i’ve arrived. buen provecho:

from carlos, my translator

* American money bills are a prophecy to several events in our nations history (ie: folding into the two towers & such…)
* you only need 100 verbs to be fluent in a language
* 80’s hip hop rap is were its at if you live in the D
* having ducks for actual pets does not just happen on “Friends”

from my host family, the Almontes

* you only need two things in life to survive and prosper; rice and beans
* ‘mangu’ should be served in every five star restaurant around the world
* “morir soñando” is a drink, a peaceful death, and a dog sleeping under your car :)
* “policia acostado” are speed bumps
* Americans like to walk a lot
* Barack Obama will be assassinated if elected even though they would all vote for him if they could

from the culture

* if you want to survive a ride public transport…don’t sit in the back, always pay the exact fare, and shout at the top of your lungs at least 100yds to a half mile before you actually want to get off
* don’t trust everything you hear or all the advice people want to give you…no one wants to be the one to say the fatal words, “I don’t know”
* americans can dress however they want, but they’re still american, so it doesn’t matter.
* siestas aren’t just cultural, they’re practical. you’re nuts if you’re out walking at midday. and i’m usually regarded as a little crazy.
* noise/music/loud-tv to Dominicans is like a lantern to a legion of flies.
* every day is a reason to party
* telanovelas are so nauseatingly repetitive and blatantly obvious for a reason…with a short attention span and with so much going on around the TV, its lucky that anyone even catches the show.
* if the lights are on, so is the TV
* like american college students…strong coffee is the key to not sleeping much (literally, like oil)

More pending…