Confluence: DR Day 3

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I thought it was March 11 still, but it's 12:55am; today we finally realized we're in a different time zone. Last night we got to meet Antonia's daughter Katy (Estil is her boyfriend) and we watched "Bajo el Mismo Techo" (Life As We Know It) before going to bed. We woke up at 9:00am (10:00am, really!), ate hot dogs on rolls with ketchup and mayo spread, and headed to the beach. We probably got to the beach around 2:00pm. Latin American culture is much slower and more laid back than it is in the U.S.

On the way to the beach, Antonia and her mother (the house we're staying in is actually Antonia's mother's) took us to pick up Isaias from his business, then dropped me and Ashley off at his car. Then we went and picked up a chair and then Arturo (who speaks English, and finally explained what exactly was going on!) and met Katy at the beach. Isaias and Arturo went to get us Kentucky Fried Chicken with fried plantains. (I shared my plantains with the a 3- and a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl on the beach. This is another cultural difference here: Katy asked the mother what the 3-year-old's name was, and then she called him over and sat him down next to her and talked to him and the mother and other children came over and sat down with us to. It was so friendly and open!) Pastor Juan, his wife Miriam, and his son Hernán stopped by on the way back from a trip—we'll be staying with them starting tomorrow.

After the beach we came back to the house and had a snack and showered before heading to church for the Saturday night youth service. Ashley and I had to introduce ourselves and then lead a lively game of competitive charades. Since my Sprenglish is lacking sorely in the Spanish department, I mostly couldn't say anything and Ashley called me a Gringa so everyone laughed. Then we had to play guitar and sing a song in Spanish; fortunately, everyone was kind enough to sing loudly along! Arturo and another speaker gave a talk challenging the youth to live all out for God today, since we never know when our time will be up. (It was great even just from Arturo's English synopsis for me!)

After the service a group of teenage boys came up to Ashley and asked her to go to the movies with them; she answered "Lo siento, tengo un novio." They asked if I did, and she said no, so they came over to me. Ay ay ay.

After another snack at the house, Antonia drove Ashley, Katy and me to the Colonial District and we walked around for a few minutes. Then I killed a cockroach. And as my paragraphs get shorter my eyelids get heavier; it's time for bed. Buenas noches.