Day 1

I arrived safely in Santo Domingo- yipee! I already took tons of pictures but haven't found my USB cord to sync the pics; I will add them once I unpack.

I flew out of JFK early this morning. The people waiting with me for our flight were an incredibly diverse group- native Dominicans speaking quickly and loudly on their cell phones (who were they talking to at 4am?!), native Haitians anxious to return home through the DR for now until airports re-open in Haiti, and lots of energetic and enthusiastic volunteers traveling to Haiti to help with the relief efforts after the devastating earthquakes. The flight went by quickly, mostly due to some interesting people watching and a really lucky comfortable emergency exit seat.

My goals for today were simple- get a cell phone, call home, find a place to stay, be safe. I'm excited to report that all were accomplished easily! :)

My cell phone 1(809)423-4587. It's free for me to receive incoming calls. Please call! Otherwise, I have really incredible access to the internet (phew what would I do without it?!) and can usually be reached via gchat when I'm on my computer.

My hostel is awesome. It is a family-owned hostel who are super friendly and patient with my long-winded Spanish questions. We have a shared kitchen and dining room, lots of terraces... and best of all unlimited free wireless! Having unlimited access to the internet is a huge (and unexpected) bonus. I rely on the internet so much for staying in touch, looking up maps, planning running trails, etc and I didn't expect to have such great access so I couldn't be happier about it. My hostel is a bit more expensive that I had originally planned, but it feels so great to have such a nice safe place I can call home. I'm sticking to my mama's advice ("safety and peace of mind is priceless") and went for a place I can easily call home abroad.

My hostel is an a great part of Santo Domingo called Gazcue. Gazcue is a quiet quaint, tree-lined neighborhood. It has plenty of restaurants and shopping plazas within walking distance. Did I mention that I am <5 minute walk to the ocean?!! I'm also walking distance to the major touristy areas in case I miss being an American one day. :)

I took really awesome pictures today when I walked around my neighborhood. Did I mention that I walked along the ocean for a few hours today? How is that snow treating you, Cleveland??!

I also went to a grocery store today. It was a huge supermarket with tons of options- they even had soy milk! One of my pastimes back home is grocery shopping so I was really excited about my first supermarket in Santo Domingo! My favorite thing about the grocery store was how colorful and busy it was. I just loved that everyone was taking their time and that everything was kind of disorganized forcing you to walk up and down each aisle. I didn't have a grocery list in mind but decided to splurge on nutella ($7!!) and buy some smarter choices too (bread, butter, cottage cheese, pasta noodles, apples, granola bars). Don't worry mama, I will make better planned meals at the next trip. :)

So all in all, it was a hugely successful arrival to the DR! Ok so I may have accidentally been stupid when I decided to peel my apple ( to avoid washing the skin with local water that I'm not used to and could get sick from) with a wet knife; dangit. I really hope I don't get sick on my second day in Santo Domingo. Keep your fingers crossed that I have enough ciprofloxacin and metronidazole to get me through these mistakes!

Sending anyone who is reading this lots of love. :)