My Two Birthdays

Hey all,

So I got home on Tuesday night, and every minute since then has been running around and having an inordinate amount of fun. On Wednesday I woke up early to hang out with my mom before she went to work, then hung out with my sister before she went to pole vault camp. When she left it was still only 7:30 or 8, and while I am a very annoying older sister, I figured that this was still too early to wake up my brother. So I toodled around the house for awhile and drank copious amounts of coffee, and then finally I took a shower, woke my brother up and told him I would be back in an hour and that we were going to Ann Arbor, and went out to the car with the wrong keys. I came back into the house 3 more times and came back out with the wrong keys, and all the while my neighbors across the street were sitting on their porch watching this happen. Having all Toyotas can be a little confusing. 


Anyway, I woke my brother up for the second time, got him to tell me where the keys were,  and went to the bank. I decided that my brother and cousin probably weren't interested in getting up, so I went to Ann Arbor for awhile by myself, and came home. All of this was accomplished by about 11:15, so I came home. My mom came back at around 12:00, and was very confused by the productivity of my day so far. She and I went back into Ann Arbor for awhile, and then back to the bank so that I could open a new savings account, and Monica arrived in Chelsea. We went out to dinner with my mom, dad, brother, cousin, and sister at Las Fuentes. Delicious. Monica, Lucy, Natalie and I then proceeded to the Brown Jug in Ann Arbor (3 times in one day) and had a few drinks. 

Yesterday Monica and I woke up, had breakfast, and went shopping in Ann Arbor. I bought a ridiculous amount of stuff for ridiculously little, which was amazing. We came back to Chelsea, ran with my mom, and then went out to the Chelsea bars with Lucy, BETSY (This one from Africa), Natalie, and Jordan Silverman. So much fun. It has been SO good to see everyone, I can hardly stand it. All I wish is that we had about 6 weeks to talk to each other instead of 6 hours. I missed everyone and it was amazing to have them all here for my birthday. Best birthday present ever.

God Bless America (ATL I'm the Mayor)

Say what you will about the United States, ladies and gentleman, but one thing about which there can be no debate is we really have a lot of cool stuff to buy. In the Santo Domingo airport I had a choice between bag after bag of mixed nuts for $5 (when the price is in dollars you know you’re in trouble) or a really bad sandwich for $7. I chose the sandwich. Big mistake. Conversely, in the Atlanta airport there is every kind of food a person could want (sadly I did not get the terminal with Qdoba, but I know it’s here somewhere, calling me). There is a Ben & Jerry’s here. A BEN & JERRY’S! It took every bit of willpower I possess to keep walking past those $7 ice cream sundaes. I had already shoved a week’s worth of Chinese food down my gullet and I felt like the ice cream would be overkill. I think I might be growing up. I doubt it though.  There is also a nearly full sized book store in this terminal. I resisted that one too because if I buy a book I’ll never finish Huckleberry Finn. Speaking of which, has anyone read these Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books? Are they worth all the hype? How about that Edgar Sawtelle book? As sad as the rest in the Oprah Book Club? Fill me in, I’m out of the loop. One more thing, in the bathroom there was not only toilet paper (that you can flush by the way), and not only did the toilets flush on their own, and not only did the sinks turn on by themselves, but the soap dispensers are automatic too! What a country! (They are also filled with soap by the way, an added novelty.) Fellow Americans, we’ve got it good here.

Last Night in Santo Domingo

Hey all,

So tonight is officially my last night in Santo Domingo of the 2009-2010 school year. It really has gone by fast. School has been wrapping up for a couple of weeks now, and I just finished my final checklist (and most importantly got my final pay check), so I am ready for summer! I fly home tomorrow, and while I am really excited to come home I am also really going to miss my friends here. We went out to dinner together tonight to say goodbye (although like true travelers no one actually said those words) to this restaurant called El Agave on Lope de Vega. Delicious Mexican food. They have mole enchiladas that are amazing. Anyway (does anyone other than me notice how much I talk about food?), throughout dinner all I could think about was when I would see everyone again. Hopefully at the very least we can videochat. Especially the Hadleys' (I hope you are reading this) so that I can see Baby Hadley when he is born. It has been a really eventful and great year, and I feel really lucky that I have had this experience. I have met some really great people and had some good adventures, and better still, I have a whole second year to enjoy. Thank you to everyone who made this year amazing. Sorry for the clip show, but here are some highlights:

- First day in the old apartment feeling like I was living in a palace
-Las Terrenas the first weekend
- Going to the cave bar with Doug and Stacy before we really knew them
-Moving to our apartment in Zona Colonial
-Sosua
- Constanza with Doug and Stacy for Doug and JP's birthdays
- Meeting Elizabeth and Rebecca and immediately ruining their iron (sorry guys)
- Thanksgiving at the Hadleys'
- Baseball game
- Trip out west with Hadleys' (and subsequently finding out Sarah was/is pregnant)
- JP's race in the city that he WON and Carnival in La Vega on the same day (deciding to stay another year based on that day basically)
- Portuguese classes and going to the Saturday night movies
-Goodbye weekend in Boca Chica for JP
- Nearly living at Doug and Stacy's (with a guest appearance at the Hadleys') for awhile after JP left
-Puerto Plata with everyone
- Ms. De la Cruz's bachelorette party/wedding
- Moving in with Brigitte

These are only a handful of the things I want to remember from this year. I will miss you all very much next year, and I really hope we keep in touch. Thanks for an amazing year!