day 120
Today is a public holiday which meant I could afford to go to bed a little later than usual last night. To celebrate the occasion we decided to go to a casino and waste a bit of money. It was a relatively small place with twenty or so slot machines, a few poker, blackjack and roulette tables, and numerous bar staff with stupidly big silicon breasts and ridiculously small mini skirts.
I went with a couple of thousand pesos (about 40 Euros) and started off pretty well. After about an hour on the roulette table and half an hour of blackjack I was up 3500 pesos and feeling rich. I should really have cashed in my chips and stopped playing at that point but they kept offering me free drinks so I kept gambling.
By 2AM I’d completely run out of chips so Martin (who was doing pretty well) gave me 1000 pesos to keep going. That was a bad idea because I lost all that too! Anyway it was all good fun and a worthwhile lesson learned: avoid gambling but if you really must, at least collect your winnings before you lose them!
When we left, Sophie cashed in about 5000 pesos while Martin went home, pockets bulging, with 17000 pesos (that’s about 340 Euros!).
day 34
Feeling a little lonely and bored in La Romana, Sophie’s boyfriend, Martin, decided to take me on a little trip over the weekend. We went to La Vega, a four hour drive from where I live to meet his friends and family. La Vega (not to be confused with Las Vegas) is a small city situated in the heart of the country. (NOTE: La Vega is both a city and a province, as is La Romana. In each case I am referring to the cities – and obviously they are each located in their respective provinces.)
Despite the fact that we were nearly killed on our way when Martin (in typical Dominican fashion) swerved violently to avoid a huge obstacle in the middle of the road at 140 km/h, the drive there was an enjoyable one. I got to know Martin a little better as we chatted about this and that and “oohed” and “aahed” at the contents of each other’s iPods. To my delight I found out he’s a fan of Guns n Roses which for a man who also likes Beyonce and 50 Cent surprised me somewhat.
We arrived late on Friday evening, stopped by his mother’s to say hello and immediately hit the town to meet his friends. We watched a local band play and drank God knows how many beers as I did my best to socialise. It’s always a bit awkward when you find yourself amongst a group of very close friends and you don’t know anybody, but they were all very friendly and after a couple of hours and many more beers I felt more at home than I have since I got here. Martin even plucked up the courage to sing a couple of songs with the band as I sneakily filmed from the wings, knowing full well it was perfect blog material.
Shortly after this eye-watering performance it started to rain so we headed indoors for a few more drinks and said our good byes (needless to say they love drinking in this country – must be weather or something). We slept the night at Martin’s mother’s house to avoid spending money in a hotel but – and he had warned me – there would be no hot water in the morning. I’ve never had such a cold shower in my life. It can’t have lasted more than 20 seconds, I joke not.
The following day we did a little shopping and booked a night in an air-conditioned hotel with hot water and free Wi-Fi. Before long the sun was setting and it was time to hit the town again. This time we went to a quiet little bar where things got a bit dull. We decided to go to Santiago, a city about 25 km away. We pigged out on some much needed KFC and looked for a pool hall. There were two that Martin knew of but one was full and the other was shut. “Bollocks,” we thought as we headed back to La Vega and instead went to a small club where men were expected to pay an entrance fee, which we somehow managed to avoid (I hope they didn’t confuse us for women!). In any case, any money I saved at the door was soon spent on a couple of Vodka Red Bulls and yet more beer. Dear oh dear, I thought I’d left my blow-all-your-money-and-drink-as-much-as-you-can days behind me.
All in all it was a fun weekend in which I got to practice my Spanish outside the classroom and got to know some interesting people.
saturday night (taxi i hate the way you move)
Was meant to go out last night but plans didn’t work out. We were hoping to go to Altos de Chavón again to see a concert but couldn’t find a lift. Christelle and I ended up taking a taxi that got us as far as the entrance to Casa de Campo but couldn’t go any further as you need a special pass to get in. After much futile negotiation he drove us home and made us (I mean Christelle) pay a grossly excessive 600 pesos for the ride.
When we got back Christelle spent half the night phoning everybody in her phonebook to find us a lift but to no avail. We ended up watching TV and eventually she went home. As is always the case in situations like this one, someone phoned 15 minutes after she left to offer us a lift. By this time it was nearly 1AM and I decided to call a day and hit the sack.
I decided just to have one last zap through all 70 channels (most of which are a complete waste of air-time) and, to my surprise and utter delight, came across an episode of 24. For the unelightened, 24 is a highly addictive and thrilling series starring Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, a counter-terrorist agent working for the US governement. So, of course, I watched a double dose of that then went to bed. Hyperventilating. Heart pounding. Adrenaline pumping.
Don’t bother leaving comments telling me I’m sad, I know I am. And I’m happy to be sad, so to speak.
altos de chavón
On Saturday I enjoyed my first proper night out since my arrival here a month ago. We went to Altos de Chavón, which is a small village - near Casa de Campo (that huge resort down the road from where I live) – modelled on 16th century Italian architecture. It really is incredible and next time I go there I’ll be sure to take a camera. It was built by a ridiculously rich American bloke for his daughter in 1976. There are a number of bars, a swimming pool, and plenty of tourists. Altos de Chavón is so named due to the River Chavón running beneath it (and what a spectacular view it is).
I had a great night with Christelle, her mates, and my flat mates (who, henceforth, I shall refer to as ¨the girls¨). Luckily for us some of her friends spoke English and French. However, I also had a chance to practise my Spanish – although practicing when under the influence is really not ideal (then again, it does rid you of any inhibitions, so making mistakes doesn’t seem so important).
Stayed out till about 3 and got a lift back to La Romana where I ate a chicken burger at an all-night food stand in the street. Tasted delicious while in a state halfway between drunk and tipsy, but it probably wasn’t actually that good. I was told I shouldn’t watch them prepare it so you can imagine the sort of food I’m talking about. I can honestly say though, that it was much tastier and much healthier than a doner kebab.
On a different note, Marie-Christine joined us yesterday which means we are finally four in the flat and, perhaps more importantly, we finally have a French teacher!! She seems like a nice girl; quite giggly and likes to joke around. She is Sarah’s best friend’s sister, and also from Canada. Clearly I’m soon going to overdose on Canadians (and girls, for that matter). I am just hoping upon hope that their menstrual cycles don’t catch up with each other.
