Just when you think it's getting better

We got out of the hospital and were feeling pretty good. And just when we were feeling good, I popped a tire on the car.  We were on our way to play paintball with Younglife and I took a turn too tight from a stop and tapped the curb at 5mph.  The tire was not up to the test.  After a fun night of paintball we returned to the car and with help from Chris we had it changed in a few minutes.  I just looked at the tire and it blew out the sidewall. So apparently it is going to cost $20 to get a new one.  Maybe that is why it blew out so easy, because it only costs $20 to begin with.  So we are off to get a new tire and run some errands.

#1 Rating

We recently heard that the new hospital down the street was rated #1 in the Caribbean. We decided to see for ourselves. Tuesday morning Steph woke up early not feeling well. I went to her house around 8:30 and we just hung out at her apartment all day.  It would have been a nice day to hang out and watch a movie, but of course the power went out around 9 and still was not on when we left at 3. Steph was feeling progressively worse during the day, so we decided to call the doctor in the afternoon.  He said since she could not keep anything in her that he would not prescribe her anything and she needed to go to the hospital and he would be over later.  We went to the hospital and were taken pretty quickly. They came in the take some blood and start an IV when the doctor arrived.  As they started to take her blood, I suddenly felt like I was about to pass out.  That's never happened before to me.  I think it was the realization of being in a hospital in a 3rd world country and then seeing the crackers under the bed.  I also had not been feeling great so I had not eaten or drank much that day.  So the doctor told me to leave after telling Steph that she made a poor choice in who she brought with her to the hospital.  The doctor was very nice, he speaks great English and enjoyed making fun of me! After Steph had her blood taken and IV started, she decided to throw up on the nurse.  The doctor came out to the lobby and told me to come back in after he mad fun of me again. After a 45 dollar sonogram to check our Steph's stomach we were back in the ER. They gave us a room shortly there after.  However no instructions were given on whether or not she had been admitted or what was going on. So we sat in the room for a while. After a while when nobody had come to check on us, I went to the nurses' station and told them that Steph had some questions, the nurse looked at me like we were crazy for having questions. She came down later to tell us that the doctor would be in when he felt like it. He did come by a little bit later after Steph called him.  So he explained that she had some kind of infection and they would treat it with antibiotics but she could not eat or drink anything until the next day.  When it started to get late and we decided to go to sleep was when the nurses decided it would be a good idea to check on her regularly.  Thankfully we slept pretty well and we were able to go home today.  That is after I had to go downstairs and pay the bill. I tried to pay the bill in the lab area first, it did not work, but I was kindly pointed to the right area.  One of the funnier parts on the bill was being charge 10 cents for rubber gloves.

Because We Can

We'd also like to give our friends a formal introduction to the Galleria of Tourism created by Benfanie.

We are going to try to highlight the ins and outs of being a tourist in a Spanish-speaking country.  Visiting malls, parks, fast food restaurants, etc.  Documenting with our fanny packs and camera cases the realities of this highly sought profession. 

And we begin with our first shot today.

Note: BOTTLED water only. (NO ice)

Was that a good one?

We went white water rafting on Wednesday. It was pretty fun, except for the fact that our friend almost lost his face. We went straight under a rock and his helmet stopped us.  Our guide seemed a little bit reckless and he was not very funny.  One of the other guides kept making dumb jokes in English and then would ask afterward "Was that funny, Was that a good one?" After rafting I went to camp for a few days. It was fun to see everyone and figure out some projects to work on when work teams come. It was fun to get out of the city for a few days, except that it rained non stop from wednesday until saturday.  On Friday night we went to a friends house and Steph made chili (it was tasty) for some of our friends' birthdays. We played Uno attack and I won one of the games which I was excited about because Steph likes to be competitive. She took it well and actually congratulated me on winning, it only took her about 10 minutes to work herself up to it. Steph and I came back to Santiago on saturday and ran some errands. I'm working on my driving skills here, I'm getting better but still have some to learn.  You always have to be on your guard and can never relax. I find it hard to even talk to Steph while I'm driving because I get scared of getting hit.  In a lot of instances, the bigger car has the right away. Yesterday we continued the birthday celebrations at the movies.  We saw Marley and Me with friends and Steph and I realized that we are not dog people. We had been planning to go out to dinner to an italian restaurant we had been to before and like eating at. But when we got there, there was only one table available as two parties had reserved the rest of the tables.  Rather than being the awkward couple that did not belong we moved on to somewhere else.  Several debates and laps around the block in Los Jardines (an upscale neighborhood) resulted in eating at "Front Door".  The food was really good, we just wish that our table had not been under a speaker that was blasting music. It was hard to have a conversation and was pretty annoying. Another annoying thing is that when we arrived they sat us on the front porch at a reserved table.  Nicer restaurants place reserved signs on the tables and decide when you arrive if you can dine there or where you can sit.  Being white or rich gets you a seat, which is convenient for us, but racist nonetheless. 

Last night I surpassed a new hurdle. Generally at night, Steph has to drive me to Katie and Aldo's (where I'm staying).  But last night I drove back there alone.  I'm getting pretty confident in driving here, especially when traffic is minimal.  Today the weather cleared up and made for a gorgeous morning. We had brunch with some friends and then went downtown and wandered around a park and the market area. We were hoping to find some entertaining shirts but were unsuccessful.  Steph is making lasagna for dinner...it looks really good!...

And Ben looks really great as a tourist chasing birds in the park with a bottle of water in hand.

thank you mr domesticated

i must say....

coming home to an open door and lunch on the stove is a plus to having ben boblooch in my country.  this man gets an A+ for stir fry.

and i would give him a B+ for his domina-driving skills.  we're still alive.

-steph

The Capital

Today we took a field trip to the capital. It was fun. Pictures and video to come! While in the taxi from the bus station to the Colonial Zone we were offered poopies (puppies) for sale. We declined. We saw some goldfish for sale on the way back, but again declined. Steph and I aren't quite ready for pet ownership. If only they sold goldfish at traffic lights in the states. It may be a new business venture.  We had a really fun day. We wandered around the old buildings and saw some old cathedrals. My favorite part was the fort. We played on tanks and a helicopter! We had lunch at a really cool restaurant facing a big square.  The pizza was delicious. We watched a little kid riding his bike. He would ride right up on people's heels even though there was plenty of room to pass and then say "beep, beep" Steph got some sunburn on her shoulders even though some old lady warned her about it.  When we first got into town, an old lady told Steph to be careful with the sun because she was whiter than the virgin Mary. People are always looking out for you here. Just like the men who hold Steph's arm getting off the bus, even though I am there and she doesn't need help.

Shortly after takeoff on Wednesday night it started. It began with the chanting of of prayers by some lady on the flight. It lasted about 20 minutes.  She must have been one of the few dominicans on the flight, because when we landed only a few people cheered. Generally the plane erupts with cheers and clapping on safe arrival. Wednesday night was pretty uneventful. Since I was with Steph, most guys left her alone or were only mildly creepy.  I was beginning to be let down by the dominican republic but then shortly after showering on thursday the power went out for most of the day.  Steph and I had our first grocery store experience together here, we survived! Halfway through cooking our chicken tacos we ran out of gas. So we went out for empanadas! All in all we've been having a great time and I'm really glad I'm here, especially after watching CNN this morning and seeing how cold it is in the states. Tonight we may go to the baseball game, it's the last one of the season and we're planning on going to the capital tomorrow. You can call us for free at 989.941.0566. It's a Michigan area code.