(no subject)
May 31, 2006 (Day 1)
11pm
Hey,
I don’t know that this can even be counted as a day. Right now, I’m lying on a spring-ful bed in a sketchy room, the fan on full (though that doesn’t seem to be making much of a difference to the sweltering heat…), and I’m in just my underwear. Which will also be gone soon, as I have to wash it so I can wear it again tomorrow, as my luggage is still at the airport.
Ho-lee-cow. Talk about culture shock. So much so that I’m having a hard time summoning the courage to say even “hello” to people.
Okay, I’ll start from the beginning of today.
Julie woke me up this morning, after just three hours of sleep (I’d stayed up to say a final goodbye to Kevin… can we not talk about that?), and I hopped-to, as did Mark and Jude. The four of us set out into a grey-skied morning (I just had to put that in there ), rather chipper for people who had only got 3-5 hours of sleep. The sunrise was beautiful, what with the sun just suddenly appearing from behind a mist. I thought it was the moon, but was even more in awe when I realized it was the sun.
We got to Chattanooga with an hour or so to spare before my flight (I didn’t want to be bother and mention that I needed to be there TWO hours before my flight…), and all three stayed to check me in. I was then told by the check-in guy (who wasn’t all that nice) that there was a 9:25, not a 8:25, to Charlotte. Well, had I looked at the schedule I’d written out, I would’ve known that, but I’d decided to work by memory. Anyway, that was a good thing, cos then I really was two hours early for my flight, which is the way it’s supposed to be. Plus, Julie was happy to have got up an hour early, since they needed to… I don’t know, do something early.
So I was given a seat straightaway, and kissed everyone goodbye before finding my way to my gate. I watched some of Cold Mountain while I waited which, in retrospect, wasn’t a very good idea because I need something to occupy my time now. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I get to Charlotte and get on the flight to Miami, no problem. Well, except that it was LATE in leaving, so when I got to Miami, I was frantic about finding where to be. With which no one seemed to be able to help me. And then, when I went to check into AA, what do I find out but that British Airways has given me a stupid ticket. My ticket said Miami to La Romana. There is no such flight. That’s right, folks, I had been sold a ticket that was wrong and neither the people at BA NOR the people I’d called a BAJILLION times to list myself on the flight could find it in their minds to let me know about this somehow. So, what I needed was a ticket that said Miami San Juan, and another that said San Juan La Romana. Yeh, I didn’t have that, but the woman at check-in sent me through anyway, saying I should fly to San Juan and see what happened when I got there.
Hahahahahahahahaha.
I spoke to the woman at the gate and she looked at me like I was the crazy one. So, long story very short (I hope?), I had to call my boss here to tell him that I needed to be picked up at Santo Domingo, not La Romana, cos they were going to do me the favour of changing my flight to that one. Yeh, sorted, but… “Where are Naomi’s bags?” you wonder! My bags go to La Romana. That flight gets in two hours after my new one. That’s okay, I can go from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana, as the hotel is at La Romana. Exceeeept… and this is where it gets really funny.
I get to customs and… start to realize… that this language isn’t translating in my head… I am thinking in Italian… that can’t be good. And, no, it wasn’t. (haha, I’m being unnecessarily dramatic. Forgive me, I have NOTHING better to do.) So, floundered around with the customs agent, floundered with the driver who picked me up (this is why he didn’t understand when I said, “Mis bolsas estan al otro aeropuerto.” Yeh, I don’t even think that’s a sentence in ANY language. He just thought there were no other bags. Yeh, like I’m going to live in the DR for six weeks with stuff only in my laptop bag and small red one. Hahahahaha.
I met my boss, forgot to listen for when he pronounced his name, also forgot to listen to see if he was speaking Spanish, Italian or English, and forgot my manners. At this point, please understand that I am very tired, have been hit with a wave of Caribbean heat that I, for some reason, hadn’t expected, and am frustrated with my inability to form complete sentences in Spanish.
Goodbye Senor Chiapello, goodbye driver guy with the name I couldn’t quite catch, goodbye receptions person… chao, Alessandra!
Thank God for small mercies, Alessandra speaks fairly good English. Of course, she’s shocked that my bags are at La Romana and that I have NOTHING. I’m okay, though, just wondering about a toothbrush and something to sleep in. After dropping my stuff off here, we go to the Pizzeria, and meet Maria-Grazia. God is beginning to get the hang of the situation; Maria-Grazia speaks Italian. Do you want to know how grateful I am for that? So, we eat, then Alessandra leaves me with Maria-G, and we start speaking in Italian, which feels so good after this long period of not being able to converse. Then I meet other Italians (and boy do they look like Italians, it’s refreshing) who I’ll be working with, and then Maria-G takes me back here, gives me a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and one of her tiny shirts (oh boy… skinny people…), and I retire to my sketchy room, which is actually beginning to cool down, now that I’ve lifted the curtain and opened the rest of the windows.
There is a weird sound outside, though, that I’m going to investigate… nevermind, I think it’s my fan.
I miss so many things and people right now, it isn’t funny. But I have a feeling that this is going to be one spectacular summer. I already feel hope in the fact that I can speak Italian fine with Maria-G and the other Italians. The girl next door to me is Valentina.
I’m going to head on to bed, if I can… I’m really tired and I suspect that tomorrow will be one hella long day. I don’t know if I’m ready for this, but we’ll see. Time to quit being spoiled.
~ Naomi
11pm
Hey,
I don’t know that this can even be counted as a day. Right now, I’m lying on a spring-ful bed in a sketchy room, the fan on full (though that doesn’t seem to be making much of a difference to the sweltering heat…), and I’m in just my underwear. Which will also be gone soon, as I have to wash it so I can wear it again tomorrow, as my luggage is still at the airport.
Ho-lee-cow. Talk about culture shock. So much so that I’m having a hard time summoning the courage to say even “hello” to people.
Okay, I’ll start from the beginning of today.
Julie woke me up this morning, after just three hours of sleep (I’d stayed up to say a final goodbye to Kevin… can we not talk about that?), and I hopped-to, as did Mark and Jude. The four of us set out into a grey-skied morning (I just had to put that in there ), rather chipper for people who had only got 3-5 hours of sleep. The sunrise was beautiful, what with the sun just suddenly appearing from behind a mist. I thought it was the moon, but was even more in awe when I realized it was the sun.
We got to Chattanooga with an hour or so to spare before my flight (I didn’t want to be bother and mention that I needed to be there TWO hours before my flight…), and all three stayed to check me in. I was then told by the check-in guy (who wasn’t all that nice) that there was a 9:25, not a 8:25, to Charlotte. Well, had I looked at the schedule I’d written out, I would’ve known that, but I’d decided to work by memory. Anyway, that was a good thing, cos then I really was two hours early for my flight, which is the way it’s supposed to be. Plus, Julie was happy to have got up an hour early, since they needed to… I don’t know, do something early.
So I was given a seat straightaway, and kissed everyone goodbye before finding my way to my gate. I watched some of Cold Mountain while I waited which, in retrospect, wasn’t a very good idea because I need something to occupy my time now. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I get to Charlotte and get on the flight to Miami, no problem. Well, except that it was LATE in leaving, so when I got to Miami, I was frantic about finding where to be. With which no one seemed to be able to help me. And then, when I went to check into AA, what do I find out but that British Airways has given me a stupid ticket. My ticket said Miami to La Romana. There is no such flight. That’s right, folks, I had been sold a ticket that was wrong and neither the people at BA NOR the people I’d called a BAJILLION times to list myself on the flight could find it in their minds to let me know about this somehow. So, what I needed was a ticket that said Miami San Juan, and another that said San Juan La Romana. Yeh, I didn’t have that, but the woman at check-in sent me through anyway, saying I should fly to San Juan and see what happened when I got there.
Hahahahahahahahaha.
I spoke to the woman at the gate and she looked at me like I was the crazy one. So, long story very short (I hope?), I had to call my boss here to tell him that I needed to be picked up at Santo Domingo, not La Romana, cos they were going to do me the favour of changing my flight to that one. Yeh, sorted, but… “Where are Naomi’s bags?” you wonder! My bags go to La Romana. That flight gets in two hours after my new one. That’s okay, I can go from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana, as the hotel is at La Romana. Exceeeept… and this is where it gets really funny.
I get to customs and… start to realize… that this language isn’t translating in my head… I am thinking in Italian… that can’t be good. And, no, it wasn’t. (haha, I’m being unnecessarily dramatic. Forgive me, I have NOTHING better to do.) So, floundered around with the customs agent, floundered with the driver who picked me up (this is why he didn’t understand when I said, “Mis bolsas estan al otro aeropuerto.” Yeh, I don’t even think that’s a sentence in ANY language. He just thought there were no other bags. Yeh, like I’m going to live in the DR for six weeks with stuff only in my laptop bag and small red one. Hahahahaha.
I met my boss, forgot to listen for when he pronounced his name, also forgot to listen to see if he was speaking Spanish, Italian or English, and forgot my manners. At this point, please understand that I am very tired, have been hit with a wave of Caribbean heat that I, for some reason, hadn’t expected, and am frustrated with my inability to form complete sentences in Spanish.
Goodbye Senor Chiapello, goodbye driver guy with the name I couldn’t quite catch, goodbye receptions person… chao, Alessandra!
Thank God for small mercies, Alessandra speaks fairly good English. Of course, she’s shocked that my bags are at La Romana and that I have NOTHING. I’m okay, though, just wondering about a toothbrush and something to sleep in. After dropping my stuff off here, we go to the Pizzeria, and meet Maria-Grazia. God is beginning to get the hang of the situation; Maria-Grazia speaks Italian. Do you want to know how grateful I am for that? So, we eat, then Alessandra leaves me with Maria-G, and we start speaking in Italian, which feels so good after this long period of not being able to converse. Then I meet other Italians (and boy do they look like Italians, it’s refreshing) who I’ll be working with, and then Maria-G takes me back here, gives me a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and one of her tiny shirts (oh boy… skinny people…), and I retire to my sketchy room, which is actually beginning to cool down, now that I’ve lifted the curtain and opened the rest of the windows.
There is a weird sound outside, though, that I’m going to investigate… nevermind, I think it’s my fan.
I miss so many things and people right now, it isn’t funny. But I have a feeling that this is going to be one spectacular summer. I already feel hope in the fact that I can speak Italian fine with Maria-G and the other Italians. The girl next door to me is Valentina.
I’m going to head on to bed, if I can… I’m really tired and I suspect that tomorrow will be one hella long day. I don’t know if I’m ready for this, but we’ll see. Time to quit being spoiled.
~ Naomi