The Dominican and Me Updates

People have been making comments in some of my prior posts asking for updates. So, I've decided to give you a few updates in one post. I may have answered your individual questions as well, but, if not, hopefully this post will do the trick. If you still need more information, please keep commenting!

House guests--Both of my house guests left that Saturday morning. Really it was no big deal. It was just different than I am used to. It was only 3 nights with Michael and one night with Maximo. And, they are the ones that had to try to sleep double in a twin bed. So my minor annoyances with not being able to be 'nearly naked' and concerns about the key to the apartment were definitely overshadowed by Wil's family's concerns for me.

The flooding and the potential ark--I went to Miches for the weekend(that will have its own post). When I came back on Monday evening, the owner of the building was on the sidewalk. She tried to tell me something and asked me if there was water on the floor. I told her that I hadn't been there but that I was going up to look then. I don't think it had rained much in Santo Domingo while I was gone. The towels that I had left on the floor were only a little wet, as were the sponges. The walls also seemed a bit less stained, especially in the main room.

As of today, Wednesday, the walls are drying up, I have fans running in both rooms 24 hours a day, I have bleached my sweet stick furniture(it had mold on it upon my return), I have bleached many other surfaces, and Wil's aunt was able to wash and dry(in a dryer)several moldy clothes items from the closet. I did find more clothes with mold tonight, so that will be another day.

Overall it is definitely getting better. It rained hard this evening for the first time since I have been back and the water did not come in. I hope this is a sign that they did make some exterior repairs. I saw the landlady again yesterday and she made some hand motions that I think meant that the neighbors had created some sort of a roof over the crack between the two building walls.

It looks like I will not be building an ark after all! And, that my friends, is a very good thing!



My TV addiction--Though I have been spending more time outside of the apartment or cleaning up water while in the apartment, I have still found time for some enjoyable TV marathons. I finished the entire Dexter series, I watched all of Modern Family from last season, and just finished watching season one of The Vampire Diaries (Fabulous! Thanks for the recommendation, AM). I can't decide if I want more vampires (True Blood) or if I want something a little more funny (The Gilmore Girls). Whichever I choose, I am going to begin at the beginning of the show and watch them all in order. I love TV marathons, don't you?



Abundance of Mangoes, Lack of Avocados--Those days are ending! We still have mangoes galore, but avocado season is beginning! Yay! I had two little round ones last week that were amazing. The flesh was really yellow and they were super flavorful. The mangoes are still delicious and everywhere. I even had a fresh blended mango juice the other day. Wow! They add sugar and ice to the mango and blend it up, yum! Most people have them with canned milk as well, but I liked mine without the milk. And for you mango haters (Cookie), remember, mangoes are the most popular fruit in the WORLD!



Receiving Mail--This is another shameless plea for mail. Remember, it costs you 44 cents and gives me total joy and 3 miles of exercise! A big thanks to those who have sent mail!

So, the address once again:

For letters and cards:

One of our names
SDQ 1632
PO BOX 025725
MIAMI, FL 33102-5725

For parcels:

One of our names
SDQ 1632
2250 NW 114th AVE UNIT 1A
MIAMI, FL 33172-3652