What makes me happy here at post...

Jill at The Perlman Update is hosting the Foreign Service blogger roundup this week with the following topic: What makes me happy at my current post. And while I could just link to my many beach posts, I thought I would take a minute and reflect on it. 

When I was first assigned, this is what made me happy: friendly, fun-loving people, yummy food, and bachata music. And while those things do exist here, they are not the aspects of this post that are really making me happy. A few words about these topics, though. I think the people here are tremendously kind and courteous. I’m not sure everyone agrees with me, because Dominicans are not terribly courteous while driving, for example. But here’s something that strikes me every day: even after I deny their visa, the overwhelmingly majority of Dominicans smile and say thank you, not in a sarcastic or grumbling way, but sincerely. I find that incredible.

Unfortunately, though, we live very much in an American bubble. And I like my bubble- my colleagues are great and I am enjoying learning what it means to be a U.S. diplomat and what this diplomatic world is like. But I don’t have enough interaction with regular Dominicans. I wish I did, and I’m working on it. 

The rice and beans, mangu, mofongo, pastelon, etc are really yummy. But after a few months, you start to crave more salads.

Bachata is still wonderful. But I’m not hearing enough of it or dancing nearly enough. We are taking weekly dance lessons, but the truth is that we are often tired that night, and we’ve only been out dancing once. That is partly because of our nanny’s family troubles. I am hopeful that we can find more time to dance in the future. 

So here is really what is making me happy here in the DR:

• Beach excursions: We try to spend a weekend at the beach each month. We want to return to the places we’ve already been, but there are so many other places to try! The beaches here are just extraordinary, no matter how you like ‘em- secluded and wild...

Playa Coson in Samana

or jumping with activity and providing all the amenities...

Punta Cana, Catalonia Bavaro hotel

 We also go monthly to a beach that is only 45 minutes away. We generally go to this beach club where the kids can play in the shallow water and mom and dad can lounge on the bed. We've tried the public beach, which is ok, and we keep meaning to try other beach clubs...but this place is pretty awesome.

Juan Dolio

• Proximity: everything is so close here. Just hop in your car, and you’re there in a few hours. It is such a great post for families in that regard (well, in every regard, in my opinion). I happen to love beaches, but my husband loves exploring the mountainous region. We can do it all in a weekend, but there are lots of 3 day weekends that make our adventures even better!

Jarabacoa

•  Affordability: you can certainly spend money here, but you can easily save it, too. In the city, you’ll spend money on restaurants and bars, if that’s your thing, but if you don't go out much, it's easy to save. As families, you might find yourself eating more pizza and fast food than you used to, because playgrounds are lacking in this city and most fast food spots have play spaces. But most of your money will probably go towards weekend trips. And the fact is that they can be incredibly affordable. There is a huge range of accommodation options and you can really choose your price.

• Housing: Of course this is my first post, so I don’t have a lot to compare it to, but I think the housing is great. We have a spacious, centrally located, beautiful apartment, and while I envy different aspects of my friends’ homes, we are overall very happy with ours (and I know they envy our view of the Caribbean sea…wish I could share it but for security reasons, I can't).

• Household help and basic services: affordable help is readily available. We have a full time housekeeper who makes my life so much easier. She cooks for us…which was a dream of mine for years. I can have people come to my home to do pedicures and massages for very little. It is wonderful. 

• Weather: I haven’t lived through rainy season yet, but I have experienced a few storms and know it won’t be pretty. But let me just say that for the rest of the year, it’s pretty awesome. For me, that means sunny and warm. My husband has a different opinion about it, because it can be pretty hot during August-November, but it's not like it's over 100 (I think). Ok, ok there are hurricanes. Maybe I should wait to include this point until after this year's hurricane season. It’s funny; I actually like winter season less because it’s slightly too cold to swim. Meanwhile, everyone else loves it. 

• Closeness to the U.S.: We haven't done it yet, but I have colleagues who go home for the weekend. People come visit because it's so close. We’re looking forward to lots of guests. 

• Consular Work: for a consular coned officer, it's terrific, because you'll get lots of experience in a high-volume post. You'll see most everything here. For a non-consular coned officer, it's also great, because you won't be bored doing the same thing for 2 years. You'll be able to rotate through different sections and I think the 2 years passes more quickly that way. 

• Colleagues: this is a large Mission, and we're always meeting or welcoming new people. You can spend time with other employees doing CLO trips and the like, or be on your own. My consular section colleagues are terrific and I feel lucky to be working with them.
  

• Grocery stores: you can get most everything here, and while it's slightly more expensive, it's not outrageous. Produce is pretty nice, and we're always discovering new things that are grown here on the island, like broccoli, bok choy, and spinach. And of course, the tropical fruit is divine. 

So there you have it...what makes me happy at my current post..what I'm remembering right now. It's a great place to be.

Colonial Zone

We finally made it to the colonial zone about a month ago. I had forgotten how lovely it is. We took a 30 minute train ride, which was perfect, and then spent time feeding the pigeons. The kids haven't had that much fun with an almost free activity in ages. I'm pretty sure we could do that every weekend and they'd be psyched.

 My photos were taken from a moving train so they could be better, but here are a few I liked. Sorry but I have no idea what the buildings are...I was focusing on the pastel colored homes and unbelievable flowers. I mean, look at this amazing purple flowering plant!

This is a long pedestrian-only street that sells touristy stuff and some clothes. I had forgotten how much I liked hanging out here when I was a PCV.

This is a famous corner...I didn't get the full shot that shows its charm. I hope to find a painting of this corner before we leave.

This is the main plaza...the kids loved running around.

We managed to avoid the Hard Rock in the plaza and instead enjoyed a more local lunch. But it is calling us, with its yummy burgers and fries....

What a day! (dinosaurs and rides in the sky)

We had a very exciting day yesterday! We went to visit the Botanical Garden's Jurassic Forest exhibit, which definitely exceeded my expectations.The dinosaurs move and make noise! And they are enormous.

L liked the mama dinosaurs the best.

M knew they were not real, but didn't want to get too close to this toothy guy while taking the picture.

This mama triceratops had a few babies surrounding her.

As if that wasn't enough, there was a zipline! My brave boys decided to give it a try.

I was very proud of M. He didn't waver at all- he said he wanted to do it, he climbed up there with Daddy, and he took off! We're trying to encourage him to be brave and believe in his ability to do tough things.

You know, now that I look at these photos, I'm surprised I wasn't a little more nervous for my family. But I really wasn't. The man in charge of the zipline was English speaking and inspired a lot of confidence. Or maybe I'm just a laidback mom? (I don't think so.)

There were actually two rides- here is the 2nd platform. On the second ride, they flew right by a big dinosaur, but that was when my camera battery died. :(

This excursion was especially nice because Santo Domingo doesn't have a ton of kid-friendly destinations. We end up eating a lot more fast food than we used to, because the fast food chains all have play areas (the new Wendy's on Nunez de Caceres is really awesome). There are some outdoor playgrounds, but their safety is questionable. The good news is that some wonderful mission members decided to try to build a playground, and they succeeded in getting permission and funding! So we hope to be able to play safely soon in the Embassy compound. And of course, the post also has fabulous swimming opportunities in and close to Santo Domingo, but it's been chilly lately and we haven't wanted to go to the pool or beach.

All that to say: we really appreciated this great outing, enjoyed with some good friends.

About town

I've been taking photos of Santo Domingo buildings and homes for a while, planning to share them with you.  Santo Domingo has a mix of dwellings- a surprising amount of tall, luxury buildings; more modest 2-3 story buildings with little balconies brimming with greenery (these are my favorites); and very basic apartment complexes in the poorer sections. This is a random selection of photos and I know I have more, but there is no time to look if I want to get this posted!

Oh, and today is our six month anniversary at post! To be honest, seems we've been here much longer (in a good way!).

 

This is a view from Parque Mirador del Sur

Love that green building on the left- many of the buildings are painted a lovely color and have such personality

Here we are driving along the Malecon, the seaside road

A view from the Malecon

My favorite kind of housing- I just think these complexes are so charming

We've only been here once...it's a bit pricey and we have most everything we need (but we're glad it's here!)

This is M's favorite building, of course. That's a real truck!

Punta Cana, this time with old friends

We had a wonderful weekend in Punta Cana, at the same resort as last time, but this time our good friends from NYC came to meet us! It was so fabulous to see them all (New Yorkers, take note: 4 hour trip on Jet Blue from JFK to Punta Cana!). I was bummed for them that the weather was a little rainy and cold...so far, every trip we've made has included perfect weather. But each day, there was some sun, and we took advantage.

Here we are with our kids. They were totally grumpy and difficult at the moment but I'm so glad we got this shot! Wish I had a pic of the whole S family but I know they do.

We enjoyed splashing in the puddles when it was too rainy to swim!

The hotel is really lovely- this is just outside the main buffet. M didn't let go of his purple giant squid all weekend.

The kids spent a lot of time in the baby pool, though it was about 30 degrees in there! This mama did not venture in. L and her little friend M competed for "cutest little girl in the world" contest.

Here's RB with her adorable son J. He likes the beach a lot.

This time, L was brave enough to get her hair braided! The tiny, sparkly beads were a big incentive- she loves tiny things! We weren't sure if she would tolerate the pulling for long, so we just opted for a few braids. She loved them.

Ah, enjoying a cool drink at the beach.

 It was a wonderful weekend, and they are already talking about coming back next year! Thanks so much for visiting, S family! We miss you!

Entertaining in the FS

I realized this weekend I need to become better at entertaining. There are people I want to see, but before I invite someone over I have to make sure I have the energy and time to declutter the house, prepare a menu, go shopping, and prepare the meal. Often, I just don't have the energy and I end up not inviting them. Here in Santo Domingo there aren't that many cheap or free activities, so if I want to meet up with someone outside the home, it usually entails spending some money at a restaurant or a playspace. And we're trying to save money. So...I really need to become better at entertaining. I need to learn how to chill out or invite people just for a playdate that involves minimal effort. It's just...I hate to be getting closer to mealtime and not have food to feed people! I really can't throw together a meal I would want to serve to guests....so I start to stress about the fact that I'm a terrible host and can't invite them to stay for dinner because I don't have anything to feed them!

And the stress definitely increases if I'm thinking about inviting Dominicans over! At least with Americans, I know for the most part where I stand. But I have some potential new Dominican friends and I'm terrified to invite them to my home! I don't know what to feed them or how! They are all more wealthy than us, and so the stress just intensifies. I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon.

I have had very successful dinner parties and brunches which I enjoy hosting...but they are something I prefer to do every 3-6 mos, not regularly. I think that in less developed posts (where there is little to do in town or it's not safe to be out and about), entertaining at home is even more common. How have you handled this aspect of life in the Foreign Service or just trying to entertain more, if you are not a natural entertainer??