Sorry about the lack of updates recently. I'm going to try to write more regularly for the rest of my time here in the DR. This entry is dedicated to documenting some of what my day-to-day life is like here in Baní.
Luckily, I'm living in a very modern apartment. The kitchen is well-stocked, complete with gas stove and refrigerator-freezer. I also had the good fortune of moving into the last available room in the house, which has its own bathroom. In other words, I have way more personal space than I lived with last year when I lived in Vanderbilt Hall. All of this said, there are still a few aspects of life that are different:
- I live in an apartment above my office: My daily commute is literally 15 seconds as I walk down the stairs--shorter than my mini-trek to TMEC from Vandy. But I can't 2xAV (experience at supernatural speeds) office work. My bedroom is the room behind the brick on the second floor.
- I take bucket showers: There's often not enough pressure from the water pump (la bomba), and I take bucket showers with water that I set aside in a pail. I've been amazed at how little water is necessary for a thorough scrubbing.
- I wash clothing by hand: And thus, I'm pretty sure that my clothing isn't very clean... After I finish scrubbing, I use a nifty centrifuge to expedite the drying process before hanging the wash out on the line.
- I ride around on the backs of motorcycles: The most accessible form of transportation is catching a ride on the back of a motorbike, or motoconcho. For about 30 pesos (<$1), I can catch a ride from my house to the center of town.
- I don't have AC: I didn't have AC when I lived in New Haven or Washington, D.C., either. But in those places, I wasn't super paranoid about insect bites (thanks, micriobiology class!)--and I had screens on my windows. Nowadays, I either sleep with the windows closed (and fan at maximum speed) or with the windows open (wearing a gallon of OFF!).
More on my life and project in the next update!
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