Happy 4th of July!

Let's see... My day started at 1:20 am when the next door neighbors' dog started barking. After about 15 minutes of trying to ignore it, I tried the pillow/head/pillow sandwich technique, but alas, it was unsuccessful. This was followed by a failed attempt to use the earplugs I got for the plane trip (my sensitive ears hate the change in altitude). Finally, I resorted to plugging my earphones into my phone to listen to music. I had to turn it up pretty high because any sign of the dog's bark was making me cringe at that point. I fell asleep with my earphones in - not a comfortable thing to wake up to about an hour later. Fortunately, I didn't hear the dog any longer. However, less than 10 minutes later, he started up again. I think I managed to sleep about an hour or so, and he finally stopped at about 5am. Breakfast was at 630, so I got another short nap in. 

Anyway, thanks for humoring me and making it through that painfully detailed description of my night. On to more important things...

Breakfast was a plate of fresh fruit as seen below. Fania had a bottle of Shurfine syrup on the table, which I found amusing. 

Spanish lessons went well today. My instructor, Melissa, has stopped letting me follow along in the book when she asks me questions in Spanish because I rely so much on my reading comprehension while I struggle with the listening part. 

After lunch, I decided to take a walk around the nearby area in search of a bank and some postcards. I spent about an hour and half exploring various shops, malls, and side streets, and I couldn't find a single place that sold postcards, nor could I find anyone who could help me locate some. On my way home, I stopped into the Dunkin' Donuts down the street for a refreshing iced mocha and dulce de leche donut to celebrate 4th of July.  While I was there, I ran into the couple I take classes with and their host. She knew of a place that sold postcards, so I walked another few blocks with them. On the way back, Dale wanted to stop by a car dealership as he and his wife are looking to purchase a vehicle to travel around the country in. Shockingly, prices aren't any cheaper here for a truck than they are back in the States - in fact, I think they are more expensive. 

As I walked around town, I got a good sense of how poor the area really is. Don't get me wrong, there are some people who are fairly well-off, but in comparison to Rochester, poverty is widespread - houses made of metal scraps just leaned up against each other; people who make a living on a few dollars a day; and children wearing rags for clothing selling fruit on the street. However, everyone appears so happy and friendly. Walking down the street, almost every person - from the security guard posted out front of a gated home to the child riding by on a bike - gives a greeting. I am really looking forward to starting my volunteering in the school next week so I can get a chance to interact with locals a bit more. 

Spanish word of the day: cuadra (block) - I lost count of how many cuadras I walked today!

Banana tree outside my window:

Time for dinner, followed by mi tarea (my homework) and a siesta!