I took a picture of every meal I had here. :D (I figured everyone else would have the people + scenery parts covered.) It is my hope that I will one day be able to recreate healthier version of all of em’. :] This is an assortment of some of em’! I love colorful foods. :D
It took a good number of hours to get back, mostly because there were so many hours of waiting in between. Here’s our timeline:
- 9-10:30 p.m.: traveled from Hato Mayor to Santo Domingo
- 10:30-3:30 a.m.: hang out at airport in Santo Domingo
- 3:30-7:30 a.m.: fly back to Boston
- 7:30-10:30 a.m.: hang out at airport in Boston
- 10:30-12 p.m.: fly back to Richmond
- 12-2:30 p.m.: redistribute luggage + drive to Charlottesville
- 2:30-3:30 p.m: lunch at Zin Burger! :D
- 3:30-4:30 p.m.: driving back to WV
- 4:30-5-ish p.m.: obtain coffee/gas/some sleep at Sheetz
- 5-7:30 p.m.: finally back at school!
The green bottle on the top left is the DR’s version of our moonshine, which they called “gasolina.” Brad was a source of constant worry for our group because he was always losing things/himself and kept unintentionally scaring locals/patients by trying to speak to them in Spanish that would translate into really awkward things, so he made himself a sign.
We got to the airport at 10:30 p.m. and our flight wasn’t going to leave til 3:30 a.m., so there was a lot of lying around and/or sleeping in that time frame.
My seat got taken so I made a compromise.
I’ve missed being able to flush toilet paper and drink tap water and I haven’t combed my hair or taken a hot shower in over a week. I’ve been struck down by “el gripe” and may or may not have typhoid fever/malaria/a couple parasites that I’m hoping the albendazole will take care of, but…it’s a small price to pay for all the experiences and memories I’ve made? (I’m most worried about the typhoid fever because risk of malaria is fairly low and other than my slightly late start due to the Philly trip, I’ve been participating in our Chloroquine Fridays.
However, the county clinic completely failed at life at giving me my oral typhoid vaccine properly because they told everyone else that it was a live vaccine and had to be refrigerated/gave it to them in a plastic bag on ice…and for me, they mentioned nothing of the sort and handed it to me in a paper bag, so it was pretty much long dead by the time I realized this. THANKS, GUYS.)
In all honesty, I was originally somewhat regretting my decision to go on this trip because I felt like I should be studying for boards at home instead, but I’m really glad that I went. I learned a great deal on this trip and would love to come back next year, if I can make my vacation dates align with the trip/convince my parents not to disown me for not coming home. (They’ve already been gracious enough to not be angry about my telling them about going on said trip 1 hour before boarding the plane. :x
In my defense, I figured it’d be better for them to worry for 1 week as opposed to half a year. They told me not to get dark/tan and not to get sick and I managed to do both.) If I do get to come back at any point, there’s a lot I want to bring with me just to leave there for people.
