five.

i danced merengue last night. it was amazing. well, maybe not exactly amazing, but definitely an experience. i went with my host sister desiree to a hotel bar, a strange location to dance, but a great place to learn. dancing with her friends, i slowly came to understand the basics of the dance, although i am far from mastery. other things came to light as well, cultural differences which were otherwise unknown to me. for example, when people dance together, they rarely look at each other, as that is a sign of pre-existing romantic interest and sexual attraction. people are also very open about they advances, which seems contradictory to the previous concept. regardless, i danced, spoke a little spanish, got laughed at a lot, and overall had a great time. during the day, i spent a lot of time reading, talking to our many family members, and walking with some of the other volunteers. actually funny story. the four of us were walking through an area of our barrio named manzana, and we stopped at a colmado, or general store, to have a drink. while sitting outside we were approached by a tattooed guy, who spoke some english. so i asked where he was from and this is the conversation that follows.

d- so where did you learn your english bro?

guy-i lived around nueva york when i was a kid

d- oh yeah, im from jersey!

guy-no shit, where at?

d- new brunswick!

guy-fuck man, i lived on redmond street all my childhood!

well, for those of you who don't know, i lived on redmond street for two years, and for me, the concept of meeting someone in a random colmado in santo domingo, who lived on the same street in new brunswick, is mind blowing. what's the probability of that? anyway, that's the funny story. if you dont think its funny, dont read my blog :).