Sosúa

The next day we had planned on going to the beach. We had to be out of the hotel by 10 and had to pack up all of our contents that were dispersed throughout the room and screw the lightbulb back in so we set an alarm for 9. We woke up and it was pouring rain outside and not a single one of us got up until at least 9:30. Lots of times it will rain in the morning and then clear up so we decided to go anyway. So the hotel lady told us to go to this plaza that was a couple of blocks away and look for a Sosúa taxi. So we trudged there in the rain but then couldn’t find the taxis and didn’t really understand all of her instructions on how to find them so we asked a man selling stuff about the whole situation. He told us that taxis are so much more expensive and that we should just take a guaguita, which is like the size of our church van that just sort of goes along the coast and picks up people/drops them off wherever they need it. Then of course he wanted us to buy something so Katie bought a ring to satisfy him out of a little bit of frustration but then realized she actually really liked it, which was convenient. Plus he knew we were students, not tourists, so he didn’t overcharge her.

Our ride itself was an experience. We eventually had 20 people in an 11-maybe-12-passenger van. And there was a lady on there who had to have been certifiably insane. She didn’t stop talking the whole way. The guys were telling her that nobody wanted to listen to her talk but she kept talking about her motoconcho injuries and all of the languages she can speak. She kept speaking to us in English. Katie muttered to us in Spanish that it would be easier to understand her if she were speaking in Spanish than English, and the whole back of the bus heard her and bursted out laughing and nodding their heads in agreement. She was oblivious to their annoyance and just kept right on chatting. It was phenomenal. I really kind of enjoyed her.

But we finally decided to go to Sosúa instead of Cabarete and we made it! The sun had started to peek out so we rented chairs and settled in. The man we rented from took the umbrella away so we could enjoy the sun. 20 minutes later it started to rain and he was nowhere in sight. It was hard enough rain to be really annoying but not enough that we clearly had to leave so we debated for awhile and decided to stay, which was good because the sun played hide-and-go-seek all day and sometimes it was really nice! So we stayed and took a nap and swam and played with the fishies and watched these kids doing crazy gymnastics tricks. It ended up being a great day. We left feeling satisfied and ready to go back home and start on homework, if that’s possible...

But we had to get some done because the next day was the 9^th game of the DR series and they were tied 4-4! If the Aguilas were to win, everyone would take to the streets and start dancing and drinking and singing and shouting and celebrating in every way imaginable. Traffic wouldn’t have been able to pass through very well because the streets would be flooded with people. We went to our favorite restaurant/coffee shop the next day to watch it. Anna and I were there all day studying and tried to do some studying during the game but it was really hard and by the 8^th innning it was entirely impossible. It was the closest, most stressful game I have ever witnessed. In the top of the 9^th inning the Aguilas were down 5-4 and were up to bat. An incredible play brought the game to 5-5 and the place was in uproar. Unfortunately, a well-placed hit in the bottom of the inning with men on first and third won the game for Escogido. It was still the best game I’ve ever watched in my life (partially because I never watch baseball, but it was still really good!). That time spent with friends was a perfect end to a great weekend (aside from the fact that the Aguilas lost :( )