MIA/Weekends in Paradise

This is only half of the pictures I have from the last few weeks. The internet was cooperating today and I didn't want to press my luck by trying to add more. And I to remind all y'all that are buried in snow/ice what 90 degrees and sunny looks like. Just to rub it in a bit :)

Three weekends ago, I went to Sosua, a beach on the north shore about two hours outside of Santiago. It was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful end to orientation.

(From L to R: Olivia, Stephanie, Me, Martha)

Two weekends ago was not a weekend in paradise--it was a weekend of parasites. Our group had planned to go to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic to visit the old plantations and get a taste of the history of the DR, but also to see the "big city". I didn't get to go, but I know that there will be plenty of other opportunities to visit Santo Domingo.

Last Thursday was a holiday (no school!) I don't have class on Fridays and Monday was also a holiday (no school again!) We decided to take advantage of our five day weekend and travel to Samana, a city on the east coast.

This picture pretty much sums up my weekend:

The trip to Samana was rough--it was about four hours on roads full of pot holes in a bus that was packed to the brim (overflowing, actually). When we got to the beach, it was totally worth it though.

Rice paddies on the way to Samana

We spent our first day at Playa Samana. It was about a ten minute walk from our hotel and was actually the beach of a private resort. We talked our way onto the beach, though, and promised that we would behave. On the second day we were in Samana, Chris and I went on a whale watching tour. I was amazed by the whales! I was like a five year old on Christmas morning. It was hard to take pictures, but I think I got some good ones of the beach and the whales: