Caberete, Food Poisoning, 3days of nothing, Hiking, House Making. . .8days later

So . . . I think I'm getting worse at this blogging thing. First it was like 3 days, then it was 6 days, and nowww its 8! Ahhh my bad!

But you haven't missed much. Most of this week my cousin, Nanna, and I were sick.

18th- Went to Caberete, a town in the DR. Known for tourist and 'fun things'. We had to go early because Ray had to go get my G-ma (grandma) and my Aunt Kim from the airport in Puerto Plata - which is an hour away from where we wanted to go- anyway. . . so Nanna and I got dropped off at around 9ish in the morning and we walked around. . . got hassled by the guys. At first it was flattering (8 years ago) now its just annoying. They say pssst pssst and purse their lips in hope that you'll find it attractive and go up to them and say you're mine. haha Never happens, but hey they keep trying. Moving on- so we walk around and around and around. It was still early so nothing really was going on. Around 12ish we had lunch at this little surfer bar called Aloha. It was really cute, very local place. So we ate there and after we went on a walk on the beach. . . not much was going on. . . untill like 5 minutes later. The wind picked up and BOOM there were about 75 kite surfers. It was great! Especially from a photographers stand point. I was in heaven! I love action shots and this was perfect. There were guys doing tricks and as soon as they saw the camera, they ended up trying to show off and I had to thank them later for that. Haha. After we felt about burnt to a crisp we went to a bar called, Lax, and had a mojito. Around 3:30ish we got picked up and I got to say HEYY to my g-ma and aunt. Then we drove home and did the home thing.

19th- Woke up around 2am and I knew it wasn't a good thing. Ran to the bathroom and didn't leave till around 4am. When I finallly went downstairs at 8 or so, my cousin didn't look so good either. I asked what was wrong and she said that she did the same thing in the night! And we knew we had food poisoning. So we sat by the tv in fetal position allllllll day and watched tv. Didn't eat didn't drink anything but water. We felt like dying.

20th- Still sick, didn't do anything.

21st- Felt a little better, went swimming and laid out. Nanna and Dan went kayaking. . . then we ended up by the tv again.

22nd- SUNDAY FUNDAY :Felt 80% better and we had a staff party. We all went to this little beach/river thing where the Dominicans always go on Sunday and we had like a picnic. Lots of food. . . we noticed that they all sat together, but they didn't really talk. We found that to be odd. But we still had fun. We left around 3 and went back to the house where Nanna and I went swimming and we worked a little.

23rd- AWESOME FREAKIN DAY! We were kinda bored in the morning, worked a little on the article. . . then we wanted to do something. So we decided to go to La Playita. It is a secret little beach right next to the one at the villa. You have to be fit to get to it because you have to hike down a cliff. Oh, and there are two parts of the cliff you can hike down to get to it. The first one you get to is the hard steep one. The second is still steep but its an easier hike. Sooooo Nanna decides to hike down the steep one and of course I follow. So we're both like "we're gona die! we're gona die!!" We didn't die. We got down there and found two little tree stubs that we used as chairs and plopped down. We opened our bottle of Malibu and coke and we watched the waves. After awhile we wanted to do more, so we got in the water. . . but as soon as I stepped in the waves got bigger and meaner- ask my cousin, I'm not lying- so I decided to get out and when I got out the waves got smaller and calm. I swear the ocean hates me! Never a good experience. So after the ocean we went around this little beach and hiked and saw caves and we ended up calling the small beach- Lost and Found- there were so many shoes that weren't in a pair, there were clothes that were torn. . . it was nuts! Then after we were tired of searching around. We sat back down and I said "Lets make a house" and Nanna thought that it was a good idea, so we made a house!!!! We were at the beach for about 4 hours!!! Then went back home =D Greaaat day!!!

24th- TODAY!!! We are going to Nagua, to the 10 peso store =D

AHHH 6days!! SORRRY!!!

I can't believe its been 6 whole days since I last updated. Goodness . . . I've done a lot too!! I'll have to condence for your reading pleasure.

Sooooo 6 days ago, tuesday 10th . . . sooo what did I do on Wednesday? wednesday wednesday Wednesday- OH the villa guests arrived at Villa Flor de Cabrera, it was 24 people for Jaimee and Jeff's wedding. Most of them showed up at 11ish in the morning and the rest showed up at like 4ish. So Wednesday I was running around making sure we had everything ready for the guests and we also moved into a room at Hotel La Catalina.
Thursday, was a pretty average day. . . just making sure everything was set up for the wedding and made sure we had everything ordered and all that jazz, nothing to special.
FRIDAY! the guest had a rehersal for the wedding and after that they had a dominican dinner on the beach with a bonfire. So I was running around with the staff and making sure everything was done for thatttt- It was really really fun and I got to meet all the guest and hang out with them. This was the day that I found out my life plan. The groom, Jeff, came up to me and said "Allie, I think that you should move to Dallas, intern with Clint (the photographer), date Andrew (Jeff's best friend), live in my moms house, and hang out with me and Jaimee" It sounded good to me! Then later that night Jaimee came up to me and said "Allie you should move to Dallas. I know this guy that you should date" and I asked "Andrew?" she goes "Yeah!!" haha so it was confirmed. So then I ended up meeting Andrew and we actually did hit it off and I ended up falling into like with him =.D The rest of their trip I referred to him as my future boyfriend. . . and everyone knew who I was talking about. haha
Satttturday, was the wedding. The morning was relaxing, everything was going fine untill the flowers and cake showed up. And ALL of the flowers were wilted and the petals were brown. Like really really brown. They looked soooooo bad. AND the cake was supposed to be- the top part of the cake was a mini cake and the bottom was cupcakes- and the top was red velvet and the cupcakes were supposed to be vanilla. Well. . . the top WAS red velvet but it tasted like chocolate and the cupcakes WERE chocolate. So my mom, the wedding planner, was a bit upset at this point. But it all worked out in the end. We sent back the cupcakes and the flowers and made the florist bring new ones. They did and some of the girls in the party helped us rearrange the flowers to make them look better. And the wedding went beautifully. =.D And my cousin Nanna came in that night and made my night TWICE A WONDERFUL!! And my future boyfriend kissed me on the cheek. . .twice and made me blush =.D End to a wonderful night.
Sunday------ sunday/funday! The guest left the villas and dan, mom, nanna, and I moved back into the small villa. Morning was super relaxing, after we moved in Nanna and I went swimming and tanning. We also went to the beach and slashed around there for a bit. Then we got back up and we got bored so we took a litle adventure into town. We got ice cream and kept walking. . . when we were headed back to the house we passed by these people who were throwing water on each other. We thought it looked fun and enjoyable since it was so hot! So we walked by them and they accidentally got me wet. At that point I was like wth, splash me! So Nanna and I dropped our bags and they took every-single empty bottle they had, filled it with water, and SPLASHED US! Then they cheered and did it again, and again and again. Haha it was fun. Then they handed us beer and told us to sit down and to hang out for a little. So we sat and had a beer with some new friends. They spoke english to so it was REALLY nice. After that little adventure we walked home soaking wet and hung out for a couple hours then went out to dinner and party! Sunday was literally FUNDAY!
Mon dia- today! We woke up early because we thought we had to go into town at 9 to see the new mayor take office. It was a Dominican holiday today for that reason, and that reason only. I think Dominicans are so happy because they make every occasion a party. haha. But we woke up and I was. . . hurting. ahaha all I wanted was more sleep, greasy food, and water. So what did I get? had to wake up early, crackers, and soda. . . =/ awesome right? haha whatever, we went into town, walked to the town square and nobody was there . . so we walked around to find some food because Nanna and I were starving! We ate and then walked around and interviewed people about what they thought of the new mayor. Most people said that they believed that he was going to change Cabrera. . . but we had one guy say that he just wanted someone new. haha He said that the old mayor was there to long. lol. Gotta love this town. Always wants change. Soooo Nanna and I were in town pretty much the whole day talking to people and taking pictures. . . we pretty much know everyone now. hahaha. Then we walked home and relaxed until we couldn't take the hunger. Then we bugged the parents till they took us to Pizza!!! We ate and now we are home and I am updating. While Nanna checks her facebook and Dan is watching Aliens vs Monsters. =.D

Welllll if that didn't put you to sleep. . . I'll be proud. =.D
I'm off to bed, I feel so old . . its like 9:00pm- ugh. But the last couple days have been out late and up early. Not fun. But they ended up being awesome days.

Who knows what Nanna and I will do tomorrow. . . we've decided we'll decide when we wake up. haha =.D

NIGHT!!!

What an adventure!!!!!!

Okay, just to start off. . . its been a few days since my last post- sorry about that.

Moving on--

So the most exciting thing that has happend in the last few days is I WENT TO THE CAPITOL!! Santo Domingo is its name and that is where I went. 2:30hours from Cabrera we drove, up and down a mountain swerving cars and potholes. . . stoping and going with the horrible traffic and to top it all off it rained on us. So not only was the car ride an adventure but the entire experience of the trip was.
We left really early around 8:30/9ish from Cabrera to the capitol. Our mission was to #1, shop for wedding, teacher apartment, and school supplies, and #2 pick up the teachers the next morning and drive home.
So we left and we are driving driving driving, learned a lot about a new religion. Can't spell it or I'd tell you what religion. . . ja-ho-va-witness. haha We learned about that because it was my mom, stepdad, me, and our maintenance man, Brian. And Brian is a ja-ho-va-witness. So we learned all about the religion and its actualy quite interesting. If you don't know much about it, you should check it out. Annnyyywayyy (I'm still not religious though) .... So we finally get to Santo Domingo and its pretty crowded and there are crazy drivers like always.
-side note- if you ever come here. . . make sure when you get in a car, never pay attention to the road. you'll get scared and freak the driver out. never gasp or scream that you are about to hit someone or you probably will. the dominicans know how to drive in these circumstances.-
So we get to our first stop which is a store called La Sirena (same store that I went to when I went to San Fransisco, DR. So we knew what we could get there, but it still took us like 1hr and 1/2 to get everthing. Then we were all starving so we went to Pricemart- another store, and THEN we went to lunch. We ate at a place called Chef Pepper. It was really good. My stepdad and I had some wraps. He had 1/2 of mine and I had 1/2 of his. Great plan if I do say so myself (even though it was his idea to split)
After lunch we hit up some other stores and we actually went into a store that would be like our 'best buy' and it started to POUR! and this store had a tin roof, so it was soooooo freaking loud I couldnt even talk to my mom who was right next to me. It was crazy. Then we went to one last store and I never knew that we had them in the states but we went to a Ikea, idk if that is how you spell it but thats where we went. And my mom and I got lost in the furniture section. Yay us. We laughed about it later. . . but at the time we were in sort of a time rush so we were frustrated. I still laugh about it now. . . haha After all our shopping we got dropped off at our hotel while Brian took the car/ all our shopping items back to Cabrera. Mom, Dan, and I then took a little strole around our little area in Santo Dominigo. I got some great pictures and we saw some unique things. It was a really fun night.
In the morning we had to wake up, once again, really early to pick up the teachers at the airport. -We waited in the airport for maybe 20minutes then met the teachers and we all piled into the car and off we went back to Cabrera. 2:30hours later we were at Cabrera and they were all exhausted. We have teachers that came from, Ohio, Wisconsin, Las Vegas, and . . . Texas. So all over the place But they all had to take a red eye to Ft. Lauderdale to fly into Santo Domingo at the same time in the morning. - I hope all that made sense.
We ate lunch, then sent the teachers to take a nap while Robert (mi tio/school admin), Dan, Mom, Ray (mi hermana/villa manager), and me all went to set up the teachers apartments. It was a lot of work in a short amount of time. When I got back to the house I decided to take a shower and relax a little and I went on the computer checked my e-mails (of course nothing was there)- then facebook (i got a little love there)- then i went back to the big villa for our partay. When I walked in I saw all the volunteers and some teachers all talking and I just joined in. Had the party/ played some pool/ had some interesting conversations about law offices and Gumby. Now I am here recapping my last two days sippin on some rum and coke. =D

TOMORROW- I have to -take a guess. . . - wake up early, finish packing. put my stuff in the car, walk over to the big villa to help them set up for the new guests, then somehow around 12:15ish go to the camp to take the final pictures of an epic water fight, then . . . relax the rest of the day. maybe go to the beach, maybe come home and take a nap- either one sounds fun.

Untill next post-
Goodnight, Good morning, Good afternoon. =D

Its been a couple days. . .

Its been a couple days, but you haven't missed much. I really haven't been doing anything to exciting. I actually haven't left the house in two days other than walking to the other villa and tonight when we actually did go out.

The last two days have been full of research for the parents and random activites including, napping and watching tv. OH and I did go to the beach a few times. But other than that. . . maybe eating was in there then thats it.

Tonight was a treat though. I did go out to the town with my parents and our Chef. We had a few drinks downtown then had some pizza. It was all good fun with great conversation. I was supposed to go dancing afterward but that didnt happen because the only girl that I trust down here is sick. I hope she feels better, she's been sick for awhile. I think its because she works her ass off and doesn't get a break.

I, however, let myself be dependent on someone else for happiness. I got my expectations high tonight in hopes of going out down town and dancing. When the plans fell through I did get a little upset, not just because I didn't get to go dancing but because I let myself get high expecations. My best friend, Maddy, and I decided along time ago that if we had low expectations that we couldn't get disappointed. Which would make us happier people. So far it has worked out. Don't expect anything, can't get disappointed if it doesn't work out. I let my guard down and was disappointed. Guess that won't happen again.

Anyway. . . off to bed.

Pool, Work, Scuba, Burn, Food, and . . . other stuff

Well the last few days haven't been to exciting. A lot of sleeping in and swimming at random times. Also a lot, and I'm not exaggerating, A LOT of food!!

We have a teacher chef at the villa right now who is teaching the other chefs more about food. So that we don't have to keep hiring a new chef every 4 months. (only funny to people who know Dan) But he has been making delicious . . . unhealthy, food since he has been here. Burgers, lasagna, fried shrimp, etc. I feel fat.

Parents went scuba diving today in Rio San Juan. I went with but then turned into chicken shit when it came to actually going in the ocean. I got the balls to just get in and swim around a little. But . . . I have to let them drop to actually go scuba diving again. I've been scuba diving once in Key West, FL. But . . . idk that was a little different. Maybe next time I wont watch Shark Week right before I go. haha.

But other than that. . . this week hasn't been to special. Pretty mellow. My mom and I are soo freakin burnt right now. Kind of in pain. Its going to be tough to sleep tonight. =/ Maybe someone (BS) can keep me entertained. haha (it would be funny if you know me)

Well I'm going to continue to watch Bones then . . .try to sleep. =D
NIGHT!

Golf, Club Sandwich, Apartments, Swimming, Stars...

August 1st:
Pretty basic day. Woke up late, my mom said that she was taking the day off and wanted to go golfing. So Dan, mom and I went I went golfing. Me of course driving the golf cart and taking pictures. =D Its what I do. I have also decided that I am the destressafier in the family. I tried to get them to talk about other things other than work so they could destressify. So we ended up talking about the origins of words. It started off because I saw a Butterfly. . . and I asked why it was called a butterfly and things started from there. It was a fun day. Course as soon as I got home it got boring. There wasn't much to do. So I ended up watching House for a couple hours and then went to sleep.

August 2nd:
Again, woke up late probably because I knew I wasn't doing anything today. When I know I am doing something in the morning I am an early riser and I have no problem with it. However, when I have no plans for the day it takes me a really long time to wake up and get out of bed. But when I did finally decided to get out of bed around 11/12ish I found both of the rents in meetings. So I went back to my room to use the computer for a bit, then decided to jump in the pool and exercise a little. . . then they asked if I wanted to go look at apartments for the teachers coming in on the 10th with them. So I said sure, anything to get me out of the house and doing something. So we went into town and of course they told me to bring my camera, so I did. I went and took pictures of the building and the rooms so my mom and I can start thinking about how we should decorate. We can't decorate much because its on the teachers do buy the stuff. But we can help out with some curtains and sheets. =D So we did that, then came home and did some more of nothing. I was on the computer editing pictures and sending e-mails out. . . then I went to the beach to take some more pictures. . . came back up and dinner was on the table. Ate. . . sat around not doing much, then we walked to the big villa to talk to the chef and we brought him back to our house, and we all took a dip in the pool. It was GORGEOUS! We were all just relaxing and we looked up and we saw a bajillian stars! This place has an amazing view. Now I am blogging, and afterwards I plan on taking a nice . . . probably cold shower (because tonight is a little hot; but it has a nice breeze) and then sleep. And because I don't have any plans tomorrow. . . I will probably sleep in. =D

Goodnight/ Buenas noches