Getting acclimated to the new surroundings

OK, we've been here for 10 days and this is the first time I've been able to get on my computer to do anything. As I sit in the lobby of the complex, the only place I can get internet, I can reflect on our experiences thus far. The trip here was interesting, and I will get into that at a later date.

The "Dominican Way" has been quite the adjustment. We got in late Monday afternoon on October 31. By Thursday we had gone to the town of Higuay to visit the Domincan Wal-Mart (not really a wal-mart), to do some shopping and stopped at a large grocery store for some additional items on the way home. All in all, we spent nearly 20,000 pesos. Holy Moly that sounds like a heck of a shopping spree, but it converts out to quite a bit less that that in US dollars; but still size-able. We needed to buy food for a couple weeks in addition to paper products and kitchen staples and items the condo did not have. The plan is to go grocery shopping every couple weeks since we do not plan to have a car. We did not have internet connection yet as we had to get cords to connect to the modum. Friday morning came a thunderstorm seldom seen. The rain and lightning knocked out the electricity for the better part of the day and still the internet. Sooo, we have been without a conection to the outside world until today, as we both sit in the complex lobby. We are still without service at the condo. The complex is telling us a new and better system is being installed manana. That remains to be seen. The Dominican Way is that no one knows if the tech will show up to service until he shows up.

Through all of this we have gotten unpacked, to the pool a couple times, to the beach, walked to town a few times, and walked in the rain one day 'cause we were bored. It has rained an average of every other day so far and is getting ready to rain again. Still, a bad day in the DR is better than a good day trying to do real estate.

Honey has had a meltdown, or two, with the lack of internet, the slow response to everything, the rain, and the spanish TV shows or english TV shows with subtitles. Some days we get ESPN and some days the same channel is Lifetime. Some days we get ESPN2 and some days the same channel is TNT. But we always get ESPN-Spanish which airs nothing but soccer, except on Saturday night when we get college football.

We are in the process of getting a more reliable internet service and a much better TV provider than that provided by the complex.

 I know we have adjustments to make and I think we are working on them. Figuring out where everything is located, getting used to a slower pace, dealing with different issues.

We have the AC on very little, mostly at night. During the day we keep doors and windows open for a great breeze. Humidity has not been horrible or we are getting used to it.

I have a few photos that I will post with my next post which I will share our experiences with the actual flights and entrance into the DR.