Although we've only been in Santiago for a little under a week, we've still managed to take advantage of the nightlife that this city has to offer. And not even Hurricane Isaac could keep us from going out and having fun. Mid-week a few students in my program and I went out during our down time in the Centro Internacional area. Quite an upscale area of town, we came upon several fancy bars and dance clubs (discotecas) where the most stylish ladies and gentlemen of Santiago go to have a good time. We decided on a discoteca called Sahara. Unlike any dance club that I have ever visited in the U.S., Sahara truly "went all out" for its guests. For one special girl at the club, it was her birthday. In celebration, the DJ played a special reggaeton birthday song and she also received a huge cake to celebrate with. I thought it was the coolest way to celebrate! After all the birthday excitement subsided, we continued dancing to some of our favorite U.S. pop & hip-hop music as well as some typical Dominican bachata and merengue music. Just last night, I went out once more. We hopped from one discoteca to the next when the strobe lighting and hyperactive DJ proved to be too much to handle. After cramming a ridiculous amount of people into one SUV (to avoid taking a taxi/concho), we arrived at a popular Latin dance club. Sadly, after only a few minutes of dancing, we were asked to leave because we hadn't bought any drinks there.
Early this morning, I went to a Dominican dance lesson with the Estudiantes de Apoyo at my university here in Santiago. In only two hours, our animated instructors went over the most basic Merengue, Bachata, and Salsa dance steps. It was a whole lot of fun. And, certainly a nice escape from the dreary weather outside that is Hurricane Isaac.
Following our early morning dancing, we met up with our Resident Coordinator to begin our Busqueda de Tesoro or Scavenger Hunt. Everyone in the program split into groups of three or four. I selected a most befitting name for my team, "Tigres no Tigueres." Tigres are tigers, and in the Dominican Republic, los tigueres are men (typically) who whistle or make cat calls at women in public places. As our group included three American girls, I thought this name worked well.
After receiving the rules of the hunt and our clue packet, we all took off. It really felt as though in the Amazing Race: Santiago Edition, or at least that's how seriously I took it. Thankfully, I was teamed up with three other enthusiastic and competitive students. We found the answers to our first few clues just across the street from campus. Soon after, we had to grab a concho to get to our next destination. I was pre-warned for the unique experience of a concho ride, but I must say that you cannot fully understand it until you are forced into the vehicle yourself. I chose the passenger front seat, and to my surprise, I would lose the comfort of that spot when an Dominican man waiting for a ride on the street joined me in the front. So just imagine how packed this vehicle was. Three up front: driver and two passengers, and then three in the back. Believe it or not, this is not even typical for a concho. Most concho's normally will take six people in addition to the driver. That's four to five passengers sitting in the back seat, plus a small child if need be. Well, after my first concho experience, my team went off picking up clues. I had unfortunately chosen the wrong outfit for the activity, as I was wearing some nice sandals and a skirt. Nevertheless, the athletic side of me came out and I raced to every spot often times scaring my teammates as I jaywalked across the streets along the way.
I also confronted one of my bigger fears today by braving the unavoidable filth of the city. I don't consider myself a germaphobe, but there are many life circumstances that reckon my anti-bacterial tendencies. This time it was walking along the streets of downtown Santiago. With no official garbage/waste system, there is a lot of basura (trash) just sitting out on the streets. Along with the rain brought by Hurricane Isaac, this combination produced a very gross situation for our scavenger hunt.
Needless to say, after a stressful, exciting, and possibly parasite-filled race through the city, my team came in second place. As a consolation for our trouble, we were treated with delicious nachos at a restaurant near campus. What a day!
Tomorrow we'll travel to the capital, Santo Domingo, to spend the day exploring the Zona Colonial. I really hope that the weather cooperates with us better than it did today, but the one upside of this hurricane situation is that it has brought some cooler air to the region, and that I definitely cannot complain about.
Here's a song I've been listening to recently, it is by one of the DR's most famous musicians, Juan Luis Guerra- "Bachata en Fukouka"
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