Day 53

I had a cold today – a sore throat, headache, and low energy – which was compounded by a bad night’s sleep the night before. We slept downstairs, as Kent and Agnes are visiting, and put up a new mosquito net in our bedroom. It is a cylindrical shape but, since it hangs from the ceiling fan in the middle of the room, the main opening is at the foot of the bed, leaving us with netting on our heads and faces. After a few hours of feeling like we were being smothered by the cheesecloth killer, we decided to try and put our pillows at the foot of the bed. This was a good idea. After taking some time (it was middle of the night sensibilities – it could have been 3 minutes, but felt like 3 days) to figure out how to close the netting again and rid ourselves of the thousands (middle of the night sensibilities again) of mosquitoes that had made their way in, we got back to sleep.

I had played basketball again the night before. While waiting outside the school, I saw one of the guys I had played with the first night. He had the best English of all the players I met – not great, but not bad, either – much better than my Spanish. He said his name was Manuel, but to call him Audi, as his friends all did. He said this name came from his grandfather having owned an Audi car, which must have been a noticeable event here. We talked awhile, and I told him I had to get some new sneakers, and had been looking in Samana. He said his sister had a store right near the school, and would I like to look at it? I was worried – it felt like yet another instance of someone here trying to get your business - the other day musicians had shown up on our porch / outdoor living room and started playing, then demanded money, then wouldn’t leave even when we asked them and had given them money. We have encountered many people here who, when given any opening at all, stay and become very aggressive in requesting / demanding your business and money. I’m getting used to and getting better at being straight right off the bat – I think it is the American trait to try to be falsely kind, counting on the other person to recognize your subtle yet mannered clues as to when you are no longer interested. When someone doesn’t recognize those clues, we get mad at them, when it is our (okay, MY) lack of honesty and communication skills that create the situation. Anyway, Manuel / Audi asked me to visit his sister’s shop, and I told him I had no money and didn’t want to miss any of the basketball by being at this store. He said it would be 5 minutes at most. I went with him, and his sister had one of those interesting, double-closet-sized shops that I’m becoming more aware of all along the roads. My mall-trained eyes don’t recognize than at first, but now I see more and more of them- among the houses, on side streets – as I walk around the area. She actually had a nice selection of sneakers at very good prices – nothing more than 900 pesos ($30 US), while most of the sneakers I had looked at in Samana had been over 1500 ($45). I asked his aunt who was running the store if she had any in size 12, and she said no, but they could order some the next time their supplier was in town. I made it clear (I hope) to her and Audi that I would like one of two pairs (not both, I hope) in size 12, and said I would look in later this week. On the walk back to the school (it had been no more than 5 minutes, as Audi promised – I like him) Audi told me he worked on motorcycles, he was 21, and he bought English books for himself to teach himself the language. He said it was very important to learn English, because he wanted to meet English-speaking girls, because Dominican girls weren’t nice. I played basketball – no fights tonight – and, on my walk home, Kent and Agnes stopped, as they were driving in from Santiago and I was one of the few white people walking along a street, making me easier to recognize.

As I said, I have a cold. Being sick here makes me feel like I’m on the other side of the plus / minus experience – everything that is good about this place is bad when sick. It doesn’t feel good to be outside. It doesn’t feel good to be inside. Nothing tastes good. The bugs seemed magnified. The sun is too hot. The shade is too cold. It only feels good to take long walks, with the sweating making me feel a bit better.