Monday, December 18, (lunes, 18 de diciembre)

This and That ... Today I just picked out some pictures that I have not previously posted. They are from all walks of life here. But first ...

Today my mind is mainly with my oldest son and his very pregnant fiancee Sherry in Edmonton. Today they are inducing her labor and hopefully by the end of the day I will be a grandpa for the 4th time.

and .............

It looks like Christmas Eve plans have changed.

I was going to go to a Norwegian party at the Scandinavian Bar down at the beach, but my friend Leif, who I was going with, has decided to go to the home of the family of his girlfriend in Santiago.

Sooooooo I am going to do a Dominican Christmas Eve with la familia de Angela. There will be a huge party in the barrio starting about noon on Christmas Eve.

For the past several weeks I have been noticing this pig being kept on a leash down there. I thought it was someone's pet....no.....it seems Mr. Pig is the main course for the Christmas Eve celebration.

I don't really know what to expect, but knowing how the Dominicans love a party, I'm sure it is going to be different and interesting. I hope to get lots of pictures of the evening.

On to today's pictures ...

Sosua Beach

My friend Helmut, from Cologne, Germany,
with his girlfriend.

My friend Ramona.

Down the little side road between Scotia Bank and Hamburger Paradise Restaurant is a large condominium complex that 'went under' several years ago. There are several of these around Sosua. When one of these projects folds, the Dominicans very soon move in and live rent free. When you walk through this courtyard you are absolutely amazed at the hundreds of electric and cable television wires strung everywhere.

Just a picture I like and decided to include.

My Norwegian friend Leif and his girlfriend (right) and her sister (left). Taken at the beach.

My friend Carolina.

My apartment complex.

A dominican couple in love. I was sitting outside my apartment one evening. They were walking by. I smiled, showed them my camera and asked to take their picture. He thought I just wanted her picture and stepped out of the way, but I motioned to him that I wanted both of them. This picture was the result.

My American friend Randall. Randall is a semi-retired ship captain, spending most of his life piloting large yachts for very wealthy clients. I enjoy the stories he tells about his experiences.

El Molino, a huge outdoor shopping market/bazaar in Puerto Plata.

The playground at the public school in El Batay.

My friend Alexandra.

This blog entry started with Sosua Beach so we will finish with the same.

Words for the day .....

puedo ... can I/may I
puede ... can you/will you

These are pretty common words and most people learning to speak spanish know them. But, I realized the other day, though I know these words very well, I never use them when speaking. You get into a habit of using certain words and it is important to make yourself use more and more vocabulary when speaking. So I selected these words today to try and make myself use them everyday when speaking spanish.

A couple of language-related things to share ...

After taking on the challenge of learning a new language three years ago - when will I begin to think and dream in spanish? It is said that you can say you have become fluent when you think and dream in your new language. I still don't...and

I am going to begin taking weekly spanish lessons soon. I haven't taken any lessons for some time, preferring to study on my own and to learn on the street, but I, long ago, reached my current level of mastery and need to advance to the next level. I have met a great guy named Carlos Alvarez who makes his living giving lessons. Carlos speaks perfect english and I look forward to studying with him. More on this later.

Stay Tuned!