We went grocery shopping yesterday so I had my first experience with using Dominican money. I had to take the time to convert from pesos to US dollars to make sure the price for what I wanted wasn't too high. I found that some things were more expensive than they are back home but I think that's because we are on an island. I also had to make sure that I had enough money with me to pay for the items. I thought that the trip to the grocery store might be a little stressful since everything is so new to me but it wasn't at all. As silly as it sounds I really enjoyed the trip to the grocery store. Thanks to the trip to Janet's (the grocery store) I don't think that I'll forget that 1 US dollar is equal to 44 pesos. Since we just got here yesterday I am still getting used to their money and I find it difficult to decide how much money I need to bring with me. I'm sure that after being here for a while I'll get a feel for how much money I'll need for certain things.
I was quite excited to have my first Spanish class today at the Caberete Language Institute. My professor is amazing. Not only does she make me excited to learn but she makes learning fun. She is fun and energetic and extremely approachable which is fantastic because I am sure there are going to be things that I want to know how to say and I'll have no problem asking her. I am hoping that in the next few weeks that my knowledge of the Spanish language will expand. Who knows maybe sometime soon I'll be dropping some Spanish into my blogs!
I also tried some new foods today. I am trying to be a bit adventurous and eat things that aren't usually found on the menus in the US. Tonight I had pumpkin soup and a passion fruit daiquiri. They both were delishious. The restaurant, Casa Mami, was close to where we are staying so the waitor spoke English. I am finding that most of the people in this area speak English since it is a tourist destination. However, my Spanish professor encouraged us to speak Spanish anyways because that's a great way for us to improve.