Our first week in the DR

Wow! What a crazy week it has been!!! We had a great trip down from the States - no problems - and hit the ground running. Our first priority was to get a bed so when the dogs arrived on Wed. we could stay with them at the house. So we took care of that - to be delivered Wed. afternoon to the new casa. A few other items and then to the villa we stayed at Monday night. We left early Tuesday for Santiago (big city about 2 hrs away) and then on to Santo Domingo (other side of the island) to get our residency visas started. We had been in Santiago before and they have crazy drivers, but NOTHING like SD. Not sure we'll be driving there anytime soon!!

Thankfully we had a driver and our immigration attorney's sister accompanied us otherwise I think we'd still be there!! After a blood test, UA, and chest xray (?!), we headed back to Santiago. There we found a fridge, microwave & water dispenser - again to be delivered Wed. Everyone told us - don't plan on it...manana means tomorrow or maybe the day after - but we were cautiously optimistic. We spent the night in Santiago, then headed back the next morning. A stop at a furniture store to buy a living room set (to be delivered later that day) and we were headed to our new casa - finally!!

The dogs were scheduled to arrive at 1:15 local time. We had contacted Judy, an American here, to assist us with getting them through customs. She offered to get them and bring to the house - and since we had deliveries scheduled all afternoon, that was a great option.

And wonder of wonders...every delivery we had scheduled came on Wed. (albeit one a couple hours later than "scheduled") and the dogs arrived before 2 p.m. We were SO excited to see them and they us. We took them into their new backyard and Dusty immediately launched himself into the pool! It was hilarious!! Sierra was a bit more cautious, but soon was taking a cool dip herself. They are settling in nicely - and have already made friends with the dog next door, Zoe.

Our neighbors have all stopped by to introduce themselves and offer assistance as needed. And Thursday was to be our telephone/internet day...but supposedly there is not a telephone cable coming into the subdivision. So we are now waiting for cable internet. Maybe tomorrow??

And best of all - we now have a car! That translates into freedom and not relying on friends & neighbors to take us to the grocery store.

So it's all coming together, slowly, but quickly as well. We are sitting in a restaurant in Sosua using their internet to send this note. Once we have our own connection at the house, I'll send another update.

Hope all is well back in the States! More soon!!
S&K

Saturday update:

The stars continue to align for us...the cable company actually came back today and we are now connected to the world! YAY!!

We are so happy to have a vehicle. We bought a 2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara. Quick story about getting it. Stefan, a German mechanic here in Sosua, works with a dealer in Santiago & drove us over the mountains to check out a few different vehicles. We enjoyed chatting with him on the way over. He's a very interesting guy (if I write my book, he'll probably be a chapter in and of himself).

There are several (4?) routes to get to Santiago from here - each with their pros/cons. The route we took is one of the shortest (distance wise) but the road is in horrible condition - lots of bumps and pot holes - but it is a beautiful drive with minimal traffic winding through small villages along the way. That was also the way we came back - figured for the first time driving here, that would be the least stressful. We made it home just fine, played with the dogs for a bit, then when we went out to go to town for dinner, the Suzuki wouldn't start! Nothing - dead as a doornail. Steve and I looked at each other and said "battery". Sure enough, all of the bumps we'd gone over had jiggled the battery cable loose. I popped it back on and viola, we were back in business! Thank goodness we both knew enough about cars to figure that out!!

We ventured out this afternoon to Puerto Plata to get things to start pulling the house together...silly stuff like a broom, dishes, trash cans, etc. that you sort of take for granted. Luckily Puerto Plata has a "dollar store" (okay, it's the 10 peso store) and a store called La Sirena - much like a super Walmart. Interesting here...if you buy anything electronic, they test it first. They will unpackage the item, put in a light bulb if needed, and plug it in to make sure it works. Yes, they even tested the toaster we bought! Then packed it back into the box...toasty as it was!! Another interesting difference...if you buy produce, you have to take it to an area in the produce department where they weigh it and put the price on it. The checkers at the front don't have to memorize all of the codes that way??

We're slowly converting our method of payment to pesos - but I still do the math so I have some frame of reference ($1=36.25 pesos). And I'm learning a little more Spanish each day. Most of the Dominicans are very patient while I look words up in my little book! I do find that it is very tiring, however, to "translate"...my old brain is working overtime!!

As I mentioned before, all of our neighbors have come by to introduce themselves and offer a hand, or whatever, if needed. One couple, Al and Glenda, with whom we had dinner when we were here last time, have taken us under their wing and have been incredibly helpful. We joined them for dinner & drinks earlier this week and they have been very good about answering our questions on the how, where, when, why and who! Definitely making the transition easier!!

That's about it for now. I'll send out periodic updates and some pictures as we go along, but mostly wanted to let you all know we were back on email.

Hasta la vista!
S&K