Car Wash´s, Carnival and the Campo

So this weekend was very eventful. On Saturday my Don wanted to take me to this special restuarant where they have rabbit. I said okay, I don´t want to be the American that never tries anything new. Big mistake, we drive up and there in the front are cages full of furry, live rabbit´s and I am supposed to pick one out to eat. I couldnt do it. It was a little distrubing. I should be used to it by now because most days on my walk to school, there are some farmers in some stage of butchering an email right off the sidewalks.

Saturday night, a lot of my Peace Corps friends and I went to a Car Wash. (That is also really what it is called, and in English as well) During the day, it is literally a car wash and at night time it turns into a bar and a dance club. Very intersting concept and a great use of space. To get there, we had to cross the Autopista Duarte, a major highway. THat was my first, and I am hoping my last cross. I was terrified. There, I did some dancing of the bachatta and merengue. I am still not very good even though I have learned the steps, hopefully with time I will improve.

Sunday the whole family woke up early to go to the campo (aka country). There was a river there and everyone went swimming in it. Except no one had told me and I was wearing jeans and a long sleeve tee (with no sunscreen under) I ended up wearing the donas bikini and got burnt to a crisp. A little disappointing, but also only my first sun burn. After we went swimming we went to my second cousin´s house and he had horses that we could all ride but they didnt see happy about having someone on there back so I was too afriad that I would get bucked off. (A note to Kendall that some volunteers do have horses, nice ones, so maybe I will have one in the future). We went from there to Carnival in Bonao. Also a very intersiting tradition. It has been going on here since about the 1500´s. It is basically a carnival and they have people dress up like devils, they have a contest for that as well. The diablos run through the streets with these dried and inflated pig bladders and hit people as hard as they can with them. I actually had a bodygurad for this (the second cousin again) he is in the army and brought his gun so I felt very protected. The tv people who are filming all this for their live national television pick me out of the crowd of everyone (basically I am noticeable because I am white and look American). I get interviewed by this guy, he asks where I am from and if I have a boyfriend. Then he wants a kiss on the cheek. I said ok (again, I need to stop doing that) so I go in for the kiss on the cheek and he turns really fast and plants on right on my lips! On tv! I was a tad bit embarassed. Anyways, the internet time is almost up again and I have already written a ton so I had better go! Love hearing from everyone! Hope all is well in the States, Japan and anywhere else people are living right now!