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| By: Sarah Fiske |
InteRDom Correspondent, Sarah, has recently completed her undergraduate studies in Political Science at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. She is participating in the 2014 10-week InteRDom Summer Program. You can read more about Sarah and her participation in the Correspondent Program here.
Hey guys,
Since this is my first blog post on here, I’ll introduce myself quickly. I’m Sarah. I’m from Rhode Island (10 points for every northeast word you catch in my posts). I finished my bachelor’s degree where I studied Political Science and I’m going to start my master’s degree in International Development and Economics in the fall. I want to work in economic development.
Today, I think I’ll answer a few FAQ’s:
Where are you going again?
The Dominican Republic – I’ll be in the capital city, Santo Domingo. It shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
What language do they speak there? Do you know it?
They speak Spanish. Though like English, different countries and regions have a few unique words. I learned two recently: “menudo” and “concón.” The first is a common Spanish word but in the DR it is used to mean several things. This context was change (coins). Concón is a Caribbean colloquial word for the crunchy rice at the bottom of the pot (yum!). I do speak a bit more Spanish than those two words. Hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll be speaking a lot of Spanish!
What will you be doing there?
Ask me that in a few weeks! I’ll be eating, sleeping and working for sure and I have an idea of what those activities will look like, but I’ll give you more details than you ever wanted to know in a few weeks.
What do they eat there?
Food. Again, this is something I’ll address more with time, but I expect to be eating a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, rice, beans, chicken, plantain and other root vegetables like yuca and malanga… and cake! I’ve heard such good things about Dominican cake! I try not to have too many expectations when I travel; I prefer to get there and absorb and enjoy the experiences as they come, but I do have high expectations for this Dominican cake (bizcocho dominicano).
That’s it for the FAQ’s for now, but keep the questions coming. I’m happy to answer them!
I leave in three days, so next time you hear from me I will be in the DR! I’m wicked excited (10 points if you caught that!).
They speak Spanish. Though like English, different countries and regions have a few unique words. I learned two recently: “menudo” and “concón.” The first is a common Spanish word but in the DR it is used to mean several things. This context was change (coins). Concón is a Caribbean colloquial word for the crunchy rice at the bottom of the pot (yum!). I do speak a bit more Spanish than those two words. Hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll be speaking a lot of Spanish!
What will you be doing there?
Ask me that in a few weeks! I’ll be eating, sleeping and working for sure and I have an idea of what those activities will look like, but I’ll give you more details than you ever wanted to know in a few weeks.
What do they eat there?
Food. Again, this is something I’ll address more with time, but I expect to be eating a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, rice, beans, chicken, plantain and other root vegetables like yuca and malanga… and cake! I’ve heard such good things about Dominican cake! I try not to have too many expectations when I travel; I prefer to get there and absorb and enjoy the experiences as they come, but I do have high expectations for this Dominican cake (bizcocho dominicano).
That’s it for the FAQ’s for now, but keep the questions coming. I’m happy to answer them!
I leave in three days, so next time you hear from me I will be in the DR! I’m wicked excited (10 points if you caught that!).
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So you can get some perspective of where I am: The DR is in yellow
and I'll be in Santo Domingo, the capital city indicated with the star
icon.
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| Here is a photo of concón from one of my favorite food blogs. Photo credit: dominicancooking.com |
