One week!

Hola everyone! So, we've been in Punta Cana for a week now. I feels like we've been here a month, because we're never bored. It feels like we've done so much already in just one week. It is hard to remember everything. The highlight of the week was yesterday, going to Higuey and La Romana. We finally got to leave the hotel/resort area and travel to these towns to shop at the markets. I think we all thought we might lose our lives on the way there and back but we are all still here. But the drivers around here are crazy! They always pass each other right when theres another car coming in the other lane, they run people off the road, and there are so many people are motorbikes that will just pass on the other side. It was an adventure to say the least. I felt sorry for Anton, the guy in our group that was sitting in the front seat. But that was half of the adventure yesterday so I had to mention it.
We only stopped in Higuey for probably 20-30 minutes to see the cathedral there. I was beautiful! It was built in 1912, but it was HUGH, with very colorful stained glass windows. The architecture was interesting. There were sections coming out from behind other sections. It is kind of hard to explain, but Dad, Ivan, Katie, you all would've liked it. I posted some pictures that might give you an idea. But as always they dont do the structure justice.
After that, we left for La Romana, it was about an hour drive. This was part of our Spanish class, and the assignment was that you had to buy something. We were supposed to negotiate and use only Spanish. I bought a CD, "Reggaeton Xclusivo 2007"!!! There was no reason for me to negoiate though because it was $3 without negotiation. I felt bad asking any less. Although, when I opened it I found it was a burned CD, but the music was on it. So, I think I got a pretty good deal. We also went to a supermarket. It was called "Jumbo." It was basically a Super Walmart kind of thing, but maybe not as big.
We took a side trip on our way to La Romana and stopped at a university. I think the name of the university was "Altos de Chavon." Because it is way up on a mountain that over looks a river called Chavon. It is a school for interior design, fashion design, graphic design, and maybe a couple other areas of study. It was founded by Oscar de la Renta, the Dominican fashion design. It has an amphitheater that many famous artists have performed at: Frank Sanatra, Sting, The Police, umm...those were just a few that they told us about. I felt like I was in Europe, walking around the campus. Some of the buildings and structures were very old, while other parts had been restored or built to look old.
Getting to ride through the towns was the most eye-opening part of the trip so far. It really wasn't anything I didn't expect, but even if you've seen it 30 times before, the poverty that you see once you leave the glamore of the resort area is heartbreaking. It was alot like Mexico, for those of you that have been. There are people on the side of the roads selling food, phone cards, clothes, and many other things. There are places that obviously don't have running water and sometimes electricity. We ate at Burger King (of all places...haha) but there were little kids outside that we not allowed to come in. So, they would wait outside and open the door for people to come out, hoping to get some food or money. One of the little boys shined our bus drivers shoes while we ate. The boys were probably 10-years-old.
It is amazing, the range of classes in one place. As we drove we also saw some very nice houses and also some that were very modest but the people seemed to be relatively well off. Theres always so many things to think about when you see these types of situations. There is a little community right down the road from the resort about a mile or two, that is very, very poor. We went there because someone told us there was a little store to buy things, so we went. But it is literally a mile outside the gates of the hotel and the people are dirt poor. It's amazing. We are going to address some of these issues in a couple of our other classes later on. I'm excited to hear other peoples perspective about the situation. It is the same way with the employees at the resort. They work in a fancy, ritzy environment, but then go home every 10 days or so to families that are counting on them and the money they're making in order to have food to eat. It's very ironic. However, all the Dominicans we have interviewed (we did this for an assignment in our Spanish class) say they are very glad to have the tourists here because they do bring money and boost the economy of the area. So, it's something to think about.
I guess that's it for now. As always, I hope you all are doing well. I love to hear from you all, so feel free to write:) CIAO!