Daily Life
Now that we’re getting towards the end of our trip, we have definitely settled into daily routines. Every morning, I wake up at around 8:30 and then go down for breakfast at the hotel with my roommate Meredith at 9. I usually get eggs, a muffin, a chocolate croissant, bread with peanut butter, and coffee.
Then, around 9:25, we head off to class, which is in a hotel about a 2 minute walk away from the hotel we are staying in. The first class of the day, Development Economics, starts at 9:30. We discuss various solutions to economic development like foreign aid and incentives, as well as discussing the problems that have prevented those solutions from being successful.
When class ends at 11:30, around half of the class usually goes to a cafeteria-style place a short distance away for lunch. I usually get rice, beans, and chicken, and it only costs $4. It is a lot of food for a great price.
After that, we head back to the hotel. Depending on the weather, I either go to my room and hang out or I hang out on the terrace of the hotel. The terrace is a great place that can fit a lot of people, and it is nice when a lot of us from the Dialogue are out there.
At 1 o’clock, our second class starts. In that class, we discuss economic issues like the war on drugs, taxation, healthcare, and the national debt. For our discussion on the war on drugs, we used the concepts of the elasticity of supply and demand to explain why the government tries to fight the war on drugs from the demand side. It was a really interesting discussion and I especially liked learning the practical applications of abstract economic concepts.
After that class ends at 3, we go back to the hotel and do the readings for class, go to the Supermarket, and explore places. Some places we have gone to include Los Tres Ojos, a place where there are caves, the Botanical Gardens, and a couple huge malls.
I’m usually hungry for dinner at around 6. Depending on how we’re feeling that day, we will go to a place that has really cheap empanadas, or we will go to a sit-down restaurant. Our restaurant of choice is a falafel restaurant very close by. We have also tried an upscale vegetarian restaurant and an extremely touristy restaurant, among others.
After dinner, we go back to the hotel. Usually I hang out in my room and finish the readings or just relax after an eventful day in Santo Domingo.
