We left early this morning to take a tour of the city. Our first stop: the Monument- a symbol for Santiago like the Statue of Liberty is for New York- stands on a hill in the center of the valley, over looking the whole city. Since we've been here we've been told it is an important place to visit and a great tourist spot. The building itself is white and about three stories tall. On top of this is a cylinder with an angle statue over looking the people of Santiago. The staircase inside the building is a cylinder, very narrow and a bit claustrophobic. Each level has displays telling part of the history of the country and murals of important events. There was also a person on each level to explain the history to us. 
Built by the dictator Trujillo, the monument has been reclaimed to honor the heroes of the Dominican War for Independence. One Dominican woman told us during one of our orientations that she doesn't like to visit this symbol of the city because Trujillo was like Hitler for her parents and grandparents and she sees it as a phallic symbol of the dictatorship. So there you go.  |
| Coconut tree! |
We finished the day off at a pool. Turns out we were at the home of my host mom's brother. She told me just now that I can consider that my second home here and if I ever want to swim I can feel free to ask. Sweet. We went to the pool with a group of Dominican students who are volunteering their time to help show us around and practice our Spanish. They are all super nice and some are really good dancers.
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