I have arrived!

I awoke up during the last half hour of the flight just as we began to fly over the island. The water is beautiful and clear along the coast. There were random little dirt roads scattered around the rural land, appearing to connect groupings of small houses to some distant destination. The terminal of Punta Cana International Airport is simply the walk down the plane’s stairs, across a sidewalk, by other planes and onto a line under the huge entirely open, thatched-roofed building to get a photo with two Dominican women dressed in their ruffled, festive attire. It was humorous to watch as they kept hurrying people through and pausing abruptly to smile for a half-second as another women, looking bored out of her mind, continuously clicked to take the photo from the camera propped on the counter.

Once I got my passport stamped and exchanged dollars for Dominican pesos, I took my two huge bags through customs where the guy took my apples and oranges. Sorry, Mom, didn’t have time to eat them all.

As we were warned, almost everyone from that point on was wearing a Punta Cana Resort shirt, but thankfully I quickly located the guy holding a sign with my name. Another student from our group was waiting with him, and he could not believe I had just gone through the whole process myself. Apparently he saw someone from the resort with his name immediately when he got off his plane who then whisked him through each part, minus the crowds and lines. I was most appreciative to hear this information as the perspiration continued to emerge across my forehead from the muggy weather I had been standing in for the past 25-30 minutes. ☺

After getting settled into my room and turning the fan on high, I got to explore for a bit. I headed straight down the road to see the beach. It looked amazing. You can see for yourself… I can’t wait to take out a kayak or snorkel.

Dinner was at the house where the workers eat, cafeteria style. I am expecting to see rice and beans at every meal for the next 34 days.