Today was Day 9 or “Free Day” in Jarabacoa. Today we were able to sleep in, so the wake-up call was at 9 AM, rather than our usual 7 AM – which many people enjoyed. After the wake-up call at 9:30 AM, we had breakfast (mango with pickled onions on top, fried salami, fried cheese, scrambled eggs, arepitas, and lemonade). This meal is considered a typical breakfast in the Dominican Republic and we all really enjoyed it. After breakfast we had some free time, prompting us to play 2 games in the gazebo as a group which happened to be Taboo (which my group won obviously :o), and also Mafia. After the games we had lunch: rice and peas, creamy chicken, and macaroni salad with mango juice. After lunch, we had free time until 1:45 PM, when we hurried to the truck in excitement ready to explore the city and shop. When we got to the city at 2:00 PM, we stopped at around 3 souvenir shops. This left everyone super happy to bring back gifts to people back home. After stopping at the souvenir shops, we made a stop at a smoothie shop in which many people, including myself, bought yummy smoothies and food. The smoothie shop prompted others to want to stop at the supermarket which sounded like a good idea to everyone so we took our belongings and headed there. Thankfully, it was very close, and soon enough we were inside the supermarket picking out snacks for ourselves and others. Soon enough everyone purchased their snacks and we were able to wrap everything up and head back to the ranch happily and safely. When we arrived at the ranch at around 5:30 PM, we had free time until 7:00 PM. During the free time some people played football while others relaxed. At dinner, we had regular hamburgers, veggie burgers, and fries with coca cola. After dinner, we went to the gazebo as a group for our nightly meeting in which we exchanged laughs and giggles.
