Papi

Tu Hablas Ingles?

According to a ranking carried out by Education First, the Dominican Republic is the second country in Latin America with the best domination of the English language, moving ten places up the ranking over the last five years.

The English Proficiency Index (EPI) ranks the DR as moderate in English proficiency, only superseded by Argentina in the region.

The EPI was determined by testing English language skills of more than 950,000 adults from 72 countries.

Education First attributes the English proficiency gains in the Dominican Republic to investments made in English education, especially by the Ministry of High Education, Science and Technology with their English Immersion Program and online courses for advance studies.
http://elnacional.com.do/rd-es-segun...ominio-ingles/
http://www.ef.com/wwes/epi/

Spring Has Sprung

Time to hit the beach!!

Fantasies of Carlos

see more of this Dominican-born hottie HERE

Taste Santo Domingo

dr1 reports: Taste Santo Domingo 2017 this year is part of the Hub Santo Domingo, the business marketplace organized by the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce at the Convention Center of the Ministry of Foreign Relations on the Malecón. The event will take place 16-18 March 2017.

Master Chef Christine Ha, who has taken cooking with the senses to a new level, will be participating in the event. She is an American chef, writer, and TV host who was the first blind contestant of MasterChef TV program and the winner of its third season in 2012.
http://www.tastesantodomingo.com

A Change of the Guard

If you're like us, you've been wondering what happened with the iconic Hotel Mercure Comercial. Boy, if those walls could talk, right? Well, the hotel has been shuttered for awhile and people have been speculating about what's going on. Here's the tea.

After getting a bit of info from Anthony of Monaga I started investigating. The place was purchased by the Hodelpa chain, which now has three options in the Colonial Zone: the old Mercure, Hodelpa Caribe Colonial (which has been gay-friendly) and the Hodelpa Nicolas de Ovando.

My new friend over at Hodelpa, Catherine Gomez, informed me that after extensive renovations the doors would open this year, hopefully in the summer, but you know, it's the Dominican Republic, so let's keep our fingers crossed.

She couldn't tell me anything about guest policy just yet or whether the patio dining area would remain intact. When I think of the sights seen from that patio and the encounters had...let's keep our fingers crossed about that as well.

Seems like so much is changing in that area. I wish the new hotel well and hope some of the good things about the former hotel remain, for nostalgia's sake.

Fantastic Fantasy