Briefing

RING!

RING!

RING!

I rollover in bed and realize that the phone is ringing. My wakeup call. I reach a hand over to pick the phone up. It stops.

                Oh well, I think. A new day. Light is streaming in through a slit in the curtain covering the balcony. I get dressed and pull the curtain wide, revealing a bustling morning in downtown Santo Domingo. What was once a quiet and deserted nation is now a mirror of Miami. Cars go whizzing by on a busy street, accompanied by delivery trucks and vans. Horns honk. People shout. The city is awake with a vibrant color of life that I would not have expected from my short trip to the hotel the previous night.

                There comes a knock at the door. In a panic, I realize this must be Sanjeev. How long has it been? Am I taking too long? I check my watch. It’s only 9:00. Whatever.

                I open the door to the sight of an attractive young hostess. “Mr. Wojtkowiak?” What kind of hotel is this, I think. “Uhhhh… Yes?”

                “You missed you wake-up call. We were worried about you. You are okay?” I am speechless. I would have never expected such service at any hotel anywhere. That came in a developing nation blows my mind. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Good morning. Thank you.”

                The hotel’s restaurant reminds me of something out of a James Bond movie. The buffet is housed by intricate lattice doors. Inside, a white capped chef makes omelets to order – and speaks reasonable English. The seating outside features what seem to be mahogany or cherry tables. The courtyard beyond is finely landscaped, with trees in large beds and stone or brick tiling creating a wide plaza.  I expect at any moment for Roger Moore to come riding in on a horse with a safari hat and a rifle.

                It is here that Sanjeev briefs me, so to speak. Until this point I have been very foggy on the details. It is surprising to me that we are at such a fine hotel in the first place, let alone that we have been moving at such a casual pace. It was my expectation that we would be working and staying among the people, not lounging about a lavish European style hotel.

                “We are going to a meeting among all of the CTCs in the DR” he says. CTCs, in case you don’t know, are Communication Technology Centers, a project put forth by the First Lady in Dominican Republic, or the Despacho de la Primera Dama, Dra. Margarita Cedeño de Fernandez. This is another surprise to me. I was under the impression that we were actually going to visit the CTCs and I would be able to document them first hand. Now I have to rethink my coverage and shooting strategy. I mean How interesting can a meeting be?