Cindy in the DR

Jen and Me

2008-08-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

Trip to Samana

2008-08-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

Reasons to Live

2008-07-31T06:31:00.001-07:00

I was invited to a taller on Human Relations this week and one of the activities was to write down why we want to keep on living and them share them with the group. I really liked this activity so, here are my reasons to live...(and there is no order of importance in this exercise)

To have a great love of my life
To have kids and see them grow up
To give my parents grandbabies and see the pleasure in their eyes.
To have my own grandkids
To travel the world
-I have always wanted to ride a camel to the great Pyramids of Egypt (random I know)
To meet new people
To continue the friendships I have and strengthen them
To learn to dance the latin dances
To learn new things
To have a intellectually satisfying career
To contribute to society
To make a difference in the world (I dream big:)

When makes you desire to keep on living?

Brigada Verde Paseo

2008-07-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Brigada Verde Paseo, July 20, 2008.

The conditions for the kids to be invited on the trip were that they needed to pick up trash in the community twice a week until we left for the trip (it was about 8-10 weeks). They also had to give a presentation in the school on an environmental topic. They choose to talk about deforestation and noise pollution.

They also had to raise there own transportation money to and from the capital. In order to do so we held a day camp for elementary school kids with my Brigada Verde group leading all the activities. They charged 20 pesos per participant. The led art projects and games, including jump roping and the limbo.

We had a bake sale as another fund raiser. Each of the kids donated an ingredient for them to make an arepa. Arepa is the Dominican equivalent of cake and they bake it on an open fire. I then baked an American style cake and we roamed the streets together selling the two cakes. The American style cake was such a big hit in the community that I was commissioned to bake another the next day and again we hit the streets. Although this time we didn’t even make it up the street as the kids decided that they needed to buy a piece of cake, and then that piece was so good that they had to buy another and take it home to mom. With the money they raised they had enough to make it to and from the capital.

Last Friday I went and visited all the kids in the village and talked with all the parents so that everyone was clear on what was to happen, and what time the kids would be back to their houses. Everyone was a little nervous as the kids had to make it from the campo to the bus stop in the capital all by themselves.

Thankfully the six of them that were able to come, all made it safely. I met them at their bus stop and we went from there to my new apartment. The apartment was a wonder to them. We had a few incidents. They asked me why the toilet water runs, they were amazed that hot water could come out of a faucet and they kept forgetting to turn the water off after they washed their hands. Then while we were outside, the building has a call box, and one of the girls pressed all the buttons and then she turned to me and says “listen, you can hear people!” I had to laugh at that one.

At my apartment we all sat around so they could relax from there stressful bus ride and we played their favorite game UNO. Out of the 3 games we played, I only won once. After the three games of Uno, they all felt rested enough to go back out into the heat, so we headed for the park for some picture taking and a game of Frisbee.

After I had tired them out playing Frisbee we decided it was time for lunch. We went to the Dominos Pizza down the street, which for them is a big treat. We got two large pizzas and two 2 liters of coke. They were in heaven. Only two of them had ever had pizza before. For dessert I had made a cookie crumble pieces with chocolate on top. I don’t think any one of us could have eaten even one more bite. Filled up from lunch we took a walk to the supermarket where there is a instant photo machine. Each one picked out a photo from those we had taken at the park and we printed them. Again, they showed amazement at a machine that printed photos instantly.

Our afternoon entertainment was a trip to 3 underground caves called the Three Eyes, called that because of the three lagoons inside of the caves. It was beautiful. You walk down this steep stone stair case in order to see a series of 3 lagoons. Unfortunately, one of the kids got a little bit of altitude sickness, but he managed to make it to 2 of the three lagoons. Each of the lagoons has the clearest blue water. We saw turtles and fish in the lagoons. There are stalagmites and stalactites in the caves. In the top of the caves live bats. My Spanish was a little strained as I tried my best to explain how stalagmites and stalactites are formed, and how bats fly without seeing.

Leaving the Three Eyes, it was time for the kids to head to the bus stop and head home. They all told me how much fun they had, that it was a day they would remember forever.

Brigada VERDE Day Camp

2008-06-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Girls Night Out

2008-06-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

2008-06-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Photos

2008-05-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hay que aprovechar

2008-05-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Now that my move to the capital is official, I had to tell my village that I would be leaving them sooner than everyone had thought. That was a really rough day:( My boss came out to help me and we had a meeting first with my kids to talk it through with them. They were all really devastated and a few started to cry. I think they all understand my reasons, but since my reason is the way another member of the community has treated me they are a tad bit furious at this guy who is teacher at their school. I had to ask them not to create any problems for him (which would in turn make more problems with me...at least until I leave;) JK. Then we had a meeting with my project parnters (does it say anything about my subconscious that I first typed project problems?) We just told them that there was a compromiso in the city and that I was needed there to fulfill the obligation. Since then people of the community slowly are learning what is happening and are reacting. I have had a lot of time to think about it and for now I am doing okay with it emotionally (I know that I will be a wreak though the day I say goodbye to the kids) It does create a little bit of an awkward situation though when one of my neighbors comes to me crying and I dont shed a tear. You would think I would be over the whole awkward situation thing since almost from the day I got here, there's always something that is culturally awkward for me.

From the day that my kids learned I was leaving, they have taken the very healthy position of aprovecharing the tiempo that we do have together. It's been really great, we went horse back riding, hiking up the loma in search of mangos, and working on our garden. We are also planning our next loqrio at the river that they are looking forward to a lot more than me. Its where they throw everything in the pot to cook together. The rice, the chicken and anything else they could come up with (usually some sort of root plant like yucca). Hopefully we can all continue to have some fun up to the day I have to leave, and the transition goes along smoothly.

Living the Life

2008-05-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well I was told that some people live vicariously through me so I needed to update my blog. Sorry about that:) I have been busy, busy and things are changing here as well. Quite a lot has been going on here. I was having some problems with
the Dominican project partners that I was assigned too. They think
that I should be doing whatever they want me to do, which wouldnt be a
problem except they want me to basically drop the other things that I
was doing that are going really well to do only what they want. I had
a problem with that and said so to them and it evolved into endless
drama. Well, after I talked with my boss from the Peace Corps about
the situation we talked about me moving to the capital to be the Peace
Corps Volunteer leader for my sector. I think that means I´ll be
moving in July:) I am really excited about it in one way, ´because
then I dont have to deal with my project partners anymore, I will have
running water, electricity and cell phone service. But, on the other
hand I wont see the kids I work with now very often in the future, and
I wont have a gazillion fruit trees in my yard where I can have
passion fruit, pineapple, grapefruit, oranges, star fruit, mangos and
lemons at my desposal. I guess no one can have it all. Right now I
am trying to work out the details of changing jobs, getting a raise
and finding a place to live. I´ll let you all know as things unfold
here in the capital.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

Happy V Day to you all! Can't believe that I have now been gone for an entire year. Feels like forever, and yet not at the same time. Wierd. I've been really busy since Kendall left. My youth group and I have started a garden with Basil, Radishes, Cucumbers, and Peas. We are hoping to get some more seeds as well, so we can have tomatoes, egg plant and whatever else we can find. We planted all the seeds individually in starter boxes and soon the hard work will begin when we transplant them to the garden and have to prepare the soil and then water the plants twice daily. Why can't a hose and running water be a common thing here? Well, I guess it'll just make me even stronger now that I have to carry water for me, and then carry it to water the garden which is farther away from my house.

This weekend I am heading up to Sabana de la Mar to visit a special education school. Hopefully I will get some ideas from them on how to deal with kids who have dislexia and other learning problems. And if I am lucky I will be able to go out on the bay and go whale watching. Very exciting:)

Kendall's Visit

2008-01-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

Kendall has been visiting me for the past two weeks now and she's been keeping me pretty busy. We went on two scouting trips to the beach together and ate some pretty amazing food. Then after we knew all there was to know about getting to the beach and where to go from there, we wook a group of 6 15 year olds there. They had done a bracelet project with me where we recycled grocery bags and made them into bracelets. I took them back to the states with me and sold them at an elementary school. With the money we made we were able to take our trip to the beach, eat at a pizza hut (which not a single one had been to this beach, nor eaten at pizza hut) and we had birthday cake for one of their birthdays. It was a day that will go down in history for them. They were so excited and happy to be there. And it has drummed up a lot of interest in my projects cause other kids want to be able to take a trip like that as well.

We have also gone to the river quite a few times, we did take our shower there this morning. And were just hanging out and having fun. She has been making me all my food and helping me do all my chores so I really dont want her to leave me!

2008-01-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

Back in the life

2008-01-13T06:10:00.000-08:00

Well its back to work again after being home for two weeks. Cant really say Im glad to be back...but it'll come. Although, Muñeca sure was glad to see me. Until I ran out of dog food and fed her coconut last night...ooops. Good thing I am going to the store today.

This past week I spent cleaning my house and my lawn, and getting my groups started again. Yesterday 3 kids came to my english class, maybe by wednesday I'll have six! Haha.

Here are some photos. There are lots of new puppies in town. Very cute, I am just working on my saying no to those little puppies.

And here is one for the Bandidas:) My kids got squirt guns for christmas so we had some fun with those.

Dengue Fever

2007-12-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like I have finally sucumbed to Dengue. Yesterday I came down with a chill that I just couldnt shake, and then the headache and all over body ache started up. I came into the capital today for some bloodtests, and I will have to stay here until it runs its course:( Wish me luck.

2007-11-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

This month has been pretty busy, thankfully. Last week we had our celebration of Thanksgiving and then an All Volunteer Conference in the capital. I was on the sports committee for Thanksgiving so me and another girl organized a Turkey Trot, Soccer and Basketball games. And don't worry, my soccer team won-and I even helped us out by scoring a goal. Mostly I will give the win to our Columbian ringer. Without him, we didnt have a chance. We were all at a Country Club for the Thanksgiving meal and they made us Turkey, mashed potatoes, salad and then we had committees for stuffing and desserts. (Apparently stuffing is not found in this country, so we devoted a team of 4 volunteers to conseguir stuffing from the states and then make enough for 200 people)

I got back to my site on Saturday, and then Judy came to stay with me on Monday. We were planning our experiments for the Brigada VERDE conference. I dont know if its this country or it is us, but I have never had such a hard time doing simple science experiments. I really hope that they go well this weekend. Two of the kids from my community will be meeting up with me tomorrow morning, and we will all go together to our conference center in San Cristobal. There's about 18 volunteers and 50 some kids ages 12-20. This could be interesting!

I finally went horse back riding this week. Some kids brought over horses (really cabellitos) and one of them actually had a saddle, so we went riding. I was lead for a while until they trusted me to walk the horse on my own. I think I did pretty well for myself. And I even tried the riding while talking on the cell phone-I got better service on the horse than anywhere else! Haha. Kendall get ready! Now I only need to find a waterfall and we are all set for your trip:)

2007-11-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

We survived!

2007-11-21T05:12:00.001-08:00

Well my community weathered the storm pretty well in comparison to a lot of other communities. The river rose about 20 feet, but we were lucky that no one lived close enough to get swept away. Our problems were the houses with no floors, or whose houses were poorly made. They spent the whole week wet and now a lot of people are sick. It has continued to rain a lot since Noel, and all the rain is great for mosquitos...which has created a dengue epidemic. And a lot of animals have gotten sick and are now spreading a new virus that is vaguely like meningitis. Some people are now dying from that. It seems like the problems of this country are never ending.

As for me, I am doing okay. I got a puppy this last week. She's pretty adorable and she protects me at night time. I feel a lot safer now with her around. I also found my first tarantula in my house on Monday. (Again its all the rain) But I ran out to my host dad and made him come and kill it. I am really hoping that the rain settles down a little, cause I dont want to find any more tarantulas in my house. One of my friends, he didnt tuck his mosquito net in all the way and a tarantula crawled into bed with him and bit him. Then on his jump out of the bed to grab his camera cause he didnt think anyone would believe him another tarantula bit him. He handled it a lot better than I would have, so I really hope that the tarantulas stay away from me. And my mosquito net is always tucked in tight. I'm not taking any chances.

I am in the capital right now for Thanksgiving. We are all going to a country club and celebrating together with an american style Thanksgiving. I'm excited, and it makes missing Thanksgiving with the family a little more reasonable.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Tropical Storm Noel

2007-10-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Tropical Storm Noel's center spun slowly across Cuba as the tropical system's outer bands dumped heavy rains on island of Hispaniola, prompting thousands to flee their homes to escape rushing floodwaters and mudslides.
Hardest-hit by the sluggish storm were the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share Hispaniola, where emergency officials on Tuesday reported between 22 and 36 people dead. Death figures varied because of the difficulty of reaching remote parts of the island.
Noel's outer bands were still pounding Hispaniola Tuesday evening even as the storm chugged away from the island, which is made vulnerable to flash floods by its many denuded hillsides.
In the Dominican Republic, almost 12,000 people were driven from their homes and nearly 3,000 homes were destroyed, while collapsed bridges and swollen rivers have isolated 36 towns, said Dominican emergency services spokesman Luis Luna Paulino.
Late Tuesday, Luna raised the Dominican death toll upward to at least 30 from 16, did not release specifics of the deaths. Earlier in the day he acknowledged miscalculating a previous toll.
"The rains continue to fall and we fear for several families," said Sergio Vargas, a merengue star and Dominican congressman who represents Villa Altagracia, a small town north of the capital, Santo Domingo.

This Tropical Storm hit at a terrible time. My parents were visiting and they had planned on going to my site in the north of the capital. But...it was not safe to travel so they left today without ever having seen my house:( I am a little concerned when it is finally safe enough to leave in what I am going to find. Wish me and the Dominican Republic luck, we are going to need it.

2 Month Countdown

2007-10-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yes it is only 2 months until I come home for Christmas! Of course I'll have to come back here in January, but still very exciting. 2 weeks in the states will be wonderfull. As for the past month, Greg came and visited me for a week. He stayed at my site for a few days and likened it to camping. I can see the comparison as well. Then we went to a resort in Punta Cana and I lived it up for 5 days. I got to take as many hot showers as I wanted and the food was amazing. I even had a massage while I was there. Going back to my site was a little rough once Greg left, especially since somewhere along the way I picked up soemthing that made me violently ill. But, I am feeling so much better now, and today is a very exciting day because my family comes! YEah! I have been counting down to this for quite a while. We will also go to a resort in Punta Cana (soneday I'll have to check out the other beaches in this country). Hopefully all goes well for us! As for those of you who have noticed I am not good with keeping this updated...I am very good at writing back to emails. So if anyone would like more immediate responses/updates ~email me.

I know I am in the Peace Corps DR When...

2007-09-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

This was written up in our volunteer quarterly magazine and I enjoyed it so I thought I would share. It might be one of those things that you have to be there....but I thought I would give it a try. Of course with some additions I made to personalize it.

1. It rains in my bathroom (well since my letrine isn't actually done yet...I wouldn't know. But I do have two tiny leaks in the tin roof of my house)

2. I spent an hour cleaning ants out of my cereal and then thoroughly enjoyed a bowl. (How about crackers and peanut butter? Who knew that ants could get into a tightly closed peanut butter jar?)

3. Beer isnt considered alcohol-it's more like expensive juice (and you have more of a chance finding cold beer anywhere than you would of finding water. These Dominican's sure know their priorities).

4. The only time all year round I need my jacket is on the super air conditioned bus.

5. People don't know how to draw-not even a stick figure, or a star, or a heart.

6. A mail system is just a convenient system for thiefs to hand select their goods. (There most have been some good stuff in some of those packages, but I wouldnt know since I never got them).

7. Roots are considered "yummy"-and there are lots of types.

8. Elementary school kids go on strike for more desks.

9. The schools are have barbed wire, chain link fences, if you arrive late you have to bribe the gatekeeper to let you in.

10. Traffic laws are more like vague guidelines.

11. Traffic signals are unfortunate in a country with unreliable electricity.

12. Even the poorest of the poor are obsessively hospitable.

13. 7 -year old boys run all my errands for me (and 10 year old girls mop my floors and help me hand wash all my clothes).

14. It only cost 75 bucks to completly rewire my house.

15. I get in trouble when visiting people for not having visited more often.

16. They hang the head of the animal slaughtered at the butcher as a guarentee (hopefully this explains to you all why I don't ever eat meat here-I can't stand to look at the head of the pig that I am going to eat. Or even worse have them ask me which chicken it is that I want to eat for dinner as they run around the yard-yuck).

17. If a kid is only wearing a shirt, beware: they are not potty trained (and if they are visiting your house with parents or siblings make sure that the mop and fabuloso are handy for any accidents).

18. Music can never be too loud.

19. Nobody pays electric bills because they dont recieve good service and they dont recieve good service because nobody pays.

20. Their is nothing wierd about a stranger resting their hand on your knee or shoulder.

21. The United States is referred to as "Nueva Yol" (and in my experience that is only if they have actually put together that New York is part of the US and not its own country).

Update

2007-08-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

For all of you that actually check my blog I am terribly sorry that I havn't written sooner. A lot has been going on here, which is why I havn't had a lot of time to use the internet. I came back from my three month training and my host family had finished my house! So the next day I went out and for 500 American dollars I managed to get a bed(not the most comfortable one mind you, but I have convinced myself that a bed is a bed...and maybe they have such thing as foam pads in this country:) a table with chairs, an oven, a fridge and a propane gas tank. I think it was a steal. Although they probably think that I am a sucker. So I moved in, and learned a few lessons about electricity in the process. All my outlets are two prong and the holes are the same size. Well my fridge is a three prong. As I looked on in dread, my host dad tried to convince me that the third prong really isnt necessary and proceeded to cut it off. Amazingly enough he was right and the fridge still works. Who would have thought? Then, some of my chargers have the prongs that are two different sizes. Which obviously dont fit in the holes. After being told several times that I was just not pushing hard enough, and that maybe I just didnt understand how to plug something in, my host dad wised up and bought me an extension cord...with the two different size prongs. Again, my doubt kicked in. But he just filed down the edges of the larger prong and voila-it works! I am not sure how safe my house is electricty wise now, but at least it works.

The other big thing that happened was Hurricane Dean...or I guess I could say not so big thing;) We got called in on Friday and had to be in the capital by 6:00 that night. It was a category 4 by the time it reached here, and it was said that although it was 100 miles south of us, that the arms of the storm were reaching out over 200 miles. Obviously there was a little bit of concern. So they put all the volunteers from this side of the island in the Barcelo hotel in Santo Domingo. Which has a pool, air conditioning, a casino, gym, three meals a day and most importantly hot showers. It was not a hardship. Although Peace Corps kept apologizing that we couldnt leave the hotel and that is was such an inconvience for us. I was just thinking-oh my god, how long do you think I can stay. When they kicked us out yesterday at 3 I was a little devastated (apparently there is such a thing as a dry hurricane and it barely even rained here). I wasnt ready yet to go back to the campo. So I checked myself into a hostal here. I decided that I am easing myslefy back into the campo life since the hostal doesnt have hot water or air conditioning. Hopefully now it wont be such a big shock going back today.

Photos

2007-08-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

The pool, and thats the humidity foggy up the photo.
Pool bar during a bout of rainpoor.

The casino at the hotel-a little small. Only had Blackjack, poker, roulette and slots:( But I really shouldn't complain

Hanging out at the Barcelo pool:)
Joe, Stephanie me and Kevin at Pizza Hut

My new house, this is my study.

And my kitchen. Anyone who has a blog have any idea how to turn the photos around? I havnt quite figured that out yet. Sorry

This is the ceramic cook stove that we all built during our three month In- Service -Training. It's supposed to cook cleaner and use less wood. But it also takes about 2 and a half days to build and is a little complicated. I'm thinking I might research the easier to make, and cheaper solar stoves.

2007-07-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

More drama occured over this past two weeks...the police came. And I was unlucky enough to be visiting the house they went to. I was visiting this little girl, Dulce, and they came searching for her brother and some of his friends with their big shot guns and pistols. Of course, her mother wasn't there nor was the brother and I was the oldest one. So I just kept telling them "I don't live here and I don't know where he is!" They ended up arresting about 4 people. For robbery, drug dealing and one for murder. Made me feel really safe finding that out. Apparently this guy (not the brother of Dulce) was robbing someone in Villa Mella-nearest big city to me-when something went wrong and someone died. Someone who was related to a police officer. So off he went (the murderer) to the campo-Buenos Aires- to his grandmother's house with the police chasing after him. They got him, which is good for me but bad for him. Cause apparently when the police are pissed here...nobody thinks he will make it a very long time in prison.

What else has happened~I have finally motivated this group of about 5 kids to work for the enviornment. We went collecting trash along the river this past Thursday (and then burned it, but I am thinking one battle at a time:) And of course we had to collect Chinola along the way to make juice, and then it was really hot so we had to jump in. Really I think we all had a great time, and I am hoping they will go with me again this Thursday.

I have also been doing a lot of visiting of the families. Yesterday I visited the Haitian. It was interesting because he will intermix Kreyole and French with his spanish. So basically he talks for awhile and I say si, and then I talk for awhile and then he tells me si. But really I dont think either one of us understands the other. I cant even get the hang of his name, but hey we had a good time. We ate some sugar cane, then he gave me some mangos to eat and he picked me some fruit bread to boil. Don't really know what this fruit bread is, but I am always up for trying new things...as long as it doesnt look to scary and this looks relatively harmless.

Oh, and of course, the really good news is that the concrete floor was poured for my house! Now it only needs paint (pink of course...and I didn't even pick the color) two doors, and electricity. And ya~ all ready to move in! I am thinking right now that it looks like the begining of August. Very exciting!

Cow Thiefs and Watch Dogs

2007-06-30T11:54:00.001-07:00

So the new drama in town is the stolen cows. Somebody, and presumably this someone is from my community, is stealing cows and butchering them in the middle of night to sell the best cuts of meat in market. Then they leave the rest of the cow to be found in the morning, which by that time the meat has spoiled and there is nothing that the owner can do. This week we didnt lose any cows, but last week we lost 5. We have no police in town (not that having police is very effective in a country where bribes are very common) and people dont have things like cow insurance. So they are just plum out of luck. It makes for a little bit of a tense situation when cows are some peoples livelihood. My family also has a cow, she is how I get milk every morning. (which by the way, what do they do to milk in the states? Because here it never quite tastes the same, at all) So to keep her safe, and our little calf we have them sleep in our front yard and our scary dog Bolito sleeps next to them. People don't mess with Bolito so I think our cows are safe. But, yesterday the cow was in the yard and her knot to the tree came undone and she started running around like a crazy cow and her calf was freaking out cause the mom was charging people. All the kids were running away, which just made her chase them and I just sat in my little chair in the lawn praying to god that she wouldnt notice me since I wasnt moving. Luckily, Paco came in time to take control of the sitaution. He just kicks the cow when she doesnt want to cooperate so she usually listens to him. And I am still in one piece-she never noticed me!

A Night in the Capital

2007-06-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

So last night about 14 of us new volunteers went out for a night on the town:) We went out for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant...and I didn't even complain. Just ordered myself a cheese enchillada that wasn't that bad;) After that we took a van taxi (7 passanger mini-van) and if you have ever wondered if you could fit 14 people in one, well you can. Amazing really.

Next I went with Joe to the Jaragua casino. Really randomly we went there but it was fun. Not very many games to play only craps, roulette, poker and blackjack and then the machines. So I tried my hand in Craps, won and then lost. Then I won in the slots so again I didn't make any money but I didn't lose any either.

After that I went back to my nice air conditioned room, slept in and took a nice hot shower this morning. All in all a great weekend...Until I decided to finally go home and had my cell phone stolen in the Carro Publico of Villa Mella. Urg. Life is never easy.

Living the Life:)

2007-06-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I came into the capital for a little R & R time. It think it was long overdue. I got a room at a hostel, checked in, took my second hot shower I have had in country and relaxed. It was great. Amazing though how used to the cold bucket showers and no running water I am becoming. And I think the several hot showers I took yesterday and plan to take today and tomorrow might even hold me over for the next 3 months or so!

My life in my site is going well. I think that every day it gets a little better. I am getting to know everyone and I spend a lot of time with my family and the youth in my community. I am also teaching 3 English classes a week...which are not easy. Imagine teaching a class for something that you have the utmost knowledge but no training or book to guide you in how to teach or where to start. Add that to the fact that my only supplies are a chalk board and chalk. Two of the classes are for the youth and one is for the adults. The adult class is a little better than the youth because they actually listen and participate. The kids spend the whole time talking and I don't know how to get them to pay attention. And its not just me, they are like that in school as well. It is because the students have little to no discipline in class from the time they start kindergarten....well the combination of all that is not adding up to the best English classes. Anyone have some advice? Kendall~more advice for me? Haha.

Some of the fun things I have done in my site which made for some great pictures:) I learned how to wash clothes by hand. Its a great workout for your arms. Mine were sore for a day or so afterwards.

I also made cashews. We tumbled the fruit all down from the trees, picked the seeds off and dried them for about a week. Then we set them on fire in our yard and burned them.

After that you smack them a few times with a rock or board to get the outer shell off and you've got cashews. It was pretty great. The outer blackened shell did dye my fingers black, and I had to use this soap that burned the skin off my fingers....but it was worth it:) Right now the cacao is drying in the sun and hopefully soon I will get to make some chocolate!

I also have been working to create an association of students in my sector (the larger community). This is so that we can support those who go on the University and hopefully solve some of the problems the high schoolers have. There is no HS in my community or for miles around. In order to continue after 8th grade, you either move into the city and live with a relative, or you pay 120 pesos per day to get yourself to and from the HS. Which 120 pesos equals approximately 4 dollars. And if you get hungry too...well its quite pricey for the kids in Sierra Prieta, which is an extremely poor community. If we can form an association, we can solicit the government for a bus to drive them to the school or even better if we have enough kids of that age we can get a High School built. At one of the meetings, we invited the local politicians and a lawyer to help us. That day I got two marriage proposals. And I think they were completely serious too. Yikes these people move fast. And ironic that it was a politician and lawyer that asked...

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-05-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for all the Happy Birthdays! It´s nice to know I am not being forgotten:) I just spent the second week in my site and I think I am getting accostumed to it. It was a little rough at first, I wont lie. For my birthday my family cooked me a birthday cake of sorts. It was a mix of corn meal, sugar, milk (that we just milked from the cow), and butter. We boiled it over an open fire and then covered it and put burning embers on the top. That is apparently an old fashioned oven. It was nice of them to show that they cared about me. And then at the town meeting everyone sang me happy birthday:) All in all it was the best I could have asked for down here. And it just got even better once I saw all the emails:)

What else have I done this week...a lot of nothing. I have started playing cards with the kids at night time. They are all fascinated by my shuffling capabilites. Although trying to explain tot them how to do it is a little tricky but I´m working on it.

The rest of the day, I go for walks and visit people. I go to town meetings and I went to a talk about self esteem. It was for the parents and howt ehy shouldnt call their kids or students stupid or ugly or bad. since the kids internalize it. After all that, it was time for questions and a mom asked, ¨ but what if my kid really is bad¨ I think the point was lost on her.

For the week ahead, I have a meeting with the kids tomorrow. We are trying to see how many high schoolers live in the area so we can petition the government for a school bus. The high school is about a half hour away and costs the kids a lot to get there right now on motorcycle taxis and buses. hopefully we can get a bus donated to the town.

Better run now, dont have a lot of time left on the internet! Dont forget to write!

2007-04-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow I move into my site permanently, so I am a little nervous! No more Americans or staff to spend time with. To celebrate this we all got in our last bits of Americanism yesterday. We went to the Embassy and ate in their restaurant and then swam in the pool. Where I had my first ever, hot running shower in this country. I think I might need to visit the embassy more often! And the food was pretty good too. For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and had appetizers, drinks and desserts. I think the Piña Colada's I had here was the best I have ever had:)

Today I am just getting ready. Trying to pack all my stuff into my bags and then considering whether or not I will be able to take my motoconcho ride with the driver, myself and my rolling duffel, and my back pack. Think I can do it? I am hoping so! But the motoconcho driver might just laugh at me when he says it all.

Well, as I said before I have no cell phone service and no internet in my site. So I am going to try and go into town at least every other week for mail, internet and phones. If I dont get back to you quickly dont worry(and dont forget to write!). It will come eventually.

Wish me Happy Birthday and talk to you all soon!

Photos!

2007-04-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

These are the jovenes that show me around town all the time. As you can see they are very into posing for cameras:)
My house in my site.
My family from Los Cocos, Santiago
Me, Jen and Judy on the hike to Pico Diego O'Campo

Jen, Me and Kelsi playing Dominos at a local Colmado(Don't worry I was kicking butt:)
Josette, David and Me at graduation.
Kevin, Alicia, Judy, Jen, Me, David, Colleen, Zoe and Joe. All the enviornmental Ed group at our graduation.

Moving Again

2007-04-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

I moved back to Santo Domingo today. Every time I move it gets harder since I am slowly accumulating more stuff. My family from Santiago gave me a mug, some bowls and other kitchen items for me to take so that I have things to start my own house with and I can remember who gave them to me. It was really sweet. I woke up early this morning to make them a special pancake breakfast. They really loved that. Then with my little procession of neices, sister, and cousin we all walked down the street carrying my bags of stuff to my stop. This whole having 3 families here is rough. I hope I like the next family just as much since I will be living with them for the next three months!

When I got back to my house here I found that the rats invaded my stuff. That was a little disturbing. They ate through one of my shirts...how does a shirt even taste good? It was one of my two tank tops too. Ahhh! Rats are not something I think I am going to come to terms with. I am getting used to the cockroaches but rats are just too much. The other week in Spanish class we actually learned the words to La Cucharacha. I never knew, but it is about a cockroach in a trash can who can't walk because the ants ate his legs.

My spanish is getting a lot better. Although I still find the slang tricky. My dona the other day said to me, ya ta. I was like what??? That is slang for ya, esta....already done? They also say como tu ta for comos estas. They really cant drop letters and expect me to understand what they are saying right now.

La Semana Santa

2007-04-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a holy weekend so we all got Thursday afternoon through Sunday off. It was great:) Very relaxing. I went swimming in the river, took a hike, ate sweet beans which I actually liked, went to the monument in Santiago, and best of all...we went to McDondalds, ate ice cream and cake for my niece's birthday. That was a great day. I know McDonalds is not that great, but I associate it with the United States and American food, which any American food has become a delicacy here. Since most days all I get is beans and rice and we all know how much I love that. And actually the McDonalds here wasnt bad, they even toasted the bun:) This week is my last week in Los Coco's, and after that I move back to Santo Domingo for a few days and then off to my site. Which I find out where that is this coming Monday! Very exciting!

Stupid Internet :)

2007-03-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not written in so long, it has taken me a week just to figure out the internet in my new town and I am still having some troubles. I cant even access my blog here...I think it might be because the computers are so slow? So I am sending it to Greg for him to post it. When I first got to Los Coco´s we went to a retreat center in the mountains to learn about Eco-tourism. It was a cool experience -in more ways than one. It was freezing cold and raining a lot and then it had amazing views. We hiked to the top of Pico Diego and from there you could see the whole city of Santiago as well as a few mountain villages. One night while we were there we had a bonfire with s´mores. That was a good night.

Last Sunday I met my new family here. I now have a Don, Doña, the Don´s sister, a grandmother, a 16 year old sister and a 15 year old brother as well as a neice who is about 4. All in one house that has three bedrooms. (Don´t worry, I have my own). They are all really great, and I can usually understand what everyone says except the Grandmother, she seems a little crazy. The Doña thinks that I need to be fattened up, so I get yelled at if I dont eat enough. I have had to start working out in my room just to combat her efforts. I havn´t tried running yet because I heard from other volunteers that when you first start either you have dogs(and these are stray dogs) or kids running after you. I thought I might wait until I get to my site before I try to lose the dogs and kids. Yesterday my Spanish class went into Santiago to a mall - a really nice mall too, and we got stuff to make an American meal. Mac and cheese, guacamole and chocolate chip cookies. Making it turned out to be an adventure because they dont have measuring cups or anything here so everything is really a guess. The mac and cheese was pretty good, but the cookies that I was in charge of were a little iffy. They still tasted great they just didnt ever look pretty. Oops, I guess I will have to practice a little more with that!!!

And another bites the dust

2007-03-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

We lost another trainee today to an unfortunate accident. Jon, one of our two retired trainees, was climbing a fence while he was visiting his volunteer and somehow fell and hurt his leg. The medical office doesn´t think he can adequately recover in order to continue his service. I feel really bad for him, but they say that he is okay with the decision to return to the United States. I am a big believer in fate and what is meant to be will be, there most have been a reason why he shouldn´t be here. Good luck to you Jon, hope your leg recovers and that you enjoyed the time that you did have here.

March already!

2007-03-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already March. In some ways I feel like I have been here forever already and in others its like I just got here. I hear that for most volunteers the days go by very slowly but the weeks pass very quickly. We will see if that turns out to be true:)

I am moving to a campo near Santiago this Thursday for technical training with my enviornmental education group. It is rumored that there is internet access there, so I am hoping that is true. Keep sending them if you have the time and I will make sure that I check it at least once a week while there. Any mail is welcome as well;) Same address as before, that seems to be the most reliable way to get mail. In my campo, I will live with a new host family there. It is hard to start all over with a new family and this is not even my last one! I will get one more host family once I get to my final site in about 8 weeks. Anyways, nothing much is happening here I will write more when something exciting happens! Keep me informed on all the happenings in the States and Japan!

Volunteer Visit to Bohechio

2007-03-04T10:32:00.001-08:00

Last thursday I left (on public transportaion, on my own-imagine my dread) for a visit with another Peace Corps Volunteer to see what it is all really like. I went to Bohechio which is a the end of this long, windy, dirt road where there are no telephones and no cell phone service. Of course that doesnt mean people don't have cell phones or telephones in case they can ever use them;) I had asked the driver to drop me off in front of my volunteers house and so he stops somewhere in town and tells me this is it. I get off the bus and the one of the teachers from the school walks me about five blocks to her house. I think they thought it was better for me if I was hand delivered to the house I wanted. We stayed in Bohechio for Thursday and Friday where I lived the peublo life with electricity on a schedule and water shortages in the town, and then on Saturday we went into San Jaun which is a bigger city so I could see what city life was like. I think I like the pueblo a little better than the city living, but I guess it is early to say. I wont really go into more about the trip unless people want an individual email or have specific questions, I feel like there is so much I could say that I dont even know where to start for the blog. Sorry this one was kinda anti climactic!

Car Wash´s, Carnival and the Campo

2007-02-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

So this weekend was very eventful. On Saturday my Don wanted to take me to this special restuarant where they have rabbit. I said okay, I don´t want to be the American that never tries anything new. Big mistake, we drive up and there in the front are cages full of furry, live rabbit´s and I am supposed to pick one out to eat. I couldnt do it. It was a little distrubing. I should be used to it by now because most days on my walk to school, there are some farmers in some stage of butchering an email right off the sidewalks.

Saturday night, a lot of my Peace Corps friends and I went to a Car Wash. (That is also really what it is called, and in English as well) During the day, it is literally a car wash and at night time it turns into a bar and a dance club. Very intersting concept and a great use of space. To get there, we had to cross the Autopista Duarte, a major highway. THat was my first, and I am hoping my last cross. I was terrified. There, I did some dancing of the bachatta and merengue. I am still not very good even though I have learned the steps, hopefully with time I will improve.

Sunday the whole family woke up early to go to the campo (aka country). There was a river there and everyone went swimming in it. Except no one had told me and I was wearing jeans and a long sleeve tee (with no sunscreen under) I ended up wearing the donas bikini and got burnt to a crisp. A little disappointing, but also only my first sun burn. After we went swimming we went to my second cousin´s house and he had horses that we could all ride but they didnt see happy about having someone on there back so I was too afriad that I would get bucked off. (A note to Kendall that some volunteers do have horses, nice ones, so maybe I will have one in the future). We went from there to Carnival in Bonao. Also a very intersiting tradition. It has been going on here since about the 1500´s. It is basically a carnival and they have people dress up like devils, they have a contest for that as well. The diablos run through the streets with these dried and inflated pig bladders and hit people as hard as they can with them. I actually had a bodygurad for this (the second cousin again) he is in the army and brought his gun so I felt very protected. The tv people who are filming all this for their live national television pick me out of the crowd of everyone (basically I am noticeable because I am white and look American). I get interviewed by this guy, he asks where I am from and if I have a boyfriend. Then he wants a kiss on the cheek. I said ok (again, I need to stop doing that) so I go in for the kiss on the cheek and he turns really fast and plants on right on my lips! On tv! I was a tad bit embarassed. Anyways, the internet time is almost up again and I have already written a ton so I had better go! Love hearing from everyone! Hope all is well in the States, Japan and anywhere else people are living right now!

Un chin update (a little update)

2007-02-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

I have had quite a few interesting experiences since the last time I wrote. I went to the beach and this guy in the water had a dead eel in the water and he was scaring me with it. I am not afraid to admit that I hid behind the don while it was anywhere near me. My family got to the beach by their truck that fit 10 people. Three in the front and seven in the bed of the truck. I have also been learning how to use public transportation. It is different than anything I have ever seen. I have to ride a carro publico to school every day and that is a really old car, usually a toyota corrola that fits 4 in back and 3 up front. You really have to learn the ettiquette of who sits where so everyone fits in. The electricity is a little iffy here, especially in the barrios so sometimes the stop lights work and sometimes they don´t. You really hope everytime you get in the car that the driver will stop at those. Let´s see what else, oh yesterday I went to an agricultural fair with my family, it also had food and stands of things to buy. And there was this little girl that was in her dad´s arms and he was giving her mouth to mouth and people were screaming. My family says that she fainted, but it did not look like that to me and none of us actually saw what happened to her. I was very scared for her, and I hope that she just fainted and is okay. On a lighter note, I did see the biggest cow ever. It was huge! I think I have some pictures, so I will try to put those on here if I have time!

A week since I left!

2007-02-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been a week. In some ways it feels like just a few days and yet it also feels like I have been gone for so long! Today my brother had some compartir time with me (sharing time). He shared all his music with me, he loves American Rock and Roll. He kept putting in a cd and asking me who it was singing. For those of you how know me well you know how this went. I didn't have a clue about music. It has been decided by my brother that there is no way that I am american. I have been invited to a party for tonight with my brother. It is actaully a birthday party for a one year old. There is no speration between age groups which is very cool. I am doing okay with my Spanish when I am one on one, but with this party...eeek! When all of them talk in a group, they talk really really fast and I can't follow the conversation. Well, that is all for now, I told my brother I wanted to come here so he said he would come with me. I didn't realize that meant he would sit there while I typed away. I feel a little bad and I am not sure what the culture says I should do so I will go now and take him home. Hasta luego!

First few days

2007-02-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am finally here and it is not at all what I had expected. The first night we spent in a retreat center in Santo Domingo, I think they were slowly easing us in (you know, still having electricity and running water). So the next day we met our families. I have a Don, Doña and 2 brothers, and then this other guy how lives in my house but I am not sure about his relation to me. Its a small house, we do have electricty and when it goes out we have invertors to keep it running. The water on the other hand...I guess only runs twice a week from what I understood. There is this big bucket in the bathroom and when you want to take a shower (which they do twice a day so they are a very clean people) then you take a little cup and run it over you when you need water. The same for the toilet you just dump a bucket in the toilet to force it to flush. Now any of you who were thinking of coming to visit, it´s not as bad as one might think. It´s just different. My doña works in a salon here, so I go with her there and all the ladys come in to get there hair done so we all watch telenovellas. Today one of the girls who works there did my nails with the details, which seems to be a very dominican kind of thing. Anyways, I am running out of time on my internet so I will say more later. Just know that I am having a great time!

Last Day in the States

2007-02-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Hey all, this is my first blog:) We will see how this goes. Today is the last day in the US...at least I hope it is. There was a group heading to Honduras this morning but the airport shut down with all the snow here. Now they can't leave until Saturday or Sunday. Since I have not packed for this weather-we had better leave tomorrow. Today I actually had a little fall into an icy ravine (aka a gutter) on the way home from dinner. That was a lot of fun.

My group has 33 people, mostly girls. There were two elderly people in their sixties but they have had some unfortunate incidents. The woman, Janet, she fell on the ice today and broke her arm and now can't go to the DR with us. They might let her go in September with the next group but it is still up in the air. We have yet to meet the guy, he has been stuck in Chicago for the past 3 days. We are all hoping that he will make it to the airport tonight sometime.

I am feeling pretty nervous right now about everything, even with all the orientation we have been going through I still feel like I know nothing and I have no idea what to expect. But, I think it is going to be pretty amazing and I am excited to be living on a tropical island:)

Wish me luck! I'll write back soon...I hope.