Daily Adventures as a PCV in the DR

A Clear Vision

2009-03-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Here´s another example of just how amazing medical missions are. The last mission I worked with changed lives in just a few hours of surgery. Dominicans´ faces, mouths, arms, hands, and feet were made functional once again. Parents were so thankful for all the miracles the medical team performed in those short two weeks. Peace Corps volunteers served as translators for the dominican patients and the American doctors and nurses. We were all glowing with pride at the end of the mission, seeing just how much our hard work had paid off.

Peace Corps accompanies seven medical missions throughout the year ranging from general health to plastic surgery. Currently there is a mission near Santiago performing various types of eye surgeries, regular checkups, as well as giving out glasses for those who need them. For the past year I had been waiting for this mission to come back to Santiago to see if they could help my little vecina, Yisneris. She was born with estravismo, basically cross-eyed, but more everywhere unpredictable eyes. In order for her to focus on anything just a few feet away, she would tilt her head back and look down her nose. The local doctors were worried that if they didn´t operate soon she would end up with some form of brain damage. At 3 months, they gave her an eye patch with hope here eyes would correct themselves, but 2 years later and her they are still as crooked as when she was born. So we jumped on the chance that this mission might be able to squeeze her in to their schedule. After a month of e-mails and phone calls we made the list. I accompanied Yisneris and her mom the day of their surgery and que emoción. To see this little girls life change in just a short hour. Of course, Yisneris could really care less now, but it will make all the difference once she starts school. So many kids are made fun of their entire lives for something that could be fixed in just an hour.
She went into the OR screaming and came out pissed (she wanted her leche) but her eyes were perfectly striaght and moving in unison. Increíble. We are all so grateful for the organizations who work together to make missions like these possible.

Happily Ever After

1 Wonderful Year

2009-01-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

That´s right. Johemi is 1 year old. I feel like we´ve been talking about this birthday for so long. Jan. 16 we celebrated with an Hora Santa, an hour of praying and giving thanks for Johemi´s year with us. When Johemi was born, her mother Sugermi (my good friend) made a promise to God that if her daughter made it to her first birthday she would celebrate with an Hora Santa. The local kids came over, we sat in the living room, prayed, sang songs, then drank ginger hot chocolate.

The next day was the wild party. We blew up balloons, made a piñata, cleaned, decorated, and watched Johemi fall in love with all the colors around her, that is until balloons started popping.

About 25 kids showed up, although half were not invited, and we played games, sang, ate and ate cheetohs, cake, icecream, cookies, chocolate, popcorn. A piñata to boot. Dios, those kids ate a lot. And Johemi kept right up with the best of them. I thought for sure that little thing would be sick by the end of the night. Nothing. Nada. She obviously has built up the tough dominican stomach.

Johemi became a little braver that day and started walking everywhere she could.

I loved being the photographer for that day. Trying to capture all the angles that would should the true nature of her first birthday. We put her next to the cake hoping she would climb right in and devour it. She was a little worried at first of being so high up on the table, but once she tasted a little frosting all fears were lost. Oh, there was cake EVERYWHERE.

Great Photos. Great Times.

Gobble Gobble

2008-12-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving. A day of turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, friends, family, and thanks. We went around the table and shared what we were thankful for, just how I make my family do at home. Did you do it in my absence, familia? De verdad, I have much to be thankful for. This past year was a big decision year. Family visits, Mom´s first trip out of country, My wedding, Dad and Dave´s Weddings, Enamuel´s visa, Him stepping on American soil for the first time, NY. Huge Year. And truely I can say we made it through with very few bumps in the road or turbulance in the air.

Thank you for lending us your gaurdian angels.

My friends here have been my family. I love them all and am very thankful for all the memories and laughs we´ve shared. I will miss them. I´m thankful for having a husband who adores me, a supportive family to go home to in April, and that I don´t have to pay rent for the next few years :)

I am thankful that you have been a faithful reader of my blog, my life here in the DR.

Thank You.

Our Clan: Alyssa, Wilson, Ruth, Me, Betsy, Travis, Colleen, Allen, and Jake (Jeff, the photographer, missing from picture)

Peace Corps Thanksgiving has a few more twists in the mix. All of the regulars listed above, but think bigger. 150 people bigger. Swimming pool, Costume Turkey Trot, dance contests, talent show, dominos tournament, lots of rum, and Kentucky, our fine arts dance troop. ( M.C. Hammer´s "Can´t touch this" was interpreted as "Kentucky" by a local dominican, therefore becoming the name of our dance troop.)

Check out the video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viaMyyKJsuo
under the name Kentucky meets Peace Corps
John on drums
Jake on Confetti
Besty on Tribal moves
Ryan on Bumble Bee act
Enrique as Turkey
Rachel sings Turkey song
Kevin, Zoe, Ruth, Alyssa, Jeff, and I bust out the moves, and I had the pleasure of being choreographer. (I´m the one with the black hat. keep watching)

Alyssa and her boyfriend, Wilson. His first Thanksgiving.

Yes, we were very happy!

Ruth accompanied us for the big day. Her first Thanksgiving as well.

Something to make your day a little sweeter.

2008-12-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

NJ visit

2008-11-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

The last hugs from Francis, Yere, and Ramonita. It was sad but still exciting. His family is happy for Enmanuel and his new opportunity. Yere, his daughter, doesn´t quite understand what going to Nueva York means. She wasn´t nearly as sad as she should have been.

We arrived in one piece and with all our luggage still filled with all the crazy cheeses, avocados, and sweets Ramonita send over to her family. (I was sure they´d all get swiped in immigration)

Enmanuel loved it all. The plane ride, the sites, the beautiful lights, the paved and organized roads. Isn´t America wonderful! But very Chilly! We toughed it out for a bit, but then we had to go back inside the airport to wait for our ride.

Welcome to NJ Enmanuel. His aunt Sandra and uncle Williams came to rescue us from the airport. We arrived at their apartment and shortly after arrived all the visitas. Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and friends. Grandma Carlilin is always there for a huge, loving, welcome hug.

Downtown Paterson. A day of window shopping.

Our first, but not last, Broadway Musical. Merry Poppins. It was worth every cent.

A typical Sunday afternoon with the Duran´s in NJ. Everybody gets together at Enmanuel´s Uncle´s house and dance, play, chat, listen to music, and run around. His family is very Unido.

2nd National IT youth conference

2008-11-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

First place winners for the Movie Maker Video Contest.

Hurry. Find a boat of 4. Sorry Lori, you´re out of the game.

How to manage their labs. Who will make the most funds?

Our local super heroes. Aqua Man- cleaning the water and talking to the fish. Super Belleza- turns everything she touches into somthing of beauty. Helmet Man- Protecting people from falling objects, etc.

Isn´t Photoshop Fun!

Birdie in a Perch. Avita Ramita.

Second National Encargados del Futuro conference put on by us Peace Corps Volunteers was yet again a success. I would say an even bigger success. The tech classes were interesting for the youth, and the games blew their minds. I rocked out all the dínamicas (icebreakers) I could think of . There was hardly ever a dull moment.

The youth learned about Robots, Photoshop, Lab management, Publisher, Excel, and had a great time being creative in the digital scavenger hunt, talent show, and their home videos made with Movie Maker (way impressive). Check out the video my youth put togther for Las Uvas. They won 2nd place for all their techi tricks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e69bx44aR84

We finished the 3 day conference with certificates, prizes, and a surprise 1gb flash drive for each youth. They were ecstatic.

Another special visit

2008-11-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

Face off. The best in Las Uvas vs. the best in Fargo. Chess, connect four, and ping pong. Who won? Let's just say Enmanuel has some practicing to do before he heads up to Fargo. We'll have a rematch.

It was just like Alice in Wonderland. Why is everything so big? No, Dave and Enmanuel didn't shrink if that is what you were thinking, but it was like we were warped into another world. Just beyond a few giant concrete walls was paradise, a place most inlanders never catch a glimpse of, a place known as Playa Dorada. The games were giant size, the drinks were free (well, prepaid for), the pools were clean and beautiful, and the people were mostly white. Were we really in the DR?

Of course, Ramonita's cooking was a hit, again, with the new visita.

Why rent a car when you can have great carro publico photos like these!

Free but very expensive prepaid for drinks.

The hippest Merengue, Bachata, and Salsa discoteca in Santo Domingo. Everyone was out on the dance floor that night.

Practicing the Dominican Lifestyle.

We saved the best for last. 27 charcos. Wow, what an experience. It was an absolutely beautiful, breath taking (meaning exhausting), hike up the mountains and into the waterfalls of Imbert. Note our helmets and life jackets- yeah, they were a necessity for this rough and tough adventure. Our well trained guide pulled us up waterfall after waterfall. He was one strong man. By the time we got to the twelfth waterfall, my legs were frozen and my knees were shaking. We then turned around and had options of sliding (if slideable) or jumping down the 12 waterfalls. However, after Enmanuel made his first jump of his life (take a look at the video below) and forgot to plug his nose and swallowed a gallon of water, he managed to find a way to monkey down the side of the rest of the falls.

All made it back to their homes alive that evening, but we were exhausted and I had a very sore tailbone from jumping off a very high cliff and doing a butt flop. Now, a month later and I still can't sit right.

Wedding Gobbles

2008-10-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

The guests before anyone else could even choose what their wedding ensamble would be, were the gobble gobble live-in turkeys, the year round inhabitants of our wedding discoteca, El Karina. Once a happening club, El Karina´s business died off slowly until they were eventually replaced by chickens and turkeys. The dance floor is stained with remnances of circular chicken coops. Now the turkeys just have their one big coop off to one side of the dance floor. They sang to us while we set up the lights, the tables, and the chairs for the wedding. They finally quieted down once we finished changing their home from a coop to a giant white paper cake. Suprisingly we didn´t hear a peep out of them for the rest of the night.

Other planning went as smooth as a campo wedding can go. The rain made it´s appearance in mid-afternoon, but lightened up for the wedding in the evening. Mom and Dave`s luggage was lost (with wedding lights, candles, and plates inside), but friends took the time to seek out all that was missing. Maid of honor showed up 2 hours late, but so did everyone else, so she was just in time to walk down the isle with Enmanuel`s brother (Maximo, best man, MIA). My heel caught on my dress while Dave was spinning me around and around and ripped the hem, but I recovered beautifully by hopping around on one foot until my foot was free and we could finish the dance with grace and beauty. We had a great turn out with volunteers and local friends and family. Correographed dances, lindy hops shows, and delicious dinner, and an even more delicious cake made it the best wedding Las Uvas has seen yet. Everyone had a blast.

I´ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

We`re In!

2008-09-24T12:35:00.003-07:00

Can you believe it?

We´re in, we`re done, we made it!

Yesterday we had our long awaited interview at the consulate for Enmanuel`s Visa. We were ready. Asking each other every question that could come to our minds "Which are your favorite panties?", "what is your favorite meal?", "something personal that no one else would know about?", ect. All our paperwork in order, and we had a lot of suerte and blessings from our friends. We arrived early Tuesday morning, 6am, and put ourselves at the end of a line of over a hundred other dominicans waiting, hoping for their resident visa. Mothers and daughters, grandpas, kids, babies, couples, brothers, sisters all trying to get their family over to the other side. The line went faster than we expected. At 7:15 am we were in the doors. We sit and wait. Eat snacks. Check papers. Wait. 9am we were called up to one of the 20 windows.

"Your papers please."

Shuffle, check, rip, staple.

"Sign here."

Shuffle, check, rip, staple.

"Go pay and bring the receipt." That was a relief to hear, because we knew all our paper work was done correctly. Some people are handed a sheet that states all of the corrections they have to make or what papers they might be missing.

3 minutes and $400 later we changed our receipt for a number, 192.

We sit and wait some more. 191, 193, 368, 272. We decided there was no rhyme or reason to the numbers they were calling.

192 window 13, 192 window 13

They took his fingerprints with the green machine (very advanced) and then.... we sat and waited some more.

Enmanuel made friends with a few other dominicans waiting, waiting to hear their fate. Accepted or Denied. A life changing decision that most dominicans never get the opportunity to even hope for.

Finally, 192 to window 19. We swore in in spanish. They asked me about Enmanuel´s daughter, my family and when they met him, the peace corps, and his $ sponsor. They sat back pointed to the screen, conversed and minute, and then they said, "congratulations, your visa has been approved."

What, really, that quick and easy! We were ready for the attack. A million questions. We brought photos, letters, and affidavits- everything to prove that our relationship is legitimate.

We kissed and hugged and left to pay the messenger service. Everyone looking at us, knowing we were one of the lucky ones. Wow, que emoción.

"Enmanuel, How do you feel?"

"Happy but sad. This means I´m actually leaving. I´ll be leaving my home, my family, and my friends, everything I have ever known."

We called everyone we know back in the campo and shared the unimaginable good news. His mamà was crying.

This calls for a celebration. So what better way to celebrate than McDonalds. My first McDonalds visit in this country and Enmanuel´s first visit in his life. It was delicious, but boy did we have a gut ache later.

So now what. Wedding planning, wedding, then a trip to New Jersey at the end of October.
Felicítanos and Wish us luck.

We`re In!

2008-09-24T12:35:00.001-07:00

Adios Tommy June 2008 - Sept. 21, 2008

2008-09-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, lamentablamente, our puppy, our hijo, is gone. The disease that attacks many campo puppies attacked him. Dysentary, I believe. Thursday he was a fun and energenic puppy. Friday he was kind of depressed (we thought he was mad because we didn´t go for a walk that morning.) Then saturday hewoke with bloody diahrrea so we took him to the vet, but by sunday morning he was dead. Que triste. He was a good puppy. Loved his mami and papi. We had only been taking him out for walks with us for about a week, but he followed us wherever we went, no leash was necessary. He loved to run through the tall grass and feel the morning dew on his face. He played with the other puppies and kids that came to visit. We will miss him. That leaves us dogless. From 2 to 1 to none. Don´t know if I can handle the heartache of another.

July July

2008-08-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Wow what a month! I thought summer vacation meant I would be able to relax a bit, but not here.
We started summer camp at the beginning of July and we just finished the 1st of August. Enmanuel and I were the Coordinators of La Vega summer camp for poor campo kids. The idea is that all kids ages 5-12 can participate in summer camp. The Síndico of La Vega gives quick trainings to the camp counselors and then sends the materials and snack for the kids. We had 200 plus kids, 30 counselors, 3 coordinators and an elementary school. Three weeks of supposed coloring, painting, crafts, dancing (however there wasn’t electricity to play music), modeling, chess, cards, computers (until the inversor died- about 2 days), indoor games, and sports. Wait, Wait, let me translate 3 weeks of crafts, cards, sitting in the shade, motivating counselors to get up from sitting in the shade, chasing after kids, games and icebreakers, and babysitting.
After a week of camp, all of us were exhausted and counting down the days until the big presentation for the Síndico. Hours of practice in Dance, poetry, modeling, and singing to get the kids ready to show off just what they learned during their 3 weeks of Campamento Vegano. Aug. 1, we pulled it off. The Síndicos assistant came for the show, and then passed out backpacks and notebooks to all the kids. The kids loved it, so all was worth it.

I have two kids now. Stuey and Tommy. They´re about a month old. They like to pee in all rooms of the house and bite my ankles at all times. Stuey´s favorite place to hang out is beside my dirty cloths in our bedroom and Tommy likes anywhere he can stick his head under and hide. Sadly, Stuey has been missing since this morning. He snuck out last night and has yet to be found. But they are our two children. I didn´t ask for either, but now they´re here, so I´ve turned into mama Angela. We love them despite their parasites, unruly urinating, skin flaky fungus, smelly dog smell and running away.

Tommy

Stuey

My Escojo group has officially graduated. Sunday we hosted the sub-regional escojo conference in Las Uvas and then had our heart felt graduation that very evening. The youth received their certificates with tears in their eyes and shared words of absolute appreciation for the group and how it has helped them in their lives. It couldn´t have gone better. Enmanuels mother made us a delicious american chocolate cake with frosting. She was rather distressed when I handed her the Betty Crocker cake in a box and a can a frosting. "Angela, I´ve never made cake from a box, you´ll have to help me." "Sorry, Can´t, busy for the next 36 hours straight. Read the instructions on the back of the box, thanks." Apparently Enmanuel helped by mixing in the egg and oil, so therefore he "made the cake".

After tears, sweet acceptance speeches, and chocolate cake, we danced the night away. Six youth and two volunteers from other communities stayed around to help us celebrate. It was a great day.

Enmanuel and I have now been married for two months. "Felicidades"! -thank you

We had our petition for our Visa the 17th of July. We went in, payed $355 dollars, turned in all the papers, were asked various questions about the validity of our married, and then sent on our way to wait for something in the mail or a phone call from the consulate. Weeeelll, I just got the packet of papers in my mailbox today. Now we just have to fill out papers, get him his medical exams, vaccines, criminal history report, pay $400 more dollars and go in for our final visa interview. They will then decide yea or nay. They have no reason to say nay, so lets start celebrating the yea.

Oh, and the most exciting news...I´ll be home in less than a week! See you soon.

Dominican Court Wedding

2008-06-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Let me show you just how it was done:
1.) Stand outside the office, waiting nervously, hugging and kissing your soon to be husband. While they work on setting up the 4 chairs needed for the bride, groom, best man, and maid of honour. The rest of your guests stand behind you.

2.) We are told to sit down opposite the judge. He continues shuffling through papers, while we are told to sign the GIANT marriage book. We all sign, two times.

3.) The judge asks us to stand and reads us some paper about the court and our marriage.

4.) Then he reads us our Marriage Certificate. We raise our right hands, one by one, saying “Si” when he asks us if we accept to love, respect, and take care of one another in good times and bad.

5.) He says you are now “Marido y Mujer” and you can kiss.
6.) We then hug and kiss all of our family and friends.
7.) We take pictures outside, because the judge has another ceremony to do immediately after ours.
8.) Off to the bar for various rounds of Presidente Light.

9.) Then off to the Cabaña for quick honeymoon and……..well, that part is for just Enmanuel and me to remember.

I´m looking forward to our ceremony in September. Hope you all can make it. If not, I´ll definitely have some great pics to show you afterwards.

a special visit

2008-05-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Anhela's hermana y papa ah que! Hey I tried! :-) by Teresa Olin

Yes the country was gorgeous and yes it was wonderful seeing the country side and the towns, villages and all the crazy activity but the real stories are in the adventures that weren't planned. As you can see from the pictures above....We had some great times! The gas in our car was natural gas....oh my what a stench..Angela and I had to ride with our heads out the window so we wouldn't be gassed to death! haha. The car broke down about 14 miles from home! Woo Hoo! I was having a blast. I mean what more could you ask for then the car breaking down in the middle of no where with no one around or help for miles! OK my dad didn't think it was so fun...he was worried the gringos were going to steal his daughters and ravish them in the bushes! haha. What a hoot! Enmanuel blew chunks on the boat ride and all we did was laugh at him...not nice I know but what a perfect thing to happen! Someone had to barf on the boat! haha. Driving in the back of a run down pickup with an old man carrying a very large KNIFE...eating a cacoa ......riding on the boat to the caves....getting sick....ugh....(it was worth it!)....eating oranges the dominican way.....chasing chickens.....and last but not least....all the LOVE!!!

The ocean tides in Las Terenas. We stayed in El Toriedo in a combania. What a great day! Enmanuel was learning an American water game...CHICKEN!

In the early morning hours of March 12th it was time to say good bye to our sweet dear Anhela. To tell you the truth I would have put up with the explosive diarrhea and the cold showers a little longer for more time and hugs from all the wonderful, special individuals we left behind. They will forever be a part of me and I will forever be grateful for this amazing experience and the chance to let so many beautiful people enter my life. What an adventure!

2008-04-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

For about 2 months now, I’ve been working with my new Escojo group (AIDS education/prevention, communication, values, self-esteem, condoms, healthy choices, ect.) and last night we had an emotional break-through, you know the kind that leaves one glowing with love and tears in their eyes. Our theme last night was self-esteem so I wanted to start out with a good old self-esteem booster. Spin the bottle and wherever it lands the spinner has give a compliment about the other. Well it turned out to be something like ¨yeah, she’s a cool chick, she has a lot of friends and treats others well¨. Some were a little more sincere than others, but all the kids felt very uncomfortable giving and both receiving a compliment.

So I asked them, “Why was that so hard for us to hear or tell something nice and heartfelt? Is it really that hard to see the good in someone?”

We are so used to pointing out character flaws that sometimes we forget to tell someone what we really like about them. Que malo.

“Let’s try the activity again, but this time you can pick who’d you like to compliment. Remember that you have to talk directly to that person, not about the person, look them in the eyes, and say something sincere. We will all have an opportunity to share our thoughts. We will sit and wait until each of you feels you’re ready to talk.”

And so I started, “Juana, I admire the fact that you have participated in all the activities the community and I have put on. It truly shows your dedication to your own education and that you are choosing your own path. That quality is so important in a person and it will take you a long way.” She smiled, looked down, and said Thank you in English. Then we waited. Looked around and waited some more. Finally one would start, then another, then another. A few minutes would pass, looking around, and then another would go. Fifteen minutes later we all finished. Amazing amounts of love was shared, leaving us with swollen blushing hearts. It was the first time that I had received true, heart felt affirmations from my youth about my work. I know now just how important my presence and activities are for the youth in my community. I loved it, I loooved it. Best meeting I’ve had all year.

“So this week let’s share the love and give compliments to 3 other important people in our lives”

The kids’ faces filled with looks of fear and doubt. “But whenever I try to say something nice to my parents or my friends they just think I’m acting weird or making fun of them.”
“Or what if I try to say something and they just tell me to shut-up and get out of their view of the telenovela on TV?”

“Ok, lets take a minute and ask for strength in this assignment as well as give strength to our family and friends so they are ready to listen and accept what we have to say.”

So we prayed and hugged and kissed.

Amen.

Carnaval

2008-03-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

Orange. A cell phone company with their super cave.

I lasted about 5 seconds.

Examples of the many elaborate costumes and masks.

Black object in the middle is a hitting butt tool. Sand, rocks, and if your lucky filled with just air.

Carnaval. Carnaval. Carnaval.

What an INSANE fiesta! Streets are packed, butts are wacked, and you will be a sweating like no other.

Enmanuel, myself and the family headed out to La Vega for the last sunday parade in February. Around 1pm the streets were nearly empty allowing us to visit the ¨caves¨ put up by local company. The caves provided the richies with VIP shady chairs and cold beverages. Us campo folks wandered the streets trying to avoided getting wacked in the butt with an air (or sometimes rock filled) beating bags. Those participating in the parade were dressed with elaborate beautifully ugly devilish costumes parading through and dancing like wild jungle beasts.

Fusimania Med Mission

2008-02-02T06:46:00.000-08:00

So, At the beginning of January, I went for a trek with my good buddy Jon up to the Mountains north of Santiago. Our night were spent in this retreat center and our days spent traveling out to the surrounding villages to visit the patients and translate for the Med people.

Our Maine Crew. Docs, Pediatricians, Sports Med, Gynocologists, Nurses, students, and translators all coming together to help out in the DR.

We were set up in churches, schools, and houses, any building that were availabe in their communities. The clinics were set up with 4-6 stations, all with a translator, a student, and a nurse or doctor.We saw everything from Diabetes, to open sores, to fungi, to parasites. The patients got a full analysis and were sent on their way with any medications that needed filling.

Rain or Shine we were ready to roll.

When the patients were too sick or old to come in to the clinic, we brought the clinic to them.

But not without stopping for a quick game of baseball with the local muchachos. An old plastic juice bottle for a ball and a stick for the bat. Med mission vs. Campo muchachos. Despite the lack of my eye-ball skills, I got a few good hits.

And now after such a successful mission, Jon and I have decided to take over Med Mission Chairs and run the whole show. Well, peace corps side of the whole show. Wish us luck.

a DR christmas

2007-12-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

Santa Georgina with gifts for the kids over her shoulder.

A small part of the Reinoso Duran Family. Gathering to bless the abundance of food.

And then you just dig in!

Enmanuel, Sylvana, Francis, and I

Evony, Lily and I on Christmas Eve

Christmas here isn’t quite like back home. 70 degree weather instead of -20, platanos instead of scalloped potatoes, Christmas merengue instead of jingle bells, raisins, apples and grapes instead endless Christmas cookies, and of course my Dominican family instead of my ND family. I was a trooper, but I can`t say I wasn`t home sick.

Traditions are quite different as well. Christmas Eve is celebrated with enough food to fill a large family of elephants. We had roasted pork, roasted chicken, platanos maduro, boiled green bananas, spaghetti, bread, chicken pastries, beef in a leaf, some eggplant dish, and much more. Sophy mixed up an Alexander cocktail and Georgina pretended to be Santa. Even I got a few gifts, isn´t that special. Normally gifts aren’t given on Christmas but instead el dia de Reyes (Kings day, Jan. 6), but relatives were here from the capital so we had to aprovechar.

Christmas day is spent drinking, chatting and dancing, nothing too out of the ordinary. I was a little under the weather with a mucusy cough so I didn´t partake in the drunken dancing so much. I’ve been served various concoctions of natural foods with a guarantee it will clear up my gripe. Right now, I’m drinking a mixture of honey and aloe plant filling. Tastey.

Thanks giving PCDR style

2007-12-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

Enjoying some intermural sports. How sweet.

Charishing some special time together. Good old pals.

Our peace corps doctor´s parrot. Speaks spanish but not today.

Bachata and Merengue dance contest. We got 2nd place in Merengue.

Rebecca y Yo catching some rays

When it rains it pours

2007-11-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

When it rains it pours, when it pours it floods, and when it floods, watch out, this little island is in big trouble. It started as any Sunday afternoon shower. Nobody suspected a thing. Then, that shower turned into sheets of rain that continued through Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and finally drizzled off Thursday. Half way through this intense tropical storm, every exit from our campo was flooded. Bridges were taken out or had 5 feet of rain over them making it impossible to get to the next campo. Our little campo survived like a champ, but again we are settled on top a hill, allowing all of the rain to flow down into the river below us. For us, it was 4 days of playing cards, reading books, and watching the news. Here in my campo, we bounced back to life as we have always known it, just our relatives and friends in the south were not as fortunate.
Most Dominicans have never received any type of swimming lessons. When we go to the river, they are sure to stay in the shallow part, the water rising no higher than their waste. Now image being in bed and waking up because there is water filling up your bedroom and every hour it keeps getting deeper and deeper. Instant panic would set in for your children, your family, and your home. You can´t swim, so where do you go? UP! Roof tops, tree tops, second floors of homes (a rarity to find). You wait and wait and hope for a rescue boat to pass or a helicopter to lift you up to safety. But what if those roof tops and tree tops aren´t high enough?

This has happened twice in the last month. It’s just unbelievable how much damage rain can cause. Muck muck and more muck. These people here are survivors. They pick up various part s of their house that has been spread about in each direction and start building again. They mourn their loved ones that were taken by the floods and keep pushing onward. Increíble!

Meeeoooww

2007-11-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

Gatita o Ratonita, we couldn't decide if I were a better kitty or rat. You decide.

Only three people dressed up for the fiesta: Me, frankenstein, and death. I was the only was who lasted more than five minutes.

Coffins, pumpkins, spider oh my. Dominicans know how to decorate, they only need help spelling out harrowing nihgt.

Not convingly scared enough. Enmanuel looks way to happy to see that giant spider.

Speaking of spiders, Look what I found in my bed one night while putting up my mosquitero. A giant fuzzy cacata.

I have to say, I was impressed with our halloween bash. The jovenes, who have now named themselves "materia gris" got their stuff together and threw a heck of a party. We spent all afternoon putting up cob webs, carving pumpkin like vegetables, hauling coffins, and making signs. The only thing missing was the costumes. I was a loner on that part, but a cute kitty one if I might say.

Conference of the year

2007-10-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

I´m sitting there in the guagua on our way back from Santiago, and I`m looking at my muchacho, who´s proudly wearing his new “encargados del futuro” t-shirt, and I’m imagining what must be going through his mind. Maybe he´s taking in the sites and sounds of his first visit to Santiago, or he’s thinking about all the friends he’s made over the last few days at our first ever IT conference. Possibly there’s a girl he’s fancying or maybe just thinking about all the computer skills he’s just learned and which one he’s going to practice first when he gets home to his new computer.

I ask him, “So, what was your favourite part of the conference?”
“Todo”, he says, “Everything was bellísimo.”

And I’m proud. I’m proud to have given him this opportunity, and I’m proud of all the volunteers who pulled their skills together to make it happen.

High school students from all ends of the DR came with their volunteers to learn about youth groups, techi skills, teaching tips, programming, video conferencing, trouble shooting, body surfing, scavenger hunts, casino games, video confessions, dominos pizza, dance contests, auctions, dinamicas, and just what this whole Peace Corps thing is all about.

The muchachos loved it. Next year I’m bringing three.

So now is the real important moment. We are back in our campos and we need to make use of all these new skills we’ve learned and motivate others to hop on our informática train. An IT youth group is my next goal. I want to make computer geeks out of these kids.

Just one little problem. Right now our gas plant, which provides electricity to our computer lab, won’t turn on. It just decided to quite, done, finished. The plant works somewhat like a car. You have to fill it with diesel, check the filters, change the oil, and when it dies, someone else has to fix it. Well we can’t take our lab to a shop, so we have to wait until the mechanic comes to us. And this, this is in the hands of the secretary of education, who controls all of the labs in the entire Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, it might take awhile.

So we cross our fingers and call and call and call everyday until we get our lab back up and running.

But when the lab is ready, we will be as well. Our invitations in hand and jóvenes waiting for the best club our campo has seen yet.

Juegos and Fun

2007-09-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the games, familia, we´re enjoying them to the fullest.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Lavando the First Time

2007-09-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is the advanced dominican washing machine. Washer and ringer in one. And thank God for it. I would die if I had to wash all my clothes by hand. Imaginate! Raw knuckles, no thank you.

Let me tell you how it goes.

Primero- You haul the lavadora out from the back room to the back yard and connect it to an outlet nearby.

segundo - Connect drain tube to the back of the machine. Make sure the opening of the tube is pointing away from house (very important)

tercero- Fill left side with 3 buckets of water, a shake or two of FAB laudry soap, and throw in a load of whites. Set to 15 minutes.

Cuarto- When 15 minutes are up, pick out wet soapy clothes and throw them in a bucket of water nearby. Plunge an swirl, plunge and swirl until it looks like the soap is out (it never really is).

Quinto- Then haul the wet less soapy clothes up to the ringer (the right side of the machine). Set the timer for 5 minutes. It spins the clothes at an unimaginable speed until most of the water is out.

Sexto- Carry less wet clothes to clothes line to dry in the super dominican sun.

Repeat step 1-6 over and over, changing dirty water when needed. Haul machine back to bedroom when finished.

my pimpin´ pad

2007-09-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

Soooooo, when we thought Angela would be living in a mud hut with dirt floor, we were´t exactly getting the complete picture. First all the run down shacks were taken by all the poor families. Second all the run down shacks have zero security, and that wasn´t going to fly with all overly protective family and friends. Even though there are rare occurances of any acts of violence, I had to have the segurist of segure houses in the hood. So what are my options? I could continue to live with my host family, which I love my family but I rarely got a moment of peace and quiet or any privacy, or find a super nice house with bars on the windows and padlocks on all the doors. Sorry Doña, I went with the second route

Water, electricity, inversor when there isn´t electricity, 3 bedrooms, fully furnished, and and an acre full of platanos all for 2.000$ pesos a month (about 60 bucks).

Not quite what I was expecting.

When Alissa and Megan came for a visit their first words were:

¨Holy, this is your house!¨

¨Wow, you have chairs!¨

¨You´re living in America!¨

¨When you go back to the states and are living in a crappy little apartment you´re going to say, ´boy, I wish I was in the Peace Corps again´¨.

This hook up wasn´t all my doing. I have to give much credit to Enmanuel because the house I´m living in is his grandma´s. She lives in the US year round and only visits here a couple weeks out of the summer.
So even though I wanted at one time to have the unforgiving mud hut, I’m happy that I’m living in comfort in my American like home. There is enough stress everyday without having to look for your water every morning or stare at your doo doo in an unflushable hole or toilet.

My first weekend in the house. Nana and Ruth are teaching me how to make Moro (rice, beans, veggie mix). The trick to good rice is if the spoon stands straight up when you put it in the pot, you have the right combo of rice and water.

My acre of platanos. Due to my growing waistline, I´ve sworn off platanos for a year.

Where one would catch a cool breeze.

My beautiful patio.

Enmanuel, a much better house keeper than I will ever be. He, along with many dominicans, is worried about having dead leaves scattered in the front yard. What would the neighbors think!

My bedroom. My Favorite blanky. My mosquito net.

Common visitors. This one in particular likes to watch me fregar the dishes.

A little BIG surprise

2007-08-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

Night before I leave for Nueva York i.e. Florida

<Due to english/spanish differences and added humor, translations might not be exact.>

Enmanuel: "What would you like to do for your last night here?"

Angela: "Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe we could get one of those sandwiches from Guanabano that are super delicious. You know the ones where they chop chop chop the veggies and chicken, then grill it all and slap in on a squishy bun."

Enmanuel: "MMMM. Yeah that sounds good, we'll head over there later."

Horita (later) Mabel, Ruth, and Enmanuel are gathered around Enmanuel's moto, talking secretly. Angela wanders up to discuss the sandwich getting agenda.

Angela: "Hey girls whatcha doing?"

Ruth and Mabel: "We're going to head to La Guama (the town next to ours) to run an errand. We can pick up your sandwiches while we're there."

Angela: "Ok great. Here's 100 pesos. Remember the sandwiches where they chop chop chop (Showing with hand motions as well) the chicken and vegetables and then slap it on a squishy bun."

Enmanuel: "And Remember, no veggies for me!"

Angela: "Tell them to put the veggies from his onto mine. MMM I like veggies. Chop Chop Chop."

Mabel tries to start the moto and fails. Enmanuel then pushes Mabel and the moto to the street corner, Mabel starts the moto and Enmanuel jumps on the back to do a circle around the block. Angela heads back to the house. Ruth waits on the street corner in her high heels. -Ain't no way she's runnin after them in those things!

5 minutes later,

Enmanuel arrives on foot.

Enmanuel: "Let's go to the park and chat until they come back with our sandwiches."

We wander the 1 1/2 blocks to the park and continue on until we arrive at his brightly lit Grandmothers house (my future house as of Aug. 27).

Angela: "Hola Donas, how is everyone tonight?"

A hug and a kiss on the cheek is given to everyone. We are immediately offered a plateful of platanos y fried salami. I refuse with my sandwich in mind. Enmanuel welcomes his mama's cooking with open arms.

Angela: "Are you crazy. We have the big Chop Chop Chop sandwich coming. There is no way you're going to be able to down in all."

Enmanuel pats his stomach as if he is the incredible eating machine.

20 minutes later, He finishes eating and we head on back.

Angela y Enmanuel: "Buenas noches. We'll see you in the morning at 5:30 to pick up the little girl. Bye Bye."

We continue to the park.

Angela: "We better head back to the house, I can smell the veggies from my sandwich, they must have arrived by now."

Enmanuel: "No no, they aren't there yet. They'll drive by and let us know when they get back."

We wait in the park and chat about the week to come. (My friends and family in the DR are super paranoid that I will forget all about them once I hit american soil. Silly dominicans.)

10 minutes later a moto cruises by. The second it passes Enmanuel recognizes the sound of his muffler.

He whistles at the moto. Mabel does a U-turn and heads back to the house.

Enmanuel: "Now, The sandwiches are there."

We stroll back with much anticipation for the delicious chop chop chop sandwiches. We arrive at my house and the Donas are sitting outside on the porch enjoying the cool evening breeze while the inside of the house is all dark.

Angela thinking: "Hmm. We must not have electricity."

Ruth: "The sandwiches are in the kitchen on top of the counter."

Angela: "Huh? Where, I can't see anything!"

I enter the kitchen clueless

Everybody: "Surprise!"

Angela: "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"

I scream and laugh for what seems like entirely too long. Once I come to my senses I realize it's a sweet going away party. A banner saying 'Have a good trip, We love you Angela'. Cake, soda, salami, crackers, and neighborhood kids.

We danced, we laughed, and we ate cake.

And the Much anticipated chop chop chop sandwichs sat on the countertop, waiting to to be split up and shared amongst all the party guests.

A breath of cold air

2007-08-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Florida where the sun is hot, the building are cold, the grandpas are witty, and the babies are beautiful.

Ok, Florida just might be as hot, or even hotter, than the DR, but nobody would realize it because every single place that humans exist there is A/C. I was never so aware of this. I have spent maybe a total of 1 hr without A/C since I arrived here 4 days ago. From the A/C car to the A/C house to the A/C mall to the A/C restaurant. I'm definitely not complaining. I haven't NOT sweat this much in 6 months.

Also, I'm truelly happy I took this opportunity to spend some time with Patty's family, Grandpa and Leah (my long lost cousin). It's always great to reconnect with your roots.

Patty, Me, and Sweet Baby Grace

Shopping. Way too much shopping. I did find these super cute sketchers. They have all dominican bling bling I need to fit i

Leah, my cousin, who I haven't seen in 15 years.
What an incredible woman. We visited the Venice Beach, had lunch and dinner with grandpa, shopped for laptops and visited her daughters Montessori School.

Grandpa. Just as Witty and Clever as we could ever remember. After 25 years, I finally sat down and learned how to play Bridge, grandpa's favorite past time.

John, Patty's new husband. Offering a night cap after a night of fine dining, cigar bars, and spin the bottle in downtown Ft. Myers.

Overall, being back has been a real treat. Great food, wonderful hosts, precious baby time, A/C, and free long distance.
It started out being a little awkward being back in the states. Some old ordinary tasks seemed so new and foreign to me. I caught my self wanting to: throw my toilet paper in the waste basket instead of the toilet, turn off the shower in between lathering up and rinsing off, prepare my conversations in my head in spanish before making a phonecall, and hug, kiss, or shake hands with everyone that comes along.
The change of perspective has opened my eyes again. When I'm in my campo, I sometimes feel so wrapped up in everyday life in the DR that I lose focus on the bigger picture, the overall outcome. Taking this step back has allowed me to see the projects that need to get rolling and just how important my role is in keeping them all organized and motivated.

¡Ya, Me Voy!

2007-08-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

I´m getting off of this Island for a little American Vaca, that is if Hurricane Dean doesn´t stand in my way. I love my campo, but it is time for my good old funtioning american culture for a while. I leave on Sunday for Florida to visit una muy buena amiga and my grandpa.
I´m dreaming about screens on windows, hot showers (maybe a bath), string cheese, a huge salad, cereal (other than cornflakes), and of coarse all the laughs I´ll have with Patty and her family. Ya, me voy!

Back in Action

2007-08-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

We made it back to our sites a week ago and now it´s time to get started on Project.
Our 3 day spent with project partners gave us a chance to actually plan a few events and talk about our goals for this year.
Some activities we have planned.
1. Workshops for teachers- trying to get them to integrate computers into their lesson plans. It is an amazing resource for them, but most aren´t very willing to change their way of teaching. We´re trying to think of methods to reward them. Like a certificate for the teacher who incorporate informática in his/her the most.
2. Fund raisers- A raffle, Movie night, or a Bazar (like a raffle). Right now we are planning a Gran Tarde Infantil (kids day) with two americans who came down with suitcases full of school supplies and who wanted a way of distributing them. What a great little surprise! I suggested a day of fun, What else could be better. Games, dance contests, raffles, soda pop, and 10 pesos at the door to go towards buying gas oil for our computer center.
3. Computer presentation/knowledge Contests within each grade. Trying to motivate the kids to come and explore the computers.
4. Girls Club. Let girls be girls. I want to play too.
5. Bringing in the oldies for all the community groups to give them a chance to see and touch a computer. They all think they´re too old to learn new tricks, but maybe we can change some of their minds.
6. Swing is still a hit. Right now I´m teaching a routine to about fifteen 11 and 12 year old girls to perform for the Mayor. We´re dancing to Mambo #5
7. oh yeah and of coarse I´ve got to do something with all of this garbage. The pickup truck only comes through the main road, so most of the garbage is just thrown in any open area.

After planning we headed to San Jose de las Matas. It was like heaven. Quiet, beautiful, sweat free. Endless rolling hills in every direction. The medicine we all needed. Lots of healing/venting chats.

I also learned a few new techi tricks like,

photoshop, publisher, how to write code, dreamweaver, and websites

hasta una semana

2007-07-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

I´m officially done with my 3 month diagnostic. Tomorrow morning I´m off to present it to the big dogs. I love the powerpoint I put together. It´s full of pictures of everyone I love here. I´ll send you a copy through email.
Ruth, Mariana, and I are heading to Santiago for 3 Days, then I stay for an additional week of training. I don´t know if I will have phone service or email.

Hope you all are enjoying your hot hot summer. I spend most of my time under shady trees here.

Ang

¡Ethernet Está!

2007-07-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

What amazingly exciting news. I was in my site for less than an hour and we got word that the man with the internet knowledge was on his way. And just a few IP address changes later, here we are typing away and sending photos. Awesome.

These first pictures are of us opening the packages we got from mom, Dave, and Allison. Everybody was so excited and I was ecstatic. Bubbles, new music, coloring book, cool paper, poker chips, wash cloths (now my doña doesn´t have to use old socks), amazing dark chocolate (more please), sticker galore, cards, games and more. Wow, thanks.

My swing group. This was our last performance- it went way better than expected. Infront of 2,000 people, and they were practically flawless. Here we have Jensen, Me, Anyuery, Yendry, Enmanuel, and Anabel .

I had someone video tape it, but they only got the last 20 second of the dance. Uhgg. Que lastima. But at least I have a little to show. All of the other volunteers were super impressed with the 20 seconds they saw. I feel so proud of my troup.

Our Lanzamiento (grand opening) of our AVE (computer center). We had a decent turn out, about 30 people. It was crazy running around trying to get everything together, but we pulled it off. Above we have our Committee and our lab. Look at those smiling faces.

Patrionales! Tons of singing, dancing, pageants, and parades. Above my two host sister, RoseAnny and Ruth, and Enmanuel and I are decorating one of the trucks for the parade.

Every year, Ruth teaches the girls how to dance and speak for the pageants. She also gets them all dolled up each night. Super talented.

I cooked Spaghetti for my family and neighbors. Well, a partially cooked it. One of the local Doña´s, Ramonita, insisted on doing almost all the work. But it was a hit. Cochecha, my little old lady neighbor ate 2 servings. Definately a repeat.

I´m still hoping to make a pizza one of these days.

Bahía de las Aguilas. Amazing shots. I´ll let them do the talking.

Packages and Beach parties.

2007-07-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Excuse this quick blog, my ride is coming in 20 minutes.

Thank you all for all the packages and cards I've received this past month. It felt like christmas time and time again. My family has as much a blast as I did finding treasure after treasure. It was a priceless moment. Thank you.

So far I've received Dave and Allison's gigantic package, Teresa's pencils and paper, mom's makeup and games, and post cards and chocolate from dad. I gave out the calenders to my neighbors and Dona, they loved it.

I just got pack from Bahía de las Aguilas where I celebrated the 4th. The most beautiful water I have ever seen. The photos are amazing.

Hopefully this next week we'll get the internet worked out in my lab, so I'll fill you in soon.

Tiempo de Mangos

2007-06-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Right now is the ¨Tiempo de Mangos.¨
Almost every third house here has a Mango tree and each mango tree has hundreds of mangos. Nobody can go hungry at this time of the year. At almost every house I visit, I´m offered a mango or three for a mid-afternoon snack. Most of the mangos are very sweet, juicy and delicious, but tend to be full of long and stringy fibers that get stuck in your teeth. So it´s kind of like a love/hate/slightly emabarrasing relationships I have with the Mangos. By the time I´m finished with my 1st or 3rd, I have atleast 2 orange stains on my clothes, mango juice dripping down my arms, and long orange strings sticking out of my teeth. Any good host brings me a bucket of water to wash up, and a super good host brings me floss and a towel.

I prefer the mangos with less fiber!
I´ll post photos as soon as possible.

Back to the campo

2007-06-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

I rolled up in the truck from Santo Domingo to find screaming girls and big hugs. Evony and Lily were very happy to see me again. They decorated my room with flower petals and drawings. Muy dulce. I met Ruth´s sister, Rosanny, for the first time. She usually is studying in the capital. Vacation days for students are quite strange here. It seems like there is always someone on vacation.
Yesterday we had another Kermes (potluck) to raise money for our patrionales celebrations. Food, dancing, and cock fights. Yes, I witnessed my first cockfight. They attach an extra plastic claw to the back of the cock´s legs. Attack. It´s quite disturbing watching the two cocks fight to the death. Bloody and exhausted, just pecking away.
Just two weeks to go before our dance performance. I´m hoping to finish our swing routine this week. Yikes. We are all nervous it won´t get done nor be as beautiful as it was planned in my mind.

I´m glad to be back and healthy again. Gracias a Dios.

Dengue and Ringworm

2007-05-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yes. I got the new just now, the results are in, and Dengue is confirmed. What does this mean? If my body takes the normal course of Dengue, I will continue to have a fever, with extreme body aches, then your arms and legs break out in a hiddeous rash. Usually lasts about a week. Mine is only starting. They are expecting to keep me in the capital for a week to make sure I have care nearby if needed. Tonight I'm staying in the Pension, a hostel for volunteers, but I will have my own room, A/C, and a TV. Then if things get worse and I can't deal on my own they'll send me to Clinica Abreu for a few days. This sucks.
I only had half of my dance routine choreographed and the performance is only a few weeks away. They were all doing to well too.
And as for my leg, my once strange sore has turned into 5 smaller sores. She gave me some pills for Ringworm that I'll take for 10 days to try and clear things up.
I need a hug or 10.
I'll have my cellphone with me. 809-467-2781.

My life

2007-05-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Enmanuel (Neco) - muy buen amigo y Yo

Evony, Lily, y Ashley reading the books I brought back from the fair. Evony y Lily are like my nieces here. We play almost everyday. Last night, Evony told me, in her best english, that she thought of me as her sister. so sweet

Mabel, Nana, Suzy, Ruth, y La Polla Cosita, my neighbor puppy.

Licette (La Polla) My first love in this campo. Evony and I

Swing is Alive!

2007-05-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

My town has it´s annual celebration of Partionales coming up in June. Each town in the DR has a Saint and every Saint is celebrated in a different month. Our saint is San Juan Bautista here in Las Uvas. Every year each pueblo throws a week long celebration for their saint. This event is kind of like a holiday because almost all the relatives from around the country and the states come down to join in the celebration. The people go to mass every day and party every night. The town next to us is celebrating their Patrionales this week, so I´ve gotten a little preview of what it will be like. The first night is a Modelaje, where they will elect the new Reina (queen) de Las Uvas. Then the following 6 or 7 nights, the entire town gathers, drinks, dances, and watches any entertainment provided.
This year they’re in for a special treat because Harmon Dance Works is putting together a few swing routines to perform. We have a little over a month to learn swing, choreograph the dances and get us up to par to perform. Vamos a ver. We had our first practice last night and so far things are looking promising. All these kids are born with rhythm. I`m pretty sure they start dancing merengue while still in the womb, so we have to work on retraining their hips to be less wiggly. We laughed and laughed and laughed last night trying to learn the basic steps.

Swearing In

2007-05-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

a challenge

2007-05-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

As hours turn into days and days into weeks, I´m started to see the various layers of this campo and some of the challenges it has to offer me. In a way I feel I´ve been led astray. I was up, they were up and somehow important information just didn´t get mentioned during my last visit. Don´t get me wrong, I still love my site and the people who live there, but the Lab isn´t quite as ready to go as I was told.
One Example:
I came back from a week in the capital with a bag full of lessons, ideas, and new programs (Encarta, Rosetta Stone, and Windows XP) to put on the computers. Tuesday morning rolls around, I´m ready to go to the Lab and make things happen. We arrive and I´m told we can´t turn on the computers because there isn´t enough gas oil in the tank to provide electricity. HHHHHMMMMM. OK, deep breath. Soooo, how are we going to get the computers ready for the classes we have starting in June if we don´t have gas oil to power the Lab nor any funds to buy gas oil? Well, we can do a fundraiser! OK, but before we can do a fundraiser we have to meet with the comitè de informatica (which is somewhat formed) and decide what type of fundraiser we want, when we want to do it, and then how to get the kids and the community to participate. So we have a meeting tomorrow, Friday, which with I hope we can come to a conclusion. Then next week we´ll need to organize the students and assign tasks to different groups. After all is said and done we´ll have about 2 weeks to get all the computers on the same page. About half have functional Internet now.
Good thing my encargadas are techi people, because I would be lost if not.
So one step at a time and that is how things will get done here.
Nevertheless, most of my days are spent in true happiness.
Everyday this week I got up and jogged-walked for and hour with Ruth `my hermana`, Enmanuel, and Pedro. I feel like I already have made a few friends I can count on.
As I walk through the streets I am always greeted with an Adios Angèla, Hola Angèla, a wave, a big smile, and from those who really like me, a hug and a kiss.
My sweet old little neighbor lady, Cochecha, just got a new puppy se llama Cosita (which literally means Little Thing). I love this little puppy. I will post pictures as soon as possible.
My food is delicious and they´ve gone out of their way to buy things that I enjoy like: Bottled water, cornflakes, wheat bread, butter, zapote, and pineapple.
This week I´ve been observing classes (I substited in a kindergarten class for 15 minutes today. Not by Choice. It was slightly chaotic.)
I play games with the students during recess and after school.
During the evenings, I´ve been visiting various families of the students who tend to latch on to my waist with every passing. For the most part time isn´t an issue. I just talk and play while trying to gain confianza with la gente.
Life is good, life is great, now it´s time for chocolate cake!

My campo

2007-04-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

I feel like the luckiest of all volunteers right now. So far, my site seems to be a perfect match. The last five days have been some of the best so far in the DR. My project partners, Ruth and Mariana are both young (23 & 25), well educated, super sweet, motivated, and love to play games. Right now, the AVE isn´t offering classes due to past technical problems, so we will be doing another Lanzamiento (opening) in a month or two. I want to make sure that we have most of the kinks worked out before we open for business. To begin, classes will be offered to students and teachers. There isn´t much of an interest from the teachers, so we are going to try and focus most of our attention on getting students up to par. I think we´ll be starting with the very basics like how to use the mouse and basic hardware knowledge. We´ll see.
From what I sensed, I´ll be spending much of my extra time working with youth. There is so much potential in the kids there, they just need a little organization and direction.
One of my first projects is going to be a week long day camp for the kids. I´m hoping to include computer classes, art, dancing, theatre, games, sports, and whatever else the kids are interested in. I´m feeling super motivated right now. Just getting out of the capital lifts my spirits greatly. I´m looking forward to finally getting a start on my projects.
My family is ideal as well. I´m living with Ruth, one of my project partners, and her grandmother, Victoriana. Ruth is the perfect connection to have in a town like Las Uvas. She knows the Buena gente, is involved in many activities, and is adored by much of the community. I couldn´t have asked for a better situation. I have electricity, a shower (well a stream of water that comes from a spout), a toilet that flushes, and a fan in my room. I´m living like a princess in Dominican standards. My Doña has a chicken coop/tienda in her back yard where she raises, butchers, and sells chicken. At every hour of the day there are people coming with pesos and leaving with a bag of freshly chopped chicken. I watched a chicken die the other night for the first time. They tied a string around the neck and watched it as it was strangled to death. Quite disturbing. It´s hard to really enjoy eating chicken when you just saw it wandering around the backyard 30 minutes earlier. Here, Death is in your face everyday. We live, we love, and then we get eaten.

La Despedida in El Seibo

2007-04-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Laura, our IT trainer, Niece of

Patricia Vetter of Corpus Cristi

Church in Bismarck.

Small world.

The Doñas

Elsa, Jon´s Doña

Sabina, Lori´s Doña

Maria, My Doña

Betsy, Alissa, John, and I at the

Despidida our last night in El Seibo.

Daniel, my spanish teacher and Alexis an IT volunteer

Por Fin!

2007-04-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ask me again! Where are you going to live in the Peace Corps?
Well, For the 1st time I have an answer for you.
A tiny little campo pueblo smack dab in the middle of the country, se llama Las Uvas. It lies in a lush region of the Cibao, right north of La Vega. Right around the same area I did my volunteer visit. I absolutely loved it there. Hills, mountains, waterfalls, agriculture, pigs, sunny days, cool nights and not in a direct hurricane path. What more could you ask for? Nada. I´m looking forward to all the fruit and vegetables that will be available at every corner and on most trees.
From what I´ve read, Las Uvas is very small, only 3,000 people, but has a few larger towns within 20 minutes away. Sound like just what I wanted. I´ll be working in an AVE at an small Elementary School. The AVEs are trailors that work as computer labs. There are 10 computers, air conditioning, and Internet. Sweet. Many of the Labs around the country don´t have internet, so I feel pretty fortunate. I´ll be working with 2 other women in the Lab who I guess already have a pretty good base in Iformatica. So, in addition, they placed me in this site to help out with pedagogy in the regular classroom. Art projects here we come!
A large focus in almost all PC project is creating a youth group and doing various teambuilding, confidence building, and community based activities.
I´m leaving tomorrow for my site with my projects partners, the 2 ladies with whom I´ll be working. This will be a previsit, a chance to check things out, check cell phone coverage, absorb some of the community and then on Sunday we´ll come back to discuss our first impressions.
Tomorrow morning we do a little cultural training with our project partners, then create an action plan for this week. After lunch I´ll head out to Las Uvas for 5 days. Volunteers explain this day to be one of the most awkward of the entire 2 years. We meet our partners, with whom we´ll be working with for 2 years, whether we like it or not, then try to make small talk with limited language skills. HHHHmmm. Sounds Painful. Supposedly upon entering the town, we´re treated like somewhat of a celebrity. A new face and an American. Everyone wants to meet us and talk to us. Many volunteers are paraded around town and asked to give speech after speech to various classrooms and community groups. Ay Dios Mio. We are all quite nervous. Some volunteers are greeted by a huge fiesta of like 500 or more people. Talk about needing to make a good first impression.
So I´ll get back to Santo Domingo on Sunday and then just 2 more days of training. We swear in as Volunteers next Wednesday, all 32 of us. We´re supposed to be at our sites by next weekend. Then for 3 months we are expected to remain in our site and get to know our pueblo, it´s strengths and weaknessess, the community, the people, the culture, the youth, and create a community diagnostic from all the gathered info. These first 3 months are known to be hard and awkward. For this I would appreciate as many packages, letters, and emails as possible. To be honest I´m feeling a little package lonely. I have yet to recieve a special treat. I feel kinda like the scrawny kid who gets picked last to play dodgeball.
I could use a really good tweezers. Dark Chocolate. Wash cloths. Orbit, bubble gum flavor. Smiley faces. Drawings. Something North Dakota for my Family. CDs. DVDs. Spanish childrens books. Crayons. colored pencils. Fun games. Teaching tools. Anything that you think would make me smile. Packages are a great morale booster!
My address is posted on the top of the page. Thanks.
I´ll write more once I know more. Wish me luck. Think of me tomorrow and just how awkward you know I´m feeling, then laugh as I will when the day is finally done.

Semana Santa

2007-04-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Fotos - Alissa and I at the rio.
-My Doña and I riding in the back of the truck with 18 other people.
- Me, riding horse at Cesar´s ranch
- Davy, a neighbor, with our little cousin. It´s very normal for boys to run around naked.
- My Doña and a cousin preparing the chicken for lunch.

In most Spanish countries, Semana Santa is a week filled with church going, religious processions, and giving thanks to our Lord Jesus. In La Dominicana it is celebrated with beach going, river bathing, nap taking, abichuelas con dulce making, and giving thanks to the one colmado that will sell alcohol. Well, at least from my perspective. The kids get a week off from school and many workers have vacation time for at least half the week, as did we.

All my hermanos came home this weekend from Santo Domingo, so it was kind of like a little family reunion. Lots to do and also people coming and going. Tons of Card playing. I have gotten a few other volunteers to fall in love with pinochle and have tried to teach many Dominicans. Pinochle is quite challenging to explain in a second language.

Thursday, our group was dropped off at the same quiet river we had stumb.led across last week. Pebbled beach, little rapids and mucho sol. It was gorgeous. The owner, Cesar, lets a

bout anybody who stops by his ranch bathe in the river below. He’s an old man with one eye, big 80’s sun glasses, who spends much of his time tending to his horses and chatting with whoever passes by. I think he took a special liking towards us for his former wife was once a PCV in la Dominicana. As we were waiting for our guagua back to El Seibo, he entertained us with telling stories about his life, singing songs from the time of Trujillo (the dictator from ’31 – ’60) and letting us ride hishorses. Very Sweet Man.

Friday we made Abichuelas con Dulce. This is a traditional food/drink that all Dominicans make every Semana Santa. It a cooked mix of sugar, cinnamon, raisins, sweet potatoes, blended abichuelas (beans), milk, and little cookies to top it off. Delicious.

Saturday, Jon, Alissa, and I headed out to the campo to hang out by the river once again. We all our family, cousins, and neighbors into the back of a pick up truck. How many do you think we fit in the back of the truck???????? 20, yes 20. In addition, a cooler, a dominoes table, 2 mattresses, and food for all. True PC moment. After a 30 minute drive we reached Elsa’s (John’s Dona) Campo. Many people have a campo here. Basically it is just an acre or two of land where they grow coconut, fruits and vegetables.

We ate and drank fresh coconut, sucked cacao seeds, and ate tamarines. Lunch was quite the cultural experience. Chicken, rice, and platanos all prepared from scratch at the rio. All the food was washed in and cooked with the river water. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d still be alive today to speak about it. But we survived and it happened to one of the tastier meals we’ve had. Must have been that ¨rio¨ flavoring!

Only three days left of CBT training, then we are back in Santo Domingo for a few weeks. Next Monday we´ll find out our permanent sites.

Adios El Seibo. Nos Vemos.

Mas Fotos

2007-04-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Dos chicas with big cocos. A local cut open these cocos and we drank the water inside and ate the slimy flesh.

A local group of kids.
Its rare to see Guitars here. They must be rich.

The local method of advertising. There is Radio, but most prefer to blast their adds from speakers on top of a truck, this way everyone has to hear it. Semi-annoying.

social norms

2007-04-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last night, we all had an interview with one of the local radio DJs. He asked us about the Peace Corps, our views of the culture, and what we missed from home. It was sooooo nerve racking. I haven´t been that scared of speaking in a long time. First we had to figure out what exactly he was asking us, and then try to spit out a bit of Spanish that made some sense. I botched one question. I thought that asked what was strange in this country `Que es extraño`, when they were actually asking what I missed about my home ¨Que te exrañas¨. See how I was easily confused! Ay Dios Mio. Anyways I talked about how strange the public transportation system is here, all the guaguas and motoconchos, and how I had my own car in the states. So it came out as I missed my car and didn´t like to walk. Typical American! It was fun and something new though. The picture attached is of Chris, Janet and Cristian, the DJ. (Cristian is also my newest dancing buddy.)

A little about the social life here in El Seibo and the DR in general. Coming from a free life style in the states, some of the cultural norms between men and women here have been very challenging to accept. The machismo here is quite fuerte and this creates some unwritten rules women need to follow to keep themselves out of trouble.
If a woman wants to go out with her girlfriends, it is recommended that a man always accompanies them. If there isn´t a man around, other men will generally view these ladies as a free for all and it will be hard to keep the guys away.
It´s also not wise to accept any drinks from strangers. The 1st drink means they can sit with you, the 2nd means they can dance “pegado” stuck together, and the 3rd means your going home with the guy.
If you go out with guys to a bar, that basically means you´re only dancing with those guys all night long. If by chance another muchacho approaches the table to ask one of the ladies to dance, out of respect, he must first ask one of the guys at the table if he could have that dance with whichever girl. Then, if the guy at the table thinks it okay, he will ask the girl if she would like to dance with this muchacho.
It is not ok for a girl to ask a guy to dance, this of coarse would mean that you want something more than just a dance. Yes, this is frustrating for me. If we have only a few guys in my group, I end up spending much of my night dancing and wiggling in my chair.
On this same note, a lady cannot invite a man into her house if she is alone, even if it is for only 10 minutes, without rumors flying around the entire town that they are doing the hanky panky. Even worse, the man might expect this from the simple invite into the house.
So, us ladies just have to play it safe and smart siempre.

Mini-viajes

2007-03-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry, It´s been awhile. This past week here has been full of various activities. Tuesday morning we went to the Mercado de Pulga which literally translates to the ¨market of flea¨. This was a stripmall shopper`s nightmare, but a rummage saler`s dream! Clothes (new and old), dishes, bath supplies, shoes galore, and more clothes. As you would find at any market, there were tables upon tables of unorganized piles of clothes. Most of the clothes come from donations given to Haiti. At the border, among other trading posts, the Haitians trade all the unused donated clothes for food, something they have very little of. Then the Dominicans bring the clothes to local markets and try to make some profit. So if you`re planning on sending Haiti more clothes, think again, perhaps peanut butter would do more good.
The market was a good time though. I bargained, found 3 good deals, got the cutest shirt the DR had to offer, and got hit on enough times to raise my self esteem for a few minutes. Many men here are just looking for a nice American girl to take them back to the states. That’s a whole other blog in itself!
On to Wednesday. Jon´s Doña, Elsa, works as a tecnico with the local district that sends other tecnicos out the Bateyes around El Seibo. Bateyes are small communities where sugar cane workers live. Most of these workers are Haitians who have fled to the DR to find work. Elsa helped our group plan a field trip out to the surrounding Bateyes for a brief look at a different lifestyle here in the DR. We headed out Wednesday morning and traveled to about 3 Bateyes. As Betsy said best, they reminded me of the homes built for southern plantation workers during the 1800´s there in the states. Many were copycat homes with a central bathing/washing area/stall. As long as someone, usually the padre, was working in the fields, the Boss would provide him with a home for the family. Each little community had an elementary school nearby, but if the kids wanted to go to high school they had to drive in to El Seibo. Only kids with ¨papers¨ are allowed to go to high school, so unfortunately many kids from these Bateyes will not receive an education higher than 8th grade.
As we passed through the Bateyes, either in our white van or on foot, people all around gathered to watch us go by, like kids watching a parade of firefighters. The feeling like being a circus clown or exotic animal never really leaves my side. But in our eyes, They were the exotic ones. A life so different, so simple, and so hard. Hours upon hours of work in the fields just to make enough to feed their families. So I may at one time live with them, but I will never have the life they live. As another volunteer wrote, I will never be `poor` for I have safety nets: people to count on, a government to support me, and a passport to take me home.
On a lighter note, the rest of my week was much brighter. I drank freshly made cherry juice, chatted for hours with locals, spoke with an Italian in Spanish and understood everything he said, and watched A Day Without Mexicans. Hug a Mexican por favor!
Time is just flying by, and soon I´ll be at my own site making things happen! (or at least trying)

El Seibo

2007-03-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Volunteer Visit

2007-03-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

Becky, The volunteer I visited and I.

I´m in San Francisco de Macoris with another IT volunteer right now. She´s been in country for a year now and is doing very well. She lives in a country town outside of Macoris. Here, they call the country side ¨the campo¨. Her town is in the Cibao region which is known for its rich soil and abundance of food production. Every day I´ve enjoyed fresh picked fruit and vegetables. The old guy to the left, Ney, insisted that I come into his yard to take a look at all the fruit and cacao. We ate zapote, cacao seeds, nisparo, tamarindos, y bolas. They were all really delicious and exotic. In this picture, Ney is showing me how he harvests the cacao fruit. These sheds slide back and forth in order to cover the cacao when it rain and to leave them out in the sun to dry when its not raining. He insisted that I put two dried cacao seeds in my mouth, then he dumped a tablespoon of suger in my mouth and told me to chew chew chew. It was really funny and tasted a lot like chocolate.

There are also alot of chickens and dogs running around. Almost all the families have some sort of animal running free on their land. Becky, the volunteer, lives next to two old Donas who have organic gardens, fruit trees, roosters that crow at all times of the day and night, dogs, and mucho mas. I´m enjoying all the natural beauty of the Cibao. This region reminds me of tropical costa rica. Its definately nice to get out of the city for awhile.

Also, I´m getting a chance to see what life it like for an IT volunteer. She has a center at the highschool which is open to the public during morning hours. She teachers basic computer classes to teachers and the community, has a computer club of talented high school students, and teaches English to the community and the local priest. She is loved and welcomed by all of her community and teachers. It was great to see a successful service in process. I´m looking forward to doing the same types of things in my community.

Transportation y La Zona Colonial

2007-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an experience! Today we went to La Zona Colonial, the colonial center of Santo Domingo. We toured the houses where Cristobol Colon and his son, Diego lived. They also showed us the Peace Corps Office, the Hospital, and the hotel we can stay at when visiting the capital.
We started at Entrena, our training site, this morning at 8am. Then we took a concho to a guagua that is called 10B. There isn't a 10A or 10C, the guy just liked 10B for some reason so decided to name his buses this. They pack you into these guaguas like sardines. If a seat was made to seat 4 comfortably, 5 0r 6 should fit in the Dominican. This past week, not only have I received vaccines in both my arms, but my

glands in my armpits are swollen and sore from trying to fight off some unknown illness, so being pressed up to a stranger was extremely uncomfortable. In addition, you fear for your life for many of the conchos and guaguas look like they have been in one too many accidents and some don't have anything between you and the metal framing of the car. But No Worries Right!!?? Many Dominicans have used these for years and seem to still exist.
Next week I will be going out to a site of an IT volunteer. We are expected to find this place on our own. I think they are trying to get us as used to the transportation system as possible before they send us out. I will be staying with this volunteer for 4 days, just seeing what she does in daily life and what she is working on. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm sure I will survive.
I've been in country for a week now and I'm not sure how I feel. A bit intimidated I guess. Everyone is doing such great things with the Peace Corps. I hope I can find my nitch and succeed as well.

The pictures are of me at PC headquarters, la zona colonial, and a guagua. this is how the guaguas look as they drive down the highway. The money collector, cobrador, hangs out the door and tries to convince people to take his guagua instead of others, even if your not going where he is going!

We Made It!

2007-02-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

My photos> mi Dona and her puppy poci, short for poquito,

Entrena where I have training. We have class in little huts.

My Barrio looking off my porch.

My nieces, Geneli and Geobele. Super cute.

Dios Mio! What a journey. We left our airport at 3:30 am on thurs. morning and stood in line at the airport for nearly 3 hours. Waiting for all 31 of us caused us to almost miss our flight. What chaos. Then of coarse we landed after our boarding time for our connecting flight, so we busted our way to the next gate in Miami and made it just in time. Remeber, most of us didn´t have more than

2 hours of sleep the night before, so we were basically walking zombies.

One girl has not yet been able to meet up with us due to flight delays, and we had another decide in Washington D.C. that she wasn´t going.

Now 31 grinos/as here in los barrios outside of Santo Domingo. Since our arrival we are being pumped full of info about health, familia, culture, the land, diseases, chisme (gossip), baseball, spanish, spanish, and more spanish. In my barrio (neighborhood) there are 4 other volunteers, so we´ll be able to transport to ENTRENA (our school) together, either in un carro (taxi) or una guagua (bus). Mi familia es excelente. I have 1 hermana (sister), 2 hermanos (brothers) and and 2 neices, ages 3 and 13. They were a great Icebreaker the first night. They are much better off than the majority of the barrio. We have a TV, a computer, the internet, hot water, a beautiful front porch, and I have my own room with a lock on the door. I really couldn´t be any luckier.

As I write, I´m looking out through the steel bars of the window, over my front porch at the street below. I see flowers of all colors, children running around with no concern por nada, people talking chisme, cars passing and I hear music. Merengue, bachata, reggueton, and balada are played at every minute of the day. Always music outside. Always people. Always gossip. Always smiles. People here are relaxed and happy.

Life here will be great adjustment for me. I´m having a harder time than I expected. Every day I learn something new. Every day I enter my barrio as a baby, taking first steps into the dominican lifestyle.

It is scary at first, but it will get better every day. My spanish is improving already.
Ojala que vayan bien

Valentines Day in DC

2007-02-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

I've been in Washington DC for the past 2.5 days and have endured 15 hours of training, enjoyed delicious Mediterrannean, Turkish and Siamese dishes, and visited the incredible Holocaust Museum.

DC has been experiencing an unusual Cold spell. (All schools are closing due to the 5 inches of snow! I know, ridiculous.)
We've been slushing through inches of snow trying to get to various restaraunts. We were given a decent walk around allowance, so we're all enjoying every meal we get to the fullest.

My roommate Betsy and I went to the Holocaust museum yesterday morning. It was huge. Three floors full of the history of the Holocaust, starting with the rise of Hitler all the way to the end of the war. How tragic! I insisted on reading everything and watching all the videos, so we only made it through one floor before it was time to leave. Very educational. I hope to make it back someday.

The last two days of training have been very informative and inspiring. Our instructors were very passionate about the PC and what it stands for. We learned about how to deal with many unwanted problems or situations that may arise. They also had us question ourselves and our reasons for being here. Don't worry, I am still commited.
Also, it was wonderful to finally put all the faces to the names I have encountered through email. There are many strong and inspiring members of our group. I am truelly looking forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with all of them.
Unfortunately we lost a volunteer already. Due to all the slush and snow, there are also an abundance of icey sidewalks. One of our volunteer's slipped and broke her arm and is being sent home. Were hoping she'll find another program soon. All that hard work, then something so unexpected and uncontrollable like that happens. How Aweful!
We are still missing two volunteers. They are stranded in other Airports, waiting for a flight that won't be delayed or cancelled. One volunteer has been waiting in the Chicago Airport for 36 hours. We're expecting them to arrive anytime tonight.
The Peace Corps Hondurus Group was supposed to leave this morning from DC but their flight was cancelled as well. We are crossing our fingers to make it out at 7am tomorrow.

Hasta La Republica Dominicana

Look to the Skies

2007-02-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

At 10:55 am I'm Out. Tomorrow morning give me a big wave as I pass over Bismarck, Fargo, and Minneapolis on my way to DC.

This will be me... trying to walk. All my possessions for the next two years on my back and in my arms. Thank God for luggage carts in Airports!

I left my nieces tonight with tear filled puppy dog eyes. So sweet but oh so sad. They gave me enough hugs and kisses to last me a few weeks. Thanks girls. I love you and will miss you.

The rest of my last day in NoDak was spent playing SingStar, Guitar Hero, Pit, Potlucking with the family, and some last minute shopping. It's nearly 1 am and I'm spent. Goodnight and I'll see you in the Dominican Republic!

Packing Chaos

2007-02-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is me trying to organize and pack. Take everything out, decide what goes to the DR with me, what goes to the Thrift Store, then what goes into storage to await my return. It's a good things my dad is out of town this week, because I have taken over his place.

We are allowed 80lbs to bring with. I have no idea what 80 lbs looks like spread all over the floor! I'll have to wait for my back pack to arrive, then load it all in and step on the scale. Wish me luck. My To Do List seems to be growing rather than shrinking! Lots to Do. Hasta Pronto.

Saying Goodbye Begins

2007-01-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

Last night was my tropical going away party. Friends, old and new, showed up throughout the night and shared their words of comfort and encouragement. Thanks guys. My dad kept trying to get them to share stories about me, thankfully that didn't come to it's full potential. Anyways, I don't think he would have really wanted to hear the stories they would have had to share!
We ate, drank Sangria, admired my beautiful nieces and played a little charades. Overall it was a success. There were smiles across the board. I will miss you all.
Thursday is my last day in Fargo, then I'm off to Bismarck. This week consists of dancing, babysitting nieces, painting, and knitting. Four of my favorites. Then I throw my clothes in my car and head out. Not seeing this beautiful flat, icy, cold country side for many months will be hard. My new home just won't quite compare in beauty!
Goodbye Fargo, Goodbye Friends, Goodbye Swing - Make me Proud!

My flight is booked!

2007-01-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

The official date and time is Feb. 12 at 10:55am. I will be arriving in D.C. at 4:26pm, leaving me an entire day to explore Our Nation's Capitol! How exciting. Now hopefully one of my dear loved ones will have time to take me to the airport on Monday morning. Just one.
It will be hard saying good-bye, so I think I might pretend I'm leaving for only a short trip. See you in a few weeks! Two years is way to hard to fathom.
Saying goodbye to Jeremy will be the toughest. He's been part of my life nearly everyday for 2 years. Ouch. That hurts. He will be missed muchisimo. We'll have to say hasta luego two weeks from now, then off to Bismarck to visit the family and fly out.
I'm hoping to have enough adventures daily to side track my mind from missing everyone so much.
It will also be hard not watching my nieces and nephew grow up. Many of them are becoming teenagers and are going to need much guidance. It breaks my heart to not be there for them over the next few years. I'm planning on talking to their teachers to create and ongoing correspondence with their classes. Through this I'm hoping they'll feel my presence and have a better understanding of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
And then there are the young ones. Only 2 and 4 years old. So many firsts will be missed. Break my heart. I love you all.

4 weeks to go

2007-01-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Things are winding up around Fargo. My last day of work at the HoDo is this Saturday. They all will be missed, as well as the amazing dishes the cooks created. MMMM. Beans and Rice here I come!

The next few weeks will be filled with finishing a painting, the continuous stream of paperwork the Peace Corps sends me, knitting baby hats for babies I won't yet get to meet, deciding what to pack for two years (not an easy task), packing, and of course spending as much time with friends and family as I can.

I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed, but mostly excited. I'm MOVING to the Dominican, a tropical island with beautiful beaches and no snow. How could I not be excited!

My ship out date is the 13th of February. Off to D.C. for some pre-training. I've never been there, hopefully we'll have a little time for sight seeing. Then off to the DR on the 16th. I'll keep you posted on details.