Sparke`s Adventures in the DR

I want to be a Doctor!

2009-02-09T06:15:00.001-08:00

Volunteers always talk about how amazing it is to work on Medical Missions, but I was still surprised by how incredible it really was. The first day, I worked with a doctor in triage, selecting the patients that they could help and having to turn away those who didn't qualify. I was a little overwhelmed by the number of little children who came in with severe burns, cleft lips and palates, and other birth defects. There were young people who were burned from throwing gasoline on burning garbage, women whose ex-boyfriends had thrown acid on them, and men with scars from bullet and knife wounds.

On Monday through Thursday, however, I was able to see the amazing operations that the MACLA doctors performed for FREE in order to help such patients. I spent most of my time working with the little kids, keeping them calm and talking to their parents until it was time for me to carry them into the operating room. They were often REALLY scared (as I would be!) but I was able to keep my composure because I knew that, when healed, the kids would discover that their lives were greatly improved. Many kids regained function in their hands and arms, had their cleft palates closed, and had unsightly tumors and keloids removed.

What most amazed me about myself, was that I DIDN'T pass out and die the minute that I saw peoples' bodies being cut open. I was still a little uneasy...but I actually stuck around! A few years ago I couldn't handle a PIG dissection! And I was so in awe at how much the recovery nurses were able to comfort the kids after their surgeries. So now, in ADDITION to wanting to be a teacher, psychologist, and public health worker, I also want to be a nurse! :)

Shameless Solicitation

2009-02-09T05:53:00.001-08:00

My last major goal in my project is to renovate our school library. It has been a dream of mine since just about the very beginning of my service, but it has proven very difficult to realize. I finally have the grant proposal posted, but need your help! We would like to use the money to purchase a photocopy machine, so that teachers can actually print worksheets (instead of CONSTANT boardwork) and copy exams without having to spend large amounts of money. We also want to build some better shelves, tables, and chairs. And, of course, we want to purchase as many grade-appropriate books as possible! The teachers and I are really anxious to create a functioning resource center and would really appreciate any possible help. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our website at https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-288

Muchas gracias!!

Close of Service Conference...already??

2009-02-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

April 24th. The day that my group is officially finished with Peace Corps service in the DR. Can you BELIEVE it?? I feel like it was not all that long ago that I stepped off the plane and thought, "Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?" Now my two years FLEW by and I am expected to figure out that ultimate question....what's next? The Close of Service (C.O.S.) Conference held by Peace Corps was really great. We learned about stuff that we probably SHOULD have known about years ago...like taking out loans, applying for grad school scholarships, saving/investing money, searching for jobs, working internationally, and improving our interviewing skills. Though I still have NO clue what I want to do next, I gained a little bit more confidence and perhaps courage to pursue things that I previously thought were beyond my reach.

We also learned about the very beauracratic process of leaving the country, including the infamous week-long medical exams. Good news for us, however! The doctor was able to get take-home poop sample jars so now we can gather up our first "specimens" in the comfort of our own homes!

As a group we celebrated our completion of service (almost) at Blue Moon Resort in Cabarete. A beautiful, isolated hostel in the hills outside of Cabarete, we enjoyed a world-famous meal of what they call Indian-Caribbean infusion. The food was served on large banana leaves and we ate it with our hands! Felicidades to all the amazing accomplishments of my peers!

Life in el Barrio is sweet...

2009-02-08T14:43:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned in other entries, I have had a great few months here in my little barrio. Life isn't EXACTLY as it is in Chicago, but I am enjoying it for what it is. The rain has kept us indoors a little more than we would like, but we have still found plenty of time for sitting around talking, telling stories, and just making each other laugh HYSTERICALLY.
Our other major pastime is beauty. We wash each others' hair, blow it dry, straighten it, put in all sorts of weird things that we think will make it healthier, and then wrap it up a night....just to do it all over again. Not to mention the sweet manicures and pedicures that are SO imperative. I, unfortunately, cannot stand having really long fake nails..otherwise I would be rocking acrylics just like those pictured below.
The little kids in my neighborhood are full of fun and love and energy, and come up with endless hours of games for us to play. Whether with or without electricity, I am never at a loss for things to do. What am I going to do when I don't have 10-year-old neighbors to play tag with me in the streets?? Life in America is definitely going to be an adjustment!

Happy New Year, Dominican Style!

2009-02-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

Wherever I may be at the end of this year, I sincerely hope that I can find my way back to Puerto Plata to celebrate the New Year. I thought that, as usual, we would quietly sit at the house and have some beer while listening to merengue and bachata. About an hour before midnight, however, one of my little muchachitos stumbled over to Pilar's house and began demanding beer. "Angel!" I said, "Are you drunk?!?!" Angel, who is 8-years-old, replied, "Yes, my dad gave me wine!" I nearly fell over. I have never seen an eight-year-old drunk in my life! Then I decided to see what else was going on so I wondered over to where my beloved "son" and his cousin were hanging out on the bridge. They ran over to me, also stumbling, and I thought, Oh, how cute, they are pretending to be drunk like Angel. Imagine how shocked I was to discover that my beloved hijo was NOT pretending!!!! I laughed hysterically and then dragged him home to show his parents, who also started cracking up. The entire NEIGHBORHOOD was drinking!
When midnight came around, we all started running around the barrio, hugging, kissing, and saying "Felicidades!!!" to everyone. We started dancing merengue and bachata in the middle of the street and all the kids did, too! We never even left our neighborhood but it was one of the best times I have ever had. There is such a sense of community here; all of us neighbors are like family and I was so happy that this gringa could be a part of something so Dominican. I was even dressed for the part! Have you noticed my bright blue SEQUENCED turtleneck sweater (a present from my host mom)!??! I'm truly a fashionista, eh? But seriously, New Year's Eve 2009: DR, anyone??

Feliz Navidad

2009-02-08T14:12:00.001-08:00

This year, I was a bit nervous about being away from my family for Christmas (for the FIRST time!). Though I didn't get my annual snowfall or Christmas tree, I really enjoyed my holiday season. For one thing, there was NO school and so I had tons of free time to read, relax, and hang out with my muchachos. For nine days leading up to Christmas day, we got up reaaaaally early in the morning (with the help of baseball player Ramon Ramirez and his BLASTING Christian music from his jeep) to go to church, sing, and drink hot ginger tea. The traditional Christmas food is pork, so I had the great fortune of seeing WAAAY more piggies roasted than I could ever desire. One day they roasted FIVE in one day....right in front of my house! On Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), I had like half the families in the neighborhood trying to shove pork, rice and peas, and potato salad down my throat. One neighbor even made special "American" dishes that she learned from her gringo husband! It was a low-key Christmas for me, but I spent more time with all the little would-be-delinquents in my town than I ever had before and now love them more than EVER!

OMG Being V.I.P. is SWEET!

2009-02-08T13:53:00.001-08:00

As my Dad informed me, I must be rather sheltered because I had NO idea how awesome all-inclusive resorts are. Thanks to Robyn's family, I not only got to enjoy the luxury of all I could eat and drink on a BEAUTIFUL beach, but I also got to be V.I.P.! We had our own special area with BEDS overlooking the Caribbean!!! How AMAZING is that?? We also ate delicious Italian and Mexican food in the restaurants (no extra charge to us) and had options of ANY alcoholic beverage we desired. Unfortunately, we had a little toooo much champagne and now may never drink it again :) Bayaibe was incredibly gorgeous. The water was literally like a SWIMMING pool! I could see my feet!! Since I am such a bleeding heart hippie, I am sure that I will never have enough money to be V.I.P. ever again, but it sure was sweet while it lasted :)

Childrens' Day Celebration

2009-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

When working with my kids on reading, I am (more or less) always happy to be at school. What I don't understand, however, is why the principal is more than willing to spend THOUSANDS of pesos on crazy parties rather than purchasing things like oh, I don't know, BOOKS. Also at issue, is that said events are always out of CONTROL. At the Independence Day march, kids were outside playing with homemade firecrackers. On Mother's Day, parents were literally fighting each other to get to the Brugal Rum. "The Day of the Kids" was no exception. The principal invited all 1,500 students to come to the school at 9am in their regular clothes, so that we could have a huge party. After a near riot broke out as the kids flooded in through the school gates, a huge truck drove up that BLASTED merengue, bachata, and (of course) reggaeton, so that all of the little 10-year-olds could grind on one another. The principal had also purchased HUNDREDS of pounds of rice, two whole cows, a couple of pigs, like a bazillion pounds of beans....then had half the neighborhood cooking the food in ELEVEN of those giant outdoor pots. The food arrived prepared in little boxes...and truckload after truckload fled in, but most of the kids STILL had to wait hours on end until their little hungry tummies were filled. Just as I thought the insanity was coming to an end, a CLOWN showed up and I was forced to dance on stage with him.....in front of the ENTIRE school. Good thing I am so sin verguenza :) As much as I believe in the importance of celebrating with children, I am definitely okay with the fact that I will NOT be here for the festivities next year.

"Roberto" in the barrio

2009-02-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

Since Ann's vacation went super bien, Rob decided that he had to check out life in the DR as well. After a CRAZY first day of playing baseball in the POURING down rain (all of us covered in mud and grass from falling down so many times) and climbing the mountain (only to SLIDE down in the mud on our derriers), I thought that Rob's vacation might be a little TOO "loco". But, the rain subsided and we were able to do fun things like go to Cabarate and drink mojitos during happy hour, ride the cable car, climb the 27 waterfalls (in which we almost DIED because the water levels were SO high), visit the campo, eat our weight in rice and beans, and drink Dominican beer on the Malecon. We also played dominoes (one day I WILL learn to beat my 15-year-old muchachos) and took Pilar and the kids to Sosua Beach. Rob wanted to buy them dinner to thank them for taking SUCH good care of us...but some random drunk Canadians ended up paying our bill!

We had lots of fun hanging out in my barrio and playing with all of my kids, but I will admit that Rob got a special souvenir that he may rather have gone without. It appears that some of that free food we ate contained some rather unsanitary lettuce and, let's just say, that he and I spend a lot of time in my bathroom which, unfortunately, did NOT have water!! Coming to mi casa is always an adventure...... :) Now all of my kids ask about "Roberto," as they call him, and have begun to call me Sparky (pronounced eh-sparky). Yay for visitors!

Yay for Murals!

2008-10-14T09:08:00.001-07:00

Well, after a hang up or two...or three...we FINALLY finished our educational murals!!! With the help of fellow volunteer Janet and some artists from her community, we painted the entire alphabet. Unfortunately, I had spinal problems and we weren't able to finish with the drawings until recently. I hand drew all of the drawings that correspond with the letters (A-apple, B-boy, etc). Then I had a bunch of teenage muchachos paint them...which was great because they really wanted to help....but also not so great because they were rushing, painting bees with green heads, fighting over who got to paint what, etc. Lori and I were able, however, to touch up any little errors and I think that both murals (one in each of the 1st grade classrooms) turned out really great. The best part is that we still have lots of paint left and some money for materials, so one of the teachers at the school wants to head up a painting project in which they create map murals! So thank you all for your generous donations and we will be sure to continue putting the funds to good use!

Happy Baby to the Best "Son" in the World!

2008-10-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who don't know already, I have unofficially adopted a Dominican son. Granted, he has a mother (who happens to be my best friend in the barrio), but he is just SUCH an awesome kid that he temporarily has two moms. I am his "Gringa" mom and Pilar is his Dominican one. We pretty much spend everyday together playing games, watching movies, doing homework, and, of course, practicing English. He recently had his 12 birthday, which was the event of the CENTURY. We juntar-ed all of our money to buy fruit (to make a delicioso punch), snacks, popcorn, decorations, and a piñata (yes, i know, they are a mexican thing, which is precisely why our piñata was not the most aesthetically pleasing). Since I am the town baker, I whipped up two 2-layer cakes that though delicious, were clearly made more with love than any professional skills. After the house was covered with balloons, and the reggaeton was bumping, it was ready for the festivities to begin. To my utter dismay, however, there were like THIRTY kids there!! Needless to say, Pilar's small, 3-room house was busting at the seams with little muchachos who, naturally, started dancing some of the raciest reggaeton I've ever seen! If you think that the adults at the discoteca dance a little dirty, you have never seen the 8-year-olds in my barrio. Precisely why I told my little son Miguel that he is LUCKY that I'm not his REAL mother because I would have turned that music off and put on some nice, kid-friendly bachata. Unfortunately the most disturbing videos were accidentally deleted, but this little show still survived:

Anyone want a gato...or two???

2008-10-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well all, here she is. My beloved Dominican "hija," also lovingly referred to by neighborhood children as "La Gata Diabolica." She looks so cute and innocent, playing in that attempt at a piñata, doesn't she?? Too bad that in addition to her adorable cat hugs and kisses, she has a tendency to bite, scratch, and generally claw me and my guests to death. The GOOD news is that she is apparently pregnant! That means that I get to spread Frita's wonderful joy through her (hopefully not too many) offspring. Stay tuned for photos and videos of her precious babies!!! I'm accepting orders..... :)

Attempt at a Project #2

2008-08-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Perhaps my greatest challenge thusfar was the 3-day teacher training workshop I recently held at my school. Not only did it involve months of my investigating Spanish literacy (largely through trial and error with my pull-out groups), but I also wrote a 70-page guide IN SPANISH. During the writing process, of course, my laptop completely died....at which point I had a mild heart attack and then called Lori to borrow hers. I would like to add, however, that my printer is my FAVORITE toy ever (Thanks again, mom and pop!). I also had Robyn in town with me for almost a week and she was a GREAT help. I mean who else will sit up with me at 2:00 AM when we haven't slept for DAYS, cutting/pasting/plastificar-ing words for a word wall (in the dark, mind you, as the electricity se fue)???? She was definitely a lifesaver. Robyn, Zahira, and myself each had a full day of presentation, and it was really great information, if I do say so myself : )

The first disaster came when I went to retrieve those aforementioned guides. After spending about 6 months writing it, all of my sweat and labor finally paid off because I had, in my hands, 20 copies of the COMPLETED manual. Then, I quickly flagged down a motoconcho and he threw the box of my new guides right on the front of his motorcycle. Approximately 10 seconds later, he attempted to depart and the entire box fell right into the MIDDLE of the road! I had to scurry around like a madwoman to pick up my precious books, as SUVs and motorcycles were trying to run us over!!! Only in the DR....

The other disaster came when my slightly witch of a directora came in on my day to present and informed me that even though I had the dates of my taller planned since FEBRUARY, we would have to postpone my presentation for another day, as they had something ELSE to do. The best part was that the teachers were in uproar because they were very excited to talk about the reading manual that I had prepared for them and we quickly had a one-hour session (Good thing my rapidfire speech has carried over into Spanish). I definitely left a bit frustrated but, all in all, I think we had a really successful workshop and hope desperately that some of my teachers actually EMPLOY some of the things we talked about! For once I have a project that, as of now, I can call a success.

Attempt at a Project #1

2008-08-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

After many months of being in the school constantly and avoiding working with teachers, I decided to actual attempt a project. Lori (IT volunteer from nearby Luperon) and I decided that a mural project would be fun. We had various plans for raising the money (all of which fell through) so we decided that we could sell Mistolin (very popular floor cleaner), or a homemade version of it, that is. So, we began collecting bazillions of old water and pop bottles, and I talked to my school about it almost weekly. Finally, the great day in June arrived. I had purchased all of the necessary chemicals in Santiago and Lori and I whipped out gallons and gallons of great-smelling (though the color was a little...off) floor disinfectant. My school, however, heartbreakingly let me down in that they did NOTHING to help us. My directora even kept walking around telling everyone that the money was going to be for our "summer camp" when I had repeatedly told her that it was for a mural. In the end, we were left with a ton of Mistolin (to which the school helps itself, I might add) and no money. Through your generous donations, however, we were able to get a move on the mural project and, as soon as it is finished, I will provide proud updates! Just have to mark the Mistolin fundraiser as one of the many failed project attempts...and move on to the next one.

Celebrating American Independence....DR style

2008-08-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July, I think that I was more patriotic than I have ever been. And I don' t think that it would be much of a stretch to say that many of my Peace Corps peers have the same sentiments. As Dominicans don't exactly celebrate our beloved Independence Day, we volunteers joined the Peace Corps tradition of partying hardy on one of the most beautiful beaches on the southern coast (Bahia de las Aguilas). The best part, of course, was the transportation. This VERY remote beach requires a six hour trip from the capital to nearby city Pederales. From Pedernales, one has to hop in the back of a truck for about a good hour down one of the worst roads I have ever seen. The final stop: a beautiful boatride (complete with life jackets) through el mar caribe, ultimately arriving at this beautiful, isolated beach!

Kevin had the brilliant idea, however, of creating what he called a "The Kevin Inviational Party Bus." That's right, about 35 of us road the six...okay, so really it ended up being more like TEN hours from the capital to Pedernales. They somehow managed to acquire a KEG (the only one I have ever seen in this country) so that we could all drink our way down south. We sang horribly tacky American songs like the National Anthem and "I'm Proud to be an American" with more heart than is at all necessary. Perhaps we are just a bunch of drunken idiots but, then again, perhaps we have just learned to appreciate our native land of flushing toilets, hot showers, and paved roads.....that's right..."there ain't no doubt I love this laaaaaaaaaand, God Bless the U.S.A."!!!

“¡Tú eres más dominicano que un plátano!”

2008-08-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, while hanging out with some English teachers in the campo, I was told, "Pero, diache Sarah, tú eres más dominicano que un plátano!”(translation: Geez, Sarah, you are more Dominican than a plantain!). Aside from the fact that I think the statement is intrinsically hilarious, I also find it tremendously flattering. For some reason, right around the 1-year mark of living in this country, I transformed. I went from "sticking it out" because I'm committed to my project, to actually WANTING to be here. Almost without noticing, I began to love many of the very things that had driven me nuts just a few months prior. I used to hate that Dominicans just wanted to sit around in plastic chairs and "compartir," and now it is like my favorite pastime! I used to think "Rice and beans AGAIN??" and now you will find ME in the kitchen whipping them up (on the rare occasions that my neighbors don't deliver them to me).
I think that I just let go of trying so hard to be "me" and, therefore, "American." I feel like "Dominican-ness" has just somehow seeped into my veins, without effort and without consciousness. Now when people ask me, I tell them that I am American-Dominican. So be prepared for lots of rice and beans and, of course, plátanos.

I Actually Had a Visitor!

2008-08-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

So, although Ann's visit was quite some time ago, I think it still deserves a spot on my blog. I was SO anxious/excited/nervous to have my first (and probably ONLY) visitor here in the DR. I was soooo worried that it was going to rain everyday she was here (yes, it does that here), get bitten by a bad mosquito and go home with Dengue, or have what we volunteers lovingly refer to as "explosive diahrrea." Thankfully, we only got one day of monsoon rain and a little bit of vomiting! Other than that, I think her trip was a total hit! We rode the cable car, visited all of the so-called "monuments" of Puerto Plata, drank Presidente, climbed 7 of the 27 waterfalls, went swimming at the beach, got hilarious Dominican manicures, waited for HOURS to see Leonel (Ann became his biggest fan) who we never did see, ate rice and beans, and danced our hearts out to merengue and bachata.

Even though she couldn't communicate with them, Pilar and her family absolutely adored "Anna" (as they call her) and still ask about her regularly. Pilar even regalar-ed a bracelet and a pair of sandals! Though some moments may have been a little insane (the 2 of us on a motorcycle during a monsoon, for example), I think that Ann had a good time. I am just thrilled that she got to see a little bit of what my life is like here and, despite the dirt roads and constant blackouts, appreciate the beauty of my 3rd world home.

Funeral, Anyone?

2008-03-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me why but, for some reason, Dominicans (at least in my community) have a tendency to invite people to wakes and funerals. I definitely love being invited to do things, but I think that these activities might be a bit of a stretch. The first time I went with Pilar's family, I didn't find the invitation tooooo strange because it was really more of a memorial than a funeral. It is something like every seven years after someone dies, his family/friends get together on the day of his death and have a small mass and eat lots of food. On this particular occasion, we went to the campo, ate lots of fruit, had a delicious moro with chicken, and spent time with their relatives.
More recently, however, they invited me to the funeral of the childrens' uncle, a famous judge who lived in the capital. Though there were many people in attendance, I felt very uncomfortable. I did not have the opportunity to even meet the man and, although I adore Pilar and her family, did not particularly enjoy being surrounded by such mourning. His children and siblings were beside themselves with grief and, Gracias a Dios, I have been fortunate enough in my life to have experienced very little of it. All in all, I am touched that Pilar considers me part of her family, but I think I will stick to birthday parties...

Independence Day Mania

2008-03-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

As Robyn astutely noted, the Dominican Independence Day (27 de febrero) somehow brought on MORE work in the school than a regular school day. On the eve of that insane day I was stuck in the school painting, drawing, coloring, etc. mostly because the teachers INSIST that my writing is so "pretty." At 8 o'clock in the morning, I was downtown with a bunch of teachers and students from my school, getting ready for the parade that was supposed to start at "8 o'clock." Around 9:30, it actually began, and then we marched for about an hour and a half. The Dominican sun was a little unforgiving; I returned home pretty similar to the color of this little muchachitas pom pons! All in all, it was an exhausting day...most of us americans agree that our Independence Day (drinking, barbecues, fireworks, etc.) is the way to REALLY celebrate :) I will note, however, that we lack the ridiculous HOMEMADE fireworks seen above. Yes, that's right. These 10-13 year-olds (See Above) were playing with fireworks made out of rusty old tomato cans, tape, gun powder, and some sort of flammable liquid. Sounds suuuuuper safe to me!

Sparke the......baker?

2008-03-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously, the fact that I own a digital camera makes me the community photographer. Apparently, the fact that I have a muffin pan and some boxed cake mixes (Thanks, mom!) makes me a world class baker. Many a Dominican doña has said to me, "Sarah, you know how to make cakes? You MUST teach me!!" These women, who make rice, beans, stews, plantains, fish, chicken, etc. EVERY day and almost exclusively use raw materials (No Hamburger Helper here!) are asking ME how to cook something. For those of you who have tasted my "cuisine," I am sure that this comes to a rather hilarious surprise. But, hey, my deal with them is as follows: If they teach me how to make all of their scrumptious Dominican comida, then I will show them the magic of Duncan Hines. I have a feeling that my host mom might not be SO impressed when she sees that a chimpanzee could make my "sabroso" chocolate cake. =) (Pictured: my little neighbors painting a cake).

My Muchachitos are the Bestest!!!

2008-03-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Oh, what would I do without all of my little amigitos? Yes, they are all under the age of 12 but oh, how much entertainment they provide! In just the last month they have turned my house into a baseball field, a discoteca, a movie theater, and a bakery. We color, play mancala, do puzzles, eat candy, and generally do things that I loved when I was 12 and, apparently, still can't get enough of!

Some of their more hilarious adventures involve the day that Angel and Miguelito (pictured in photo in front of my bathroom: first and second from the right, respectively) asked me if Angel could take a shower in my bathroom. He has wanted to for a LONG time because I have...that's right...running water! I for one, am a fan of the bucket bath (at least I can make it warm!) but he had never had a running shower, especially in my I-have-an-obession-with-hygiene-products-shower. I of course, said claro que si! but just dont tell the mean, old owner of my house because she will have a fit that I am "wasting water." When Miguel was explaining to Angel which soap is for what he got so excited that he decided that HE had to bathe, too! So they BOTH jumped in at the same time and were giggling up a storm as they showered and lathered up in my girly soaps and shampoos. I, meanwhile, was dying of laughter and how much they were enjoying it. If only I could take them to Nueva York and let them have a HOT shower!

Another classic was the day they decided that they wanted to do my Pilates video. I told them that it was kind of "for girls" but they responded, "No importa!" Again, I was curled over with laughter as they streched and rolled and tried to do things like "The Saw" and "Rolling like a Ball." Sadly, I probably look JUST as ridiculous...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2008-03-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

So, I realize that it has been AGES since I last updated my blog but I have been trancada in my site and am just now in the capital where I have access to that god of an invention known as Wi-Fi. That said, there are a few random incidents that I thought were blogworthy. For example, one day I went to the "far" colmado (being about 20 steps away instead of 15) because my usual was closed for lunch. As I was purchasing my usual gourmet lunch (bread, cheese, etc.), the little muchacha who works in the colmado (one of four siblings who essentially run it for their parents) said, "Ah, Sarah. A buen tiempo!" Which always means: FOOD. As I had happened to arrive as their lunch was being served, they regalar-ed me a whole plate of moro (rice and beans mixed) with chicken! Might not seem like that big of a gesture, but I am sometimes taken aback by the extreme generosity of many Dominicans. No matter how rich or poor, sharing (especially food) is as inbedded in the culture as bachata and merengue. I stood there at the counter enjoying a delcious domincan meal (though I admit, I had to decline the chicken claws) from a family that hardly knows me and for whom I have done absolutely nothing. I know we may complain a lot, but Dominicans are freaking sweet.

That said, not EVERY aspect is so desireable. The other day, por ejemplo , I discovered that the new cock fighting location is DIRECTLY in front of my house. Gather 'round kids, lets watch two chickens peck each others' eyes out. Not exactly this Animal-Planet-loving volunteer's idea of recreation.

I am also at issue with the tigueres who get drunk and, subsequently, very angry, and decide that throwing bottles is a fun idea. When I went to some INSANE festival on the malecon (pictured above) the other night, I spent about one hour with Pilar and her family, treking through a humongous crowd. As we stood around waiting for Pilar's two sons, suddenly people started RUNNING for their lives, screaming and practically trampling one antother. Apparently, this was the signal that all of the borrachos were breaking their Jumbo bottles and throwing them, cutting each other, etc. I later learned that this is a REGULAR occurance and that there are often innocent bystanders who end up bleeding from head to toe. Luckily for me, Pilar treats me like I am 9, grabbed my hand, and RAN with me to our pick up truck, at which point I and about 13 muchachos hopped in the back and we flew back up to the barrio. On the way home, they taught me where the "women for sale" are and starting yelling "5 pesos!!" at them. Let's just say, I was happy to get home to my quiet house and my insane little kitten pie!

Holy Helmet

2008-02-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned, I recently discovered the whereabouts of a few great new locations in Puerto Plata. What I realized is that andaring around in this city really requires motorcycles, motorcycles, and more motorcycles. I, for one, LOVE riding motoconchos. I know that they are beyond unsafe, but they are so quick, cheap, and convenient! Why, then, the reservations to motor all around town?? Note Exhibit A: my casco. Peace Corps requires that we wear helmets EVERY time we ride on a motor. In my community, however, helmets are a true rarity. There are hundreds and hundreds of motors, and maybe 2 or 3 guys who wear helmets. Plus, they are about one THIRD of the size of my monstruosity, and they definitely do not say "tough" right across the top. I am constantly questioned about my helmet...most of the kids think that since I have a helmet, I must OWN a motor. I brought my helmet out at a party and there was not one dominican who didn't laugh hysterically. When I rode home to my house the other day, I literally had a group of kids start cracking up when I rode by with my super-cool head gear. But, you just wait. I think I will be starting a trend. Soon the whole TOWN will want to be "tough" just like yours truly!

Gringos are Great

2008-02-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks in my site have been SWEET. There is a group of gringas from Vermont who came to do a program called "Healthy Schools, Healthy Children" (or something of the like). I got the chance to work with them in a few of the classrooms, and was really impressed with the help they provided to our fourth and fifth grade teachers. They also had an intern named Grace who came to live in Puerto Plata for three weeks. Even though she was here for a short time, she met TONS of people and learned her way around Puerto Plata much better than I do! She taught me about a really sweet grocery store (it even has a deli-I can now buy cheese OTHER than "squeaky colmado cheese"!!) and she met a lot of really eclectic friends who drove us around town. We even ended up in a discoteca in Playa Dorada that featured a man dressed as Jim Carey from the Mask, a machine that poured bubbles from the ceiling, and a man dressed as Spiderman (who later FLEW across the ceiling!!). All in all, it was really nice to have some americans to run around town with. The best part is that Grace is working on getting a group of 8-10 more students to come down and help me with work in my community in February of next year. I'm definitely ready for round two!

Home Improvment

2008-02-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Guess who got a toilet seat!!! I am TRULY in the 21st century now!! Jealous? Well, if you would also like one, all you have to do is move into an apartment in the DR, ask your dueno every month for about 5 months if he can put that seat on your toilet that he keeps promising you and, then, he will randomly show up at your place one afternoon with the seat that he mysteriously found lying god knows where. All in all, my apartamentcito is truly coming together. I also made myself the highly sophisticated shelf seen below. It is not exactly aesthetically pleasing but it is SO functional! I wish I had made it sooner. And, equally as exciting, I have a table AND two chairs that my host family loaned me. I went MONTHS with nothing but ample floor space and, as SOON as I mentioned that I was having some gringos in town, my host family practically ran over with my new furniture. Point is: now all of you americanos really have no excuse...you have to come see me. You can sit down to eat AND to hacer caca!

Kieslings are Kewl

2008-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

This Janu,ary Robyn's younger brother, Brandon, and younger sister, Taylor, came to visit her for about a week. After being rained on NONstop in Sabana de la Mar, Samana, and Cabarete, they came to Puerto Plata, where they lucked out and at least got a FEW rain-free moments. We went up to the teleferico and they were stunned by the beautiful view. Somehow, the skies were clear as could be and we could see everything. After a meal in a cool, but deserted, restaurant on Puerto Plata's malecon, we went back to my apartment for some cerveza and a very Peace Corps evening. The power went out, so we drank and played Mancala using candles and a headlamp hung from the ceiling. Sleeping arrangements were also a bit tight, as the airbed that I worked so hard to bring into this country has a HOLE in it, so Taylor made herself a hilarious little nest on TOP of their luggage. Very typical of Peace Corps lodgings!
We also went to Sosua, which is a beautiful beach about 30 minutes east along the coast. We had to cram into a guagua (Robyn's sibling were definitely LESS than impressed with DR public transportation) and, surprise, it was raining when we got to the beach. We again, however, lucked out, and were able to have about 3 or 4 nice hours of sun. We perused a lot of the really cool shops that sell junk like Amber and Larimar jewelry, taino-inspired paintings, lots of things made out of coconut shells, etc. Everyone was bargaining up a storm and I even splurged and bought a 400 peso painting for my house! Its saweeet!
We then came down to the capital where we had beautiful sunny weather, and spend a nice day touring the Conde (cobble-stone shopping street) and some Columbus monuments, including a very giant, scary statue of him that overlooks the sea. All in all, it was REALLY nice having some visitors in my site! We had lots of fun and even Robyn and I got to pretend to be tourists for a few days =)

Sparke the.....photographer?

2008-01-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

So I was sitting in my house the other day and I heard my "doorbell" (aka a muchacho climbing on my neighbor's roof and yelling my name), so I scurried over to the door to see who was looking for me. Enter two of my muchachos-Miguel and Angelito. Apparently, it is Angelito's birthday and the two boys want to know if they can borrow my camera to take pictures of his party. Uhh...let me think about that. Some similar muchachos BROKE my old digital camera so how about a NO to that request. Being the sucker that I am, however, I can't possibly JUST say no to Angelito and his 8th bday bash (his FIRST birthday party, no less). So, I pack up the little digital camera and head over to his house. There is no electricity, but that doesn't mean a shortage of children. The room is full of little guys and gals and the mother literally starts telling me, "Hey, take a picture of this. Oh, and now this. Can you take a picture of these two together, Sarah? Take a picture of the baby" etc. Funny part is that I am actally TERRIBLE at taking pictures but, then again, Dominicans are delighted with ANY pictures of themselves. For now, I am happy to give Angelito a few precious pictures so that he can destroy them in a week. But if I start being called upon at every community event, my camera might have to mysteriously "break" for a little while =)

AHHHHH!!!! Readjustment

2008-01-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well, as I mentioned earlier, my trip home was wonderful. I realized how much I really do love Chicago and everyone/thing in it so, therefore, it was a bit depressing for me to return to the DR. I left Chicago around 7am and arrived to my house in Puerto Plata at around 11:30pm. I came in to find a disgusting mess (my cat babysitter didn't do so well with the litter box) and a VERY pent-up kitten. The first few days were a bit tough, I mostly sat around feeling sorry for myself whilst eating a bunch of Hershey's Hugs. I really wanted to be ALONE for a bit, but everyone knew that I was home and people were bugging me all day long. After the first rough patch, however, I had some really fun visits by some of my local muchachos. You can see them above-one is wearing all of my winter gear so that he can be ready for "Nueva York," and the other is playing with what is apparently my new COOLEST possession: a geeky headlamp! I also had Pilar come over with just about her entire family (pictured below)..and we all hung out on the floor because I STILL didn't have any chairs! They were all really excited to see me and I was delighted that they had so been looking forward to my return.

I was also really welcomed by my host family (my host sister called about TEN times) and they made me a nice welcome-home lunch. I brought them lots of little gifts with me, but I think that the shoes were by far the biggest hit. Well, that and the Hershey's chocolate that they devoured in one sitting. The children at my school also went insane and ran out to see me. I was extremely happy to see them again, though I must say I am still not EXTREMELY excited about my project at the moment. In any case, my community is really awesome and I love all of my little muchachos and my neighbors. I will also adore Frita soon (as soon as I cut her razor sharp nails!!!!)

I Heart Nueva York

2008-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Well, thank you Mom and Dad for the best Christmas present ever-a trip to Chicago! I was only able to spend about two weeks at home, but I had a great time seeing friends and family, eating delicious foods WELL beyond capacity, playing "Superman girl" with Nathan, and, of course, using Mom's new fancy pants margarita maker. I even loved the freezing weather and snow. I actually WANTED to wear pants!!! Wahoo! And thanks to all of you who helped me out by giving me goodies to take back to the DR. I'm finally settling into my new apartment and making it nice and comfy! Best wishes for the New Year!

A very triste Bon Voyage

2007-10-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I say? The only way to celebrate/cope with Kelsi and Jen's departure back to the United States was with half price margaritas at Tequila John's (a special Peace Corps discount, no less!). After a delicious meal and drinks, we spent some time at the hostel and then went out attempting to find somewhere to dance, ultimately ending up at some random speakeasy downtown. In any case, it was really hard to see my two favorite Santiago girls go! I will definitely miss all of trips to the JUMBO (aka Colinas mall) to eat sandwiches and Yogen Fruz! (Even I need a break from rice and beans every now and then). And no more trips to Playa Dorada where we gringas can pretend to be tourists for a day! In any case, I had a great time living near both Jen and Kelsi and will miss them more than they know! I wish them all of the best in that great land we call Nueva York and hope that they come visit soon! Buena suerte to las dos chicas preciosas.

My latest "Side Project"

2007-10-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Meet Frito. (Or "Frita" if it turns out to be a girl). Most of you know that I am a die-hard animal lover and have always been particularly fond of the feline sort. Generally, the more sick, desperate, and needy, the better...right? Well, in the DR I have surprised myself in many ways. And now I find myself wanting to throw this cat right back onto the street from whence it came. About 5 weeks ago, some little muchachos brought me the cat and told me that someone had killed its mother. It was SUPER tiny and really sick, so I decided to keep it in a box in my spare bedroom. A few hours later, they brought me its "sister," Catchu (how the say catsup). I had two baby kittens and had to BOTTLE feed them constantly. As a side note, I am never having children. Well, I suppose I can still adopt, but they will have to know how to feed themselves and be potty trained. Bottle-feedings are a nightmare. Anyway, pobre little Catchu got sick in the night and died one morning. Even though she drove me insane, I was really sad to see her go. Now it is just Frito and I. He whines ALL day long, chews on my fingers, has fleas that I have tried to kill with shampoo TWICE, pees on my floor, refuses to drink milk out of anything besides a bottle, and (I'm pretty sure) has parasites. Just a bundle of fun, huh? PLUS, I couldn't join Robyn in patronales because I was stuck at home being a surrogate cat mother! But, then again, he is a cute little scalywag, isn't he?!?! I just hope that he grows up to be big and strong and develops an appetite for cockroaches!!

Life as Usual

2007-10-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

So, Kelsi once wrote that she feels like she just gets into the routine of ordinary life and, therefore, she feels that she doesn't have anything "blogworthy" to say. I must admit that I often find myself in the same position. I mean, after a certain point, life just becomes sort of...normal. I go to work, do laundry, go into town, hang out with my host family, go to Santiago, and do lots and lots of reading. So, I thought that I could just occasionally post funny pictures like these ones...since me reading a book wouldn't be as interesting. On the right, we have my brother "combing my hair" and, on the left, he is wearing some goggles that his dad brought him from the hotel. All of the odds and ends that tourists leave lying around the hotel rooms become great toys for my host siblings (Darling even has a giant blow up whale!). You may also notice that he isn't wearing any pants...he is not exactly in the habit of doing so. Though, hey, it is HOT!

I really do work, too

2007-10-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my precious little "classroom," also known as the "library." You can see that it is just OVERFLOWING with books, huh? And most of the books that you do see here are either not in Spanish or are written by such primary school greats such as Sophocles, Descartes, and Nietzche. (Not exactly on my 1st graders' reading lists!). I wish that I had some before pictures so that I could show you all what a mess it was beforehand..but with the Directora's help we repainted (even the chalkboard!) and I swept, mopped, and dusted..throwing away things like Hunting magazines (complete with pages and pages of rifles), television programming manuals from the 1960s, and old Popular Mechanic magazines in English. Now I spend just about all day, everyday in this little room. I have four different classes (two in the morning and two in the afternoon) of students who are overage..ranging anywhere from 10-year-olds who are in 1st and 2nd grade to 13 and 14-year-olds who are in 3rd. Most of the students I work with are "principiante," meaning that they are still working on vowel recognition. I am also putting kids on mini versions of Individual Education Plans (IEPs), so that teachers and parents can work together to track students one-on-one progress. So far, all is hectic but going well. Soon I will post some pictures of my beloved kiddies hard at work!

So Sick of Computers

2007-10-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

So, I was going to put up a few new pictures today but I worked all day and am as tired as a dog, and simply cannot deal with these piece of crap computers. I went to my usual internet center, and they didn´t have internet. I am now at another...I am on my FOURTH computer here because my USB didn´t fit in the first one, and the other two didn´t work. After about ten minutes of trying to shove the USB in the back of this computer, it still won´t retreive the pictures on my card. So, I don´t know HOW everyone else keeps their blogs nicely updated, but I am having technical difficulties and, therefore, have to wait to post more pictures. Hopefully it will be soon!

Happy Birthday of a Different Sort

2007-10-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

So, this happened a few weeks ago, but I think that it deserves mentioning. I was invited by one of the support staff of the school to her son´s 12th birthday party. The woman is really nice and has invited me to her house previously, so I made it a point to attend. Little did I know that I would be their guest of honor! They kept serving me on dishware when everyone else received paper plates. I wanted to explain that, although (for them) I have eaten from the silver spoon, we also use paper plates in Nueva York! Anyway, they turned the music on and the kids started dancing...which SOUNDS innocent enough..but the music was reggaeton, which most resembles hip hop. The dancing is actually MORE caliente than hip hop! I mean these kids were only 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 years old...and they were making ME blush with how ¨adult¨they were dancing. Funnily enough, the parents just write it off as ¨kids are changing these days¨and that THIS is what they like now. Well, I was red in the face and just about ready to leave, but then the generator ran out of power and so the kids had to go home. I stayed on the porch with the father, an uncle, and a few other random guests and we actually had a great conversation about economics, poverty, Europe, all sorts of crap. They have learned a lot about other countries by watching Discovery en español, and were asking me things like, ¨Is there really a place that has rivers instead of streets?¨ We had lots of fun drinking Brahma (one of the THREE main beers here). The best part is that the family, though one of the poorest I know here (they have a house entirely made of wood and at least three people in each bed. I also used their bathroom for the first time..which was just a wooden hut where one pees on the floor!), they want to take me all around town...to the campo, to the beach, to the pig roast, to the discoteca. I couldn´t be more excited!! I am even hoping to move closer to them (and, thereby, closer to the school as well). Si Dios quiere!

Happy Baby You You

2007-09-13T16:07:00.001-07:00

Hopefully this will be my last entry sans photos. I vow to start carrying my camera more! Anyway, I found out yesterday AFTERNOON that it was my host mom's birthday. I was so mad because I would have bought her some fancy "american" lotion or a tin of peanuts or something. Anyway, it turns out that my host dad had a little party planned for her..with TWO cakes, balloons, soda, the works! I found this kind of weird because, at least in my family, it is the children's birthdays who are celebrated more, not the parents'. But in this family, I experienced the reverse. When my sister turned twelve we hardly batted an eyelash..but for my mom's birthday we had half the neighborhood in the house! Of course there were about 15 prayers..I think everyone just likes having HIS turn to lead the "Glory a Dios!" and "Ay, Santo"s. Then a bunch of people had to make speaches....including yours truly! Talk about impromptu! Thankfully, I muttered some words about being her "hija mas grandecita" and everyone loved my broken spanish. The craziest part...aside from receiving a cell phone better than the one I had at home, my host dad bought her a COMPUTER!! I thought I was supposed to be living with a poor family?!?! They have SATELLITE tv! This country is truly nuts. Anyway, we topped off the celebration with lots of singing...including "Happy Birthday" in English. Unfortunately, no matter HOW many times I explain the pronunciation, they all sing "Happy Baby, you you." Did I mention that teaching English was NOT in my plans?

Some Honorable Mentions

2007-09-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

So, when discussing my travels, there were a few interesting details that I left out. One, that I saw a guy eating paint chips off of the boat that we were riding across the bay of Samana. So you combine him with the two old guys drinking out of their flasks and you have one heck of a morning! Two, when I was on crappy guagua number 3 (Nagua to Rio San Juan), I had an older lady sit next to me. I was watching a little boy of about 8 years old who was a "limpiabotes" which means that he cleans and shines peoples' shoes for a few pesos...it is a REALLY popular job among the little kids. Anyway, this woman starts going off about how she has three children and how they are "limpiabotes" also. She was literally beaming with pride about how they go down to Cabarete beach where there are lots of tourists, and clean shoes all day long. She was so excited because they bring all the money for her! She also went on about how nice the tourists are...they give her children clothes, food, necklaces....sometimes they take them to restaurants. The tourists are so nice, in fact, that her children are desperate to learn other languages so that they can casarse with one of the extranjeras and move with her to her beautiful, rich country. Now, aside from the fact that I would normally have lectured the woman on how important it is that her boys go to SCHOOL and STUDY so that they don't valorize a life of panderism, I think that my conversation with the woman sheds an interesting light on what we gringas represent for even the littlest muchachos here. We are foreign, which must mean that we are rich and bring gifts...and if they can just marry one of us then their dreams of living in Nueva York will come true!

Mi Viaje (continued)

2007-09-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Since we were already out east, Alan and I decided that we should "aprovechar" and take the chance to visit Robyn in Sabana de la Mar. We took a guagua to Higüey, from Higüey to Hato Mayor, and from Hato Mayor a HUGE van that had holes in the floor and cardboard for windows to Sabana de la Mar. After four hours of traveling, we were hanging out in Robyn's house. We went to Tavasan for tacos, tostones, and Presidente and met up with Joe and Ben (a former Sabana de la Mar volunteer visiting for the weekend). We had a really fun night hanging out in the parque, an old CBT pastime, and I tried my first "chimmy" (basically a pulled pork sandwich made by a street vender) and am now part of the chimmy-loving club (which includes most other volunteers).
Reportedly, there is a bus that goes directly from Samana (which is across the bay from Sabana de la Mar) to Puerto Plata. I was told that it takes 3 hours...which is a GREAT alternative to the 8 hour trip through the capital. The hitch-to get to Samana one has to take the FERRY. So, at 9am, I hopped on the "yola," which is a tiny boat like those they use to illegally enter other countries (everyone kept yelling "Vamanos a Puerto Rico!"), which led us to the slightly larger boat that crosses the bay. I decided to sit up top, as sitting below makes me ill. It turned out that the most HILARIOUS people were sitting up there with me. There were two guys who were drinking out of their flasks..all before 10am, mind you, and told me that when I come back to Sabana they are going to make me paella. They also told me that I had better not fall over the edge because the sharks will see my white skin and think, "Mmmm, que postre!" which pretty much means mmm....what a dessert! They also kept telling this clearly married guy that he needs to "put on a nice shirt" if he wants to conseguir (obtain) me. Maybe they were just drunken, old idiots but I thought they were hilarious.
About halfway through our trip, it started to sprinkle..and then POUR. We all sat up there laughing as we were COMPLETELY drenched. Finally, we arrived on the other side of the bay, where I started to look for this reported guagua to Puerto Plata. When I was told that the only direct one had left, blah blah blah, I had to find another route. Well, that route turned out as follows: A guagua from Samana to Sanchez. Then another from Sanchez to Nagua. Then from Nagua to Rio San Juan. Then from Rio San Juan to Puerto Plata. Mind you, these are all the small, crammed, crappy guaguas and each took at LEAST an hour. So, after leaving Sabana de la Mar at 9 am, I arrived home about EIGHT hours later...we decided that we REALLY need to do some more research about this reported direct route! I think I saw more of this country (albeit through crappy guagua windows) then ever before!

Around the World in Five Days

2007-09-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

As things were a bit too "tranquilo" in my site, I decided to take a crazy vacation to literally the OTHER side of the island. I left in a hurry on Thursday for the capital, hoping to get my greencard. When that plan failed, I proceeded to do what we ALWAYS do in the capital: eat american food and spend way too much money. On Friday, Alan and I decided to make the insane journey to Miches, to meet up with Kevin and Zoe and begin Zoe's birthday celebrations. We had to take a taxi to the guagua stop, then about a 2 hour bus ride to El Seibo. The hilarious part was that, while passing through El Seibo, we literally drove RIGHT by Kristen (the volunteer who works there) as she was walking home. Then, we had to get in a CRAMMED van that, of course, was a piece of crap. Smashed in the back seat, our neighbors started asking us why we are here, where we are from, etc. Creepily enough, some guy sitting in front of us said, "Yeah, you used to be in Sabana de la Mar with some other girls, right?" "And you had a going away party where someone drove up in a big truck with speakers." He said that he knows that I used to go to the discoteca and dance merengue and bachata. He even asked if I was from South Dakota...which I am not...but Kelsi is! So creepy! I have no idea how he knew all of that! It is so weird being practically famous.
As we flew around the mountain bends in the peace of junk van, we finally arrived about two hours later in Miches. Kevin has an AWESOME apartment right on the ocean. He even has four rocking chairs! We began by chatting and having some Presidentes, and somehow ended up going on a tour of the pueblo's street eateries. We ultimately made some ""friends," one of whom turned out to be a freak and kept telling me that he was in love with me and referring to me as the espanola. Fortunately, Kevin's host-second-cousin came to the rescue in his insanely nice SUV (we are not quite sure where he gets the money for it...or if we want to know), and he drove us right to the discoteca that was up in the trees. We went home shortly thereafter, but definitely weren't going to be getting up at 5am as planned.
The next morning (Saturday), we all hurried over to another guagua and began the four-hour trek out to Bavaro for our night at the all-inclusive hotel. We didn't get there until around 1pm and had to wait until 3 to get the rooms (because I, classically, made the reservations for the wrong day). We started by eating right away...though, to our utter dismay, the food was nothing to write home about. We did have fun drinking the girly drinks at the bar ("coco loco," pina colada, etc)...though after a few we started feeling sick from all of the sugar. We eventually got to our rooms...which were really neat little lofts...and headed out to the beach. Kevin and Zoe decided that, as we all need to get our money's worth, we really should eat, vomit, eat, vomit, etc. in order to try ALL of the restaurants. The plan, thankfully, didn't quite catch on. After dinner we saw a few minutes of the "tropicalissimo"show which couldn't have been more lame, and headed over to the disco. The disco was cheesy as well, but the americans (there was a huge group of peace corps volunteers celebrating one year in country) had a BLAST getting down to Usher and 50 cent. The next morning, however, we awoke to MORE travelling...

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!

2007-08-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Thanks for all of the comments on my blog! I am currently in the capital and have spent HOURS working on my pictures. I have FINALLY organized most of them..many of which are now from SIX months ago! I have them on snapfish, and they should be accesible to all of you. If interested, send me your email address (Sparke5155@gmail.com) and I will invite you to be a member of my albums. Hopefully they can give a better idea of what life looks like here in the DR!

SWEET dinner parties!

2007-08-26T14:01:00.001-07:00

My first "lunch date" in my house was with my host mom, brother, and sister and my project partner (see picture to the right). We really ate like kings--bread, oatmeal juice from a packet, some unrefridgerated pop, and a mango that we stole from my neighbor's tree! My family loves making fun of how much I don't know how to cook! But I am excited because my host mom is an awesome cook and she is going to teach me how to do rice, beans, peas, chicken, ham, asopao, arroz con leche, the works!

The other really fun "dinner parties" that I had involved about 8 of the neighborhood muchachos. They all bring as many little pesos as they can (usually about 5-10), and we buy plantains and salami. Then, THEY were actually "cooking" (all we did is fry everything)!! Granted, there was a lot of wrestling and running around my house, but they were generally well-behaved (to my surprise). They played my board games, read books, and colored so much that I ran out of paper. The only problem--they also went through about 10 plantains, a BOTTLE of ketsup, and THREE packets of juice! I love having them over but they eat me out of house and home! And now I have little muchachos over literally everyday...so I think I might have to start taking some days off =)

Los Montones

2007-08-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Right after my summer camp ended, I had to go to our Three-Month In-Service Training, where we basically had 8 days to learn more about how to raise money for our projects, design and implement work plans, and deal with possible challenges. We also had tons of time to hang out in these AWESOME rocking chairs, eat tons of food, and have "reggaeton dance parties." The site was really beautiful (hopefully I will be getting pictures from Robyn soon)...it was in the mountains so we actually WEREN'T sweating all day! We learned a lot about how to write grant proposals, which will hopefully help me build my library! All in all, it was a great escape from our sites!

ME vs. THEM

2007-08-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I FINALLY got my new apartment! I have been there for about three weeks now, and I completely love it. I thought that I would totally hate living alone, but it is really nice and quiet and I can read and do my crosswords in peace! I have told everyone, however, that I am still determined to acquire two VERY important items: a CAT and a radio! I get a little tired of listening to the merengue that the colmado plays ALL day long, so I would love to be able to blast some of my OWN, american music. And as for the cat, aside from the fact that I loooove animals, I definitely need my own personal cockroach killer. Since I have been in-country, I have woken up with cockroaches crawling on me FOUR times!! Now, this might seem that outrageous at first, but the probloem is that EVERY time, I was using a mosquitero!! I feel like it is officially their MISSION to get in and night and crawl all over me. My new house is definitely an improvement from my former residences, as I clean constantly, but the little devils still get in through the bathroom and I always leave the windows open (that have no screens). Much of my free time, as of late, has been dedicated to keeping these vermin out, or punishing those that enter (see photo). In any case, cockroach poison is high on my wish list!

I Heart My Babies! Volume 2

2007-08-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

This is the veiw of my precious school (taken from the cable car). It´s so huge! You would be able to see my host family´s house, but it is hidden by the trees. Anyway, Dengue made me mad because I had to miss pretty much the first week and 2 days...of our THREE week camp. Plus, I missed the field trip to Ocean World! ¡Què triste! Anyway, I did get to spend the rest of the time working with half of our group-about 12 kids. Though I had very little time to prepare and had NO clue what they had been studying, I threw some stuff together and we worked everyday from 8 until almost noon. We colored a lot, and we had a little reading circle everyday. I was SO thrilled that they loved the books! Even though just about everything else was a bit chaotic, they always sat quietly and attentively for reading time. So thanks for all of the books, mom! Being their teacher was probably one of the most challenging things I have ever done, so I have already learned A LOT. For the most part, however, I had a lot of fun working with them and look forward to similar programs in the next two years! Here they are standing by all of the work that I posted on the wall, and to the right is a group of kid playing one of our homemade reading games.

I Joined the Dengue Club!!!

2007-08-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I don´t have any cool pictures for this blog entry. I just thought that now, since Dengue is a thing of the past, I thought that I could briefly describe my experiences with it. Basically, I woke up one Sunday morning (the DAY before my summer camp started, no less), with pains all over my body. I thought that they might just be muscle pains but, by noon that day, I had a fever of 103. When I was lying in my bed that night, shivering in 90 degree weather, I was pretty sure that something was wrong with me. The Peace Corps nurse said that it was most likely Dengue (as there is an epidemic running through our group). When I mentioned the word to my host family, they all told me that there was absolutley NO way that it was Dengue, because God would never give me Dengue and I shouldn´t even mention it, blah blah blah. In any case, my directora and the orientadora took me to Caribe Tours so that they could get me en route to the hospital (we volunteers MUST go to clinica abreu in the capital). When we got to the bus stop at 10:45, they said that the 11am bus was full. As I was lying on a park bench with a wet shirt rapped around me head, the directora went around trying to ask if ANYONE could give up his/her seat so that I could get to the hospital. People in this country are jerks! We almost didn´t find anyone! Eventually a mother and her two small children got off and gave us her seats. The orientadora (who is my project partner) rode the bus with me to the capital. The trip normally takes about 4/4 and a half hours...which, with Dengue, is excrutiating. With Dengue, one has severe soreness in the eye sockets, migraines, very high fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diahrea, the works. It is also called "break-bone fever" because it feels as if one´s bones are breaking. Four hours of this on the bus was bad but, to make things worse, we STOPPED in the capital on the middle of the highway because people from the barrios were striking. This means that they burn tires and throw rocks at people to stop traffic until the government does what they want. After THREE hours, we finally started moving again. All in all, it took me about 8 and a half hours to get to the hospital. They took me straight to the emergency room, hooked me up to an I.V. (one of my BIGGEST fears, btw), and started doing all the tests to figure out what I had. I spent a really boring EIGHT days in the hospital, until my platelets and white blood cells were finally at an acceptable level. Surprisingly, I felt tons better as soon as I got home. I had to rest a bit, but I was straight to work at my summer camp and already feel as good as new. My new joy of the DR...a skin fungus that leaves white spots. I am one of a big group who has this as well. To get rid of it...we have to bathe in Selson Blue shampoo...and continue using it until we go back home! The weather is beautiful but the tropics are a breeding ground for grossness!

I Heart Playa Dorada

2007-08-01T14:32:00.001-07:00

After all of this time living in Puerto Plata, I FINALLY went to our most popular tourist beach. Kelsi and Jen came up from their sites outside of Santiago to baske with me in the best thing that this country has to offer-the BEACH. A 20 peso guagua ride got us to the entrance of Playa Dorada. We randomly wandered around until we found a pretty spot on the beach, and sat down on the lawn chairs that belong to some resort. We´re pretty sure that we were at some all-inclusive resort area but, since we are gringas, no one bothered us! My host dad said that people are not allowed to eat outside food on the beach (only the resort food)...but, again the gringa thing, we got away with it. My host mom wouldn´t let me leave the house without packing us food, so I´m pretty sure we were the only people on the beach eating mangù (which is mashed plantains) with fried salami and onions. We are SO dominican sometimes. The water was like bath water and, aside from the tiny white crab that bit my toe, there was nothing but clear sand (no seaweed!!). We had an awesome, relaxing day and have vowed to go to Playa Dorada once month! Hopefully, this can actually happen soon (once I get my OWN apartment!).

A Rìo I Actually LIKED!

2007-08-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Normally, when the Dominicans say,"Let´s go the rìo," I shudder with images of dirty, shallow, FREEZING rivers full of Dominicans drinking and bathing. Naturally, then, when I was invited on an end-of-the year teacher trip to the river, I wasn´t exactly thrilled. I mean, we live in Puerto Plata...doesn´t ANYONE like the beach?!?! Anyway, things started to look brighter when we piled up about 20 teachers, BUCKETS full of rice, plantains, etc., TWO coolers of Presidente, about 15 bottles of pop, and rum into a guagua. We drove east along the coast for about an hour, until we got to the river, in a place that I think is called Jamao. I was shocked to discover that the river was GORGEOUS! They actually had garbage cans so the landscape wasn´t covered in trash, and people were actually swimming! The whole day ended up being pretty fun. Although most of the teachers (like all dominicans) don´t know how to swim, this time there were a few who do swim, and we were climbing up rocks and jumping off cliffs. There was even a vine to swing from! (Pictured: A member of our cleaning staff swinging from the rope vine). The food was hilarious-we literally had a BUCKET full of moro (rice mixed with beans), a BUCKET of boiled plantains, two crates full of roasted pork, salad, roasted vegetables, gallons and gallons of homemade juices and, my personal favorite--about 100 mangos. There was swimming, volleyball, cards, dominoes, and drinking. All in all a really fun day, except for when our creepy bus driver started talking to me all about how I could have a boyfriend here and at home. After my attempt to explain to him that I have values didn´t work, I just told him that I wasn´t interested in having either! I still hate being a creepster magnet, but the river was SWEET.

Home Alone

2007-06-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

So, my host mom and I had a really interesting communication breakdown the other day. She apparently had plans to go to visit her family in the campo this week (about a 4 day trip) and, without saying a WORD to me about it, apparently expected me to be ready and able to go. The probelm was, of course, that I have a JOB...which means I have to go to work and can't just leave to go sit in the middle of nowhere for four days. After quite a bit of battling, she finally decided that they should go the campo and leave me home...alone. I, of course, have no qualms about staying alone for a few days. The entire community, however, just about had a heart attack. My first day alone (Monday), I had THREE different people try to feed me lunch, but was ultimately dragged by my principal to dine with her and her brothers. The whole town apparently thinks that A. I am incapable of feeding myself and B. I will die if I go one day without rice and beans. My first NIGHT alone (also Monday), the whole town had apparently planned a sleepover for me...I couldn't of course, stay by MYSELF!! I mean I only have to LIVE alone for TWO years!!! Anyway, my project partner called me to ask when I was coming over to her house to stay the night. I politely declined, to which she replied that she, then, woudl come down to MY house to stay the night. After abour 5 minutes of explaining to her that I WASN't going to die, I finally got her to leave me alone and was able to have a quiet night...withOUT evangelical music! it was glorious.

My New Babies

2007-06-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Pretty much anyone who knows me knows how annoying I am when it comes to "my babies."I could talk about all of my precious little students ad nauseum. Therefore, I have to put at least a few words in about how my actual JOB is going. So far, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, TRYING to talk to as many professors as possible before they disappear into the black hole that is summer vacation. I have also been feverishly giving reading tests to all of the students in grades 1 through 4 who are below grade level. The problem is that my school is GIGANTIC and that everyday I find about a million more students who should be in my summer camp. I have some third graders who are "principantes", which means that they don't know a single word or letter, and normally cannot write their name. Then, yesterday, I had an 11 year old SECOND grader, who is completely alfabetized...so I have no idea why he is still in 2nd grade. Which has lead me to conclude that the teachers just throw a dart at a dartboard to decide which students will be in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. I also, of course, am already in love with all of the most violent, agressive kids in the school and have invited just about all of them to be in our camp!
Aside from the fact that there is only one week left in the school, the other major obstacle I have is that my school loves to "dispachar." According to my dictionary, this means "to dispatch". According to Dominicans, this means "send the kids home early just because we want to." They have been dispacharing just about EVERY day this week...so I am ready just to settle with what I have and hope that this insane summer camp is not a complete failure!

Top 5 Things I Have Learned in the DR

2007-06-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

5.The United States is really called Nueva York. Therefore, I am from Chicago, which is located in Nueva York.
4. All languages that aren't Spanish must be English. This explains why I was given a very interesting novel...that is entirely in German.
3. "Gripe", or the flu, is caused by getting wet when it rains or by inhaling too much dust. It is completely unrelated to sharing the same cup, drinking from the same bottle, or passing around suckers from mouth to mouth.
2. Washing one's hair when one has a cold is the most ridiculously dangerous thing that he can do. The chemicals in the shampoo can cause pneumonia, so beware!
1. When one is very hot (after running, for example), he should NEVER open the refridgerator because the blast of cold air will give him Bell's Palsy.

Hope you all enjoyed your little lesson from the DR!

2007-05-22T14:01:00.001-07:00

Off to Muerto Plata

2007-05-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

After a few fun days of being TOTALLY american in the capital (staying in a hotel...you have no idea how amazing a hot, non-bucket shower was for us..even the BOYS raved about it, Hard Rock Cafe, and yes, even McDonalds), we all had to sadly depart to our sites...ALONE!! I boarded Caribe Tours and headed to Puerto Plata which, in reality, is a really beautiful site because I am about 10 minutes from the ocean and, though I haven't been just yet, I hear that Playa Dorada, among others, are some really amazing beaches. I lovingly call it Muerto Plata, however, because I live in an extremely densly populated barrio and I would pretty much call it FULL of tigueres.
The house where I am staying now is, as they say, on the "patio"of the school...which is essentially its frontyard. Each of the 1,200 students conveniently knows exactly where I live and where I am at all times. I hope to have some pictures of my site soon, but I am experiencing serious technical difficulties at the moment. stay tuned for pics..i hope!

Bon Voyage

2007-05-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

For our last get together with our families in Sabana de la Mar, we all met at our trainer's house for a typical dominican meal of rice, chicken, fish, salad, and tons of it. My super awesome family, however, had a "surprise"that NONE of us suspected. All of a sudden, a giant car pulled up with speakers the size of small refridgerators and started blasting merengue music. My host sister and a bunch of her friends came in, and started doing a typical merengue dance from Sabana de la Mar. After about 3 or 4 amazing dances, a crazy local band of guys came out and started singing and dancing. For the finale, my host sister and her uncle danced a really awesome salsa, and then the music continued playing so that we American dorks could dance to crappy early 90s music and love it. For only being there for five weeks, we had QUITE the going away party.
To top it off, Bam Bam somehow was able to convince the discoteca owner to cancel his usual Friday events (strippers) so that we could have a nice, healthy dance night instead. We volunteers, our profes, Bam Bam, Franklin, Sosa, and the rest of their crew were pretty much the only people in the whole discoteca, but it made for a really fun time. We all danced the WHOLE night and didn't have to be harassed by a bunch of chester molesters! I already miss sabana...and especially its disco! I'm really looking forward to visiting soon.

Where the Wild Things Are

2007-05-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

So, we all new that this country was going to be full of nasty, creepy crawlers. It's part of the "growing up" process of the Peace Corps. The creatures that I hate the most, without a doubt, are the gigantic, hairy black spiders that put to shame ANY spider I have seen in the Northamerican Midwest. I believe that upon my return, I will embrace my little Chicago arachnid friends, thanking them for being smaller than a fist. Here, however, I still cower at the SIGHT of the black monsters and have lost many nights of sleep because the evil varmin seem to find their way into MY room everytime. Of course the other notable creature is the cockroach. Despite the fact that this insect has its own theme song, it is a repulsive creature. They ONLY come out at night and generally scurry whenever the lights come on as if they know that they are gross and should be killed. The worst encounter for me was definitely when I was sleeping in Sabana de la Mar, supposedly tucked safely in my mosquito net...when I woke up in the middle of the night to feel a freaking cockroack CRAWLING on me...IN my mosquitero. I have never felt as secure since!! I keep trying to think of that stupid movie Joe's Apartment where all of the cockroaches are cute and dance..but its not helping. Sadly, when I compare them to the spiders, I embrace them with open arms. I have yet to see a "cienpies"which are, reportedly, really huge centipedes that feed on human hair. My first encounter with one of them may be the day that I buy a ticket out of here...but vamos a ver.
Oddly enough, the only thing that dominicans totally hate are "macos"which is their common word for a frog or toad. I, of course, totally love them which makes for a really sweet time. I literally had my dona in sabana screeming and running away because I caught a huge toad while playing with my host brother. They think that they are the most hideous creatures ever...I think I should get one as a pet. And for the record, day one that I move into my house I am buying a cat and she is going to eat ALL of my spiders and cockroaches. gracias a dios for los gatos.

La Cicaria, Robin Hood, and |Mami No Te Vayas

2007-05-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

As part of our festive last week in Sabana, Franklin and Bam Bam promised us a "safari"to the campo...and there was even mention of caballos. Though Robin had no intentions of riding a horse, Kelsi and I were super excited. In any case, Bam Bam, Franklin, Robin "Hood," Mami No Te Vayas (Kelsi) and I (la cicaria..which supposedly means someone who is up for anythign..but im not entirely sure. i just like it because its a nickname other than rubia), all flew to the campo in the back of the pickup truck. We got to see Franklin's family's campo..which was HUGE! They had cacao..which you can suck on and its like a candy, or you can dry it out to make chocolate. They also had four little lagoons, tons of fruit trees (lemon, mango, tamarind, guayaba, and a bunch of other things that i have never heard of) and a really awesome river...that they were "bathing" in...which pretty much just means rolling around on their stomachs. At one point, Bam Bam picked up a vine that he apparently intended to use as a LASSO to catch a random horse that was eating alongside the road but, unfortunately, the horse was sick. Later, however, we saw some guys on horses passing through the campo and they graciously came down so that we idiot gringas could prance around on their horses for a few minutes...which we did. And it was wonderful. I am definitely going to miss our safaris!

Psycho Beaches

2007-05-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

As part of our last week in Sabana de la Mar, our super sweet trainer planned a trip to Playa Costa Esmeralda, in Miches. She called it "Psycho Beaches" which happens to be the exact same way that she pronounces our nickname "Psycho Bitches." The beach was so super awesome. There was pretty much nobody there, so we had the entire beach to ourselves. Bam Bam came, bringing rum and brindis of course. Franklin apparently was not allowed to come because, although he is 26 years old, his mother prohibited his attendance. Though we were later told that he was "sick." The beach was awesome..the sand was white, the water was like bath water temperature, and the water was so clear that it was like a freaking swimming pool. We had a picnic and played chicken wars in the water. I have pictures but am still having terrible luck finding a computer that works. Hopefully, they will be coming soon.

We Really do Work, too

2007-04-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

So another project that we had during Semana Santa was the painting of our adorable mural for the Rights of Children. We spent ALL day Tuesday and Wednesday designing, drawing, and painting this mural that is supposed to promote the foundation here in Sabana de la Mar. The foundation, started by another volunteer, serves special needs children in the community. Our mural may not look so hot in the picture, but it really did turn out nicely! Unfortunately, my already dwindling wardrobe is now half covered in paint...

A Dominican Adventure

2007-04-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

Semana Santa pretty much means lots of free time at the beach and lots of abichuelos con dulce. While sitting bored at Robin´s house on good Friday, we were invited by our good pals Frankley (Robin´s host brother), ¨Bam Bam¨, and BamBam´s brother..who doesn´t have a good apodo and his real name is too hard to remember...to go to the rio. After piling into the back of Frankley´s beat up truck, we flew down the road and ultimately ended up at Cano Hondo because there were ¨less people there¨...which still meant that it was full of dominicans drinking rum and swimming in the pools. Robin´s crazy host brother picked up one of the ducks that lives at the site and, as you can see, made good friends with him. On our way home, Bam Bam and his brother had us stop at their uncle´s really cool farm in the campo. The small farm had SO much stuff-coconut, bananas, tamarind, oranges, mangos, lemons, like four fruits I have never heard of, and, of course, sugar cane. After they uprooted 4 giant stalks of sugar cane, we all started breaking off hunks to chew on it. We also practiced peeling off the skin with our teeth..which is so much harder than it looks. But, honestly, where in Nueva York does anyone get the chance to fly around in the campo in a pickup truck eating sugar cane....priceless.

Feliz Cumpleaños

2007-04-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

This Saturday was Kristen´s 24th birthday so, to celebrate, we went to the discoteca (of course)! We have all decided that we are addicted to dancing now that we are learning merengue and bachata. As usual, we had some really good dance partners who helped us learn..and we had those who were just scarey tigueres. Mom and dad you may not want to read this, but I was dancing with this little guy who I THOUGHT was just a fun dancer but then he started talking to me in Spanish..which is impossible to understand when the music is blaring...and just about immediately thereafter he LICKED my face!! I basically just screamed and nearly vomited...but it did make for a good story. Elisbeth told me that it is totally culturally acceptable to punch him in the family jewels...so the muchachos here had better watch out because my fist is ready! Aside from my being a creepster magnet, the night was really fun and we are going to miss our saturday night discos when we leave!

I still can´t insert pictures well!!! I hate blogger. Anyway, the first picture here is Kristen with the maracas that she randomly received as a gift from the guy shown next to her. Above is a picture of Kelsi, me, Elisabeth, and our dreamboat from the park. To the right is a very rosy-cheeked picture of Robyn, Kesli, and me!

I am in love with the Domincan Republic

2007-04-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Robyn, Zahira, and I coming down from a cave.

This is our beloved trainer, Elisabeth, with our dreamboat of the day.

The Mangroves

Although I haven´t put up pictures of any of the amazing beaches that I have been to (I am working on it!)..I want to post some pictures of el Parque Nacional de los Haitises because it was SO cool! It is a huge, densly wooded area right near Sabana de la Mar that has really cool caves with ancient paintings from the tainos (native peoples). We hiked all morning with our really cool guide, had a picnic lunch on a little playita, and rode around in a boat to see all of the really pretty mangroves. I wanted to see a manatee but they are hard to spot!! We also met a really hot guy in an army uniform who SCALED a coconut tree and then proceeded to hack open the coconuts with his machete. This man of our dreams also came out dancing with us later that evening (see Robyn´s blog for more details!).

"I haven´t gone in EIGHT days"-Special Ed PCT

2007-04-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

As every proper Peace Corps DR volunteer should, I am creating an entry about the lovely act of going poop, simply because it has become one of the most popular topics of discussion in our group. I will remind you all that we are seven women in Special Education but, thanks to the WONDERFUL sanitation systems here in the DR, we all have newfound relationships with water. We have one girl who currently has a parasite but, hopefully, is recovering. I recently discovered that water in "funditas" (little plastic bags of water that are sold in colmados) are like poison to me and make me violently ill almost instantly. Most of the rest of our group has to avoid plantains and water like the plague because they can´t poo at all! Basically, our illness ends in hilarious comments about poop, mostly congradulating each other on normal bowel movements. For example, this Saturday we celebrated Kristen´s 24th birthday, but we also celebrated Megan´s poop because she finally went on day NINE!! Yay for pooping!

When it Rains, it POURS!

2007-04-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

Generally, the weather here in the DR is one of three things: hot, hot, or ridiculously hot. We recently discovered, however, that there is another special season here which I would pretty much describe as MONSOON. There was literally one day in which it poured, heavily, for about 3 to 4 hours straight. The streets were like RIVERS. All of the children, naturally, were running around in their underwear having a gay old time in the rain. I also have a picture of my little host brother riding his bicycle (homemade, of course) through the rain-filled sidewalk. Since the rain stopped internet service as well, we had nothing to do but go to the ice cream parlor...where we were ultimately trapped for TWO hours until we finally called Elisabeth for a bola to our houses (see picture of us totally thrilled). Also, the rain means that clothes can´t be washed, so Robyn and I spent about 5 days being bedraggled rats in dirty clothes. Gracias a Dios, the rain has sinced stopped and I feel cleaner than ever!

How long is TOO long?

2007-03-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so my placement of pictures sucks..I still dont know how to use this program..but this is me with my adorable parents at the discoteca! And below are Kelsi, me (yes i know i was burnt to a crisp), and Robyn

So, we have only been living in Sabana de la Mar for about 2 weeks, but I am starting to think that we are overstaying our welcome. We are already being recognized all of the place. For example, some old guy rode by on a motorcycle yelling, ¨Hola, Sarah!¨even though I´m quite sure I have never met him. Two days later, some old guy at a fruit stand asked me if I would be his wife and I, of course, replied ¨No, gracias,¨but he also creepily knew my name. Moreover, while riding in the rear of Elisabeth´s truck the other day, we had a bunch of strange people wave to us. One was from a group of guys we had met outside of the discoteca. We call him ¨Vote for Pedro¨because he was wearing the Napoloean Dynomite Vote for Pedro t-shirt. When we asked him if he knew the movie, he GAVE us his shirt (we did not, however, keep this charming souvenir). The other person waving was this CRAZY woman who accosted me in the bathroom at the discoteca. She kept telling me that she thought we were Spaniards because her husband works with Spanish people or something...basically, she kept trying to have a conversation with me in the middle of the world´s grossest bathroom (as if the fact that there are no stalls isn´t bad enough, Robyn also witnessed a woman who peed over a drain on the ground..in front of everyone!) which somehow lead to her asking me if I would dance with her son..which was possibly one of my most awkward moments to date! Looking forward to making many more insane acquaintances!

2007-03-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

¨Los Cocos Locos¨..everyone who lives in the Los Cocos Barrio of Pantoja

Caño Hondo..not to be confused with cuño hondo

2007-03-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, our beloved trainer Elisabeth treated us to a trip to Caño Hondo. It is about a 30 minute drive through the campo to get to this amazing site that has SEVEN natural pools. Being Peace Corps volunteers, we worked really hard...sitting by the pool, reading, swimming, drinking piña coladas, etc. It was totally awesome. Plus, our trainer is one of the most lovable people alive and learned much of her english from Jerry Springer (which used to aire in this country). She warned us, in her dominican english, that when she gets mad, she has a lot of ¨colorful¨language that she learned from the show such as, ``you crazy pyscho bitch¨..etc. During our technical training this week with a visitor volunteer, Robyn raved about our lovely triped to ¨cuño hondo¨..which unfortunately translates into a female body part.
Today we took the 1 hour boat ride across the Samana Bay to Samana. We had a picnic lunch and walked across a humongous bridge. The bay is SUPER gorgeous and we pretty much just hung out in the water (as usual). Unfortunately, spf 80 cannot even fight off this equatorial sun and I am as red as a TOMATO...which is why I have earned the nickname ¨cangrecito¨(little crab). Hopefully, I can post some pictures of Samana soon so that you can all be jealous.

Home on the Range

2007-03-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Before I describe my awesome trips to Caño Hondo and Samana, I would like to share a few anecdotes about life in the pueblo. I have described to many that, instead of a ¨compost toilet,¨we have a bathroom that is connected to my room and my ¨parents´¨ room. The only separation is a SHEET...which makes privacy pretty much impossible. Suprisingly, I have already grown accustomed to having the bathroom be a public activity.
In other news, I saw my first CUCARACHA yesterday. Unfortunately, it lives in the refridgerator! So maybe I will be eating ¨cockroach soup¨ like some of you suggested. Other than that, my family is absolutely hilarious. My host brother, Hosmy, is 10 years old and spends the entire day outside making bikes with machetes. He comes in every evening completely filthy and his mother yells ¨bañate¨every 5 mins (telling him to bathe). He isn´t allowed to sit at the table when he is dirty..but he usually prefers to remain dirty and eat his dinner on the floor. He has appropriately earned the nickname of ¨child-dog.¨ He is also desperate to go to the US because he is convinced the snow has to be the most amazing thing on earth. He wanted to know if you can surf in it, swim in it, bulild caves in it, drown it it, etc. He then went to the freezer and got the ¨snow¨from the freezer. I showed him how to make snowballs and now he just throws them at his sister.
My host mom and dad LOVE to dance so they have been at the discoteca every Saturday with us. They are also constantly looking over me and telling me which guys are ¨tigres¨and which ones are ok for us to befriend. They laugh at me for saying things like ¨Are you eating chicken hand?¨instead of ¨chicken claw¨which is awesome. All in all, my casita is SWEET.

I finally started a blog!

2007-03-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

I know that I vowed never to create one of these stupid sites because I never have anything interesting to say, but I have grown weary of writing emails with no response (hint hint!). I am in my fourth week (I think) in the Dominican Republic and, so far, it has been an insane experience! I spent the first couple of weeks in Pantoja, outside of Santo Domingo. I lived with Doña Maria, who is really sweet and an AWESOME cook..though her dominican spanish is nearly impossible to understand. Our most fun adventure was to the river. We loaded up about 20 people from our barrio and (sorry mom and dad), I rode in the back of a beat-up flatbed truck down the highway. The river was a bit fishy but really fun. Everyone was drinking MamaJuana...which is an awesome drink that people make at home using rum, honey, and some spices.
For my PCV visit, I went to Sosua on the northern coast. The volunteer´s site was RIGHT on the beach! It was sooo awesome. On Saturday, we went to Cabarete, which is a touristy beach that has lots of great restaurants and bars. Booze is really cheap so you should all come visit!
Now I am in Sabana de la Mar which is also on the coast, right across from the Samana Peninsula. The beach here is gross, which blows, but we have plans to go to at least one nice beach while we are here. Last Saturday, I went to the discoteca with my host parents and fellow volunteers. As my beebs would describe, there were many ¨creepsters¨lurking about but, all in all, we had an awesome time dancing bachata and merengue...though I am sure that I look like a complete moron. Anyway, I wish that Jenny were writing these because her tales are always much funnier. I think that I might email her and have her convert my stories into a good blog!