Bri's Peace Corps Adventure

I just can't have a pet I decided...

2011-06-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

I got a cat. Well more like one of my neighbors brought me a cat in a sack of rice. So I tried to give it a chance. We put it in a cage so we can take it to my house. It was so angry it kept spitting and trying to scratch me (Clue #1 I shouldn't have a cat). So we got it in the cage then it escaped through a hole (Clue #2) and my neighbors caught it again and fixed the hole. I took it to my house and let it free, I don't like to see animals tied up. I thought maybe after a few days it would warm up to me and love me. I was wrong. (Clue #3). The cat still hissed and tried to scratch me every chance it got. Now I was living with a creature who not only hated me and pooped everywhere but stressed me out and brought me grief (Clue#4).

Bye cat.

I let it loose outside and she stayed around for a couple of days but lately I have not seen her. I didn't completely abandon her, I bought cat food and set it out for her to eat but I have not seen her in a couple of days. There are a lot of other cats in my neighborhood that I think may have adopted her which is much better than me. I really just wanted a cat to love and to feel loved and this cat did not do it for me. I obviously was not ready to be a parent and I am fine with that.

Bye cat. rawr.

White Water Rafting (aka when I almost died)

2011-06-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our 1 year mark (yet again) a group of us volunteers decided to do something extreme. Haha. The most extreme things I do are ride my bike and go for runs so white water rafting seemed like it was really out there. Initially I thought sure, I can do this. I am an athlete and I know how to swim so this should be no problem. Most of the time when I decide to do stuff like this I try not to give it too much thought. If I do, I might just freak myself out and decide not to do it and I will regret it in the end so I try to just say yeah and go with the flow.

So we were off to the rapids!

To begin, the guides here in the Dominican Republic almost never completely know english so there is always a language barrier as far as relaying important instructions on safety etc. Ah... whatever I can do this, I didn't completely understand him but I think he said don't fall out. Ok don't fall out. Easy...

First rapid, boom fell out of the raft. Hahaha. I was all laughs and smiles as I tried to pull my fat butt back in the raft. Ok don't fall out anymore.

The next few rafts were easy I was holding on pretty good then we approached a raft the guide called 'Mike Tyson'. Mike Tyson, the boxer? I wonder why?

Mike Tyson pretty much almost killed me. The rapid consisted of 2 falls in which of course I fell off on the first fall. Trying to pull myself back in the raft, the raft kept moving forward which meant on the next fall the raft went completely on top of me. Heather later told me she was screaming at the group "We're on top of her!" Underwater I remember tumbling pushing my hands underneath the raft thinking "And this is when I die, maybe I should have thought this one through..." Finally in what seemed like an hour, I broke the water with the eyes of helpless death upon me. Seconds later a guide jumped in the water to help me as I breathed in and out panicked that i forgot how to swim. As soon as I got in the raft I decided that I was not having the best time of my life as I thought it would be. Other volunteers were congratulating me and telling me I was having "the real experience" but I say bullcrap, I almost died. :)

The rest of the rapids I sat in the raft holding on for dear life. Thank god there was not another Mike Tyson and the rest of the ride was pretty smooth.

Upon getting back to camp, I just wanted to forget the whole thing but of course the guides revealed that they had taped our whole trip and were showing the video at lunch. I got myself a large, strong rum and coke and watched this video of our trip with 30 other participants as everyone echoed woes and sounds of pain as they watched me get pummeled by the raft. It was funny I have to admit and I now have soemthing else checked off on this DR Bucket list. Needless to say, I won't be doing this again.

Surely this was taken after Mike Tyson. I do not look like I am having fun.

The DR Bucket list...

2011-06-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Since I am passing the one year mark (I know you guys are tired of hearing me talk about it) I decided to make a DR Bucket list that has a series of many things I want to do and experience here in the Dominican Republic.

From now on, I am going to set up my blog in this format. I am going to post only things from this list (so my blog can be more interesting).

Here we go!

I dedicate this one to my enamorado...

2011-06-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

Enamorados: People that are crazy infatuated and obsessed with someone and will NOT stop calling/stalking/passing by your house until he/she receives your attention/affection. This is also mostly for show to the other people they know, kind of like "hey look at me, I bagged the Americana".

Yeah I have an enamorado. I won't disclose too much info on him but I definitely felt that as part of my Peace Corps experience I had to write a blog post dedicated to the one and only because of how much he has affected my service. This guy claims he fell in love at first sight. He called me about 10 times a day just to know if I ate, just to know exactly where I am, just to know if I am okay or if I need help or need a ride somewhere. He would pass by my house constantly just to see if I am home or if I will come out to chat with him. He got close to another nearby volunteer who gave him advice in obtaining my "love".

"Don't call her so much"
"But I want her to know that I want to talk to her"
"She knows this because she has caller ID and she sees that you have called her 20 times"
"But she wont pick up the phone"
"Because you call her too much. Buy her pineapples, she likes that."

I am not going to lie, I have embraced (not kissed just appreciated) this person in my life as a commodity. With this person I got free rides anywhere I needed to go, he would do me favors, he would buy me fruit, he was just super convenient to have around. I have communicated to this person (pretty much every time we talk) that I am not interested in him nor will I ever be interested. I only want to be friends and no, not the kid with benefits either. But as I have learned, Dominicans are ridiculously persistent (I wish they were this persistent in my projects) so he still insists that he will one day be my boyfriend and conquer my heart. He is out of his mind.

I really do consider this person a really close friend of mine. In my time here, he has been one of those people that I know I can count on to do whatever I need to do. We have been fishing, flying kites, hiking, seeing new places out on moto rides, cooking, baking, dancing, the list goes on. Things I pretty much should not do with a boy. These are things I would do in the states with my guy friends and know that there is nothing wrong because there is no interest but here in the Dominican Republic, things do not work this way. There are no boy friends. All boys want to get with you if they even look at you. While doing all of these activities, I have not tried to show this person that I am interested in dating them. I just felt good about having a friend that I can do these activities with. But, I know that he did not interpret my actions this way. Just spending time with him was telling him that I was accepting his offer. My mouth is saying "No" but to him my actions are saying "Yes". So now, I had to cut the cord on our relationship because I realized it was not benefiting me in the end. People in the neighborhood were spreading rumors and his enamorada attacked him because he was dancing with me (that was pretty much when I knew our friendship was over). :(

I can admit that at one point of time he was one of my best friends. But due to the cultural differences and my personal security I have diminished communication with my enamorado so as to not affect me or my work in my site.

Enamorados can be fun but you definitely have to be careful with their intentions, their history and how it will affect you in the future. As a Peace Corps volunteer, you are put somewhere to serve in that community for 2 years. Sometimes you can get lonely (2 years is a long time when thinking about romance and relationships) but you can't forget about how you are affecting the community and how the community views you.

Being a Volunteer Without a Computer...

2011-06-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

...sucks.

My mac recently just decided to take a poop. Well I have had it for a long time and the battery wasn't even working (I had to be connected to the wall outlet in order for it to work), and since the electricity is so sketch here, when the luz se fue's it took my computer with it :( . So now I am one of those volunteers without a computer. I have no excuse to do real work other than not having a computer to do computer work.

Having a lap top in the Peace Corps has its many benefits. 1. You have the convenience of working at home. 2. You also have the convenience of having all of your stuff saved and accessible whenever you need it. 3. You can use your computer as a tool to stay sane and get away from the DR life (ie. watch American tv, movies, workout videos etc...).

I have to admit, I really miss my laptop (volunteer friends are working to help fix this situation) but at the same time it has helped me stop being lazy and forces me to get out of my house and work in the computer lab. So maybe it was a good thing in a sense?

(This does however give me an excuse to my lack of blog updates!)

No more teaching for me!

2011-04-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

4-9-11

Ahhhhh... I have finally reached that point in Peace Corps where I finally feel comfortable enough to say "No" and discontinue teaching. It only took a year of worrying, learning, planning, stressing, yelling, crying, laughing, and screaming. Haha. It's been a looooong year.

I started these classes with the intentions of 1. meeting new people in the community and 2. finding ways to make the sustainable. Needless to say I have met so many great people in my classes young and old. It really is a great tool to meet people because they respect you and they will remember you long after they skip your classes, haha. (My gradation was this past week and my students were so cute that they got me a plaque. A plaque. How awesome is that? This is a prime example of the contacts you make and how much the stress and tears are worth it in the end.) As far as sustainability, my computer classes sadly did not continue but my english classes, gracias a dios, will continue with a superb, replacement teacher. Nilka is a Jehova's Witness from Puerto Rico who will be continuing my english classes to help her pay for her living expenses to continue her religious work in the DR. She rocks.

My english class made me a plaque. Sooooo nice.

To be honest, after doing all these classes I have figured out that I am an okay teacher but my only flaw is patience. Patience is super crucial for teachers so you can see how this wasn't working out for me. I always needed to prepare and have options available for my students, I always had resources for them, made sure I didn't dress bad, made sure I was on time but I just couldn't handle it when I had to repeat myself 10 times or when I saw that people weren't learning. It was hard for me. Not everyone is perfect so I am glad I have decided to end my classes and continue with my youth groups which are basically classes but not so formal and not that much prep work. I am just glad that I can say I did it. I did it, I lived it, it's over and let's move on to bigger and better things.

I am coming up on my one year mark (as a volunteer) and I feel like my time here is starting to count down. I am having to fill out my VRF (volunteer reporting form) which basically asks for all the info and data of everything that you have done. I have done 2 computer classes, an english class, some teacher training, and I have 2 youth groups. My work with the liceo (high school) has not been completed (which is sad, cause its the purpose of me being here) and I have a lot of other side projects that I want to develop before I leave (literacy, art group, boys group, basketball court).

In retrospect I feel like I have been really busy. I was having to go to the high school everyday and teach my classes in another location, stay late for my youth groups, attend and plan conferences and on top of all this do various design projects on the side for everyone in Peace Corps. Literally. Everyone. But I am not complaining, I love to be busy. I love being asked to do design work (since I am not really using it anywhere else in my site other than my youth group) because I love to feel needed and useful. But as much as I do love to feel important the one year mark really is the time to stop being important and start passing that torch to other people. Nilka will be saving me so much strife by doing something she is good at and saving me from having to do it. It's not even like I have to do it either. It's this feeling of "crap everyone wants these classes I have to give these classes" that I am glad I can shake off. I have to admit there is a feeling of loss when you don't do these things anymore and they don't need you anymore but I guess thats the point of Peace Corps; creating sustainable projects.

So now I have to think about how I will be remembered in my town. I've only done projects that are learning based, meaning, there is nothing physical that I have brought to my town. I feel like I've done a lot to teach my community but because there is nothing physical I know if I left today people would say I didn't do anything and the reason is because I haven't physically donated something. So the majority of my focus for the year is going to be on developing my school lab, building a library in my liceo and a basketball court in another escuela. Physical properties that are necessary. We shall see how this goes.

Grita Week

2011-03-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

3-25-11

Gringo Grita is a volunteer publication made by volunteers for volunteers. It is a really cool opportunity for me, a graphic designer, to showcase my many talents of laying out and using Adobe programs and also my cool tablet. Hehe. But more than that, it's a full week of hanging with volunteers in the capital as we organize COS (close of service) surveys, edit cool articles and drawings by talented volunteers and create a 60 page magazine with stuff we think other volunteers would like to read or look at. I participated in working with the magazine in the Fall of last year and I have the pleasure of working on it again this past week for the Spring issue. I am happy to announce that my pal Justin Seiter is the new editor, yay! And I will continue serving until I leave. I love being able to design something here in a place where design doesn't matter. I was really worried in the beginning of my service that I would lose my edge with design coming to the Peace Corps but I am happy to be able to showcase my talents or at least just use these programs so I don't forget how to add a stroke or put in a drop shadow. I believe the grita will will be out for release in late May or maybe June but I am excited!

Here is last years cover picture. It's an iphone with apps for everything you need in the DR...

IT Trainee visit!

2011-03-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

3-20-11

Zenia Perez arrives! She is a new trainee who just arrived to the country in March just around my year mark. Basically every year in March a group of IT volunteers come in and around May of the same year an old group leaves. This cycle continues going on and on until there is a certain level of sustainable projects and the country is completely free of volunteers. Clearly that hasn't happened yet. We are coming up on Peace Corps DR 50th anniversary. That may be really sad.

It's crazy having a trainee visit because I still feel "new" to Peace Corps. When I go the email asking to host this volunteer I almost didn't reply because I didn't feel like I was ready but I am really glad I did because after the visit I can see how integrated into my community I am and how much I have grown living here. I am casi a dominicana!

Anyways, as far as I know, there are 17 new trainees in country who will have to go through the same things I did, living in Pantoja for spanish training, CBT in el Seibo for tech training then finally being thrown into their own site to figure out their lives for the next 2 years. Its exciting to see a new group, to have new friends and I am excited to see the next generation of volunteers who will watch me on my way out.

I am sad to see the old group go. I have gotten very close to a lot of the volunteers and its sad to see the "seniors" leave and make us fill in that role. The older group is so good at managing things and having things run smoothly so it will definitely be hard to let them go. It's now my groups turn to fill in their shoes which will definitely be a hard thing to do. May 2012 will be my time!

So this past weekend was a really fun time. We had a special Moca night for the trainees then crashed at Heather's house after we sang karaoke at a colmado in her town. The next day Zenia and I went to my site where I showed her my "work." I showed her the club, liceo and ayuntamiento and we even got to chill at my donnas for a free lunch and hang with the neighbors. I feel like I may have been a bit harsh because I was trying to get her to talk constantly since she is a fluent spanish speaker but she was so shy. Then I talked to the volunteer I visited last year and she reminded me that I was the exact same way. I was quiet the entire time and really shy so now I understand. I think sometimes I don't realize how comfortable I am living here now so when other people get thrown into these situations I am expecting them to just adjust as fast as I did. And they will, it's still their second week being in country, after CBT they will really get the hang of this "Peace Corps" thing.

Best of luck to the new trainees! Soon you will be volunteers and begin this amazing learning experience. I honestly can't believe I am here a lot of days and I am thankful for everything and everyone. Being a volunteer in the Dominican Republic is tough but it's amazing.

Magee, Phil, Zenia*, Charlie*, Me and Keaten* hanging at the colmado in Juan Lopez. (*New trainees)

My 25th Birthday in the DR!

2011-03-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

3-25-11

Twenty five years ago I would have never thought I would be living in the Dominican Republic doing what I am doing now. Scratch that, make that 2 years ago or even 1 year and 6 months ago. This is my second time celebrating my birthday in the Dominican Republic and it is definitely by far the best birthday I have had in a while. (Haha, its hard for me to commit to the best ever, but it was very good!) My group arrived in the DR in the beginning of March last year so because everything was so new and foreign to me I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday and spent it eating yucca and spaghetti alone in my room with my dona who also didn't know it was my birthday. Crummy. But this year I definitely went all out celebrating my birthday for an entire week! Yeah! I didn't even have to announce it to everyone, people actually remembered. Haha.

To commence the celebration, a big group of volunteers headed into the capital and we had a fun night at the Conde with drinks and dancing. My two favorite things. The next couple of days I visited a fellow volunteer Amber in Las Canas which was so nice to just be tranquil and peaceful. I pretty much slept a lot because her site is sooooo quiet. I didn't hear concho drivers, horns, trucks, nothing. It was perfect for sleeping and chilling out. Plus her dona was an amazing cook and her host family was super nice. From there I headed over to my favorite site in the DR, Magee's house where we continued the delicious food and tranquility. I honestly think I have gained 10 more pounds just from this week. Everyone was giving me so much free food and goodies I couldn't turn them away! I even got midnight birthday pancakes!

Heather, Me and Masa swinging at this cool new bar in the Cap

Heather, Me and Amber got all dolled up to go to a family wedding. Yep, we were way overdressed!

Lindsey, Magee and Jose. We ate delicious Mexican tacos with homemade salsa! Yummmmmmm!

Virgen, Melvin, Me and Mirian, my beloved neighbors who take care of me very much.

My birthday pies! Me blowing out the candles. Can't believe I am 25. :(

So thinking everything was over I returned back to my campo ready to detox all the bad food and relax. I spent the night hanging with the neighbors and surprise! They bought me 2 pizzas and drinks to celebrate my birthday too! It was really cute the way they went about it, they slyly asked to go to my house to have some tea then came walking in singing "Happy Birthday" in english. Cute. I have to say I definitely feel loved. Comparing my birthday from last year to this year I'd say it was a huge improvement and I am most excited about the stuff that happened in my campo. It's one thing to celebrate and do things with your friends but having poor dominicans buy you things to show you how much you mean to them was priceless. I couldn't stop telling them "thank you" and how happy I was to be spending it with them.

This goes to show that wherever you are you can make an impact on the others around you. I cant say this was the best birthday ever because I still was missing those people at home who mean the world to me like my friends and family but regardless of their absence I still felt loved and cared for.

Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday special and rememberable. Guess what? I get another year to celebrate here in the DR! March 2012 will be even better!

1 year living in the DR

2011-03-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

3-20-11

So March 4th marks the 1 year reunion of me being here in the Dominican Republic. As I sit here reminiscing on the past years frustrations, triumphs, tears, smiles and times of major confusion, I realize that I have definitely come to love this country and am turning into a campesina.

I remember my first impressions of the DR were that it was a dirty country, full of trash on the streets, it was so unorganized and lazy. Now living here for a year I feel like I am now starting to see past these traits and also see them in me. I definitely am a lot more lazy. If it rains, I don't want to leave my house, if it's cold I won't go on my morning runs and I am also more prone to ask for bolas, no longer embarrassed to show that I don't want to walk. Maybe its not so much that I am lazy but I am getting comfortable. I speak like my neighbors, I live like my neighbors (for the most part) and I have to be completely honest when I leave I miss my neighbors. It is such a simple life to just sit by the colmado and talk about the day. I love learning new things from them and compartiring with special dinners and cross culture chats. I can honestly say the DR is starting to be a big part of my life.

Hitting the one year mark also makes me feel like everything that I have done is finally making sense. I now know what my role is in the community, I now know who the people I can trust are and I feel more comfortable in my community to be myself and not this stuck up professional. I have one year left! My time is now not a large amount of hanging out but a countdown of work I still have to do. I want to leave my community knowing I am leaving something physical (like a library), and emotional (like my presence, youth groups and memories). I definitely feel loved. All my neighbors and community members are super overprotective of me, they always claim me like I am their volunteer, always asking if I am thinking about staying forever, and telling me never to leave.

It's only the one year mark but I know that I will be very sad when it is finally that time to say goodbye. I feel like a dominicana already. I am very anxious to see how much I grow from here. Vamos a ver...

The cutest little girl in my barrio, they call her "China"

For some strange reason, she adores me. I think it has a lot to do with the bike.

The cute barrio girls. We tried riding the bike together and fell. Haha. Finally a dona told us not to do it. I am so glad an adult was around. :)

Celebrando Las Chicas

2011-03-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

3-6-11

Dios mío! So, Heather, the volunteer next to me in Juan Lopez, and I got this grant to do an event for International Women's Day observed March 8th. We were so excited because we are just starting to get our girls groups going so we thought this event would help us get more attention and girls to attend. I would say if I don't get a 10% better attendance rate from girls I am going to be sad because the conference was planned for 30 girls in total and about 70 girls ended up showing up. Yeah. We were crazy.

The day started off as a disaster. I asked my project partner to help me find people to help me bring over chairs and participants to the event over a week ago and he said he would take care of it. Needless to say, he had no clue who could help me. Jerk. So I am scrambling trying to find someone with a truck while still trying to attend to the million other things I have to do and keep a cool, calm face. I bought the 10 huge 2 liter refrescos and decided to call my neighbors. In about an hour my neighbors came to the rescue with a guagua to transport the chairs and my project partner decided to take my girls. Bien right? Well in the process of all this I tried to carry all 10 refrescos (I am pretty strong but not that strong) and while lowering the sodas onto the ground I ripped my pants! So I went to the event and tried my best not to open my legs. Thank god, my enamorado Melvin showed up and I sent Lindsey to my house to pick up another pair. Ha! I forgot about it for a while but it was a good idea to change since I was in front of tens of girls staring at me.

All in all, the event was a huge success. We shot for 30 girls and got 70. We ended up being right on our budget so there were no miscalculations. We got lucky to get help from 2 other volunteers which helped us out A LOT. We started behind but later caught up on time. We got to play volleyball. We got to dance. We got to do face painting and I think we did a pretty good job on the informational charlas too. I liked mine!

Basically the week of the event Heather and I were pretty stressed. I tried to never make Heather worry but deep inside I was so worried for us but I am proud of everything the way it turned out and our success. We couldn't have done it alone so thanks to all those who helped (Joe and Lindz).

Heather is already talking about the next event we are going to collaborate on. Hopefully that wont happen for a couple of months. I have to admit, this was one event that I am very proud of myself about. We did it Heather!

Heather and I

I gave a gender charla so I decided I should have a mustache.

Taming these girls caused me to lose my voice for a bit, but it was fun

Carnaval in La Vega Baby!

2011-03-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

3-6-11

Carnaval. In a few words I can describe it as colorful, fun scary and painful. Let me count thy ways…

Basically Carnaval is a celebration for the entire month of February in the DR where different towns dress up in costumes and walk the streets with these things called "vejigas" where they beat anyone in front of them exposing their butt. The best place to go for Carnaval is La Vega because they have the most elaborate costumes and they are the heart of the country for this fiesta.

I arrived in La Vega pretty early considering American party times but apparently Carnaval is something celebrated during the day into the night because around 9pm I found the streets of Carnaval empty. So FYI if you come to celebrate Carnaval, do it early. I was in bed and asleep by midnight, which was kind of nice actually especially since I had a fun night the night before.

So basically the streets are filled with people of all ages wearing masks, purchasing vejigas to whip people and running away from costumed whippers. I was pretty nervous getting to the site because I heard they whip people pretty hard and I saw a couple of grown men fall to their knees from the pain but I was lucky to not get whipped too bad, it was mostly the kids who would get me cause I would not expect it from them.

The costumes are beautiful with different colors, themes and groups. There was even a lot of girls dressed in the costumes which I was totally all about and I am actually going to look into being in costume walking the street next year. I am going to try and be a part of it cause it looks like a lot of fun.

I ended the night watching a free salsa concert with a couple of volunteers which was definitely a good way to end the night. I am glad I got to experience this cool DR tradition. Although I was scared and running away from scary costumed people, it was so much fun to be able to do something different and new. I have a whole new view on February. Screw Valentine's day… it's all about Carnaval!

Med Missions are cool...

2011-02-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

2-19-11

So I've been bugging my buddy Joe to let me in on one of these things Peace Corps calls "Med Missions" where volunteers work as translators for medical physicians that come to the DR to aid dominicans for FREE. I was pretty much ready to give up and start putting Joe on my "I hate" list but he saved himself when I finally got an invitation. Haha Joe.

So the mission was set up through ILAC in Licey with these doctors from Chicago's Loyola University Medical Center. This team was super great at what they do, and they were tremendously nice and polite to us (well, most of them). It's remarkable for a team of such high status, busy people getting together to work long days and nights in a foreign country just to help people in need of their services. Thousand dollar surgeries were offered for free but it was because these people really needed the help and the surgeries were needed and deserved.

Getting there things were super awkward because you don't know who anyone is other than the other volunteers who were really fun (Claire, Chandler, Sarah Roberts). So everyday I pretty much had to get up as early as 630am, eat breakfast, translate a little, snack, sit, translate a little more, eat lunch, poop, watch a surgery, snack, translate, sit and draw, snack, watch another cool surgery, eat dinner, sit around, translate a little more then try to find a way to sneak out so I can get a run in from all the eating. It was fun but it was also exhausting on my feet. My legs were so restless from standing all day long it kind of suck but it wasn't so bad if I sat down.

Here I am with a girl who had to get keloids extracted from her ears from the use of earrings. Weird coincidence: She's another volunteers neighbor! I stayed by her side during the entire procedure because they used local anesthesia so she wasn't completely put under. In the end, she gave me some clips she was wearing to say thanks. Sweet.

The best part of the missions were the patients and being able to serve and feel important and useful. I feel like because I am not the typical american view the people really understood me and had more comfort in speaking with me than with the doctors. It felt really good to talk to the patients about absolutely nothing but see in their faces that they appreciate my time because they are nervous for a surgery or feeling anxious because they can't communicate with the doctors. I even had a few patients that would hug me and look for me or gave me cute little gifts when they left to have something to remember them by. It's the little things like that, that really makes me feel like I am helping someone and doing something good.

Another benefit was getting to know the med students and being able to hang out and celebrate with them. After a long day in the clinic, we all would just want to go out so we went to Puerta Del Sol (bar in Santiago) or other casinos to have fun and relax after working 12 hour days. Last night we went to Cabarete. I am mentioning this because I am writing this half asleep, running on 2 hours of "rest" and I just ended my english class thinking why did i schedule these on Saturdays? Hmmm.

I am really glad I got to go on this mission and will probably be harassing Joe to let me go on more missions because of it. Sorry Joe.

Here we go again...

2011-02-07T12:13:00.001-08:00

1-31-11

January is ending but really all the work is just beginning. This week sparks the brink of a lot of new projects which I am very excited for. Oh let me count the ways..

1. Still working on getting batteries and an inverter for my high school, but this process sure does take lots of patience (that I feel I am running out of). I am crossing my fingers for this year!

2. Started english classes this week (which I am not excited for) but it was ooooook. One class is full of little ninos. And if you know me you know I don't really like kids. So this is agonizing. Good thing I have other projects to focus on to give me some patience.

3. My community is the only community in my town that does not have water sent through pipes and tubes. We have to receive our water from trucks passing through then purchase and store the water in big tanks and barrels. Sucks. So I am working with some neighborhood leaders to solicit aid in creating an aqueduct for my community. If this can actually happen and take off I would be sooooo happy. Right now I don't have water because it hasn't rained in over a month and the trucks have not passed by all week. I haven't showered in 2 days and its really bugging me because I want to work out and I cant because I wont have water to shower afterwards. This is really putting a hinder on my workout regimen. Really annoyed.

4. I am also working to get a basketball court built in my community at a nearby school. Basically the community has told me that the school can't offer physical education classes because there is no space to teach this subject and they also said the delinquency is a problem because the teenagers have no way to funnel their energy and time other than hanging out at a nearby colmado where they can drink and gamble. Building a basketball court can solve the problem by offering sports as an after school activity and also a school educational course. I am actually really excited about this one. There is this site called www.courts4kids.org where anyone in the US can sign up to travel to a different country and help build a sports court where it is needed, no experience required. It is sort of like a mini peace corps because you stay in the site and learn about the culture, help out a community and gain a new experience. I hope I can get this aid cause I know my community really could use the help.

5. I also am working with a local women's group on getting them training on how to make household cleaning products and such so they can start their own company and make money. I'm also working on teaching them literacy and offering them health and family workshops too. So much to do!

My women's group and I celebrating International Women's Day together

6. On top of this I will be starting a new youth group this week called Chicas Brillantes made up of girls helping each other out and also includes fun activities and games. It's meant to support girls in this misogynistic country and helps build their self esteem and knowledge about being a woman. There is a conference that I am taking 2 girls to later on this month and an activity I want to plan together with my PC neighbor, Heather in combing our two groups to work together. Cool! Update: We got the grant! Yay! Activity to plan March 5th!

First week of girls group, making masks to celebrate Carnaval of course! Super fun!

7. I am still continuing with my first youth group, Encargados del Futuro, a computer group who I am at the moment, teaching photoshop and blogging. Go figure. The center where we work just installed the Internet so now we will actually start facilitator training so they can start their own computer classes and I can focus on other things like getting pedicures and massages. Oh I wish…

My Encargados del Futuro youth group, look at our flow!

8. I am also doing stuff for myself like I am going to start a worm composting bin this week. I just need to get the worms in santiago and then I will start feeding them all my leftover food and scraps and feel one step closer to being environmentally friendly. Yay! Also maybe I can encourage all my dominican neighbors to start worm bins too? I may be getting too ahead of myself they already think I am crazy.

9. I am also working on an art manual for Peace Corps so we have an A-Z book on everything art including cheap art projects and artworks to enjoy. You can tell this is one of my passions right?

10. Did I mention probably one of my biggest projects yet? Constructing a library for my high school including constructing the building then filling it with fun books and a certified librarian? Yeah it's going to be hard and although my school sucks at supporting me I really want to do this one. Just need someone to help me with the budget… darn it may take a while after all…

Of course there are more side projects in the air such as teacher training, art clubs, sports clubs and more but for now I feel a little bit overwhelmed so I need to tackle things one at a time.

I do feel like I want to take advantage of this year and feel like I have been doing things I normally don't do. I went and visited friends recently, rode a horse (never done that, well not alone without it attached to that circle thing at the swap meet), I just got scuba certified (terrifying but FUN!) and I want to continue this year with white water rafting, the worm compost and who knows maybe eat more street food, I shouldn't get too crazy though... :)

Christmas Vacation! Visit to the states!

2011-01-05T04:20:00.001-08:00

1-3-11

Welp I am back in the DR after a wonderful christmas vacation back to the states. I am laying in bed under a small throw blanket and a neighbors comforter freezing my butt off. What the hell happened since I've been gone? The temperature here has gotten strangely cold and thank god for neighbors I have some temporary remedies to fight off the cold before it turns into the usual summer heat and I am sweating again. I have to admit it is kind of nice to be cold in the DR when I think of all the times I wanted to die from all the sweat I was perspiring. Hooray for cold temps!

Christmas this year was a lot of fun to be able to visit home and be comfortable and lazy for a while. I only spent 2 weeks at home but it was well worth the excruciating 8 hour flights through Panama. Weird, I know. I got to see my family which is always a pleasure but I think I got a vibe from them that I don't normally get all the time and it was a lot of love. Haha. Not that my family normally doesn't love me, but I just really felt their support and happiness to see me which was really great to experience. I think they really missed me!

I also got to see my best buds like my girls and besties which was spent mostly drinking dominican rum or some kind of substance to celebrate my arrival. Yay. I forget how many friends I have at home sometimes when I am out in this country scourging to find anyone to be my friend. :) It ain't easy…

I got the best christmas presents this year: A new traveling backpack, new wardrobe, running shoes and money. All of which definitely help me out in this country. I even got treated to a mani pedi from my sister which felt super nice to be pretty and girly again.

So it was definitely harder this time to say goodbye than it was the first time leaving, especially to the fam. For some reason I think my family didn't really believe I was leaving for the DR until the night before my flight and even then the goodbyes were very subtle and short. This time I just wanted to bawl my eyes out but I am a weirdo and can't cry in front of people so instead of them saying goodbye subtly and short, it was me trying to just give them a quick hug and goodbye. I didn't want my fam to see my face get so teary eyed because I really enjoyed my time at home and I didn't really want to go back yet.

So I get back to the DR to see my neighbors and family with so much desire to see me. I am not sure if its to see what I brought them back or if they really wanted to see me. Haha. Just kidding, but seriously some of my neighbors whom I never even said 2 words to were asking what I brought them back which was hilarious because I couldn't even bring back the things I wanted for the people who mattered.

I spent new years on the island which was a blast. A bunch of volunteers got together and celebrated the new year in cabarete, the tourist capital of the DR north beach. What can I say, the place was packed full of dominicans, americans, europeans, everyone all doing the same thing: Getting drunk as a skunk. Needless to say it was a good time and I am kind of glad to be chilling in my site now. Not gonna say I am excited to start working but I am excited to be back in the DR.

I got to go to Disneyland, it was pouring rain but it was fun! Here are my sisters and nieces avoiding the rain.

Countdown til Christmas

2010-12-06T19:24:00.001-08:00

12-4-10

Woo woo! There are about 9 days left until I get to fly home for Christmas in the good ol' USA. I can't even describe the emotions running through my body. Excitement, nervousness, sadness for leaving my campo but a lot more happiness to get out of here. I really did want to see how Christmas is celebrated here in the DR but I think it will be a lot more meaningful next year. This year I am very eager to see my family and teach them everything that I've learned in my first year. I am also excited to see my friends, my polo girls and get down!

I am going to say that I feel like I definitely have created another family here in the DR that consists of a mixture of volunteers, dominican neighbors and my family. With the volunteers I can bitch about the dominicans and dance and be myself and with the dominicans it's all about learning and sharing of traditions and cultures. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable without the dominican family I have here. The other day I was on the toilet and I mandar'd my little hermanita to get me my phone so I could text people while pooping. Maybe a little too much info but that's definitely an "I knew I was integrated when…" story. (Haha Heather)

I feel like the dominicans are starting to get comfortable with me as well. They are all pretty much counting down along with me for my departure giving me long lists of stuff to bring them back. They're nuts cause I ain't bringing back shit. Haha. One wants a headlamp, one says she wants a sweater, another asked me for some pants. What the hell? Even on my morning runs the sweet man asked me to bring him back an ipod! My response "Are you crazy?" What are they thinking. First off the plane ticket alone is going to put me in a tight budget for xmas gifts so purchasing stuff in the US is impossible. Looks like I am going to be doing a lot of thrift store shopping (which I love anyway).

I feel like I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable with myself now as well. I've gained a bunch of weight and have struggled for a while on trying to lose it that it made me miserable. Now I am not completely comfortable (I still am going to try to lose it) but I don't feel helpless. I am opening my eyes to dating and what possibilities there are and I don't feel so closed shut on trying new things and just putting yourself out there. Life is all about the experiences you have and there are ups and downs and highs and lows. It's what you do after those experiences that count. Getting out of a 7 year relationship, I kind of felt like I was never going to get over it. I'm still not completely over it but now I know I am human and life goes on. Wah wah wah… :)

To be honest, these 9 months away from home has been an eye opening experience and has taught me a lot about growing up. I really hope to come home and not be a completely different person but someone who just looks more knowledgeable about her surroundings instead of jaded by whats in and whats cool. I left not really knowing where I was going. I still don't know what I'm doing. But I know that I am happy and I feel good about myself (on most days) :).

Sabrina's Countdown of the Top 10 reasons to LOVE the Dominican Republic…

2010-11-19T10:38:00.001-08:00

10. The craziness of it all! The crazy carro drivers with a beer in their lap, motoconcho drivers with gashes and burns from accidents (still working), people putting dangerous wires together just to steal the luz, cobradores from guaguas hanging out the bus holding on for dear life, little girls as old as 4 dancing scandalously to reggaeton with their mothers cheering them on, getting drunk and passing out in the public streets where everyone is peeing (so gross), the list goes on and on… (My best Dr moments include sitting in a guagua with 12 other hefty doña's sweating profusely with a huge backpack on my lap. The radio is blasting some type of bachata that I'm singing, the driver is flirting with me asking for his visa and all I really want to do is grab a pineapple and sit and read in my hammock or go to the rio and drink some rum.)

9. The ríos! The rivers here aren't always clean nor are they always safe, but they are always fun. Dominicans definitely know how to party at the rio. They bring out the fogon (grill) pop open those Presidentes and blast the music. The rio is always cold and refreshing with the heat of the island. Best rios? Definitely Jamao and the rio emptying into the beautiful beach at Los Patos. Ya tu sabes.

8. The delicious fruit and veggies grown here: pineapples, guineos, lechosa and yucca. Never tasted sweeter.

7. Dominican honesty. You know dominicans will always tell you the truth even if it is really rude. They'll definitely tell you if you have gained weight (hear that one everyday) and they'll definitely tell you if you look bad or stink (Dominican: "Yeah let's go to the rio, but first you go shower and change and I'll come pick you up" Me: "But what's wrong with what I am wearing now?"

6. Bolas! Aka Free rides! Now that I am living without any means of my own transportation I feel so dependent on unsecured and unsafe transportation which makes me feel nuts. If there is anything I miss from the states is being able to drive my own car and doing so whenever I want. You get a "bola" basically by either hitchhiking or knowing someone that will gladly give u a lift to the place you need to be. Yes I know this is highly dangerous but compared to the US it is harmless. Since I live in a campo I pretty much know the people in my town and they know me so they know where I need to go without me telling them and they're always glad to help. Ladies always get bolas because it is considered very gentlemenlike to give women lifts to not make them walk. As for the guys, psssh they can walk. Or they hide in the bushes while the ladies get the bola then they come out and take advantage. Haha. Works every time.

5. The gorgeous beaches and all inclusive hotels. Haven't been scuba diving or snorkeling but I bet there are some really pretty fishes and coral reefs to check out too.

4. The loud thumping music and dances. Bachata, merengue, reggaeton whatever, it's loud and the dominicans are some of the smoothest dancers I have ever seen. I never see them sweat meanwhile I am always dripping!

3. The "cogelo suave" mentality. Yeah you have a meeting at 1pm but the guagua is running late, you just ate a mountain of rice for almuerzo so you don't feel like moving, you don't even know what the meeting is about (something about setting rules and planning projects, like thats important) and you don't have minutes to call anyone to tell anyone you will be late. Ah… you will get there sometime.

2. Campo life. There are some days when I come home from a long day and theres no luz and I just feel so annoyed that I can't watch my 30 Rock or movies but it's days like these that I will also appreciate once I am back home to have peace and quiet and time to think. I feel like I have learned a lot about taking care of myself and also on how to be a more economical person. When you live i the campo, you don't get much water so you save up as much as you can, you don't eat luxury foods so you invent recipes with what you have and you may not have electricity at hand so you are forced to read or interact with other people. Bugs don't scare me half as much anymore, I am comfortable doing everything for myself and I appreciate alone time and a good book while laying on my hammock. Peace. Tranquilo.

1. The dominican people period. Life is measured here not by the amount of money you have (nor do I measure it by the successful projects that I have implemented) but by the relationships you acquire and strong friendships and bonds you make. Nowhere else will you be greeted by everyone you see during the day. Nowhere else will you be helped and given free rides (bolas) to get to the places you need to go. Nowhere else will you find people so happy and so humble with their small wooden houses, concrete floors and tin roofs. They know the country has many reasons to be angry or sad but the dominican people celebrate anything worth celebrating. They always make sure your beer cup is always full (Seriously they never let it even get half full they're already pouring drops to the rim). They never hesitate to share anything they own (Everything is "A tus ordenes"). And they all are, quite frankly, very good looking.

Do not climb Pico Duarte if you are perceived fat in the DR…

2010-11-19T10:37:00.001-08:00

11-16-10

Pico! In the midst of all the chaos of cholera training, hurricane Tomas consolidation and hectic site weeks, I decided to continue with my plans on climbing to the highest peak in the DR, Pico Duarte.

The trip went from 12 or more volunteers participating to a mere 7 due to all the time out of site that made some volunteers feel "campo guilt" for leaving again. Glad I have no shame to leave :).

We all arrived in beautiful Jarabacoa then headed into even prettier La Cienega to meet up with the guides and mules to start the long trek. I arrived feeling great with bursts of energy, I had all my snacks packed and my backpack on snug anxious to get started. The I met the guides. The guide took one look at me and bluntly said "You are definitely going to have to ride the mule because you are fat and you should probably eat about half of what the others eat to lose some weight." Ummmm… what?! Guess thats the DR for you. I pretty much stood there holding back tears at the meanness of his comment and had no words to reply. It was then that I knew this was going to be a tough trip mentally and physically.

The first night we hiked 4 km to our cabin which was short and sweet. The second day we planned on treking to a cabin a few km short of the tip then heading out early the next day to see the top but ended up going for it and climbed all the way to the peak, a good 22 km. Yikes. When I finally got to the top I was so mad about having to climb for so long all I did when I saw the Duarte statue was cuss at it and flip it off. Not exactly the typical form of celebration but I was pretty much saying the big "F You" to all the negative comments and thoughts surrounding me and my ability to make it to the top. The climb was so much harder than I thought it would be and to be honest I am not sure I'd like to climb it again. It's pretty much one of those things where you do it to see where you fall and never do it again. Haha.

So pretty much after the 2nd day I was done. The rest of the trip was mainly going down the slopes which were extremely steep, muddy and SLOW. I thought I was slow at climbing but going down was just ridiculous. My lack of balance and surplus of scared-ness kept me from hauling ass like the other volunteers down the hill. So I felt like I had to take one for the team on day 3 and mount the mule to speed up time and get to our next site. I was riding the mule for only a little while but it was probably on the steepest parts of the mountain. I got an arm workout holding on!

The 3rd night camping was probably my favorite because it was in this gorgeous open valley where it wasn't freezing cold close to the peak. We got to bathe in the freezing river and get toasty by the campfire as we roasted marshmallows and I tried to tell scary stories. Turns out a lot of the volunteers are scared of scary stories, bummer.

Finally the 4th day we headed out of the mountain with more downscaling and even steeper and muddier slopes. I was determined not to mount the mule but then out of nowhere my left knee pretty much called it quits and wouldn't let me walk normal. Eric started calling me FrankenFoot when I walked with the stiff left so thats when I decided I had to mount the mule. Because of my overwhelming sense of pride I asked the guide if I could dismount and walk the remaining 500 meters of the trail to feel like I had actually done something. I met up with the other volunteers and we proudly walked back to start together as we ventured off days before.

I have to say the trip was amazing and even though I didn't make it all the way down on my own my only goal was to make it up and I did all by myself. I really enjoyed the camping nights and actually feeling cold in this country. The trail was definitely difficult but I recommend it to any volunteer or visitor in country because of the great sense of accomplishment and beautiful views from the DR's mountains. The guide and I made peace and even though the trip started off to seem like a disaster it actually turned out to be a lot of fun and a good getaway from site.

P.S. I'll never do it again...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

2010-10-27T10:14:00.001-07:00

10-25-10

Okay so it's not even Halloween yet and it's way ahead of Thanksgiving but here in the DR it feels like Christmas is around the corner. I didn't think Christmas was even that big of a holiday celebrated here but apparently not. They even put up trees and lights! Everywhere I go I see Christmas decorations which is really making me ancy to go home. I finally bought my flight to go home for the holidays and seeing all these decorations is putting me in the mood for family time and cold weather. Both of which are not applicable in the DR. There is a house here in Las Lagunas that is already covered from wall to wall with Christmas lights. I really can't wait to see it all lit up. It's absolutely hilarious because here in the DR there is hardly electricity to power my refrigerator but this house is going to power 600,000 light bulbs of ornamental lights (figure came straight from the lady who said she used that many light bulbs the year before). It's insane. But you can imagine how many dominicans love passing by her house. The doña that owns the house told me she got the idea from houses in the US she had seen on tv. Now she does it every year and enjoys her 15 minutes of fame in Las Lagunas as the "house with the lights". Apparently her house draws such a large crowd even the local news channels come to broadcast her home.

In a place like the DR it is really unbelievable that someone will cover their house with lights when there isn't even enough electricity to power all of them. She probably needs like 4 inversors and 16 batteries alone to power all the electricity she will be wasting starting in November. And guess what, I'll be there front and center to enjoy it all. Because even though I think this lady is crazy, she is still doing a public service to everyone in Las Lagunas sharing her Christmas spirit for all to enjoy. Thanks crazy light lady. I'll post pics when the show begins!

Tipping the scales and plans until home…

2010-10-27T10:13:00.001-07:00

10-22-10

I wouldn't be true to my blog and my experience if I didn't write about my frustrations about my weight gain while being here in the DR. It pretty much is on my mind everyday because of countless dominicans reminding me I gained weight and my daily need to exercise in order to eat some rice. Since I have arrived to this country, I have gained about 20 pounds. Shocking isn't it? I am not a small girl and I will admit when I came in I wasn't exactly Miss Fit but I was smaller. Before I came to the Peace Corps I was a committed athlete with 2 a day practices and plenty of outdoor activities. Now my body is in shock from the lack of activity I do when compared to before arriving in country. Everyday I do some kind of activity, whether it be running in the morning, walking to work, biking to Moca, swimming at the Rec center (which I stopped dong because they wanted me to pay lots of money) or doing calisthenics at home. But just like my project partner "I guess it's not enough." Jerk.

I really feel that my body is retaining a lot of water which is weird because I sweat at all times of the day. Because I am not seeing results and only seem to be getting bigger, I feel it's affecting my work because I am so uncomfortable. I guess you can say this is bad. Also things in site are becoming a bit boring so I am trying to do new things everyday to keep things fresh. I bought my ticket home so I think that also is making me feel homesick and aching to get out.

So before I go home in December I have made a few goals, one being lose weight so people at home don't sound like the dominicans here (you gained weight!), finish my basic computer classes on a good note (so far the class is going well, there are a few of annoying instances but nothing worth crying this time, haha), and to win the Encargados del Futuro conference movie contest. My EDF group is my motivation everyday. I know they can produce good work and I am excited to show the rest of the volunteers my amazing group.

The Hermanas Mirabal Museum

2010-10-09T12:26:00.001-07:00

10-7-10

Recently I finished reading a book by dominican author Julia Alvarez, called "In the Time of the Butterflies." The book is a romance of the story of the Hermanas Mirabal, 4 sisters from the dominican republic who fought against the dictator Trujillo in the 50's-60's. Trujillo was a dictator of the DR ruling for 30 years until he was assassinated. He basically did a lot of good things for the country (allowed women to vote, cleaned up the streets, created order) but also a lot of bad things (killed hundreds of haitians, spread fear amongst the country for those who disobeyed him, raped hundreds of girls as young as 14). Since living here I have been increasingly interested in the history of this country so reading this book sparked more interest in the heroic sisters. There was also a film that just came out starring Michelle Rodriguez called "Tropico de Sangre" about the sisters which was based on Julia Alvarez's book. I wasn't so impressed with the film but it still hasn't taken away my interest from the story.

Apparently Las Lagunas is about 20 miles away from the home of these sisters which today is a memorial museum honoring the sisters. I was ecstatic to find time to make my way over there when one of my students Arleny (bless her heart) volunteered to take me to the museum with her dad. Sweet!

You can imagine how excited I was to do something different and get a free car ride. Arleny and her father were so nice when we got to the museum they refused to let me pay the donation admission and even bought me a hat and keychain souvenir. Dominicans aren't easy.

The museum was pretty much amazing. Not so much because it had all of the sisters beautiful 50's clothing, jewelry, furnishings and kitchenware still intact but because seeing the gorgeous wooden house they lived in still standing was so cool I seriously just wanted to move in. My first impression was that the Mirabal family were rich because the house was so grandiose it really is a mansion in these days so I can only imagine their status in the 50's. Apart from the gorgeous house, the museum had huge beautiful yards with gardens and flowers and statues filled with artistic butterflies symbolizing their underground names during the revolution, "mariposas."

I really don't consider myself an expert on the story and am still searching for more books on the subject but being able to see their house and the museum was really a nice treat. I hope to return soon.

My life as a geisha in the DR…

2010-10-09T12:25:00.001-07:00

10-3-10

It's really funny, since I have been in the DR I have read a lot of books, some good some really bad but either way the book that I am reading at the moment seems to affect my life at that point in time so much. When I was on my David Sedaris trip, I was so cynical about stuff and I thought so vividly to myself joking about every little thing. When I read "The Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime" I found myself overanalyzing everything, thinking mathematically about formulas and equations in my head about everything around me just like the main character. I just finished reading "Memoirs of a Geisha," which I am thoroughly enjoying but is also again affecting my daily life. I come to find that the life of a geisha is somewhat similar to the life of a peace corps volunteer in many ways. For one, there is a great deal of training which one must really grasp or at least look like they know all about it or do it in a pretty way. Yep that happens to PC volunteers, some volunteers come in country not knowing anything about their sector so just appearing like you know something is big. Ha. Another thing, our reputation is huge in our communities just as geishas. If we are seen with the wrong people we are automatically sized to be like those people whether it be good or bad and our reputation is judged daily. We come into our communities fresh and exciting then in a couple of months we are those old geishas that nobody wants around anymore. We have to keep inventing stuff to make ourselves popular all year long.

Us volunteers like geishas also, are hot commodities. Whether its a boy or a girl the volunteers have this allure that dominicans love. We can take them `pa 'lla and they think we likely have lots of american dollars so they hit on us in any way possible. Even if we are out jogging, sweating and gross, there surely will be a dominican throwing you a ridiculous piropo. Really? I'm running here! Sometimes like a geisha I have felt like a prisoner in this role of a Peace Corps volunteer as well. I have to be the perfect volunteer which means the perfect American who must always say yes to everything and follow hundreds of ridiculous rules. Although I have to admit we get away with a lot more, PC volunteers still are owned by the man.

I guess sometimes I read way too into books and search for something about myself to connect to but I don't think thats a bad thing. Now I am reading "An Unquiet Mind," which for those who haven't heard of the book is about a very smart psychiatrist with manic depression. God help me. I was interested in the topic but after starting I realized maybe it wasn't such a good idea to read a mental disorder book. I'm trying to rush through it before it affects me and I start becoming manic depressive. :)

Here We Go Again, Manejo Básico 2…

2010-10-05T08:34:00.001-07:00

10-4-10

Welp, its October, time to start some more basic computer classes. I pretty much knew the drill from the time I woke up today. I said to myself "Okay, today we start classes, people aren't going to show up on the first day, others are gonna be late but whatever happens you are going to just chill out and not be nervous or worried." That's exactly what happened. I went to my morning class where there was a total of 2 people that showed up in a class of 10. Okay I get it dominicans, you are all bad asses, just don't be angry with me when other people take your spots and you start saying "I didn't know…" Annoying. Although I do kind of blame myself for a reason why maybe nobody showed up. On the signing up paper I put that classes would begin Monday the 5th instead of Monday the 4th. So I will give them that error on my behalf but I would hope just like the 4 people that showed up to my afternoon class that they maybe thought critically and said "Hey, maybe our teacher isn't perfect and she put the wrong date, silly proffe!" One can only hope.

So it goes without saying, day one always is a disaster in classes in the DR. The best thing is that I already had a round to learn all the dominicanisms of learning and teaching. Ha, jokes on you, I already knew you weren't going to show up sucka so don't tell me your excuses. We shall see how Wednesday goes. :)

My first visitor from the states, my bestie!

2010-10-01T07:51:00.001-07:00

9-28-10

So much has happened in so little time. I feel very tired and sore. Today my best friend Laura left on a 10:30am flight to Ft. Lauderdale then to good ol' LAX. I so wish I was on that plane. Before my first visitor I always felt like I could handle a visitor and that I missed home but it wasn't that I wanted to go home but I wanted home to come here to the DR. After Laura's visit I definitely don't feel the same way. Since this is my first encounter away from home it is surprisingly weird how much I miss home only after my first visitor. I think my lives finally clashed. My life back home in the states and the life I developed here in the DR. I have never really cried from being away from home (maybe once?) and when the day approached that my bestie was going to be leaving I definitely shed a couple of tears. It wasn't so much completely because SHE was leaving although having her around was a lot of fun but just the idea of her and everything at home was what hit me. Bottom line: I miss being home and am counting down until Christmas. Long way to go.

So let me recap all the wonderful things we did in a short time of a week.

Tuesday (9-21) Laura arrives, taxi man buys Laura a Presidente beer (he said first impressions are everything and he wanted her first impression of the DR to be good, wilson is cool) showed her the Peace Corps office, went back to America (haha just took her to the US embassy) went swimming in the US pool, had lunch then caught the air-conditioned express guagua back to my site. Unpacked and received the coolest gifts from home (this consisted of: sheets, table cloths, towels, shoes and dish towels from my fam, a cozy sweater i designed from D-ran (cool!), underwear, snacks and clothes from home that Laura got and head bands and a head lamp from Dee! (headlamp was the best of all Dee!)) then went out to the colmado and hung out with my neighbors where we played dominoes and Laura won 3 hands. Beginners luck.

Wednesday (9-22) Went to my liceo to see the lab (there was luz so we stayed and worked a bit), went to my rec center in Moca for a swim, went to D'Jose's where we enjoyed delicious sandwiches and natural juices (Laura loved Chinola juice), went grocery shopping, went to my youth group class, sang happy birthday to Laura and ate DR cake then enjoyed the experience of having no luz in the nighttime. Today Laura also experienced every form of transportation the DR has to offer: We got in the guagua to Moca, took a carro to the rec club then got a bola (free ride from hitchhiking) back to the center of Moca, guagua back to Las Lagunas then motos to my house and walked to the youth class. Whew!

Thursday (9-23) Went for a morning run around the barrio then hiked up lots of hills to see beautiful views of Las Cruces, went to my doña's house to have lunch then headed into Moca to meet up with other Moca volunteers for our famous "Moca Nights." Basically went to Coffey (coolest bar) then everyone came back to my place and crashed after we made bean and cheese burritos. Haha. Lot's of fun!

Friday (9-24) We were supposed to go to another volunteer Magee's house but because of the remoteness of this site we couldn't find a way to get in and the weather wasn't allowing us to go on a hike to see the best part, a glorious waterfall and rio. So instead we decided to go to Cabarete (famous windsurfing beach in the north) and had a nice dinner at LAX.

Saturday (9-25) Woke up and had a delicious breakfast at Friends (muesli, fruit and yogurt, deelish!) then hit the beach. The weather wasn't absolutely perfect so but at least she got to take a dip in the carribean ocean. Then we got lost on the beach and had to walk on the street in our bathing suits (why did we think we didn't need a towel?) Showered, then on a whim decided to go to Damajagua for the 27 waterfalls. I was nervous, I'm not gonna lie, but I can definitely say it was a trip highlight. We only did 7 of the 27 (cause I am a chicken) but I jumped off all 7 (there was one I asked to walk down after I climbed up but they wouldn't let me :) Laura bought a underwater camera so hopefully I can post some pics after I get them from her. Later on I found out I had a huge bruise on the side of my thigh from a jump, oops. After the waterfalls we headed into Santiago and ate dinner at Bioo-Light (delicious eggplant parmesan and chicken and mushroom crepes!) then took her to see the monument and walk around the beautiful lit streets of the city.

Sunday (9-26) We realized everything on Sundays would be closed so we couldn't plan much for today. We just headed into Las Lagunas then had some lunch in Moca before heading back to my house to rest and repack. My neighbor was having a birthday party for her son in my car garage area so we enjoyed loud booming dominican music as we stayed indoors being antisocial. We did some calisthenics and went for a really good run and got some fruit for shakes, pineapple and lemon! :) Laura also cooked a delicious stir fry then we watched "Sicko" and went to bed. This was prob the best night only because it was what we would normally do if we were in the states, absolutely nothing. I loved it.

Monday (9-27) Last day before the bestie leaves and everything starting hitting me. We headed into the capital and decided to chill. We ate some sushi for lunch, took a nap then went to Calle El Conde to do some last minute souvenir shopping. I didn't have much money to spend to buy stuff for everybody so I just bought random gifts for myself (haha, a DR magnet, a bracelet and some earrings). I figure I would have to buy plenty more gifts when I come home in December so I would make that count. Best part of the night was going to the ladies night bar where we got free drinks and a delicious appetizer to help us get down all the strong drinks. I don't understand how they're free and still strong as hell. I had to have Laura drink my last drink (haha, weak sauce!) We enjoyed our last night of air-conditioning and cable tv. Or maybe that was just me? I never get that, it was great!

So now it's Tuesday and I am trying to organize my life again to start my classes Monday. Back to the grind! Teacher training, manejo basic classes, EDF youth group, possibly a girls group and I am gonna do brigade verde activities with a teacher every Friday. Man, good thing I have stuff to keep me busy until December!

Living on my own and my first visitor!

2010-10-01T07:50:00.001-07:00

9-20-10

I am really starting to get used to this living on your own business. It's been almost a month since I have moved out f my doña's house and am living on my own. I love it. Not that I hated living with my doña but I just find that I am a really private person so being alone is great. Maybe I am more anti-social, I dunno but I just like being in charge of my life. I live in a small community which is basically a col-de-sac where a handful of dominicans live. I live on the corner house right in front of the colmado so my place is well taken care of with frequent watch from the neighbors. Basically my house is perfect. It's small but perfect for me with an extra bedroom that I rarely visit. Usually I am not ever home and if I am I usually hang out at the colmado and play dominoe's with my neighbors until I get tired then come home to my cozy little house where I can be alone. Recently I just bought a blender. Sweetest thing I have purchased yet. I made gineo batidas yesterday which were delicious! Only vice is the lack of luz, which lately, has been ridiculously bad. But what can you do, you can only pay the bill and hope they send you luz when the times get dark. Probably the only bad thing about living alone is sitting alone in the dark by yourself. Haha. Then you just feel like a loser so you go to bed at 8:30pm. Other than the luz problem everything else is swell. I never run out of water because I have a huge tinaco that fills up everytime it rains and I am in control of what I eat which means I can cook and experiment with food and walk around my house in my underwear. The day I did that I knew, I was living alone.

Today I cleaned my house inside and out because of my planned visitor coming tomorrow. My bestie! I have a lot of stuff planned for her visit but nothing set in stone. I really want to take her everywhere I have been thus far but realize that would be far too much traveling and guagua rides for a weeklong visit. So I decided since she may have a return visit we can cogelo suave and just chill in my site for a bit then go see some rios and beaches and everything else that makes the DR pleasant. It is really going to be surreal for me to see my friend because I haven't seen her since I left and I think seeing her will really wake me up to think wow I am in the DR and she is someone from home in my past life. Sometimes you get so caught up in the DR that you don't realize that the people and the world in which you used to live in is still continuously going without you. Things aren't on pause just cause you are away everyone is growing u and changing. I wonder if I have changed other than my increasing weight. I guess seeing my bestie will let me know. I am also excited because she is the first person visiting me from the states. I want her to be completely overwhelmed with the DR. I want her to come here and be stuffed into a crowded guagua, get on a moto with a huge helmet, travel with huge overstuffed bags and get stuck in a random rain storm, eat platano and yucca and salami and fried cheese, dance bachata and merengue and at the end of it all say wow sabrina, your life sure is tough. then i would say yep, its a tough job but someones gotta do it, you know they say that peace corps is the toughest job you'll ever love and she'll say that i am an admirable person and then as i fold my arms in front of my chest and a cool breeze flows through my hair ill say i know. haha.

Patronales and a mini-vacation!

2010-09-09T07:22:00.001-07:00

9-6-10

I really am a riot, I rant and rant and rant about how excited for Patronales I am and I only make it out to Patronales on the very last night. Ha. Well my opinion was that it wasn't as much as it was worked up to be but I also think that since I went on a Tuesday it wasn't meant to be the best night. I did have fun, invited Heather the volunteer from neighboring Juan Lopez out and we enjoyed ourselves even if it was only for a little while. The thing about Patronales is that you really have to want to drink or be in a large crowd to have fun, and since I lacked these two things it was just okay. Patronales appears to be just like a good lo' fair with rides, things to buy, and greasy unhealthy foods except its all DR style. This means that the rides are crazy fast and unsafe and the foods include hot dogs without buns and chimi churris (DR hamburgers). Seriously the ferris wheel goes so fast all my DR friends said they do not get on because of all the people that throw up. Aren't ferris wheels just supposed to casually go in a circle? Also they have a rendition of a pirate ship except there are no seat belts so the people seriously float in the air before they are pulled down by gravity. Needless to say, I did not get on any rides. Ha.

I did impart on a small dance my project partners were throwing for all the social clubs where I got to dance a bit of meringue and bachata with my drunk project partners. Fun. :|

So instead of drinking and dancing every night I did take advantage of the town going on hiatus for these festivities. Since there really was no work to be going on during these days I did use this time to leave my site for a while to check out other neighboring volunteer sites. First was Masa in Jamao which was extremely fun. His doña pretty much has the most beautiful river in Jamao in her backyard so I got to go bathe in the rio then be fed by his awesome doña and don. They love me. :) Afterwards I got to check out Masa's pad which is a sweet upstairs 2 bedroom apartment with running water, electricity and a working shower. Don't think he is suffering much. Love you Masa.

Next I stayed with Magee who lives in Los Bueyes and let me tell you, this was such an adventure! First I had to get in the back of a pick up truck along with loads of animal feed and hold on for nearly an hour through rain and shine on this extremely rocky path. It was fun until Magee told me one of her visitors actually fell off the truck. I held on a little tighter after that. By the time I got to her site I cannot even explain to you the beauty of her site. Everywhere you look there are nothing but beautiful green mountains blending with bright blue skies and theres not a sound of a moto or booming colmado but quiet and serene winds in the fruit trees. Gorgeous! Her site is seriously what I imagined the Peace Corps lifestyle would be. Quiet, serene, isolated yet beautiful. Also because she is out in the middle of nowhere she does not have all those amenities like Masa and I have. She collects rain water, owns a latrine and gracias to her project partners collects electricity from the sun with solar power. Crazy huh? I was so impressed with her beautiful wooden house, it was so big and clean and perfect. I think I liked her site a lot because it really was ideal for me as far as being isolated. I am so anti-social so living where she does makes it so easy to be alone and just be lost in a different part of the world. I think if I stayed for a week I may have gone crazy with all that time to myself but for the 2 days I visited, it was really nice. Also at her site is a gorgeous waterfall and lots of hiking trails. It really was a vacation away from site.

So I went from one extreme to another. Next I got to hang out with Carly and her visiting parents from the states who got a sweet hotel room in Santiago. Wow! We got to have a night out on the town with drinks, dancing and delicious food. Carly's fam were definitely a lot of fun just like Carly and I was glad to come out and welcome them to the DR.

Last trip away was Heather's site next-door to mine so I was a bit closer to home. We met up with other new volunteers so we got to spend some time out in Moca (Coffey!) then stayed in Heather's really cute small house complete with pink flowers and a pink kitchen and bathroom. VERY Heather. The only thing that sucked was all of Heather's neighbors hollering and chanting my name for me to come out of the house to give them my number. I have no idea why this happened because I never even met a lot of Heather's neighbors so this was definitely annoying and made me feel disrespected and frustrated. Mostly on Heather's part because she lived there and I did not want to feel like I couldn't come over anymore. This is still not addressed. To be continued…

So I definitely wouldn't say I missed too much by missing Patronales. There's always next year… :)

Classes are ending, now the fun can begin!

2010-08-22T14:11:00.001-07:00

8-19-10

Yay, my manejo basic classes are coming to an end. Not that I don't want to teach anymore I just feel like I need a break. I learned a lot from this first group and although I may have went overboard with giving 7 classes, I feel like I have learned a tremendous amount of what not to dos and some what to dos as well. For instance, do not offer 7 classes at once, do not start a class without a student aid to teach at the same time, do not offer 2 classes back to back, do not be boring, do not cancel classes so much and do not offer classes for too long. I found my students began to skip classes towards the end and I think its because 1. I cancelled class a lot because of all the PC meetings and junk and 2. Because it started getting boring and 3. The class was going on its 6th week. I thought I went a little fast but I think my students needed a little more motivation. You live and you learn.

Now that classes are over I want to enjoy my patronales, kick start a work out regimen and diet and focus on my encargados group. I want to travel and visit other volunteers sites during the next 2 weeks since nobody will be doing much work because of patronales. I also want to equip myself with all the hot spots to take my visitors. Cabarete, Samana, Punta Cana? Anyone down?

The Patronales Reina Night...

2010-08-22T14:10:00.001-07:00

8-15-10

So every town in the DR has a "Patronales" which is supposed to be a holy week where everyone goes to church everyday then stays out late celebrating until the early hours. The patronales of Las Lagunas begins August 22 and is in honor of the saint San Ramon. Also included in these celebrations are the selections of the Patronales Reina, vice-reina and princess. So tonight I went to the reigning of this years candidates.

First off, this shindig didn't start until after 9pm. The streets were packed with people trying to get into the liceo to see the winners. I mainly wanted to see what its all about. It's basically a beauty pageant complete with a bikini section and question. So I watched 6 beautiful dominican girls waltz on stage wearing small bikinis then beautiful gowns. The whole time I was thinking to myself how could they parade like this in front of all these dominican men. It's already bad that every dominican woman I come across tells me about every imperfection I have so to parade in front of everyone on a stage would be ridiculously difficult. And I think to one girl it was exactly that cause one of the candidates fainted twice on the question part. Yikes. And there were about 3 different fights that broke out throughout the night. Annoying. I just got home and its 2:40am. I plan on going to church tomorrow at 9am. Man. I think I am going to be exhausted during the real patronales week. Every night is a different day to party and be merry. I am so pumped for this!

My first enamordo...

2010-08-22T14:09:00.001-07:00

8-8-10

Ay dios.

In the DR, men here have a very funny way of telling you they like you. As you walk down the street you can hear millions of "piropos" or cat calls saying Pssst… to get your attention at volumes so high you think theyre letting air out of their moto tires. Most of the time I never look because I think thats ridiculously rude and annoying but when you hear the millionth Pssst, you finally turn your head their way to end their struggle and they just smile, wave or say something like "Tu eres buena" which translates as "You are good." Thanks, you needed to get my attention to tell me I am good and you think by hissing at me I will be attracted to you? Ridiculous. Just thinking that dominican women find this sort of thing attractive is beyond me.

So in my new neighborhood there is a guy who just confessed to me today that he is "enamordo" with me. I have lived at my place a week now. He said it was love at first sight and that every time he sees me his heart flutters and he gets really happy. Barf. I did the mistake of giving him my phone number so now this dude calls me about 12 times a day to see if I've eaten or where I am going to be during the day. Yikes. For the DR being such a machismo country, I see that dominican men can be head over heels for a "good" woman. It's ridiculous to fall in love with someone in a week and I am sure he tells this to every girl he thinks he can get. It's just funny to experience the adoration from a dominican man.

To be honest I don't see myself dating a dominican but I say this because I have yet to find a dominican with honest intentions. Usually they want you to "llevar" them pa'lla. Which means bring them to the US. Don't get me wrong I like latin men but not if he is going to be a tiguere trying to get a ticket to the US or the honor of bagging the americana. I just don't seem to be interested in men in this culture. Maybe after a while things will change. There are lots of PC volunteers here that end up staying in the DR or getting married to a dominican because they fall in love, so maybe I will join the statistic?

Doubt it.

My first nights in my new casita…

2010-08-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

8-4-10

So I am now on my 3rd night in my new casita and I definitely have to say that living on my own has made me so much more happier and I definitely feel a lot more loved. I have moved into my new place about a km and a half maybe from my work site which is a little far but thats the purpose of the bike. Since Sunday night I've been getting to know the neighbors and getting used to the distance and not having my doña around all the time. So far its been great! I still visit my old doña's place and eat my habichuelas and carne while I enjoy the luxury of coming home and cooking something that I want or something thats not yucca. Ha. I told my neighbors that I liked yucca better than platanos (doesn't mean I like it a lot) so I already have 2 huge fundas of yucca that they're waiting for me to boil. Thanks neighbors. It's really the sweetest thing, wish it was piñas but I'll work on that, ha ha.

I also already have a neighbor stalker, ha, ok no he's not that bad but he definitely has a crush on me cause he calls me like 5 times a day to see if I've eaten, if I ant him to buy me food, if I want a bola somewhere, everything. Yikes. It actually works out cause he has helped me do a lot of stuff already including free bola rides and filling up my gas tank for cooking. Just have to deal with the annoying calls daily. I'm sure soon he will get the hint.

So as far as living on my own, this is the first time I have done that. I've always lived with my parents and have been guarded with all these experiences so everything is really new to me and I like it a lot. I know I will have to get used to washing my own clothes (even by hand) and cooking for myself all the time but I really enjoy having all this freedom. I have done a few mistakes along the way of course but thats why the neighbors are here. For example, the first night the electricity was tripping out going high and low so the neighbors told me to disconnect the fridge to not burn the motor (thanks neighbors!) Next morning, I forgot to close the door to my house and left it unlocked all day! Yikes, what an idiot. But guess what nothing happened and everything was fine. I'm not going to leave the door open from now on but at least I know if I accidentally did it again things can be okay. I can't believe I did that. I told you i am new to these things. Hopefully I wont encounter anymore dumb ass mistakes on my part but if I do things work out. My neighbors are seriously totally campo folks, they help with everything, bring me food, I love it here. It's like having a whole street of doñas that love you instead of just one! :)

Today I purchased a table with chairs, yay, I can sit down in my own house now. All I need now is an extra bed and a small nightstand and I am finished! I love shopping for my house. Yay! The luz just came on. I can hear my whole community cheering. What a crazy life I am living.

P.S. My neighbors just brought me 2 fundas of avocados! Life is good.

Patience is a virtue....

2010-08-08T12:07:00.001-07:00

7-30-10

So it's been a while now that I have been teaching the manejo basic classes and I am still alive. I say this because I have learned just how short my patience is and how frustrating it can be when you lack this important necessity. Patience. It means not getting frustrated when your students are chatting while you are talking, it means keeping your cool when as you're explaining how to do something there is a kid saying "proffe, proffe how do you do it?!" On top of all these frustrating things there are frequent disturbances of people coming into the lab in the middle of your lecture just poking their heads in asking if they can sign up. Classes have been going on for a month now, what makes you think you can sign up now? And why are you interrupting my lecture? Ay ay yay. Definitely don't have patience for that! It is obvious that when you are teaching something you have to be patient. Its just frustrating when you think you taught someone and they come back the next week saying what I don't remember anything you said. Most of the time I have to re-teach everything I taught them and even then they need me to tell them how to do it again. Its exhausting.

I hope by the end of these classes I will be writing a blog post about all the wonderful feelings I have not just to end the damn manejo basico classes but feelings of accomplishment that I did show someone the use of the computer, that I did hopefully make someones life easier or change it in some way. For now I think I need to not get too distracted in the work I am doing but actually build relationships with these people. I was told earlier this week that I am way too closed of a person. They told me that I have not yet grasped dominican culture. I disagree with this but what are you gonna do. Guess I have to eat more yucca and be late to more meetings. Hows that for dominican culture, so humph.

Teaching may not be my best feature after all…

2010-07-18T13:40:00.003-07:00

7-18-10 2:36pm

After my first week of teaching the basics of Windows, I have to say that I am not impressed nor am I happy. First off, I made the mistake of agreeing to teach 7 classes because the laboratory is so small (5 computers) and for every class there is at least 1 new person that tries to either sign up or take someone else's spot. I am really bad at being strict.

Secondly, I don't have any patience. The classes have 3 types of people with no in-between: First theres the old folks who have never used a computer in their lives, okay I expected that and I feel like I work better with them because they have patience with me to learn and I can actually see them learning. They have a desire and listen to my instructions, even if they don't understand them entirely. Secondly, there are children. Really annoying, inpatient children who kind of know how to use a computer so they think they know everything and they just do what they want without listening to me kind of folks. These are really the source of my frustration. I am really bad about repeating myself and for some reason I find myself having to repeat myself in these classes more than needed. The young kids are just too wild, clicking everywhere, yelling my name for help and always having to show me when they have completed a task (YOU DONT HAVE TO KEEP YELLING MY NAME TO SHOW ME YOU TURNED ON THE COMPUTER!!!) Ay ay yay. The third group of students already know how to use a computer so they're as annoying as the kids just doing their own thing not listening to me either.

I just feel frustrated because I don't think I am really getting to them and I feel like I am working so hard. Plus it gets really old when you teach the same lesson 7 times. You would think I would get good at it by the 6th but I still feel like I am struggling. I think it is just hard because I took too much on at one time. Plus there are electricity problems and that always doesn't help the situation.

I think I just need to slow down a bit. After these classes, I am going to focus on 1 project and have at most 3 classes on the side. September can't come quick enough. Thats when its all supposed to end.

Officially found my house…

2010-07-18T13:40:00.001-07:00

7-18- 4:29pm

So I officially found my new house. It is 1 km away from my work site, which was a bummer but I think I can deal with it for the price. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath concrete house with a tin roof. Its really pretty and it has everything I need. A cute kitchen with red wood cabinets, spacious living room, patio area, garage area in the back and the bathroom is not scary. I will be having to bucket shower in the beginning until they move the tinaco to the roof to allow gravity to flow water through my shower head.

The rent is 2,200 pesos a month, which is around $61 US, damn in my town the cheapest you can get for a place is $500 a month and thats just a bedroom, not a whole house!

So I am happy and excited to have visitors now. The main purpose of me getting this house is to have visitors. I am fine living at my place with my dona now but the room isn't big enough to host people so thats why I needed to get the bigger place. I am actually anxious and cared to move in. What am I going to do about strange noises and big spiders and bugs. If I get any rats at my place, I swear I will run back to my donnas house in 2 seconds flat. I have never lived only own, what am I going to do. I've never done this before! I am sooooo nervous!

I am going to be making big purchases soon, like the fridge and pots and pans, etc.. so I hope I get some good deals. And I also hope I don't feel too much more lonely than I feel now. VISITORS WELCOME!

Ladrones stole my phone…

2010-07-18T11:05:00.001-07:00

7-12-10 9:53am

I decided I needed to spend some more time with my dominican hermanitos so earlier in the week I went to fix the pedal on my bike (so much better and it cost 5 pesos) and I also bought a plastic bat and wiffle ball. I invited my hermanitos out to play and they got all excited when I suggested we go to the local "play" which means the local baseball field. It took us forever to put some sandals on and walk over there but we arrived looking optimistic even though there was a dooming rain cloud over us. We start to play and sure enough it started to rain so we ran under a large canopy until the rain stopped. I normally never carry my phone on me and I am also sad I made the mistake of bringing it because I tend to do dumb things like leave it on the ground and expect nobody will take it. Well, I guess you know what happened next. I set the phone down because I didn't have any pockets and I didn't want to carry the phone in my bra (not too classy) and because we were the only people there I didn't think it was going to get stolen. Long story short, we go out and continue playing after the rain and when I felt I had enough of them arguing and yelling "Tramposa!" at each other I said Time to go! And that's when the phone was gone. Crap. Then I tried to use my brain. I did see people walk by but I didn't think anything of it. I saw 2 guys walk by with bright basketball shorts and we also saw the owner of the park come by as well. These were my suspects. I walk behind the play and there is a house with 3 haitians working so I ask them to come over so I can ask about the phone. They were wearing bright basketball shorts like I recall the people wearing as they passed by. Because they were Haitian, communication was not going through. They struggled with their spanish and I couldn't understand them but I felt like they had my phone and I really wanted it back. So I went to the police. (Now that I recall this, I know it wasn't the best idea for a silly phone but I don't learn this until after the story is over). I told the police that my phone was stolen and the only people that passed by the park were the haitians, the owner and us kids. Policia #1 tells me to stay at the base and he went along with one of the kids that was with us to investigate. What resulted was that he came back with the haitian I was questioning earlier. Ok… so I just asked him again and still communication wasn't going through. I started to think maybe going to the police was a bad idea. 2 other haitians arrived and they also said they didn't have the phone. It was absolutely awkward the judicial system here. Here I am in front of them saying do you have my phone, the haitians are looking at me saying no i don't have your phone and the policia is saying alright these haitians are guilty. Ok, fuck it. They don't have the phone no big deal. I told the police it's fine just let them go and I will just have to get another phone. But the police tell me to come back in a hour. They arrest the haitians and search them and put them in their small cell. Crap. You can imagine how dumb I felt. What if it isn't them, I am just ruining their day, they are going to be set free after this and they're gonna see me walking on the street and kill me later, what are the policia going to do to them, is it worth it for this damn phone? I return in an hour (the funny part is that the policia tells me go home and shower and come back in an hour, was i really that stinky?) and the policia says that in their attempts to scare them by putting them in the cell they still said they didn't have the phone. One said he saw it but he didn't take it. Great. He also asks me if I want to accuse one of the haitians to go throughout further prosecution. No, no, no.

Upon returning to my house I decided I will probably never go to the police again. It's not like they didn't serve me and do what I asked but I realized that it's way more effort to get other people involved than to just deal with it yourself. Plus I really felt bad for the haitians. If they stole my phone or not, I just thought about how dangerous it is for them to deal with these injustices everyday. I merely said that I saw them passing by where my phone was set and the policia automatically said it was them I don't know if it was them I was just hoping with the policies help maybe they can communicate better but that was definitely wrong. My don tells me that now the policia was going to keep the haitians in the cell until they sent someone to send them money to bail them out. Stab my heart. He also told me that if the policia wanted to, he could deport them back to haiti or other drastic things.

So probably Friday I will be making my way back to the capital to get a phone. I learned a new lesson and I probably won't be heading back to the play anytime soon.

11:30am

The owner of the baseball field arrived at my house and dropped off my phone. Apparently the haitians I accused returned him the phone to give to me. I am definitely lucky. What a crazy story.

The deal with the lack of luz and water…

2010-07-09T11:59:00.001-07:00

7-9-10 9am

It's now been over a week that we have received water. My doña has been borrowing water from the neighbors because we don't have enough cause 1. She cleans everything everyday and uses about 10 gallons to do so and 2. My don's brother flushes the toilet and leaves the toilet running so we run out real quick. So this is a bummer. Why does this happen? Here it is according to my doña in "dummies" terms. Well, apparently the people in the community pay for the water and the people at the water factory (or whatever) send the water through the tubes whenever they want. It can be weeks till they send it and if they do send it they can send it for an hour or so and cut if off for another week. So, people have to buy tinacos (which are big black storage tubs dominicans keep on top of their house which send water through the llave) and if theyre really wealthy they get sisternas which are other forms of storage which are underground that are connected to the tubes from the city. These sisternas have a bomba to suck up the water to the tinacos which give you giardia water through your faucets. Hope this all makes sense. For the people that can't afford these contraptions, they have to buy big blue tubs and store their water getting it from the nearest faucet then try to cover the tub (which is never successful and leads to all these hospital visits of malaria and dengue, and man theres been a lot lately.) So apparently, some people pay for the water and some people don't which means the people that do have to suffer. I also heard that everyone pays for the water but they pay the sindico or whomever and they use the money for other things like a new ceramic house for themselves or their next campaign so the city never receives their water.

Same with the luz.

Only the luz situation is worse. There is pretty much a cycle for the luz. If we get it in the morning, we won't get it in the evening and hopefully it will come by the time we have to go to bed so we can have the fans on to fight off mosquitos and stay cool. People that are wealthy have their contraptions for this too. They buy at least 4 car batteries then an inversor or have a planta (generator) to help with the loss of electricity. My family does not have this. Well, they do but they only have 2 batteries which pretty much only power one light bulb in the kitchen around dinner time or a fan during lunch to combat flies. You never really realize what you have until its gone. But this also makes you quite resourceful. I pretty much have a ritual with the loss of luz and water. Shower once and make it quick (usually like 2 minutes to 5 if I have to shave the batatas I walk with :) And charge the laptop, phone and ipod anytime theres luz so I have some resources when the lug se fue. Sometimes I find myself cheering "Yeah, llego la luz!" but then again I think "wait a minute, we should always have the luz this is not something we should be celebrating." We pay the sindicos and they use the money for other crap and promise their communities they will be the saviors that will bring the luz back. Liars. So then thats when there are riots of tire burning, and street blocking but the story still goes. Corruption will always reign the DR.

Kind of makes me sad. What the hell am I doing here. I am here trying to teach informatica in a lab where there is no electricity. How does one do that? I am here trying to teach people how to makes web pages and design products when people are more concerned if they will have enough water to bathe themselves and drink. I am happy to be here and once I start my classes hopefully I will feel empowered but some days its hard when you see the problems in the community and think, I am not attacking the real problem here. People in the DR don't need to learn how to use a computer, they need to learn how to read and they need to find a way to get their important resources like electricity and water. My purpose in being here is to teach computer classes, make the high school lab a working business after school and to train the youth and teachers in giving classes for when I am gone. I hope to do this by the end of the year. Hopefully by the beginning of next year I can be a much better resource for my community than a computer girl. I hope I can be remembered as someone that made a real difference. But how does one combat the island's situation with these necessary resources? This task and these 2 years seem impossible…

Computer Classes Sign-Ups, Swimming Hideout and the Smell of Nueva Yol…

2010-07-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

7-8-10 9:56pm

I walked up to the Club and there was no one there at 2pm. I thought I had done enough advertising for the Manejo Básico classes I was starting but it seemed like I didn't do enough because the Club was empty and I was already running late. I just thought to myself "1. Okay, I guess nobody in my community likes me, 2. Maybe this is better for me so I don't have to teach these classes and I can focus on other things, 3. Que vergüenza and 4. Damn it I bought brindis and refresco and nobody is going to show up, what a waste of pesos." Just when I was feeling desesperada, one by one all the dominican folks started showing up. At about 3:30pm I packed it up and went home with 7 classes full thinking "1. What just happened? and 2. Cool, I have some refresco and brindis leftover to give to my family." But then again, holy crap, I have 7 classes and they don't start till next week which means I know people will continue asking me if they can sign up until then. Which they did. People came to my house and signed up and now the 7 classes are full. Actually there are a few classes overbooked (oops) and a waiting list. And of course I really attempted to be organized (I made a schedule with colored coded cells, use my calendar and a planner) and I still managed to start classes at 2pm on Monday even though I have a meeting for my youth group. Whoops. Guess I will have to start off those classes with a class cancelled. Yikes. I am going to be here for 2 years people, I really should have thought this through a bit more. So yep, I am starting my classes this Saturday and I am not feeling scared to teach but to be a good teacher. I just really hope they learn and they have fun. Teaching technology can be boring.

So all this week I have been prepping for my classes which pretty much means just hanging out looking at the PC resources hard drive looking for already made power points and such. I found some but they are really techy which even I can't understand so I may use them but tweak them a bit to have some Sabrina flair. You know how I do!

I did manage to bike to a Recreational Club just outside of Moca (takes 20 minutes) and signed up to be a member. I will let you know that you have to know someone to be a member but I met the owner of the club when I signed up and he signed me off. Sweet. So now I have a pool, ping pong tables, billiard tables, every sport court, wifi and a cheap restaurant to hideaway from everything. I am excited. It's not exactly a cheap membership but it will definitely be nice to swim some laps and get back into shape. I am through with running! So that's an exciting story of my week.

Things have been a little crazy here at the house with my dona as well. If I have not cleared up the story about my family, they basically are living at a house that belongs to my Don's sister who lives in Nueva Yol, (or Providence but everyone in the DR thinks the US is Nueva Yol, its kind of funny and sad at the same time). They have lived here for like 7 years and its really nice but my doña hates it because its not her house so my Dons family comes and goes whenever they want leaving my Doña to cook, clean and slave over them because she really is on their turf. Sucks. Anyways, the home owner just arrived today which was awkward, "Uh… hi I've been living in your house for about a month now and you don't know me but I am a good person." She didn't seem to care, must have been the jet lag. Ha. But she was very nice as is all of my Don's 12 siblings. Anywho, she brought along her 10 year old daughter which is very cute but very spoiled as I have noticed all Americana-exposed children are. Just last week there was another Dominican York little girl visiting who came to play with my hermanas, she pretty much cried all day. She cried when my hermanas beat her in Uno (I taught them well), and she cried when the night got so unbearably hot and there was no luz for the fans. Suck it up. Haha. So here's a story that made me think.

I was sitting i the living room drinking my tea and eating crackers (I have a cold and my doña makes this delicious tea that clears me up, I love her so much, she even cut me up some piña, for those who know me, know I love my piña!) The visitors brought over some American movie DVD's including the new Toy Story 3 so I was excited to watch it (even though it was in spanish, its just not the same without Tom Hanks and whoever plays Buzz Lightyears voices) As I was sitting there, the little girl came in the room biting the head of a baby doll. Hmm.. I thought … weird. She gave the doll to my hermana Luci who then put the doll to her face and smelled the dolls face and clothes. "Mmm… she smells so good." Luci said. "My spit?" the Dominican York girl said (I should know her name by now but I don't) and Luci said "No, her clothes, it smells of Nueva Yol…"

I don't know why but listening to her say that really made me think. I wonder what Nueva Yol smells like? Last time I visited it smelled like sewer and heat. No offense Dohy :) I almost wanted to grab the doll and smell it too. I think it's quite amazing how dominicans see the US. For once, they don't call it the US but Nueva Yol, like nothing else matters but New York. And is it really that much better than the DR? I see the little spoiled girls that come to visit and they are so spoiled that I can't stand it. My hermanas are used to not getting new clothes and toys. They were telling me the other night that they get in line every christmas to get some regalos from the Sindico and every year they never do. It's sad but I think they are so tough and so wonderful. They never cry, they never make a fuss about anything. I guess thats how you have to be in order to survive. If anything, my hermanas deserve toys and stuff because they are such good girls. I wish I could take them to the US and educate them like they have educated me. Just another dominican story to think about…

Post Lowenbrau Marathon: Rubberband Knees and Aching Feet

2010-07-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

6-28-10 7:07pm

Finally home and all finished with the Lowenbrau Medio-Marathon. Thank God.

The race went well, I ended up finishing at 2 hours and 14 minutes. Which is basically averaged as 10 minute miles which is pretty much what I expected of my turtle speed. The winners weren't even Dominicans, but Kenyans (in the DR?) and they crossed the finish line at my half way mark, which you can imagine was disheartening (they're done and I still have halfway to go!). But Aidan and I pretty much ran the entire thing until I got this weird adrenaline rush at 16 kilometers and plowed through everyone leaving Aidan behind. Then at about 19 kilometers I died and trotted slowly across the finish line. The race was so long and without an ipod I was bored out of my mind. But I did see experience interesting things along the way: I saw a disabled woman in a wheelchair crash as she soared down a hill (sad but interesting). I saw a lot of people running in funny and interesting ways (crazy swaying arms, a sort of fast-walk hop). I saw the winners cross the finish line (jerks). I got a medal and a shirt (awesome). Plus I got to get the runners experience with aching knees, cramps and knots. This was my first running race and may be my last (haha) because I feel like I may retire at least for a bit and find a pool. I'm no good at this running gig. Put me back in some water.

Diagnostic Presentation DONE!

2010-06-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

6-24-10 4:31pm

Just finished round one of my diagnostic presentation. How do I feel, freaking bitersweet. One because I dont think they really escuchared one word I said and two because I am glad its over and I can focus on working and starting classes. Tomorrow I give another presentation for the rest of the community and then I start advertising for the classes I am starting in July. What classes you say? A basic informatica class, a youth group of informatica and a youth recreational club. Not too bad as a start. Now the search for a house begins and I can start forming my classes and travel a bit.

So glad it's over.

But it's only the beginning...

Starting to get a routine, starting see some light…

2010-06-24T13:30:00.003-07:00

6-15-10 7:46pm

So now things in Las Lagunas are getting pretty routine and boring. I pretty much start my day either going for a run to prep for the half marathon later this month (which I am going to die in) or I convince myself not to run because of some dumb reason and stay in bed until 8am when I get up and go to the lab in my liceo to work. I've taken it upon myself to make my own breakfast in the morning which has been nice to eat oatmeal, cereal and fruit rather than more eggs and viveres. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches never tasted so good. (Still cant wait to move in to my own place.)

In the lab things are getting better even though there is never enough luz to do very much work everyday. I have however been able to clone and fix 12 computers and only have 3 more to figure out. I recently wrote a letter of solicitud to get batteries and fix our inversor which I have sent to the district in Moca and am going to hand deliver to the main office in the capital "Thursday." I say "Thursday" because my project partners first said it would be on Tuesday then Wednesday and now Thursday. I guess thats how it goes. But I feel really annoyed because I am dying to get into the capital and into the PC office to get my mail. I am glad I had Heather bring me half of my mail with lots of cool stuff from my bestie.

As for the rest of my work, I have been trying to finish up this diagnostic but I still need several surveys to do with the community members. I have already wrote out a draft of my report in spanish and I am beginning on the presentation so I hope by the end of the month to be done with the diagnostic and start working to train teachers. I am nervous to start working but I feel like I need to prove myself somehow and the best thing that I feel I can do is start some classes.

Some good news is that I bought a bike! Its a road bike and its white and ugly but it runs good with its 2 gears and does the work I need it to. I hope to become a better biker soon and maybe get in shape to ride across the country? Laura can ride across the US but shes never ridden across the DR! haha. Doubt that will happen anyway.

I need to do something fun… I am dying staying home and in my site. Traveling soon!

Ay dios…

2010-06-24T13:30:00.001-07:00

6-19-10 7:05am

This week has been such an emotional rollercoaster and the weekend is not over yet. I started off this week feeling great, I fixed up my lab, attended neighborhood meetings and passed out surveys and still was pretty busy. About mid week I started to develop this crazy tick. Haha. I was really starting to go nuts because I pretty much reached a standstill and was dying of boredom to do something. I fixed the computers in my lab to the full extent of my knowledge so I could't do much there, I was waiting to take this damn letter to the capital which took forever to come around (we went thursday by the way and I got my mail and I think the visit went well), and there wasn't a planned neighborhood meeting for the rest of the week so I couldn't finish off my surveys and was like a sitting duck. Quack. On top of all that a lot of the dominicanisms that normally wouldn't bother me were now making me contemplate murder. Or a least harming someone in a bad way. Haha. I could not handle the dominican men cat calls and stares when I go for my runs anymore and I was feeling lonely and bloated and fat. Poop.

I hate just being bored and unproductive. I can handle a day or two where I become so anti-social that I lock myself in my room from everyone else and read all day but this was starting to become a habit and I needed to get out! So I decided to go buy an empanada from the nearby stand in the park and sat down. Bad idea. The empanada girl was cool, we started to talk about who I was and she offered me a beer so I accepted. I probably sat there for 45 minutes telling her my sob story about how I need to go out and I was looking for dominican friends and she understood what I felt and said nice things. Ok. So why bad idea?

Last night I had a side meeting with one of my project partners where he needed to warn me about being friends with a certain someone. Apparently someone had contacted him and told him to "Be careful" with me because I have been seen numerous times talking to a lesbian. FML. To show you how the dominican chismé works. I decided to release myself and make this new friend Wednesday night. I only had met her this night and never spoke to her since. I had this talk with my partner Friday night and he said he has been meaning to talk to me about this for days now. WTF!!!!!!! This shit just happened! I was seriously talking to this girl for 45 minutes eating an empanada and having a beer and now I am a lesbian. Apparently I met up with her on more than one occasion. These dominicans are nuts about finding gossip. I pretty much got the lesbian vibes from her from the gitko, she looks butch, she talked like a boy and she asked if I had a boyfriend then asked if I have ever had a boyfriend. Haha. Yes girl, I like boys!! Ay dios…..

I guess thats what I get for doing something to make myself feel better. I dig myself into a bigger shithole. Haha. Thanks for listening to my lesbian rant. And excuse the language.

On another note, this weekend is Joe and Tophers birthday so we are headed out to Santiago for a well needed night of relaxation (or beers and dancing). I think I can honestly say that I need to get out of my site and have some contact with other individuals who understand the frustrations that I am going through. And I do need a beer. The rest of this month seems to be jam-packed now with all the events coming up. Next week I have to give 2 presentations to the parents and students of the liceos about the work I have done and the results of the surveys I passed out and future plans (sign-up sheets for classes and such, yikes I am starting classes!) Next weekend is the half marathon which I am going to die in or at least be made a fool (Friday morning I ran to the zoo which I am guessing is 8 km or close to 5 miles one way for a total of 10 miles (It really seems like so much more!). I really was just trying to run constantly for 2 hours straight but I actually met the owner of the zoo and had a private tour (they have lions!) so that was kind of cool.) Anywho, the next weekend after the half marathon is 4th of July which I am so excited for! Camping out on the beach (just getting to use my sleeping bag is exciting! I was beginning to think wtf did I bring this) seeing a different site in the south with all the rest of my friends for the weekend will be epic. I am highly excited for this event.

P.S. Thanks to my sister and family for sending me a huge package that arrived in April but I am barely getting now. I love the granola bars, new clothes and trail mix. Yes! Love you guys!

P.P.S. I think I may try the Atkins diet. Yes its that serious.

While listening to Animal Collective...

2010-06-09T14:46:00.001-07:00

6-8-10 6:38pm

I think I can, I think I can, I think I...

Sometimes it brings a smile to my face when I think about how I am probably the only person in the world who has walked around in my neighborhood listening to Animal Collective, Naive Thieves and Crime Mob's "Stiletto Pumps." Only thing is that I can't dance like I once used to. I'm aching.

We rockin' stilettos hoe! :)

This one is a long one….

2010-06-09T14:45:00.001-07:00

6-1-10 21:50

Please excuse me if this sounds like a long rant, it certainly is. I have been reading a lot of David Sedaris as you can see in my new Blog sidebar "Books I've Read Since I've Been in the DR…" and I find him so hilarious and utterly truthful that I am inspired to write a blog post in his style. I don't think I will do it justice but at least I could drop his name in my blog and encourage you to read one of his books. My fav so far is "When You Are Engulfed In Flames." Do it!

So far my stay in the Dr has been bittersweet. I've been here a total of 3 months and it kind of feels like 1 year already. There are definitely some days where I am better off than others and I can definitely say that my patience gets tested everyday and I may have failed a couple of times but then something brings me back to why I'm here and I see all the positive things about the DR and I feel blessed.

For instance, things that are annoying me now are all the mosquitos and flies and strange enormous bugs that haunt me everyday. But then I think about all the time I share with my siblings killing and chasing after the bugs. Here's a better one. My doña seriously bugs me by the amount of times she says my name everyday. I think one day I should just count it. I bet I would get around 400-500 times. I don't even know why she says it so much, we will be the only two people in the room and I am staring straight at her and she will still say "Ay Sabrina look at all the flies, Sabrina." It's like why do you have to say my name? Maybe she likes it or maybe I am starting to develop this abnormal tick about very miniscule things but sometimes I wish my name was harder to pronounce so she couldn't pronounce it correctly and never say my name. So part from the annoying unnecessary name calling my doña is absolutely sweet. She cooks everything so delicious and her beans are amazing! Haha, I think they're better than my pops at home and thats saying a lot. So you see, there are good things and bad things everyday and I am working on all the bad things that I can control (I got a fly swatter and bug spray for the things I can't). A big bummer is the lack of lug my town gets, its absolutely ridiculous. The electricity goes out everyday randomly and lasts for hours at a time. The other day it was gone pretty much the entire day until it came around 11pm when I was already in bed. But the upside is that I have plenty of water. I can shower whenever I need to and wash my clothes when I deem it necessary which is a huge blessing when compared to having electricity. I would much rather be clean and bored than sweaty with the lights on. Candles and flashlights are treating me well.

I started working last week as well, I passed out about 100 surveys at the high school (50 in the morning school and 50 in the afternoon school) and the results are as follows:

Morning Session: Crazy About ICT

Has basic knowledge of Windows and the Internet

Want to learn more about Microsoft Office and advanced programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver

Want to start youth groups about ICT and Business

Afternoon Session: Crazy About Everything BUT ICT

Also has basic knowledge of Windows and the Internet

Want to learn more about the Internet and Office

Want to start youth groups about Sexual Education

Interesting… Doubt this is interesting for you all but right now this is my life...

What I found from both groups is that they want to start a youth group on how to start your own business and they also both want to learn how to swim. So I am hoping to start developing curriculum to start doing both soon.

One thing that I haven't gotten used to is the money system here in the DR. So for every American dollar you get around 35-37 pesos depending on the currency rate of the day. So for things like guagua rides from one place to another for 20 pesos, you are basically spending $0.55. Ok good deal, right sweet. Then there's deals where things like peanut butter are $100 pesos. Then I think whoa, 100, that should mean a lot but it basically is around $2.75. So then again I am like okay thats not so bad. But the there is a huge jump for things and stuff like tops and clothes are around 500-700 pesos. I think hmmm just 5 x 100 peso bills shouldn't be so much and it turns out to be around $13-20. And it's like whoa $20 bucks what happened? From 500 to 700 pesos theres a huge leap of 7 dollars. It's making me so confused I just can't find the true value of things over here anymore. Should I buy this apple for 30 pesos or should I hop on the next guagua ride to see a cool part of the city? Should I buy this shirt for $1,000 or should I save it to pay for a weeks stay at the local hostel in the city? Money seriously doesn't last here.

P.S. So I recently just saw this commercial here about some pads for women's menstruation cycles and it was amazing. It's called "Nosotros Dobles" and it's a pad that has two pads in one. You just peel off the top layer and voila you have a new can pad. I was very glad I don't use pads and also very amazed at the marketing genius that came up with this one. WTF.

Back in Las Lagunas, Time to get to work!

2010-05-25T12:22:00.003-07:00

5-23-10 9:30pm

I'm baaaack. I think my project partners pissed too cause I didn't call and I just showed up and saw him at church this morning. Oops, was I supposed to call and tell you I was coming? Haha. I think I am going to keep pulling the "Sorry I'm not from here, I'm a crazy American" card whenever I feel it necessary. Or at least when I don't feel comfortable.

Anywho, it's good to be back. Except for the fact that I have to start this such thing called a "diet" because I pretty much gained 15 pounds living in the capital. That's what happens when you have McDonalds and donuts all the time. Bummer but it's going to feel good to get back in shape and my doña here is pretty awesome. She makes me massive salads and my favorite sliced cucumbers with just the right amount of chile and lemon. Yums! Plus she doesn't ever fry my food and she always is trying to eat healthy. So things should be looking up. Also, I am planning on doing a 1/2 marathon towards the end of June which I am kind of excited and scared for. I never entered any kind of running race before (not that I am going to run fast!) I just really want to cross the finish line on my feet and not be dragged by my "Peace Corre" partners Masa, Aidan and Jenn. Haha. So I am starting to train this week as well, I need to get a gym membership mañana and I have 5 weeks to train. Yikes. Wish me luck with that one.

Other than my sudden health and wellness kick, everything seems like it's going to be pretty good. I hope to start fixing the computers in my lab this week (with a hopeful visit from Masa on Saturday to help clone all my comps :) and I have a meeting on Wednesday with the APCD and PCVL (theres so many acronyms in PC) to get me started with my project partners. So slowly but surely I am getting started! These first 3 months are really supposed to be more dedicated to the diagnostic anyway so I doubt I will be crazy busy but it's still early to tell. For now I will just cogelo suave and hope to get invitations from other PCV's to visit them.

P.S. I cut my hair a while back, definitely was a good purchase and much simpler to deal with in the times of heat. Only negative thing, now my hair is short and my attempts at growing out my hair are ruined. Oh well.

Swearing In Day and the All Volunteer Conference...

2010-05-17T11:20:00.001-07:00

5-12-10

So today I officially became a Peace Corps volunteer. Woo. Before I was only pretending but now I'm a real boy! Haha. Today was definitely very interesting, we sang the national anthems for both countries, introduced ourselves yet again and then got these cool pins. I definitely liked all the support from the past volunteers there to cheer us on and even my hermana showed up to wish me luck. Celebrated at the car wash cause that's the only way to celebrate a graduation; at a car wash. Haha. Interesting stats for our group was 1. None of us ET'd (early terminated) which is great! and 2. We are all at a level 5 or above in spanish (you need a 5 in order to be a volunteer). Also I've heard we are one of the best looking groups in the DR, hells yeah. Congrats to all my fellow volunteers, we rock.

All Volunteer Conference was fun. Full of awkward conversations but still fun. You basically meet all the volunteers that are already in the country, learn about any projects or groups you might be interested in joining (theres lots for me!) and check out other volunteers for future dating purposes. Haha. Okay so the last one I've heard is what happens at these junctions. Not gonna say if I participated. :)

Anywho I learned about this group called the Gringo Grita who write a biannual magazine for all volunteers and I am very anxious to be on the staff. It sounds like the sweetest group in PC and I really want to design it and make it my own. Hopefully this will be one of my new projects if they pick me. Crossing my fingers. After the conference, we all headed for the PC prom which wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. Oh well, I bought a nice dress and shoes which I didn't even wear but whatever I still had fun and possibly made a fool of myself. It's always funny when you see people the next day who just smile at you and say "How are you feeling?". It's like Good, was I an idiot last night? Haha. Too much fun stuff.

I survived voting day…

2010-05-17T11:19:00.001-07:00

5-16-10 11:59pm

Today was the voting day for the "diputados" in the country which will now be serving a total of 6 years rather than 4. I believe diputados translate as congress members or something of that sort. Anywho, I was kind of disappointed about the outcome of today. I don't even know who won but there was nothing that happened today other than a traffic build up on the main street connected to my street where there was a voting office. Not that I was waiting for a riot or anything but PC made it seem like it was going to be crazy dangerous to be out in the streets and it definitely was very tranquil and calm. I guess that's a good thing. I even went for a run on such a gorgeous day and luckily missed out on yet another rain storm. Probably the most eventful thing of the day was attempting to make rice crispy treats with regular corn flakes (carre four didn't have rice krispie cereal!) and burning my doña's pot then having to scrub it for a half hour straight until my doña came into the house and saw me sweating bricks. She told me to relax that she would do it and pretty much cleaned the pot in 5 seconds. Haha. Thanks doña.

P.S. Swallowed wannabe rice krispie treat in one gulp. Yikes.

More on My New Site!…

2010-05-10T06:41:00.003-07:00

5-6-10 11:03pm

Have I mentioned that I have my own room with my own bathroom, shower and sink? I am pretty excited about that, I just moved in and put my stuff away (well half of it) and I feel so at home. It is pretty weird that there is a restroom with no door that is pretty much a foot away from my bed but I figured it would be handy when, you know, I have a hangover and cant move from my bed to throw up in the toilet. Haha. Yeah right! I doubt I will be doing any drinking here. My project partners already told me I am not allowed to drink and that I am here to work! Yikes.

Pretty much the stuff they want me to do is simple: Fix all 20 computers in the liceo (install educational software and deepfreeze and anti-virus software, clone all the hard drives), fundraise for a new inversor or for more batteries so we have electricity to use the computers, then in the summer I will be teaching all the teachers about the educational software and how to use technology to their advantage in the classrooms, then give some informatics classes myself to the community members, show other people that will become informatica teachers, start an array of different youth groups including brigade verde for environment, IT and sex education (I forgot the group names) and also be involved in the local church activities and the neighborhood watch then after this upcoming Saturday help run the new CTC (community technology center (in english)) being built down the street from my house. Not much at all right! The good thing is that my project partners are very supportive and are completely committed to me and the reason I am here. A little too much if you can tell. It's going to be ad to live up to their expectations but I am definitely going to try to do all this and more (youth sports groups and art activities!). I definitely feel that I have a lot of work to do but I think that is a good feeling that they want you to be involved in everything, they want my presence and they want my help. It feels really good to know that I am going to make a difference somewhere rather ha just teaching classes and something I don't want to do (English). So Sunday we return to Santo Domingo for more debauchery. Swearing in, PC prom, literacy training and more. Stay tuned!

Las Lagunas WOWS

2010-05-10T06:41:00.001-07:00

5-4-10 11:09pm

I have arrived at my final destination: Las Lagunas near Moca in the northern cibao region. All I can say is Wows. (P.S. Thanks Adam for getting that word stuck in my head.) Heather, another volunteer lives pretty much 15 minutes away and we both live like an hour or so away from other PCV's and the Santiago region. I got the privilege to ride with Heather and see her site so now I know how to visit her. Yay. After dropping Heather off we headed toward my site and wow was I surprised. There were about 50 liceo kids waiting for me at a gorgeous house with balloons, cake, and signs saying "welcome" and all. WOWS! I pretty much was speechless, I got out of the car and everyone was staring at me, I felt like I should have done a cartwheel out the vehicle and danced an irish jig. I was absolutely nervous and there was pretty much everyone of my barrio at my house welcoming me into the town. I danced a little bachata with a random kid then they made me cut the cake. It was so cool, I couldn't have asked for a better site or welcoming party. I just wish others were here to see it. If this is the way they are welcoming me already I really hope I live up to their expectations and have all of them love me by the end of the initial 3 months. They were so excited to see me and I honestly was so excited to see them happy to receive me. I am truly blessed.

As far as the pad it is pretty much sweet as well. It is a nice ceramic house in walking distance to the places I am going to work and the family is so nice. There are 2 young girls (1 that reminds me of Emma) and 1 boy that goes to the liceo. Sweet, he can help me find friends fast! Also the doña is pretty young, I almost feel like I can't call her doña because that's kind of a wisdom sounding title that she is too young for. The don is cool and the room that they're having me sleep in right now is the master bedroom. WTF. There is actually a room on the side of the house that is a bit small but perfect because it has its own bathroom and its own shower. Exactly what I need! It even has its own lock and entrance into the kitchen, haha. I am pretty nervous still to actually start working. I feel like they are expecting so much from me and although I am ready to work and help them I hope that they don't expect too much and I fail. That would suck. I am trying to be optimistic though.

So tomorrow I shall start meeting all the folks and start trying to put my name out there. Wish me luck y'all. I have so much work to do! I'm glad this day is over. No more nauseous nervousness.

Emma, Me Haces Falta!

2010-05-10T06:40:00.001-07:00

5-3-10 10:00pm

I'd like to dedicate this post to a very special someone that made me cry today. Emma, my niece. I got to talk to the folks from home because we were finally assigned cell phones (if you need the number send me an email!) and luckily I got to talk to Emma cause she was hanging out around the house. Except I immediately got so sad the instant I heard her voice. First she says "Hi Sabrina" which broke my heart (Haha, it didn't take much) then she continued asking me if "I was going to come home tomorrow." If you could only hear her high pitched little kid voice you would have died just like I did. I immediately had to hold back the tears and the awwwwlss… and tried to continue talking to her like normal. She then told me she was playing soccer and I asked her if she missed me and she said "Yes." Holy crap the eyeballs were running like faucets. Emma is probably one of the main things in my life that really keeps me going. As much as she is a huge brat at home, I can't help but love her to death and I have to admit I miss her the most out of everyone at home. She is the only one that I constantly watch home videos of and she always brings a smile to my face. This one is for you Emma, you're amazing and I miss you so.

Adios El Seibo!

2010-04-29T12:44:00.001-07:00

4-29-10 12:30pm

So we just arrived at the training center in Pantoja after a long drive back from the east. I definitely feel good about the things I did back in El Seibo but I am glad to be put into a new site. There's rumors that there are going to be 4 volunteers placed in the East. 1 actually back in El Seibo. As much as I liked El Seibo, I hope it's not me. I would like to be placed in a completely new site where I can start fresh. I think I will definitely miss my Don, he expressed his sincerity in missing me, my Doña was another story. Haha. Oh well. But what I felt the best impact I left was with the jovenes that we worked with. The jovenes were really nice about everything and their presentations were awesome. One joven even gave me a sacred necklace to keep with me during my journey in the Dominican Republic. It's the virgin of Altagracia (Or something like that, I am so bad…) but it's basically the equivalent of the Virgin Mary in Mexico. I thought it was a really nice gesture and I definitely will keep it close to me whenever I need it. She's such a sweet girl. I really felt like they learned and it was definitely a good experience to start off my teaching career.

So I just found out that I am going to be working here at a liceo which is basically a school computer lab. Interesting! Monday I will find out exactly where in the country I will be placed. I would love to be placed in the mountains but I will take whatever they give me. I am very excited! I just hope all the kids don't beat me up and throw me in a trash can or something. Haha. Somehow I see them picking on me and beating me up. Haha. Wish me luck. Tomorrow we will visit the PC office to get more info on working in a liceo and all the stuff I have to do.

Wrapping Up El Seibo, Snickers and Presidentes and McGiver Skills!

2010-04-22T09:16:00.003-07:00

4-21-10 10:30pm

Ahhh… Feels nice to be finished with presentations. I gave my last presentation on Tuesday over the formatting bar in WORD. So boring! Highlight, change the font, change the size of the font. Geez louise. But I think my partners Masa and Justin ended up doing a great job and our technical trainer also said it was "perfect", that's what we do! :) We have a tradition of celebrating with a Presidente beer and a Snickers bar. It's so yummmmy.

So now I have just been hanging out. I still have my youth group making the logos but I pretty much just have to critique their work. One of the many benefits of being a graphic design teacher, you just sit back and play devil's advocate. The logos are pretty cool but all these kids are just figuring out Photoshop so they're absolutely hooked on using cheesy gradients and shapes in their logos. I wish they would just use text! This is definitely a good first run of teaching logo design, I think they'd look better in Illustrator but that's because I am an Illustrator kind of girl and I love using text and vector art. But that's just me. Ha. I did get around to sewing a shirt my bestie sent me that was 2 sizes too small. I cut off the ribbons thats supposed to tie in the back and used them as extensions for the sides and now it fits! Yay! I love being crafty and also very cheap. (I don't want to buy anymore clothes, gotta use what I got!)

I also spent some time repairing my camera that broke one crazy night at Club Wow. I was actually really sad because the lens would not come out. The next day I spent all of lunch using my nail clippers to McGiver the lens to open and I was successful! The camera isn't very pretty now but it really doesn't matter. As long as it produces pretty pictures it's fine with me! Maybe people won't feel obliged to steal it too. Maybe.

Still getting bit my millions of mosquitos, I've decided the problem is that my doña has a garden and she waters all the time so the mosquitos are always around for the free water. Also, I've noticed where they attack me most often; the restroom. Every time I sit on the toilet, I feel them nipping at my ankles! It's really gross. So I try to use the restroom as quickly as possible and that's my biggest challenge. Haha. Also I've been pooping so weird lately, I think I am going to start taking pictures, not to show all of you adoring fans but just as a pooping journal for myself. I've seriously seen symbols and words in my poop, I think someone is trying to tell me something. Haha. It's probably the mosquitos trying to distract me while they nip my toes. Hahaha. Oh god, this post got personal.

Anywho, my time at this site is coming to an end, we all will be departing and reuniting with the environmental group on Thursday of next week. So of course on Wednesday, there shall be a huge party to celebrate our work in CBT. I am almost certain that this Sunday we could be going back to Playa Esmerelda as well. I am definitely content.

I heart mail days...

2010-04-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today I finally received some mail. I still think there are a lot that have yet to arrive. Have I mentioned that I love mail? It's nice to know people at home are still thinking about me or were once a month ago. Haha. I wish the mail situation here was better. I get annoyed when I hear people have mailed me stuff and I have yet to receive it.

Well, next on the agenda is a Photoshop class later today and I am meeting with the director to discuss a class I am supposed to give next week on whatever topic he wants. Interesting. Wish me luck. Photoshop should be a challenge. But I hope all goes well. Nothing like my last presentation when you try to give an Internet class and the Internet goes out. Haha. Lord help me.

Playa Esmerelda, FINALLY! All the stuff I miss and MY classes!

2010-04-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

4-12-10 8:30pm

We finally got to see the infamous Playa Esmerelda. A virgin beach with shallow waters, warm sand and gorgeous views. All 22 of us volunteers piled up into a guar guar and our trainers truck and headed out for a day in the sun. My doña packed me a lunch and I was off for some well needed vacation time.

The beach was gorgeous like I have already mentioned and I was so happy to finally be in a body of water. I was finally in my element. I am very glad I finally got a chance to see the touristy side of the DR and see the beautiful side of this island. I feel like I have seen all the stuff behind the scenes and I really needed some time to see that the DR has its beautiful moments as well. Needless to say all of us volunteers got burnt to a crisp. My back is so red and fried, when I scrunch my shoulders I hear it crinkling. But it was definitely well worth it for the trip. I needed a mini-vacation and actually wouldn't mind going back next weekend.

The DR life is starting to get a little heavy. I am really starting to feel homesick not so much for the people (although I do miss everyone at home!) I miss my life in general: like my room, my privacy, my car, singing as loud as I want and most of all the food. I miss making bean and cheese burritos, I miss eating cereal with good milk and I miss my moms rice and my dad's tacos. I am salivating as I write this. I miss Francis's baking like her strawberry cupcakes and Silvia's ceviche and that delicious green salsa! I miss Elaine's shrimp enchiladas, her scrumptious salads and caprese (don't know how to spell that)! I miss Miyagi's, Olive Garden and Jamba Juice. I miss TGIF nights with purple draaaank, limoncello lemonade and beer pong bud light. Haha. I don't feel the need to come home but I want to bring everyone here with me. I want to show everyone everything I have learned and am experiencing because I think that it is amazing and want to share this with my closest friends and family. The DR isn't bad, it has a lot of funny moments but there is just sometimes when you feel like you have been polite for too long and you just don't want to have boiled and fried plantains for dinner anymore. I know things will be a lot better when I finally live on my own and can cook my own food cause if you happen to read this blog post, I'm bitching about the food. Haha. Hey, I'm a chubby mexican girl, what else would I complain about? Haha.

Next thing to look forward to shall be kicking butt in my Internet class Tuesday (which I will be graded on) and continuing on with my cool group of youth who are making logos for the local factories. Initially I thought I would not be teaching or using any of my graphic design skills and here I am in the Dominican Republic talking to youth about the essentials of a logo. I feel like I am comfortable teaching others and I even was told today that I am good at it but I think I got a lot of practice from YAP. YAP definitely prepared me to create order out of stuff that is very out of order. YAP seemed to always be chaotic and as much as I used to hate that part, it definitely prepared me for these situations.

I am trying to be more like George McGinnis in my class too. I need to find a way to sky dive my way into the school then sit back in my chair and eat my lunch while I talk about life lessons in graphic design. Haha. I miss that guy. As soon as we get some legit pics of the logos being developed I'll be sure to post them. I am kind of excited about it. I think the kids more want to learn how to use Photoshop but I really want to see good design!

"Jogging", Shopping and Cooking Day!

2010-04-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

So I'm trying out this new thing it's called "Jogging" or Yogging, might be with a soft J, apparently you just get together with a group and run for 20 minutes. Its supposed to be wild. Haha. I suck at it but I try to keep up with all the other runners and so far I've done it 2 days in a row. Yeah!

Yesterday we had a shopping day and it was so much fun. We went to the neighboring town called Hato Mayor because there is no supermarket in our town. I bought some of my basic necessities: Peanut butter, mac and cheese, yogurt drink, cereal, pair of new sandals and a volleyball. Haha. The purpose of the trip was to buy stuff to cook which we did but I definitely slipped in my chance to get some treats for the rest of my stay.

Today we got to cook all the stuff we bought which was delicious. We cooked ground beef tacos, pico de gallo and I made my mom's spanish rice which turned out great! I was so excited. I think I could have made the rice a bit more savory but I learned from my mistakes and I can;t wait to try again. I need to continue with these cooking lessons because I don;t know how to cook much and my resources here are very limited. If any of you guys know simple easy recipes, let me know! Preferably things that are healthy and not expensive!

Now it's time to focus on my next assignment: Next week I have to teach a computer class to sme of the locals on Tuesday. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I was just trying to round up some 9 year old girls and my spanish failed. Haha. I don;t know how I am going to do this but I will succeed. Wish me luck! Oh if you guys know any good educational sites let me know. Help me!

Novelas, Presentation Day and Homesickness

2010-04-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

4/6/10 - 12:03pm

I've started a new hobby of watching a novela called "El Clon" with my doña. It's really funny with lot's of drama and it's based in India or something. My doña says she likes it because she's learning about other cultures. Don't know much validity this soap opera has but I definitely bought in too. Haha. I think the actors in it are pretty cute too.

My mosquito bites are still existent and still growing. But there's good news. Today I got my B-complex so maybe the damn bugs will leave me alone. I was also told to eat fresh cloves of garlic. Guess not only the mosquitos will stay away but everyone else in general. Haha. Anything to get rid of these annoying pests.

My presentation went well. I think my dinamica (ice breaker) was good and the viewers constantly participated. I think me calling them by their name may have been the real reason, but it was definitely a good experience for my first presentation. One down, two more to go. We also got our new projects for the week. I have to investigate a nearby library and prepare a lesson to teach by next week. Yikes. I am glad these are baby steps but I will definitely be nervous to jump into presenting to real Dominicans. Not the fake ones. Haha.

Today was a mail day and I was devastated to learn that there was no mail for me. I was certain I would have mail because everyone said they were going to send me stuff and there was nothing. Boohoo. I definitely was disappointed because getting mail has been my only way of enjoying little tokens from home. Wah wah wah… I am being very lame but I think today it hit me that I am in the DR and stuff like mail isn't secure. I just hope next week I get everything I have been waiting for.

First assignment, mosquitos should die and more of El Seibo

2010-04-01T15:41:00.001-07:00

3-29-10 10:00pm

Can I start this post off by saying that mosquitos should all be erased from the earth? What purpose do they serve other than killing and infecting millions of innocent people? Food for other bugs? I think they can survive. Mosquitos are definitely a population control tool (oh no, the mosquitos are coming! :) but I see no useful purpose for mosquitos and think all of mankind should just choose to exterminate these vile insects once and for all! P.S. Bites on or behind the knees are the worst, no wait, bites on your toes are pretty tough to handle too. Either way, I have a million bites and I cannot control my scratching. I have made most of my bites bleed which can't be good. Next time I am in town I am definitely going to see the nurse to get some B-complex (pills to fight off mosquito bites) because this is really starting to get ridiculous.

Training has started and I am starting to think there has got to be a better way to learn all of this material. First of all, technical training is boring. That is just in general! These crazy words and computer lingo is hard to follow before coming to the PC so trying to learn everything in huge groups is almost impossible. I am trying my best to just soak everything in but it has been pretty difficult to stay attentive. We go to class right after our huge lunches so when I am sitting there looking at a powerpoint I am fighting off my desire to sleep! One of my spanish teachers said I looked like death in class. haha. So I shall continue to learn everything I can everyday.

As for the rest of this glorious town, I am beginning to learn the streets little by little everyday and I am also trying to learn how to dance everyday too. The main dances here in the DR is bachata, meringue and a little bit of salsa. Everyone who knows me knows I love to dance so I have been trying to dance every chance I can to master the dances. I have the basic steps down but I am struggling to add "my flair". Haha. All of these dances are really pretty and I've gotten some compliments on my dancing which is great but I still want to be better. I am also trying to listen to more spanish music so I can learn the words of songs (which is a great way to learn the language). Francis as soon as I get a chance to burn you a CD of the songs I have I will send you a copy, I think you may like some of the songs. Look up Aventura, they are a main bachata band here.

This week I have to work on a lot of homework because on Monday I have to give a presentation (in spanish!) on information technology of this town through the eyes of professors. Luckily, my doña's children are all professors so I just need to interview them and prepare a presentation over the weekend. Right now it's Semana Santa so basically all the kids, teachers and most businesses are closed for this "holy" week. The best part about this week: A trip to the campo and rio this weekend! Yeah! I really hope we end up going and I can't wait to design my powerpoint. I know very nerdy but this is the most design I will have done in a while. I am dying to use any of the CS programs. I've been sketching a lot which has been fun but I really want to impress the others with my design skills.

Fun treat: Today I got to eat cucumbers with chile, lemon and tajin. Pretty much almost cried to have such a traditional dish from home. haha. It was DELICIOUS.

Scavenger Hunts, "Out of Shape-ness" and my Amazing Doña

2010-03-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

3-26-10 10:27pm

Today was out first day of school in the new city so it makes sense that our first class assignment is a scavenger hunt to get to know the city more. My group ended up getting all 30 items needed (although many would agree that we did not succeed… HATERS!) which was a lot of fun and a good way to get to know the surroundings. This of course does not mean I know where I am or where I am going. I got lost twice today! Once on my way to spanish class and the next on my way back from a huge awakening of how out of shape I am.

A couple of us went for a run in the campo where I pretty much died. I guess that is what happens when you eat nothing but fried food all day long and sweat out most of your water for the day just walking around. I hope this will become a routine and I can get back in shape. This ICT group surprisingly is very active for being computer geeks and I am so glad I have people all around me to motivate me. I just have to combat the heat now.

After getting lost and possibly kidnapped I got home and got to spend some quality time with my doña. I found out so much stuff I was actually quite impressed and proud of her. My doña told me her whole life story. Its so interesting! She even wrote a book of her journey which I will share with you. When my doña was a little girl she lived in the campo with her father and her mother. Her father was her only admirable figure in her life because her mother did not care for her at all. Apparently her skin was too dark so she was always overlooked and forgotten (sad!). She also told me that her mother had 17 children (wow) but only 9 survived because they did not have the appropriate medicines and vaccinations to combat all the illnesses that were around. She said sometimes she wouldn't even know one of her brothers or sisters died, that she would come home and they would already be buried in the front yard! My doña always dreamed and wanted to go to school. But her father was always working so he couldn't take her and her mother did not care for her so she never took her. So then she decided at 9 years old, my doña decided that she would go to the inner city and go to school. She went all by herself at 9 years old! She found her grandfathers house where she stayed at for a while but he was the father of her mother so you can imagine how much he cared for her and he threw her out as well. So she pretty much lived with distant relatives and friends all so she can go to school and be a teacher. At 13 years old, she had learned so much that she was a substitute teacher! 13! (You can see how much the education system lacks here.) Now she has so many degrees in the kitchen that she doesn't have any room on her walls for them all. Her story is such an inspiration that I just wanted to share to all of my friends. I learned 3 things: 1) About the motivation for education given by parents here 2) About my doña's struggle for her dream of becoming a profesora 3) How one's motivation to attain something can be the ultimate drive to change your life. My doña has definitely inspired me and I hope she has inspired you too!

Woo independent women! :)

CBT: A new city, a new family and 300 additional mosquito bites…

2010-03-27T15:56:00.001-07:00

3-25-10 10:12pm

I've moved to the east! But don't worry because you can still send me packages and mail at the same address. Haha. I know am staying in a small town on the eastern part of the island where all of us ICT volunteers will be getting our technical training skills and our community based training. I will be staying here for 5 weeks approximately and I kind of like it here already. My new doña has a huge family and she is so insistent on taking me everywhere so I am very excited cause my last doña did not take me anywhere. Yay! The only bummer is that half of our group (the environmental group) is not with us, they're at a different location getting their specific training. Pretty interesting!

So far my stay here has been interesting. I've only been here like 5 hours and I think my doña is cool. She has her own business selling clothes next door, she also sells flowers and has this beautiful garden (I will try to put pics up later!) and her husband owns a "camp" which is basically a ranch. Chevere! (That means cool in spanish…) I am pretty excited for training, I really need to learn everything there is to know about computers and the labs we may be working in. There is a supposed discoteca here called "Club Wow!" that I am really looking forward to going to. As soon as I find my way around here I will be getting down there ASAP. :) I definitely see the volunteers getting more comfortable with one another and closer to one another as well. I am very happy with our group and can't wait to start working with them on all these projects.

P.S. I got my results for the tests wednesday: Spanish test I got a 9/10. Basically if you get a 10 that means you are "superior", thank god I haven't tested there yet. haha. And for the other test I got a 93/100 and I only needed an 80 to pass. So I would say I did quite well. Did you expect anything else? haha.

Projectile Vomit!

2010-03-23T05:01:00.001-07:00

3-22-10 10:00pm

Who knows what happened to me but when I arrived to school today I felt so nauseous. It wasn't till after lunch I felt worse and once my roomie Jenn gave me a cracker I knew it. I ran to the restroom as fast as I can and as soon as I opened the door, "Bllllllleeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh!!!" I'm talking projectile chunks for a minute straight. Yikes. The good news was that I felt a lot better afterward. The bad news was that it was all over my pants and sandals and we still have another hour and a half of class. FML.

I am going to send out some postcards soon so keep an eye out to see if you will be a lucky receiver! I am limited on cash because they are limiting us to about 35 pesos a day. Thats not even 1 presidente beer y'all. So I am definitely trying to save up my money especially once we leave for CBT which will be this Thursday. Yikes! The real training starts for the next 5 weeks! I am going to leave to stay with yet another family and learn pretty much everything there is to know about computers and technology. I am kind of excited. And all of us ICT volunteers live real close to one another so I am excited to just hang out with everyone everyday. This is going to pretty much be "go" time. I have a couple tests coming up this week as well so wish me luck! I need to get an 80% or else I will fail! Yikes! Time to go study!

PCV Visit in Janico

2010-03-21T11:27:00.001-07:00

03-19-10 12:18pm

So I am at my PCV visit and I am visiting a beautiful small town named Janico which is in the Cibao of the country, which is the central valley. It is very hilly but also very green and very clean compared to the other areas I have seen in this country. Jean is the PCV living here where she works at a liseo (high school) and conducts classes on informatica and english. Her school is pretty much legit. It's very nice and she has a pretty cool group of students that seem motivated to be in class.

Today we got to see a play performed by "Teatro de mi Tierra," which was so good! It was about drugs and the pressures of a teen growing up trying to be successful. I was very glad to have seen it, I think it has been the best thing I have seen in Janico yet (except for the gorgeous mountain views). Thank God, it is very cool up here. It is even sprinkling a little so I think the weather is perfect up here for me. Plus, Jean's apartment is very cute, she pays cheap rent and she has a dig to keep her company. Good idea. I'm not much of a pet person but I think I may own a pet just to keep me company.

Seeing Jean's site has made me very nervous but excited at the same time. Nervous because I see how much she tries and I see how much effort she is putting into her assignment and I feel like I really have to be motivated to keep trying to make a change regardless of the people or lack of resources available. Jean really makes it work and she is amazing.

King of Roaches and Motoconchos and Mazitos

2010-03-17T09:37:00.001-07:00

3/16/10 - 10:26pm

Today I saw the most enormous cockroach I have ever seen in my entire life. It was in comparison to a small rodent with teeth, wings and a head that can move 360 degrees. I was a little ashamed that I had to call my 17 year old hermana to kill the bug, but I figured she had a bit more experience wrangling these mutants. It was huge!!

Today we also received our helmets for our motoconcho rides, which I am excited for. The helmet is kind of big so I am bummed but I can;t wait to get my real helmet so I can decorate it with a flaming virgin mary wearing ray bans on a harley. haha just kidding.

Everyday is seemingly getting hotter than the next. I am really contemplating how I can survive this when I am here in August. Everything I do, I am drenched in sweat, this is so bad. Also, I weighed myself and no change. I thought I may have gained weight because I was eating so much starch but I am still the same. I hope I lose weight while I am here! But I really can't resist fried plantains and these small breads called "mazitos", they're delicious!!! So losing weight may be a slow process. :)

I've decided that I am not going to kill myself or waste a lot of money trying to get online all the time from now on. We all used to get free internet from school but now they are bogarting the connection so now I have to go to Internet cafes which isn't that expensive but can be on a daily basis and is kind of a hassle. So I decided I would have Internet afternoons like every Monday and Thursday to set up time for the Internet. This week I won't be able to log on until after I get back from shadowing a current PCV so Monday will be the next time I will be on, so watch out for me!

Mi primer cumpleaños en la DR

2010-03-15T08:03:00.001-07:00

3/14/10 - 7:10am

I began writing this post outside my house at the next door colmado because I was locked out of my house. Last night I went to Elicia's house for some early b-day celebration wine and movies and woke up very early because she was scheduled for a tour of the colonial zone at 9am. Elisa's doña yelled at me for leaving the door unlocked the night before but I didn't even know she wanted us to lock it! Oh well, I felt kind of like a irresponsible visitor then a hoodlum waiting for my house door to open in the morning. Great way to start my birthday.

Anyway, last night was pretty fun. We watched "Labyrinth" with about 5 dominicans looking over our shoulders and Elisa bought me the cheapest white wine she could get which added to the movie experience :). Thanks Elisa. Also during the day, I gathered some of the neighborhood kids and they showed me how to dance reggaeton. It was crazy! Little girls humping and popping out their butts. Haha. It is definitely a sexual dance! Then I got the bright idea of showing them US dances and I completely blanked. They just stared at me when I played Lady Gaga, Sir-Mix-a-Lot and Sean Paul. Haha. Not that they represent US music but I tried to see if they knew any of the songs I had, no luck. Now I am thinking darn! I could have showed them the jerk, the reject, soldier boy and tootsie roll. Geez, I missed my chance! :)

So my plans for the rest of the day may or may not go as follows:

• Go to church with my hermana - I have been wanting to go just to see how it is, I hear it is something to see.

• Go to my tour in the Colonial Zone - I have to meet people to practice transportation over to the colonial zone then meet more people for a birthday lunch then continue on with the tour. It's going to be deathly hot!!!!

• After the tour I will probably get home and grab my laptop and go to the Internet cafe - I am lagging on my Internet time and I need to connect with my folks at home. Hopefully they didn't forget about my birthday… : /

After all this, anything goes. I hope today goes well!

9:10pm

I am so burnt from walking around, my feet hurt and I am still sweaty after showering. Perfect b-day. Haha. Internet cafe was closed so I used up more of my money and bought a calling card. Almost felt forgotten by my family and friends. I will survive.

Un Buen Dia!

2010-03-12T03:57:00.001-08:00

3/11/10 - 9:42pm

I'm glad to say that today was a good day. I finally feel "at home" because I got to run around my neighborhood. Yes! You have no idea how happy I was to finally be doing something that I usually do at home. There were a lot of people jokingly running with me or telling me to run faster but I was very happy to be running even though it was like 98 degrees outside. I was definitely sharpening my saw (for all you yapsters!). I even set up a date with the little girls in my neighborhood to get a reggaeton and merengue dance lesson on Saturday that I am sooooo excited for. Also today I got to play dominoes at school. You all know I am competitive so it was so much fun to play some games and learn new tricks. By the end of my trip I will be the queen of dominoes! You can count on that!

Also I got to talk to my family from home on skype. Thats always a treat. I have been finding more and more time online during the hours of 430pm to 530pm MY time (CA is 4 hours behind). So if any of you want to talk to me "en vivo" find me on skype or we can chat via facebook during those hours. For CA that means during the hours of 1230pm to 130pm. Any other hours I have to pay for the Internet so I try to use up my time with free Internet at school up as much as I can. The only thing is that all the other 39 volunteers are doing the same thing so our Internet connection is ridiculously slow. I need to just splurge the 20 pesos al hora to use fast Internet at the corner Internet-cafe. I finally splurged on a pineapple and cut it up tonight to enjoy tomorrow. It's pretty much the most important thing I am looking forward to tomorrow. Haha. I can;t wait!

Also my bday is on Sunday and so far I have plans to go on a tour of the city more and also to go to church with my familia. I am trying not to make a big deal of it just because everyone is so new but I may treat myself to try out the Presidente beers. One won't hurt in celebration of my 24 years. Wow. 24. Yikes I may need 2. Hahaha.

Downtown Santo Domingo, History and Smelly Sabrina

2010-03-12T03:56:00.001-08:00

3/10/10 - 7:30pm

Today was pretty eventful because I got to travel into the city of Santo Domingo and see some of the historical sites. We went to the Parque Independencia, to el Parque Colon and I got to see the first cathedral ever built in the Americas. For those of you that don't know, the Dominican Republic, specifically Santo Domingo was the first place Christopher Columbus found on his expedition to the Americas. There was plenty of monuments and museums that we visited to learn about the history of this great island. I enjoyed walking around the city even though by the end of the day I smelled horrible and my feet were dragging themselves from walking so much. We got to practice using the "guaguas", used carro publicos and we actually got to use the Metro system here which was highly impressive. It is still new which explains why it was so clean and practically empty but it was a nice treat from the crazy transportation above ground. I also got to see the Dominican "white house" which is funny because I was in DC before the DR and I din't even go see the white house of the US. Shows how involved in politics I am!

As soon as I got home I was dead tired. I fell asleep at the table at dinner! Good thing my familia always lets me eat alone. Ha. It is starting to get very hot here now. Everyday I shower and I am even contemplating showering twice a day. Apparently the DR folks usually take 3 showers a day. You can guess how hot it is! And mind you, in my house there is no warm water. At first this bothered me a bit and I had to do the amazing back bend to ease myself into the water but now the water is the least of my worries. Well at least not the temperature. There is still giardia I have to worry about that lives in the water. Giardia is a bacteria or something that lives in the water here. Apparently you know when you have giardia when you are vomiting and pooping at the same time. Haha. Also they said it has traits of people burping up the smell of sulfur! Que horible! I remember when Laura and Elaine took me to the spa, (I forgot the name of it) and I remember the sulfur spas and I thought it smelled disgusting to be bathing in! I may be off on this, please let me know the name of those baths we took Laura!

Anyway, while brushing my teeth I avoid giardia by spitting out not only once but 3 times. It is recommended. :) Also tonight I took my malaria pills which are DISGUSTING! Those who know me know that I can't take pills. I am still on chewable tylenol! So these malaria pills are death because they are chalky and disgusting. I absolutely hate taking them and we have to take 2 a week. Bleh! Maybe now that will force myself to learn to take pills like a grown up. :)

I have taken many pictures of all my excursions so far. It is just taking me a while to find enough internet connection to upload them so be patient!

Otra dia productiva...

2010-03-12T03:55:00.001-08:00

3/9/10 - 10:12pm

Everyday seems like a productive day here. Today I learned more about Dominican food, sexual harassment, learned how to dance merengue and bachata and got to finally eat sancocho! Pretty good!

Everyone who knows me, knows that I love to dance so dancing with lots of other gringos with no rhythm was hilarious. Not the same non-rhythmic gringos I am used to at home. Haha. Just kidding girls! But the dances were lots of fun and it was probably the first time I perspired or did a real physical activity. It was definitely fun and I can't wait to get good at it.

I also had a lot of homework that I had to ask the people of my family about and it was probably the first time I actually got to have an in-depth conversation with my hermana and hermano about school and immigration. Pretty deep. Haha. Not really. I am actually really glad they feel like they can communicate with me because of my advanced language skills. It made me smile. For my language class, our teacher said we needed to create a tradition to say a joke everyday before class starts. So I asked my "Don" to tell me jokes to say and I got so many that I do not even understand! Haha. Here's one that I will leave you with for the day:

Al frente de la playa esta un cojo (person with no legs), un ciego (blind man), y un soldó (deaf man). El ciego dice "Veo un barco!" El soldó dice "Ay si! Yo lo oigo!" Y dice el cojo, "Callese sin no quiere que le entre la pata!"

Jajaja…:)

Dominican Jokes, Dancing and Sexual Harassment

2010-03-11T03:49:00.001-08:00

3/9/10 - 10:12pm

Everyday seems like a productive day here. Today I learned more about Dominican food, sexual harassment, learned how to dance merengue and bachata and got to finally eat sancocho! Pretty good!

Al frente de la playa esta un cojo (person with no les), un ciego (blind man), y un soldó (deaf man). El ciego dice "Veo un barco!" El soldó dice "Ay si! Yo lo oigo!" Y dice el cojo, "Callese sin no quiere que le entre la pata!"

Jajaja…:)

Carros Publicos and Guaguas, dios mío!

2010-03-09T03:54:00.001-08:00

3/8/10 - 10:00pm

So today was the first day using the transportation. After an entire morning warning us of all the possibilities of rape, theft and assaults, I would say I was pretty much terrified to start the lesson on public transportation. Who wouldn't be?! Well, it wasn't as bad as it was described. I was pretty close to the profesora, haha, but I did manage to tell the "chauffeur" to drop us off at the school on the way back. (Like thats really an accomplishment!) So i am still nervous about getting around. I guess we will be practicing more and more for the reminder of the week, which I hope to master soon because I want to go travel more often!

Also, another surprise at school was my placement in the language classes, I am in the highest class along with 4 other individuals. Wow! It is absolutely RIDICULOUS. The class pretty much is set up for open discussion of politics, theories and debates. OMG. I know nothing about these things! So pretty much when we talk I am in the corner just looking around wide-eyed. Then when it comes to me, I get so tongue-tied they feel bad for me and skip me! Ha. I actually felt bad today, I was pretty embarrassed. It was the first time I felt kind of crappy yet. So I definitely feel like in order to be able to participate in class I have to get "smarter." Maybe by the end of training, I will be keen on politics and philosophy and government issues? I am so screwed.

After the horror of class I got to hang out with some more volunteers out of school at a local colmado and had a refreshing drink. They had beer, I had a V-8. Haha. I am not ready to try a beer and be looked at in my neighborhood as a "drunk" because I am a girl. Maybe later I may try the famous "Presidente" beer. The place was actually kind of cool so it may be a hangout because it was so friendly. It's also interesting how cheap and accessible the beer is here. Pretty much on every corner there is a "colmado" which is a liquor store and the 33 ounce beer other volunteers bought today cost roughly $3. Cheap. I've even seen young kids purchasing rum! I asked and they said there is a supposed drinking age of 18 but no one follows it. Very interesting.

I also got to play a couple of jump rope games with the kids in my neighborhood. Very fun. It gets pretty boring during the day and the kids definitely provide a lot of enjoyment. They always want the "Americana" to play. Haha.

Day 3: First Day off

2010-03-08T03:59:00.001-08:00

3/7/10 - 11:04pm

Today there was a supposed festival called "Carnaval" going on about an hour away from here. I was pretty bummed that I did not go but I guess that isn't something my family is used to doing. Boo. So instead I stayed home and hung out with other volunteers and played Dominoes. I beat the volunteers pretty good but then they left and I played the Dominican locals and got my butt whooped. Haha. I did win twice but it was really by default. So I definitely have to work on my Domino skills. Tomorrow we return to school at 8am. I am very excited to see everyone to see if they actually got to go to Carnaval and to hear more funny stories of communication errors and disasters. I am wondering if I can actually try and cook something for my host family next week. I don't know much but I want to be able to share something with my family about my culture, I just don't know where I will find a store that has all the stuff I need.

One thing I am disappointed about the DR is the lack of spices and chile in all the dishes. Everyone looks at me so crazy because I tell them I love peppers and hot stuff. I have yet to taste anything even remotely spicy. Bummer.

I also hope to post pictures of my home and the training center soon. You won't believe how gorgeous the training center is and how particularly similar my host home is to my real home. Everyone here is tripping out on all the Jesus and God portraits but that stuff is very custom and normal in my home in the states. I plan on bringing out my camera more often, I just don't want to lose it or have other people think I am showing off. This week I will play photographer!

Day 2: My Doña and entrance to the new family!

2010-03-08T03:58:00.004-08:00

3/7/10 - 12:20am

Crazy! You wouldn't believe how inviting my new family was when I went to meet them for the first time. My Doña pretty much pointed to herself and said "mama" then pointed to her husband and said "papa" then to their daughter and said "hermana". And done I was one of their daughters as well. The dominican people have been so nice and welcoming, it's been so much easier to fit in to their society. My spanish now has improved ten-fold because of my need to communicate with my family and I am very happy because I am around the block from school and can walk everyday. Sweet! (I also am thinking about getting a bicycle but sadly the streets are not paved very well so I know I would probably get lots of flat tires and my bestie never showed me how to change a tire. Drats! I still plan on getting one in the future!)

So, my diet since I have been here has been pretty good with the expected traditional foods. My first night with my family, they made me plantains (of course) and the second night potatoes with cheese on top. Nothing too out of the ordinary and everything so far has been delicious. Not to mention the food at school is absolutely scrumptious! The cooks really know how to make my comfort foods of beans, cucumbers and rice. Mmmmmmm! But I have yet to try the main dish, Sancocho, hopefully soon! And I have already asked my hermana if she can take me to find some authentic mexican food. ha ha. I told her I want tortillas and beans and cheese! :)

This weekend will actually be my first weekend here and also my first day off. I need to spend more and more of my time making friends and getting familiar with the community in order to get what they call "confianza" and be looked at as a reliable community member and friend. So far I have been hanging out with my "hermana" and she has been taking me around everywhere introducing me to new people and showing me different areas of the neighborhood. The names of the people here are pretty common its just figuring out what they're saying that is tricky. (Sidenote for Veronica: There are 2 sisters here that remind me of the girls! One is named Vanessa and the other Melissa, can you believe it? I don't think I will ever forget their names!)

I am very lucky that my family actually own a "colmado" or a small store where I can purchase all the items I need like food, water, soap, calling cards, anything! And most of the time my family is tending to the store so I have a lot of privacy time when I go inside the house to do whatever I want from watch cable television, or eat or take a nap. The other night I watched a bit of "The Mask" with Jim Carrey in spanish. Funny! I am trying to make my hermana take me to the movies to watch "Alicia en el mundo de maravillosas" or Alice in Wonderland. How awesome would it be to see that movie in spanish! I am so ready! And I bet you didn't think it was playing over here! (Cause I didn't think it would be!)

Sadly it's been raining a lot lately in the DR and everyone swears its cold but its like 78 degrees. I am seriously walking around in a dress, sandals and umbrella and I'm fine. I've also got over my sickness in case anyone was wondering. Today I actually also got to hang out with some other PC volunteers in my neighborhood and got to meet their Doñas and see their houses. It's a lot of fun to compare. And now that I know where the rest of the volunteers live, I will probably be visiting them more often just to pass the time and see the rest of the pueblo.

It's funny, last night I was looking at the pictures on my ipod and I was thinking wow, I really miss everyone. All my friends, family, I actually got a tear to my eye because I haven't really got a chance to talk to them or call home. (No Internet). But I am glad I haven't got that chance at the same time because I am having so much fun and I really think I am becoming a new person. Not completely changed or better or worse but different. I feel so much more cultured, more knowledgeable and not as shy as I once was before. I am really glad I made this decision to come to the DR and I wouldn't change it for the world right now. (I say this now, don't catch me on a bad day! :) I hope you all are happy to hear me say that and I hope I can influence some of you to try it. I never in 1000 years would have thought that I would be in a foreign country living with a family trying to understand their world. It really is something special to be a part of and something great to add to your personal resume. This is only my 3rd day mind you, and I already feel blessed. I can handle the situation I am in now with my family and friends nearby, now PC must prepare me to work alone which I am terrified about! But I know I can do it!

As far as school goes, today we received our medical kits and went over other medical procedures and stuff to watch out for. I think PC is really doing a good job of preparing us and literally "walking" us through every single scenario and possibility. Next week we visit actual volunteers in their fields and see how they are doing. Can't wait!

P.S. Random but cool! My neighbor across the street graduated with a degree in graphic design! I actually got to see some of his portfolio tonight and it was really good stuff! I told him I would show him my stuff tomorrow. So hopefully he is equally impressed!

DAY 1: I finally arrive in the DR!

2010-03-08T03:58:00.000-08:00

3/4/10 5:34

Finally! I arrive in the DR after a long day at the airport. We had a layover in Miami and arrived in the afternoon just in time to feel the hot humid air die down. Literally when I left the airport the wetness hit me like a wave. I was suddenly sweating like I had smuggled in some high class imports. Really, it was so crazy how wet I got so fast. We all piled onto our vans and were off to our place to stay for the night where we were welcomed by the Dominican country director and the rest of the staff. They were all so nice and took so many pictures of us commenting on how scared we looked. Ha.

Oh no, the mosquitos are coming!

Haha. No seriously, the mosquitos are coming every night with dengue and malaria! I am sitting in my room with a mosquito net over my bed tucked into every crevice and hung up to the smallest hooks I could find in the room. I took pictures, you shall see them soon! A nice young local named Juan gave us a tutorial about how to set up the mosquito nets and I guess this is going to be a regular thing for us in order to fight off diseases, PC says it is MANDATORY! That sounds serious.. :)

Other stuff that happened today was a rabies shot. OUCH! More training and some yummy dominican food. Stuff to come include meeting the new fam tomorrow (so nervous!) then going to more training and a spanish test to see where I fall with my language. Yikes, wish me luck home supporters!

So far I have not seen much of the country other than the crazy roads but I think this will definitely be a great experience. I am learning so many new things already.

Training in DC

2010-03-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyy!

So I feel like I have been kind of neglecting my blog but to be honest it is because I am having such a good time and I haven't had much time to write.

So yesterday I arrived in DC around 8pm after a layover in Chi-town. haha. Thats for Angie. I got to my room and met my roomie who is great and had a short bonding moment before bed. Sadly I am sick so I kept coughing up a storm, I felt really bad but am trying to take every medicine imaginable to combat this cold. I think I am getting better.

Anyways, today we had training where we met with the Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams. Very cool! He was a PC volunteer back in the day and volunteered in the DR! So it was definitely cool to meet and talk to him. Another training highlight was a picture I drew to show a volunteer pooping and vomiting at the same time. I guess this illustrates my humor! It was one of the anxieties I have for my stay in the DR because I do not want to get sick.

After training, a bunch of us went out and had a few drinks to lessen the night before jitters and also to bond and get to know each other better. So far I think everyone is so great and I am so anxious and ready to have so much fun. Not really looking forward to the plane ride tomorrow but I'm ready to be on Quisqueya le Bella!

I am so excited that I am here and I am completely happy about my decision so far. I was also featured in a newspaper article if you are all interested. Here is the link.

See all y'all in the DR! So excited!

Packing for my trip!

2010-03-01T17:04:00.001-08:00

Is rough! 2 bags, under 80 pounds for both. Don't they know we are staying in a foreign county for 2 years! :)