Happy Birthday to ME!

My first birthday phone call- it was jerry

with the boys Sal and Pepa
Sal and Pepa
My birthday present!!!

Me looking cool on the beach- with my sea urchin

Its a manicure set!! So necessary!!!

I´m 24 now!

girls rock

I forgot to mention, Stephanie, the other girl in my agroforestry group has early terminated her service, so this means that I am the last girl in the group. Also because they are cutting the program this coming year, our group being the last Ag-4 group, I will be the last agroforestry girl FOREVER in the history of the Peace Corps Dominican Republic. Holler!!!!

gobble gobble.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!!
This year thanksgiving is definately going to be different for me, but i expect it to be fun, especially since I am in charge of the entertainment for the day. So far we have planned: a bachata/merengue dance competition, talent show, dating show, and of course and in promptu gobbling contest. haha It should be a blast. We of course will be eating turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. I plan to take lots of pictures so i'll get those up as soon as i can.
So last week i was in my site without a cell phone. It was rough, but i survived. One day my boss from the peace corps stopped by and we chatted. I complained about my project partners, who if you don't know, have been completely unhelpful, stressful, and annoying. Everything that I said about they Alberto totally agreed with. He advised me to go ahead and start on my own projects, talk to my project partners about needing to do my own projects, and to just dont' let my stress build up to the point where i can't handle it anymore. I felt alot better after talking to him. He also came to check the safety and security of my house, on which it failed miserablely. I need to cover the cracks in my walls, put bigger sliding dead bolt locks on my windows and doors and put the cement floor in the kitchen area.
I'm making a special Christmas present for you all right now. You'll love it!

PICS

My main man - Jefe
Another foster dog - Lechoza, she's here to stay
I love this picture- It says "get out Yankees" in red. I think my smile says "I'm not going anywhere"
Estoy volando - flying in Luperon
Cooling off in Lori's baby pool

Hurricane Numero 2

So it rained for 6 days straight in my mountain, on the 5th day PC called and standfasted us, which means no traveling. Turns out Santiago was flooded and about 108 people died across the country. I stayed in my house for 5 days without going outside. I was going crazy. 2 days the electricity neglected to show its face at all. I've never experienced such boredom. Lets just say I swept the floor alot and took frequent naps. I didn't even go to Lola's house b/c besides the rain the wind la brisa was fuerte. I felt like the pig from the 3 little pigs that lives in the stick house and at any moment my house was going to come crashing down on top of me. You know if the huff and puff of the big bad wolf had the force of hurricane blows. One night one of my windows blew open, I felt like I was on that ship in the movie The Perfect Storm and I was fighting to close it to save my life. So all this time "trunca'o en su fortaleza" (closed off in your fort) as the old man says, I lost track of the days of the week. I was sure it was friday but needed confirmation, so I called Lori and over the extreme static told me that it was in fact Monday. haha Thats when i started to go a lil wacky. My walls were so wet they looked like they were bleeding, everything was becoming moldy, my matches to light my stove and oil lamp were so damp it took 20 tries to get just one lit and it was monday not friday.
Finally on thursday i was allowed by PC to leave my house and my mountain and i jumped on that opportunity to go to Luperon (Loris site) to play yatzhee with her and chris and just be dry and warm again. So the morning before I left i was cleaning up my house and tying up loose ends with the neighbors and what not, because they take care of my dogs when i'm gone. Anyway I was washing my dishes in my big bowl of water that they were soaking in over night and i was fishing in the bottom for any silverware when i grabbed something squishy and fuzzy. Immediately I knew, It was a mouse! A drowned mouse. Now I was pretty nonchalent about it because I'm the man of the house. So i took the bowl outside and dumped it and sure enough there was a drowned, bloated mouse, and i just squeezed it and washed my dishes in the very same water.

I must tell you all about my new project description. I have a few titles that I have earned through my time here. I am a dectective. I enjoy investigating unusual situations in this country and finding missing items (dective is my side job). So for my primary titles, 1. exterminator: I kill every cocroach, spider, mosquito, and ant that i can slap with either my hand or my flop flop with no fear and complete determination. 2. doctor: I have diagnosed alexis with slight ADD along with obsessive compulsive tendencies (if you knew the guy you would agree), Chris with not the fungus, but scars from bug bites, and Lori with an extreme allergy to dominican limes. 3. Home Health nurse: Chris had a severe case of mono and i stayed with him for 4 days in the hospital and 1 day at the pen, Now I am in the capital taking care of Lori and her claw hands, opening things, dressing her, and other random duties, i'm her substitute hands.

I believe thats all for now. I am very excited to come home. And i know you are all patiently awaiting my arrival as well.

LOVE YOU

mom and dad

Hola!

So its been a while... Mom and Dad were here and they totally survived and toughed it out with me no problem, and i believe they had an awesome time. It felt really great to share my life with them because words can not describe what the experience is like. Its just something that you have to see. I hope I can share it with more of my loved ones as well. We also went to some beautiful beaches, drank alot of coffee and hung out. Mom only had one moment when she was ready to "check out" of El Ranchito, after a spider lunged at her in the latrine. haha Boy did i have a good laugh. And Dad got adopted by the man across the way who rolled him his own cigars. When we brought the old man a bag of coffee, his reaction was enough to bring tears to both mine and moms eyes. Its those little things that really keep me going here. The neighbors can't wait til Mom and Dad come back.

In other news, now i have my own bed, stove, and hammock, thanks to mom and dad. I am fostering Margarets dog Caoba. Things are going better, i'm just counting down the days until i come home for christmas... 77 days.

Howdy! So its been a rollercoaster over here. This past week i moved into my own house, its got 3 rooms- bedroom, living room/dining room, and a dirt floor kitchen soon to be cement floor- and my latrine out back is now complete! ----->

Lola lent me a bed that is propped up on paint cans and i have yet to buy a stove so when i don't eat with the neighbors, peanut butter and jelly is my main food source. I got a kitten, he's all black and i named him Jefe (boss in spanish) b/c he lets me know when i can sleep with all his mewing and clawing.

Mom and Dad are due to arrive on SATURDAY!!! I'm so excited, they are in for a treat. While they are here with their rented jeep we are going to buy a bed, stove, and materials to build a few tables. We are also going to eat typical dominican food (rice, beans, chicken, and plantains), go to the cock fight, hike up to the peak of my mountain, and visit the playa. Should be a blast.

Ok so heres a story for you... The other night the power was out and i wanted to go use the latrine before i went to bed. I couldn't find my flashlight because my things are still all packed up, so i'm walking around with an oil lamp and was deciding if i should leave it in the kitchen or take it all the way out with me. I was about to put it on the ground in the kitchen, when i spotted a TARANTULA, and it spotted me too as it walked quickly towards me. I immediately screamed and ran in the living room where it wasn't. My first thought was that i needed a picture, but that only lasted about 5 minutes when i realized, I'm living alone and there is a tarantula in my house. So i threw open the front door and luckily my old neighbor was right there on his way over to talk to me about avacados, i grabbed him and made him get it. At first he couldn't find it and i felt like a fool, then he did find it and killed it. But geez all mighty it was scary!! Didn't know i had those buggers in the mountain!!!

The agroforestry group (minus jake and stephanie). Margaret is coming tomorrow to pick up her stuff and say goodbye as she has been medically seperated. Because she was my best peace corps friend i am really sad and am going to miss her terribly, but we willl stay in touch forever and ever.

Upppppppppdate

Saludos!!! So i assume you are here for an update on my life in the dominican republic verdad?

Well I was out of my site for a month, a week at training, a week in santiago, 4 days in the capital, 2 days in Imbert visiting Chris, a week at an all inclusive resort in puerto plata with lauren and nick, 5 days in luperon during the hurricane at another volunteer, Lori's site, and then i went back to Ranchito for 4 days. Right now i am in the capital to get my phone fixed, which is going to take 3 whole days (god only knows what they are going to do with it) and tonite we are going to a going away party for a dutch girl that Alexis became friends with whos internship is ending and she's flying back to the netherlands tomorrow. So i've been busy, busy lounging and thinking.

In other news. I will be moving out of my house with the crazy lady next week and into my very own house. Right now as you are reading this a man is digging me a hole for a latrine. Then he will build a little house with a seat and a hole to go around it. Its kind of an expensive thing, i mean $50 to dig a hole and even more money to get crappy wood to surround it with, but man o man it will be worth it to have my own crapper. Only friends and family will use it and i will take very good care of it so no one is afraid of it, like the one i go in now, its nasty. Monday i will being going into Santiago to buy a bed and a stove and a barrel to fill with water and 2 tables. So if anyone feels like giving me an early birthday present feel free to contact kim or stef b/c i believe i will be scrapping the barrel to get those things. I was banking on some donations from the townspeople but it seems they are being stingy, or just have no extra beds or stoves to give to me. Stoves are table top stoves here so i will need a table to put that on and a table to eat on oh and maybe i should get a chair. At any rate with or without a stove i will be moving out. I've already bought a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly in anticipation of eating meals of my choice. No more boiled bananas, you best believe that. So that is all very exciting and i do hope it runs smoothly

As for other things, my vacation with lauren and nick was awesome, we had a great time, went to the beach and hung out at the adult pool. We went horse back riding. The food was awesome and so was the air conditioning and hot showers. It was great seeing people from home, it was really comforting to me and i can't wait til my next visitors, mom and dad, get here on the 15th, they are going to be staying with me so they will be in for the time of their lives. haha in a good way of course.

I think thats about it for now. I will update you all again soon. Love and Peace

rock you llike a hurricane

Hi everyone
just giving you the heads up that i´m in standfast mode which means i can´t travel anywhere until monday when hurricane dean has past the dr. Up here in the north of the country we will just be getting some rain but in the south where alot of my friends are they are consolidated into hotels all hunkered down preparing for the worst. I was furious yesterday b-c i had to leave my all inclusive resort with lauren frisbie and nick b-c standfast mode had started and i could have stayed in the hotel til monday if i could have paid for it, but b-c i´m poor i had to leave a day early. i was not a happy girl.

So in other news, my dog perla is no longer with us, she got sick with Parvo and also got hit by a motorcycle, i brought her to the vet, but she passed away over night.

At any rate, things are not getting better or easier here for me here, but i am hanging in, at least til christmas anyway. Luckily mom and dad will be here within the month, so hopefully i will have a house by them b-c they are prepared to rough it!!! I´m excited about that for sure!

Love you all i will write more sooon when i get another chance.

Congratulations GAV on your graduation, you kick butt!!!! love you

oh and i did expect to use the computer right now so i don´t have any pics for you just yet, but i will soon

Mud ball

Hola,

So I made it through my 3 month technical training. It was alot of fun, didn't get too much out of it but being back with the whole group was a blast. One night we turned one of the communal bathrooms into a club, named Club Potty. More than 2/3 of the volunteers were in the bathroom at one time, i of course was dancing on the sink. We also built a wood burning cook stove and with the extra mud from that a couple of us played a not so friendly game of mud ball. Thats me and Kevin playing mudball

So I haven't been back to Ranchito for a week and 5 days. I tried to go back but I just wasn't mentally ready. I really haven't been happy in my site, living with my crazy host mom, struggling with the language, waiting for my house to start getting worked on, dealing with homesickness and complete and udder boredom. Its been a difficult time. Lucky my bestfriend will be here in 8 days!!!! Lauren is bringing alot of clothes and things that i have been missing and so maybe i will feel more complete when i have all that.

Lots of older volunteers say that when you move out of your host families house that it makes all the difference in the world on your sanity and happiness, so i'm really banking on that. I will need to buy alot of stuff to make that house feel like home, you know like a bed and a table and chairs and a stove, pots pans plates and i need a radio with a cd player. When mom and dad come they are going to buy me a hammock so thats exciting. I'm pretty sure i'm going back to Ranchito today to get this process started.

Hope everything is going well at home. On august 15th i will have been in the DR for half a year, FYI. Can't wait to come home!!!!!!! Love you all!!!

My lil P

So thats perla when i first got her on mothers day at the beach in Puerto Plata. She's about 23xs as big now and prettier.

for the land of the free and the home of the brave

ohhhh say does that star spangled banner yet wave.........

And to your left we have the most beautiful sunset ever seen.

I had an absolutely incredible fourth of july. We successfully traveled across the country and took a boat to a deserted island, untouched by human hands. The water was bright blue, i went snorkeling and saw starfish, stingrays and other really cool fishes. I slept under the stars on the beach and no bugs bit me. Went swimming, took a solid nap in a hammock. So fun.

Thats me and my love Alexis, just look at those beautiful eyes on that guy.

This is me on the boat and Anthony being a dingbat

We had a bonfire, but no conventional fireworks, but we did have Dinoflagulites, they are like water fireflies. We you moved the water around at night they would flouresce. It was amazying, i almost had a tear in my eye, i was so happy.

I was missing the corn on the cob and a big juicy cheeseburger, but i think that everything else that was amazying on my fourth of july filled the void for me.

Sin Verguenza

Hi guys,
Stinky nicky here, The aquaduct system broke in my mountain and so we have been getting water from the river, which doesn't flow at the point where we get the water from, I am dirty, Perla is dirty, my clothes are dirty, my ropa interior is dirty, the floors are dirty, we have to ration the water and it sucks, when will it be fixed, the world my never know.
Luckily next weekend mon thru fri i will be in the south staying with other volunteers and camping on the beach in Bahia de las Aguilas!!! wooo hooo its a fourth of july celebration!!!! Its supposed to be one of those beaches that have been untouched by resorts and human hands. I don't have a tent, like most people here, so i'll be setting up my mosquito net. i have a sleeping bag.
I'm getting really really excited to move out of my house which i will be doing promptly on August 1st!!! When we get water back i will go over and clean the house and find some men to pay to put a cement floor in the kitchen area.

Any ideas on what colors i should paint it? I was thinking canary yellow with bright blue trim, or pink with green trim... oh yea i'm living in the tropics we paint houses those colors. What'd ya think?

While i was on the jeep this morning coming down the mountain, it was packed with people and this lil girl had to pee so her mom emptied a plastic bag and pulled down her pants and she took a leak. Now thats what i call sin verguenza!!!!

love you all!!!!

ps i don't have Dengue!

SOOOOOOO, I have had to extend my stay in the capital for a day b/c there are strikes/riots in Santiago and the buses aren't traveling there today. There are about 5 volunteers that travel through there so we are all in the same boat. Thats alright tho, this way we can go to the pool at the embassy and our pc country director is taking us all out for lunch!!! I want a cheeseburger with fries. If the riots aren't over by tomorrow i will have to stay again.
Saturday night i went to the mambo concert and it was awesome. Both of Stephanies dominican flip flops broke and since i'm such a doll i let her wear one of mine, so in the morning i had one dirty foot and she had one dirty foot. But the concert was great, if anyone is interested in hearing the song thats my favorite its called Bombero by Omega. Download it. Omega is just awesome, seriously my world was at peace when i was dancing, i'm actually listening to the song right now, the guy next to me has it playing on his computer. And on the way to the beach yesterday it was playing on the bus. Oh and not only did i just have one shoe on at the concert but my fly on my jeans also broke so i was shaking my tail feather all night with my fly permenantly down. Needless to say those jeans are not going to be worn again.
Sunday it was girls day out at the beach in Juan Dolio. Really relaxing. And then last night we went to a casino a 10 minute walk away from the hostel. its really super fancy. I lost 40 pesos ($1.15) in the slot machines, my friend won 575 pesos at the blackjack table thats like $18. Mucho dinero in the peace corps salary mindset!
Thats all my news for today.
Love you all!

Fungus free is the way to be

So I'm at the peace corps office right now. Going to actually do some work. At the end of July I have to give a presentation and write a report about the interviews that I am supposed to be doing in the community, pretty much like a census. I have done 2 interviews so far which isn't enough (obviously), but I am having the youth group do the rest of them (98 more) in exchange for me teaching them English. I think its a pretty good deal. So today I must type up and print out the questions, so that they can start that.
Last night we went out for Mexican food. I had a quesadilla and a margharita. Pretty good stuff. Tonite we are going to a mambo concert. The band is called Omega and they are really perty good. Rock out!
There are alot of volunteers here so its been fun so far. Another PCV, RyRy is on his way to the capital now. But he has scabies so I don't want to touch him. Speaking of health schtuff I am offically fungus free!!! It took almost 4 months but I beat the fungus!!! Yippee
Ok I must begin my work now
LOVE YOU ALL
Ps Crimandos I mailed you a letter on monday. That means it could get to you in 2 weeks - 2 months. haha
Speaking of mail I still haven't recieved 2 packages from mom and dad and the one from Alesha. I'm ticked. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that they come eventually.

This week in Ranchito

Soooooooooo as you could tell by my last blog the week before was very frustrating. Let me just say this week was equally frustrating. Lola drives me crazy. She makes a good cake tho. And she is finally washing my clothes after 2 weeks. I'm starting to wonder tho why its always on the cloudy foggy days that she washes MY clothes.
I taught an English class on thursday, which wasn't very good b/c i'm not a teacher, i didn't even prepare anything, but i taught them "head and shoulders, knees and toes" and they enjoyed that.
But this weekend was pretty fun actually. Saturday night i went to a birthday party which i was positive it was going to be a bunch of people sitting around in a circle of chairs with no food and the women not drinking, but it was actually really fun. They had a merengue tipico band with the palo drums, acordian, maracas, and those cheese grater instruments, i forget what they are called, but i was so frustrated from having a sucky week that i just danced my lil heart out. It was really fun b/c i'm starting to get to know the people in the community so it wasn't like everyone was a stranger. Alot of my kids from the youth group were there and i really like them. I feel like they are starting to look up to me, so I am making sure I'm a good role model for them.

Last night I went to play pool in my town, which i didn't even know they had pool tables and i'm still trying to figure out how they got them up the mountain. but anyway, a fight broke out and I'm fine, it wasn't anywhere near me, but one guy had to go to the hospital, from what i gather his head got cut from a glass bottle. Now this sort of thing doesn't happen in Ranchito, its the talk of the town. And until the fight i was contimplating becoming a pool shark, but the table is on a slant and they don't have chalk for the end of the stick, they use dirt, and the lights kept going off cuz the generator would fail, and then there was the fight, so now my idea of becoming a pool shark has been smoothered. Probably better that way. I'll find another hobby. haha

OK so get this, last week when i got back from Santiago my 15 year old host sister was sitting on a mans lap. I was cornfuzzled. It turns out he is her boyfriend from newyork, he has family in Ranchito too and thats how they met. The story would be fine if it ended there, but it doesn't. He's 35, and let me repeat, she's 15 years old! They are talking about marriage and planning the marriage, of course he has to wait until she is of age, but he is taking her to ny in 6 months, but just as a girlfriend, my dona says. Ok you think that is bad enough, theres more. This 35 year old man is MUTE, he doens't speak, he cant speak, says no words what so ever, and you would think that they would do sign language or maybe write on a piece of paper to have a conversation, but that doesn't happen either. So wierd. And here's the kicker, her mom, my crazy dona Lola thinks ITS GREAT, they are in love, and even though he's mute "he drives his own car and has money!" She is sooooooooo crazy. Its not great, its the craziest situation i've ever had to pretend isn't crazy. So anyway thats whats going on in my world

This week i'm going to the capital, so i'll be on the computer from friday until monday without fail if anyone wants to email me

dogs, chickens, cows...

So this was a frustrating week to say the least, the woman i live with is so uneducated and ignorant but i can{t say anything to her b-c it just won{t go through her thick skull. So i made it through the week by keeping my distance.
Saturday I hiked with the youth group in my town to the peak of my mountain, round trip it took 8 hours, my legs are sore but it was really fun.
Then yesterday i was in Santiago all day at a earth day celebration. I participated in the longest and slowest savenger hunt ever. I didn{t even run once.
Not much else is new besides that.
Oh but one day one of the dogs damaged a chickens wing so my host brother who is 17 just decided the best thing to do was to cut off the wing all together, and the chicken lived, so that day when i was feeding the dogs and the chicken started eating the food i didn{t want to touch it like i usually would b{c of its bloody numb so i just cringed and let it eat with the dogs, i figured it was the least i could do. So that night the dogs ended up sleeping in a coop that a rooster is usually in so that they couldn{t get at any of the chickens. When i went into the chicken house in the morning there were also 3 calves in there too and a load of cow poop outside of the coop that the dogs were in. It was actually pretty funny.
By the way we have 3 dogs now, mine-Perla, Jens-Lechoza, and my dona{s a new little boy- Scooby. So yeah i take care of three dogs. It keeps me busy.

Just a day in life of El Ranchito

mud

So, I was laying in bed one night reading my book. A cockroach scurries across my chest, oh well. Then i turn out the light and hear a noise on the wall that i thought was the rat. So i shine my flashlight over there in hopes of scaring it away, but what i found was a spider the size of my hand on the wall chasing the cockroach that just minutes before ran across my chest. Needless to say i slept the rest of the night submerged in my sheet and blankets. I might have even shed a tear.

I miss indoor plumbing also and am sick of being up to my knees in MUD. Tanto lodo. Mud is taking over my legs and my life. I bathe the puppies almost everyday if the sun is out. If the sun is not out i don't even try b/c its bound to rain.

Another thing thats been rubbing me the wrong way are chickens, everytime i see one i just wanna eat it. The dogs are now being housed in the chicken house b/c my dona thinks that she is allergic to animals and went to the doctor and had the doctor write a note saying that she cannot have any type of animal in the house Bolgna *looks like we gotta get some rat poison* anyway so i spend alot of time in the chicken house. one day Perla got beat up my a hen b/c she was trying to play with the chicks, it took a broom to get her away from the dog, and Perla was trembling for the rest of the day. When i feed the dogs the teenage chickens eat the food right from the dogs dish so i have to stand around and wait for them to eat with a towel in my hand shooing away the chicken or picking them up and chucking them away. Whatever it takes. Then if i don't have food they seem to think that my toes are a snack and peck at them. Also there is a rooster that was in a cock fight and obviously won b/c he is alive, but only half alive, he is so ugly and acts like a senile old man, and b/c he is a murderer b/c cock fights are to the death. i have a fear of him. he went after me once too after i gave him some rice trying to make peace with him. Now i just scream whenever he comes near me. Also there was a rooster in the house the other night for the whole night and if you didn't know, roosters don't just crow at dawn. They crow allllllllllll night long.

I'm heading back to the mountain today. I'm going to have to stay up there for a couple weeks b/c i am running low on dough very much so. I get paid the first of the month so i should be fine, but I gotta learn how to budget a lil better. No more shopping for cute dominican clothing. Or eating at burger king and mcdonalds. Oh by the way i've gained 2 more pounds....of muscle of course.

ok i'm gonna go down to the library and find a book on how to take care of a horse.

I'll be in the capital next on june 16th. And in Santiago next monday.

until then....

Perlita

HI All!

My lil pooch's named Perlita it means cute lil pearl. And yes she was just under a tree on the beach with a few other pups, my friend jen has the sister which is staying at my house b/c her host family won't let her keep it with them. So when jen gets a house of her own in 2 months the puppy will go back with her as for now i've got 2 puppies. So cute!

Everythings good here in the capital. Hanging out with my peace corps family. I really enjoy these people. And when the 2 years is up i will have friends across the country to visit, Awesome!

So how is everyone at home???

I don't really have much news right now. I've been wearing the same dominican jeans for 3 days now b/c i forgot to pack other pants, but thats alright, i'm in the peace corps!!!

Entonces estoy feliz

Mas

I've got some time before the meeting, we are running on dominican time....

So anyway...I'm still with the nutty lady, but she's not that bad, and i've located a house and am going to pay some rent up front so that they will fix the walls. Needs more wood. I also have to evict the roosters that are housed there now. Its cute and blue, has 2 bedrooms a living room and a kitchen in a seperate building outside the house. I have to share a latrine with the neighbors and build a cubicle to shower in, but other than that is perfect. has electricity and all. The rent is a little steep, this is total sarcasm mind you, 500 pesos a month, if you do the math that only a little over 15 dollars a month, hehehe


I had a bull stick its head in my shower the other day, He was looking for water, but i was not about to let him get at my clean water so i screamed at him in a mean voice naked in the corner of my shower cubicle till his slobbery nose left, then he was blocking the door to the house and i stood there thinking for a while then my host brother came and made him move, boy was that a peace corps moment!!!! Me and that bull are tight now, i can pet him from outside my bedroom window

I went to a Cock fight the other sunday, boy was the testosterone level high in that ring. It was really exciting, the men were arguing and betting. I could only stand to watch 3 fights tho, because the roosters actually fight to the death, It was difficult to watch. Totally a cultural event, necessary to my time here in the DR, i would love to bring my visitors to experience it. Very entertaining. But it was difficult to watch. My host brother raises roosters to fight too, so he was there he's only 17. his birthday was last monday, Lola made a torte on the wood stove, it was pretty fascinating. she made it in a pot, then put a sheet pan on top and put burning wood and fire on the top. Just like an oven, just like it.

hmmm what else is new. not toooo much, i miss everyone very much. Homesickness is the pits, but hopefully my puppy will distract me!!!

Ok time to gooooooo. LOVE YOU ALLLLLLL

I'm going to the capital on thursday through saturday so i should have some pretty good stories after that, also i will have time to go on the computer there too, so watch out for another blog!

ITS A GIRL

I got a puppy at the beach yesterday. She is white with brown spots. She doesn't have a name yet, Help me out!!! I've got more to say but no time, i have to go to a meeting and then take the nameless pup to the vet.

I became a mommma on mothers day!!! que perfecto

ITS BEEN SO LONG!!!!!
Everything is going just fine! I have my ups and down, my boredom and excitement.
The 3 days after swearing in was amazying, fun fun fun!!! And lots of laughs, along with some tears, but it was the most fun ever. We went to the most beautiful beach, and ate lots of good food, had some sushi that made no one sick. Saw one incredible unibrow, perfectly trimmed and connected. Umm what else, just lots of crazy spontaneous fun!!! We are all reuniting in the capital on the 17th for some more fun! Oh and i do work too. But the fun days are the memorable ones
Now i´m living life as a poor girl in El Ranchito, its not always cold so i´m alright. The family is still crazy but not overwhelming. I have alot of down time, i´ve read 2 books, one in one day, and writen lots of letters, as soon as i find some stamps those will be sent out. I started running, so that feels good, my legs are going to be strong as a horses legs. I have no animals yet but am constantly looking and asking. I have a rat in my room so i need a cat STAT!! And thats no joke
I have a meeting monday with my organization, i have to ask for stuff to get my tree nusery up and running, they already have something going in el ranchito but it needs some shaping up so i have to tell them what they need and why. That´ll be interesting.
So thats all for now i think. I ate mcdonalds today and its never tasted better. Looking forward to getting the packages when i get my mail next. Its nice to have stuff to look forward to!!

Ok love you all, i´m safe and happy and contimplating

Yesterday a trainee, Today a volunteer!

TODAY I BECOME A CERTIFIED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER!!!!
We have a ceremony with diplomats from the DR and the US embassy and everyone from the PC office. And i take an oath and sign offical documents. Its really exciting. We are all so proud of ourselves and so sad. I could cry i miss everyone already and i'm sitting right next to my best friend here, Margaret. I'm going to my other best friends house, Stephanie to blow dry my hair after i eat margarets dona's "life changing french fries" We'll see how good they really are. These were the other 2 girls in my agforestry group and they are just awesome. But they will never take the place of my one and only twin bff, Lauren Frisbie. Tears will be shed today. Training was an incredible experience, i would do it over a million times if i had to. (I'm glad i don't tho, Hubo dias muy abburidos)

Oh by the way everyone, I passed all my tests!!!!!!!! I'm an intermediate mid spanish speaker which is the requirement. I was so excited, i got a little choked up! All the other tests and interview went smoothly.

So anywho back on track. I think when i get as frustrated as I was in my site, I know that i have these great friends and great supports that i will be fine. All volunteers have told us that "your peace corps service will be a rollercoaster of emotions" I am just now at my crossroads from trainee to volunteer realizing how "challenging" this can be. But like everyone always says " what ever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and i'm pretty sure i'll be the incredible hulk by the time i get back!!! 2 years in the DR, thats all i can say....

Tomorrow we are going to the beach!!! It'll be my second time. I wasn't impressed the first time. Boca Chica is G-Ross, but we're going to a different one this time with all my friends. And i think friday i'm getting permission from the PC office to get a horse, and a puppy at the pound!!!! Yippeee Then we might go swimming at the US Embassy, haha its nice being American!

Wish me luck i'm gonna go get pretty!

Love everyone, thanks for all your support!

ai ai ai

Back in the capital. I'm in the peace corps headquarters right now cuz the girl i was traveling with was sick last night vomiting and the works. so she's getting checked out by the doctor and i'm using the internet for free.
So my hill is really overwhelming. My dona is crazy, i mean 2nd grade education level, had an abusive husband that died just crazy. She just isn't helpful, and she confuses the hell out of me. But she's a great cook. I can't wait until i get my own house and meet other people in the community. She's going to drive me insane if i don't get other friends or meet other people in the community.
Its also freezing cold and wet on my hill. Def. not tropical hot weather. Its good to not be sweaty anymore, but i get shivers and never feel warm b/c its so damp. So if anyone would like to send me a hooded sweatshirt I would love that, they are hard to come by in this country b/c most places its freaking hot. I decided that i am going to start running every morning so that i will get warm enough to want to take a bucket bath outside.
oh well i will get used to it.
Enough ranting, i think it was just a really confusing and tiring visit to my community. I will be returning back there next sunday.
Tomorrow i have my final language test, a medical test and a safety and policies test. Also tomorrow there are interviews with the peace corp director and sector director. Once again I am nervous. Ai Ai Ai

An unforseen miracle, i'm on the internet for free!!! 2 days of internet, this is going to be rare. Anyway i'm in Santiago, which is the nicest city in the DR, almost feel American. And i live super close only a 12 peso bus ride away after i descend the mountain that i call home. I had pizza hut for lunch. and haven't spoken a lick of spanish yet today. Jen and i met up at our office of our project partners, the name of it is slipping my mind, but anyway another volunteer met us there and showed us the city and stuff. Now i'm at her apt. which makes me miss america cuz it has internet and running water and a refridgerator.
Anyway last night we went to a showing of the pelicula, "an inconvienent truth" the one about global warming with al gore, it was in english with spanish subtitles, so i've been totally spoiled these past 2 days. I love this city!!!
Not much else is going on, i'm just really overwhelmed still.

my crew

Hey aunt lisa and crew.
I´m so glad you guys are enjoying my blogs. I want to write this how i talk, so you never forget my lovely lingo.
I can´t believe little nicky is now 13!!! Get ready the teenage years are the best. I´ve got some cute dominicano boys here if she wants me to bring one home to put in her bike basket!!!!
Miss you all!

La Loma (the hill)

Hey folks,
I unexpectedly got to a computer, which by the looks of my site location is not bound to happen more than once a month. Ánother volunteer se llama Jen is working with the same organization as me, and seeing as though i live halfway up the highest peak in the northern most mountain range and we have a meeting in the morning my project partner brought me down the mountain this afternoon instead of having to get me in the morning. It takes about 40 minutes just to climb the mountain, by jeep mind you, to ge to my village. Let me just tell you the view is absolutely incredible!! I live in the clouds, literallly, the fog is rolling around at all times. And boy is there a chill, but I like it so far.
My house that i will be living in for the first 3 months is like camping. There is no faucett for water, its all in big barrels outside, no sinks included. We have a latrine, which if anyone has been to slateford farms and took a gander at the outhouse there, thats what i´m pooping in, and thats no joke!!! The showering is just a tin enclosure with a sheet door, luckily i love showering outside, that was a requirement of our house in north carolina, EOS!!!! enclosed outdoor shower. but now its just a bucket bath. hmmm what else, ooooh my dona, the woman of the house, cooks over a fire!!! She says its better b-c gas contaminates the food. Boy is she crazy!! Thats ok, the fire keeps me warm when we´re in a cloud.
Anyway, besides roughing it hardcore, my village is a agroforestry volunteers dream!!! I´m pretty sure i´m living in a rainforest. There is a great site for tourists that they are developing about 40 minutes more up my loma. Its kinda like tuscarora, a retreat center, and they told me i can stay there whenever i want. So if you wanna hike and stay there with me, its a pretty nice place. I mean i haven´t seen any civilized living arrangements lately but this place is really nice, it runs on renewable energy and has running water, even in shower form. mmmmm heavenly.
What else to say.
Oh could some one email me info on the Manacala forest, thats what i´m living in and its supposedly really rare or something. They have a rough accent here and i´m struggling with the language again... I got so confident when i got back to Santo Domingo, i could talk to everyone, but now, as dad would say pppp dead.

Oh well. I¨m so overwhelmed and my brain cells have formed into a geletain state of mushy peas. but i´m getting by. A week from today i will be an offical peace corps volunteer, no more of this trainee shizzle.

TaTa for now my sweets

ocho mas!!!!!

I GAINED 8 POUNDS IN TECHINICAL TRAINING!!! is it muscle or did i just fall deeply in love with fried plantains! The world will never know...

Luckily now i will have to hike up a mountain every day for the next 2 years.

I´m up to 143 y pico MOM!!!!!


so much for me being skinny, i couldn´t imagine what would happen if icecream was easily accessible!!!!!

ok peace out my peace corps fan club!!!

entrainamiento habia terminado

Hola mi amores!
My week near Haiti was great!!!! It was life changing no doubt about that. The 7 of us and a few dominicans and our trainer slept in cabins, cooked over a fire stove, clogged lots of toilets and bathed in the river!!! We had a blast!!!! We encountered a bat in our room hanging from the bunk bed and a rat in our bathroom.

Haiti was the saddest site i´ve ever seen in my life. I couldn´t speak. We drove down the international highway which is the worst dirt road i´ve been on yet in this country and they are all dirt! But the dr is on one side with green hills and trees as far as the eye can see and Haiti is on the other side and its brown and dry and it would have been possible to count the number of trees on the mountains. The people live in shacks smaller than a pennsylvania tool shed made of sticks and mud with palm leaves for the roof and 8 to 12 people live in them. The people look like the ones you adopt for a dollar a day on those commercials. I cried under my sunglasses... there are no hope for those people. Dominicans are poor but their poverty doesn´t make me cry b-c this country is on the right track. Just seeing haiti put my whole life into perspective.

Anyway tomorrow i go visit my site in El Ranchito.. isn´t that fun to say El Ranchito accent on the chi!!! I´m totally psyched!!! Nervous as all heck but can´t wait to get this service started. I will be gone until sunday in my new home. Monday will be a huge internet day. My site is on a mountain so maybe i will have phone service up there. Si dios quierre! ahah thats a dominican phrase.. it literally means if god wants, and they say it for everything, are you going to school si dios quierre. haha anywho. I´m so excited i could pee

Can´t wait to get settled in speak the language (today was my last spanish class yowzer), and have so flipping visitors!!!! Bring your rain gear and your bathing suits, i´m in the clouds and near the beach!!!!

Amor para todo el mundo!!!!!!!

I gotta go home and pack!!!!!!!

sweet beans

el diablo to me, known to dominicans as habecheulas con dulce, they are like a chocolate milk shake thing that is actually bananas and beans pureed. Its so gross, but they love it, they even have an icecream flavor of it in the icecream store in town.

the date of my swearing in is April 25th.

Whats my fam doing for Easter_ Hard boiled egg throwing_

training winding down

Hola Mis Amigos,
I´m feeling great once again.
We only have 2 more days in Jarabacoa! My house is packed with family from the capital. Last night there was 15 people. There was a matteress in the living room, and people screaming and a snoring fat man, mid dream i thought a motorcycle was stuck in a ditch and they were revving the engine trying to get it out. haha but it was just a snoring guy. Oh and my doña´s sister is a nun, but she´s really rude, always saying that i don´t understand anything, when in all actuality i do!!!
We just went grocery shopping for our trip and spent 5000 pesos. I dunno what the math is, but we got alot of peanut butter and macaroni and cheese and chips and salsa... And i got a mango for myself for later. mmm
Yesterday was our last day at the forestry schoool. We had lectures in the morning then planted sugar cane in the afternoon. I was eating the sugar cane, and got on a major sugar high. Its probably the least attractive thing to eat. worse than sunflower seeds. You chew the cane to get the sugar juice out and then spit the pulp out, but its so gross loooking. As if you were reguritating it. but i love it, peeling it with the machete then eating it like a Haitian.

I hope everyone has a great easter. Here we have been celebrating all week. Its called Semana Santa. The kids haven´t had school since last wednesday, so they have been off for a week and a half. On thursday morning at 430 everyone got ready and went to church in a group. The group walked around the neighborhood singing songs, kinda like caroling, man that was creepy. I haven´t been to church yet with them, but i don´t think i´ll be able to get out of it sunday. That should be interesting.

So the plan is Monday we leave for the border. Camp there a week and bathe in the river. Leave on saturday, go back to santo domingo. Monday i go to school and find out where my community site is that i´ll be at for 2 years and get my cell phone. Then tuesday is project partner day in santo domingo and i take a trip out to my site for a 5 day visit! Then i come back to santo domingo for 2 or 3 days, swear in as an offical peace corps volunteer and then ship out for 2 years!!! I´m so excited!!!!!

sorry i was dying

Sorry I haven´t written in a while, i just haven´t had enough time. I wasn´t able to go into town over the weekend b-c I was puking and on the verge of death. Needless to say it was due to the habecheulas con dulce, or sweet beans, that is made as a treat for easter. Everytime i think about them i cringe. I haven´t been able to eat any beans since then, but i hope i can bring myself to do it soon b-c they are a sustainial portion of my protein intake.
Anyway everything else has been good, learning alot. We went to a cacao plantation, but there was no chocolate to be found, so that was a bummer. We planted over 200 saplings between last week and this week, it was hard work but so fun, i got super dirty cuz i was the hole digger. I ain´t saying she a hole digger.... haha It was raining that day and i was wearing gloves and the skeeters were biting and i would slap them. I eventually started thinking that they didn´t bite where i was dirty, but i was wrong. I look like i have chicken pox once again
Next week we are going to a pueblo on the Haitian border called Resuracion. We will be there for a week and we get to cook for ourselves American cuisine, camp out, and bathe in the river!!!! I´m so stoked, Then the saturday we travel back to Santo Domingo. then the monday we get our site locations and cell phones!!!! Its quite the exciting time
Nobody worrry about me being on the Haitian border, although there is a general loathing of Haitian, i haven´t seen any violence towards them. There are Haitians everywhere too, even in this small town of Jarabacoa that i´m in now. They are alot of construction workers. We are safe.

Spanish is really frustrating. But i have double my language score since i´ve been here 2.0 to a 4.0. I know i´ll learn, but i wish i could just wake up and know it one day

I also had an interview with the placement officer and he said that he is thinking about placing me in a small community close to Santiago, in the North. Just so everyone knows this is good news! Its BEAUTIFUL in the north. Absoutely gorgeous!! I won´t find out for sure but if you wanna research thats the information that i have now.

alright i love everyone!!! And i will update soon

hey guys,
i don´t have alot of time cuz the power is out and we are only allowed 30 minutes b-c the inverter is on, they run on car batteries. Anywho, everthing is good here, tomorrow we are going to an organic coffee plantation. I will hopefully have more time later this week. Perhaps I will have to go into town again this weekend. Love everyone and miss the internet

Pobrecita Margharita

HOLA!
It has been raining like crazy here. Downpouring almost twice everyday. That has been effecting our power supply, so i haven't been on the internet all week. Right now i'm in town (Jarabacoa). Me and 2 other americanos got a ride down here with a host family member but we have to take motchoncos (motorcycle taxis) home. Funnn, if it rains they charge triple, so like close to 200 pesos to go back home, its only like 10 or 15 minutes too.
This week at la escuela nacional forestale we were working in the vivero (tree nursery). We learned how to graft, germinate seeds, prepare dirt and fertilizer, seed collection and alot of other thangs. Everything was explained in spanish, so i know how to do everything, but the background of why is a little fuzzy. oh well.
I found a doggie on thursday, she was near where we have spanish class and we became friends of course. Then she followed me around for the rest of the day. I left her at school that night and in the morning she was waiting there. She proceeded to follow me everywhere. The dominicanos hate her, but i like her. I named her Margharita. And i say. Pobrecita Margharita (poor little margharita). Oh and she loves to chase butterflies, i don't know how i found another animals that likes to chase maryposas but i did. She and Lmno would get along great. I'm contimplating whether or not i should bring her back to Santo Domingo and then to my site with me or if they will take care of her at school. We shall see.

Ok, more next week

ropa interior

It rains alot here, especially at night. And the sound of rain on the tin roof is so soothing. Sometimes a rain drop sneaks in but usually its dry. There is a lizard that lives in or on one of the cross beams in my room i think. I´ve seen him twice, the first time i saw him he pooped on my floor while he was hanging from the ceiling. That wasn´t too pleasant, lizard poop looks like bird poop. I´ll be mad if he does that again.

I need to wash my ropa interior aka underwear. Apparently it is disrespectful for the woman of the house to wash another womens underwear. So she washes my pants and shirts about twice a week, but my underwear has just been building up. Fortunately I brought about 20 pairs, so i´m not running out but i dont´want it to come down to that. Tomorrow i have to do a presentation in spanish about the interviews i did in the community on saturday morning with the other 2 guys in my community, so today and tonite i will prepare for that. but hopefully tomorrow night i will get my ropa interior washed. The last time i washed my underwear was at my house in santo domingo, i used 3 buckets of water, one with soap and 2 to rinse. It was a pain in the buttocks.

Tonite we have an evening session with the peace corps nurse and our tech trainer, Eli who is a great guy, is bringing us PIZZA for dinner, that will be the highlight of my day!!!!

tanto decir, tan poco tiempo

Hey guys, i dont´have much time now b-c i have to go to a health sessions with the peace corps nurse tonite. Anyway the weekend was great I have alot to tell but can´t describe it all in these 5 minutes that i have, there will be pics up soon of the waterfalls. I miss everyone, and thanks crimandos for commenting, it makes me happy that you guys have commenting capabilities haha. I love your comments too, you make me smile.

ok until next time

Aralen Fog

Hola!
Its lunchtime. Today we worked on our garden. I was in a fog all morning, which is becoming a trend the morning after i take my weekly dose of Aralen, the anti-malarial medicine. I´m going to start taking it on the weekend so i´m not in the fog during training. Another side effect of Aralen is ¨technicolor dreams¨. They are supposed to be really crazy and seem really real. I´ve heard alot of peoples, but i havén´t experienced any yet so far. Sometimes i wake up and feel like i´ve just hung out with the people in my dream, but besides that nothing. I´m going to try again next week, and every week after that.

Tomorrow we have to start our practice community diagnostic. I have to go to 7 houses and ask them questions about the community, like population, facilities, their income and education level. Just really annoying questions. When i get to my actual site i will be glad to do it b-c i will have an actual interest in the community and the people but for practice i´m not into it. Oh well its all a part of training.

After i´m done with that around noonish. We are going the waterfallls. I´ll def. have pics of that for you all. Then there is a party at a house in my community where another volunteer is staying. That should be fun, i guess there is a crazy uncle louigie. haha

Last night for dinner i had Mangoo for the first time. And no thats not mango. Its mushed up, kinda pureed bananas or plantains i´m not sure which one, with garlic and cheese and onions. It was actually really good. Like cheesy mashed potatoes.

Ok til next week... PEACE

1 month in country!!!

Hi guys,
So I´ve been here in the DR for 1 month!!!! Feels gooood. Only 26 left!!
Today was an exciting day. I saw my first TARANTULA. We were working in the field and it was walking along, It was soooo much bigger than the ones in the pet store. It was very cool but i did get the heebie jeebies. After that we cleared a field with yolked oxen and the old fashioned plows. The oxen spoke spanish, well understood spanish. Those things whipped me around. My arms are so tired and my legs as well.

If you guys wanna see a video of our agforestry group introducing ourselves I HAVE JUST THE THING... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd6l2OBWrhg

There are also pictures from today, but i can´t seem to find them right now. I´´ll investigate that tomorrow.

I am so dirty and smelly right now. Its alot cooler here in the mountains than in santo domingo. I use a blanket at night and keep the window closed. I also bought a pair of sweatpants yesterday in town, but they are dominican sweatpants. Which means they are TIGHT! haha I got a size grande too cuz i was afraid of that. But thats ok i suppose, they keep me warm at night. I also wear one of my tiny jackets during spanish class, cuz the breeze is muy fresca.

Last night for dinner i had boiled bananas and eggplant mush. But before that when our tech trainer took us into town I had a slice of pizza. MMM. We fit 11 people into a toyota SUV it was hilarious, but didn´t feel abnormal b-c thats how they do it here. Oh and this morning we got a ride in the back of a random pickup truck with about 15 dominican kids on the way to school. It was great. I hope they stop for us everyday!!!

hoy

Today in tech. training we sharpened our machetes then dug out baby banana trees to replant. I worked so hard trying to keep the roots on and as it turned out we chopped them off anyway. I guess bananas are like a super plant, they can sprout roots on command. So now there are a bunch of banana plant stubs soaking in a concoction of pesticides and fungicides with a sprinkle of hormones. Then we chopped down the biggest bamboo ever and we are going to build a fence tomorrow! I have to share my bed tonite with another volunteer. the one i visited last weekend. She is teaching us how to build a fence and my host family now was her host family last year when she was training. I hope we have something good for dinner. Rice and Beans is my guess.

Let me know if this set up works for you all.

Just setting up

HEY Friends and Family,
I set this up for uuuuuuuuu to keep in touch with me and with each other!!! Love you alll