Long time!

Sorry again, this blog thing is getting more and more tough. So here is a brief update of what has been going on, bullet point style.

- Brought a student of mine to a youth conference about Information Technology put on by the Peace Corps. It was a 3 day conference with workshops and games to help kids gain the tools required to teach their communities a little about the basics of IT. It was very cool and my student even won a prize. The most participative, lol. He had a really great time and had the opportunity to meat a lot of other dominican youth from around the country. Great experience overall for me and him.

- Finishing up my computer repair class at my high school, and beginning to formulate a plan for next year. The class dealt with small repair basics and formatting of computers, throughout the class we began re-formatting all the computer, and am proud to say that my students will finish formatting the computer lab on tuesday (tomorrow). They will graduate then as well with certificates and cds with a bunch of computer programs. The class was not as successful as i would have liked. We only had electricity maybe 30% of the time, but the kids had fun.

- Trying to figure out what to do at the Detention Center. Computers keep breaking, kids are never interested. Frustrating scene.

- The lady who does my laundry claimed i did not pay her one month ago. When, in fact, i did. I decided to agree to pay her for this lost month to avoid a huge blowout and losing one of the few families that i am close with in my town. I did, however, mention that i did pay and that we will be moving to a receipt system to avoid this kind of problem again. I will be paying here the lost month over the next few months, just to prove to her that i am not made of money and to reinforce the fact that i am poor too, lol. We are on good terms now. Good as normal.

- I had the most amazing tacos last night.

- Med mission stuff is really picking up. Sent out a request for 34 volunteers. Confirmed travel on another 12, and chose participants for another 6. January is going to be a really busy month.

- I am coming home in 9 days!!!!

Well thats about all. Its pretty tranquilo here so no cool news yet. Sorry for the lag but i probably wont be updating until January. Adios y cuidate!

More photos!

I know im swamping you guys with photos but i just got this other lab up and running and it has super fast internet, so i am able to download things super fast, lol. These are from the med mission in Dajabon. One is of the border, the other is at the beach and the last is me at the clinic.

More photos from Pico!

Pico Duarte

So, i have climbed to the top of the tallest peak in the Caribbean! Pico Duarte (look it up).

It took 7 of us 4 days, 5 mules and 15 pounds of rice to reach the summit and come back down. It was the most physically demanding thing i think i have ever done, but definitely worth it and i cant wait to do it again!.

The first day we hiked 4 kms. to a cabin where we camped for the night. The next night we hiked 24 kms to the peak, but it was too cloudy to really see anything. The next day we hiked down 14 kms. to the Valle de Tetteros, which is a really cool valley with rivers on both sides, very picturesque. The next day we hiked down the nearly 20 kms. back to the base. We actually ran most of the way down the mountain, it was too steep to tiptoe down so to reduce the destruction of my knees we jogged down pico duarte, haha! So much fun it was like a video game, trying to keep our feet under us.

Each night we had rice and solomi for dinner, and each morning we had hot cocoa, boiled bananas and solomi. We had to drink out of the rivers, which means yes......i ....drank.....from...a....river. You would think that all the times that i got sick from merely looking at faucet water in this country would deter me from sticking my head under the river and sucking in all the bacteria, haha. We also bathed in the rivers....but we did not drink and bathe at the same time, we made sure to always drink up stream....lol.

All in all it was an incredible trip, im trying to attach some photos. Enjoy.

Dajabon

Sorry again for the massive gaps in between my posts. Activity is starting to pick up here and the next few weeks are looking pretty busy.

So, i just got back from Dajabon last weekend. Dajabon is a region located near the border of Haiti. I was there with a few other volunteers helping out at a medical mission. It was a really great town. The organization was called Waves of Health, they are a new non-profit that has been in the country for about 3 years. They are doing big things here. It was exciting to collaborate with them.

Towards the end of the trip they took to the Haitian border. Yes, the border. I know all the other 0 volunteers who read this are saying, noooo you will be fired if Peace Corps reads this blog! But as far as i know the border is in bounds, as long as i dont step across it. I could see Haitim though. We saw this Haitian guy carryign chickens across the border, the gate shuts, then all of a sudden there is this ruckus and up fly 50 chickens back to the DR. The Haitians were throwing the chickens back at us, it was the craziest thing i have ever witnessed. A people starving for food put their pride ahead of eating. Idiots. I dont know the whole story because i dont speak Patui or French, but thats the just of what i understood.

We also went to a national park in Monti Cristi, which is on the north coast. We climbed this really sweet hill and could see for miles in every direction. I hope to get a few of thosepictures up on this blog when i have some time.

Then when i get back on Friday we were being consolidated to a Hotel in Santiago because of Hurricane Tomas. So i enjoyed 2 nights of hot showers, and 24 hour electricity, and ESPN!!! Arrived back at my house on Sunday night and have been coming to the school trying to do some work since Monday. So, today im in the lab trying to fix these darned computers still.

Tomorrow i leave to climb the highest peak in the Carribbean, Pico Duarte. Look it up on google. Im pretty pumped, its a 3-day trek up the mountain, and we will be reaching the peack before the sunrises, i cant imagine how beautiful it will be! We will have pack mules, and a few guides with us. Pretty stoked about that! Wont be back until Sunday i imagine.

So thats whats going on, ill try to get better at updating this thing.

Miss you guys, and ill be seeing most of you in about a month!!!!!

Photos of english

Here are some photos!

D-train is back

I know its been a while folks, and i also know you definitely do not want to hear about it again, but the D-train has left the station. Were chugging at full speed, lol. Its been a long time coming, im just glad i had such a good run there for a little while. I think it was because i ate 3 day old street food........I just got greedy. Im just glad im here in my own apartment, with my own bathroom, and running water. Couldnt be under better cicumstances, lol.

Anyways, Finally have something to write about. I am graduating my first English class next friday. They take their exam next wed. and i am planning a little graduation party for them. Ill bring some sodas, a few twinkies, some candies, etc. It should be fun. I printed out their certificates. Certificates are a huge deal in this country, you get them for just about everythin. Peoples resumes are like 5 inches thick with these ridiculous certificates, with everything from recess MVP to Chess Club. Anyways, I made them for the students and now the director of the school wants me to make one for the school, lol. She wants it to say something like, "Certificate of appreciation for letting Peace Corps utilize one of the classrooms to teach english." She wants to put it up on the wall of her office.........i guess whatever makes people happy, who am i to rob them.
Im also beginning a 4 week computer repair class at the school. They have been begging me for it, so i decided to just suck it up and do it. Even though we dont have electricity half the time, ill still try to teach a computer class, lol.

Im also going to the border town of Dajabon next sunday. Its....60 miles from Haiti? Something like that....we have also been advised that there is a breakout of Cholera in Haiti......when was the last time you heard that.....anywhere.....isn't there a book thats titled "Love in the time of Cholera"? It just makes me think of a really old obsolete disease that just rose from the grave to torment the unfortunate people of Haiti. Symptoms include but are not limited to: Painful pure white liquid diarrhea and vomiting......sounds like dinner at a Dominican restaurant to me. I guess the difference is that this disease will kill you in 24-48 hours purely from dehydration. Bring it on!!!

Also, another woman has jumped off the bridge to their death here in Santiago. This is the second time a woman has jumped off this bridge. Its crazy! Its the bridge of death. Ive never really lived near a bridge so i dont know if this is normal bridge behavior, but its wild to me.

Thats about it for now. Miss you guys!

Lately

Sorry, i have not been updating my blog very regularly. Work has taken up most of my time, so i don't have as much internet free time. I have begun work on the other laboratory in my school. So, the good new, the first one is done! Computers are all up and working with the required programs and internet. Took my long enough with the inconsistent electricity and the constant pestering of the students, lol.

Other than that, i am still carrying out my duties at the detention center. Still.....really tough, lol.

Medical Missions business is really heating up. Trying to coordinate a few missions right now.

There is really nothing special going on right now. Just working working. No cool stories or anything. Ill make sure to keep you posted though, lol.

Here is a picture of some of my Dominican friends, enjoy.

Parents

So my parents just left the country yesterday.

It was an exciting time. They arrived last thursday afternoon and left yesterday afternoon. We squeezed a lot of stuff into a small window. We visited Yasica, Cabarete, Puerto Plata, Santiago. I had some amazing meals, slept in AC, had hot water, swam in a pool. IT was so nice. It was great to get to see the fam also.

Now, im back to the ol grind. 5 people showed up to english class today, so i can see the interest is waning.

Not much else really going on here though. Just same ol same ol.

Anyways, adios and cuidanse

Pica Pollo!

Pica Pollo is fried chicken...and made my first batch of fried chicken last night!!! So pumped! There was this pre-made pica pollo mix at the store, picked it up slapped some on a few drum sticks let those bad boys sizzle. Delicious! My cooking portfolio is expanding greatly here. The other day i made scalloped potatoes. Just sliced a potatoe and threw em in the frying pan with some veggies for a few minutes. Super simple, cheap, easy.

I also would like to say that i have been in relatively good health for almost 2 months. Ever since i moved into my own house, i have been feeling so much better. There are a lot of reasons, i think.
1. Im home. I lived with 3 different families over the course of 4ish months. All the moving around and adapting to different environments was stressful.
2. No one washes their hands here, that would be ok if they didnt serve the food by sliding it on your plate....with their hands..
3. Everyone "rinses" cups and plates of with tap water aka devils juice. They dont get that ever bead of water contains a bajillion little parasites.
4. Im eating smaller quantities. Im not eating until i throw up anymore just to appease my host family and feel socially accepted.

Life is pretty sweet.

On the flip side, i saw a woman jump from a bridge yesterday. I think she intended to kill herself, but it really wasnt high enough for that. She ended up landing on the sidewalk with severe injuries.....man that must suck. Whatever she was going through before is now tripled with physical pain....but God obviously had some other plan for that woman.....makes you think.

Well i gotta go teach english now.
Adios

Med Mission Week

So thats where ive been this past week, Santo Domingo. Ive been participating in a med mission specializing in ear reconstruction. The perks were amazing. We got to stay in an amazing hotel. We were taken out to dinner every day for lunch and dinner, and not to just any old place, to AMAZING resteraunts. Just a preview of some of the food i had..... Angus beef tenderloin with melted gorgonzola cheese on top, Veal scaloppine, Beef Filete, Smoked pork chops, etc. Needless to say it was incredible! AND i did not have any intestinal distress!! Big week!

As far as the work went.....We worked for our food and accomodations. We put in five 13 hour days in a row. I have never worked so hard for so long. We were running back and forth between the operatin room and the post-op. I was removing IV`s and discharging patients with instructions on how to mantain their scars....Laura eat your heart out...haha. I got to scrub in on surgeries, holding peoples ears that were dangling by a thread as the surging dug for a hole. I got to fill needles with local anesthesia. We had a lot of responsibility, more than i ever would have in the US, lol. Our main responsibility was to translate for everyone, doctors, nurses, etc-It was a mind changing experience, though. The dominicans were so patient and soo appreciateve of the service we offered. It was refreshing to see the family element. Whoel families rallying behind their children as they came to and from surgery. To see their eyes light up as their little girl/boy was wheeled into post-op, still half asleep. The families would stay for hours. There were tears, hugs, laughter all that junk. The medical team that we assisted was incredible. 3 dedicated surgeons, and a handful of nursing staff. They were all super nice, and patient. They also paid for all of our meals, lol. Days were rough, and it felt liek we never got a break, literally we took 10 minutes for lunch. But, at the end of the day when you've worked your butt off for something bigger than yourself, it feels pretty good. It was miserable, exhausting, stressfull, mentally tiresome, but i wouldnt trade any second of it for anything else. This is the best thing i do here.

Also, on a more selfish note, i won 6000 pesos in the casino while in Santo Domingo. I keep winning, lol.....

So im back home now. Back to high schools and prisons, lol. Quite a change of pace, but im ready to be back-

Love and miss you guys tons. My parents are coming in 2 weeks!!!

Me Fui

Sorry for the last gap in posts. I recently told you had a super fast internet card, well it was taken back by the original owner, so i dont have it anymore. Back to the ol 30 minutes of internet a day thing. Which i am kind of glad about. The internet took up probably 80 percent of my time in the US, rendering me useless to the outside world. Without i have had a chance to rediscover so many other things like reading, hanging out with neighbors, traveling, working more. Its a releif to not have internet constantly at my fingertips, although sometimes it would be nice...lol

Anyways, im here in the computer lab trying to continue formatting all the computers. Its such a pain in the butt! But what else do i have to do, i have precious little electricity so i have to bag em out as quickly as i can.

Im leaving for La Capital tomorrow for the next 10 days. I will be on another medical mission. This one is ear reconstruction and its going to be intense. Aside from all the administrative duties that we have, we will also be taking dominican patients into the pre-op rooms, prepping them for surgeries, outfittin gthem with sterilized gowns and such, then walking them into the surgery room, translating between the doctor and anesthesiologist, and then wheeling the patient into post op and waiting for them to wake up to offer support and care, lol. It sognna be an adventure, but we get to stay at a super fancy hotel with AC and hot water, TV and a full service gym. Everything is paid for, so for the next 10 days i will not be paying a single peso for anything....love it.

Anyways, thats about it, gotta get back to work. Tenga un buen dia, adios

Everything's better out of a tin cup.

So my friend is letting me borrow her Internet card for an undefined period of time until she gets a new computer. Basically, it means i get rapid fast internet all the time now, which is awesome.
So, not a lot going on since Monti Cristi, just been working like a fool. Long stressful days. It's nice having something to fill my time though. I feel like im contributing, lol. So here are a few things ive been up to:
1. English Classes: We are the end of our second week and everyone seems to be enjoying the class. We play lots of games that incorporate english vocab and stuff like that. Its a very interactive class, had our first pop quiz the other day and everyone seemed to do well, so i think were on track. We played jeopardy with numbers the other day and it turned into a battle royal. Both sides were standing and shouting, the game ended in a tie, and they were not having that. Someone was going to win, but it worked out for me because i could just say, "Everybody is a winner, yay!" Dominicans don't like that very much....noted.
2. Juvenile Detention Center: Probably the most difficult thing i've involved myself in. The kids are so rowdy, they always stray off task, never pay attention, its a chore just trying to get them to stay in their seats. But every now and then you get through to a kid, and it makes all the crap worth it. Like today, i was teaching out of a program called Typing Master Pro, and there was this one kid, Joheidy (no its not a misspelling), and i tried to explain the program, then he explained he didn't know how to read. I just assume that 16 year old kids know how to read, but its not always the case here. He struggled a lot at first with the program, but i just sat with him and tried to explain it in other terms, and eventually he was getting better. I could see his progress, he was so excited kept telling me to come over and see how well he was doing. By the end of class he could manage the entire middle of the key board, which is huge for a kid that can't read. Oh, it was just the greatest feeling in the world. To see a kid be proud of himself in something he should be proud of. He just kept getting better, by the end of class he didnt want to leave. Ive come to realize that these kids sometimes just need someone to encourage them or give them a pat on the back, some kind of shove. Its been difficult finding a teaching style, and its difficult having patience with these kids, but its probably the most rewarding thing ive done so far.
3. Medical Missions: I have another med mission on the 17th of september, so next week. Its about 9 days, im pretty pumped. Stay in a Hotel, everything is payed for. Ill be working my butt off, but ill get some nice accommodations.

On cultural note, Dominican children have no grasp on the fact that i speak english as a primary language. They know i dont speak spanish well, and then when i start speaking english to them, they are stunned....like they assume im just stuck in the middle of a few languages, but dont really speak any of them well.......guess you had to be here, lol.
Anyways thats about it for now, im gonna ty to attach some pics for you guys. The picture of the truck is the what we rode in the back of for 45 minutes down a mountain, lol.
Buen provecho

Monti Cristi

So here are some photos of Monti Cristi, and the beautiful beach we went to. Life is rough....

Stuff

So, sorry for the gap between blogs. But, i have been a busy bee (yea i said it), for the past few days. My classes started Monday. Planning these suckers and making it worthwhile for these students is a lot of work. I have a new found respect for teachers now, lol. I have one class and its takin up all my time, lol. Anyways, my class is going really well all 20 kids have come to every class, which i know that doesnt sound like a big deal to you, but in a culture where people dont go anywhere when its either 1. Friday or 2. Raining , it saying a lot. We’re having fun. They seem realy excited, i had them make their first oral presentation in class on Friday, Show and tell, 5 sentences about yourself and the object you brought with the formato f
My name is
I am from the
I am a
This is a
It is
It is from
Pretty difficult, but they nailed it. I was so proud! I made books for them, i do handouts, games, everything. Its a fun class.
The detention center has been going well also. Im going to be teaching four classes their now, lol. 2 on wed. 2 on thursday. My plate is slowly filling up, lol. One of the kids was released the other day, 2 more new ones came in.

Ive been pretty busy with Medical Mission staff too, since i am a new chairman. Lots of emailing, lol. I have a lot going on right now. No worries, though, because tomorrow im going to the Beach in Monti Cristi! A new Group of volunteers is here, so were gonna go see what the deal is and have some fun. I cant beleive ive been here for 6 months.

Anyways, thats about it for now. Hablamos muchachos

So today is the day all the kids will sign up for my english classes. I cant start my computer class because the power goes out too much and we dont have a generator....that works. Im supposed to go by their classroom and collect the money (100 pesos) to sign up. Its gonna be another 25 pesos each week to stay in the class. Hope people sign up. Vamos a ver.
So for the forseeable future i will be reformatting every computer in both the Liceo and Detention center, lol. This becomes tricky because we lose electricity for about 6 hours during the middle of the dayso ill usually have it until 10 am, then lose it until 4, school closes at 5. Each computer takes a good 45 minutes to reformat. I have a long road ahead of me. Plus im trying to teach the IT teacher how to format the computers, but she is kind of slow, and takes multiple repititions.
Ive also met a new friend in my neighborhood. His name is joseal and he studies at the English Institute in Santiago. So he speaks very well. HE asked me to be a guest speaker at his class, so ill be going on friday to show off my poorly organized english dialect. Just look at the grammer and punctuation in this blog, should i be teaching anyone? haha. Should be a good time though, im looking forward too it.
Also, im looking after my friends dog for a while, its a mix between a doberman and a chow chow, whatever the heck all that means. All i know is, she is crazy, she pees whenever she gets excited, which is all the time. ITs reaffirmed the fact that i will never get a dog here.
Man, well thats about all the news here. Steelers play on Saturday 8 oclock!
Love and miss you guys a lot. Adios

La Capital

So ive been here in the Capital this past weekend. Santo Domingo, for those not familiar with this fine country. It was committee weekend. I was elected MEdical Mission Chairman, woohoo. That just means i will be coordinating with different NGOs with medical missions and stuff. IT shouldnt be too hard, but it will look AWESOME on my resume!!
We stayed at a hostal with AC and hot water showers!!! Luxury! Went out last night to Calle Venezuela to dance a little bachata/merengue. It has been a good time.
Sorry for this boring post but i feel like i should take advantage to the internet.
adios

Platos favoritos

Ahora, I knew in some of my later posts i discussed how much i hate the food, and ill never adjust to it. Well....im adjusting. I have honestly never been this healthy for this long in this country (knock on wood). I guess ive never had the opportunity to really enjoy everything i eat, because im either sick, worried about getting sick, just getting over a sickness, etc. Pero, Gracias a Dios estoy in bien salud. Entonces, i thought i would review with you a fie of my favorite dishes:
1. Spaghetti with tostones - i cant really describe the spaghetti, but its different, and good, tostones are flattened platano chips fried twice.
2. Moro de guandules con Pollo Frito - This is like brownish rice with spicy little bean thingys, and fried chicken, super good.
- Ive also found that avocado and bananas are good to mix in with the rice. Seriosuly you should try it sometime. Hot rice with a cold avocado/banana.
3. Sopa - Soup, says it all. Usually noodles, potatoes, chicken, and anything else on the table.
4. La Bandera - This is the typical Dominican Dish. White rice, beans, salad, seasones chicken. Super awesome, super delicious.
-I have also grown accustomed to boiled bananas, platanos and yuka. Sure they boil the flavor right out of them, but they make a great compliment to a slice of cheese or an egg. A plate of boiled platano with 2 fried eggs and a slice of cheese, mmmmm.

Also, i find it amusing how no one drinks liquids with their food. They usually drink afterwards. Im sorry, i cant pound 3 pounds of rice on a dry mouth, its just no happening. Everyones like, here comes Jose better give this weirdo a glass of water with his dinner, pssht.
Well, thats my food rant. In other news, im fixing every computer in the computer lab because they all have a abajillion viruses because these muchachos download anything and everything they can get their hands on. I have to re-format practically every single one. Doesnt help when the electricity goes out either, lol. Also, i taught at the detention center today, and 13 of the 15 computers pooped out so i had 9 kids huddled around 2 computers teaching them how to type. You had to have been there.
Anyways, thats all for today, Hasta Lunes.

First day of school

Im not teaching at the highschool until next week. But, today was our first day of highschool!! Really, cool. It felt great to be able to start fresh with these kids, instead of when i came in at the end of last year. Im a little more familiar with everything, i know i few more people. Im liking this siuation. Well see how it plays out, but as far as first days go, it went pretty well. We gathered all the students in a large classroom and introduced all the teachers, adiminstrators, and even played a few games, a few videos. It was a very well put together presentation. Obviously, i was roped into managing everything technological, and when they couldnt hear sound from the computer and i just unclicked the Mute button, everyone gasped in awe and wonder, "this man knows everything". I dread the day i have to dissapoint them, haha. Everyone is excited about the new year, but isnt everyone always? even in the states everyone is pumped to have a new backpack, pencils, clean fresh notebooks, then you get the first assignment and want to go home. So my schedule is as follows, i dunno if i already told you about this, but anywas
Computer repair Mon-wed-fri 3-4
English Tues-thurs 3-5
Basic computer class at the detention center Tues-wed-thurs 10-11 am


So thats what im starting with. Once i get the feel of things i may or may not add more. Ive also been having to do some laptop repair on the side which gives me stuff to do at home....its lonely....lol.
I also wanted to address an issue of Dominican culture: cell phones. I m not sure how long ago they descovered cell phones but it may as well have been yesterday. People here are always on their cell phones, which is weird because no one ever has any minutes.....so you wander who they are talking to. There is also the part where they keep their phone on full blast...even in meetings.....francisco.....so that people can see them answer their phone, like they have something important to talk about. They pick up their phones during meetings also, its not like, oh ill get this later, its oh lets talk about how things are going in the middle of a budget meeting. They love attention, so they will let their cell phones ring on full blast until they see enough people turn around to look at them, then they answer and talk in voz alta (a high voice). I just shake my head sometimes.
Anyways, things are pretty normal here.....reading alot
Im going to the capital this weekend for committee weekend. Im trying to get on the Medical Mission board, wish me luck.
Friendly reminder: feel free to call me anytime, my number is 809-723-9772 it will cost me nothing but charge you out the wazzoo, lol, or buy a phone card and say hello, or send me a text, lol. Texts arent expensive. Love to hear from ya.
Cuidanse muchachos

Photos of my apartment!

Ok so now that i have awesome internet im gonna try to upload as many pics as i can. Here we go.

Im back

So im back from an awesome week. We spent Monday through Wed. in Jarabacoa which is a little town smack dab in the middle of the country. About an hour and a half from Santiago. Very cool. There we presented our project plans for the coming year and thusly ending (formely) our training period. We are now free to do whatever the heck we want to do for the rest of 2 years, lol.
After the conference on wed. a couple volunteers and I went up to visit another volunteers site in Manabao, which is way up the mountain towards Pico Duarte. We visited a freezing cold river, and got caught n a pelting downpour. IT was the first time i have felt cold in months. At night the temperature drops into the 50s, yea thats super cold here. We slept under comforters! We made a solomi, egg, platano dinner and played dominoes all night, it was a blast. The next day, Thursday, we went white water rafting down the same river we saw the day before. Since it had rained so much the rapids were sizable. IT was so much fun. We went with guides, obviously, but it was so cool weaving in between huge rocks down tiny waterfalls for 2 hours! A couple people fell out, including me, and a few people were injured but it was no big deal. After that we all went and got pizza in town. Sooo good. I love pizza. Then a few volunteers came back to Santiago with me to spend the night and check out my environment. WE ended up going to Chilis (thats right the american chain resteraunt). IT was built 2 months ago. Quesadillas, chicken tacos, burgers, fries,mmmmmmmmmm!!! Then on Friday we all went into the city to check out the sites and hang out for a bit. They all left after lunchtime and i was left extremely tired from the weeks activites. So i went back to my apartment and took a long nap....then went to bed, lol. Today ive just been chillin, tonight im going to the nursing school graduation of one of my neighbors. PRetty excited about that, should be a good time. Anyways...im gonna try to attach some pictures and see if it works.

Another sunny day

So its the hottest month of the year here.....if you can imagine that. Its one of these mind melting, slit your wrist kinds of heat. Where you sweat walking into the shower, sweat during your shower, and then sweat even more after your shower. There is almost no relief except to sprinkle water on your forehead and stand an inch away from the fan. Air conditioning is sorely missed here.
In other news, i will be presenting my project plan this week in Jarabacoa. All the volunteers in my group will gather to present their individual projects. What they plan to do for the next 2 years. Im psyched because Jarabacoa is supposed to be an awesome town, and some of us might get to go white water rafting!
My apartment is coming along nicely. Ive been able to take some cement blocks and a few peices of scrap wood to make some shelves for my room and kitchen. The other day we went to Price Mart. Which is like Sams club. Bulk shopping...I know, life here is tough....And i got a sweet deal on some peanut butter and bar-soap, woo hoo!
Not much else is going on here in the City of Gentleman, but im trying to upload this one photo of my apartment. Hopefully it shows up for you guys.
Love and miss you guys! Ciao

First Class!

So i taught my first class yesterday! You may ask what i have been doing up until this point, since ive been here for 5 months and am just now starting to work. I was in training for about 3 months, and when i graduated from training it was summer, so there was no school. School doesnt officially start here till the 18th, but i just taught my first class at the prison i work at on the side. IT was really overwhelming. I taught two classes from 10-12 yesterday. IT was difficult because there were inmates with all different kinds of education. I had a few who were very tech savvy, a few who new the basics, and then a few who didnt even know how to ready or write. It was such a shock. I didnt even account for the fact that they couldnt read Microsoft Office, so telling them two open that program was useless. So some students were interested, others bored, others had no clue what was going on. I was trying to juggle all of these competencies and it was just really overwhelming for the first class i have ever taught in my life. Not to mention one of the inmates who was pretty competent, but was in jail for murder....wrote a document in Word that said something to the effect of....Im in prison, but i dont want to be, ive killed a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons, but i dont want to be here anymore......That sent chills up my spine. Hes the only dude in there that legitimately scares me. He just looks the part, however bad that it is to say.I was accompanied by 3 legit security guards, so i don't think there will ever be any problems. They also stole my sunglasses, hahaha. I had set them down on the table and at the end of class they were gone. I should have expected that, shouldn't have left them that exposed.
It was a good experience and im glad i got the first class out of the way, so next time i will be more prepared.
So another group of peace corps volunteers is coming in this month. A Fresh batch of newbies. I cant wait to stare into their hope filled eyes and tell them, "you will have what can only be described as epic diarrhea." hahaha. It will be cool to show em the ropes though. Wide eyed and bushy tailed (mom). haha.
Well there is a mysterious odor coming from my bathroom. Im not sure what exactly it is. Ive been working the past couple days to try and pinpoint the source. Its like a mixture of dead rat....and pineapple curry.......and some carrot. Really odd. I disenfected the bathroom yesterday, but its still there. Oh, i also installed a new deadbolt on my door. woo hoo.
Thats about it for now.
Love and miss you guys a lot!

Apartment!

Soooo yea im blogging from my apartment! i randomly get wireless internet connections apparently. Its the weirdest thing.
In other news. My host mom is claiming i never paid her for the month of July, when i am 99.99 percent sure that i did. The problem is, there is no proof to say i did or didnt. I have the bank statement saying that i withdrew 6000 pesos from my account but she just refuses to believe i gave it to her. She keeps telling me that shes not trying to cheat me, but i think she forgot i gave her the money. I dont have that 6000 pesos. I gave it to her. ITs a really bad situation because, basically, if i dont giver her the money the barrio will ostracize me, and claim i took advantage of "dominican hospitality". But i dont have 6000 pesos to give her. Just because i am an american does not mean i can just dish out bills like its snowing. People just dont get that here, they beleive we have a bottomless ban account. I did give her the money, but if i dont give her another 6000 ill look really bad in my community. Its a really hard place to be in.
Well, other than that. I had my first deli-sliced chicken breast and meunster cheese sandwich today. MMMMMM. It was sooo good. I got some potatoe chips, a soda, and just chilled on my balcony. It was so much better than eating 18 pounds of rice. I love living on my own. And i apparently have wireless now, lol. This is PEace Corps.......ruffing it.
So, tomorrow i teach my first computer class to the detention center. Im pretty pumped! I have it all planned out in my notebook and am ready to get in there and teach these kids how to work a mouse! lol
Oh i also, lost my keys in cabarete, so we had to bust the deadbolt with a hammer and break into my house. That was exciting. And i had to buy a new deadbolt...
Well thats about it for now. Dish out some ideas about my host mom, help me figure out what to do.

Cabarete

So for those of you planning to make a trip down here, think about cabarete. It looks and feels just like southbeach miami. IT is an amazing site. A million kite surfers in the water. Windsurfers everywhere, a bunch of americans all the time. The food is good and normal (not dominican). Had fish and chips for the first time in 5 months, pumped about that one. We all jsut stayed a night there at a surf bungalow of sorts. Really relaxing really chill. Afuera de una problemita... everything went well.
Now im back at school getting ready for the year to begin (august 17), trying to plan my classes, which it looks like now will be one hour daily monday through friday 6-7 at night, lol. Im going to have to teach on the weekends now too which totally blows.
As far is sicknesses go, im realitively well! Knock on wood. It hurts when i eat, but that might be acid indigestion? i dunno, lol. Well see how that one plays out.
For the most part....everything is back to normal....yea.....just sweating a lot as usual.
Adios muchachos
faltaras cien porcentaje de los tiros no tiras ;)

Prison

soooooo......nothing really exciting is going on. Just the usual grind. Living it up in my Dominican Penthouse. Doing a lot of work lately trying to put together some english classes, and classes on computer repair. Its a lot of reeding in spanish, and its making my head hurt. I did buy frosted flakes at La Sirena (Dominican Wal Mart) the other day. They were on sale for 80 pesos which is a steel. It tasted soo good. That first bowl of fresh crispy sugar coated flakes bathing in a pool of reasonably cold possibly expired milk, mmmmm. Words don't do it justice. I have a new jar of peanut butter, so thats exciting. I have constructed a mini gym of sorts on my roof using cement blocks. It worked out quite nice yesterday, got a little swole going.
Got my computer back from the store, they couldnt recover any information so everything is lost. All my pictures from in-country. Really sucks! The memories will still live on and all that other crap.
I have been at the prison a couple days this week, and its been really fun. We played hot potatoe, and musical chairs. You can laugh now, but realize that these kids did not have the same upbringing as we did in the states. We played these games in pre-k as we were growing up, but these kids have never played anything like it. They were so aggressive, they even snapped a chair right in half. They really bring it up another level. Its nice working there, because they really appreciate everything that we do. They just like having someone come in to interact with them, and just be able to relax instead of getting drilled all day by the guards. Very rewarding experience. I start my computer classes with them next week, wish me luck. I small cubicle sized room with 15-20 convicted murderers, haha.....seriously....wish me luck.
Anyways, im off to Cabarete tomorrow for 2 volunteers birthday parties. Should be a blast, its right on the coast and its the windsurfing capitol of the world supposedly. get pumped!
Adios muchachos, y cuidanse

mucho tiempo

Sorry for the large gap in between blog posts. First my laptop crashed about 2 weeks ago, harddrive pooped out, lost everything. perfect. Then i was on a medical mission this past entire week. It was amazing. We were based out of this retreat center in Yasica which was beautiful. Looked out over mountain ranges and rivers. Then everyday we went out to a different rural village to offer a small medical clinic, not me personally, i just translated, the nursing students handed out the medical advice. It was quite an exciting feeling to be able two sit bewteen two people with two different native languages and make the communicate through me. All the dominicans were soo appreciative to have us there, and it was such a great experience. Most of the medical conditions had to do with high blood pressure, fungal infections on the feet, dehydration, headaches, diabetes, parasites, etc. It was a great way for me to improve my spanish as well.
In other news, im all moved into my new place. Oncei get my laptop back ill try to ulpoad photos from my camera. Im loving the new place. Its comfortable and private. I can do whatever i want, i dont have to check in with anyone or refuse a terrible dinner anymore. I can cook for myself, or go to a neighbors house and eat with them. Its a sweet setup. Although, we havent had running water in a few days....but it has still been fun.
Well i gotta go. I only have a little time at the internet cafe, and i have a lot of other stuff to squeeze into half an hour.
Love and miss you guys

Ya

So this 4th of july weekend was nuts. We traveled down to Paraiso, which is way down south, and i live way up north. So it took one tour bus to Santo Domingo, and another minivan 4 hours to Paraiso. It was beautiful, im attaching a few pics so you guys can see it. We camped in tents right by the water. I realized that camping here is not the same as camping in the states, couple reasons, 1. there are 5000 times more mosquitos here, 2. its 5000 times hotter here 3. I forgot a pillow. So basically i couldnt use the sheet i brought to sleep under because it was too hott so my full body was exposed to the mosquitos and one actually bit me in the face, has anyone ever been bitten in the face by a mosquito? There are so many other juicy areas on the body. So we really didnt get too much sleep, which wasnt a big deal really we all still had fun. The next day we went to a place called Los Patos to try it this natural lazy river that outlets into the ocean. It was amazing. We rented tubes and floated all the way down the river until it pooped us out into the raging ocean. There are no sand beaches in the South it appears, they are all baseball shaped rocks, kinda like in France, Mom. So that sucked coming back. I also lost my sun glasses when i was swept under and bashed agaisnt the rocky bottom by a massive wave. There is 100 pesos down the drain! We also had this amazing fish lunch! The best fish i have ever had. The just took the fish cleaned out the insides then fried the whole thing, skin, eyes and all. I know i should not have even thought about eating that given my vulnerability to intestinal distress, but it looked and smelled soo good, and i didnt have any reaction to it! That was 3 days ago! That night we had a huge bond fire and tried to roast weenies, but a large majority of them fell and brok on the ground because the skewers were to thick. Alot of us stayed up dancing and having a good time. IT was alot of fun, and definitely the best 4th of July ive had. We have a really good group of people here, its just another one of the many blessings in my life that im so thankful for.
I have finished my diagnostic for the most part, now i have to do a powerpoint presentation and i should be ready to start my real work once school starts up again in August. I am all set to move out of my house as well. I am giving the landlord my deposit today, im buying a bed on Saturday and i just bought a deadbolt today. Im gonna start moving things in little by little, and i should be fully moved in by the 25 of July, right after i get back from my medical mission. So, i know have a place for everyone to stay f anyone wants to come down. Free rent in the DR people, anyone and everyone welcome....please come.....hahaha, I would looooove to host anyone down here, tell your friends lol.
Also, i jsut bought my first 2 pirated dvds today, Prince of Persia, and Crazy Night. Hope they work. Was only 100 pesos for both.
Thats about it, enjoy the photos and well talk later, adios.

4th of July

Woo hoo, 4th of july weekend is coming up. Alot of Volunteers will be gathering in the south of the country in a place called Paraiso to celebrate the independence of our motherland. Were gonna be camping on the beach for 2 days doing who knows what. Maybe well get our hands on some fireworks, who knows. Im pretty excited though, im leaving here on saturday morning and returning on monday night. ITs gonna take about 6-7 hours to get there i imagine, a series of buses. What else do we have to do though right?
In other news, on Monday i visited a juvenile prison/rehabilitacion center. Consists of 36 kids ages 13-18 who have done everything from smoking weed, to killing a man with their bare hands. So myself and 2 other volunteers gave a sort of presentation to them on Monday, basically introducing ourselves and getting to know them better. IT was quite initmidating be herded through a tunnel of barbed wire fencing up to the barred door which was the entrance to their living quarters. They all starting hooting and hollering when they saw us, and im not gonna lie my heart stopped for a little bit. I was like, are we really going in there? These guys have visible stab and shot wounds, self inflicted tatoos, they just look the part. We were going to be locked in a jail cell with them, hahaha. Luckily there were 3-4 security guards holding night-sticks that were about as thick as my thigh,lol. So were locked in this cell with these dudes, but they all have smiles on their faces, so eager to see us(or maybe just the 2 lady volunteers i was with). They were excited to play the games we had planned and they all participated in the conversations, it was quite refreshing actually. One inmate spotted my tattoo on my right bicep and had me show it to everyone which gave me instant street cred (Thanks Juliana). Afterwards they all asked me to play basletball with them, but i didnt have any clothes for it. So one of the inmates let me borrow his shoes and shorts to play. So there i was in a white wife-beater, some dudes basetball shorts and shoes that were 3 sizes to small. The guys kept telling me how i looked like a thug and this and that. Obviously i relished in the praise. I was nervous playing ball with them. I just stayed beyond the 3-point line pretty much, trying not to make too much contact for fear that they may.....actually....kill me, lol. IT was a great experience though, and one of the first times i felt like i had contributed something so this community. I will be teaching a computer class there once a week in the Fall, which i am pretty excited about.
On a more domestic note. Weve been out of toilet paper for a few days. The thing is, there is a store right across the street that has millions of rolls, but my family has started placing napkins next to the toilet. Not that i have anything agaisnt that, but im wandering why they havent splurged and spent the 2 pesos for a roll of TP. ITs not like this family is dirt poor. If they can afford napkins they can afford TP. I know i should take it upon myself to buy a roll, but i just want to see how long they will actually go using napkins instead of TP. Its the most curious thing to me......

Anyways, thats all i have to say for now. Love and miss you guys alot. Adios y cuidase.

Back in the City

So i just got back from spending a few days at a resort in Semana. I managed to contract some disease there also, so now im back in the sick house. The resort was amazing though. I got to sleep in a king size bed with sheets! Air conditioning! a bathroom with a door on it! Hot water showers, bathtub! It was all surreal. I ate incredible food that was not even remotely Dominican!I think i enjoyed the regular food a little too much which is why im sick again. Anyways, the trip to semana took a good 1000 pesos, 10 hours, 2 buses, 1 taxi, and boat. It was well worth it though. We stuffed ourselves at the Buffet that night to try and bury the road weariness. IT rained most of the time but it didnt ruin the trip.
But now im back in the real world. Slowly adjusting back to absoultely terrible dominican food and a sheet acting as a bathroom door, haha, but its all good. There is not much going on here. Just playing dominoes, reading, the usual. Trying to nurse myself back to health again. Seems to be a full time job here.
Ive also decided to move out on my own by the end of july. ITs tough trying to tiptoe around my host families feelings. They are nice people but they just dont understand how someone cannot eat 18 pounds of platano in one sitting. IF i dont finish everything on my plate they are personally offended but then i end up spending the night curled around the toilet. I think it will be just easier for eveyone if i get my own place, COOK for MYSELF. Plus ill be paying half the money i am right now to live on my own. For those of you who know me know i like my own space, lol.
Anyways, thats about it in my exciting life.

Birthday

So its been a while since ive gotten to use the internets. Even though the school i teach at has 40 computers and A/C the Interet is gone. No one seems to know why either. This country is soooo weird. I was like what happened to the wireless routers and they just shrugged their shoulders and said someone probably took them.....????? What does that mean. So anyways i do not have nearly enough access to free internet as i did during the school year, so these blogs will get far and fewer between. I am sitting in the lobby of a hotel right now trying to steal some web-time.
Anyways this past week was my birthday, and i had a blast celebrating it in the DR. Hung out Wednsday for a little bit, saw some sites, ate at Pizza Hut (Yes!) and then on Saturday about 15 volunteers from my group came into Santiago and stayed the night. We just chilled out all day watching some Worldcup Action and enjoying some ice cold cervezas. Then we went out dancing that night, which was a lot more fun than it sounds, haha. All in all it was a very memorable night, haha.
As for as work goes, i have not been doing too much. Im just starting to create English and Computer class curriculums. I will be starting the English classes the start of August, im pretty excited to get that going. Everyone takes the month of July off here entirely. Teachers, students, so its difficult to get any real wok done. Im just going to have to hang out for a month before i can start anything serious.....bummer, lol.
On a cultural note, My host-sister is getting married on July 24 and she asked me to go. So now i can share my feeling about marriage in a different language. I plan on giving a toast that begins with Por Favor, No! Just kidding, haha, kinda....
I was also accepted to go on a medical mission. Its 1 week long in Yacita. I will stay with a group for the university of southern MAine and translate between doctors and patients. Should be interesting, woo hoo.
Well anyways, thats about all i got going on. Tomorrow im off to a resort on an island off the coast of the DR. ITs about time for a vacation, haha.
Love and miss you guys lots

Theories

So there is a new theory as to how life began on earth, thankyou Yahoo homepage. No one is ever going to know for sure, i dont know why people waste their time. Neither Evolution NOR Creation are proven fact. Lets put some of those scientists to a more fruitful endeavor, like creating a new genre of Chia pets, lol. There is something we can hold onto with both hands.
Anyways, just thought i would share that with you guys. It made me laugh when i saw it this morning. ç
So, its a hot summer in the DR. I get tired stepping outside. Its quite miserable. The good news is, my birthday is in 2 days! I will be 23! Im an old man here. If i was Dominican i would be married with children by now, scary to think about. A bunch of volunteers are coming to Santiago on Saturday to celebrate. It also happens to be another volunteers birthday this week too, so its a joint fiesta. Should be a good time.
Well, im in good health for now, gracias a dios. Cross your fingers. My bowel movements are regular. I have been playing dominoes a lot, and am finally starting to win against true Dominicans, its quite a rush. My host mom made me Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for dinner last night, and it was amazing. I miss american food so much. I have gotten sick from Dominican food so often that it has just lost any appeal, not that it had much to begin with. But this puts me in a quandry. I enjoy chicken and rice, but thats about it. The diet here consists of Platano, Yuka, Name, Tayota, Papa, Patata, rice, beans, solomi, chicken, egg. All those names you dont recognize are bland starch foods. I hate them, lol. Some volunteers like them, but they are not for me. I miss Marinated steak on the grill with twice baked potatoes and fresh green beans, crescent rolls. I miss 4-cheese penne pasta with sliced up chicken breast, ceaser salads. I miss sub sandwiches! Just gimme a dagum turkey and cheese and ill be fine, but it jsut doesnt exist to them! I went and bought my own peanut butter and had my host sister make banana and PB sandwich with Lays potato chips and a coke for lunch the other day, it...........was.............heaven. I cant wait until i live on my own so i can make anything i want, anytime i want, always. I Miss cereal too, but the milk here is....odd....its sold in a box...warm, and it has a idfferent taste to it, i dunno. I just dont think i will ever crave Dominican food.
Anyways, there is my rant for the day. DR food sucks, when you guys come to visit stick with the resort food, lol. Unless you want to loose 10 pounds fast, then i can take you to a nice place in my neighborhood, haha.
Adios muchachos

Hurricane Season!

EMERGENCY COORDINATOR/EMAIL MESSAGE:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) calls for an active to extremely active Atlantic season with a 70 percent chance of having 14 to 23 named storms, eight to 14 of which could become hurricanes. Anaverage season has 11 named storms, of which six become hurricanes with two becoming major hurricanes.

We all just received this email. Hahaha, its gonna be a fun couple months

Photos

So i figured its about time i uploaded some photos. These are from various places here in the DR. Trying to lighten the morbid mood of my blogs, lol. Cheers.