Mwen Vle Manje Manje

Whats new........not too much. Last time i wrote i had just gotten back from the South, so i have been re-adjusting to life in the big city. School is ending for break on Friday, so it has mostly been exam prep then exams for the students, leaving myself mostly useless. I have been spending a lot of time playing basketball and just hanging out with the kids in my community. That is part of my project too! ha, being a good example.

We have been preparing for the arrival of 80 bio-sand water filters. I have a colmado-turned-storage room right next to me that the owner graciously is allowing us to use. Unfortunately, it is literally covered in dog and rat poop, not to mention all of the personal belongings of the owner. Here is what it looked like before we cleaned her up!



We strapped on a pair of industrial strength black gloves and in 2 days converted this crap hole into a sanitized storage room for 80 water filter materials.



Quite impressive.....i know. Pictures don't even do it justice. Let me to my own horn for a bit. Josiel was a huge help too! We shoveled at least 5 pounds of hardened animal excrement into trash bags. We battled various types of mold and killed over 50 cockroaches and spiders that had made homes there, along with a mystery species of ant that i have been meaning to call someone about....... We created space where space could not possibly have been created. In other words, we rocked that storage room! YEa, this is what my service has come down to, haha.

Anyways, other than that the only new development is that we are in contact with a local orphanage that wants us to come in and do some stuff with the kids. They live in this huge mansion owned by a drug dealer who was killed so the government ceded the property to this organization. There are about 15 kids ages 8-17. Kind of reminds me of the Carpenter House a little bit (Mom). Honestly, these guys are a little better off than Carpenter was originally. So, on the 29th we are hoping to do a big interchange with my class in the community and the kids at the orphanage. We will bus ourselves in and spend the afternoon playing field activities and just spending time with the kids. My class is really excited about it, and im sure the orphans are too.

Well, that is about it. Not too exciting. I am also house sitting for the HUB for a few nights while the owners are in the US. I just have to check guests in and make sure they know the rules and field any questions....and make coffee, ha. It is a pretty sweet little break and i get 24-hour luz and water. Not too bad.

Thats it for now. hasta luego

Bonswa

Im fluent in Kreyol now. Just kidding!

So, i just spent a week in a Batey in the south of the country learning Kreyol. It was a blast! Kreyol is a very simple language to pick up. Verbs never conjugate, its basically all vocab, lol. Our class was held outside to the amusement of the pigs, goats and chickens that would run through the middle of it. The community we stayed in was one of the poorest i have ever seen, with kids literally pooping in the streets. We played soccer and frisbee on a field made out of hard-packed animal manure.



During one of our breaks we were sharing a bag of peanuts. A little girl came up to us and asked if she could have some....of course right? So, we gave her some, then we finish the bag.....then she asks for the bag......and puts it in her mouth, chews it and swallows it whole. I saw her put the bag in her mouth, but i thought she just wanted to suck the salt out of the bag......There is your perspective right there people. Stuff might suck, but at least your not begging for plastic bags to eat.

After training ended a few of us went further down south to Los Patos to hang out with a volunteer that is placed there. He lives right on the bach, its an incredible site.



It would be so distracting to live there. We ate some of the local fare: fried fish with rice and fried plantains. The fish is so fresh and i have not had any better anywhere else!



We just hung out on the beach and relaxed out minds from being taught how to speak Kreyol in Spanish and speaking a little english, ha. We then caught the bus to PEdernales which is the western most city in the DR. Super close to the border of Haiti. We cruised down there and got 5 pounds of mahi-mahi from someones sketch backyard walk in freezer. NEver thought i would see one of those here! We grilled it up on Justins grill that is a propane tank cut in half, very cool.



Over all it was an awesome trip, alot of work a little play. Now im back to the grind. We had 40 more filters approved and waiting on 60 more. I still have my celebrando el mundo class, and im trying to organize a small basketball tournament in my community to raise money to buy trash cans. A few things going on, staying busy.

Well thats about all i got for now. Enjoy the photos!



Latah!