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.