Que pasa!

So, not too much going on here. I just got back from a trip to Yasica to help translate for a medical team that comes up twice a year from Maine. This trip is always fun because we usually hike to different villages in the mountains to administer care. These people are the primary car physicians for over 15 different villages. Anyways, this time i got the opportunity to hike up to Los Hobos with a team of students, nurses, doctors, etc. This was probably one of the more challenging hikes i have ever been on. First we drive a few km's up the mountain, then we get out because no vehicle is capable of scaling what we are about to climb and descend. The trail is one of perpetual mud...up to your knees kind of mud. Not even 2 steps in and i am halfway in the ground. It was tricky trying to avoid the big holes, which you cannot see very well with the nude eye. We had a pretty pleasant hike up to the village, but the whole time your hiking this challenging trail you begin to wander if these people ever come down off the top of this mountain. We hiked at least 5km's up to the top in very wet mud. This is not mud that dries when the suns out, it goes so deep it is always muddy. At the top is this tiny village of no more than 60 families. It is so pristine and the air is so pure. The nearest car is a few miles down a mountain. Now, think about a village this small, so secluded from the rest of the world that most of the people have never left. There is constant running water because they live at the source of a river, but they have never had electricity....ever. No blaring music, no tv, no motorcycles, no cars. It was so interesting, and so beautiful up there. With these tiny populations come other problems, too. There is a substantial albino population, which the nursing staff informed me is due to incestual relations. You think you grew up in a small town? Ever date your sister? I don't know this for sure, but i imagine it was out of necessity, maybe to sustain the population, that certain people had to do this. I did not get a vibe that incest was frowned upon in the village either. Maybe im just an idiot, lol. Anyways, the trek down was even harder. I did it barefoot for a while because my shoes kept getting stuck deep, but after a mile or so i put them back on because i was stepping on sharp rocks, lol. It starting pouring rain the second half of the hike, so that was fun. Just another cool experience that ill never forget.

Other than that, my life is not that exciting. Francisco and I are taking my class to see a baseball game! Saturday we are going to watch the Aguilas vs Licey, which is like Red Sox vs. Yankee-type rvialry here. Not to mention this is a playoff game. The kids are really excited, and it should be a cool experience. Some of them have never been to a game.

Thats about it, just had some free time thought id write a little diddy.

Adios!

Oh! I went exploring the other day and found this cool park area under a bridge. It goes back about half a mile into the woods right along the river. It is really really nice and quiet. Every second of every day is filled mith revving motorcycles, blaring bachata and screaming children. Here.....nothing, just the babbling of the brook. Here are some photos:

Photo entry

Francesca and me at the end-of-the-year dinner for the teachers from my school.



Famous Christmas pork! BEst meat i have ever had....




I chewed on the tail....still some hair on it.....



Francisco and Ari masters of the pig



Case presenting Francisco and his daughters with Christmas presents!



At the Monument for New Years.



Just some photos, enjoy :)

Naked bums and hybrid diseases.

Finally! Something to write about. I will spare you guys my witty intro banter and get right to the meat......i walked in on a naked bum sleeping on a couch.
So many questions right? Your heads must be reeling....When did you get a couch? How did the bum get in there? Why was he naked? Is nickel heavier than copper? What did you do?
Relax, all of these questions and more will be answered. So, Heather and I had been switching off house-sitting at the HUB while the owners were in the United States. This means we had to check-in guests, help orient them to the city, clean up a little bit, etc. (some of you may not know what the HUB is, house church on Sundays and ex-pat hostal) So, i was on duty one night. I had been working late in my site installing filters so i didn't arrive until around 9 pm. I unlock the 3 separate locks, open the door, set my stuff down on the table and take a look around and i saw this large shape on the couch. I took a closer look, because the room was really dark and i thought it might be their dog. As i get closer i realize thats a human being, naked, curled up in the fetal position......what? Chills rock my body. I don't know if this joker is dead or alive. How on earth did he get in? and why is he naked? I grab my stuff and walk slowly out the door and close it softly (because i don't want to wake him?) I was quite terrified to be honest, so i called Heather and she called one of her friends in the area to help me out. I meet up with the guy and we call the police. By this time a lot of neighbors are outside their homes because we have been conversing with the bum. He has woken up and wont let us in the house. Every time we unlock the doors he locks them from the inside. He claims he is presidential candidate Danilo and this is his house. It is obvious that he is out of his mind. Ten minutes go by and 12 police offers are banging on the door threatening to break it down. Im just thinking to myself, is this really happening? What a ridiculous situation. Anyways, the guy opens the door a crack and some officers force themselves in and force the guy in a corner. The whole lot of people spills into the house to watch the show. As we all pour in everyone is smacked in the face by a terrible oder....the bum pooped and peed on the couch. Yea....this is real. The police tell me to give him some shorts. I don't have any clothes there, its not my house. So, i go and look for an extra pair of underwear i brought with me and reluctantly throw it at the bum. He slides them on. Out back his clothes are strewn about. So, he arrived with clothes, but took them all off before he entered the house....makes sense. I turn around for a second, turn back and they are dragging him outside of the house and onto the street where the bum scurries away. The police shrug their shoulders and drive off. The bum lives to see another day. Still confused as to how he got in, must have been through the back door.
I go back to my house to sleep because i don't want him to break in again, lol. I arrive the next afternoon to check on things and i see the same bum! sitting in front of another house hugging his knees.....wearing my green boxer-briefs....True story.
Its moments like this when i realize i gotta get outa here haha.

Outside of that, my brother just left to go back home. He spent the past few days with me at my site. It was pretty cool. It started poorly as i threw up all over the bathroom after our first dinner. I proceed to live out the will of the hybrid flu/parasite inside me for the next 4 days. We were not able to do a lot of the stuff we wanted to but we made the best of things. We played stick ball in my community, basketball, dominoes, met neighbors had coffee, soda, saw some water filters, visited the poor community next to mine, participated in my class graduation, ordered room service at a hotel, went to the movies, met a bunch of volunteers, enjoyed a hot shower, enjoyed a cold shower, among many other things. I think he still enjoyed his trip even though we didn't make it to the beach. I could not retain anything i ingested, so it made things a little tricky. It was really nice to have him here, and share this experience with him.
We spent the New Year up at the Monument in Santiago with Francisco. The firework show is known around the country as one of the coolest things to see on new years.....the clock strikes midnight.......pppppssssssuuuuuuuuuu........pop.......done. One firecracker. Literally. It. So dissapointing. Luckily its good for one hardy chuckle. Since there is a one hour time difference, we were able to get back to the hotel and watch the ball drop in times square(on tv). Double the celebration.

Well that is about all the hoopla here. Now im at the Marriot in Santo Domingo enjoying my last relaxing evening until i go back to the craziness! I will post pictures later.

Adios!

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!

Komon ou ye?

Just got back from the Capital, where i spent the past few days living with a very nice family that works at the US Embassy, and sharing a massive and delicious thanksgiving feast with around 200 other PC volunteers. It was pretty amazing, and i am so thankful to have such a great family of friends here. This holiday would be very depressing without them.

The family I stayed with along with a few other volunteers was very nice and accomodating. Unlike us volunteers, embassy employees make money, and live very well. So we were treated to our own beds in air conditioned rooms with hot water showers!! There was also a fool sized fridge in the house....packed to the brim with food! They told us to have at it.....oh....and we did. It was a great experience. The wife is a foreign service officer working in the department of civil rights, and the husband is in the army reserves and was deployed in Iraq a few years ago. They are a very interesting couple, and i had a blast staying with them.

So, that is how i passed my thanksgiving.

In other news, i just ordered another 40 filters with Francisco. Excited to get that project started again. I also signed up for some optional language training. I will be spending the next week, starting tomorrow, in a Batey (look it up)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batey_(sugar_workers'_town)
learning how to speak Haitian Kreyol. I am very excited to learn a little bit of this language. It is kinda similar to French.

Other than that, life is same as always here, nothing too exciting to report. Im sure ill be updating you guys after my training.

Dios Le Bendiga!

p.s. we made Guacamole in my class while we studied Mexico. The kids loved it!

Family Visit!

So, my family was here a few days ago. My Grandpa, Uncle and Dad (GUD) came down for a long weekend and we were all over the place.
Day 1 - Wednsday: I take 2 public carros and spend 60 total pesos to arrive at the airport at 8:30 to meet up with my GUD. Hours before i had been informed that my dads plane was delayed and he wouldnt be getting here until maybe the next night. Im pretty angry at the system at that point, but realize that i still have GU coming, and cheer right back up! I spot 2 pasty white folk walk out of the gate and run up to hug my GU. We exchanged pleasantries and immediately headed to the shuttle we arranged to pick us up and take us to the hotel. We arrive at the hotel to realize the reservation was wrong (of course) so i have a stern talk with the management and we get things figured out. Its about 10 by the time we head out for dinner at this fancy place called NOAH that i have never been to because...well...its fancy. We have a great dinner of assorted raviolis and head back to the hotel to sleep.

Day 2 - Thursday: We get up around 9 and head up to our complimentary breakfast of omelettes and fresh squeezed juice, mmm. Usually i have a glass of water and a deep breath of air for breakfast, so this is a welcome change. We head out to my school from there. We get to the school were my project partner Francisco meets us and gives us the grand tour, all the while saying how GU should come back as soon as they can, even though he just met them 5 minutes ago. We walk into a few classrooms to introduce my GU and the classes stand to applaud and share a few nice sentiments and welcomes that i effectively translate into flawless english. We then proceed down to the science lab, where there is an art exhibit of project turned in by students, theme: Columbus and the indigenous people. Francisco picks up 2 random kids' artwork and gives it to my GU. Who knows what those kids will do when they realize their precious works have been robbed by 2 gringos (americans). We grab a few seats outside in the shade and just sit as recess commences and the kids run all over the place. We meet a student who is beeing recruited by the Washington Nationals, and the Clevelan Indians (Major League Baseball) and who knows, maybe we just met the next Albert Pujols. We meet a few of the teachers who are very interested in knowing what my GU is doing here and why they are only here for a few days. They proceed to tell them to come back as soon as they can......10 second interaction.
We leave the school with our stolen artwork and head out the Franciscos moms house. We sit outside here little porch thingy...and his moms asks us if we want any coffee. I know how good the coffee is here, so i say yes please but my GU dont want any of that. She makes them coffee anyway assuming that everyone in the world HAS to love coffee, it only makes sense. They reluctantly take the cup in their hands, a look of confusion and possible erratic bowl movement in their faces. They end up drinking the entire cup and proffessing their love for dominican coffee. My uncle hasn't had coffee in years and before they day would close, he would drink 2 cups.
We then head back down to my community. Hang out in my house for un chin, then walk over to the poorer community i work with. We walk over Scetchy Bridge, through Trash Valley and up Steep Dirt Hill to arrive in the town. We spend a little while walking through the community until we end up back out at the main road. We debate on what to eat for lunch, and since my dad wasnt here we had the opportunity to eat on the street, ha. So we decided to take Francisco an go to a little place called Chimi Jose, a little cozy restaurant right in the heart of the B-car route, heavily trafficked, exhaust fumes gracefully coating the rice and chicken sitting in warming trays. They order the usual and we make it out alive. We even drink water that a 50-something year old guy wearing a pinstriped american eagle v-neck shirt gets us by dippng a pitcher into the top of a water cooler. That cant be sanitary.

We make it out alive and head back to the hotel to wait for my dad. We wait for a few hours and eventually he arrives in the taxi i had sent for him. Of course, my dad used the 4 phrases he know to become best friends with the guy, almost promising him we he could take us to Santo Domingo (easily a 300 dollar trip). We quickly correct him and pay for his service. We put dads stuff up in the room then head straight back to my community. We hang out in my apartment for a bit and Josiel comes up to meet everyone. We then go to his grandmothers house to install a water filter. They newly established GUD kills it in under 20 minutes, effectively providing pure water to a family that didn't have it before. We go outside to play a game of "ninja" with the kids, and at this point half to the town is out to see who these mysterious celebrities are. We are invited back into the house to eat a typical dominican dinner. At this point it was dark outside and there was no electricity (welcome to my life) so they light a few candles and we sit down to a dinner of fried plantains, onions, fried salami, cheese and crackers. Everyone, even my dad tried and liked everything! The electricity came back in the middle of us eating and everyone was relieved. We hang out for a little bit more, talking about all kinds of stuff, then cross the river to the poor community and cram into a public car that takes us back to the city. We went to dinner at this fancy place called Satay that i always see but am afraid to try because it looks......fancy. I have an incredible steak and we head back to the hotel. Santo Domingo tomorrow.

Day 3 - Friday: We get up at the crack of dawn (6:30) to eat breakfast and catch a public car to the bus station. We get on at 7:30 and get to Santo Domingo at 10:30. We get to the hotel, put our stuff down then walk through the colonial zone to the Peace Corps office. We meet up with some volunteers then head to lunch at Pizzareli, a pizze joint, obviously. My GUD gets to hang out and meet the new peeps and then we catch a cab back to the hotel, but not before being rejected from the embassy because it looked like we were planning an attack. My dad was on the phone while GU and i stood right outside the door. Sounds really sketchy when you think about it. We rest for a bit then head out to check out some sites then make it back to the hotel around 5. We have a few drinks and a snack on the pool deck and just talk about life. Then we get ready and head out to the best italian place in the Americas (my opinion). We have a great dinner with a complimentary starters champagne and lemoncello to finish. GUD loved this place. We grab a nightcap and some ice cream back at the hotel, then sleep.

Day 4 - Saturday: We get back to Santiago at around 11. We head right out to lunch and have La Bandera, which is the typical DR lunch; rice beans chicken and salad. My dad trys cherry juice for the first time, and loves it. All kinds of new things going on, its a wonder no one had diarrhea. We had back to the hotel and right on to my community where my class starts at 3. 12 kids show up to our Celebrating the World class. The topic for the day was world religions and Afghanistan. Should have seen the kids light up in amazement when we told them Buddhists believe in reincarnation, and that in Afghanistan music is prohibited and domestic abuse against women is almost encouraged. My dad and Grandpa did a skit in spanish and slaughtered the language but the kids found it hillarious, and that was the point, ha. Afterwards we had a snack of cookies and orange soda with all the kids, and headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We grab a taxi to head up to Camp David which is 2000 feet above sea level, and the restaurant overlooks the city of Santiago. Its the most breath-taking view i have seen in country. Pictures do not do it justice. We have a nice steak and head back down the mountain, where we say our final goodbyes because they are leaving at 5:30 and i like to sleep :)

Day 5 - Sunday: Everyone leaves and i stay at the hotel until church starts. Great Trip!!

So that was a quick recap of the trip. It was so much greater than that, though. I got to share my life with GUD. It makes me feel more connected with my family to show them how i live. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we ate at some awesome resteraunts. We crammed into public cars, and on 2 different occasions i had to sit on Grandpas lap in order to fit. Cheap and easy though, ha. A very memorable experience!

p.s. I know spelling is terrible in this, but i messed up the spell check thingy, and know it wont tell me what i spelled wrong, and i dont have time to run through it again, ha, suffer throught it.