Brisas Los Galeones Guama

Wow. I've done so much since last time I updated this blog. I spent another week volunteering at Crossroads. We pretty much did the same stuff as the first week, plus we went to a public hospital in Puerto Plata to see the conditions that the patients are accustomed to. Most people with ANY money in the DR go to private hospitals because the public ones are so bad. Each "ward" housed about 20 people in the same room. Each patient had to ...

(Sorry Brian - can't seem to write in third person omniscient...) We left off in Jarabacoa at an Internet cafe, after we'd gone to arrange for a canyon adventure for the next day. As night fell, the streets of Jarabacoa came to life. The ever-present rush of motorcycles and scooters grew thicker, as your men did circuits around the town square, keeping one eye more or less on the road, while the other roamed for the elusive 'girl who digs a dude on a moped.' They are a rare breed. The sides ...

Kicking off the trip, George, Steve and Brian left within an hour of each other, Brian and Steve getting dropped off by their mom at the Sacramento airport for their 9:30 PST flight, and George leaving Salt Lake City at 11:30 MST. George survived a restless and uncomfortable flight on his own all the way to Atlanta, but Steve and Brian's trip proved more eventful. They were threatened with overbooking from the start, on their Sacramento to Vegas flight, but made the flight and ...

... the baggage but my heart was hard. When we found a taxi she refused a tip and I was ashamed.. The room service comforts of the hotel were as usual and a stiff brown drink revived us enough for dinner. By the time we got it the time was 3.30 a.m. in Houston and 8.30 p.m. in Guam and I was surprised not to be asleep. It is the 10th January back in Belize but we have crossed the ...

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Adventure Day in Jarabacoa Dear Readers: A delicious breakfast is available at 8am, and we're suited up and ready to go on our various adventures by 9am as requested. We are delighted that the sun is peeking out, but because of the heavy rain yesterday the roads are slow and we have to wait for others to join us. We make the best of the wait and watch the staff playing ping-pong, and I play a couple of games with one of them. The others arrive from as ...

... been playing Dominoes a lot lately, and even though they try to cheat like crazy, I love it. What else, the new group of volunteers came last week, which means that my group is no longer the "newbies". Two groups come in per year, one in September and one in February. You know time is going by when groups start coming in, and that's a good feeling! I hope everyone is enjoying Fall back home! I miss the seasons!!

... now. I have to do a community diagnostic of Los Llanos in the next three months. This includes going to at least a hundred houses, if there is even that many in my site, and asking them invasive questions about their home, health, wealth(or lack there of), and just how much effort they are willing to put in to help me make this community a better place. It is a very exciting time but with the responsibility comes a bit ...

Hi everyone! It has been quite a while since I have posted so I will do my best to catch up on what has been going on. It is hard to believe that I am in my last week of community training. On Monday, I will be receiving my assignment and find out where I will be calling home for the next two years! I also get my Peace Corps issued cell phone, which will hopefully make communication a lot easier. SO, as far as what is going on here. My current ...

Hi All! Here I am in my new training site, so I thought I would give an update on my life here in the DR. I have been in El Ranchito, a small village of about 800 people, for two weeks. It is up a mountain from Santiago, the second largest city in the DR. We have beautiful view of the city on one side and a mountain valley on the other side. If you continue up the road from my village, it leads towards Pico Diego de O'Campo, the second highest peak in the country. I jokingly refer to ...

... when my horse decided to remain in the river and let the rest of the group go, however I slightly panicked when the last horse in front of me disappeared in the tropical foilage. Somehow though my seemingly 3 year old "guide" managed to get my horse out of the water and back on track - by foot, with me on the back, while local women did their laundrey in the river. I was sure feeling like ...