El Beaterio Santo Domingo

... well. Last week the new group of volunteers came to country and part of their training is to visit a current volunteer who has been in country for more than a year. I remember thinking that the volunteers who have been here a year knew so much and seemed so confident, which is crazy to think that it is me now. I’m excited to talk to the new volunteer that visits me (and I guess he’ll be happy to visit a volunteer that lives on the Caribbean Sea).

... I am with Flat Stanley in front of a Christopher Columbus statue in Santo Domingo.  Santo Domingo is near where Columbus landed in 1492 and is the oldest city in the New World.  (My mom helped me with that sentence.)  I saw alot of homeless people on the streets in Santo Domingo and we gave some of them some money.  I saw lots of dogs in the streets that do not have owners.   We went to a soup kitchen at a church and we fed people who ...

... Willie's nice apartment. The electricity is still out - but the little corner shop downstairs unfortunately has a generator somewhere in the back, so that doesn't stop them from blaring out loud music all night long. The cousins of that damned mosquito are all here, although not as numerous as out in the country side. I've rented a car - and tomorrow I'm driving north, up to the Samana Peninsula and the north coast, where there should be more bounty ...

... to walk over to the club secretary's house (she lives just around the corner) at 7:20. She had rollers in her hair and was half-dressed! So I waited there for 15 minutes, and the club president called and said that she was walking over and would arrive shortly. So then we waited...and waited...and waited. It was now 7:50, and we still hadn't left Consuelo. The president called again and said that she was taking a moto-concho (guy who ...

Cortecito is another fantastic beach and i find a good beach hut to stay in. The day is spent watching a lot of beautiful women on the beach. Either the women there are particularly beautiful or there is some truth in the statement that "beer makes women beautiful" I find a very popular seafood restaurant. You walk up to a counter and buy the fish / seafood you want to eat and then they grill it for you and serve it will sides like tropical fruits and fried ...

So... we arrive in Santo Domingo and the first thought... WOW - I'm in the Caribbean!!!! ... Ok.. I really don't realise it... but... that's the fact... and ... omg.. it's hot! Definitely! Over 30° C! So we take our baggage and leave the airport. There are 2 people from our company which pick us up. We drive into the Capital City Santo Domingo. Our hotel is in the colonial ...

... in Spanish from all levels (toddler up to juvenile literature) would be really helpful, including simple chapter books (we are not talking War and Peace here). Most families here don't own a single book and there is nowhere for them to get them. If I can get the kids interested in reading as a lifelong activity, I believe that it will not only help their academic performance, but open up new worlds and ideas ...

... my Spanish, that I forget that Iīm in front of people! On Wednesday, we went to an absolutely gorgeous beach in Miches. I couldnīt have asked for anything more beautiful. Blue green water, palm trees, hammocks, music, and pretty much no one else there. It was so so great. I heard South Dakota got snow, so Iīm really sorry to be writing about this now! Last night our host families ...

... beautiful Domincan beaches. By entire family, Iīm not exaggerating, we had 15 people in a 7 seater suburban, the grandma, great grandma, all the babies...it was crazy. But we got to the beach, which was about an hour away from the city. We went to one a little farther away īcause itīs nicer. The beach was gorgeous, and we just spend the day swimming, laying out...Jen and I were the only people laying out īcause we ...

... between Lindsay or I to translate. I gave Lindsay an encouraging push in the back towards the patient (I didn't want to talk to a groaning woman), but she beat me with an amazing spin move and before I knew it I was sitting next to her. The doctors were administering the general anesthesia but it took a minute to work. It was pretty rough trying to talk to a woman in extreme pain. I tried to calm her down but she was hurting pretty badly - she eventually went ...