El Papagayo Las Terrenas

After Shen's disappointing attempt at surfing Thursday morning, we decided to head to Cabrera, a relatively small town not far from Playa Grande. Through my work with HSI, I know an English woman who lives there and runs Animal Balance, an NGO that brings veterinary services to island dogs around the world. She does tremendous work, and her impact was quite apparent in Playa Grande, where the dogs are friendly, well-fed, and free of the myriad diseases ...

Our good luck with the guaguas continued, or maybe they're just good here. Our trek to Rio San Juan required four buses, and we weren't really sure of the route, but we made it quickly and with no complications. We headed straight for a hotel listed in the guidebook that sounded great, but we had heard different prices from different people. When we walked in, we both said, Oh no, this doesn't look like a place ...

Despues, fui en el autobus a el Parque Nacional los Haitses. Fui a mirar los aves y las flores y la vida de marina. Fui a acampar en el parque. Fui a comer la comida de tradicionales en el restaurante en el parque. Fui a comer champola, cual fue leche con guanábana. Me recomiendo que saca muchos fotos porque el bosque es muy bonito.

... lots of energy, to say the least. I would like to propose a couple of projects to get it going in a more productive direction though sometimes! 3) My Brigada Verde (environment youth group) has become more motivated since returned from the regional conference last weekend. The Yaritza, Massiel and Ileidy, the three girls who attended the conference, gave a charla (presentation) during our ...

... men with young half-naked Dominican women. Sunday was spent laying on the beach all day, which was wonderful. So all in all Samaná/Las Terrenas was a success. I can't say that it would be my favorite beach, though, mostly because of the lack of convenient amenities and the limited modes of transportation to and around the area. A beach with no consistent availability of ice cream is no beach for me.

... it as a way to save money. With the price of natural gas increasing, they cannot afford to cook on their more costly cook stoves. Finally, my last project is with a group of youth committed to improving the environment. My work with them is currently focused on gardening and composting as a way to help improve the soil quality and increase the quantity of organic fruits and vegetables. Of course, these are tried and true ...

... it?¨ ¨Will I save the world?¨. I remember reading accounts of other PC volunteers on the web to get an idea of what it would be like and try to figure out if I would be living the same experience. I wanted desperately to look into a crystal ball and forsee what my next two years would be like. But I didn´t need a crystal ball, I only needed time. And now, attending the COS conference we were 37. Three of our group got married to Dominicans (possibly ...

... calling it but got no answer. Eventually, I had to go to class, but I couldnt stop worrying about how I was going to get a new phone, if Peace Corps was going to be really mad at me for losing it, or if I could even explain the whole situation in my "not so strong" Spanish (sidenote: I know its not very Peace Corps-y to have / worry about cell phones, but hey, its the Dominican Republic we're talking about here and we worry about things like cell phones ...

Family and Friends- Let me just say that I always try to think of some interesting heading (instead of just "Family and Friends") but alas my creative juices just aren't flowing today, and it seems cheesy to write something in Spanish, so please pardon my mundane introduction. With that disclaimer stated, allow me to continue. Last Sunday (October 30) the much anticipated baskbetball tournament went down. My fellow Coordinator Randy and I arrived at ...

... This past week went by so fast. We swore in on Wed.. It was a lovely ceremony with several speeches and some good food afterwards. The next day was thanksgiving and the volunteers put together a lunch every year at some place. Well, I was surprised at the place. It was called Club Naval and it was off the water with a pool and everything. The event was all day and lasted till a little after 6pm. The food was delicious, but I and others got sick from ...