Hotel Ballenas Samaná Peninsula

... are massive! It looks quite eerie at night actually, with the shadows of the palms hanging down in the moonlight. Next, we drove through some lovely green countryside and farmland, which was hilly and had some nice big trees. The last leg of this new highway took us through the country's national park, which was stunning. The road became more twisty and windy, as we were driving through mountains and cliffs. The blasting they did to make the highway has ...

... taken center stage. Dominicans are paying almost $6.00/gallon of gas. I'm truly glad to not be driving a car either here or at home. But, as a volunteer in the poor class, I feel the pinch too. Prices for guagas (public minibuses) and taxis have increased and the cost of rice has increased. I'm fortunate to be living in an agriculturally rich area of the country and to be enjoying coffee, mangos, papaya, cacao, and coconuts very frequently ...

... of it in: a) the ocean, b) the river, c) the lake d) the beach, e) the gutter, f) the park, g) the garden, h) the floor, i) the tree.... or if you can´t find any of the above appropriate places, one of the rubbish bins that say "keep our town clean." (At least someONE out there is trying) The result of this broad policy on trash is the ubiquitous and unpredictable presence of the "dead zone" so named by me because of the resemblance of the smell to that of ...

... Santo Domingo. It is a very large cave with stalagtites and stalagmites and as the name suggests, three lakes. The water was crystal clear. As we descended into the cave the humidity increased with each step. It was quite dark down at the largest lake but we could see a man on a sort of raft waiting for us. For those that dared, you could take a raft/boat ride across the lake to a different part of the cave that led to a cenote. We carefully ...

... one listed. We are having out annual Brigada Verde (Green Brigade) youth group conference this coming weekend and I am taking two kids from my community. The theme is "Yo Quiero Mi Pais" (I love my country) and we are trying to promote environmentalism as patriotism, i.e. if you love your country, take care of it and don't throw your trash all over the place! A few random things . . . first of all, congratulations to Susie and Mike, who got married over ...

... 5 miles an hour and the rain came down so hard I think I saw it flatten a piece of grass. We tried to imagine what it would be like to see trees whipping around in the wind, but alas, we witnessed nothing of the sort. Don't get me wrong, I am more than happy that no serious damage was done in the small impoverished country of the Dominican Republic. I guess I will just have to earn my badge of Peace Corps service with a third bout of Dengue. Knock on wood.

Good conversation makes a good drink better. So does good music, as both the drink and the music seem to enhance one another in the proper mixture. And it is no secret that good music can put even the grumpiest of tipplers more at ease - perhaps even producing a hint of nostalgia - with the unjust and ignoble world he makes regular endeavors to escape from. It is for this reason that you shouldn't sabotage the soundtrack a fellow ...

... she is the only female dog in my community, they were howling outside of my door. This situation was of course making us both miserable, because she is used to a lot of freedom and consequently tried to run every time I so much as opened the front door a crack. So, the puppy is at the vet and if all goes well I will pick her up on Wednesday. In the last few weeks I have had some interesting "cultural exchange" experiences that I will share with you all ...

... and more spiteful of Dominican men and beginning to wonder why they could be so aggressively annoying after my being here over a year. I decided not to ponder it more but concentrate on a charla I would be giving to a women´s group in Los Limones with the Red Cross about incorporating a model of behavior change to lower the risk of their adolescent children from getting involved in things such as STD infection, early pregnancy, drugs, etc. We focused on self esteem ...

... mice, but rats and tarantulas as well. I gave the puppy a look-over and she seemed healthy enough, so just like that, I took her home with me, without even thinking to myself how the heck I was going to be able to take care of a dog, let alone afford the wretched thing. It was as if I were under some mind control by this beast, which directed my mind and body until, the next thing I knew, a day had passed and I was standing in my house amidst ...