Hotel Freeman Santo Domingo

... Larimar Festival -Artisan fair to exhibit the craftsmanship in Bahrocuo and teach the people are Larimar specifically (have a Larimar Day in Bahoruco on the day of the festival) -Invite other artisans from around the country to sell their merchandise -Coordinate with the Secretary of Culture and other organizations Brigada Verde (Green Brigade) - Work with established group in ...

... stint with a microfinance organization. We each have our own bedroom, and I have my own bathroom. We have a giant combined living room/dining room, a small kitchen, and a nice patio balcony. Illeana's elderly mother lives in an apartment downstairs, so Illeana and Jose Ricardo sleep at her apartment though they seem to spend a good portion of their day up here with us. Illeana is amazing lady. She clearly cares about us very much. Yesterday ...

... a restaurant and went in and had quite the experience which in a summary included a very rude waitress, orange juice that arrived as fanta, and a little cockroach.... but despite this the food wasn't that bad. Then we caught a bus back here to Puerto Plata. So now I am here without a real sense of direction and without my friend... but the good news is that I can stay open and meet people and explore the area more for these next few weeks and see what life has in store!

... people as possible on. There were two seats down one side, an aisle, and one seat on the other side. However, there was a fold-down seat that filled up the aisle. So we´ve got five or six rows of 8 people sitting on 4 seats and whenever someone wants to get out, nearly everyone has to get up, fold up their seats and suck their tummies in to let the disembarker off! It was such a comedy of errors, and we did manage a laugh, despite the fact it was about 40 degrees inside ...

... screen in the bus and then blasted loud bachata music videos the whole way to Sosua. Since the established bus companies didn't go all the way to Cabarete, we then had to jump into a taxi in Sosua, and finally got to our Cabarete hotel around 3:30-4pm. It was a little inconvenient to transfer to a taxi, but what was nice is this taxi driver drove us to my Spanish school in Sosua, and pointed out some landmarks so I could find my way to school the following day.

... from it all. My Dona told me one night that when I go back to "Nueva York", which is what they call the US, because everyone they know lives in New York, but she told me to tell our President to turn on their water and lights for them. I was like, hmm, President Bush and I haven't spoken in awhile, but I'll get on that...ahh, some of the things they think I can do here! There are a million new things that I'm learning to love at my site, like yesterday I ...

... and demanded her money and possessions, of which she had none, for all she brought with her was her keys which I carried in my pocket. Then the waif with the weapon approached me, machete high in the air and threatening, and though I had an almost empty 40 oz bottle of beer in my hand as my best defense against his arm of choice, the other two mangy derelicts held Mary´s hands behind her with a knife to her back. I receded towards the ...

... I have wanted to go whale watching ever since I could remember. Also, the good news for this week is that my front patio of my future house is finally complete. I now have a functioning latrine, a fenced in hard and a cemented patio where I will have my future meetings. Now all that is left to do is remove all the junk out of the house, pressure wash it clean, and move in all my stuff. I am estimating that in 2 weeks I will be living on my own! And I ...

... sane in the chaos that is PC life! After returning from the camp, I had plans to take youth to the National Escojo conference where my escojo groups could have the chance to meet other kids around the country who also have a desire to put a stop to HIV and other STDS common to the country, and learn more about their cause. The kids from my Los Limones campo group were ecstatic. These kids don't often get the chance to leave their campo let alone for such a long time. COnferences like ...

... and I´ve got a custom made chair on the way. I also want to make a garden so I can have some veggies on hand. Yesterday was my buddy´s birthday so I walked over to his site (about an hour and 45 min) and we celebrated with a few other volunteers who live close by. My friend and I killed and plucked our first chickens and now I can add that to the list of things I can do. We practiced or whip skills, he is far more advanced ...