Hotel Mountain View Puerto Plata

... along the north coast, near a town called Sabaneta, which is near a national park, and east of the larger towns of Cabarete and Sosua, on the way to Puerto Plata. The farm itself was off the beaten path, on a road that I never wish to go down again, for fear of my life! It is very isolated and in a little valley surrounded by mountains, and is very beautiful. Her house is lovely, complete with 10 watch-dogs, but most of whom are snuggly sooks! The farm ...

... can't wait to see them.  My little Ellie Grace has<br>grown at least one inch, is beginning to give up her bottle, and is saying new<br>words.  She grew up some while I have been gone--I'm going to eat it all<br>up when I get back!<br>I haven't been able to reflect on this experience.  I've heard that<br>reflection comes in bits and pieces, interwoven during normal daily routines--a<br>thought here, an image there.  What I do know, is that this ...

... imagine what it smells like, and what a health risk it is to live there.<br>I saw a little boy today.  He is 4 years old.  He lives with his parents and 4 siblings in a one-room "house" built out of rusted tin and tires.  Upon meeting him, I could tell that this child was gravely ill.  He contracted Dengue Fever over a week ago, was hospitalized, but released home.  I'm not sure ...

... never get dessert,<br>Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,<br>Who watch their parents watch them die.<br>We pray for those who can't find any bread to steal,<br>Who don't have any rooms to clean up,<br>Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,<br>Whose monsters are real,<br>Whose nightmares come in the daytime.<br>And we pray for those who will eat anything,<br>Who have never seen a dentist,<br ...

... community (men go for seasonal work).  The women recently learned how to make candles and bracelets, which they are allowed to go outside the Batey to sell, but have to "pay off" the checkpoint guards when they enter and exit the compound.  There are so many moral and ethical issues surrounding the Bateys, too numerous to mention.  The children came running to meet us, some naked, some ...

... I had to turn away.  We educated his family on positioning in terms of comfort and stimulation, and passive range of motion.  Other than that, we advised them to continue the relationship with the doctor and team in hopes of finding some stability with the seizure activity.  That was a difficult one.<br>We also went to the orphanage this afternoon.  Quite a few of the children were very high strung.  One of the teenage boys was ...

... trust me they're pretty small for growing a tree). This is kind of an ironic point of life because the boat that I lived on and my family owned was called the Mustard Seed, in hopes it would stay afloat. Anyways, I mentioned how the orphanage got started in a previous blog, but I was really excited to go back and actually spend time with the kids. The facility is so nice for these kids, they have in house physical therapy, an indoor and outdoor play room, everyone ...

... they had no suitable meals for us - so we missed the first meal and when the second "meal" came around (half a cow sandwich wrap) and I inquired (stating that we hadn't eaten all day yet) and the stewardess told me she didn't have it, so she gave us a cream cheese and vegetable wrap plus a free can of Pringle chips, which normally cost $2 extra. She took down our special meal order though for the flight back, so hopefully we'll get that then. We arrived on the ground ...

... into Windsurf hotel yesterday and the rooms are furnished with kitchenettes... saving money HORRAY! Today we learned how to surf.. I was actually very successful and I road a handfull of waves all the way into shore. Bien! This afternnon, we´re lounging around, going out for pizza tonight (finally, not rice and beans and chicken!) and dancing on the beach. Don´t worry, it´s all good. Happy weekend! Love you all! Heidi-ho ranger jo

... we ordered a few drinks and then went to a discoteca. This was my first club experience. So I am was sheltered individual. The club was nice and played merengue, bachata, salsa, and every once<br>in a while some rap or rave music. The dancing was on my not to do list<br>becuase the climbing and swimming was setting in on my body. We got<br>back to Jonathon's place at 2:00am. We had plans to go to the tag along<br>with some PCV's to the ...