Hotel Voramar Sosua

... seen anything like that - and then gave him a round of applause when his head (safely) broke the surface. I was a little indignant that I did not get the same reaction going off of the 6-foot rope swing.

After goodbyes all around, we headed back to town to watch the amazing sunset from our terrace, batido in hand. Batidos are milkshakes made with fresh fruit - in this case, papaya - and they're the perfect antidote to a steamy tropical evening.

... stoop in the evenings. Once the sun sets, it's all about watching people go by. On our walk, many of the homes were lit by kerosene lanterns. Electricity is very unreliable here, so we weren't sure if the power was out in those homes, or if they have some sort of rationing system. Many of the kerosene-lit homes clearly had electricity (fridges and TV's, for example) but were also set up to function without it.

... the next six months.  The
comforts of home with the people I love, will surely see me through. That I
know for sure-
I hope you have all enjoyed the blog.  I have loved sharing some thoughts,
albeit probably a bit superficial at times, as feelings are often difficult to
retrieve-

Thank you for following my journey.  
Please look for more pictures in the days to come.

Love,

Lani

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Hi everyone,
Just when I thought I had seen what living in destitution represented, I walked into a neighborhood this morning that redefined the word "poor" for me.  It seems that this redefinition is a consistent happening here.
This community lives in squalor, not only in ramshackle "buildings" but in filth.  In fact, their homes are literally built upon a dump. So, you ...

... up the street, so I flagged them down. The side door was open, and there was a guy, hanging half out waving me to come in. I just handed him the 20 peso note and climbed in, no problem. The van was pretty crowded, and they kept stopping to pick up additional people on the road. The side door guy knocked on the roof of the van to signal the driver when to stop to pick up/drop off people. They guaguas cram as many people ...

... snorkelling (which I wanted to do), but then decided that I might actually want to try scuba diving! (despite my fear of dark, murky waters and dark, shadowy sea creatures brushing up against, which is all kind of negated here due to the crystal clear water and tropical, pretty fish) He said that the snorkelling trip that they offer is $20 per person, and the scuba trip (which includes a lesson first and then excursion further down the beach to where the fish are ...

... sell their products to the passers by, and that is something I am agreeable to. However, such was not the case when I approached the area. One guy immediately asked me to come look at his table. He was speaking to me in French and it appeared that he didn't know any English (I asked him what languages he spoke and he said "français et espagnol") so the communication between us was solely in French. I took a look at his jewellery and there was a nice ...

... Volunteers are teaching the local women to make candles, jewelry, bags, and the like in order to sell to us "tourists/volunteers". So, I bought a lot. Good stuff. Then in the afternoon, we took a dip in the pool, and watched "Big Sugar" an amazing documentary on what really is going on with Dominican Republic sugar cane plantations. I'm hoping to get a copy of that from Jana and Bob to show to you all. It's horrific, and completely ...

... because there is never a dull moment. However, you are slammed into meeting and seeing all these new things and before you know it you are on a bus to you new site that weekend. I am not even going to get into Christmas last-year for me. Let's just say that I buried myself in as many Dean Koontz books as I could possible find and found comfort in the existence of another world at that time. Of course, everybody in my community thought I was nuts and just ...

... the life and culture here so that you can understand as well. I so far am not doing a good job, but hopefully this will change in the future. I want to give you accounts though you would not normally tell others people about these stories we volunteers talks about them on a daily basis. I want you to understand how you grew up and appreciate what it is you have in this life. Further, if in the future you have the opportunity to help others to not even think about ...