Kaoba Cabarete

... 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.<br><br>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.

... for the guy to come the next day, and we walked over to Playa Preciosa, where the waves are usually a little better. It was still pretty bad - he caught a few waves on Thursday, but overall it was a bust.<br><br>We got back to the hotel right in time to have a drink on the terrace and watch the sun set over the ocean. Perfect! We went out for dinner and finally found food that wasn't of animal provenance. I ...

... has<br>changed me, and has offered me a new perspective on what is really important in<br>life.  Sometimes I wonder if the past two years of struggling through this<br>doctoral program has been worth it.  So many sacrifices on the part of my<br>family.  Time away from Ellie--<br>I know that when she gets older, I will tell her about the kind, selfless people<br>who live in a different part of the world.  I hope that, if anything, this<br ...

... 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 ...

... the words "buena negociadora" he stretched out his hand with respect and in the recognition of the fact that it was indeed a pleasure to deal with an equal, she smiled and shook it... We met him a couple of times later that week. He always recognized us and looked very happy to see us again, like we were sort of mates, he even once turned out to be very helpful, having got my little friend into the front row of a crowd who was there to witness hatching of the little turtles ...

... day. School includes a daily recess, and about 5 sessions daily. There are two sessions of school and kids will either go to the morning session or the afternoon session. As you might imagine, four hours of learning gives kids a great deal of free time and few responsibilities as there is little homework here. One of the benefits of this is that when I get to my future community, I'll get to work with the youth and take advantage of their free ...

... hard and fly the kite in the sine wave pattern all the time. Well, it still was good to be out there... Sat Feb-23 - Best Session so far &amp; Hip Pain The wind forecast did not look to good. But Shari joined me and we walked over to Kite Club anyway around 2pm. To my surprise the wind was stronger than yesterday, maybe around 15kts, and side onshore. Great conditions! A quick lunch and off I went. I picked a harness and board but Jose, who helped me ...

... minutes in dead silence trying to come up with something to say, but for the most part it is OK. When I am not walking around door to door like a traveling salesman, I spend a lot of time reading, writing in my journal, swimming in the river, going to church with my host sisters, and watching Mexican soap operas on TV. The pace of life is really slow, but I am adjusting. I start teaching my English class this week, so that will help ...