Kari Beach Hotel Las Terrenas

After Shen's disappointing attempt at surfing Thursday morning, we decided to head to Cabrera, a relatively small town not far from Playa Grande. Through my work with HSI, I know an English woman who lives there and runs Animal Balance, an NGO that brings veterinary services to island dogs around the world. She does tremendous work, and her impact was quite apparent in Playa Grande, where the dogs are friendly, well-fed, and free of the myriad diseases ...

Our good luck with the guaguas continued, or maybe they're just good here. Our trek to Rio San Juan required four buses, and we weren't really sure of the route, but we made it quickly and with no complications. We headed straight for a hotel listed in the guidebook that sounded great, but we had heard different prices from different people. When we walked in, we both said, Oh no, this doesn't look like a place ...

Despues, fui en el autobus a el Parque Nacional los Haitses. Fui a mirar los aves y las flores y la vida de marina. Fui a acampar en el parque. Fui a comer la comida de tradicionales en el restaurante en el parque. Fui a comer champola, cual fue leche con guanábana. Me recomiendo que saca muchos fotos porque el bosque es muy bonito.<br><br>

... lots of energy, to say the least. I would like to propose a couple of projects to get it going in a more productive direction though sometimes! 3) My Brigada Verde (environment youth group) has become more motivated since returned from the regional conference last weekend. The Yaritza, Massiel and Ileidy, the three girls who attended the conference, gave a charla (presentation) during our ...

... tons of Italian &amp; French restaurants and boutiques. And every menu is in: Spanish, French, Italian and English. Thankfully, the skies started to clear some on Saturday morning for our drive to Samaná to go whale-watching. I totally felt the favor of God over us that whole day. The taxi was way more than we expected to pay, but it was so worth it because our driver, Eddy, was really cool and ...

... to break things up. Ugh. THank GOD that´s over with! --------------------------------------- --------------------- ----------------------------- Some of you have been asking what my plans are after Peace Corps and I forgot to mention that I was accepted to graduate school at Tulane University´s school of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in their Epidemiolgy program! I will be moving back to San Diego and then moving to New Orleans next summer to start in the fall 2008.

... on multiple teams throughout the spring and summer for much of my salad days. My ideal job is still to play centerfield for the Yankees. Unfortunately, I don't think that is going to happen. With about one million Dominicans residing in the US, primarily in NY and NJ, it is no surprise that my favorite team, the New York Yankees, also enjoy great popularity here in the Domincan Republic. And although I´ve yet to see the kids ...

... are dressed to thrill, and to keep the fellas with their hands firmly in their pockets, emptying their wallets at the bar. Goatgirl and I spend some time quietly chuckling at their expense. Guys travelling in groups are funny creatures. They really do look like complete Wallys and it is why I haven´t spent any time on this trip travelling with a group of them. With Goatgirl having to purchase her third pair of Flip Flop Thongs for this trip alone (she is to Flip Flops ...

... the interesection to divert traffic! Randy and I laughed back, thinking they were joking. They weren´t. Thankfully we were able to secure court access last week and ¨graciously¨ declined our supervisors offer to have goals hauled into a large intersection. Aside from these occassional sources of stress, things here are still going really well! My host family is great, and their maid has a one year old daughter she brings with her to work. I am trying to teach her spanish ...

... thing of this trip was laughing. We ate on the beach our last night in Cabarete and it was just wonderful. Unfortunately, I think my stomach was really upset with the food and it was an interesting night. Well, I am heading back to my site today and hope to hear from you all soon and hear how you New Year was for you all. I am adapting back to a volunteer life. This morning a took a cold shower and tonight probably a cold bucket bath. Bye for now from the Dominican Republic.