Lifestyle Crown Suites Puerto Plata

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

... long he has been at home since the release.  He kept tugging at his ears, so I'm sure he has an ear infection on top of the Dengue.  He was so listless that he couldn't hold his head up for very long, and was unable to smile or reach out for a ball.
As we were evaluating him, his father walked in.  Drunk.  When we recommended to the father that he seek medical care ...

... aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried,
And for those who must,
For those we never give up on
And for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother,
And for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.
 -----by Marian Wright Edelman 

... only in underwear.  Sweet kids, but resorting to desperation (pinching others, manipulation, etc.) in order to get attention.  One child kept pinching the little girl I was holding!  So sad!  We will offer a health clinic to them on Thursday afternoon.  They speak mostly Creole, limited Spanish, so communication will be interesting.
We are watching Hurricane Bill, who looks like he ...

... aggressive, and I had to be "rescued" by the staff.  A sweet little girl with Down's Syndrome seemed particularly out of sorts today, as she kept grabbing my backpack and trying to open all of the pockets.  "Es mio, es mio", I kept telling her.  It's mine!
She was adorable, but quite a stinker today.  So, it's been an eventful, tiring day all in all.  
I'm also missing my family like crazy!  I think I have done well so far ...

... help but think of the sign I have in our entryway "Please remove your shoes"!!!!  Yes, those of you who have removed your shoes in my entryway,are laughing.  It makes one wonder what is really important-
 Yesterday, we held a clinic.  We served about 25 people over the span of about 6 hours.  It was exhausting.  Not only was a diagnoses/treatment involved, but to try and figure out what they were saying in Spanish!!  --Aye! 
I ...

... around Santiago & I have a better sense of direction. There were a few times when we had to cross busy streets & ride in scary traffic...but I just had a sense of adventure the whole time. I think I probably asked a total of 30 people for directions, and all were very helpful. I also made my class schedule yesterday. The TESL class was full, so I ended up being in the Community Service course for ...

... challenging part of playing with the kids and being the only one, is trying to play with all of the ones who want to play because you're one person. However, it seemed to work out pretty well, I had a few shirts stretched out but that's not important. Another thing I really enjoyed seeing was that the children with better language skills and better motor skills would be asked to help out with the other children. One boy would bring out all of the water bottles ...

... for the show and tonight's theme was "latin" songs, where the show consisted of a string of different songs by latin singers (they did Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Enrique Inglesias, and a lot of singers I didn't know) all accompanied by the dancers (a group of dynamic and talented young people in their 20s), wearing brilliant themed costumes for each song and dancing to each song that was featured. Me writing about it now doesn't do it much justice, except to say that ...

... still giving English classes twice a week. I love living in my own house and having my own space. I love my host family, don't get me wrong, but at 26 years old it was tough living with a family after being on my own for several years. If you are interested, I have posted more pictures on my flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/90483948@N 00/ of my house and my dog. That's about it for now. I hope all is well back home. Miss you all! Love, Maggie