Quality Hotel Real Aeropuerto Santo Domingo

... out she kept crying and trying to run away from him. He was especially hurt being that he's a Youth volunteer. COMING FROM THE CAPITAL: is always a relief. In the capital, it's almost like being back in the states with a faster pace of life, but I miss being back at my site after a while. It's just so much slower and tranquilo, where I'm not constantly being bombarded with noise, pollution, and big buildings. It is also nice coming back and being well ...

... of these organizations, and had to find them (which of course, hilarity ensued). The journey took us around in circles because, as we learned, Dominicans like to "save face" even when they don't know the answer to a question. For example, if you asked a Dominican for directions, if he/she did not know the answer, the person would just guess and point in an arbitrary direction. BUT VOLUNTEERS DON'T DRESS UP: That is, of ...

... things at restaurants and hotels using a mix of broken Spanish and hand gestures. Although the average Dominican's salary is $300 per month, the typical dress does not differ that much to anything I've seen in the States. The only thing I will comment on is that despite the extreme heat and humidity here, the people all wear suits and jeans during the day with no worries and sweat! This is how you are able to spot many of the tourists ...

... about leaving on such a positive note. I have been cleaning, packing, organizing, and getting rid of the things that won't be going home with me - stained clothes, musty sheets, etc. I am making reservations to send Stella home about a week before I go. She has no idea what she is in for in the US!! I am also planning my despedida (going away party) for the last weekend in March and planning to spend Semana Santa (Holy Week) hanging out ...

... crowded as you can imagine. lots of hotel/ restaurants too that Sarah and I just walked into and helped ourselves to the buffet lunch only to find out that you had to be staying at the hotel. We had to pay the chef and the security guy under the table. Haha. Bribery! We walked along the beach but couldn´t find too many places free and the music was so loud you could probably hear it several kms away. Many people brought their $40,000 stereo systems to the beach with ...

... of Shrek 3 in some distant shopping mall. Suffice to say, we got stuck in an enormous traffic jam and arrived at least half an hour late. What's more worrying was that this place was filled with teenagers, all of whom were dressed better than I was. Still, in the tradition of this holiday, I got to see the second half, followed by frozen yoghurt made with your choice of freshly blitzed fruits. The Dominicans do a lot of things with pureed frozen fruit, most of it excellent.

... declining city after four years in the US. Do I think she was in on it as some have asked? Not at all, but hey - stranger things have happened. And as I relent and bring my tirade to a rest, I'll certainly continue to keep my guard up... Today I'm heading out to the peninsula of Samaná in the northeastern part of the country. I plan on getting away from the noise and congestion of the city in order to see some ...

... sooo hot, I thought I was going to melt. Well, maybe I am just getting used to the heat and not have air conditioning around anymore, who knows. I had another youth group meeting on Friday which was pretty sucessful. But I realized that I will have to teach these teens how to respect one another. Nobody is disciplined, and any little thing one person says or does offends somebody else. I have already been told by 2 members that I need to kick so and so out of the group. So I think ...

... t hear anything! 16. Naked babies walking around and peeing wherever they feel like it because they don´t wear diapers. 17. My uncles dog named doggy following me around wherever I would go. 18. Starting to actually enjoy carribean music! I never thought I´d give into it! So this is just a list of some of the many memories I have of CBT. I really will be missing my host family, they were absolutly wonderful. I think I will try to visit them ...

... up. We'll be meeting every Wednesday and starting projects within a month or two. I've started formulating a plan for the vivero (tree nursery) and talked to some other volunteers about how to go about starting one. It sounds like it will be tough motivating the community members to maintain it, but they gave me some good ideas. Hopefully, within a year, we'll start planting some trees. It's been a good weekend, now it's time to go back to my site and get back to work. Send letters.