Sunshine Suites Resort Puerto Plata

Greetings,< br>
Sitting
in the sun in Sosua, it's a little seaside town about 2 hours from Santiago.
 It's beautiful here.  We have had access to a private beach, which
has been so relaxing.  We've been sunning for a few days now, and are
headed back to Santiago this afternoon.  One more night in the Dominican
Republic, and back on a airplane tomorrow, headed home to my family!  It's
been a long trip and ...

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 ...

... 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 

Hola Todos-
Have you ever thought of how fortunate you are, just because you were born in a certain geographic location?  We went to a Haitian Batey today.  The Bateys in the DR are kind of like a no-man's land, not recognized by the DR, or by Haiti.  Consequently, the people who live in them are literally without a country.  These people live very poorly, and are rarely allowed out of ...

Hi Everyone!
Very busy Monday.  We started out doing home visits with the International Child Care Center.  My group saw two children.  One child was so neurologically unstable, that he really wasn't a great candidate for "therapy" per se.  He is being raised by his grandmother/father, who told us that he has at least nine seizures a day.  In fact, while we were assessing him, he had two.  Not a pleasant sight, and as you can ...

... 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 ...

... he yelled after us "don't forget my name is Socrates del a Cruz, the philosopher of the Dominican Republic." I have the weekends and usually the afternoons somewhat free here so far but I'm still searching for my purpose here, I've seen a lot but I'm not sure what I've done besides pass out some play toys, medicine and sewing equipment. Miriam and I usually hang out with the shoe shine boys on the boardwalk here. They are young boys who go around ...

... understanding what people are saying to me) is the food. Everything is fried, salty, and heavy. My host mother has only fed us fried foods and I have not had a single vegetable since I arrived. We also eat lunch every afternoon at a cafeteria around the block from the school. The only thing they serve that I like is brown rice and beans. So I guess I´ll have to get used to that. I went to the store today and bought some Pringles and ...

... amazing as he rang that bell 18 times, without fault!! And parrots are not the only types of birds that have demonstrated such feats of intelligence. (So think of that the next time you decide to kill and eat a bird...) After the bird show, we watched the sea lion show. Sea lions are not animals that I know much about at all. And when you really look at one up close, like we got to do today, it looks like a crazy, odd kind of creature. Like what is with those ...

... to get to the bus stop to catch an 8:30 am bus to Pedernales. The bus was jam packed to the brim, and the driver had to lash all of our backpacks on the front and back of the bus with rope. Now, never in my life have I heard a Dominican say "no, we are too full." So, as a result, the guagua was packed to the brim with sweating Dominicans and Peace Corps volunteers for the six hour ride down to the southwest. The bus has an aisle with two seats on ...