Tangerine Palace Hotel Cabarete

... somewhat explains the blank stares when I asked for frijoles), and within minutes of asking the Comedor lady about Emma (a.k.a. la gringa que cuida a los perros), we were on a motoconcho heading to her house. Surprise!!<br><br>I felt bad dropping in on her unannounced, but it was great to see her. We knew we were at the right house when five dogs bounded out to greet us. Emma arrived in Cabrera more than two years ago with virtually no Spanish, but ...

... stoop in the evenings. Once the sun sets, it's all about watching people go by. On our walk, many of the homes were lit by kerosene lanterns. Electricity is very unreliable here, so we weren't sure if the power was out in those homes, or if they have some sort of rationing system. Many of the kerosene-lit homes clearly had electricity (fridges and TV's, for example) but were also set up to function without it.<br>

... the next six months.  The<br>comforts of home with the people I love, will surely see me through. That I<br>know for sure-<br>I hope you have all enjoyed the blog.  I have loved sharing some thoughts,<br>albeit probably a bit superficial at times, as feelings are often difficult to<br>retrieve-<br><br>Thank you for following my journey.  <br>Please look for more pictures in the days to come.<br><br>Love,<br><br>Lani<br><br>< !--EndFragment--><br><br><br>

Hi everyone,<br>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.<br>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 ...

... 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 ...

Hola Todos-<br>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 ...

... Then, we went to Laguna Blu which is my most favorite of places so far. A secluded lagoon- fresh water- a rope swing to swing out on and good times all around. Me and my friend Jaycee both got on the rope swing for added entertainment, I got pantsed.. ridiculous times. The lagoon looked like a scene from the Little Mermaid. So cool. That evening, we arrived in Las Terrenas- this quaint, cute little town that has French and Italian ...

... They moved away for awhile." With every hushed statement, another circle is closed. Personally, I'm used to living life on the periphery. I have never really been a full-fledged member of any one particular circle. In high school, I couldn't be in the jock circle because I was also in band. Likewise, I didn't fit the bill for the band circle because I was also a jock. Where did this leave me? Floating ...

... their 15 year old daughter (the youngest of their 6 kids), and a 3 year old grandson who live in the house (there are also some rodent friends, but I will get to that in a minute). They are awesome, and since day one my dona has been calling me "mi hija" (my daughter) and "mi amor" (my love). The 3 year old calls me "tia," which means aunt in Spanish. He also likes to announce to the whole house when he has diharrhea, which is pretty funny. Their house is cement block with cement ...

... the other. We had to climb up the waterfalls,and for this we had 2 local boys pushing and pulling our gringo asses up these rocks with water rushing over them. I´m a **** swimmer and didn´t want to do it once I saw how steep the waterfalls were. My fellow safari-ers were a nurse and a lifeguard. They assured me they would look out for me. What the hell, swim thru cold as f*** pool to get to fall. Push, pull, hoist, I´m ...