The Bungalows Resort & Spa Puerto Plata

... the next six months.  The
comforts of home with the people I love, will surely see me through. That I
know for sure-
I hope you have all enjoyed the blog.  I have loved sharing some thoughts,
albeit probably a bit superficial at times, as feelings are often difficult to
retrieve-

Thank you for following my journey.  
Please look for more pictures in the days to come.

Love,

Lani

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... imagine what it smells like, and what a health risk it is to live there.
I saw a little boy today.  He is 4 years old.  He lives with his parents and 4 siblings in a one-room "house" built out of rusted tin and tires.  Upon meeting him, I could tell that this child was gravely ill.  He contracted Dengue Fever over a week ago, was hospitalized, but released home.  I'm not sure ...

We pray for children
Who sneak popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead.
We pray for those who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world,
Santiago, Dominican Republic lstockwell

... community (men go for seasonal work).  The women recently learned how to make candles and bracelets, which they are allowed to go outside the Batey to sell, but have to "pay off" the checkpoint guards when they enter and exit the compound.  There are so many moral and ethical issues surrounding the Bateys, too numerous to mention.  The children came running to meet us, some naked, some ...

... I had to turn away.  We educated his family on positioning in terms of comfort and stimulation, and passive range of motion.  Other than that, we advised them to continue the relationship with the doctor and team in hopes of finding some stability with the seizure activity.  That was a difficult one.
We also went to the orphanage this afternoon.  Quite a few of the children were very high strung.  One of the teenage boys was ...

Hola Todos-
We just arrived back from spending a few days in the Campo.  The Campos are "poor" communities outside (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours) of the city.  These communities are somewhat self-contained (they have "businesses" there, and most work their own land (usually cacao, or produce).  Some get their money from relatives who are working in the United States.  Blanco al Medio was actually a more "well-off" community, but nevertheless ...

... dinner, breakfast & lunch on the balcony & the view was amazing! The owner also had a collections of cars from the 1950s that originally belonged to dictator Trujillo. Pretty much we just played get-to-know you games. There are about 38 American students here in the CIEE program, and 3 other girls I know from Vandy.

... they are harmless and quite the story tellers. Puerto Plata is an interesting place because there isn't much going on. The tourists are all caged in the all inclusive resorts which occasionally bus some tourists in for a "local experience" for some shopping. So between the expats and the tourists I never look out of place. Last week Miriam and got a bit of everything tour, so here's a list with some commentary. We visited Mustard Seed Orphanage which ...

... for an animal species to be captured by humans and forced to live the rest of their lives in a confined space against their will, I do think there is benefit to having some types of species, such as the dolphin, kept in this way for the educational purposes of mankind. The dolphin is an absolutely amazing animal - the 2nd most "intelligent" of all animals (after the chimpanzee variety), whereas dogs come in as number 8! (and you know how smart they can be). Like ...

... of animal feed spiked with rat poison but so far they haven't taken the bait. I was thinking of mixing in some peanut butter to see if I can entice them to eat the poison. I suppose I should be thankful that I don't have to worry about large predators or venomous creatures(i.e. lions, cobras, etc). But so far, all is well and I am happy to be in my own home. Stay tuned for pictures coming soon! Much Love Maggie