TravelStream™ news feed for member jbires on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jbires en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:55:41 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1187635800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1187635800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1187635800/tpod.html Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:55:41 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Dominican Republic

I just wanted to let everyone know that the hurricane passed the island with very little damage.

I will send an update soon, but until then I have attached a link to my pictures.

http://flickr.com/photos/72345398@N00/

I hope everyone is doing well!

Jennifer
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1174488120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1174488120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1174488120/tpod.html Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:44:38 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Dominican Republic

I just got back from Venezuela. It was an amazing trip. I went for a short visit to see my Uncle who is working in an Iron plant there. He flew me down on the pretense that I would do some "translating." I got to see what he does, see some of Venezuela, meet some amazing people and learn a little bit about another culture.

The Iron plant where my Uncle is working is HUGE! And I'm pretty sure he knows the name and function of every single part and piece that makes it run. It was really remarkable to see his work and learn about what he does.

It was also a lot of fun to get to see another culture. Venezuela is so different than the Dominican Republic. I was hanging out with people of a different economic status than I do in the DR, but it was still a big surprise to see the difference in the infrastructure, the lifestyle and culture.

As for life in the DR, it marches on as usual. We finally started the Youth Center! It is well under way. The rebar is placed and the footers have been poured. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will be finished by the time I leave here. It is definitely keeping me busy. I think the guys are mostly surprised to see my out there lifting cement bags and shoveling dirt. It's good for them to learn a little gender equality.

I had a flag football tournament with 3 of the other volunteers last weekend. It was so much fun. My team lost miserable, but they had a blast doing it! There is nothing like imposing your culture on others to make a good weekend! Most people here have never even seen a football game, so we had a lot of people out at the field.

Other than that, there is not to much new information.

I was trying to upload pictures and the battery on my camera died. There are some new ones, so check out the page and I'll send the pics from the football tournament and Venezuela as soon as I can.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72345398@N00/

I hope everyone is well! Send updates.

Happy Birthday Aunt Karen, Nate Tiffany, Shastin, Sarah, G-pa, and Tree!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1170770760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1170770760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1170770760/tpod.html Tue, 06 Feb 2007 09:08:28 -0500 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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AmiamaGomez, Dominican Republic

We finally found land for our community center! This was a huge relief. I think the project that was started almost a year ago will begin next week (although I won't hold my breath). *I actually wrote this two weeks ago... we haven't started!* We are in negotiations with a contractor, and if nothing goes horrible wrong, we will be breaking ground soon. Although this is not the first time I've thought this, so we'll see what happens (it's probably about the 20th).

I started a softball team, which is going great! It is so much fun to see the girls play a sport that they grew up watching their brothers play, but were never aloud to play. Because baseball is a past time here, a way of life, their hand eye coordination is amazing. They are just learning the rules and how not to attack each other when someone messes up (girls are the same in all cultures)! Thanks to some generous donations of equipment, they have really had an opportunity to excel! We lost our first two games away, but it was really remarkable to take the girls out of the community. They were so excited! We hosted our first home game the other weekend. The away team, of course, didn't show up. No surprise! So they played a scrimmage against each other.

I am still working on trying to get birth certificates for a lot of the members of my community. As I explained in other emails, many people are without certificates which basically means they don't exist as people. It would be similar to living without your social security card in the states, but worse, because the kids can not go to school or receive health care. The Dominican Government has made the process nearly impossible because they don't want Haitians crossing the border and receiving citizenship. They are really just hurting their own people though.

I have a lot of other little projects that are keeping me busy. I also am trying to slow down a little bit and enjoy the ride. The time has been flying by, and I only have 9 months left in my service. I'm sure it will go twice as fast as the first year and a half. I'm starting to think about the future and pulling back a little letting the community take more ownership over the projects. This will hopefully help with sustainability in the end.

The other week 2 small planes flew over my community, and they were flying really low. We were out at the baseball field and all stopped to watch. No one knew what they were who why they were flying so slow. We found out a few days later that it was the Columbians. They had dropped 16 sacks of cocaine in the mountains above my community. The next week was a frenzy of people getting killed and the police searching houses. I actually had to send the youth hoe from a meeting early one night because the police came into our community looking for the brother of the main drug runner (apparently the brother lives in my community) It was a pretty wild experience. Everything has calmed back down. it makes me nervous for my kids though. there is very little economic opportunity. Once drugs enter the community the battle is over before it even begins.

Other than that, it's life as usual. The water line broke...again! So I'm back to bathing in a bucket, so I can save the water and use it to flush the toilet. The rats have eaten all the crotches of my underwear, and a transformer blew so we went without electricity for over two weeks. Life as normal!

Send updates. I love to hear about what's going on in the states.

And to those who I didn't visit while I was home, which is about everyone, please excuse me. Back and forth between countries is quite an adjustment that took a lot out of me.

As always, the invitation is open for those who want to visit. I promise to take you somewhere nice. The country is breathtakingly beautiful:

As always, the invitation is open for those who want to visit. I promise to take you somewhere nice. The country is breathtakingly beautiful: the sun always shines, the music always plays, the people always smile and the next adventure is just around the corner.

Go COLTS!


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1163444040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1163444040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1163444040/tpod.html Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:55:21 -0500 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Dominican Republic

It's always hard to know what to write about. I can never quite figure out where my new peculiar reality meets the "normal" reality of what I used to call my life. Sometimes I find myself thinking that I lead a completely typical life. I mean it's normal that I haven't bathed without shoes for over 6 months, and stand in a bucket while I'm doing it to save the water to flush the toilet. I sleep in a net listening to bachata music that blares until 4 in the morning and starts again at 6. And it's normal that I spend at least 5 minutes every day trying to decide if the poop on my dishes is from a lizard or a rat. Right?

Sometimes I feel like I don't have anything new or exciting to say, but when I really sit down and think about it there's always something exciting. For instance, this morning at 4:30 am, I hopped on the back of a motorcycle, popped up an umbrella because it was raining (this doesn't actually keep you dry, but it makes the Dominicans feel better), cruised the 4 kilometers to the highway, and then hopped on a bus with 6 people in each row (the rows are made to fit 4 small people), a goat tied to the front and chickens inside! Really there are very few dull days.

My projects are all going well. Well perhaps "well" is an overstatement. But I can honestly say that my projects are going...and for this country going works for me. My youth/technology center has still not been started. We are still looking for land which has proved to be a major source of frustration. The community is really starting to pull together for the project though which has been good to see.

I am still working on my birth certificate project. Many Dominicans do not have birth certificates and are therefore denied the basic rights of being citizens, such as health care, food programs, the right to vote, a driver's license or a job (think no social security card). The Dominican government is afraid that Haitian citizens will try to cross the border and become Dominican citizens. Therefore, they have made the process for their own citizens almost impossible. I have over 100 applicants ready to get declared. All of their papers are ready, but the judge decided she didn't get paid enough by the government so she now wants to supplement her income by charging my poor farmers for their much needed birth certificates.

I have a lot of other little projects. I started a female softball team, thanks to the generosity of my dad and the gloves he sent down. The girls are having a blast...and for the first time have the right to use the baseball diamond in the town.

I also have a women's group who started a savings bank. They have almost completed a year in the project. And it has been fun to see them grow and work together and actually have their own money in stead of only relying on their husbands.

My kids are currently receiving environmental training and sexual health training. They are learning lots and growing as citizens. Their hard work and dedication in the face of many obstacles is inspiring.

I am getting ready to spend my second Thanksgiving in country with my new Peace Corps family. It's amazing how fat the time has gone by. I am looking forward to coming home for Christmas. I will be home on December 16th through the 29th. I'm going to try to have some sort of schedule, so I can see as many people as possible. Please let me know if you want to make plans! (This includes presentations to classes or groups in Indiana)

I hope everyone is having a great November.

Happy Birthday (some very belated) to : Lynn, Charlie, Nicole, Matt, Aunt Becky, Schmen, Emily, Aliza, Ryan, Adam, Aunt Sue, Brad, Reaghan, Sara, Chris, Ryan, Carla, and Lyla.

Thanks as always for the packages and cards, especially: Amanda, Charlotte, Jon, Bob, Dad and Tiffany.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1157227140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1157227140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1157227140/tpod.html Sat, 02 Sep 2006 16:01:42 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Dominican Republic

Here are some recent pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72345398@N00/


I changed sites because some people were having trouble accessing the other site...let me know if you have any troubles with this site.

Have a great day!

Jennifer
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1154103780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1154103780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1154103780/tpod.html Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:33:27 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Azua, Dominican Republic

OK...I'm forcing myself to sit down and write an update. Sorry it has been so long, but sometimes it's difficult to put so much into words.

I got dengue fever from a mosquito bite right before my trip home. It put a little damper on the trip, but was still absolutely wonderful to see everyone.

After I got back to the DR everything started moving at lightning speed. I took two of my girls to a 3 day camp called "Escojo" which stands for "I choose" The camp is designed to train them to be multipliers of information that pertains to HIV/AIDS, STIs, Teen Pregnancy, Self Esteem and Making Healthy Decisions. I am really excited about starting a team of multipliers in my community. Unfortunately, I found out after the camp (always the last to know) that one of the girls I took (age 16) is married and was pregnant (she unfortunately lost the baby). I imagine that it is going to be difficult using her as an example for other kids in making good decisions, but I love a challenge. fº

Also, when I returned from the states, I found out that the Vice President of my youth group got his girlfriend pregnant and got married. It is important to note that he is the leader of my rap group who writes positive songs about protecting yourself against HIV/AIDS, Teen Pregnancy and making healthy decisions. He is also the son of the town nurse and has plenty of access to condoms and birth control. I would even go as far to say that he is one of the most knowledgeable youth I have on the subject. This left me feeling a little helpless in my fight against teen pregnancy and AIDS prevention; as it became quite obvious that there is little condom use going on. None the less, I am dedicated to at the very least making sure they have the knowledge to make healthy decisions. The rest is up to them.

I've mentioned "marriage" twice now, so I feel it is important to define exactly what that means in my rural village in the Dominican Republic. When I say he got married, I mean when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant, he walked over to her house, packed her stuff, and then they walked over to his house (better known as his parents house) where they moved into his room. The next day his dad installed a door, instead of the sheet that had hung there previously!

On another note, I'm am still barreling full steam into my World Bank project. By full steam, I mean I am exactly where I was 3 months ago. My youth and I have continued, without avail, to look for land. Every week presents more hope with the following week bringing disappointment. The money for the project has arrived though, so as soon as we find land and raise money to buy it, we will start the center.

My youth are amazing. They never cease to inspire me with their hard work and never-give up attitude. They are always patient with my brash American ideals, and are sure to give me space when they sense I am at the edge. They never bring it up when I am rude or snappy, and continue to try to make my life as easy as possible. Although I am sure that I am constantly clashing against their culture with my impatience and pushiness.

Above all, it is important to say how much I love it here. I have never felt so frustrated, stupid, been more humiliated, lonely or lost in my life. But it is amazing. Living in another culture truly teaches you worlds about your own culture. Everyday, I wake up in the Caribbean and have the opportunity to make a difference (be it small) in the lives of others, as they have the same opportunity to teach me and make a difference in my life. The experience is humbling and unbeatable!

Thanks as always for the wonderful cards and packages: especially Joel, Jon (Cast), Charlotte and Amanda

Congratulations To Amanda and Adam (getting married August 5)

Congratulations to Haylee...she passed her boards!


I've missed a lot of Birthdays, but felicidades to Grandma James, Megan Katterhenry, Joel, Jen, Debbie, Brandon and Alex, Jenny, Andrew, Jordan, Laura, Christine, Haylee and Megan

Happy Anniversary to Debbie and JB
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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Hi everyone! I hope all is well. I am coming home to the states this Tuesday the 14th. I am going to my dad's house in Indiana and will be home until Sunday. It will be a quick trip, but hopefully I will be able to see as many people as possible. I have started a girl's softball team and a boy's football team. Most of my players lack shoes. If anyone who lives in Indiana has old athletic shoes that they are not using and would like to send them to the Dominican Republic please drop them off at my dad's house by Friday. Also, any used sports equipment (old mitts, baseballs, softballs, basketballs, footballs, or volleyballs) that you aren't using would be helpful. Thanks for all of your help and support.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1136212440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1136212440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1136212440/tpod.html Sat, 27 May 2006 08:14:00 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Dominican Republic

Well I all moved into my site and adjusting more and more each day. It is fair to say that each day provides its own excitement. There is a million things to say, so I'll try to keep it organized and as short as possible.
My first three months in site are supposed to be observation and a community diagnostic, but I've started working a little. My main job here is to strengthen and develop a youth program, giving kids an alternative to drinking, drugs, and all the other delinquent opportunities abundunt in the DR. The youth here are great, but very unmotivated. A basketball court was started in this community 4 years ago and is only 20% done. My first goal is to finish the basketball court within the next few months so they have a safe place to play. Right now, they are playing basketball and volleyball in the middle of the street, so whenever a motoconcho comes flying through the area the kids are free game. The half done basketball court is right next to the baseball diamond, which is also a mess and not used. When I went to explore a little, I found 2 pigs living on the baseball field, a women killing a chicken (literally) - there is blood and enough feathers to stuff a million pillows, and trash everywhere. Apparently the government at one point decided to use the kids playing area as a trash dump. How considerate! The basketball court hasn't been touched in the last four years, and so there are trees and brush growing everywhere.
The thing I have so say about the DR is that everything is more difficult here. I am sure it is the same in most third world countries. What is common sense in the US, and what would just happen on its own, is major, time consuming, hair pulling work here. For example, the baseball field and basketball court are over grown. In the states, we would get a mower/tractor and take care of it. Here we have to cut/chop each blade of grass/weeds and each tree with a machete. This is not easy work (it's generally high 80's and blazing hot). And then, what do we do with all the tree and brush? We can't call a trash company. The government isn't exactly helpful. We have to wait a few weeks until the brush dries, so we can burn it. And about the trash...I found one rake in the entire community, even though it's an agriculture community. Oh, but it was just a rake head...no handle. So we had to make a handle out of a stick. But the problem is, there is SO much trash, that it is nearly impossible to collect it (not to mention feathers, pig poop, and what ever other chicken, goat sheep animal ect that decided to wander to the trash pile for the day). In fact, we started one day, I went back the next and guess what...MORE trash! So the task, needless to say is daunting. The community is getting excited about it though, which will make it easier. The government has agreed to stop dumping trash, and is even going to come and collect the trash we pile (so they say). The local offices are also going to try to help us raise the money we need to finish it. I'll have updates on the project!
As I was saying, things are so hard in third world countries. It is easy to see why the living expectancy drops dramatically. Simple things such as cooking, laundry, getting from one place to another, and even using the bathroom is harder (you have to squat the whole time!). In order to do laundry, if there is no electricity, (which is quite often) you have to take each individual piece of clothing and scrub it clean. Then you have to dunk it in water and ring it out (ringing out large pieces of clothing is next to impossible). Then you have to dunk it in another bucket of water, ring it out again, and hang it on the clothesline. Imagine doing this for an entire family. Think of how many outfits little kids go through a day. Cooking takes the entire morning. You have to start the beans at around 8 so make sure they are done by 12. Public transportation is a disaster. You never know how long a trip will take. For instance, some days it takes me 2 hours to get the capital. Other days it takes me 4 and a half hours. Try planning out a day on this. For example, the other day I left the capital in plenty of time to get back to my site before dark. Well, the gau-gau (bus) stopped 4 times to just hang out. I being directionally challenge as I am have no idea where the entrance to my community is. And I'll be honest, it's not that I'm directionally challenged, but that there is absolutely no sign and everything looks the same. There's a guy at the door of the bus who collects the money and stops it for people to get out. I told him where I needed to get out. He forgot, and before I realized it we were in the next community 30 mionutes away and it was pitch black. Instead of helping me, he just left me in this community. As an American female, I tend to stick out. So, here I am, in the dark of night in a some community where I know no one. I about just sat down in the middle of the road and cried because I had no idea what I was going to do. Buses weren't running because it was to late. Of course me cell phone didn't have service, although I don't really know who I would have called if it had service. I asked some kid about getting a motoconcho ride back to my town. I finally found someone to take me. So imagine this, I am in a strange place, speaking a strange language, and I get on the back of a motoconcho, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (because of, course I hadn't intended on riding a moto concho) and take the 30 minute ride back to my community praying that this guy isn't going to wreck or kill me. Luckily I arrived safely with my whole community waiting for me at the entrance because I was supposed to be back earlier. The difficult things are what make life interesting though. The 4 hour gua gua ride with chickens in the back is a new experience that I couldn't have if I had my own private vehickle here!
Ok, other fun cultural stuff to mention.... when someone dies they have something I could describe similar to a wake. The weird thing is that the whole community goes. It doesn't matter if you knew the person or not. And it's really bad if you don't go, so I've already been to 2 wakes for people I don't know. Now at these wakes you will find in one corner, people wailing, in another corner people playing dominos, a mean on a motoconcho with a bell selling ice cream, and another person handing out cigarettes and halls (the thing you take when you have a sore throat...they eat it for candy here). It's really bizarre.

Ok, that's enough for now. I hope its not to unorganized. Send any questions you have. Sarah just left today, so I'll send a little blog on her trip soon! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1148310660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1148310660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1148310660/tpod.html Mon, 22 May 2006 11:14:20 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Amiama Gomez, Dominican Republic

It¡¦s been a long time since I¡¦ve written, and of course as usual a lot has happened. I figured I would send journal entries in direct correlation with the amount of mail I am receiving (very little) hint hint! fº There¡¦s always so much to tell I never know which stories to pick or where to start.

The other day I took about 20 of my kids camping. We hiked over 3 hours into the mountains. It was one of the most amazing and frustrating experiences of my life. I think that pretty much sums up a majority of my experiences in this country¡Kamazing and frustrating. We hiked up into the mountains, a large group of mixed sex teenagers (a very precarious age) and two donkeys. We arrived at the place we were supposed to be camping (and old shack), and two of the walls were missing. I guess it had been a while since anyone had been up there. So we hiked up a little farther until we found another shack. My kids beat the lock off of the shack door with a rock (I guess this is acceptable because it was someone¡¦s brothers, uncle¡¦s, sister¡¦s, cousin on the dads side twice removed¡Kso it was family). This is where we stayed. I want you to have a good image when I say shack. Four walls made out of wood (not exactly sturdy), a roof made out of palm leaves and a dirt floor. This is where we slept. Thankfully it was two rooms. I slept with the girls on one side and the boys slept on the other. For a bed, my kids went and gathered all of the dried banana tree leaves and made pallets. Banana tree leaves are huge leaves, maybe the size of palm tree leaves but wider, so they actually made a pretty nice bed (minus all of the critters that were crawling around in them).
For dinner, my kids found a chicken that was running around, caught it, killed it, cleaned it and cooked it. I fund this fascinating because I cannot imagine any 15 year old in the states who could do this. Lets be honest, I¡¦m 23 and still have no idea how to do it. They then went and found ¡§viveres¡¨. This consists of plantains, and other similar food products that I don¡¦t think have English names. Then my kids built a fire and cooked all of the food on ¡§fogones¡¨ (basically fire pits). It was amazing to these all of these teenagers organize a do all of this stuff without help from anyone.
Then for the entertainment, because Dominicans love entertainment, the kids sang danced and did skits all night. Dominicans are very animated people, and have little inhibition when compared to Americans. We made s¡¦mores (a first for them) with some Hershey chocolate I grudgingly shared that my chocolate savior Bob sent me from the states.
The camping trip was frustrating because we were in this beautiful, almost untouched place in the mountains, and every time I turned around the youth were throwing their trash on the ground. Even after I asked them not to, they continued to throw trash on the ground. For me, it was frustrating because all I could think is, ¡§why the heck would you do that¡¨. For them, they were culturally unable to grasp why it was bad to throw trash on the ground. It is common and accepted to just toss trash on the ground. So common in fact, that it is nearly impossible to find a trashcan in this country. So basically it ended with me playing trash collector for the remainder of the trip. I started an environment group when we got back, so hopefully there will be a little better education on the subject the next time we go.
OK, in other news, I wrote a grant with a few of my youth for a World Bank project. We competed with the entire country, and there were over 150 entries, 50 finalists, and 20 winners. My youth won $15,000 (US dollars)! We will be using the money to put in a community center, which will have a computer lab with Internet, a room for literacy classes as well as educative seminars, and a library. It will be a huge step in development for the community. Not to mention the only Internet center within 40 minutes. We are very excited and are working out details such as where we will put the building ect.
I took my youth to the Santo Domingo to present the project. It was a really neat experience because many of them have hardly ever left the campo (community). The NGO that was sponsoring us put us in an amazingly nice hotel (nicer than the ones I would usually stay at in the states). It was so much fun to watch the kids eating dinner at a place that used clothe napkins and had 3 spoons to choose from. I know it was a memorable experience for them. And I got a hot shower!
I know this is getting long, so I will try to rap it up. I just wanted to add a few thoughts about things I have been realizing. Have you ever flushed the toilet and thought to yourself¡Kthanks goodness there¡¦s water, or gone to cook something and wondered if there would be enough gas to finish, or gone to watch TV only to realize that there was no electricity. It is amazing to me how much I took simple things like water, gas and electricity for granted and how different life becomes without these luxuries (yes luxuries.) It is easy to talk about development work in theory, but it¡¦s hard to expect people to have time to educate themselves when the simple act of using the bathroom, laundry, cooking, or even having electricity is a constant ¡§lucha¡¨(fight). I was so excited when my youth and I won the World Bank contest and brought back the project idea to the community. I mean, ¡§What an opportunity for these people,¡¨ I thought. I was quickly disappointed by their response. Of course, there were the usual congratulations, but no one was excited. This frustrated me, and to be honest angered me! It¡¦s not until I took a step back to realize that computers, internet or even education are of little concern to these people when the there has been no water for over a week, there¡¦s not enough money to fill the gas tank, and the electricity has been out for 2 days. I think a lot of my frustration in this country comes from being on a completely different level. It¡¦s one thing to understand or know abut another culture. It¡¦s a completely different thing to be able to drop the bias that comes with having your own culture.
Ok. I¡¦ll stop here. I hope everyone is doing great. As always, thanks for all the phone calls (Dad, Ben, Tiffany, Lyla, Emily, Charlotte, Joel, Sarah, Debbie and JB) letters and packages (Jenny, Joel).

And Happy Birthday to Brittney, Greg, Eric, Dodd, and JB.

Happy Graduation to all my Tigers! Felicidades!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1145724840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1145724840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jbires/peace_corps-dr/1145724840/tpod.html Sat, 22 Apr 2006 12:57:26 -0400 "Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater."

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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Hi everyone! A lot of people have been asking for my contact information, so here it is...


Jennifer Bires, PCV
APDO 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

(809)723-7807 (it actually works now)



I hope everything is well. Keep the updates coming.

I'll send an update soon!
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