TravelStream™ news feed for member molly on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/molly en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:53:50 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1140646200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1140646200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1140646200/tpod.html Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:53:50 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Palo Verde, Dominican Republic

Hola Everybody!!!!!!!!
Oh wow its been just about a million years since last I blogged and I feel a little out of practice! Things are going pretty bueno down here in the DR (or the Doctor as Andrewski likes to call it). Ive been in my site for about three months now working on health interviews and practicing the old espanol and i just moved into my OWN casa this week.
I cannot even describe how great it is to have a little bit of privacy again and to have the option of NOT eating rice and beans every day if I don't want to! However, I do have two roommates: Charlotte the spider and Pablo the rat (I feel like naming them might make them less scary for some reason?). Charlotte lives in the bathroom and Pablo lives in the roof, but sometimes we all hang out together. I may have made friends with spiders and rats (kind of) but the cucarachas in the latrine are another thing altogether. I will have to tell that story another time but the moral is that we may need to set up a "Toilet for Molly" fund at the Brandermill Church.
I would, however, like to tell one amazing story that happened to me at the beginning of this month. (warning!! long story!)It all started when I came into the capital for a week of language training (p.s. I passed my exam! - by the skin of my dientes!)and my birthday just happened to fall right in the middle of the week. The nine other volunteers that were here with me and I went out to eat PIZZA and see a MOVIE which was GREAT since I hadnt done either of those things in a LONG time and the whole day I was getting great birthday calls from all of you guys which were amazing. Long story short, I woke up the next morning and couldn't find my cell phone (and that long story probably has a little to do with the Dominican rum I was drinking the night before:)). I looked everywhere and tried calling it but got no answer. Eventually, I had to go to class, but I couldnt stop worrying about how I was going to get a new phone, if Peace Corps was going to be really mad at me for losing it, or if I could even explain the whole situation in my "not so strong" Spanish (sidenote: I know its not very Peace Corps-y to have / worry about cell phones, but hey, its the Dominican Republic we're talking about here and we worry about things like cell phones sometimes!)
Anyway, at lunchtime, my friend Tilden tried calling the phone again and about the 20th time she tried it, somebody picked up! It was a Dominican man saying that he had my cell phone and he would be across the street from a large car dealership on the other side of town until 1pm. Even though it was already 12:15, Tilden and I hopped into a gua-gua (the public transportation of the DR) and get there as fast as we can. But, when we get there at like 12:53, there is nobody in front of the car dealership except random Skim-Ice street vendors and window washers. (sidenote: Skim-Ice guys are EVERYWHERE here. They sell these little fruity/icy things for 5 pesos out of coolers to passing traffic and they wear these very recognizable outfits that are purple and red) SO, Tilden is trying to call my phone again, but no one is picking up. Meanwhile I am approaching the random Skim-Ice guys and asking if they have found a phone and they look at me like I'm crazy.
Finally, someone picks up the phone again (we're talking 12:58 by this point) and starts talking about how much I'm willing to pay to get my phone back and finally we agree on a price of 200 pesos (roughly 5 US dollars--steep ranson, eh?), BUT he doesn't want to deal directly with the "gringas" because he's afraid that we have called/will call the policia, so he demands to speak to a Dominican who can act as our middle man. SO, I look desperately around randomly pick one of the Skim-Ice guys and put him on the phone with my cell phone hostage-taker. They talk for a minute and when he hangs up I give him the 200 pesos, but first I say "Look Skim-Ice guy, I know it would be really easy for you to just run off with my 200 pesos and never come back, but I'm a volunteer here and 200 pesos is a lot of money to me and I really need my cell phone back!" Then the Skim-Ice guy looks in to my eyes and hands me his wallet and his entire freezer of Skim-Ice products and swears he'll be right back.
So Tilden and I are standing on the sidewalk with an entire freezer of Skim-Ice (which by the way is in the shape of a penguin) just praying that this guy will come back. After about 5 minutes he emerges from across the street...and he doesnt have my cell phone, but he does still have my money. He says that he talked to hostage taker and that now he really wants to see the gringas before he hands the phone over. SO, we follow the Skim-Ice guy (our fate is now entirely in his hands) across the street and down a couple of blocks where there is a 15 year old kid sitting behind a fence with my cell phone. I give him the money and he gives me my phone back and I say "gracias amigo" as snottily as I possibly can.
I was absolutely amazed to get my phone back at all, but the Skim-Ice guy (who by this time had introduced himself as "Angel," no joke) couldn't stop apologizing for the rudeness of the kid who charged me to get my own phone back. He gave Tilden and I both free Skim-Ices (and wouldn't let us pay!) and then found the right gua-gua for us and secretly paid for us to get back to class! My Angel! Ok, that's the end of my story but the moral is: there are some amazingly good-hearted people in the world mixed in with the cell phone hostage takers around us AND I now buy Skim-Ice as much as I possibly can in hopes that it somehow supports Angel!
Okay, I better not write a single word more because this is ridiculously long. I love and miss you guys all SO MUCH and I can't wait to hear about everything thats going on at home. Write me or call me (bc, you know, I have a cell phone) whenever you get a chance!
LOVE, Mole/Molly
P.S. BROTHER!!!! I'll see you in a week and a half?!?!?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1128789780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1128789780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1128789780/tpod.html Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:08:17 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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El Callejon de Cabrera, Dominican Republic

¡Hola Everybody!
Okay so here is my first official update of life in the D.R. This is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL country with lots of dancing and cerveza drinking everywhere! I spent the first four weeks living with a host familia in teh capital, Santo Domingo. My family was awesome and my host ¨mom¨ is 24 years old and definitely one of the fabled ¨dominican women with cinnamon tans.¨ She is a far cry from my host mom in Haiti who had gold teeth and weighed about 200 pounds. Now I am in a new training area, a small village near the beach town of Cabrera with 10 other trainees for our technical training. We have five weeks here and it is gorgeous. My host dad makes wicker rocking chairs every night and i have two brothers and one sister living with me. today all of the trainees are going to a beahc that is supposedly got the white sands and blue water that the caribbean is famous for.
Spanish is coming slowly to put it mildly. I can pretty much get across what I need to say , but usually end up saying things like Ï am eating the cow yesterday¨ Everyone must think Im REALLY smart! (I just realized that what I thought were quotation marks are actually little dots, and i cant seem to find the quaotations, sorry about that!)
I miss you guys all SO MUCH and i cant wait to hear news from home. I got one letter from Mom about a week or two ago , but we havent been getting mail very frequently. I promise some from me is on its way. Keep me updated (btw, has Britney had her baby yet)!
Love, Mole/Molly
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1149955140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1149955140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1149955140/tpod.html Sun, 18 Jun 2006 11:00:08 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Palo Verde, Dominican Republic

Hola Amigos y Familia!!
It has been forever since last I blogged, but I wanted to give a quick update to let you guys know that life in the DR is pretty bueno. I cant believe Im coming up on finishing my TENTH month here. I go through stages of thinking that that is a really long time and remembering that I still have a long time to go, depending on the day. Palo Verde is treating me well, but it is flippin HOT right now. The mosquitos have also started to come out in larger numbers so that combo can make life pretty miserable.
As far as work goes, I just graduated a group of youth (I dont like to say "youth group") from a Healthy Sexual Decisions course I was giving. The plan is that now they are going to go out into the community and teach what i taught them to other youth, but I need to remember that they are 15 year old girls, so they are also very interested in boys and straightening their hair, so we´ll see how that goes...
Im also working with a group of Haitians and teaching about a different health topic every week. The biggest successes so far were the ¨Condom on a Plantain¨ presentation and the ¨Plastic Water Bottle Turns into a Man With Diarrhea¨ special effect. Oh how true it is that necessity is the mother of creativity!
i hope I get to see EVERYBODY when I come home in LESS THAN A MONTH (omgomgomgomgomg). I absolutely cant wait and i want to go see movies and eat delicious food and drink cold beer and iced tea (not at the same time). Ill be home the afternoon of the 6th of july and im not leaving until the evening of the 13th. i miss and love you guys SO MUCH and I cant wait to see you!
Love, Mole
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1150639980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1150639980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1150639980/tpod.html Sun, 18 Jun 2006 10:55:11 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Palo Verde, Dominican Republic

Hola Everybody!
Saludos from la Republica Dominicana! I know I wrote an update nary a week or two ago, but I feel like I have enough ammo to do another one right now! I hope that everything is going well at home and I MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!
So, when I came back to my site from a quick trip to the capital last week, I came home to the owners of my house telling me that I had to move.....now! at first I chalked it up to the whole "Molly isnt a strong Spanish speaker" miscommunication, but then I realized that they had started moving their stuff in. It turns out that the owner was having problems with her husband and needed to move out immediately. Now, I am all for strong women getting away from mean husbands, dont get me wrong, but still...
So, miraculously, thanks to some really good neighbors, and alot of muchachos who like to carry American belongings down the street, in a period of less than 24 hours, I found a new house and moved all my stuff (p.s. how did I get so much stuff?). It wasnt until then that I realized that there was no electricity, no latrine, and a pig lives in the backyard (and not a cute little piglet, but we're talkin a serious-looks-like-he-could-eat-me-and-still-be-hungry pig). So now Im in the process of putting in electricity (kind of works, but I have to stand on a chair and twist the lightbulbs to turn them on and off), getting the owners to move the pig (so far he's still in the backyard, but hes tied up in the far corner) and building a new latrine (in the meantime I've been sneak-attacking neighbours latrines which is equal parts scary, gross, exhilerating and funny). My new latrine is going to be AWESOME though. The workers started building it yesterday and it is built according to the no-joke 'VIP'Latrine plan which stands for something I cant remember. All I know is that its going to be really nice and I will NEVER let any cucarachas live in it. And yes, I realize how sad it is that my life has come to being this excited about a new latrine.
Other than that, I spend my days trying to find an equilibrium between the heat and the mosquitos. If I wear long clothes to protect myself from the mosquitos, I end up drenched in sweat, but if I wear the preferred shorts and a tank top, I end up with a billion mosquito bites. I feel like if I could just work out some mathematical equation where I input the temperature versus number of mosquitos, I might be able to figure out what to do on each specific day. But for now, I usually just retreat under my mosquito net and hope for the best. FYI for those who are now thinking about cancelling their plane tickets to come and visit me, i SWEAR that the mosquitos arent supposed to be this bad when youre here! I think they are supposed to go away in July? It will, however, still be hot. But everybody needs a cinnamon Dominican tan, right?
OMG I miss you guys like CRAZY and I cant believe Im coming home in 3 WEEKS!!! Drinking cold drinks, eating delicious food, and gossiping are required. I love you all and can't wait to see as many of you as possible!
Love, Mole/Molly
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1144684500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1144684500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1144684500/tpod.html Mon, 10 Apr 2006 13:00:27 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Palo Verde, Dominican Republic

Hola Everybody!
I just want to fill you guys in on a funny thing that happened to me this week. As some of you may know, I've started a little reading group with some of the kids in my neighborhood. Basically, I've been reading a chapter of the first Harry Potter book (en espanol, por supuesto! sidenote: it doesn't do much for one's ego to have one's pronunciation of words in a CHILDREN'S BOOK corrected by 3 year olds! but hey, I get them with new words like 'Hogwarts' and 'muggle' and saying 'Harry' without rolling my R's -- take that Juan Carlos!) each Saturday and afterwards we discuss it and have a little activity to do but pretty much I just enjoy talking about Harry, Ron and Hermione.
This last Saturday, I read the chapter where Harry gets these mysterious letters addressed to him but his evil Uncle Vernon doesn't let him read them. I had thought that a cool activity for them to do afterwards would be for each of them to write their own letter to Harry, you know, giving him advice on how to deal with his uncle, wishing him a happy 11th birthday, etc, etc. Although I had some misgivings about "stretching the truth" I decided to tell the kids that I really was going to send the letters to Harry in England and that maybe, just MAYBE, he would write back to all the "brujas" (witches) and "magos" (wizards) in Palo Verde. I decided that it would be good for these kids to get to use their imagination and get excited about something.
I thought things were going really well until I started hearing little snippets of their conversation (roughly transalted, of course):
Chica#1: I think I'm going to address it to "El Gran Senor" Jarri Potter
Chica#2: Yeah, you know, he's got....(rubs her fingers together in the
international symbol for money)
--------------------------------------------
Chica#3: Do you think he could get us a visa to go to England?
Chica#4: Well, I'm putting my phone number down just in case.
--------------------------------------------
So, basically, I now have in my possession an envelope full of what amounts to British visa applications for Harry Potter. Haha, oh life in the D.R. is full of surprises. Any advice on what Harry's "response" should be?
On another note, I got the BEST b-day packages from K-bag, KT, Mos, and Assyla! You guys are the GREATEST! I cannot even believe. Grandma XaXa as always has been the BEST letter-writer. I promise a batch of letters is on the way to everybody SOON. I love and miss you all so much (like hot warmed buns, perhaps?) I cant wait to see everyone in JULY!
Love, Molly Potter
P.S. DR 2K6 in August?!?!?! I am already counting down the days. I will have icy Dominican beers on the beach waiting for each and every one of you!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1132170360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1132170360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1132170360/tpod.html Wed, 16 Nov 2005 15:05:47 -0500 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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El Callejon de Cabrera, Dominican Republic

Buenos Dias Everybody!
This one is going to be short because Im running out of time at the internet cafe, but i wanted to say that I love and miss you all SO MUCH! Last week I went on a visit to what is going to be my site for the next two years. Its a little city called Palo Verde that is in the northwest corner of the country and its really cool. The town itself has about 5000 people which is muy grande in my opinion and Im also going to be working with 15 other surrounding communities. It was a bit overwhelming meeting everybody especially since I dont even know how to say overwhelming in Spanish, but Im excited to have alot to do.
Im going to be living with a lady named Cleopatra and her family for the first three months. Pluses: Her name is Cleopatra and she also goes by Cleo and Chiquitita and I love saying her name and I have running water and electricity most of the time. Minuses: I have a CRAZY (as in really crazy) aunt who LOVES to make my bed (sometimes with me in it) and pull her lips up to her nose. Besides Chiquitita and her crazy sister there are a TON of really motivated women and youth in the community that Im really excited to work with.
When I got back from the visit I had SO MUCH MAIL waiting for me! THREE letters from Marcia and THREE from Mom and the BEST magazines from Sally and a great letter from jjff AND THE WEDDING INVITATION!!! I seriously cried in front of EVERYONE when I got it! Thank you guys SO MUCH. Responses will be in the mail SOON! I cant wait to see everybody at the wedding and i miss you all like CRAZY!
Love, Mole/Molly
P.S. I now love Marc Anthony and I dont know how I lived without him before
P.P.S. I didnt get my cell phone last week as planned but I am FOR SURE getting it next week. Expect phone calls!
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El Callejon de Cabrera, Dominican Republic

!Hola Everybody¡
So, this week I got a tentative (though pretty certain) site assignment for the next two years! I{m going to be pretty much in the top left corner (aka northwest) of the country -- really close to Haiti AND really close to the beach, both of which are key. The closest city to me is going to be Monte Cristi which should be on a map if you can find it. Visits from everyone are strongly encouraged and expected at ANY TIME! I am going to be working with a mothers group and a youth group on health issues like HIV AIDS and nutrition in my -pueblocito- (cant find the quotation marks again) and there is a sugar cane plantation powered by Haitian labor on the outskirts of my town and I will get to work with them and hopefully use some of my Kreyol.
This last week in training my group built a HUGE community vegetable garden and a chicken coop. By -built- I guess I mean that the 11 Americans fumbled around with measuring tapes and blueprints while the one Dominican mand with a machete actually got most of the work done, but Im still proud! Next week, we have planned a talent show for the youth in this community. My host brother, Erick, has decided that his -talent- is going to be to dress up like a girl and lip synch to a female singer while interpretive dancing to the lyrics. Hes been having dress rehearsals all this week, and now I call him my hermana, Ericka.
Spanish is still a bit of a challenge for me, but its getting better, poco a poco. Im still the queen of horrible verb conjugations, but sometimes I surprise myself when a sentence like -I will kill the rooster tomorrow because it was crowing all night- comes out of my mouth. Whats that saying? Necessity is the mother of making me speak Spanish correctly? Either necessity or hatred of roosters, I guess.
I CANT WAIT to come home for K-bags wedding! and I cant BELIEVE that its only in a MONTH more! Are there any updates or bridesmaid duties I can perform from a 3rd world country? I miss everybody SO MUCH and PLEASE WRITE! Letters always make me MUY happy. I just checked my e-mail and I cant BELIEVE all the celebrity gossip Im missing out on - you guys are the bueno-est! Love you all SO MUCH!
Love, Mole/Molly
P.S. XaXa - I got TWO letters form you last week and I loved every bit of them! especially the Anderson Cooper article!
Jenny, Cornachios, and Cawy! - I dont have your addresses for some reason, tell me!
My address, again, is--
PCT Molly Rosenberg
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1412
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1125431400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1125431400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1125431400/tpod.html Tue, 30 Aug 2005 16:33:55 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Richmond, Virginia, United States

Hello Everyone!
So it has been a LONG time since last I "blogged" and ALOT has happened. I'm pretty sure that everyone already knows this, but the Peace Corps was evacuated from Haiti in the middle of June with no real hopes of going back in until at least the Spring of next year, if at all. With the elections coming up in November and a rise in kidnappings and random violence around Port-au-Prince, the decision was made that it was just too dangerous to keep the volunteers in country. Though i never felt threatened or in danger in my training village or my permanent site, I do understand that Haiti has alot to deal with in the immediate future and blah blah blah (does that sound a bit sarcastic?).
So I've been home all summer catching up with all my awesome friends and family and trying to get the ball rolling with a new Peace Corps assignment. Turns out I am headed back to the other side of the island of Hispaniola to the Dominican Republic with the hopes of being assigned near the border with Haiti so that I can still have contact with Haitians and keep up with my Creole. It sounds pretty awesome in that my training village apparently has electricity! and toilets! but is at the same time a bit scary because I don't speak any Spanish and I have to start all over with the three months of training on top of the two years of service.
Allright, here is my new address in the DR as I ALWAYS appreciate mail of ANY kind:
Molly Rosenberg, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

and for DHL or Fedex packages:
Molly Rosenberg, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
451 Avenida Bolivar
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Office Ph# (required for delivery) 809.685.4102
Everyone who sent me letters and packages in Haiti are the best in the WORLD! News from home really helped me through bouts of homesickness and taco-bell withdrawal induced sadness. I'll write again soon! Love you all!
Love, Molly
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1114890300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1114890300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1114890300/tpod.html Mon, 20 Jun 2005 14:10:13 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Kenscoff, Haiti

Hey Everybody!
Its been a couple of weeks since I've been able to get to a computer and I feel like alot has happened, but I can't really think of it all right now! Well, we had our language and technical "midterm" last week and everyone should be proud to know tha I'm already above the language level to become a volunteer (which isn't as big of a feat as it may sound!).So, now I've stopeed general language lessons and am now focusing only on technical language. This means I can now say "You must cut your nails so taht worms and microbes that cause diarrhea don't enter your mouth" and "breastmilk is chock full of Vitamin A!" but I dont know how to say something like, "No, 50 year old man, I dont want to be your girlfriend, thank you!" How practical, right?
Also, Im not sure if all of you guys are aware of my amazing songwriting skills, but I've been collaberating with the six kids that live with me to creat an English language song make of the English words I've taught them so far. Its still in its beginning stages, but the first part goes "Tree, Do-or, Bucket" (repeat) and the second part goes, "Clock, Bathroom, Soccer" (repeat). Its REALLY pretty and you can place any beatbox sounds you might want in between the stanzas. We sing it approximately 500-1000 times a day. Dont tell anyone, but I think I might have some interest for it from the music industry. Maybe Wyclef singing? We'll see.
Last week (Wed-Fri) all of us trainees went to the city of Jacmel to visit some real volunteers (three are there right now) to see where some of us will be working. it is SUCH a cool city, RIGHT on the beach, with awesome food and supposedly the best Carnival in the country. We stayed at this really nice hotel (by Haitian standards) where we all had our own rooms with REAL showers and toilets (I managed to take 7 showers in the 3 days/2 nights we were there!) We visited a school for handicapped children in the city that has outreach programs in the mountains around Jacmel. The kids were SO cute and sweet - one of them made me a ring out of playdoh (we may be engaged now!). I heard a rumor that I may be one of the volunteers thats going to work with them in Jacmel whcih would be so cool. Peace corps has a horrible habit of not telling you anything substantial about where youre going or what youll be doing until youve had to sweat about it for a few months! Well, I'll find out for sure on Friday and I'll let everyone know (keep your fingers crossed for Jacmel -- especially those of you who are going to come visit me!)
Nothing much else is going on here except we're still not done with getting all our shots. We've had about ten so far (and I bet you can all imagine how heroically I took EACH one of them, right?)Also, one of my co-trainees, Paul, and I have been taking care of five little puppies for the past few weeks. Their mom died right after they were born and we've been giving them milk and playing with them ever since. Their names are "Kle Machin" (Car Key), "Kalewes" (Lazy), "Ti-Molly" (Molly Jr.), "Ti-Paul", and "Jean-Heber" (one of our language instructors names). It is exceptionally funny to say things like, "Jean-Heber sleeps in a box under a car" or "Jean-Heber" had a well-formed bowel movement this morning." Well, I miss all of you guys like crazy! I got letters from Kathryn (again!) Mom and Dad (times 2!), Aimee, Katie, and Laura since last I blogged -- I loved EVERYTHING and I ate up every word. Thank you SO MUCH! Has anyone heard from me yet? I swear I've sent out a ton and I will send out more letters to everyone who wrote me, I promise! I love you guys SO MUCH!
Love, Molly / Mole
P.S. Aimee - I LOVED all the gossip
Jason - the iPod should be there SOON! Thank you SO MUCH for dealing with it!
Laura - Thanks for the picture - The Haitians LOVE seeing "blans" (white people) in bathing suits!
Mom and Dad - the crosswords are done already! and "Sunrise @ Promontory Pointe is hanging in my room!
Assyla - I hope theres no more violent activity at the CHS! Keep safe! Wear a bullet proof vest?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1111343100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1111343100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/molly/haiti/1111343100/tpod.html Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:38:01 -0400 Updates on my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Haiti/Dominican Republic

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Kenscoff, Haiti

Bonjou tout moun!
I have been in Haiti since Wednesday and I am absolutely LOVING it. We got off the plane in Port (that's what cool people call Port-au-Prince and its better than the alternative: PAP) and were met by the US Embassy and given true VIP treatment. Then we all got into the Landcruisers waiting to take us up the mountain to our hotel in Furcy (pronounced like "feces" but without the "s" haha!) A bone-jarring 2 hour ride later, we were at the hotel and got completely spoiled - running HOT water, three course meals, cold beer ("bye" in kreyol) for three nights. Now, I am back down the mountain a little bit and staying with my host family. My manman is named Celine and she is very nice and funny but she insists on feeding me INSANE amounts of food until I get "gwos" (fat) and sexy! My meals have been EXCELLENT but huge. Last night she served me an entire plate full of goat meat (which i loved!) and an entire plate of beet, carrot and potato salad (which I helped make) plus an entire plate of banana fries. My room is wonderful with a very comfy bed under a mosquito net but not much else. I will try to post pictures soon, I promise. In my village are two other volunteers closeby-Neiger and Paul-they are both great. This morning, the roosters started crowing about 4am, then some sort of drumming and singing began around 4:30am, then other animals started joining in. I got up at 5. Basically I have the worlds most annoying alarm clock set for way too early in the morning, but Im sure I'll get used to it. Mom, you'll be proud, I went to church for THREE hours this morning! It was a bit boring especially bc I didn't understand anything, but the music was awesome! I love and miss all of you SO MUCH! Can't wait to hear how everything is going back home!
Love, Molly
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