Yesterday was an interesting day. I realized that I had hardly any ambition to do anything. Masa was here and we were going to go to the hardware store after lunch and pick up a rake for the backyard and some chicken wire to put on the windows to keep out the rats. As we were about to leave I realized that it was Saturday and the ferreteria closes at 12. After that I lost what little stores of ambition I had left so Masa and I headed over to visit Nora in La Descubierta which is about 20 minutes away. Nora has a group of Germans living in her town. Three gap year students between the ages of 19-21 who are treating their time here as a glorified vacation and one older man who works in eco-tourism. I had never met the older man and he was with Nora at her apartment when we arrived. He is an interesting fellow. His name is Kai and has obviously spent way to much time in this country-trying to accomplish things that are impossible to achieve here in less than a decade. He is not just a little bitter and apparently a racist. He had had a few beers and told us that he only is attracted to white women and that the reason for this was genetics. Then he tried hitting on me. Ick. I realized as our conversations continued that we have hit an interesting low point in our lives. We have been here long enough to have said some culturally insensitive things and therefore are more forgiving when we encounter someone who is going through a rough time and also we are soooo insanely broke this month that we will hang out with this angry German man for free rum and beer. We made some buttered pasta and Italian sausage for dinner and the next thing I know I am at a nightclub dancing like an awkward American to reggeaton for the enjoyment of Nora's town. I think at one point I kicked a beer bottle off a table. Ridiculous. I also argued with the German, saved Nora from the unwanted advances of some Rastafarian man, met a French woman, convinced myself that I could speak French when I was drunk, tried to dance salsa, hugged and kissed the dona in charge of taking care of the bathrooms and ate two chimis (which are hamburgers). I haven't drank that much since college! ;)

Today I am paying for my crazy night. I am lying in bed, so dehydrated that my skin is peeling and I had to turn off my fan because it was making me feel seasick. We are taking care of Fifa, Nora's dog and it is a madhouse with all the animals. Mama has taken off again and when we got back I tried catching her...pitiful attempt if you can even call it that...more like walking behind her trying to will her to magically walk into my hands. One of the ninos tried to help me but he kept looking at me and saying "you don't look so good." Finally Mama disappeared behind a fence that belongs to a neighbor, gasp- who I don't know, and so I gave up the chase or more truthfully the nino that was assisting me gave up and so by default I had to

Not much happened today in Los Rios. I didn't sleep that well last night so I wasn't the most cheerful at morning chores. I moved Sinley out where there was some sweet looking grass and let Mama out. Oh, Mama did come back! I found her sleeping on top of a scrub brush in the porch. Eric completely freaked her out by grabbing her and she woke up with a squawk. We put her in her cage but she was so disorientated that she knocked over her water dish. Miserably clucking in an inch or so of water she started diving for food and sounding more and more pissed off with every second so I fixed her up in the bigger cage with a nice big stick to roost on. Anyway back to this morning, so after all the animals were settled I tried to go back to bed and right as I was falling asleep the water truck showed up and would not stop honking because I had an empty bottle out on the porch. Sigh, no more sleep for me! Coffee followed and basically I stared out to the main road for about an hour or so. Eric woke up and I made more coffee. Ah what a riveting life I do lead...we watched a movie called The Dreamers that I had never seen and enjoyed with the exception that it was based in Paris and everyone was smoking like a chimney. I am trying to cut down and quit by sometime next month so at times it was torture. ;)

After the movie Eric decided to go home and I went to socialize with my people. It was an awful Spanish day. Hoping it had something to do with my lack of sleep and not that I am regressing. I got alot of "hey your accent is getting worse," and "I thought you spoke Spanish better than you do" type remarks. But you know that is what I love about these people. If they love you they are all in your face and it isn't as if I didn't know my Spanish sucked today so it wasn't anything surprising. I also like the fact that I can be super fuerte with them, telling them exactly how I feel or think about a topic without worrying that I am going to offend them. Of course this isn't with everyone but being an extranjera gives me a lot of leeway.

Someone killed Gera's cat and she was a mess when I stopped by. Apparently a vecino broke her back and left it in their yard. She had just had kittens and they were still nursing. It took a few days for her to die, she couldn't move, drink or eat. Max is sleeping with me tonight, I don't even care if he has fleas...okay that isn't true and I just pushed him off the bed. ;) Life is rough for animals here. Rats have returned to my home and so has Masa. He is here working on his site change and I couldn't be happier to have the help. He loves Sinley and somehow getting a lamb came up in conversation or perhaps a piglet. Other conversation topics included how to build an ark in case of a flood and community barn raising. ;)

Riot today in Los Rios. Eric, my closest volunteer, just got back from the States and headed over to have dinner and watch a movie. Shortly after he arrived his girlfriend called and he went outside to talk. I was sitting on the porch, rocking and enjoying the quiet when the cheering began. It was somewhat quiet at first but as the minutes rolled on it got louder and louder. I wondered what was going on but soon forgot about it when Eric came back and we decided to make egg sandwiches for dinner. Now before you scoff at an egg sandwich for dinner being significant enough news to ignore signs of a riot I must warn you that these are no ordinary egg sandwiches, they have layers of sauteed veggies, roasted garlic, hand cut smoked pork, Gouda cheese, fried eggs and fresh tomatoes all pressed between two slices of perfectly crisp garlic toast. It is one of our favorite Peace Corps dinners here. I digress...we needed to get more eggs and orange juice (nothing makes this sandwich like a cold glass of OJ) so we headed out to the local pharmacy to buy what we needed and again I paused to listen to the chanting and loud yells. Now slightly concerned I told Eric that we should go to my project partner's house after our shopping to find out what was going on since the noise was coming from his direction anyway.

After leaving the pharmacy we wound our way through the main square until we came to the main road near Canin's home. We both stopped and stared. Not 50 feet from the house there was a huge bonfire right in the middle of the bridge. About 50-100 people (it was dark) stood shouting or dragging branches toward the fire. A local doctor stood near me watching ,muttering about tigueres and power outages. I asked where the police where and he scoffed. The tinkling of broken glass reached us and we decided to head back home.

As we arrived Eric mentioned that if we went to the river next to my house we could probably see what was going on at a safe distance. We were standing in the river bed when the first shot rang out, then another and another, people screamed and started running. One man grabbed a stick and started pushing burning logs over the side of the bridge. Someone threw two or three bottles at him and again more shots were fired at the retreating crowd. I thought the man was trying to put out the fire but as soon as there was a pathway through he and another man ran across the bridge carrying large rifles. They swung them around in huge circles and worriedly I whispered to Eric that we should go home, more screams began and they started firing off rounds. The shots continued for a few more minutes after which a loud silence descended over my town. A little while later a few colmados (bars/little stores) started blasting music and now it is if the town is having an after riot party! I am still trying to process what just happened.... Unsurprisingly the threat of death made us rave nos and we ate but in silence. No funny stories from home, no questions about Sinley...

I just reread the message I sent you yesterday about Sinley and I started to laugh. So many grammatical errors that I had a difficult time understanding some parts and I am the one who wrote it! I hope this means my Spanish is getting better.... ;)

I have lost Mama. I let her go to forage yesterday because she seemed depressed. Canin, my fantastic project partner, told me that I could let her out and collect her at night. He did say that the first few times she would be difficult to catch but that I could do it. Totally apprehensive because I haven't had the best luck with husbandry I let her out and was pleasantly suprised at how close she stuck to the house. That is, how close she stuck to the house until Max and Tinuki realized she was out.... I can't even imagine how to describe this I am still laughing...okay so Max saw her first and leaped over Sinley who let out more of a scream than a bleat while Tinuki knocked over my mop bucket and flew out the side door. I tried to follow yelling NOOO! but tripped over the mop landing on Sinley who broke the chair she was attached to and then followed Tinuki out. By the time I got out the door there were feathers EVERYWHERE. Max was sitting calmly in the stream bed and Tinuki was snapping at Sinley who I am pretty sure was trying to nurse from her. I searched for Mama's body but to no avail. After I got all the animals back in the galleria I ventured outside and started asking everyone I saw if they had seen a terrified chicken fly by. No one had but they all had plenty of advice on how to take care of a chicken. This advice I would have normally appreciated but with a scraped up elbow and a lost chicken I was not my normal cheerful self. Gritting my teeth I thanked them and moved on.

Eventually I gave up and went home. A young man (how random strangers here find out about my business mere minutes after it happened I will never know) stopped by a little while later and quietly motioned me to the side of my house. There sitting on top of my neighbor's freshly painted door sat Mama. My neighbor came out of his house as I was attempting to shoo her off and told me that Mama was his and had been sleeping at his house for days. Sigh. I explained that I had a chicken the same color, size and age that had just escaped from my backyard but that I was glad that that chicken wasn't mine in case it shit all over his door. Now with Mama moving in with another neighhbor and my first rooster eaten by Martin I think I have accepted the fact that perhaps I wasn't meant to have chickens in this barrio. I went home to clean my scrapes and forget about it.

Tonight as I was writing the part above a group of ninos stopped by to stare at me typing and ask random questions like, "How do you say lion in English?" and "Why don't you have any kids?" Soon I had accumulated quite a crowd and one of the little ones asked what we did with all the tigers in the United States. I told him that the only tigers we had were in the zoo but that we had panthers and cougars. That opened a whole new string of questions about what is a panther and what did cougars eat. I answered accordingly, a panther is a large carnivrous cat and that cougars occasionally eat people who walk under them while they are sitting high up in the trees. I wish you could have seen their faces! After they heard about cougar attacks they wanted to know about every type of animal in the US that could kill a human. One boy swore that he knew that there were monkeys in the States that had eaten one of his dad's friends. This spawned another interesting conversation about baboons and their butts. Shortly after that conversation began of the moms yelled for her daughter and they all quickly yelled their goodbyes and headed home. It is moments like this that I love about the Peace Corps, sitting on my porch with a fresh glass of lemonade, an unexpected yet lovely conversation and now writing you.

I had hoped to post these before you got back and I hope you don't think I have forgotten you!

I have bought a baby goat and she is adorable. Her name is Sinley which means lawless. They have a saying in the Dominican Republic (or DR) that basically says that we are goats without law. Somos chivos sin ley. Dominicans think this is hilarious that I named her this. She has begun to believe that Masa's (another volunteer) dog, Tinuki, is her mother. When Tinuki goes off to explore she begins bleating her little head off and a few times I'll admit, I have questioned my sanity for getting her. Even Max, my cat, is becoming annoyed, yesterday Sinley was having one of her temper tantrums and he sauntered over to her and started batting at her mouth. Now she is terrified of him and when she spots him she freaks out. I had her in the house for awhile, mostly because I have no idea what to do with a goat. I built the crappiest pen, made up of spare sticks from the yard and some chairs. I put the pen next to the chicken hoping that they could keep each other company. I was so happy at first until she started going to the bathroom, it seemed everytime I cleaned up one mess she would make another. Her being in the house ended last night- mainly my fault due to my nonexistant pen making abilities/ I put Max's food dish on top the chicken pen while cleaning- when she broke out of the pen and I woke up to her eating my mosquitero. Now I have her tied to a chair out on the porch with Tinuki and the chicken who is named Mama. Mama will have a husband soon due to Gera, my 18 year-old best friend, who is coming over with my new rooster. His name will be Papa and I am a little bit nervous about the noise. My last rooster loved to crow...All.The.Time. My neighbors are a little suprised by my new petting zoo and someone asked me if I planned on staying forever and if not, could they have my goat when I move? Two little boys from my neighboorhood came by yesterday and asked if I wanted some turtles. I told them absolutely not but that is of course what I told the woman with Sinley, so don't be suprised when I mention two more additions to the family. ;)

Today I am cleaning house and my body is killing me. I am taking a break from my second round of mopping and I could use a siesta! Maybe after I make lunch for everyone. I am trying to make a to do list and top of the list is a visit up to the mountains. I need to my final rounds of interviews for two solicitations I am working on for the water sector. The last few times I have gone up to these four communities I have taken advantage of my connection to the Mayor and had the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) take me there. Tim, the Peace Corps Director for water, has told me that this time I need to travel the way these new volunteers will. There is no public transportation up to these locations so I must depend on the kindness of local business men or farmers. The trip usually it takes between 3 1/2- 4 1/2 hours on the worst roads I have ever seen. Washouts frequently block the winding roads and the trucks hug the edge of the mountain while I pray. Little white crosses occasionally litter the side of these roads, a reminder of those who didn't make it. I don't think that I will be able to hitch a ride back down the mountain the same day so it will be an adventure, one that hopefully ends with me safe and sound in some donas house or dancing merengue in a hut/bar. We shall see.

So another quick post from me while at the training center. I am waiting to leave for San Cristobal where we are doing a youth conference and snorkeling. I know my life is so hard. I have three posts to upload about my training so far but will have to wait to be uploaded because it takes about an hour and a half to upload each one- if the internet doesn't go out in the middle of it that is! Supposedly when I am a volunteer it will be an easier process and I can post regularly. I have so much I want to tell you all. I got some great stories that include getting lost on the border, getting pickpocketed, giant spiders and cockfights...more to come hopefully sooner than later! Also I apologise for spelling errors my computer only spell checks in spanish now!

I absolutely promise to have at least 3 blog posts up by Tuesday! Promise! But just remember I will be posting more than one so don't just read the latest post... ;) Teaser: This weekend I am headed to the Haitian border to meet up with another volunteer, see her project and check out my skills with local transportation...wish me luck.

Today was one of those days where you wake up and it's a Disney morning. I lept out of bed and saw that the sun was shining. I hummed as I emptied the dishwasher and while I enjoyed my morning cup of joe and a ciggy, unbelievably the birds began to sing me a little diddy. As I sat down to enjoy the sunshine my mind wandered back to the only topic I think of here lately...my impending adventure in the Dominican Republic.

Last night I had caught the PBS show Changing Faces of America, where they take famous actors and trace their lineage back to when their ancestors first set foot on American soil. I know that my journey is nothing like those first immigrants but I can't help to feel some connection to them as I ponder my three pieces of luggage and am daunted by how little I can take with me, how little they could take with them. There are of course many differences between us...I am leaving with an government organization and I have a job to do; many of them had no prospects. I have a new life with a timeline and they were making a new life with no hope of returning to their ancestral home. For some strange reason it comforts me to think about how daunting it must have been for them and how I am going to be living in the safe cocoon of bureaucracy.

Following my coffee break I checked facebook...my days are not exciting but the post I found by a volunteer in the DR sure is! He is an Information Technology volunteer and he explained what training is like for the environmental groups. Instead of paraphrasing I will give his words;

"What I do know about environment training is that you'll be doing a lot of hiking around the mountains. I live right next door to the site where environmental advanced training is held (I'll try to stop by to say "Hello," a few times when you're here) and the site is one very long, thin strip of road and houses hanging off the edge of a tall cliff dropping away to a beautifully verdant tropical valley below.

The lecture portion of your training is held in an old coffee plantation's mansion next door to an elementary school. I think this will mostly be about modern educational theory and techniques for capturing and holding the attentions of both adults and children in a classroom setting. You might also do some current events discussions; threats to the environment specific to the DR, ecotourism as an economic model and the great "Paving Haitises National Park" debate, things like that. You'll be given notebooks and writing implements so don't worry about bringing any stationary unless you want to write in the airport....

The volunteers' host-homes are spread out along about 10km of the road to either side of the mansion so you'll be doing a lot of walking and hitchhiking (which is extremely common and safe here) every day.

The hands-on portion of the training is done in a national park just up the mountainside where you'll be learning how to make compost heaps and various other types of organic fertilizers, how to arrange and plant an efficient organic garden, how to identify a number of the local plant and animal species and their common agricultural uses and things of that nature. The most important tools you'll probably want to bring will be sunglasses, light boots if you don't want your feet to get filthy in sandals and comfortable work or gardening gloves.

The extent to which you'll really need to have access to computers for anything other than recreational purposes is unclear to me, I'm afraid, although if you'd like to bring an agricultural manual in ebook form or a Caribbean flora or fauna identification program, those might both be useful."

Pretty exciting stuff! More soon from my side of the mountain...;)

Hello all! Some of you have been frustrated because you can't leave comments...I think I fixed the problem but we should try it out! First, I don't allow anonymous comments so you must SIGN IN to leave a comment. (you must go to the top of the page where there is a link that says SIGN IN. Click on that and put in the email you used to make yourself a follower and the password for your email ((which is your password for blogspot as well!)), then you should be able to post comments. DO NOT hit comments BEFORE signing in. You must SIGN IN FIRST! ;) Second, I am hoping that this will show if people are getting the emails that I have updated the blog. If you could just leave a comment I would appreciate it!

6 days people and I am off! I am packed but I now have a permanent lump of anticipation lodged in my stomach! I can't wait to leave if only to get this adventure going! The wait is killing me! Will post again soon!

Sarah

This is the press release that should be in all the local papers in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin! Keep an eye out and save me a copy!

Delafield/Eau Claire Resident Begins Peace Corps Service in Dominican Republic

Sarah Eastburn, 27, of Delafield/Eau Claire, Wis., has been accepted into the Peace Corps.

Eastburn will be departing for the Dominican Republic on March 3, to begin pre-service training as a community environmental development promoter Peace Corps volunteer. Upon graduation from volunteer training in May, Eastburn will be working with her community to develop rural-based ecotourism, youth leadership development and renewable energy and energy conservation projects.

Sarah is the daughter of Tracy and Terry Eastburn and John and Olga Parsons, and a graduate of Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wis. She then attended University of Wisconsin Eau Clair in Eau Claire, Wis., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Business and Mass Communication, graduating in 2009. Sarah previously worked Pewaukee Wildlife Association and the Red Cross.

“When I was 15 I traveled to Indonesia for a summer to bring running water to a village in Banda Ache. The experience changed my life and I knew from that time on that the Peace Corps was an experience I wanted to have,” Eastburn said about her decision to join the Peace Corps.

During the first three months of her service, Sarah will live with a host family in the Dominican Republic to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the language and cultural skills necessary to assist her community, Sarah will serve for two years in the Dominican Republic, living in a manner similar to people in her host country.

Eastburn joins the 207 Wisconsin residents currently serving in the Peace Corps. More than 5,552 Wisconsin residents have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.

Over 3,955 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in the Dominican Republic since the program was established in 1962. Volunteers in this Caribbean nation work in the areas of youth and community development, environmental and agricultural conservation, health and HIV/AIDS awareness, water sanitation and hygiene promotion, business development, and information technology. All Volunteers in this country, regardless of sector, are trained to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and many receive support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. Currently, 198 Volunteers are serving in the Dominican Republic.

As Peace Corps approaches its 50th anniversary, its service legacy continues to promote peace and friendship around the world with over 7,600 volunteers serving in 75 host countries. Historically, nearly 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment. To learn more about the Peace Corps, please visit our website: www.peacecorps.gov.

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Hello all! I just wanted to let you know that in a few days I will post all the info you could want about the Peace Corps and the history of the isla Hispañola, which is now the Dominican Republic and Hati. ;)

So I don't know if any of you know this but I don't have a car. It unfortunately broke down right after a mechanic told me and I quote, "Lady, your car is worth at least 1000 bucks without the brakes." The brakes were what I was fixing for the lovely tune of 500 dollars and shortly after I got my, lovely, worth more than 1000 bucks car, it stopped starting. Oh, and get this after I paid the 65$ tow for no more than 6 blocks to the mechanic it started. No joke. Unfortunately however, whenever they move it outside it stops starting so back to the drawing board. sigh. Needless to say it has been a little over a week with no wheels and I am going crazy and fast. I have checked this blog about 100 times today and keep adding ridiculous gadgets. For awhile I had tetris and played for about 6 hours...which...was... exhausting. I removed it.... After that I napped for awhile. I then added a lovely weather channel thingy that shows the temperature in the Dominican Republic but has an animated map of the United States on it. Weird. I am happy that 7 of you have decided to follow me (won't be surprised if after this new post I lose a few of you) but am shocked at the poor showing from my family. Quinn and Kristen you, of course, are excluded. ;) Kristen Skrtic lovely to see you here...do you, lover of all things blog related, have one yourself? Molly, my IT guru, knew I could count on you! Amy, you have redeemed all in the CJ department, how are you doing? Daniel, my silver bean, sorry I bullied you into following my blog. And last but not least, Karin, who has been an inspiration to me throughout this process- I can't wait to hear about your adventures in Ukraine. Okay, enough ranting for an early morning. Adios. ;)

Well hello all. At the moment I am sitting all safe and warm in Eau Claire Wisconsin, trying to wait patiently for my life to begin. I should be used to waiting since it took close to a year and nine months for me to receive my invitation to the Peace Corps but it appears that I am not. Serenity now!

I am leaving for staging on March 2, 2010. Staging is located somewhere in the U.S. and is where we receive our final vaccinations and are asked for perhaps the zillionth time if we are sure we want to do this. I understand the Peace Corps' trepidation, I mean it isn't exactly cheap to send thousands of Americans around the world, pay for their lodging, training and medical expenses for 27 months but enough already. I feel like I signed over my first born child to be able to do this so lets vamoose!

I can't remember when I first decided that I wanted to be a Peace Corps volunteer. I feel like I have always wanted to be one, live in exciting places, learn new languages, you know, the Indiana Jones complex. I even started out college as a Anthropology minor. (I know that Indiana was in Archeology but we didn't have one of those at UWEC (University of Eau Claire)- gimme a break) Even though I know that I won't be searching for lost treasure nor running from arachnids of large and unusual size(at least I hope not), I am sure that this adventure will be exciting.

Throughout the days I find myself lulled into daydreams like Dorothy, imagining white sandy beaches, long lines in the airport and the dreaded sound of a flight attendant telling me that I packed too much and must decide in the next 30 seconds whether I want to bring my extra cotton underwear or bug spray. Sigh. I try not to worry, to push my thoughts to the back of my head, so usually I jump on Facebook and stalk people I won’t be seeing for the next 30 months to try to relieve the boredom. So if you are my friend on facebook chances are I check your status at least three times a day so let's keep it interesting folks!

For any family members reading this I will be down in Milwaukee the second week in February so I will have 24 days in which to reconnect before I disconnect. Sorry that was corny. More to come! Thanks for reading