Greetings Dear Friends and Family,

Two years and five months have passed since I landed in the Dominican Republic to serve with the Peace Corps as a Community Economic Development Advisor. In October of 2011, I signed on for a third year of service requiring me to move to Santo Domingo and take on a leadership role. Although I live several hours away from my original site placement I still have many initiatives in this rural village that the community and I are motivated to complete.

As many of you know, I was requested to assist the organization of a community association that is currently completing an eco tourism lodge with the assistance of USAID-DSTA and UNDP-PPS. After much hard work the community association is near the completion of this lodge and is in this planning phases of its grand opening.

While working with this association, I took on several secondary health projects within my community and neighboring communities. With the help of 17 rural health promoters, hundreds of family members were taught basic nutrition and were given the tools necessary to begin their own organic gardens. 160 gardens were created within 8 communities. Villagers are more aware of maintaining their diet and treating their ailments with the right foods.

Although nutrient rich foods can be found in the land and are more widely consumed, many villagers continue consuming products produced in towns made with nutrient poor and sometimes unhealthy ingredients contributing to the very common ailments of obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes. One of the main staples and products consumed in the village diet is bread (Pan de Agua). This bread is made with white flour, water, yeast, and sometimes flavored with pig fat and salt.

The Community association and I would love to introduce and sell a nutrient rich bread and baked goods to the surrounding communities. With the proper supplies and tools, an earthen oven will be built where large amounts of breads and baked goods can be made and distributed through our local "colmados" or markets. The Oven will be run by the woman of the community association within the grounds of the eco-lodge, also providing opportunity to sell to foreign and national visitors and empowering our village woman.

A very large number of woman in the DR do not have the opportunity of providing income for the family. This is the result from a combination of many factors. The woman who will be baking have always been house wives and are ecstatic to have an new activity in their daily lives which will provide an extra source of income to help support their humble families.

If you would like to help fund my project you can donate to https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-473

Or go to http://www.peacecorps.gov click on Donate and submit project number 517-473.

Happy New Years!

M

As usually I have undoubtedly waited too long to submit another blog so I will begin to summarize some of the recent things that have happened. My last submission for March and May did not include my high doubts in the health Consortium program at Peace Corps. I was asked to be the coordinator/Executive Director but then realized I would have no say in anything so what is the point other than taking the blame for the bad things that are bound to happen. I would watch a program I love multiply at such a high rate that no one would be able to run it to the standards we had these last few years. Shortly after realizing how I really felt I was offered to work with a Consorcio Dominicano de Competitividad Turistica (CDCT) funded by USAID. This consortium overlooks all Tourism clusters (11) in the nation which strive to make tourism sustainable and more attractive to visitors. This will be set apart from the normal all inclusive resorts and typical beach party. My position is mainly to help USAID direct funding to this organization which requires a lot of paper work for the first four months. Once Money is rolling in Ill begin helping in the development/ implementation of their project plan which is basically a schmorgazborg of what I have been doing these last two years on a much larger scale. SO we shall see how that falls into place. So since this offer in May, I have gone to Mexico for three weeks to spend time with my BF’s family and friends. I got to see a lot of new things and gained a new perspective on Mexico. I went once as a child and I don’t have many good memories. I met up with a few Peace Corps Volunteers over as well as their country director and it was crazy to see how different their program was compared to ours. Soon after my return I traveled and wrapped up any sort of project I had going on in the country so I can begin with USAID with a clear mind. I wasn’t too successful so I still have a few projects that need closure. I’m now all moved into the capital and have been working in a beautiful ocean view office with very educated, experienced Dominican Nationals where I have to be in dress, business attire at all times and it’s insane transition. Someone mentioned to me, and I totally agree, that it’s a good thing I’m doing this now and not a year from now in the US. My mind would explode. My apartment is pretty near the office but it’s also near everything else, which is unlike anything I have had for the past two years. I still make basically nothing in living allowance so putting money aside to buy nicer things will be almost impossible. I still can’t make ends meet so; with the help of the institution I may be able to cover some living costs in Rent. This all sounds great but it’s been really hard. Leaving a really slow village life, to moving with a weeks’ notice to the city, to participating in big events and talking big game tourism; it’s just all mind blowing. It’s another world, I no longer recalled; flashy but difficult. I’m happy for my choice but I’m still unsure how it will fall in to place still being new and all. Most of all I miss my host family who have yet visited and it’s been the longest we have had apart since I moved in with them. I’d like to visit but the cost and time is tricky. Any who I finally posted most if not all my pics from my time here in the DR which can be accessed through this link. https://picasaweb.google.com/107317133106265603538 Much love to all------ M

I guess I can say things have been pretty slow these last few months at site and off site. Collectively, one can say a lot has been done however the time I have put into my service per day has been much less in comparison to my work schedule before. This has proven to be tough to swallow for me. To feel more productive I have taken it upon myself to research potential schools and dedicate a few hours a day to my GRE exam, which I hope to take in June. I however still feel guilty that my service in site is coming to an end and that these last few months are dedicated mostly for my own benefit and loosely wrapping up legalization work and the construction of a few more latrines. There is a group of volunteers that have completed their service and are returning to the states this Friday; officially making my cohort the seniors in PCDR. Our service is scheduled to end in 6 months, which is really hard to believe. In reality, the projects that I am working on are now pretty much running on their own. For example my youth group for HIV/AIDS prevention has become sustainable for the time being, expanding more and more each month. Last October I recommended one of my youth to take the role of Regional Coordinator and be the one to create an action plan and timeline to target more youth in the area of Jarabacoa. I am still in charge of financing from a grant I received distributing money based on my regional coordinators expenses. In other words my responsibilities have become almost non-existent. The regional Coordinator has done an amazing job. I’m really moved by how dedicated he has become in this role. He is doing a better job than I feel I could have done in all honesty. The Coordinator has created a team of his own who have graduated from the program I taught last year. They are now branching out and teaching the courses to other youth in the area. So far two new groups have received training and graduated. A new course is well on its way. A festival for Easter was hosted for all the youth in the area. Other regional coordinators and their youth were also invited to attend. It was a very well planned event. The municipal government lent out a projector, screen and a sound system for the presentations. The youth prepared choreography, poems and songs for the occasion. Lunch was prepared by local volunteers. I wasn't asked to do anything other than provide the funding. Truthfully, I feel a little unproductive for not having volunteered myself, however the purpose of our service is to teach and multiply, right? I should be satisfied knowing that my youth group is capable of hosting a function on their own not asking me for one piece of advice. I am also having the same luck with my health promoters. Well I feel like they have always been sustainable because they have steady income from an NGO, however they are better established and have a stronger action plan for the coming years, when I am no longer present. I finally received my first grant toward the new national health consortium project. 8 health volunteers and myself each received about 10 grand U.S. (PEPFAR FUNDING) specifically for educational material, transport, food, and some leg room to teach youth and woman about prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. This is basically what I have been doing in my community but on a larger scale. The money I was given for my community initiative was around 500 US and my team has multiplied the awareness on a pretty large scale in my opinion so you can imagine what can be done with 10 grand each a total of 90 grand. The volunteers that received this funding were asked to open these accounts with a leader from an assigned local health NGO. The point of this project is not only to multiply awareness on a very large scale but to enable these Health NGO's to take up this initiative on their own so Peace Corps can pull away and leave this responsibility to them, with the proper training and mission and vision. As the National Coordinator for this consortium, I have already heard feedback from most volunteers working on this initiative and unfortunately we are foreseeing obstacles which entails lack of motivation, maybe some special interest and inefficient use of funding. Each volunteer knowing that a little money can go a very long way, we feel that our initiative should be redefined before spending this large amount of money. So at the moment I am working with volunteers coming up with ideas and plans to better our project plan and long term goals. Recently I have begun involving members of the community association with the legalization process. In all honesty I need them by my side in order to complete the process and to feel that they can defend themselves if or when something occurs where they may need legal assistance. This endeavor has really opened my eyes as to how backwards the system is here. Every step takes weeks which would take a few hours or a day back at home. The money that has been poured into transportation alone would prohibit any villager from taking the time to do this. I have literally lost count as to how many times my paper work has been turned down because it lacked a ‘minor detail’ when in reality I followed their guidelines step by step (which they hand out). It has come to the point where I feel some offices don’t want to recognize community associations as a legal entity. I don’t want to believe this but it’s been almost a year now when I should have been done a few months into the work. I don’t like to admit it but I’ve cried from frustration when usually I’m pretty patient and understanding. Im crossing my fingers and praying that this process will be completed by Mid-June.

March and April were basically dedicated to revamping the ecological latrine Manual that was adopted form Bolivia. Some artist were kind enough to re-due drawings of social situations and step by step latrine construction (people now look Dominican rather than late 20th century south/central american). This manual will be used by the new sworn in Appropriate Technology volunteers who trained in this construction at my site in April. My friend Andrea and I are rewriting and 'dominicanizing' the manual for future use. Having appropriate technology trainees at my site was really enjoyable. I helped with the construction of 4 latrines; 2 VIP (Ventilated, improved pit Latrine) as well as 2 dry pit latrines (ecological latrines).

Celebration for Peace Corps 50th anniversary has been going on for some time now. in March a Congressional Delegation came to the Dominican Republic. This CODEL was ran by Senator Leahy and led by Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams. The delegation arrived and traveled to a Batey 6 (Sugar Cane Plantation) in the East visiting a youth volunteer and her community, then they met up with the Leonel Fernandez and Finally ended the day with a Dinner at the US Embassy. I had the great pleasure of speaking on behalf of all the volunteers in the country and those serving around the world. There is also a PC Committee that is working on other great projects to celebrate the last 50 years of PC.

This is all I have for now. Grands Bissous!

M

I should be a master organizer. I like nothing better than to take a pile of junk and having it make sense. I see a mess, I get excited. Yes, my writing this is strange but I realize I spend a large amount of my time currently in my service just organizing. This habit takes over me in almost every aspect of my day to day. I’m not sure if this is OCD or if it’s a talent. I want to think it as a talent but frankly the latter makes more sense. The reader may want to be the judge. I spent practically my entire morning re-arranging my book shelf (decent size at this point of my service) browsing materials that can be given to incoming volunteers and those picking up new projects. Subconsciously I am already making a slow move to the Capital for my third-year assignment as well as forestalling a pack-rat habit. I literally want to move back to the states with a suitcase and nothing more. This upcoming Month of March is starting to look too busy. The calendar is filling up and all I can do Is plan exactly how some days need to run in order to make it flow. Otherwise, Catastrophe!!! I cannot accept this. (This is all normally, normal; just not too this degree). Yes, Maybe I assumed too many responsibilities but here in the DR things fall through all the time and there is nothing worse than being the only Americana, in a village, feeling useless and bored. Unacceptable. The problem is that recently everything is functioning and taking shape….>…. This is great! March includes the following: Training of aspiring appropriate technology volunteers in my community. I’m assisting this year’s water sector trainer, mainly for latrine construction…mind you, I didn’t single handedly build any of my latrines (it was a community effort; people who know how to build latrines pretty well). This training will last 5 weeks My friend Andrea and I are tearing apart the current manual/coloring which breaks down in elementary terms the spread of contamination by grossing out the village woman and through teaching basic sanitation. This manual is meant to better integrate and condition woman in the appropriate use of this ecological latrine. I can speak for many volunteers and say that it can pretty challenging keeping up with the attention span of any one person when speaking of such a subject and training a person to break many old habits. The manual currently has many dense and repetitive areas. Andrea and I really want this manual to be more user friendly for future volunteers and be more educational because we don’t lose our audience. ----More organizing. These past 2 months involved lots of organizing: work-related travel, visits from fellow volunteers, latrine inauguration, Scuba diving training and because I don’t know when to stop, I was fighting some disease throughout this time I also hemorrhaged my ears after my dives. I’ve seen many doctors in these three months which accounts for my damaging my ears, my tummy ailment, personal management J and one truly inspiring medical mission. Ooh and I forget a wonderful woman’s Camp, where I got to work with some of my favorite people. I no longer have to say pictures to come. I finally made a leap and got Picasa. Why, you may ask was I avoiding such a wonderful program? If you have read any of this thoroughly you already know that I take organizing to another level. Now I’m tempted to spend entire days organizing pictures, past events, dates, and writing memoires for them (not so much). Don’t judge me, I have not had the chance to begin organizing pics---but here is a window to my Peace Corps experience…… M

4 days till Christmas…. 3 fully constructed latrines, 17 to go. The process has been a whole lot slower than I had imagined. Although there are no real organizational issues, we have come across many problems with work ethic. It may have to do with the fact that this community is not my own, not being acquainted with everyone and/or that I am a young female. All I know is that getting the men to follow my directions is unnecessarily difficult. For example, when I see the cement ratio off, I may ask to either add more water, sand or cement and receive a blank look and a reply that usually goes “We have always done it this way” (our way). It’s a constant battle to have to explain why the ratio has to be exact; I mean the last thing I would want is for the concrete to crack and someone falling into a latrine pit, right? A poopy way to go. I asked a fellow water volunteer who has had some experience building these latrines to hang out a few days at my project site. Honestly, I do not know if I would have had completed any latrines properly if he didn’t come give my volunteers some guidance. There is a basic manual (which we all use) to guide Peace Corps Volunteers through the process which apparently needs to be revised. I basically spent the majority of my time sharing my concerns with my friend and he would speak to the community members about it. He even had some trouble getting them to follow direction but according to him and other volunteers this is the way things are in the DR when it comes to construction of any kind. This is not meant to negatively judge anyone but it is part of their culture and frankly their education. So after the initial frustrations we accept it as it is and just smile and move along (sometimes I laugh hysterically, then move on). Work stops on the 24th then continues on the 27th. We hope the first ten latrines will be completed by the 30th, which will complete our work for the first community. We can then begin the second half of the latrines in the New Year in the second benefitting community. I would like to have all latrines constructed by the end of January, so I can finalize the legalization of my assigned community’s association and begin my search for funding to construct a library, since I have several boxes of donated books lying around in my host family’s home. In between all of this, I continue working with the Peace Corps Health Supervisor, with the national health consortium project, which is still in the initial planning stages. The consortium is comprised of ten health NGO’s from all corners of the country that work with local rural health promoters as well as youth that need education on safe sex. These NGO’s are still a bit unorganized, so I’m working with the PC Health supervisor and creating a team of business volunteers to tackle administrative problems. Each NGO has an assigned health volunteer whose primary concern is to teach them basic health practices and such. Hitting in both directions with the help of PEPFAR funding, we all as a team feel that this could be a very successful sustainable health project. At the moment, most rural health promoters and youth are taught and managed by volunteers, which is great but not sustainable. Peace Corps has been in the DR for 50 years now, since its start. I don’t think this represents our work negatively per say, however if PCDR ended tomorrow, projects won’t necessarily run sustainably. Communities are still in need of a lot of guidance. The consortium calls for many leadership roles and many new responsibilities. The plan is for the health side of PCDR to begin allowing these organizations to pull their own weight while we sit back and supervise. Volunteers will then have more room to pick up new projects in issue areas that are not getting as much attention. If I do decide to stay in country and serve a third year, this will be my main project as Executive Director of the National Health Consortium. It’s a really exciting opportunity and most certainly a big challenge. As you may see, my plate is a bit full at the moment, however this is how I like it…I have a big appetite for this kind of stuff. So cheers to all my friends and may this New Year open windows/doors to many opportunities. -M

Yeesh… Ten months left? Really? Honestly very little has been accomplished within the last 16 months. Granted I’m way more knowledgeable in various new areas, which might be seen as pointless knowledge to many. I’ve come to terms with that. Hopefully whatever is next will need some expertise in fields such as poopers and working with rural health promoters. Quién Sabe? Last week was composed of my one year in service training as well as Thanksgiving. Both were fab. Training just helped us focus in on our current problems and come up with plans and tools for the remainder of our service. We were even set aside and asked if we were planning on extending our stay as volunteers. This is still something I think about regularly and is pretty plausible at the moment. 10 months can bring about a lot of changes, so I’m not really setting my mind on anything at the time. This IST definitely brought the remainder of our cohort closer. Good times! This year’s thanksgiving was quite different from last. I participated in the cooking committee so as soon as we were done with IST I headed over with a few other volunteers to an Embassy Home and stayed with a Foreign Service family, who were AMAZING. They even treated us to massages the following day for the work we did. So unlike last year there was a lot of running around and setting up to do. This year was also so much better because our PC group has grown to be a family which made things feel more like home. Starting Monday, my communities, volunteers and I will begin latrine construction. Finally everything has been organized in hopes of having a smooth and successful experience. We have estimated that up to 23 latrines can be constructed. This project may last until mid-January, so I’m crossing my fingers that everything goes well. Pictures soon to come of all events.

Kudos to Jen Macy for getting Green Valley HS in Nevada to donate Uniforms and VB equipment to our youth.

October 27th, 2010, made our cohort’s one year mark as sworn in Peace Corps Volunteers. The majority of the crew spent the weekend celebrating our anniversary as well Halloween in Playa San Rafael and Bahia de las Aguilas. During this time there was not one waking moment where we were not cracking up over something ridiculous from the past or from that very moment. Our party could be picture as the most successful organized chaos ever. Prior to our planned festivities, Cholera broke out in Haiti and we were informed within a few days that all volunteers were required to consolidate in order to receive up to date information as well as some training to pass along to our communities. This consolidation affected our party plans for a few hours until some members of our party committee took responsibility into their own hands and arranged for our training to be held a few hours before other volunteers in order to keep our original itinerary. Needless to say all went well; Success! There was perfect weather in the South although there was a tropical storm approaching. A day after our return from our R&R, again we were informed that we must consolidate again due to Tomas’ approach on the island. So this past week was spent in a hotel in Santiago. Not much got done but most volunteers benefitted from some quiet peaceful Z’s, real showers, as well as hearty food. Now I’m back at site where it is really chilly and showers are pretty unbearable (I know…At least I have water…its ice water though). My priorities are getting more cholera info out there although I’m pretty behind on things. All I know is that if a storm hits and there is a bad water supply or cholera spreads in DR, people need the basic preventative info. A volunteer told me that some Dominicans along the border don’t want Haitians traveling with them on public transportation. Some nationals believe it’s a Haitian disease. I’d like to correct some of these erroneous beliefs if I do come across them. If there were ever a breakout here in my site, it could easily become chaotic considering how difficult transportation is and the nearest hospital is located 23 Km away down a spiraling mountain road. My latrine project should begin in December, si dios quiere! And legalization of my villages association continues progressing slowly. Most of the time is spent on organizational and administration stuff for health promoters and Health NGO’s working with youth on AIDS Prevention. I have a team of 17 health promoters that are spread across all 8 communities in this municipal district. These ladies are your best bet if in this region and find yourself in need of medical attention. At the moment I’m trying to get information together from all 17 promoters in hopes of having some kind of file system or database of all the patients currently benefitting from their assistance. Like this some of these patients who rarely ever see professional help if at all, have some sort of medical history to take with them. So I have spent a number of hours making digital copies of countless numbers of people and their information from pages of indecipherable handwriting. I don’t say this to be rude but keep in mind the majority of the woman I work with maybe made it to high school and have dedicated themselves to house work and being health promoters. There is something called ‘one year blues’ for some volunteers. I translate this as being the realization that a year past so quickly with little done and the next year may fly by faster and we still have a long to do list that we hope to get done. Granted this may not be every volunteer’s definition of ‘the one year blues’ however this is what I’m feeling right now. I can’t say ill get all I want done but if I have learned anything at all during my time on this island, is to take the path of least resistance and not to fret because it all ends up working out (while working towards the goal of course). More updates to come XOXO M

One would think that August would be particularly slow. Everyone would be getting some beach time; relaxing. This is not the case for many volunteers on this island. Summer means lots of camps; youth group meetings, normal day to day business and activities up the wooha! Those who know me well will say to themselves, eh Marite likes busy, well…..you are absolutely right J I can’t imagine sitting around not doing a thing. I’d probably consider shooting myself. Granted there are a few days where I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed but I just keep telling myself that it will only make me stronger and better for the next time around or at least that’s what my mama tells me….. Moms are always right so I’ll take her word for it. Anywho, Just spent the last week experiencing something incredible right along the border. A camp called Peace Camp hosted primarily by PLAN intl. and the US Embassy from both Haiti and the DR. Basically it is an English camp inviting youth from both Haiti and the DR. The first half of the camp takes place in the DR and the second week in Haiti. The two goals of the camp are to help these kids learn some English while they learn to bond. As a volunteer on the island of Hispaniola, one quickly realizes and sees the stigma between the Haitians and Dominicans. It’s really uncomfortable and sad. Only 6 volunteers from Peace Corps were able to participate in this camp. Volunteers were given lots of training on group strengthening and bonding. These activities are basically Ice breakers as well as group critical thinking/ analyses. It does sound like a lot of fun and games but the experience can be described as trying. Details are too long to describe but in summary after one week of participation (In the period I was able to volunteer and participate) there were some noticeable differences in the bonding between the two groups. PEACE CAMP WOOT! So I’m back at my site. Since I arrived we have had these insane afternoon storms that are unlike any I have experienced before. Coming from hurricane central, it may seem much to say but my village roads are rivers. People have to stay indoors or fight in knee deep floods through rocky roads. Pretty dangerous I must say. I can’t imagine an actual hurricane passing through here. Yesterday our bridge was washed away (video posted). Family please don’t fret, I’m safe! So safe that I went rafting down the Yaque del Norte River today with several volunteers. This was my second time taking the trip, and this time was much better than last. Definitely level 4-5 compared to the level 2 we experienced last time. My youth are completing their final draft to the business plan for the nationwide competition, “Construye Tus Suenos”. The submission deadline is this Sunday. We will find out sometime the end of next week whether or not my kids made the finals and will compete in October :x cross fingers. Two weeks ago I was granted a large sum of money to begin a latrine project. This means I have a bit of work to do in September. By taking it one day at a time things should fall into place and this month should fly. Love you all M

Friends, After 10 months of service I must say that things have turned out quite different than was initially expected. This is by no means a negative outlook just an overall comparison as to what I trained for and what truly became of that training. As mentioned in the last submission, I have been working with some basic business (micro-enterprise) education with a Haitian community in Santiago, some youth in my village and as well as with the members of our community association (who are constructing the Eco tourist lodges). I cannot say I am not keeping up with my goals as a Community Economic Development Volunteer (CED); however I no longer can identify myself as one. I say this simply because my personal goals have changed due to the needs in my village and the neighboring villages. In reality the tourist lodges I was assigned to work with have support from the BIG GUYS (USAID-Dominican Sustainable Tourism Alliance (DSTA) as well as UNDP-Projectors Pequenos Sostenibles (PPS)) I had mentioned this fact when I first was assigned to my community but it was not until recently that I’ve realized and concluded that because the lodges have this grand support, I should focus my energies more on areas that don't have so much support. The lodges, like the community's micro-hydro electric plant will be completed (slowly but surely). In other words I can fulfill a direct need with the help of local organizations which will be super rewarding or I can fight to find a small amount of funding which will be a drop of water in a very large bucket. This is not saying that I have dropped my support of the community association and their initiatives. I’m still giving the members business courses and helping them with the association's legalization which will be helpful to them in the long run as businessman. Recently, I have been working with community leaders and two national foundations promoting nutrition and basic health practices. I have mentioned a pretty extensive garden project, which is well on its way (once there is a faster internet connection, there will be pictures posted). With the help of a fellow health volunteer we have hosted several nutrition workshops. One workshop focused on the development of child’s motor functions, in the last two weeks we have focused on teaching some easy recipes with ingredients found in the gardens. With little effort on my part, one of the local foundations is organizing the delivery of 1575 chickens. The families that are participating in the garden project as well as the local health promoters will be receiving chickens. In order to be handed the chickens, these families are required to have their gardens well prepared and flourishing as well as their chicken coups built. Recommendations have been given at previous workshops so if requirements are not met then I will not feel these families will keep these projects alive or in other words the projects will not be sustainable. Unfortunately a foot has to be put down somewhere. Apparently a lot of these small projects fail because people see it as a hand out and do not take their responsibilities seriously. My application for latrine funding has been submitted (cross fingers). I have plans to do a pretty major latrine project which will affect several neighboring communities. My community has indoor plumbing so will not be benefiting directly from this work, however many of the other communities have yet a place to actually go in or their latrines are full (YIKES!) I’ve also sent letters requesting wood donations from the secretary of environment. A Pre-Kindergarten school is also a possibility along with a community library. I’ve received some book donations, but I’m still waiting to hear back from a few grant applications for everything else. WE SHALL SEE. This may sound like a lot but everything is running pretty smoothly as of now. Nothing is truly tangible yet except for the amazing relationship I have with these communities. Peace Corps hosts many conferences and recently I've been invited to many. I guess this is where I can say I have had some down time. At these conferences I have been able to see some sites, learn new things as well as relax. :) The only down fall is that I normally get what us volunteers call "campo guilt" or village guilt, which basically means I feel guilty about leaving my community to do anything that is moderately fun or comfortable. I really need to learn to shake it off,…but I can’t help it. Anyhow...Life is good :) PEACE Marité

Friends, It has been some time since I have last updated this blog and with some spare time on my hands I feel it is about time I should do that. Things have change quite a bit since I last written. As of right now, The eco-lodge is on a stand still do to lack of funding as well as recent maintenance needs on the community’s Micro Hydro-electric plant. This isn’t great news however it has given me and the community opportunities to take advantage of other needs that have to be addressed. As of last month we have began taking the initial steps in order to legalize the community association. This means that we have sat down on more than one occasion to discuss rules and regulations or statutes to agree upon and make into legal writing. We have gone through some revisions but lack some work. Once this is completed we will begin discussing a logo for the organization. I still need to do a bit of research to see if the name of association already exists in the DR and if so, what new name we should come up with. We are definitely in the beginning stages of this process however something is something considering how slow things move around here. With some help from a religious organization some money is being funneled our way to promote and develop at least 160 organic community gardens throughout this region. With the help of a fellow health volunteer we have organized and given several sessions on maintaining an organic garden as well as what vitamins and minerals can be found within specific fruits and vegetables. We have also given health sessions on identifying mal nutrition and proper development of motor function skills in the ages of 0-6 years of age. Through this same organization and their funding, I am also traveling frequently to the city of Santiago to teach business to Haitians interested in opening a micro-business. With that being said, I will receive Creole training in May in a Batey located in Barahona. I definitely look forward to this course as it should facilitate my classes as well as open new opportunities throughout my service. There is a nationwide competition hosted by Peace Corps and Plan International along with local universities called “Construye Tus Sueños” . This is basically a business plan competition open to young adults interested in starting a micro business. Peace Corps and Business volunteers have created a 6 month intensive course to prepare students and train them in planning a business using basic business practices. As of last month I have started giving this class every Sunday and shall give them until the month of July. Sometime in August my students will submit their plans and If approved will go on to the competition round. The winner of the competition basically gets funding to take off their dream business. These courses have really integrated me into the youth of this region. I have had a pretty strong relationship with the kids in my community however now I have ties with a good majority of the kids in the municipal district. My next big goal is to begin preparing a latrine/sanitation project proposal. I have a design but am still awaiting a census to see the number of latrines needed in the region. Sometime in the next few weeks I plan on going to several hardware stores and getting quotes on needed materials. We are currently in congressional election season and this is the perfect time to begin asking politicians for money (As cheap as that may sound). Of course I do not have my heart set on this so I will also be applying to as many grants possible, considering there are probably a considerable amount of latrines needed within the 8 communities I would like to aide. We shall see how things go. As more time elapses in my site, I feel more determined and feel more pressure to get something big done. These people have been nothing but incredible to me and are truly a family. This about sums up the major events that have taken place in the last few months. Pictures to come! Much love and happiness to all J Marité

Friends,

Its been a while since I have written and I do want to apologize for it. My first three months have been pretty secluded from outside contact but I believe there will be less of that from this moment on. Tomorrow is my In service training (3 month-IST) in Santo Domingo, where I and fellow business volunteers will be presenting our community/organizational diagnostics.

I have really gone in hiding this last month simply to prepare all the data for this presentation so I must admit I am pretty nervous. I will be attaching bits and pieces of my work (its all is Spanish; sorry for those who may not understand). I hope you all like it!

I have also been busy decorating and painting my new home for my move(Pictures attached) . As soon as I return from my 3 month training I will be moving in and leaving my dear host family. I am actually very sad about it and know I may find myself lonely after getting accustomed to all the noise and busyness of the house. Its not too bad though considering I will only be a few houses away ;)

I have really bonded with my host family and community these months. I feel like one of them (especially since a good portion of the community shares my last name). They include me in everything and really make sure they know they love me and need me. Its so nice! I have made a few trips to the city and I must admit I definitely do not like leaving my community no more than a few days. Its partly because the city is a drag: Tiring, dirty and noisy. But its also cause I really miss these people.

As soon as I return from this training I will be officially allowed to begin executing a few plans for the community, the association and the Eco-lodge project itself. My first plan of action is looking for money of course. As I have mentioned before 3 of the 5 lodges are about complete but there isn't sufficient funding to complete the rest nor to construct the restaurant/office from the original project proposal. I will probably be very busy the first few weeks just writing out solicitation/grant letters and submitting them to different organizations.

While I wait for responses I hope to begin plans for building a library for the local high school. I am not 100% sure how I will be going about all that but that will be discussed during our 3 month In service training, so I will fill you all on that later.

My English class is going steady. I seem to have 2 groups of students though. One group shows up one Sunday while the other group shows the following. I tend to repeat the class twice and when they return it is as if I haven't taught anything at all. I do blame myself right now because I have not confronted the situation but I do plan on doing that as soon as I return next week to my project site.

I recently began dedicating a few minutes every morning to my neighbor, a little boy who is way behind on his reading. He currently is learning the first few letters of the Spanish alphabet although he should be well on his way to reading chapter books. His attention span is also very short, so classes can not go on for too long since he tends to drift away to another dimension. I am happy to say however that he is showing some progress although it is very slow.

For those curious to know, My little girl LULU is doing well. She is getting big but she is a doll. I love her to bits. For those who have inquired about visiting, you are more than welcome to now. My house is now ready to be broken in.

Love you all,

M

Friends,

Today I have reached my month mark in-site. I am transitioning into my work pretty well but still lack information to get myself running on bigger tasks such as grant writing and proposals. I have met and shared time with almost everyone in my community which is nice. Basically wherever I go I am greeted by name or by "Americana"/"Cubana". I cant say I know each person´s name or apodo (nickname) but Im getting there.

The Lodges are well on their way construction wise. As for funding, they are starting to run low and concerns for the projects completion are on the rise. We still have enough funding to roughly complete 3 of the 5 lodges (let me emphasize "roughly"). Right now I am working closely with my project partner to update our original proposal so once I am given the go I can begin requesting funds from other NGO´s.

I have 2 months left until my 3 month reunion with Peace Corps staff to present my organizational diagnostic and my plans for the next year. I could probably present today if I had to, so I am not concerned about the content of my work and priorities. In the mean while I am more focused on "Escojo me vida" youth group and English classes. Today is Intl HIV/AIDS Day and yesterday we had students from the group present a charla to the local highschool on the realities of HIV/AIDS, statistics, etc for awareness. After the charla we marched through the the community with a banner. Last weeked we (students and 2 fellow volunteers, Peter and Randi) painted a mural on the school wall regarding HIV/AIDS and how it is contracted.

I have great pics and videos of all of this and hope to post them as soon as I get better internet access.

English classes begin in 2 weeks after the local elections which is the hype at the moment.

Last week for Thanksgiving all the volunteers in country traveled to the capital to celebrate together. We all stayed at local pensiones which are not too shabby and very cheap for us volunteers. I arrived in Santo Domingo on Wednesday morning and as soon as I arrived to the Peace Corps office I saw a litter of puppies that a fellow volunteer was caring for. You know where this story goes.... I had to take one. It was a litter of female pups that were going to be abandoned or euthenized because no one in this country wants female dogs. Long story short, her name is Luna "LULU" Perez and she is precious. I cannot say what kind of mut she is but she is super cute and has an amazing personality. Since my job has no restrictions she basically goes everywhere with me and is now my official confidant in crime..(J/K in service). ****SMILES****

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Thanks to the Thanksgiving commitee we had amazing delicious food and I was able to stuff about three plates into my belly and then some. I put the boys to shame. Mind you I have gained my freshman 15 since my arrival to this country. Im not too sad about it, keep telling myself its muscle weight from all the hiking. The bash was held in a country club in Santo Domingo and we did all sort of activities throughout the day. I was able to meet many new faces (old volunteers and not so old ones). I still have many more left to meet. The size of DR team is really daunting.

I beleive this sums up most of the latest. I love you all!

Marite

This is a shot of the construction of one of the 5 eco-lodges. The work is moving along fairly quickly. I hope to soon be able to attach a slide show of the progress of the contruction. 3 of the 5 should be completed within the next 3 months. As for the other 2 we are now actively looking for funding nationally and internationally.

Hello all,

Last week Wednesday we were all sworn in as PC Volunteers. We all are happy to have successfully completed our 10 weeks of training. I can now begin telling you details on my assignment and my work here in the DR:

In my last post I gave very weak details on my project site and assignment (sorry). Since then, I met my project partner and moved all my belongings from Santo Domingo to my campo site in Jarabacoa. My project partner is a very motivated and involved woman from my community. I forsee us working very well together as she does not leave room for ambiguity. Hence, she is straight forward and knows exactly what she wants and needs from me

My business project revolves around an community association that has decided to build an eco-lodge that is well on its way in the construction process. The eco lodge is something the community came up with on their very own to bring in more money to benefit the community residents. The association was created back in `84 which addresses every single community need. It is composed of 27 members who democratically come up with ideas and solutions for these needs. They have received some funding from USAID to build this lodge however lacks the second half of the funding which I need to somehow come up with. Peace Corps does train us on grant writing so this is something I will be doing very soon. Beyond the funding I will have to help with the financial management and teach basic business practices to all the community association members.

The eco lodge will be my primary project, but based on the few days I have spet at my site there are many secondary projects I see myself beginning. For example, since my arrival all the young adults have inquired about potential English classes, which I feel I must offer. There are also many young ladies who I feel need guidance in the choices they make in the next years in their lives, so a womans focus group is also a possibility.

By the way my community was not as big as I mentioned before. It is actually a commmunity of 70 or so houses. According to my project partner there are more like 250 residents. As soon as I complete my census and family tree I will be sure to update you all.

During my first three months here at my site, I will be working on community diagnostic and census to better integrate into my community and better understand the needs of indivdual families and the community as a whole. I will also be analysing the ins and outs of this eco lodge. Toward the end of the three months I should have a plan of action for my two years of service which I will present to Peace Corps staff. Starting February I will be waist deep in work and should have my very own home in my community.

I hope I better explained myself in this post. I miss you all

Marite

`Los Claveles Girls´ in our business training site in Altamira, Puerto Plata

Friends,

My work is about to begin! There are less than 2 weeks left until we are all sworn is as Peace Corps Volunteers. :) Just this weeks I was notified about my work assignment here in the DR. I will be in a small campo (pop. 500) about 45 minutes away from Jarabacoa and 15 KM from the entrance of the National park, where many go visit Pico Duarte. I was told I will be working with an Eco lodge that just received funding for construction. Unfortunately this is all the information I have at the moment. This Monday I will be given a more thourough explanation on my assignment and project partner.

My sight is knows as the Alps of the Dominican Republic where there is eternal spring. This is one of the most lush areas of the country, where most fruits and vegetables are grown and exported. This area is also known for its wonderful rivers and waterfalls and out door sports.

Coming Tuesday I will meet my project partner and be taken to my sight where I will be introduced to my community and my next host family. I will be with this family for the next three months until I find my own home and get aquainted with my project and community.

I will return to the city after a few days at my site and on October 28th be sworn in as a volunteer. All the volunteers including myself are very happy to have completed training successfully. Training was definately dense and challenging but we now all feel very prepared to go out there and help out our communities. I am sad to say that we started out with 52 trainees and are now down to 46 however we all know that they left for the right reasons. They will be missed and I wish them the very best.

More details soon to come.

Marite

Hello friends,

I want to first say THANK YOU for all the wonderful BDAY wishes. I cannot express how happy they made me. I miss you all dearly, you all mean the world to me.

I am now on my 5th week of training, we have about 5 more weeks until we are sworn in as legit Peace Corps Volunteers. I am currenly living in a small campo called ¨LOS CLAVELES¨ in Altamira. This place is very humble. The people are extremely nice and welcoming. There are currently 15 trainees in the Business Economic Sector. We are divided up into 4 groups by languauge proficiency. My group is composed of 6 girls. We all live on a dirt road close to the top of the mountain. I wake up to the most amazing sunrises every morning overlooking cacao fincas. Probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever laid I eyes on.

I have been trying hard to get pictures posted but access to internet is not very good, however I do promise to post some amazing pics of the sites here.

Training is very strenuous, in a good way though. We are learning so much about the socio economic needs here in the DR. Within the next few weeks most of the non native speakers will be proficient in the Spanish language and we should all be experts on the issues and culture of the DR. None of us have any clue as to what are assignments will be. Every few weeks we have interviews with tech trainers to better define what areas we will be best in and what works best with our individual needs. SO far we have visited local cacao and coffee farmers as well as local artisens.

I am currenly fighting a small fever but nothing serious. My health is great but I have eaten enough Platano verde to last me a life time. Dont get me wrong ¨mangu¨is great but there is only so much I can stomach. I am also getting an insane amount of excersise. Hiking up and down that mountain everyday is tough but after so many fried foods and starches it is very well needed.

Electricty is available most days but we suffer ¨Apagones¨ almost every evening when we need light the most. Since I live on a mountain, water access isnt so shaby. There is a natural aquaduct so water is basically unlimited. The shower is outside of course and we also have an outdoor latrine. The evening showers are fabulous with every single star visible.

Our town is male dominant, most of which work in the agro business. With six Americanas in town, we have literally turned their world upside down. Needless to say we have all been receiving lots of attention. It has become less intense these last few days now that they see we are really involved in our studies. My host family is this very sweet old couple who now call me their daughter and introduce me that way to all their visitors. I also have acquired an older brother who lives in the house and 11 more siblings who live in the city.

There has also been loads of dancing and for those who know me well you know I have a gigantic smile on my face. The music is incredible (most of the time). Although I have not been gone from the states very long it feels as if I have been away for a good period of time. I will try to steal away to town soon again and give you some more updates. Again, I love you all.

Marite

3 weeks in and I have my first technical exam this afternoon. Training is intense but very interesting. Training is composed of language, cultural, geographical and medical information. There is a lot to learn. Tomorrow morning we are back to the Peace Corps office to get final immunizations (there have been many)and we are off to our technical training sites. There were originally 52 trainees we are now down to 49. We are all divided up between water, youth, health and economic development. I will be heading north to the mountains near Puerto Plata with 14 other business economic trainees.

My Dominican family here in the capitol have been amazing. They have been so hospitable and supportive. Tomorrow I will acquire a new family and I am very anxious to meet them. During our time in the mountains we will be going in depth of the economic needs in the country. Our technical trainers will be monitoring our progress and matching our skills to communities with specific needs. In the end we will all have our very own site with a specific project.

I will do my best to update this while I am off at my training site. As of right now the best word to describe this experience is "amazing". This has been harder for some than for others but I am taking it one day at a time and savoring every moment. As of right now this has been truly unique and wonderful.

Friends,

It has been 4 days since I arrived to the D.R. Honestly I have to say that it has not hit me yet. Our schedule has been occupied with many orientation classes and prepartion for exams.

I am now living with a Dominican family. They are very kind and have taken me in as part of their family. Before meeting them I was told I would be living with a mom and her daughter but as soon as I arrived I was welcomed basically by the entire neighborhood which were all of the ¨Santos family¨. Where I sleep lives the mom and her daughter but I dine and share amongst all. This consists of an extended nuclear family (great grandparents to small children and even adopted kids).

I am sharing this gigantic family with 4 other trainees (all living in seperate homes in the same neighborhood). We will be here for the remainder of training which ends on October 28th. From now until then we will all be divided up by language proficiency and begin taking intensive courses which includes safety precautions, health awareness, and general knowledge of the culture. We all hope to fulfill our requirements in order to be sworn in and become volunteers on October 28th.

Once we are sworn in we will be given our location and assignments where we will begin our 2 year commitment. Below I have included the yummy foods I have had plus our mailing address. There is much more to come....

Fufu the platano

Mangu

Berengena con semillas sesame

halbondigas

habichuela blancas

Cafe Santo Dominigo

Jugo de Mango, lechosa,pina,guineo con vainilla

mmmmmmmmmm.......

Cuerpo De Paz

Apartado Postal 1412

Santo Domingo Dominican Republic

Lots of love

Marite

I have 6 more days to go and the anticipation is high...

I decided I would begin this blog sharing a bit of my anxieties and excitement. I was officially invited by the Peace Corps to work in the Dominican Republic July 8, 2009. I begin my training August 20, 2009. As you can imagine 6 weeks notice is not much time to get everything sorted out and ready to go. Since applications can take over a year to process, I thought my leaving this soon was unlikely.

The Peace Corps is an organization I have wanted to join since high school. I was very close to applying my senior year of college but then decided to have some solid work experience that can shape some of my long term goals and help me decipher more of who I really am.

As of right now my future title as a volunteer is "Community Economic Advisor". I say right now because everything is still very much in the air. My three months of training could ultimately alter my assignment and final work destination depending on my response to the actual training. At the moment the only thing that is certain is that I will train for 3 months in Santo Domingo and will be living with an assigned family.

Communication will be limited and may be hard to come by however I hope to update this blog as often as possible and wish it to be a window to my experience abroad.

Now with only a few days left to go I am left with some packing to do and a lot of "good bye" and "see you later" . It is truly hard for me to leave so many wonderful friends and acquaintances behind. There really are no words to describe my experience in DC, which leaves me saying "I'll be back". I wish you all the best and hope to see you in the Dominican Republic.

-Marite