Here´s another example of just how amazing medical missions are. The last mission I worked with changed lives in just a few hours of surgery. Dominicans´ faces, mouths, arms, hands, and feet were made functional once again. Parents were so thankful for all the miracles the medical team performed in those short two weeks. Peace Corps volunteers served as translators for the dominican patients and the American doctors and nurses. We were all glowing with pride at the end of the mission, seeing just how much our hard work had paid off.

Peace Corps accompanies seven medical missions throughout the year ranging from general health to plastic surgery. Currently there is a mission near Santiago performing various types of eye surgeries, regular checkups, as well as giving out glasses for those who need them. For the past year I had been waiting for this mission to come back to Santiago to see if they could help my little vecina, Yisneris. She was born with estravismo, basically cross-eyed, but more everywhere unpredictable eyes. In order for her to focus on anything just a few feet away, she would tilt her head back and look down her nose. The local doctors were worried that if they didn´t operate soon she would end up with some form of brain damage. At 3 months, they gave her an eye patch with hope here eyes would correct themselves, but 2 years later and her they are still as crooked as when she was born. So we jumped on the chance that this mission might be able to squeeze her in to their schedule. After a month of e-mails and phone calls we made the list. I accompanied Yisneris and her mom the day of their surgery and que emoción. To see this little girls life change in just a short hour. Of course, Yisneris could really care less now, but it will make all the difference once she starts school. So many kids are made fun of their entire lives for something that could be fixed in just an hour.

She went into the OR screaming and came out pissed (she wanted her leche) but her eyes were perfectly striaght and moving in unison. Increíble. We are all so grateful for the organizations who work together to make missions like these possible.

Happily Ever After

That´s right. Johemi is 1 year old. I feel like we´ve been talking about this birthday for so long. Jan. 16 we celebrated with an Hora Santa, an hour of praying and giving thanks for Johemi´s year with us. When Johemi was born, her mother Sugermi (my good friend) made a promise to God that if her daughter made it to her first birthday she would celebrate with an Hora Santa. The local kids came over, we sat in the living room, prayed, sang songs, then drank ginger hot chocolate.

The next day was the wild party. We blew up balloons, made a piñata, cleaned, decorated, and watched Johemi fall in love with all the colors around her, that is until balloons started popping.

About 25 kids showed up, although half were not invited, and we played games, sang, ate and ate cheetohs, cake, icecream, cookies, chocolate, popcorn. A piñata to boot. Dios, those kids ate a lot. And Johemi kept right up with the best of them. I thought for sure that little thing would be sick by the end of the night. Nothing. Nada. She obviously has built up the tough dominican stomach.

Johemi became a little braver that day and started walking everywhere she could.

I loved being the photographer for that day. Trying to capture all the angles that would should the true nature of her first birthday. We put her next to the cake hoping she would climb right in and devour it. She was a little worried at first of being so high up on the table, but once she tasted a little frosting all fears were lost. Oh, there was cake EVERYWHERE.Great Photos. Great Times.

Thanksgiving. A day of turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, friends, family, and thanks. We went around the table and shared what we were thankful for, just how I make my family do at home. Did you do it in my absence, familia? De verdad, I have much to be thankful for. This past year was a big decision year. Family visits, Mom´s first trip out of country, My wedding, Dad and Dave´s Weddings, Enamuel´s visa, Him stepping on American soil for the first time, NY. Huge Year. And truely I can say we made it through with very few bumps in the road or turbulance in the air.

Thank you for lending us your gaurdian angels.

My friends here have been my family. I love them all and am very thankful for all the memories and laughs we´ve shared. I will miss them. I´m thankful for having a husband who adores me, a supportive family to go home to in April, and that I don´t have to pay rent for the next few years :)

I am thankful that you have been a faithful reader of my blog, my life here in the DR.

Thank You.

Our Clan: Alyssa, Wilson, Ruth, Me, Betsy, Travis, Colleen, Allen, and Jake (Jeff, the photographer, missing from picture)

Peace Corps Thanksgiving has a few more twists in the mix. All of the regulars listed above, but think bigger. 150 people bigger. Swimming pool, Costume Turkey Trot, dance contests, talent show, dominos tournament, lots of rum, and Kentucky, our fine arts dance troop. ( M.C. Hammer´s "Can´t touch this" was interpreted as "Kentucky" by a local dominican, therefore becoming the name of our dance troop.)

Check out the video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viaMyyKJsuo

under the name Kentucky meets Peace Corps

John on drums

Jake on Confetti

Besty on Tribal moves

Ryan on Bumble Bee act

Enrique as Turkey

Rachel sings Turkey song

Kevin, Zoe, Ruth, Alyssa, Jeff, and I bust out the moves, and I had the pleasure of being choreographer. (I´m the one with the black hat. keep watching)

Alyssa and her boyfriend, Wilson. His first Thanksgiving.

Yes, we were very happy!

Ruth accompanied us for the big day. Her first Thanksgiving as well.

The last hugs from Francis, Yere, and Ramonita. It was sad but still exciting. His family is happy for Enmanuel and his new opportunity. Yere, his daughter, doesn´t quite understand what going to Nueva York means. She wasn´t nearly as sad as she should have been.

We arrived in one piece and with all our luggage still filled with all the crazy cheeses, avocados, and sweets Ramonita send over to her family. (I was sure they´d all get swiped in immigration)

Enmanuel loved it all. The plane ride, the sites, the beautiful lights, the paved and organized roads. Isn´t America wonderful! But very Chilly! We toughed it out for a bit, but then we had to go back inside the airport to wait for our ride.

Welcome to NJ Enmanuel. His aunt Sandra and uncle Williams came to rescue us from the airport. We arrived at their apartment and shortly after arrived all the visitas. Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and friends. Grandma Carlilin is always there for a huge, loving, welcome hug.

Downtown Paterson. A day of window shopping.

Our first, but not last, Broadway Musical. Merry Poppins. It was worth every cent.

A typical Sunday afternoon with the Duran´s in NJ. Everybody gets together at Enmanuel´s Uncle´s house and dance, play, chat, listen to music, and run around. His family is very Unido.

First place winners for the Movie Maker Video Contest.

Hurry. Find a boat of 4. Sorry Lori, you´re out of the game.

How to manage their labs. Who will make the most funds?

Our local super heroes. Aqua Man- cleaning the water and talking to the fish. Super Belleza- turns everything she touches into somthing of beauty. Helmet Man- Protecting people from falling objects, etc. Isn´t Photoshop Fun!

Birdie in a Perch. Avita Ramita.

Second National Encargados del Futuro conference put on by us Peace Corps Volunteers was yet again a success. I would say an even bigger success. The tech classes were interesting for the youth, and the games blew their minds. I rocked out all the dínamicas (icebreakers) I could think of . There was hardly ever a dull moment.

The youth learned about Robots, Photoshop, Lab management, Publisher, Excel, and had a great time being creative in the digital scavenger hunt, talent show, and their home videos made with Movie Maker (way impressive). Check out the video my youth put togther for Las Uvas. They won 2nd place for all their techi tricks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e69bx44aR84

We finished the 3 day conference with certificates, prizes, and a surprise 1gb flash drive for each youth. They were ecstatic.

Face off. The best in Las Uvas vs. the best in Fargo. Chess, connect four, and ping pong. Who won? Let's just say Enmanuel has some practicing to do before he heads up to Fargo. We'll have a rematch.

It was just like Alice in Wonderland. Why is everything so big? No, Dave and Enmanuel didn't shrink if that is what you were thinking, but it was like we were warped into another world. Just beyond a few giant concrete walls was paradise, a place most inlanders never catch a glimpse of, a place known as Playa Dorada. The games were giant size, the drinks were free (well, prepaid for), the pools were clean and beautiful, and the people were mostly white. Were we really in the DR?

Of course, Ramonita's cooking was a hit, again, with the new visita.

Why rent a car when you can have great carro publico photos like these!

Free but very expensive prepaid for drinks.

The hippest Merengue, Bachata, and Salsa discoteca in Santo Domingo. Everyone was out on the dance floor that night.

Practicing the Dominican Lifestyle.

We saved the best for last. 27 charcos. Wow, what an experience. It was an absolutely beautiful, breath taking (meaning exhausting), hike up the mountains and into the waterfalls of Imbert. Note our helmets and life jackets- yeah, they were a necessity for this rough and tough adventure. Our well trained guide pulled us up waterfall after waterfall. He was one strong man. By the time we got to the twelfth waterfall, my legs were frozen and my knees were shaking. We then turned around and had options of sliding (if slideable) or jumping down the 12 waterfalls. However, after Enmanuel made his first jump of his life (take a look at the video below) and forgot to plug his nose and swallowed a gallon of water, he managed to find a way to monkey down the side of the rest of the falls.

All made it back to their homes alive that evening, but we were exhausted and I had a very sore tailbone from jumping off a very high cliff and doing a butt flop. Now, a month later and I still can't sit right.

The guests before anyone else could even choose what their wedding ensamble would be, were the gobble gobble live-in turkeys, the year round inhabitants of our wedding discoteca, El Karina. Once a happening club, El Karina´s business died off slowly until they were eventually replaced by chickens and turkeys. The dance floor is stained with remnances of circular chicken coops. Now the turkeys just have their one big coop off to one side of the dance floor. They sang to us while we set up the lights, the tables, and the chairs for the wedding. They finally quieted down once we finished changing their home from a coop to a giant white paper cake. Suprisingly we didn´t hear a peep out of them for the rest of the night.

Other planning went as smooth as a campo wedding can go. The rain made it´s appearance in mid-afternoon, but lightened up for the wedding in the evening. Mom and Dave`s luggage was lost (with wedding lights, candles, and plates inside), but friends took the time to seek out all that was missing. Maid of honor showed up 2 hours late, but so did everyone else, so she was just in time to walk down the isle with Enmanuel`s brother (Maximo, best man, MIA). My heel caught on my dress while Dave was spinning me around and around and ripped the hem, but I recovered beautifully by hopping around on one foot until my foot was free and we could finish the dance with grace and beauty. We had a great turn out with volunteers and local friends and family. Correographed dances, lindy hops shows, and delicious dinner, and an even more delicious cake made it the best wedding Las Uvas has seen yet. Everyone had a blast.

I´ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Can you believe it?

We´re in, we`re done, we made it!

Yesterday we had our long awaited interview at the consulate for Enmanuel`s Visa. We were ready. Asking each other every question that could come to our minds "Which are your favorite panties?", "what is your favorite meal?", "something personal that no one else would know about?", ect. All our paperwork in order, and we had a lot of suerte and blessings from our friends. We arrived early Tuesday morning, 6am, and put ourselves at the end of a line of over a hundred other dominicans waiting, hoping for their resident visa. Mothers and daughters, grandpas, kids, babies, couples, brothers, sisters all trying to get their family over to the other side. The line went faster than we expected. At 7:15 am we were in the doors. We sit and wait. Eat snacks. Check papers. Wait. 9am we were called up to one of the 20 windows.

"Your papers please."

Shuffle, check, rip, staple.

"Sign here."

Shuffle, check, rip, staple.

"Go pay and bring the receipt." That was a relief to hear, because we knew all our paper work was done correctly. Some people are handed a sheet that states all of the corrections they have to make or what papers they might be missing.

3 minutes and $400 later we changed our receipt for a number, 192.

We sit and wait some more. 191, 193, 368, 272. We decided there was no rhyme or reason to the numbers they were calling.

192 window 13, 192 window 13

They took his fingerprints with the green machine (very advanced) and then.... we sat and waited some more.

Enmanuel made friends with a few other dominicans waiting, waiting to hear their fate. Accepted or Denied. A life changing decision that most dominicans never get the opportunity to even hope for.

Finally, 192 to window 19. We swore in in spanish. They asked me about Enmanuel´s daughter, my family and when they met him, the peace corps, and his $ sponsor. They sat back pointed to the screen, conversed and minute, and then they said, "congratulations, your visa has been approved."

What, really, that quick and easy! We were ready for the attack. A million questions. We brought photos, letters, and affidavits- everything to prove that our relationship is legitimate.

We kissed and hugged and left to pay the messenger service. Everyone looking at us, knowing we were one of the lucky ones. Wow, que emoción.

"Enmanuel, How do you feel?"

"Happy but sad. This means I´m actually leaving. I´ll be leaving my home, my family, and my friends, everything I have ever known."

We called everyone we know back in the campo and shared the unimaginable good news. His mamà was crying.

This calls for a celebration. So what better way to celebrate than McDonalds. My first McDonalds visit in this country and Enmanuel´s first visit in his life. It was delicious, but boy did we have a gut ache later.

So now what. Wedding planning, wedding, then a trip to New Jersey at the end of October.

Felicítanos and Wish us luck.

Yes, lamentablamente, our puppy, our hijo, is gone. The disease that attacks many campo puppies attacked him. Dysentary, I believe. Thursday he was a fun and energenic puppy. Friday he was kind of depressed (we thought he was mad because we didn´t go for a walk that morning.) Then saturday hewoke with bloody diahrrea so we took him to the vet, but by sunday morning he was dead. Que triste. He was a good puppy. Loved his mami and papi. We had only been taking him out for walks with us for about a week, but he followed us wherever we went, no leash was necessary. He loved to run through the tall grass and feel the morning dew on his face. He played with the other puppies and kids that came to visit. We will miss him. That leaves us dogless. From 2 to 1 to none. Don´t know if I can handle the heartache of another.

Wow what a month! I thought summer vacation meant I would be able to relax a bit, but not here.

We started summer camp at the beginning of July and we just finished the 1st of August. Enmanuel and I were the Coordinators of La Vega summer camp for poor campo kids. The idea is that all kids ages 5-12 can participate in summer camp. The Síndico of La Vega gives quick trainings to the camp counselors and then sends the materials and snack for the kids. We had 200 plus kids, 30 counselors, 3 coordinators and an elementary school. Three weeks of supposed coloring, painting, crafts, dancing (however there wasn’t electricity to play music), modeling, chess, cards, computers (until the inversor died- about 2 days), indoor games, and sports. Wait, Wait, let me translate 3 weeks of crafts, cards, sitting in the shade, motivating counselors to get up from sitting in the shade, chasing after kids, games and icebreakers, and babysitting.

After a week of camp, all of us were exhausted and counting down the days until the big presentation for the Síndico. Hours of practice in Dance, poetry, modeling, and singing to get the kids ready to show off just what they learned during their 3 weeks of Campamento Vegano. Aug. 1, we pulled it off. The Síndicos assistant came for the show, and then passed out backpacks and notebooks to all the kids. The kids loved it, so all was worth it.

I have two kids now. Stuey and Tommy. They´re about a month old. They like to pee in all rooms of the house and bite my ankles at all times. Stuey´s favorite place to hang out is beside my dirty cloths in our bedroom and Tommy likes anywhere he can stick his head under and hide. Sadly, Stuey has been missing since this morning. He snuck out last night and has yet to be found. But they are our two children. I didn´t ask for either, but now they´re here, so I´ve turned into mama Angela. We love them despite their parasites, unruly urinating, skin flaky fungus, smelly dog smell and running away. Tommy

Stuey

My Escojo group has officially graduated. Sunday we hosted the sub-regional escojo conference in Las Uvas and then had our heart felt graduation that very evening. The youth received their certificates with tears in their eyes and shared words of absolute appreciation for the group and how it has helped them in their lives. It couldn´t have gone better. Enmanuels mother made us a delicious american chocolate cake with frosting. She was rather distressed when I handed her the Betty Crocker cake in a box and a can a frosting. "Angela, I´ve never made cake from a box, you´ll have to help me." "Sorry, Can´t, busy for the next 36 hours straight. Read the instructions on the back of the box, thanks." Apparently Enmanuel helped by mixing in the egg and oil, so therefore he "made the cake".

After tears, sweet acceptance speeches, and chocolate cake, we danced the night away. Six youth and two volunteers from other communities stayed around to help us celebrate. It was a great day.

Enmanuel and I have now been married for two months. "Felicidades"! -thank you

We had our petition for our Visa the 17th of July. We went in, payed $355 dollars, turned in all the papers, were asked various questions about the validity of our married, and then sent on our way to wait for something in the mail or a phone call from the consulate. Weeeelll, I just got the packet of papers in my mailbox today. Now we just have to fill out papers, get him his medical exams, vaccines, criminal history report, pay $400 more dollars and go in for our final visa interview. They will then decide yea or nay. They have no reason to say nay, so lets start celebrating the yea.

Oh, and the most exciting news...I´ll be home in less than a week! See you soon.

Let me show you just how it was done:

1.) Stand outside the office, waiting nervously, hugging and kissing your soon to be husband. While they work on setting up the 4 chairs needed for the bride, groom, best man, and maid of honour. The rest of your guests stand behind you.

2.) We are told to sit down opposite the judge. He continues shuffling through papers, while we are told to sign the GIANT marriage book. We all sign, two times.

3.) The judge asks us to stand and reads us some paper about the court and our marriage.

4.) Then he reads us our Marriage Certificate. We raise our right hands, one by one, saying “Si” when he asks us if we accept to love, respect, and take care of one another in good times and bad.

5.) He says you are now “Marido y Mujer” and you can kiss.

6.) We then hug and kiss all of our family and friends.

7.) We take pictures outside, because the judge has another ceremony to do immediately after ours.

8.) Off to the bar for various rounds of Presidente Light.

9.) Then off to the Cabaña for quick honeymoon and……..well, that part is for just Enmanuel and me to remember.

I´m looking forward to our ceremony in September. Hope you all can make it. If not, I´ll definitely have some great pics to show you afterwards.

Anhela's hermana y papa ah que! Hey I tried! :-) by Teresa Olin

Yes the country was gorgeous and yes it was wonderful seeing the country side and the towns, villages and all the crazy activity but the real stories are in the adventures that weren't planned. As you can see from the pictures above....We had some great times! The gas in our car was natural gas....oh my what a stench..Angela and I had to ride with our heads out the window so we wouldn't be gassed to death! haha. The car broke down about 14 miles from home! Woo Hoo! I was having a blast. I mean what more could you ask for then the car breaking down in the middle of no where with no one around or help for miles! OK my dad didn't think it was so fun...he was worried the gringos were going to steal his daughters and ravish them in the bushes! haha. What a hoot! Enmanuel blew chunks on the boat ride and all we did was laugh at him...not nice I know but what a perfect thing to happen! Someone had to barf on the boat! haha. Driving in the back of a run down pickup with an old man carrying a very large KNIFE...eating a cacoa ......riding on the boat to the caves....getting sick....ugh....(it was worth it!)....eating oranges the dominican way.....chasing chickens.....and last but not least....all the LOVE!!!

The ocean tides in Las Terenas. We stayed in El Toriedo in a combania. What a great day! Enmanuel was learning an American water game...CHICKEN!

In the early morning hours of March 12th it was time to say good bye to our sweet dear Anhela. To tell you the truth I would have put up with the explosive diarrhea and the cold showers a little longer for more time and hugs from all the wonderful, special individuals we left behind. They will forever be a part of me and I will forever be grateful for this amazing experience and the chance to let so many beautiful people enter my life. What an adventure!

For about 2 months now, I’ve been working with my new Escojo group (AIDS education/prevention, communication, values, self-esteem, condoms, healthy choices, ect.) and last night we had an emotional break-through, you know the kind that leaves one glowing with love and tears in their eyes. Our theme last night was self-esteem so I wanted to start out with a good old self-esteem booster. Spin the bottle and wherever it lands the spinner has give a compliment about the other. Well it turned out to be something like ¨yeah, she’s a cool chick, she has a lot of friends and treats others well¨. Some were a little more sincere than others, but all the kids felt very uncomfortable giving and both receiving a compliment.

So I asked them, “Why was that so hard for us to hear or tell something nice and heartfelt? Is it really that hard to see the good in someone?”

We are so used to pointing out character flaws that sometimes we forget to tell someone what we really like about them. Que malo.

“Let’s try the activity again, but this time you can pick who’d you like to compliment. Remember that you have to talk directly to that person, not about the person, look them in the eyes, and say something sincere. We will all have an opportunity to share our thoughts. We will sit and wait until each of you feels you’re ready to talk.”

And so I started, “Juana, I admire the fact that you have participated in all the activities the community and I have put on. It truly shows your dedication to your own education and that you are choosing your own path. That quality is so important in a person and it will take you a long way.” She smiled, looked down, and said Thank you in English. Then we waited. Looked around and waited some more. Finally one would start, then another, then another. A few minutes would pass, looking around, and then another would go. Fifteen minutes later we all finished. Amazing amounts of love was shared, leaving us with swollen blushing hearts. It was the first time that I had received true, heart felt affirmations from my youth about my work. I know now just how important my presence and activities are for the youth in my community. I loved it, I loooved it. Best meeting I’ve had all year.

“So this week let’s share the love and give compliments to 3 other important people in our lives”

The kids’ faces filled with looks of fear and doubt. “But whenever I try to say something nice to my parents or my friends they just think I’m acting weird or making fun of them.”

“Or what if I try to say something and they just tell me to shut-up and get out of their view of the telenovela on TV?”

“Ok, lets take a minute and ask for strength in this assignment as well as give strength to our family and friends so they are ready to listen and accept what we have to say.”

So we prayed and hugged and kissed.

Amen.

Orange. A cell phone company with their super cave.

I lasted about 5 seconds.

Examples of the many elaborate costumes and masks.

Black object in the middle is a hitting butt tool. Sand, rocks, and if your lucky filled with just air.

Carnaval. Carnaval. Carnaval.

What an INSANE fiesta! Streets are packed, butts are wacked, and you will be a sweating like no other.

Enmanuel, myself and the family headed out to La Vega for the last sunday parade in February. Around 1pm the streets were nearly empty allowing us to visit the ¨caves¨ put up by local company. The caves provided the richies with VIP shady chairs and cold beverages. Us campo folks wandered the streets trying to avoided getting wacked in the butt with an air (or sometimes rock filled) beating bags. Those participating in the parade were dressed with elaborate beautifully ugly devilish costumes parading through and dancing like wild jungle beasts.

So, At the beginning of January, I went for a trek with my good buddy Jon up to the Mountains north of Santiago. Our night were spent in this retreat center and our days spent traveling out to the surrounding villages to visit the patients and translate for the Med people.

Our Maine Crew. Docs, Pediatricians, Sports Med, Gynocologists, Nurses, students, and translators all coming together to help out in the DR.

We were set up in churches, schools, and houses, any building that were availabe in their communities. The clinics were set up with 4-6 stations, all with a translator, a student, and a nurse or doctor.We saw everything from Diabetes, to open sores, to fungi, to parasites. The patients got a full analysis and were sent on their way with any medications that needed filling. Rain or Shine we were ready to roll.

When the patients were too sick or old to come in to the clinic, we brought the clinic to them.

But not without stopping for a quick game of baseball with the local muchachos. An old plastic juice bottle for a ball and a stick for the bat. Med mission vs. Campo muchachos. Despite the lack of my eye-ball skills, I got a few good hits.

And now after such a successful mission, Jon and I have decided to take over Med Mission Chairs and run the whole show. Well, peace corps side of the whole show. Wish us luck.

Santa Georgina with gifts for the kids over her shoulder.

A small part of the Reinoso Duran Family. Gathering to bless the abundance of food.

And then you just dig in!

Enmanuel, Sylvana, Francis, and I

Evony, Lily and I on Christmas Eve

Christmas here isn’t quite like back home. 70 degree weather instead of -20, platanos instead of scalloped potatoes, Christmas merengue instead of jingle bells, raisins, apples and grapes instead endless Christmas cookies, and of course my Dominican family instead of my ND family. I was a trooper, but I can`t say I wasn`t home sick.

Traditions are quite different as well. Christmas Eve is celebrated with enough food to fill a large family of elephants. We had roasted pork, roasted chicken, platanos maduro, boiled green bananas, spaghetti, bread, chicken pastries, beef in a leaf, some eggplant dish, and much more. Sophy mixed up an Alexander cocktail and Georgina pretended to be Santa. Even I got a few gifts, isn´t that special. Normally gifts aren’t given on Christmas but instead el dia de Reyes (Kings day, Jan. 6), but relatives were here from the capital so we had to aprovechar.

Christmas day is spent drinking, chatting and dancing, nothing too out of the ordinary. I was a little under the weather with a mucusy cough so I didn´t partake in the drunken dancing so much. I’ve been served various concoctions of natural foods with a guarantee it will clear up my gripe. Right now, I’m drinking a mixture of honey and aloe plant filling. Tastey.

Enjoying some intermural sports. How sweet.

Charishing some special time together. Good old pals.

Our peace corps doctor´s parrot. Speaks spanish but not today.

Bachata and Merengue dance contest. We got 2nd place in Merengue.

Rebecca y Yo catching some rays

When it rains it pours, when it pours it floods, and when it floods, watch out, this little island is in big trouble. It started as any Sunday afternoon shower. Nobody suspected a thing. Then, that shower turned into sheets of rain that continued through Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and finally drizzled off Thursday. Half way through this intense tropical storm, every exit from our campo was flooded. Bridges were taken out or had 5 feet of rain over them making it impossible to get to the next campo. Our little campo survived like a champ, but again we are settled on top a hill, allowing all of the rain to flow down into the river below us. For us, it was 4 days of playing cards, reading books, and watching the news. Here in my campo, we bounced back to life as we have always known it, just our relatives and friends in the south were not as fortunate.

Most Dominicans have never received any type of swimming lessons. When we go to the river, they are sure to stay in the shallow part, the water rising no higher than their waste. Now image being in bed and waking up because there is water filling up your bedroom and every hour it keeps getting deeper and deeper. Instant panic would set in for your children, your family, and your home. You can´t swim, so where do you go? UP! Roof tops, tree tops, second floors of homes (a rarity to find). You wait and wait and hope for a rescue boat to pass or a helicopter to lift you up to safety. But what if those roof tops and tree tops aren´t high enough?

This has happened twice in the last month. It’s just unbelievable how much damage rain can cause. Muck muck and more muck. These people here are survivors. They pick up various part s of their house that has been spread about in each direction and start building again. They mourn their loved ones that were taken by the floods and keep pushing onward. Increíble!

Gatita o Ratonita, we couldn't decide if I were a better kitty or rat. You decide.

Only three people dressed up for the fiesta: Me, frankenstein, and death. I was the only was who lasted more than five minutes.

Coffins, pumpkins, spider oh my. Dominicans know how to decorate, they only need help spelling out harrowing nihgt.

Not convingly scared enough. Enmanuel looks way to happy to see that giant spider. Speaking of spiders, Look what I found in my bed one night while putting up my mosquitero. A giant fuzzy cacata.

I have to say, I was impressed with our halloween bash. The jovenes, who have now named themselves "materia gris" got their stuff together and threw a heck of a party. We spent all afternoon putting up cob webs, carving pumpkin like vegetables, hauling coffins, and making signs. The only thing missing was the costumes. I was a loner on that part, but a cute kitty one if I might say.

I´m sitting there in the guagua on our way back from Santiago, and I`m looking at my muchacho, who´s proudly wearing his new “encargados del futuro” t-shirt, and I’m imagining what must be going through his mind. Maybe he´s taking in the sites and sounds of his first visit to Santiago, or he’s thinking about all the friends he’s made over the last few days at our first ever IT conference. Possibly there’s a girl he’s fancying or maybe just thinking about all the computer skills he’s just learned and which one he’s going to practice first when he gets home to his new computer.

I ask him, “So, what was your favourite part of the conference?”

“Todo”, he says, “Everything was bellísimo.”

And I’m proud. I’m proud to have given him this opportunity, and I’m proud of all the volunteers who pulled their skills together to make it happen.

High school students from all ends of the DR came with their volunteers to learn about youth groups, techi skills, teaching tips, programming, video conferencing, trouble shooting, body surfing, scavenger hunts, casino games, video confessions, dominos pizza, dance contests, auctions, dinamicas, and just what this whole Peace Corps thing is all about.

The muchachos loved it. Next year I’m bringing three.

So now is the real important moment. We are back in our campos and we need to make use of all these new skills we’ve learned and motivate others to hop on our informática train. An IT youth group is my next goal. I want to make computer geeks out of these kids.

Just one little problem. Right now our gas plant, which provides electricity to our computer lab, won’t turn on. It just decided to quite, done, finished. The plant works somewhat like a car. You have to fill it with diesel, check the filters, change the oil, and when it dies, someone else has to fix it. Well we can’t take our lab to a shop, so we have to wait until the mechanic comes to us. And this, this is in the hands of the secretary of education, who controls all of the labs in the entire Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, it might take awhile.

So we cross our fingers and call and call and call everyday until we get our lab back up and running.

But when the lab is ready, we will be as well. Our invitations in hand and jóvenes waiting for the best club our campo has seen yet.

Thanks for all the games, familia, we´re enjoying them to the fullest.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

This is the advanced dominican washing machine. Washer and ringer in one. And thank God for it. I would die if I had to wash all my clothes by hand. Imaginate! Raw knuckles, no thank you. Let me tell you how it goes. Primero- You haul the lavadora out from the back room to the back yard and connect it to an outlet nearby. segundo - Connect drain tube to the back of the machine. Make sure the opening of the tube is pointing away from house (very important)tercero- Fill left side with 3 buckets of water, a shake or two of FAB laudry soap, and throw in a load of whites. Set to 15 minutes.Cuarto- When 15 minutes are up, pick out wet soapy clothes and throw them in a bucket of water nearby. Plunge an swirl, plunge and swirl until it looks like the soap is out (it never really is). Quinto- Then haul the wet less soapy clothes up to the ringer (the right side of the machine). Set the timer for 5 minutes. It spins the clothes at an unimaginable speed until most of the water is out. Sexto- Carry less wet clothes to clothes line to dry in the super dominican sun. Repeat step 1-6 over and over, changing dirty water when needed. Haul machine back to bedroom when finished.

Soooooo, when we thought Angela would be living in a mud hut with dirt floor, we were´t exactly getting the complete picture. First all the run down shacks were taken by all the poor families. Second all the run down shacks have zero security, and that wasn´t going to fly with all overly protective family and friends. Even though there are rare occurances of any acts of violence, I had to have the segurist of segure houses in the hood. So what are my options? I could continue to live with my host family, which I love my family but I rarely got a moment of peace and quiet or any privacy, or find a super nice house with bars on the windows and padlocks on all the doors. Sorry Doña, I went with the second route

Water, electricity, inversor when there isn´t electricity, 3 bedrooms, fully furnished, and and an acre full of platanos all for 2.000$ pesos a month (about 60 bucks). Not quite what I was expecting. When Alissa and Megan came for a visit their first words were:¨Holy, this is your house!¨¨Wow, you have chairs!¨¨You´re living in America!¨¨When you go back to the states and are living in a crappy little apartment you´re going to say, ´boy, I wish I was in the Peace Corps again´¨.This hook up wasn´t all my doing. I have to give much credit to Enmanuel because the house I´m living in is his grandma´s. She lives in the US year round and only visits here a couple weeks out of the summer.

So even though I wanted at one time to have the unforgiving mud hut, I’m happy that I’m living in comfort in my American like home. There is enough stress everyday without having to look for your water every morning or stare at your doo doo in an unflushable hole or toilet.

My first weekend in the house. Nana and Ruth are teaching me how to make Moro (rice, beans, veggie mix). The trick to good rice is if the spoon stands straight up when you put it in the pot, you have the right combo of rice and water.

My acre of platanos. Due to my growing waistline, I´ve sworn off platanos for a year.

Where one would catch a cool breeze.

My beautiful patio.

Enmanuel, a much better house keeper than I will ever be. He, along with many dominicans, is worried about having dead leaves scattered in the front yard. What would the neighbors think!

My bedroom. My Favorite blanky. My mosquito net.

Common visitors. This one in particular likes to watch me fregar the dishes.

Wednesday

Night before I leave for Nueva York i.e. Florida

Enmanuel: "What would you like to do for your last night here?"

Angela: "Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe we could get one of those sandwiches from Guanabano that are super delicious. You know the ones where they chop chop chop the veggies and chicken, then grill it all and slap in on a squishy bun."

Enmanuel: "MMMM. Yeah that sounds good, we'll head over there later."

Horita (later) Mabel, Ruth, and Enmanuel are gathered around Enmanuel's moto, talking secretly. Angela wanders up to discuss the sandwich getting agenda.

Angela: "Hey girls whatcha doing?"

Ruth and Mabel: "We're going to head to La Guama (the town next to ours) to run an errand. We can pick up your sandwiches while we're there."

Angela: "Ok great. Here's 100 pesos. Remember the sandwiches where they chop chop chop (Showing with hand motions as well) the chicken and vegetables and then slap it on a squishy bun."

Enmanuel: "And Remember, no veggies for me!"

Angela: "Tell them to put the veggies from his onto mine. MMM I like veggies. Chop Chop Chop."

Mabel tries to start the moto and fails. Enmanuel then pushes Mabel and the moto to the street corner, Mabel starts the moto and Enmanuel jumps on the back to do a circle around the block. Angela heads back to the house. Ruth waits on the street corner in her high heels. -Ain't no way she's runnin after them in those things!

5 minutes later,

Enmanuel arrives on foot.

Enmanuel: "Let's go to the park and chat until they come back with our sandwiches."

We wander the 1 1/2 blocks to the park and continue on until we arrive at his brightly lit Grandmothers house (my future house as of Aug. 27).

Angela: "Hola Donas, how is everyone tonight?"

A hug and a kiss on the cheek is given to everyone. We are immediately offered a plateful of platanos y fried salami. I refuse with my sandwich in mind. Enmanuel welcomes his mama's cooking with open arms.

Angela: "Are you crazy. We have the big Chop Chop Chop sandwich coming. There is no way you're going to be able to down in all."

Enmanuel pats his stomach as if he is the incredible eating machine.

20 minutes later, He finishes eating and we head on back.

Angela y Enmanuel: "Buenas noches. We'll see you in the morning at 5:30 to pick up the little girl. Bye Bye."

We continue to the park.

Angela: "We better head back to the house, I can smell the veggies from my sandwich, they must have arrived by now."

Enmanuel: "No no, they aren't there yet. They'll drive by and let us know when they get back."

We wait in the park and chat about the week to come. (My friends and family in the DR are super paranoid that I will forget all about them once I hit american soil. Silly dominicans.)

10 minutes later a moto cruises by. The second it passes Enmanuel recognizes the sound of his muffler.

He whistles at the moto. Mabel does a U-turn and heads back to the house.

Enmanuel: "Now, The sandwiches are there."

We stroll back with much anticipation for the delicious chop chop chop sandwiches. We arrive at my house and the Donas are sitting outside on the porch enjoying the cool evening breeze while the inside of the house is all dark.

Angela thinking: "Hmm. We must not have electricity."

Ruth: "The sandwiches are in the kitchen on top of the counter."

Angela: "Huh? Where, I can't see anything!"

I enter the kitchen clueless

Everybody: "Surprise!"

Angela: "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"

I scream and laugh for what seems like entirely too long. Once I come to my senses I realize it's a sweet going away party. A banner saying 'Have a good trip, We love you Angela'. Cake, soda, salami, crackers, and neighborhood kids.

We danced, we laughed, and we ate cake.

And the Much anticipated chop chop chop sandwichs sat on the countertop, waiting to to be split up and shared amongst all the party guests.

Welcome to Florida where the sun is hot, the building are cold, the grandpas are witty, and the babies are beautiful.

Ok, Florida just might be as hot, or even hotter, than the DR, but nobody would realize it because every single place that humans exist there is A/C. I was never so aware of this. I have spent maybe a total of 1 hr without A/C since I arrived here 4 days ago. From the A/C car to the A/C house to the A/C mall to the A/C restaurant. I'm definitely not complaining. I haven't NOT sweat this much in 6 months.

Also, I'm truelly happy I took this opportunity to spend some time with Patty's family, Grandpa and Leah (my long lost cousin). It's always great to reconnect with your roots.

Patty, Me, and Sweet Baby Grace

Shopping. Way too much shopping. I did find these super cute sketchers. They have all dominican bling bling I need to fit i

Leah, my cousin, who I haven't seen in 15 years.

What an incredible woman. We visited the Venice Beach, had lunch and dinner with grandpa, shopped for laptops and visited her daughters Montessori School.

Grandpa. Just as Witty and Clever as we could ever remember. After 25 years, I finally sat down and learned how to play Bridge, grandpa's favorite past time.

John, Patty's new husband. Offering a night cap after a night of fine dining, cigar bars, and spin the bottle in downtown Ft. Myers.

Overall, being back has been a real treat. Great food, wonderful hosts, precious baby time, A/C, and free long distance.

It started out being a little awkward being back in the states. Some old ordinary tasks seemed so new and foreign to me. I caught my self wanting to: throw my toilet paper in the waste basket instead of the toilet, turn off the shower in between lathering up and rinsing off, prepare my conversations in my head in spanish before making a phonecall, and hug, kiss, or shake hands with everyone that comes along.

The change of perspective has opened my eyes again. When I'm in my campo, I sometimes feel so wrapped up in everyday life in the DR that I lose focus on the bigger picture, the overall outcome. Taking this step back has allowed me to see the projects that need to get rolling and just how important my role is in keeping them all organized and motivated.