Life in Santo Domingo and volunteer visit

The past two weeks have been full of learning and adventures. Two weekends ago after church, my host family took me to the Botanical Garden in Santo Domingo and it was beautiful! Somehow we stuffed 7 people in my family’s car for our outing (surprisingly that’s the norm here). On our way to the garden we stopped at La Sirena (DR Wal-Mart) to buy some drinks… then we walked through the museum, took a train ride, raced each other, and walked through the garden as we drank sprite and Dominican wine. The day ended with a stop at another local version of Wal-Mart. I think the family likes to stop at these stores because of the air conditioning… we stay for a while and tend to not buy much. Anyway, it was a great trip.


Pre Service Training has been cruising by, as I only have 2 days until I leave for Constanza to focus my attention on youth development. I have been learning tons of stuff in the meantime, including how to play dominoes, dance the bachata and merengue, and ride a motoconcho, I have also learned everything there is to know about malaria, dengue fever, diarrhea and more. Training lasts from 8am until 5pm when I return home to run, hang out with other volunteers, or hang out with my host family. The family continues to be animated and generally awesome to hang out with. They love to laugh, and one of their favorite topics of conversation is former volunteers. I have learned about all sorts of embarrassing things that past volunteers have done… including one who fell into the sewer on her walk to Entrena. I wonder what story they will have to tell about me!

Things are starting to feel familiar now that it’s been nearly three weeks since we arrived in Santo Domingo. I have found a good running route that is free of tigeures (men who hiss), motorcycles, and reckless dogs. I expect, and sometimes enjoy, my grilled cheese sandwich breakfasts. And sometimes it feels weird to speak in English…. sometimes. I guess the feeling of familiarity is going to change soon when I pack up my stuff and leave for Constanza! It will certainly feel different to leave behind half of our PC group and live in the mountains for over a month.

Speaking of unfamiliarity, I spent the last 4 days visiting a current volunteer at her site. I was surprised to learn that we have a lot in common. She grew up in Utah and went to the Univerisity of Miami to play soccer (go ACC!). Now she is working under youth development in a pueblo outside of Santo Domingo. The visit was packed with adventures. In addition to visiting Gitana’s site, we also got to visit another volunteer in Yamasa who is working on an eco-tourism project with a cocao plantation. We got a free tour of the production facility and it was pretty cool to see how cocao is produced. On our way back to Gitana’s site I also got a tour of the Santo Domingo I never knew existed. I saw several nice malls, bakeries, and tons of American restaurants. I was surprised to see such wealth in the city and it certainly put things into perspective. In general I have been surprised by the gap between the rich and poor here. The middle class barely exists, at least not in the same sense as the US. Anyway, my visit with Gitana was much needed. I got to see more of the island and our talks made me feel more at ease about what is to come in my next two years. Below is a list of some firsts from this weekend:

First time…
Seeing a Dominican tarantula
Eating sugar cane
Taking a bucket shower
Riding a motorcycle
Eating a cocao fruit
Taking a bola

I have been taking tons of pictures but unfortunately my internet source is too weak to post any online. Hopefully this will change soon (perhaps in Constanza????). I also want to mention that one of my high school friends, Jeff, was severely injured after a car accident. He is certainly in my thoughts and I hope his family knows how many people are cheering him on... much love goes to the Cospers.

Next time I post anything I'll be in what most people consider to be the most beautiful part of the island :)