hasta una semana

I´m officially done with my 3 month diagnostic. Tomorrow morning I´m off to present it to the big dogs. I love the powerpoint I put together. It´s full of pictures of everyone I love here. I´ll send you a copy through email.
Ruth, Mariana, and I are heading to Santiago for 3 Days, then I stay for an additional week of training. I don´t know if I will have phone service or email.

Hope you all are enjoying your hot hot summer. I spend most of my time under shady trees here.

Ang

¡Ethernet Está!

What amazingly exciting news. I was in my site for less than an hour and we got word that the man with the internet knowledge was on his way. And just a few IP address changes later, here we are typing away and sending photos. Awesome.

These first pictures are of us opening the packages we got from mom, Dave, and Allison. Everybody was so excited and I was ecstatic. Bubbles, new music, coloring book, cool paper, poker chips, wash cloths (now my doña doesn´t have to use old socks), amazing dark chocolate (more please), sticker galore, cards, games and more. Wow, thanks.

My swing group. This was our last performance- it went way better than expected. Infront of 2,000 people, and they were practically flawless. Here we have Jensen, Me, Anyuery, Yendry, Enmanuel, and Anabel .

I had someone video tape it, but they only got the last 20 second of the dance. Uhgg. Que lastima. But at least I have a little to show. All of the other volunteers were super impressed with the 20 seconds they saw. I feel so proud of my troup.

Our Lanzamiento (grand opening) of our AVE (computer center). We had a decent turn out, about 30 people. It was crazy running around trying to get everything together, but we pulled it off. Above we have our Committee and our lab. Look at those smiling faces.

Patrionales! Tons of singing, dancing, pageants, and parades. Above my two host sister, RoseAnny and Ruth, and Enmanuel and I are decorating one of the trucks for the parade.

Every year, Ruth teaches the girls how to dance and speak for the pageants. She also gets them all dolled up each night. Super talented.

I cooked Spaghetti for my family and neighbors. Well, a partially cooked it. One of the local Doña´s, Ramonita, insisted on doing almost all the work. But it was a hit. Cochecha, my little old lady neighbor ate 2 servings. Definately a repeat.

I´m still hoping to make a pizza one of these days.

Bahía de las Aguilas. Amazing shots. I´ll let them do the talking.

Packages and Beach parties.

Excuse this quick blog, my ride is coming in 20 minutes.

Thank you all for all the packages and cards I've received this past month. It felt like christmas time and time again. My family has as much a blast as I did finding treasure after treasure. It was a priceless moment. Thank you.

So far I've received Dave and Allison's gigantic package, Teresa's pencils and paper, mom's makeup and games, and post cards and chocolate from dad. I gave out the calenders to my neighbors and Dona, they loved it.

I just got pack from Bahía de las Aguilas where I celebrated the 4th. The most beautiful water I have ever seen. The photos are amazing.

Hopefully this next week we'll get the internet worked out in my lab, so I'll fill you in soon.

Tiempo de Mangos

Right now is the ¨Tiempo de Mangos.¨
Almost every third house here has a Mango tree and each mango tree has hundreds of mangos. Nobody can go hungry at this time of the year. At almost every house I visit, I´m offered a mango or three for a mid-afternoon snack. Most of the mangos are very sweet, juicy and delicious, but tend to be full of long and stringy fibers that get stuck in your teeth. So it´s kind of like a love/hate/slightly emabarrasing relationships I have with the Mangos. By the time I´m finished with my 1st or 3rd, I have atleast 2 orange stains on my clothes, mango juice dripping down my arms, and long orange strings sticking out of my teeth. Any good host brings me a bucket of water to wash up, and a super good host brings me floss and a towel.

I prefer the mangos with less fiber!
I´ll post photos as soon as possible.

Back to the campo

I rolled up in the truck from Santo Domingo to find screaming girls and big hugs. Evony and Lily were very happy to see me again. They decorated my room with flower petals and drawings. Muy dulce. I met Ruth´s sister, Rosanny, for the first time. She usually is studying in the capital. Vacation days for students are quite strange here. It seems like there is always someone on vacation.
Yesterday we had another Kermes (potluck) to raise money for our patrionales celebrations. Food, dancing, and cock fights. Yes, I witnessed my first cockfight. They attach an extra plastic claw to the back of the cock´s legs. Attack. It´s quite disturbing watching the two cocks fight to the death. Bloody and exhausted, just pecking away.
Just two weeks to go before our dance performance. I´m hoping to finish our swing routine this week. Yikes. We are all nervous it won´t get done nor be as beautiful as it was planned in my mind.

I´m glad to be back and healthy again. Gracias a Dios.

Dengue and Ringworm

Yes. I got the new just now, the results are in, and Dengue is confirmed. What does this mean? If my body takes the normal course of Dengue, I will continue to have a fever, with extreme body aches, then your arms and legs break out in a hiddeous rash. Usually lasts about a week. Mine is only starting. They are expecting to keep me in the capital for a week to make sure I have care nearby if needed. Tonight I'm staying in the Pension, a hostel for volunteers, but I will have my own room, A/C, and a TV. Then if things get worse and I can't deal on my own they'll send me to Clinica Abreu for a few days. This sucks.
I only had half of my dance routine choreographed and the performance is only a few weeks away. They were all doing to well too.
And as for my leg, my once strange sore has turned into 5 smaller sores. She gave me some pills for Ringworm that I'll take for 10 days to try and clear things up.
I need a hug or 10.
I'll have my cellphone with me. 809-467-2781.

My life

Enmanuel (Neco) - muy buen amigo y Yo

Evony, Lily, y Ashley reading the books I brought back from the fair. Evony y Lily are like my nieces here. We play almost everyday. Last night, Evony told me, in her best english, that she thought of me as her sister. so sweet

Mabel, Nana, Suzy, Ruth, y La Polla Cosita, my neighbor puppy.

Licette (La Polla) My first love in this campo. Evony and I