Six Months Down
I realized it had been a long time since I had written when I recieved a post card from Germany with my new address on it. I think it's about time I get on to keeping in touch a little better.
Things have been going pretty well. I have spent the last week out of my site and trying to recuperate from something that has been unidentified by the medical office. I left my site on Monday to make the trip to La Vega for our 3 month In Service Training. At this training, we take our project partners to present our Community Diagnostics and to begin our first year plans. Well, after the grueling trip of 3 Americans shuffling along 5 Dominicans in the glorious public transportation of the DR, we finally made it to the Conference Center on Tuesday morning. Several presentations, a couple bowls of Jello, a little bit of rum and a lot of dancing, I woke up Wednesday morning with a bit of a hangover. You know, the upset stomach, diaherra, the usual after one too many drinks. Well, Thursday, it still hadn't gone away. Now I'm thinking to myself, "That's one hell of a hangover." So, we finish up our presentations, send our project partners home, and I head up with a few other volunteers to visit our host families in Jarabacoa. Lo and behold, the hangover from hell hits me about 100 yards from our destination. Here I am, hanging out the window of a mini van, vomiting all over the road and my arm. Not a pretty sight.
So, I spent that night and the next day spent between the bathroom and my bed at my host family's place. They were very upset that I was "flaca" and sick. I made my way back to the capital, and my host brother and sisters from the campo have been taking care of me. Chicken soup, rice, the usual. It's nice to have someone take care of you when you are sick. I finally made it to the medic today, got a "kill all harming agents" pill and hopefully within the week I'll be healthy again.
Enough about me being sick. I do have some good news. I finally get to move out on my own!! Tommorrow is the first of August, the first day I can live all by myself. I moving into a house across the dirt road from my host family. It's green and orange, 4 bedroom, kitchen, porch, latrine, you name it for a campo house, I got it. It even comes with it's very own black and white cat (a best friend for Rubio). Everyone is concerned about me living alone, but with that concern comes even more people watching out for me. But finally it will be nice to have my own space. A bookshelf to put my books, a living room to clean, and my own kitchen to cook, it's all calling my name. So if you want to send a house warming gift, I'm always open to books, recipes, and chocolate. :) Gifts could also include a visit. I have 3 extra rooms!!! I have space for company!!!! Book your ticket now!!!!
With 6 months down, I also begin my work as a real volunteer. Training is over, the diagnostic period is over, and now projects begin. I don't know exactly how I'm going to go about making my projects, but this is when it starts. My community is geared up and ready to go with a tree nursery, so now I need to get going on looking for our funding for that. I found out this last week, however, that the community has all the infrastructure to make the vivero, it's just a matter of man power and finding the seeds and seedlings. Yeah for me! A project waiting to happen. Our plan is to have it started by December, but you know how plans are. And in the PC, apparently they are a lot harder.
Things have been going pretty well. I have spent the last week out of my site and trying to recuperate from something that has been unidentified by the medical office. I left my site on Monday to make the trip to La Vega for our 3 month In Service Training. At this training, we take our project partners to present our Community Diagnostics and to begin our first year plans. Well, after the grueling trip of 3 Americans shuffling along 5 Dominicans in the glorious public transportation of the DR, we finally made it to the Conference Center on Tuesday morning. Several presentations, a couple bowls of Jello, a little bit of rum and a lot of dancing, I woke up Wednesday morning with a bit of a hangover. You know, the upset stomach, diaherra, the usual after one too many drinks. Well, Thursday, it still hadn't gone away. Now I'm thinking to myself, "That's one hell of a hangover." So, we finish up our presentations, send our project partners home, and I head up with a few other volunteers to visit our host families in Jarabacoa. Lo and behold, the hangover from hell hits me about 100 yards from our destination. Here I am, hanging out the window of a mini van, vomiting all over the road and my arm. Not a pretty sight.
So, I spent that night and the next day spent between the bathroom and my bed at my host family's place. They were very upset that I was "flaca" and sick. I made my way back to the capital, and my host brother and sisters from the campo have been taking care of me. Chicken soup, rice, the usual. It's nice to have someone take care of you when you are sick. I finally made it to the medic today, got a "kill all harming agents" pill and hopefully within the week I'll be healthy again.
Enough about me being sick. I do have some good news. I finally get to move out on my own!! Tommorrow is the first of August, the first day I can live all by myself. I moving into a house across the dirt road from my host family. It's green and orange, 4 bedroom, kitchen, porch, latrine, you name it for a campo house, I got it. It even comes with it's very own black and white cat (a best friend for Rubio). Everyone is concerned about me living alone, but with that concern comes even more people watching out for me. But finally it will be nice to have my own space. A bookshelf to put my books, a living room to clean, and my own kitchen to cook, it's all calling my name. So if you want to send a house warming gift, I'm always open to books, recipes, and chocolate. :) Gifts could also include a visit. I have 3 extra rooms!!! I have space for company!!!! Book your ticket now!!!!
With 6 months down, I also begin my work as a real volunteer. Training is over, the diagnostic period is over, and now projects begin. I don't know exactly how I'm going to go about making my projects, but this is when it starts. My community is geared up and ready to go with a tree nursery, so now I need to get going on looking for our funding for that. I found out this last week, however, that the community has all the infrastructure to make the vivero, it's just a matter of man power and finding the seeds and seedlings. Yeah for me! A project waiting to happen. Our plan is to have it started by December, but you know how plans are. And in the PC, apparently they are a lot harder.
posted by Jenn | 08:21
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