Dunas y Salineras

Our seventh and eighth grade classes were joining up to go on their field trip since there was a minimum number of participants and the trip is optional since it costs a fair amount of money. The problem is that some kids think that if they don't go they don't have to attend school either, so they choose a "day off." For this reason the trip was 2 people short of reaching their 25 person quota. The coordinator came into the faculty lounge the day before, explained the situation, and asked if any teachers would be willing to pay and go along. Steve and I said we would as long as they could cover our classes without us.

I was thrilled for the opportunity to go on a field trip outside of the city we live in. We arrived at school around 6:30 in the morning and left just after 7. We had a long ride from Santiago since San Cristobal and Bani are on the southern end of the island. I've included the map for those of you who are not very sharp on your Dominican Republic cities.

First we stopped at a Cathedral in which the famous, horrible dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo, had been buried. I've included pictures of the outside and inside. It was quite decorated.

Then we went to a plaza where the house of a great liberator had been. By then it was already lunch time so we stopped for pizza. After pizza we continued on the way, with the guides pointing out the fruit plantations. Finally the terrain began to change. We were moving into the desert.
The desert in the south leads right up to the ocean and is where their naval base is located.

We continued on to the salineras- which they translate as salt mines. Really, no mining is done. The water sits out in giant vats for 28 days- until the water has evaporated enough for them to extract the salt with little flat bottomed "boats" and shovels. They fill small "train cars" that then get pulled up to the top of the tracks and dumped off into a large pile of salt. The process seemed extremely primitive to us, but was fascinating.

We started on our way back with the first stop being the dunas (sand dunes). Apparently there are only two major areas of dunes in the world and the Dominican Republic has one of them. There the guides showed us the iron in the sand by extracting it with a magnet. Sadly, this picture does no justice to the size of the dunes.

We stopped at another church, this one much more ruggedly built. The people of this poor area came to watch us, mostly interested I'm sure in the white people. The church is dedicated to a Saint; it was sad to see his statue inside far larger than the painting of Jesus.

We ended the trip with a drive past the cemetery. In the Dominican Republic, many cemeteries are built like small cities rather than a park as we are accustomed in the United States. The bodies go in small "buildings." Finally we ended with a stop at a big Candy Shop, full of dulce de leche and candied figs. We grabbed some real dinner at the shop that was attached and were home by about 6:30 in the evening- a long but fulfilling day.

Blepharitis and a Carcass

Well actually the carcass comes first. On Sunday when I was cleaning my room I found myself pining for a little sunlight and fresh air in my bedroom. You see, I have two small windows that allow roaches to enter so they mostly stay shut. Sometimes I open the one window but the other is usually left. In fact I don't remember the last time I opened it. Therefore I should not have been surprised that when I pulled back the curtain I was greeted by the sight of a mostly dissolved, ant-covered lizard carcass. I quickly opened the window, shoved it out with a pen, and ran to tell Steve of the horrors I had been through. It was most disturbing.

The Blepharitis actually began before the carcass but I didn't pay much mind to my very bloodshot eyes for about 10 days since they didn't really bother me. Finally I decided yesterday to get them checked. It worked out well because our coordinator's mother was going in to the eye doctor that afternoon so she set up an appointment for me and took me along. We arrived at 3:30, I got in at 4:00 and told them that something was wrong with my eyes. Then I got to sit out there again till a little after 5. It took about 10 minutes once I got in for her to check me out, diagnose it as Blepharitis (a kind of infection), prescribe a few things, and send me on my way. Problem is that my insurance didn't cover the appointment and it turned out to be expensive and the medication was almost as expensive as the appointment. On the upside, my eyes are already looking much better.

Coming soon- more field trips and the solution to my wild first grader.

First Grade Paseo- Tour of Santiago

On January 28th the first grade class went on their field trip- a tour of Santiago. This was somewhat disappointing for me, seeing as I would rather have traveled like they do in every other class. We gathered at school in the morning to get set to go. My wild one was required to have a family member to chaperone since he had cut the Dominican aid with a scissors the day before. There was a bit of a scramble because he arrived alone on the bus. Just before leaving his mother showed up. There was one girl's aunt that joined us also. We all piled into the guagua (van) and headed out. We got out and took pictures by the Ayuntamiento (City Hall). The Spanish teacher wanted a group picture at EVERYTHING, including the naked statues. Don't worry, I won't include that one here...

Next we observed the cathedral from our guagua and stopped at a park for a snack and to see the murals of Columbus. The kids were shocked: "Columbus was BLOND?!?!"

We took pictures EVERYWHERE! It is a very cultural thing to pose for pictures and they learn at a very young age.

Then we continued to the fire station where we got to see the fire fighters sliding down the pole and getting dressed in all their protective gear.

After that we went to another park and then to the monument to take feed the pigeons.

The highlight of the trip for the kids was easily the final stop, McDonald's, where they each got a happy meal and plenty of time to play. Fast food chains like that here are for the upper class because they have American prices, so it's pretty special. The really kids had a great time and behaved reasonably well too. ;)

At long last...

Jarabacoa! After all Steve's build-up I hope this blog is all you've dreamed of. Back in January Keith had a couple of friends come to visit so he worked out this plan to go horseback riding to the Jimenoa Falls. This just so happens to be the same waterfall in the movie Jurassic Park! Keith, his friends, Andrew, Beth, Steve, and I went straight from church, though Miguel delayed us. Miguel is one of the political candidates and he was having a demonstration that day so he hired almost ALL the guaguas to take people straight there. We waited SO long for one on the normal route and then sat on laps to all fit in. After that we took a second guagua which agreed for a reasonable price to take us all the way there and to come back later to pick us up.

We finally arrived in time for the buffet of delicious Dominican food! We stuffed ourselves full and sat for a few minutes to digest before heading out to the horses. They were saddled up and waiting. We got on and there were some young boys there working with the horses. They asked me if I wanted a piloto (pilot). I said no, but since Steve didn't understand he got one. We headed out carefully through a river and walked down the road a bit but once we got farther out we started galloping. The boys, our only guides, liked going fast. They also knew which horses were the fastest (Steve's being one) and knew how to really get them going. Steve even got to do some racing.
After close to an hour, we got out to the Falls and were told that without the money we couldn't enter. I guess the boys were supposed to bring some and didn't... Anyway, we convinced the lady that the problem is with the resort and not us so they let us in. We walked across a series of hanging bridges and made our way out to the waterfall.

This picture does not really show how precarious the brides got because farther along I was holding on. After about four of these bridges we reached the Falls. Although swimming was prohibited several people jumped in. Since we did not know the fine we opted not to and just enjoyed the beauty from the rocks.

After a while we headed back across the bridges and galloped back to the resort. We didn't even stop for the river just before the resort. The boys yelled "El gran final!" which means "The grand finale!" and the horses sped up splashing us all good and wet for the guagua ride home. Well, mostly just the lower pant leg was wet but most of my jeans got it so I ended up wearing Steve's swimming trunks home. It was a great day- one of the highlights of our time here.

Coming soon- 1st grade field trip (Santiago), 7th & 8th grade field trip (salineras and dunas), and 6th grade field trip (granja de chocolate)!

Famine

Well, that might be an exaggeration. It's more like a small drought. It hasn't rained this year at all. Which is really bad. It means the city has to ration water. So Andrew and I get water even less frequently then we were before, and when we do get it, the pressure is so low, we can't do anything with it.

Sunday we had a Super Bowl party at our house. It was great. We miraculously had water the whole time. Until the end. When we needed to wash dishes, clean the kitchen and floors. The water did not come back the next day. It came back Tuesday morning, but only enough to flush the toilet and shower. It was out again when we got home from school. Wednesday, no water at all. Thursday morning, only enough to brush teeth and flush the toilet. No water that evening, and NO POWER. I spent the night at the girls' apartment. Andrew roughed it. Friday, power, but no water. UNTIL TONIGHT!!!! Our giant, gross, disgusting, smelly, rotting pile of dishes was clean when I walked in the door a few minutes ago!!! Thanks Andrew. It also has looked like rain all evening. No delivery yet, still waiting expectantly.

Coming soon: Horseback riding if Amy ever decided to write to you, and the 7th and 8th grade field trip (Amy and I got to go with, it's a long story)

Santo Domingo

Back in January, over a long weekend, Amy and I made the first of hopefully many trips to visit the country's capital. Our visit was to the colonial zone, where we saw many historical landmarks and monuments. For those of you rusty on your American history, the Dominican Republic is where Columbus landed. So it is a very historically rich country. Santo Domingo was the first city in the New World. We saw a lot of firsts in the colonial zone: the first street, the first cathedral, the first hospital, the first lighthouse, even the first sundial in the New World. We learned all of this from a tour guide who did not ask us if we wanted a tour, did not mention how much it would cost, but walked us around a small church, down the street, and then asked for 800 pesos. HA!!!!! 800 pesos is what I pay for my monthly gym membership. We told him we didn't have that much. I fished around in my pocket and gave him 90 pesos. He didn't protest.

I've uploaded a few pictures. Some include the trip to Santo Domingo. Enjoy!

Look! Even More!

I uploaded a few more photos. I'll try to keep dropping a few here and there.

In light of recent activities in the Midwest, Amy and I have become particularly depressed of the lack of hurricane days and protest/riot days we have received. Not a one. It rained a little today. And the power went out. But then the sun came out. And the power came back. And I was at school the whole time.

I suppose I should explain a little about Sports Day. It was supposed to be back in October, but it rained and we had to reschedule for January. The whole school (1-12) are divided into three teams and compete at the individual grade levels in different types of races. Amy and I both ended up on the blue team (that was nice) and our kids were fun. We were in second place for almost everything. Except the final race. This thing was epic. You know that game where you pass a ball backwards alternating over the head, between the legs, over the head, between the legs? We did a GIANT one. With all the 1st-6th graders on each team lined up. The race lasted forever, because once the ball got to the back, the back student sprinted to the front and started again. You had to go through ALL of your students. It was an intense half hour, but WE WON! The best part, was that the 1st graders were the last ones to sprint. When little Edwin, the final student, got the ball and started running, every single student followed him to the finish line. The giant eight grade boy on our team even put him up on his shoulders. Definitely a day he will never forget.

You Asked For It

You got it. Plenty of photos coming your way. Check it out. Maybe comment. Maybe. ;)