Friday, January 11, 2008

Kieslings are Kewl




This Janu,ary Robyn's younger brother, Brandon, and younger sister, Taylor, came to visit her for about a week. After being rained on NONstop in Sabana de la Mar, Samana, and Cabarete, they came to Puerto Plata, where they lucked out and at least got a FEW rain-free moments. We went up to the teleferico and they were stunned by the beautiful view. Somehow, the skies were clear as could be and we could see everything. After a meal in a cool, but deserted, restaurant on Puerto Plata's malecon, we went back to my apartment for some cerveza and a very Peace Corps evening. The power went out, so we drank and played Mancala using candles and a headlamp hung from the ceiling. Sleeping arrangements were also a bit tight, as the airbed that I worked so hard to bring into this country has a HOLE in it, so Taylor made herself a hilarious little nest on TOP of their luggage. Very typical of Peace Corps lodgings!
We also went to Sosua, which is a beautiful beach about 30 minutes east along the coast. We had to cram into a guagua (Robyn's sibling were definitely LESS than impressed with DR public transportation) and, surprise, it was raining when we got to the beach. We again, however, lucked out, and were able to have about 3 or 4 nice hours of sun. We perused a lot of the really cool shops that sell junk like Amber and Larimar jewelry, taino-inspired paintings, lots of things made out of coconut shells, etc. Everyone was bargaining up a storm and I even splurged and bought a 400 peso painting for my house! Its saweeet!
We then came down to the capital where we had beautiful sunny weather, and spend a nice day touring the Conde (cobble-stone shopping street) and some Columbus monuments, including a very giant, scary statue of him that overlooks the sea. All in all, it was REALLY nice having some visitors in my site! We had lots of fun and even Robyn and I got to pretend to be tourists for a few days =)

Sparke the.....photographer?











So I was sitting in my house the other day and I heard my "doorbell" (aka a muchacho climbing on my neighbor's roof and yelling my name), so I scurried over to the door to see who was looking for me. Enter two of my muchachos-Miguel and Angelito. Apparently, it is Angelito's birthday and the two boys want to know if they can borrow my camera to take pictures of his party. Uhh...let me think about that. Some similar muchachos BROKE my old digital camera so how about a NO to that request. Being the sucker that I am, however, I can't possibly JUST say no to Angelito and his 8th bday bash (his FIRST birthday party, no less). So, I pack up the little digital camera and head over to his house. There is no electricity, but that doesn't mean a shortage of children. The room is full of little guys and gals and the mother literally starts telling me, "Hey, take a picture of this. Oh, and now this. Can you take a picture of these two together, Sarah? Take a picture of the baby" etc. Funny part is that I am actally TERRIBLE at taking pictures but, then again, Dominicans are delighted with ANY pictures of themselves. For now, I am happy to give Angelito a few precious pictures so that he can destroy them in a week. But if I start being called upon at every community event, my camera might have to mysteriously "break" for a little while =)



AHHHHH!!!! Readjustment



Well, as I mentioned earlier, my trip home was wonderful. I realized how much I really do love Chicago and everyone/thing in it so, therefore, it was a bit depressing for me to return to the DR. I left Chicago around 7am and arrived to my house in Puerto Plata at around 11:30pm. I came in to find a disgusting mess (my cat babysitter didn't do so well with the litter box) and a VERY pent-up kitten. The first few days were a bit tough, I mostly sat around feeling sorry for myself whilst eating a bunch of Hershey's Hugs. I really wanted to be ALONE for a bit, but everyone knew that I was home and people were bugging me all day long. After the first rough patch, however, I had some really fun visits by some of my local muchachos. You can see them above-one is wearing all of my winter gear so that he can be ready for "Nueva York," and the other is playing with what is apparently my new COOLEST possession: a geeky headlamp! I also had Pilar come over with just about her entire family (pictured below)..and we all hung out on the floor because I STILL didn't have any chairs! They were all really excited to see me and I was delighted that they had so been looking forward to my return.

I was also really welcomed by my host family (my host sister called about TEN times) and they made me a nice welcome-home lunch. I brought them lots of little gifts with me, but I think that the shoes were by far the biggest hit. Well, that and the Hershey's chocolate that they devoured in one sitting. The children at my school also went insane and ran out to see me. I was extremely happy to see them again, though I must say I am still not EXTREMELY excited about my project at the moment. In any case, my community is really awesome and I love all of my little muchachos and my neighbors. I will also adore Frita soon (as soon as I cut her razor sharp nails!!!!)











I Heart Nueva York









Well, thank you Mom and Dad for the best Christmas present ever-a trip to Chicago! I was only able to spend about two weeks at home, but I had a great time seeing friends and family, eating delicious foods WELL beyond capacity, playing "Superman girl" with Nathan, and, of course, using Mom's new fancy pants margarita maker. I even loved the freezing weather and snow. I actually WANTED to wear pants!!! Wahoo! And thanks to all of you who helped me out by giving me goodies to take back to the DR. I'm finally settling into my new apartment and making it nice and comfy! Best wishes for the New Year!