an assortment of thoughts

The report from the weekend:

Los Haitises

I went on a day trip to Los Haitises National Park.   The park is on the northeastern coast near Samana.  The day included hiking through a lot of mud, exploring three different caves, boat riding, seeing cave paintings, swimming and eating a Dominican meal (chicken, fresh, fried fish, moro(rice and beans), tostones).  The park is a humid forest full of animal and plant life.  The ecologists said it is almost identical to a place in Vietnam because of the similar environments and lines of latitude.  

Los Haitises

a tree with spikes

entering cave #1

beautiful!

cocoa....for all you chocolate lovers out there

This was a "real cave"...not a cave for tourists :)

I loved the name of our boat.

mangrove

Do I have you convinced to visit yet???

getting artsy from inside a cave

pictografias 

Family Day  

My apartment complex had a family day today with inflatables, music, food, crafts, yard sale tables, etc.  They also had an outdoor mass (misa de accion de gracias) .  Although I’m not Catholic, Catholism is such a big part of the culture that I wanted to attend a mass while I was here.  This was the perfect opportunity because it was outside on a beautiful day.  The Mass was very nice.  The priest talked about getting off our cellphones (actually, he only said Blackberries lol) and computers and remembering to take time to invest in others.  He reminded us to not get so consumed in our own lives that we don’t have the time to ask a neighbor how they are doing or offer them a cup of coffee.  Great message.

I ran a 10K race on Sunday.   The race was sponsored by a cell phone company and the entry fee was a donation for education.  It was lots of fun!  There were some very fast Dominicans, but there were plenty of people behind me too J

Don't be fooled: everyone that participates gets a medal.  

local concert

I went to a free, outdoor concert in front of ruins Sunday night.  At some point during the concert I stopped and looked around and thought, “wow, this is such a Dominican moment”.  I was standing on a cobblestone street in front of ruins from the time of Christopher Columbus.  The streets were packed with locals talking, listening to the band play bachata and merengue music, and dancing.  Food vendors were along the edge cooking local food like empanadas and pasteles de hojas.  Needless to say, I loved it

Other thoughts:

I’ve been seeing so many beautiful sunsets lately.  Unfortunately, I don’t always have a camera with me and the pictures never seem to turn out as good as they are in person.  To me, a sunset is always a reminder of our Creator’s glory.

The weather has finally begun to cool off.  Although it was still 91 on Saturday, the have been days that were cooler and very enjoyable.  It is also cooling off at night and feels wonderful. 

Work is going well but I’ll have to say that I’m looking forward to a day off for Thanksgiving.  We have not had a day without students (no holidays, workday, etc) since students began in August.  I now have an even great appreciation for workdays and holidays like Labor Day.  Dominicans don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but since I work at a bilingual school I have Friday off. 

 One of the sweetest moments happened to me at school last week.  I have a Korean student that speaks fluent Spanish and Korean but does not speak English. She consistently tries to listen and follow directions.  She is a model student despite the fact that she is just beginning to learn English.  One day this week she surprised me with a plastic container in a gallon ziplock bag.  I was confused at first but then she told me “My mom made you lunch”.  Not only did the kind gesture make me feel very loved on, but it was also delicious!  Of course, the family has no idea of my somewhat picky eating habits. The lunch was some of my favorites—grilled ham and cheese sandwich (no mayo) and fresh, cut up fruit.  This reminded me how powerful a small act of kindness can be and to continue to “pass it on”. 

It’s officially Christmas time in the DR!  Actually, I saw the first Christmas items come out in stores in mid-September and many places have been decorated for weeks now.  But, it doesn’t seem as if commercialism is pushing the early start here as much as in the US. Dominicans have told me that they love celebrating Christmas and they don’t celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving so why not start early?  I love Christmastime so I’m looking forward seeing the Dominican traditions.  I’m going to have to get used to warm temperatures and Christmas together; it’s just an unfamiliar combination. :) 

Santa surrounded by palm trees (the evergreen-like trees in his sleigh are fake and part of the decorations)