Trip to Samana

We recently spent the weekend at our favorite beach (the picture in my header is actually from this beach) on the Samana peninsula. We went with an assortment of cousins, aunts and uncles, and Eric's immediate family. There were 13 plus two kids in total. So much fun was had as we cooked our meals in the outdoor kitchen and ate them on the patio of the villa we stayed in, swam in the pool until our fingers were shrively and visited 3 different beaches. One of the beaches, Playa Coson, was completely deserted and actually couldn't be reached without a 4-wheel drive. We were laughing that to get to this beach in the middle of nowhere you have to literally drive down an unmarked dirt road until you see a tree in the middle of the road at which point you turn right and look for a break in the barbed wire fence where you turn left and follow that unmarked road until you find the beach. Crazy.

And, it was so much fun. Here are some pictures:

One last noteworthy thing to share is that last weekend was our 4th Anniversary and my wonderful husband took me to dinner in one of Santo Domingo's oldest and nicest restaurants that is deep inside a cave. So much fun and so sorry I didn't think to take my camera. I was too busy getting Little E packed for his first sleepover at Abuela's house!

Visiting Cercadillo

My heart is singing today because I just got back from Cercadillo. I have been going out for the past couple of weeks to help the women of the village sew. What a beautiful ministry my friend Ina has with these women. They live in a campo outside of town with no electricity and only water accessible by a well put in by the ministry. The campo consists of very simple colorful wooden houses bleached by the sun that are scattered all along the dirt road and a colmado that does triple duty as the grocery store, hardware store and beauty salon. The bumpy dirt road is lined with people walking on foot as there are very few cars, if any at all. Moms carrying water buckets on their heads from the well, kids running barefoot with sticks chasing our jeep, a group of althetic boys jogging toward the baseball field wearing their hopes for being scouted by the American leagues all over their muscular bodies.

When we drove up to the ministry site today the Bible study was already in full swing, women sitting on green benches and yellow plastic chairs listening intently. A few children were running around from one mama to antother, dirty shirts and shoeless feet smiles a mile wide. The open air pavillion we meet under is painted bright yellow and turquoise with a concrete floor.

After the prayer time ends it's time to get busy and set up the sewing machines and work tables. Eight sewing machines are set up and plugged into the bright red Honda generator that soon hums to life. Everyone retrieves the projects leftover from the past week out of the big blue plastic bin and starts to get to work. Some are cutting out patterns, some are pinning their seams together and some are at the sewing machines. Patterns become bags before our eyes as these women use their new talents to create something they can sell. The money they earn from selling their bags will feed their families.

It's a beautiful thing to see these women learning a new skill that brings them a sense of confidence they can use this to change their future. Some sew with relative ease, while others struggle with the simple things like sewing a straight seam, but all are diligent and eager to do their work. The finished bags made from a pattern I helped create lie in a neat pile with colorful tags attached bearing the name of the person who made them. What a gift it is to help them for a few hours, using the basic sewing skills my grandmothers taught me, helping Yaquelin tear out a bad seam and then helping Dona Carmen (a sweet grandmotherly woman with weathered hands and cataracts) finish her bag on the sewing machine. I've learned new words to help them along...hilo (thread), tejiras (scissors), agujas (needles).

Today I walked away with a new bag sewn by Marleni and a necklace made by Yaquelin, everytime I use them I will think of their faces. But, as tired and sweaty I was returning to my home I wore a smile for the rest of the day because I knew my time spent there nourished my soul. Lending a few hours and a hand once a week is a small sacrifice, and yet I am doing something that is making an immediate difference in their lives. It's hard to say who is more blessed...me or those lovely ladies of Cercadillo.

Oh electricity, where are you these days?

It's been a rough week, I tell you. And, it's only Wednesday. SO, I can either brace myself for more of the same or think it's bound to get better from here.

Electricity. I love it. I have never appreciated it more. I don't have it a lot these days.

It's just part of life that we often lose it. And, it hasn't bothered me until this week. It hasn't been a big deal to lose it for a few hours every couple of days. It's workable. Maybe you don't get to do a load of laundry or you have to wait to use the oven. BUT, I am through with being patient...at least today.

For the past few days we have lost power several times each day, and two nights until 1 a.m. It's July, right? So, it's HOT and no power means no fans and virtually no air flow, especially when you don't have power during the peak daytime hours. And, no power at night means going to sleep without the AC, which a lot of people do here, I know. But, we don't use our AC until we go to bed and I really look forward to that time of day when I know I can be cool.

Well, today after being on the generator back up power for several hours, we lost it completely during the hottest part of the day, no ice in the freezer and sweaty stickiness covering us from head to toe and I just couldn't take another minute. I called my friend April who saved the day, packed up our swimsuits and took a cab over to her cool apartment with the pool beconing us. Oh the sweet coolness of it all.

Apparently there is a power "situation" right now where the political powers are up in arms over something and using power to let us all know in no uncertain terms that they are in control. I can only imagine someone hovering over a power grid fiendeshly rubbing their hands together flicking switches turning off power over certain neighborhoods relishing the control they have over us. Maybe this is my imagination gone wild from heat exhaustion, but it doesn't really sound like a democratic thing to do to wield power over the people by turning off and on their electricity at will, now does it?

And, for the record my quote of the week spoken to Eric last night was, "You can't underestimate the power of that second shower."

We have hit the "terrible" two's.

Isn't there something else we can call it? We've hit the ______ instead of the "terrible two's"? I'm looking for a spin that helps me to be more positive about this developmental milestone. Maybe "We've hit the I-want-it-my-way period"...well, that's not really any more positive. I guess I need to remember that it's that stage of feeling out how independent he can be and how much control he can garner in each situation. If anyone has a more creative way to look at, please leave me a comment...for my sanity!

SO, today Little E walks out of the bathroom showing me a dripping wet washcloth that he is proceeding to wipe up and down his fully clothed body while saying "agua, agua," as in "look mama, water!" Not too bad, no big trouble, no big mess to clean-up, just something he has never done before. Twenty minutes later he starts pulling my arm saying, "mama, mama" and he's all wet again. I go to the bathroom to discover there is a puddle of water all over the floor and my sneakers are in there, all wet. In fact one of them is 1/2 full of water. It didn't appear that the sink had been on, so I am guessing he filled my shoe with toilet water. And, he can't actually tell me where he got it, because his language skills still keep me guessing.

Twenty minutes later and I am trying to answer an e-mail and he wants to sit on my lap. I very calmly hand him his four Thomas trains and tell him he can play next to me. He immediately puts on the water works, throws not only the toys on the ground but his whole self, too. I keep my focus on the computer trying not to give him the attention he wants, and for the next few minutes he picks himself up, walks a couple of steps, starts crying and throws himself on the ground, picks himself up, walks a couple of steps, starts crying and throws himself down trying so hard to get a rise out of me. I stay calm, finish my e-mail, pretend nothing happened and coax him out of the room. Immediately he stops crying, starts laughing and it's like nothing just happened. One minute the world is ending and the next minute he's watching Elmo with a smile on his face. Go figure.

Seriously, this all started happening just today...where do we go from here?

Just for fun, take a look at this yummy bread I just made that I posted on my other blog. I had my friend, Kirsten over for coffee with her friend, Mitch who is visiting with a mission team from my college friend, Angela's church. Can you keep that straight? And, along with another bestie from college, Angela and Julie sent me a care package!!! Favorite magazines (and in English!), spices, lots of CD's, a children's Bible, notes with love, AND a Trader Joe's reusable bag!!! I'm a lucky girl!

4th of July.

Man, it's been awhile since I posted last. How does this happen? I think about things to update everyone on, but then don't get around to it, or when I do it seems like the power is out. We've had a lot of power outtages lately...at least one, if not two a day. It's really not a big thing, mostly just annoying when you want to do something like use the oven, microwave or computer.

SO, I just celebrated my first ever 4th of July outside of the country. Although it was not nearly as magical as listening to the Pops while picnicing on the Charles River in Boston we did have a good time. On Friday night Eric and I went to the 4th of July party on the lawn of the U.S. Ambassador's house. Apparently, it was quite an exclusive deal to get an invitation. I will tell you right now that the invitation was not sent to me, rather it was addressed to Eric (who you all know is not an American Citizen). Oh well, I guess receiving a scholarship from the U.S. government in exchange for professional investment in your country deserves some recognition.

It was fun, although a little disappointing that we didn't strike up meaningful and witty conversations with other ex-Pats, which proves to me that the absence of party mingling happens everywhere. The theme for the night was Hawaian, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming a state. The hysterical part of the whole evening was the fact that all of the food was provided by all of the American fast food restaurants we have here in Santo Domingo and that people were standing in line to get things like a taco from Taco Bell or french fries from McDonalds. What can I say...some things just follow you around the world like coca-cola and Pizza Hut.

Then, on Saturday we went to my friend Ina's house for a good ole American cookout. She has this super cute house with this fun, colorful patio that was perfect for grilling bar-b-que chicken and hamburgers. And, Eric got to play with his friend Edwin who is the exact same age. Between taking each other's toys and claiming them as their own..."mio, mio"...they play surprisingly well together.

So, for an American fish out of water I think we pretty much hit the bases here...fireworks, ice cream, bar-b-que chicken, watermelon and friends.

At the Ambassador's House...we didn't even see him, although I think his wife thanked us for coming.

Getting my picture with some of the Marines stationed here.

McDonalds. OK..for all the joking about the hokey cuisine I really couldn't wait to have McDonalds fries!

Eric eating several mini-hotdogs...no Fenway Frank, but they were still good and they had relish.

Getting a shot with fireworks overhead (which you can't see) with our friends Rhina and Fernandito. Rhina works at the Embassy.

On Ina's patio.

All of us ready to eat.And, finally, Eric Jr. who will eat ANYTHING if it has ketchup. How exactly these kind of things happen without you really knowing it is a mystery to me.

How To Eat A Mango (according to Eric)

1. Do not pick from tree. You must let it fall off the tree to ensure it is at its peak ripeness.

2. Hang over the curb so as not to get the juice on you.

3. Peel off part of the peel with your teeth.

4. Proceed to eat flesh off of the pit.

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until you have eaten entire mango.

6. (and this is the most important step in his mind) Suck EVERYTHING off of the pit.

There you have it. How to eat a mango from a local. My friend, Ina says everyone in her village is always sticky during mango season and that everything smells like magnoes, even their breath.

I still love 'em and can't get enough.

Yucko!

Well, the "crud" has been circulating. All of my efforts to disenfect and quarantine seem like wasted effort today. I am sick. I started feeling crummy on Saturday night while Eric and I were out on a date for the first time in I don't know how long (of course). I developed a wicked sore throat that was killing me all day on Sunday. I stayed in bed most of the day or quarantined in our room as to try my best to keep Little E from getting it. No fever, thank God, but body aches, sore throat and a little bit of a cough. My throat was hurting pretty bad last night and I was actually kind of scratching my neck from the outside because of the pain, so we took a look with a flashlight. I had a few sores in my mouth (I know, gross) and a couple of white spots on my throat. We called Eric's aunt who is a doctor here by trade (but sells real estate). She said it wasn't at the infection stage because I didn't have a fever, but that I should get this mouth wash called Septicon and some lozenges with lydacaine calle AngiMed. Both are manufactured in the DR, which always makes me a little skeptical, but I didn't need a prescription and the other times local medications have been prescribed to Little E they have turned out to do their job.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, turns out Septicon is this amazing tonic that I imagine was sold from a covered wagon to people in outlying villages as a cure-all a century ago. It sure claims to be. On the back of the bottle in English it says, "Septicon fortifies your teeth, stops gums bleeding, heals mouth ulcers, reduces the abscess. Very efficient for throat infections. Destroys bacterium's, fungus and virus the causes throat infections." First of all, it wouldn't be a Dominican product if it didn't have a couple of type-o's. But, this thing pretty much kills EVERYTHING in your mouth. And, it tastes D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G...not so bad when you swish with it, but the after taste actually tastes like something died in your mouth.

So, why would I use something like this?

It worked. I gagged it around for the 10 seconds last night before spitting it out. And, the pain in my throat was almost all gone within an hour. No lie. It killed the sores (I know, gross again).

I still feel crummy today, but I'm not as bad as yesterday. I don't know what it is about being in a new country, but along with new customs and ways of doing things you get new germs, which means new kinds of sicknesses, too. The times we have all been sick have manifested themselves very differently in our bodies than in the states. I'm just grateful to God that the little guy has been spared with this round so far.