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.

Happy Birthday Little E!

So much has happened over the past two weeks that I am sadly just putting pictures up from Eric's second birthday party now, 11 days later (I think). We had a house full of family for 10 days and then a bout with the flu. The H1N1 flu has been circling our area like a hawk (as has another flu strain which is the one I think Big E had, chickenpox, and Dengue Fever which is from mosquitoes). We have been laying low and I have been disenfecting like crazy to try to keep Little E from getting sick, mostly because I don't want to sit in a doctor's office for half a day with other sick kids waiting to be seen.

Now, about his birthday. Our little guy is two and it literally seems like yesterday we were celebrating his first birthday at a bar-b-que in the yard of our old house in Boston. Mostly it seems like yesterday because shortly after his birthday our whirlwind move started. SO, we had what I deem a very "Dominican" birthday experience. (I will try to keep it short)

Dominicans go pretty nuts over kid's birthdays. They are events and a lot of them are held at the most popular and "posh" locations in town...the new McDonalds on Nunez, the Burger King on Lincoln, the Country Club, etc. Seriously, the McDonalds has a one year waiting list...no lie. So, we went back and forth over what to do...at home with cake or in a restaurant. We had to have it on a weekday because the weekend before was Mother's Day here, but it ended up that the party was on his actual birthday, Monday, June 1st. SO, we decided to have it at a local pizza place that has a really great playground, except the place overbooked and there was already a party going on when we got there. And, it was a party...loud music, dinosaur decorations and elaborately decorated cake, kids running around everywhere and a clown providing entertainment. So here we are a rag tag family gathering of 15 walking in with our balloons and homemade Elmo cake. Chaos ensued as we tried to figure out what to do. One family member was "discussing" the situation with the staff arguing about our reservation, Eric was apologizing to the father of the other kid who was very rude to us, I was trying to decide if we should stay or go, and little E was over in the corner with the Elmo cake unsupervised putting his finger in the cake I spent all afternoon decorating and opening his presents. It was a scene from a movie! Of course, you have to imagine a lot of loud, fast Spanish and exagerated gestures to really get the picture. So, we called the other Pizzarelli location near to us to see if they could take us and ended up moving the entire party with balloons, guests, presents, cake and all over to the other place. It ended up being great... we had the place to ourselves and they didn't even charge us to have the party there. I am learning that things usually end up working out in the end...it's just getting to that point that I am still trying to figure out. But it needs to be said that I was one of the more calm people in this situation, so that is progess.

In the end, Ericito had a blast with his cousins and Elmo and the whole crazy gang. The pizza was great, the cake was yummy and we really had a great time.Opening up his presents from us before the party. Yea! A train set!

My day.

It was a two shower kind of day.

Pictures and such.

Guess what I am doing this very moment? Eating peanut butter slathered on whole wheat bread. Heaven has come down. No, I am not pregnant. I just haven't had peanut butter since I left the states. It's not as popular here and after the peanut scare in the Spring I was too nervous to buy it. I have been craving it lately and when I was at the store it was calling my name. I actually never even looked at the price. It's entirely possible that I paid $12 for it or something ridiculous. But, it sure is worth it!

We have hardly seen the sun for a week. Everytime it peeks through the clouds and I actually think I might get a chance to put some clothes out to dry, it turns to this in about 15 minutes:
Last week we had clothes drying all over the house.


We have had some trouble our freezer. Human stupidity, really. It's a bottom drawer freezer and unlike my friend Kelly's that has this annoying beep telling you the door has been open too long, we have nothing warning us that calamity is just hours away after we go to bed. So, not once, not twice, but three times everything in our freezer has defrosted overnight. Are we dumb or what? I guess we are actually "insane" because I heard that the definition of insane is making the same mistake over again without fixing your error. Yep, that's us.

So, today I turned thawed out spinach and broken eggs (another story) into a quiche. And, thawed out frozen veggies and chicken into chicken pot pie. I am either working my way from insanity to genuis, or we might all get sick from food poisoning...I'll let you know.

Eric's dad, stepmom, brother and stepbrother are coming for a visit this Saturday. They live in Providence, RI and we are super excited about seeing them. I am certain Papi Orlando is even MORE excited about seeing his grandson. AND, little E's 2nd birhtday is just a week away! Oh the fun we are going to have with Elmo at our side! Stay tuned.

I am going to post some pictures from the past week since I noticed my blog has been word-heavy recently. We haven't really taken any that are very exciting, but at least you can see our smiling faces!

Art fun with cousin Emily.

Trying to get two kids eating cheerios and watching cartoons to smile for the camera at the same time was a bad idea. They are still super cute cousins, though.

This is Paula's signature face.

Some of the bags I made for friends to take back to the states. See the last post for more info.

Sitting on the potty reading. No actual action has taken place, but he wants to practice a lot.

Making cookies with his new best friend Ashley, who is the greatest babysitter ever! She and her family just moved here, so we are all "adjusting" together.

Six Months In

That's right...we've been here six months already and it feels like such a great milestone to celebrate. The newness of our new life has worn off, the good as well as the bad. We are settled. What a thing to finally say after many months of transition that started well before we arrived in the Caribbean.

A new season has come and gone, and although we don't have winter and spring or summer and fall there is a dry and a rainy season. As I write this we are being pounded with rain for the __th day in a row...seriously, I have stopped counting. All I know is that it's really tough to do laundry in this weather when you rely on the sun to dry your clothes. And, our street is literally an impassable lake at the moment. Hopefullly, our first hurricane season, which starts June 1st, will be q-u-i-e-t.

I have so many emotions and thoughts swirling around in my head as I think about our last six months. It has been a growing experience for our family and for me personally. The first few months were some of the toughest months of my life. The transition here was a lot more difficult than I had expected. It wasn't so much the lack of water or electricity during the day, the adjustment to living so close to family (and latino family for that matter) or the change in our environment. I think the move brought up a lot of discontent in me that I had been able to suppress for awhile. That and a total lack of freedom resulted in behavior I am neither proud of or want to visit again. BUT, and that is the key word, growth comes from struggle. At the end of my emotional rope I started crying out to God for some relief and it came. Thank God for it. I am determined to hang on tight to Him through prayer and never to visit those darker days again. I am actually looking ahead with a smile on my face instead of wishing I could be anywhere but here. And, I realized last Sunday while singing a simple song at church with the words, "Gracias, gracias mi señor, gracias mi señor Jesus," that for the first time in six months I was glad to be living here.

We are all doing really well. Eric is busy and thriving at work. Failing students in his classes, haha. We just celebrated his birthday this Tuesday and I made Strawberry Shortcake with strawberries from Jarabacoa in the mountains.

Little Eric is talking up a storm in Spanish...not so much in English, although he understands EVERYTHING in both languages. It's so cute to here him talk in Spanish, but I am hoping he catches up in English soon or he'll be teaching me Spanish! He is getting ready to celebrate his 2nd birthday with help from Elmo and a visit from his family in Providence (Eric's dad, stepmom, brother and stepbrother are coming to visit). He is CRAZY for cars ("carro" is what he says) and his trains ("choo-choo"). He pretty much plays with them all day linking them together to make a long choo-choo out of them. Can you guess what we are planning on getting him for his birthday?

I have met some great new friends, who at times have been lifesavers, through my Bible study with American women. It's such a nice feeling to know you have friends to call on when you need a little break...from the culture, motherhood, your family, etc. Many of them are doing some amazing work with various ministry projects around the area. One project in particular has been special to me as I have been able to volunteer little bits of time when I can. My friend, Ina (who actually worked in minstry in NE) has a special ministry to women who are making necklaces and small sewing projects to sell. Ina sells what the women make to visiting groups and is hoping to start shipping some things over to the states to sell there. All of the money goes back to these women. It has literally changed some of their lives. I have developed a pattern for an easy bag that you wear across your chest that they can sew (thanks to Stacey and Anne for the bag they brought me from Turkey). And, I have been sewing a few (12 to be exact) for my missionary friends to take back with them to the states as gifts. I never thought sewing would be something I could use to serve others, but it seems to be something God is using.

We are still looking for a church. We have been to several and like some of them, but just haven't found the right one for us yet. Eric is doing a lot better about being in Sunday School, which is g-r-e-a-t. I actually don't dread Sunday mornings anymore.

We have been able to see some of the island and are looking forward to taking a trip back to our favorite beach, Las Terrenas, when Eric's family gets here for a short weekend jaunt. If it stops raining we might head to the mountains this weekend. I was planning to go to the Zoo tomorrow with Eric's colegio class, but since it looks like more rain it was cancelled and that means a stir crazy day is ahead of us.

Life is good, but man we still miss friends and family in the states like crazy! Well, six down...who knows how many more are ahead of us on this crazy Caribbean tour!

Felicidades a mi esposo.

Eric had a big night last night. Well, I guess we all had a big night last night because we got to be the proud family. He has started an institute in the University where he teaches to facilitate structual engineering projects and research in Latin America. Last night was the inaguration of the institute culminating a couple of years of visioncasting and a lot of hard work once we got to the country up to this point. He is amazed at how easily it has all come together and has a graduate student and two interns working with him. There are so many other types of engineering projects he could be working on and a lot more moneymaking ventures he could spend his time doing, but he feels very strongly that a research institute like this is the most meaningful way he can spend his time and one that has the potential to make a lasting impact on the country. I'm so proud of how focused he is and how hard he works to do what he envisions. He has that amazing ability to have an idea and put it into motion. I'm sure the institute will be beneficial to the structural advancement of the country.

And, the event was also attended by the former president of the Dominican Republic, whom I got to meet. That was kind of exciting.

Ok...done bragging about my man.

Making his big presentation.

Eric with some of his students.

Edi (Eric's mom), Eric, me and Zoila (Eric's sister)

Eric and his mom with Ipolito Mejia, the former president of the Dominican Republic. He seemed like a really nice guy.