To the mountains we go!

This last week has been a total whirlwind as we've been wrapping up basic training in the capital.  Last Thursday, I traveled to the other side of the island to visit a volunteer currently serving in Samana--a peninsula off the East side of the island full of beaches, mountains and European tourists.  That experience was my first glimpse into the life of a PC volunteer.  Stephanie, an IT/education volunteer about a year into her service, was a great host.  She introduced me to all of her project partners, took me to the beach and an amazing waterfall in El Limon, cooked me eggplant parmesean and other delicious meals (a welcome change from 24/7 Dominican cuisine) and answered my many questions.  Then, over the weekend, I traveled back to the capital to make it home for my Dona's birthday, which was an event to behold!  We danced all night to a live merengue band and I met about 30 members of their gigantic family.  Living with my host family has definitely been the highlight of my experience so far.  My Dona has two daughters and a son who are 26, 28 and 32 and all live on our street or in our house.  Each of them has their own kids who are between the ages of 2 and 10 and they are always playing out on the corner next to the "colmado" (small food store) that my host sister runs.  Many of my best hours in these last weeks have been spent under the giant tree that covers the street corner in shade.

Today was my last day of core training in the capital.  For the next five weeks, I will be living in Constanza, a pueblo high up in the mountains of the interior of the country.  The entry for Constanza in my Lonely Planet guide reads "God is everywhere in the DR, but he lives in Constanza".  Needless to say, it's supposed to be a beautiful place.  I'm looking forward to the fresh mountain air, the flowers, the less structured schedule, and the chance to get my hands dirty working with the youth in the community. I'll try and keep a weekly blog entry to let ya'll know what I'm up to at CBT (Community Based Training). 

Dominican word of the week: "jevi"
If you thought "jevi" remotely resembled the English word "heavy", you were right!  This English word turned dominican expression does not refer to mass however, but is used to describe anything "cool".  Example:  Natalie receives a package from the States (in a padded envelope to ensure delivery, of course) and exclaims "Que jevi!!"