So It has been way to long since I last updated my blog. Yes I am still alive and doing okay, no I have not contracted any tropical diseases as of yet. (I am still waiting for that to happen). Things in the site are still slow, though they are starting to pick up a bit. I have been teaching english the past few weeks to a small group a few times a week. I am not sure how great of a teacher I am, but they seem to be learning at least a little bit and i enjoy the group. They probably help me as much with my spanish as i help them with their english so it is great. Though I do wish more people were coming to my class, it does feel good to be doing something. I am also starting with a basic businesss course designed for youth. i find it somewhat ironic that i, someone who has never had much of an interest in business, is going to be teaching it in a language that i am still learning. It should be an interesting experience, though thankfully the manuals with the lesson plans are already prepared so I just got to make sure I understand them myself.


My family came down a few weeks ago. It was an absolutely fabulous time. They got to spend a full day in my site to see how i live. It was really cool to see how all the campesinos took to them, especially mom. The next day we drove to this beach Baha de Los Aguilas. This is a completely undeveloped remote beach in the southwest of the island. It was absolutely gorgeous...for sure a picture perfect tropical paradise. Afterwards we went to an all inclusive resort in the east for five days of good food, hot water showeres, and full time electricity. It was great except for the fact that I got bronchitis and lost my voice. This was especially unfortunate as no one else in my family really speaks spanish so i had to speak twice as much since i was translating. My mom did her best to speak the language...it was cute watching her try to master the word "fork" and "knife" in spanish. got to give her a lot of credit for genuinely trying to learn. Saying goodbye to them was pretty hard and no doubt it took me a few days to adjust back to the campo life.

The past couple weeks i have been traveling to the capital and back quite a bit for conferences and what not. It is a great chance to see other volunteers and learn how everyone is doing in their sites. I can't wait to start visiting other volunteers, haven't had a chance to yet.
Things are going okay down here, my spanish has improved and i am starting to feel more comfortable, though i certainly still have my wtf am i doing here moments. Ill be heading back to the states in may for a few days, a weekend in philadelpha then six days in california may 18th-24...if anyone is going to be around let me know. If not...until next time.

hey all, hope that things are going well for everyone back in the states. Life here in the DR is going well. I have started with some english classes in my campo. It does feel good to actually have some sort of tangible program to do. My class is about 8 students ages 16 and up...its a good group and i actually enjoy doing it. Though how good of a teacher I am remains to be seen. Aside from that life in the campo is pretty slow. There isn't really a whole lot going on day to day in my site which can be relaxing but after a while it starts to drive you nuts. i am looking to start other projects in the next month or so... we shall see how it all works out. The rent's are coming down in two weeks for a few days. i am very pumped to show them my site and then head out to the resorts. One whole week of hot water! It should be quite a bit of fun.

just want to let everyone know i am alive. Things at my site are progressing slowly but i think there are potentail projects that i will get started on in the next few weeks. this week was interservice training...while it was a bit long most of the sessions were very helpful and i look forward to bringing some of the ideas i now have to my community. in other news my parents are coming in 1 month... i am incredibly excited for this. i cannot wait to show them what my life is like down here and then go spend some time at one of the resorts with the whole fam with hot showers, running water and the like. life at my site continues to have its ups and downs which is normal. my spanish is progressing but there is still quite a bit that i don't understand which can frustrate me quite a lot. The mail service sucks here... i have been waiting for christmas gifts since december and they still haven't arrived. Oh the small trials and tribulations of a developing country. Otherwise though things are going okay. Its nice seeing the other volunteers and catching up with them. Life is okay right now, i am keepking my head up and trying to maintain a healthy perspective on things. hope everything in the states is going well for people. if you need to contact me my new cell is 8094672787. love to all my peeps back home

so i haven't been able to update my blog recently... access to internet is lacking unfortunately. Life here has its ups and downs. It can be quite frustrating battling cultural misunderstandings. For example in the DR it is generally accepted that older males would pursue relationships with young girls, some as young as 13 or fourteen. even the women here generally accept that and sometimes encourage it. I have had a number of exchanges where certian community members have tried to pressure me into some relationship or something of the sort. When I explain to them that no i can't because i have different rules they really don't understand. Some of them even call me gay if i refuse a girl, no matter what her age. I have also come to the realization that the community group that requested me does absolutely nothing. This means that i have very little leadership in my community and find myself spinning my wheels a bit. kind of frustrating...
not every thing is bad though, the people here are genuinely friendly and really try to look out for me. I am constantly invited into peoples homes, some of whom i really haven't talked to that much to share a meal or just sit and talk. this is something that you won't find in our culture which is quite sad.
I am also no more then an hour away from a beautiful caribbean coastline which i have visited a few times so life isn't all bad. anyways i have posted a few new pictures on my blog and will post more on my snapfish account if you are interested. all and all i am doing well