what a weekend...

here are some more details about my life in the DR, for those of you who are interested. It´s definitely a whole new world.

Tropical fruits I have eaten.

-carambola (starfruit)

-chinola (passionfruit)

-guayaba (i think guava)

-limoncillo (not sure if theres an english word)

-guineo (banana)

-piña (pineapple)

-lechoso (papaya)

-zapote (dont know if it even exists outside this country)

Creepy things i have seen.

-giant furry brown tarantula

-2 incredibly large centipedes

-tons of roaches

-mosquitoes that carry dengue

-mosquitoes that carry malaria

-dominican men who find it necessary to talk to every american that walks by. it´s completely harmless, but sometimes i just don´t want to hear "hola americana i love you!" for the 23rd time in one day

Things that happened in the past week or so.

-i´ve eaten about 7.4 pounds of plantains... boiled, fried, mashed, you get the picture

-i got a letter from aubrey, so the mail system does work, just not in any predictable way

-i went to a dominican synagogue for yom kippur in the presence of probably the entire jewish population of the DR, no more than 120 people

-i went to the jardin botanico, a really beautiful green space in the city. but...
- i got robbed in the jardin botanico. it was really scary, but i am fine. i lost my camera and watch (sucks) and also my hacky sack, water bottle, leatherman, sunglasses, and the only purse i brought with me (sucks more). i´m mourning the loss of those things more for their sentimental value than monetary value, but in the end everyone is safe and healthy so it will all be okay.
- i taught my 13year old host brother how to play Uno and now he loves it
- i lost miserably at scrabble... some of the other volunteers are serious scrabble fiends.

well, i think that´s about it for me. if i havent responded to your emails yet, its only because internet costs $ and i don´t have a ton of disposable income. please email me your addresses and phone numbers though and i will definitely contact you in one way or another! i hope all is well with everyone back in the estados unidos, and i will talk to you soon

se FUE la luz

hola a todos

HI EVERYONE! i am here in the hot hot heat of the dominican republic. all is well over here...my host family is awesome, and i have made some good friends in our training class. of course i miss you all, but at the same time i am savoring every moment here. i can´t explain to you just how crazy everything is. the public transportation is hilarious, there are guaguas (buses) and carro publicos (shared taxis). they both are so jam packed with people you would not believe it. the carros publicos fit 4, sometimes 5, people in the backseat plus 2 in the passenger seat plus the driver. people hang out of the side of the guagua, because its the only way they can really get to work or school and the like. there are also motoconchos, which are motorcycle taxis but we arent allowed to ride those in the city as they are pretty dangerous. however, we have a SITE VISIT with an actual volunteer coming up in about a week and when we go for those visits in other parts of the country we are allowed to go on motoconchos. in fact, i will be headed to the puerto plata area (read: beach) and will get to go on one! in other news, i take por lo menos 2 bucket baths per day. we do have a shower in my house but the water never comes out of it so we fill these paint buckets with water and use that to quote unquote shower. the baths are absolutely necessary because it is seeriously hot here. imagine baltimore in august, all the time, without the thunderstorms to ever cool things off. i carry around a bandana to wipe the sweat off my face. gross, but true. one of the funnier things that i have had to get used to is the unpredictability of the electricity. for you non spanish speakers, the title of this entry means the light is gone. this happens at least 2 or 3 times a day, you will just be sitting around and oh, se fue la luz. its not so bad except for when you really want the fan to cool you off as you lie on your bed in the hot hot heat. i can´t think of too much else to tell you about for now. training is going well ,we have spanish classes, core peace corps training, and more technical training as well. in about 1.5 weeks we are going to move our training out of the city and all of us youth volunteers will do 3 weeks of training in the mountains (so excited!!!). i will update this again soon, don´t worry. please feel free to mail me letters to this address. i wouldn´t be mad at all and might even write you back!

lily mendelson, pct
cuerpo de paz
avenida bolivar 451, gazcue
apartado 1412
santo domingo, dominican republic

beginning

so, staging has officially ended. we had a day and a half of fairly comprehensive training, and in 2.5 very short hours we will be checking out of the hotel, driving to the airport, and hopping onto a plane headed to the DR! i'm incredibly excited, and kind of nervous, for this new adventure to start. staging was definitely a positive experience-- the leader was a great guy, the other volunteers have all been awesome, even being in georgetown wasn't so bad. i don't want to make this too long, as i'd like to squeeze in a quick nap before the big day. i don't know when the next time i have internet access will be, but never fear, i will contact you all soon. write me letters! i'll write you back!