A Little Over A Month Now

Hello friends,

I want to first say THANK YOU for all the wonderful BDAY wishes. I cannot express how happy they made me. I miss you all dearly, you all mean the world to me.

I am now on my 5th week of training, we have about 5 more weeks until we are sworn in as legit Peace Corps Volunteers. I am currenly living in a small campo called ¨LOS CLAVELES¨ in Altamira. This place is very humble. The people are extremely nice and welcoming. There are currently 15 trainees in the Business Economic Sector. We are divided up into 4 groups by languauge proficiency. My group is composed of 6 girls. We all live on a dirt road close to the top of the mountain. I wake up to the most amazing sunrises every morning overlooking cacao fincas. Probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever laid I eyes on.

I have been trying hard to get pictures posted but access to internet is not very good, however I do promise to post some amazing pics of the sites here.

Training is very strenuous, in a good way though. We are learning so much about the socio economic needs here in the DR. Within the next few weeks most of the non native speakers will be proficient in the Spanish language and we should all be experts on the issues and culture of the DR. None of us have any clue as to what are assignments will be. Every few weeks we have interviews with tech trainers to better define what areas we will be best in and what works best with our individual needs. SO far we have visited local cacao and coffee farmers as well as local artisens.

I am currenly fighting a small fever but nothing serious. My health is great but I have eaten enough Platano verde to last me a life time. Dont get me wrong ¨mangu¨is great but there is only so much I can stomach. I am also getting an insane amount of excersise. Hiking up and down that mountain everyday is tough but after so many fried foods and starches it is very well needed.

Electricty is available most days but we suffer ¨Apagones¨ almost every evening when we need light the most. Since I live on a mountain, water access isnt so shaby. There is a natural aquaduct so water is basically unlimited. The shower is outside of course and we also have an outdoor latrine. The evening showers are fabulous with every single star visible.

Our town is male dominant, most of which work in the agro business. With six Americanas in town, we have literally turned their world upside down. Needless to say we have all been receiving lots of attention. It has become less intense these last few days now that they see we are really involved in our studies. My host family is this very sweet old couple who now call me their daughter and introduce me that way to all their visitors. I also have acquired an older brother who lives in the house and 11 more siblings who live in the city.

There has also been loads of dancing and for those who know me well you know I have a gigantic smile on my face. The music is incredible (most of the time). Although I have not been gone from the states very long it feels as if I have been away for a good period of time. I will try to steal away to town soon again and give you some more updates. Again, I love you all.

Marite

3 weeks in

3 weeks in and I have my first technical exam this afternoon. Training is intense but very interesting. Training is composed of language, cultural, geographical and medical information. There is a lot to learn. Tomorrow morning we are back to the Peace Corps office to get final immunizations (there have been many)and we are off to our technical training sites. There were originally 52 trainees we are now down to 49. We are all divided up between water, youth, health and economic development. I will be heading north to the mountains near Puerto Plata with 14 other business economic trainees.

My Dominican family here in the capitol have been amazing. They have been so hospitable and supportive. Tomorrow I will acquire a new family and I am very anxious to meet them. During our time in the mountains we will be going in depth of the economic needs in the country. Our technical trainers will be monitoring our progress and matching our skills to communities with specific needs. In the end we will all have our very own site with a specific project.

I will do my best to update this while I am off at my training site. As of right now the best word to describe this experience is "amazing". This has been harder for some than for others but I am taking it one day at a time and savoring every moment. As of right now this has been truly unique and wonderful.