Dogs love to bark

Today I was woken up at 6:30 by Sirens...  No there are no fire men in my town... but these guys had come from the town over at 6.30 AM because a light/ electrical post had caught on fire... just another way to be woken up these days.

So today I did not go for my typical run, instead I did yoga.  Then I spent the majority of the day making christmas presents for people I hope to see soon :)  And answering emails.  Now I have to admit that I have always been a slacker... especially in HS.  However as I listened to an NPR Health podcast about how stressed High Schoolers are these days, I really just did not have any sympathy.  There is no reason a kid needs to be taking 4 Honors classes in HS... and if you want to do that to yourself or your parents are telling you to do that, than you're a darn fool (or you're parents are...).  It's high school, get over yourselves and relax a little.
Archer had  a visit from his bff Toby today... Toby tends to come when Acher is barking super loud at other dogs running by... Toby comes and tries to calm him down, or eat his food.  It's adorable.

Today I didn't have my typical smoothie... as the electricity was out due to a fire on the pole... I had yogurt, grape nutes, and a banana... followed by a tasty salad for lunch.   Sparkles (dominican rip off skittles), and bread and juice as a snack.  For dinner, I tried something new.  I cooked rice for the first time in this country... Usually I figure that I get enough rice from Dominicans that I don't need to actually make it... Dinner was pretty tasty.  Washed down with chinola juice :)

Enjoying day 4 in 12 days of december before Alana Arrives!

I was so close to sleeping in... I was dreaming of this hot guy... and we were flirting in some dominican- american mixed world (maybe at a renaissance fair, I feel like we were in line for a turkey leg... I know I'm weird).. and then Archer broke down the door, and decided it was time to wake me up by running all around the bed... I guess I know why I can't sleep past 7:30 these days.  At first I thought it was cool and funny that he could open doors if he hit the handle just right... it really isn't.

Anyhow... back to the real world.  Today I ran 2 miles (as usual), then studied GRE flash cards... I tried to make someone a christmas gift, but I didn't like it so they will probably never get it... After lunch I made a weird christmas tree with letter ornaments, and brought it to the preschool.  We read books, practiced counting, and numbers for a few hours.  Then I walked around and traded books, until I wound up at a dona's house were people were playing dominoes... I ended up drinking coffee and watching dominoes for an hour.
On a good note for the day... A guy on a motorcycle carried my huge bottle of water back to my house... this is one of the chores I loathe most, and often think during these long walks that I would consider shaking up with a Dominican guy if I could just get him to carry my water bottle home... then I come back to reality.
Then I took a moment and called my first favorite dona... Pancheta... I missed her a lot but I have to admit if I were her real child she would have disowned me by now for never calling.  I'm horrible.  She was so happy to talk and I made plans to stop by the house on the 13 as I go up to see Sabine.

Today I ate a smoothie and coffee for breakfast.  Post run I made what I would describe as an asian dish.  There were noodles, cabbage, tomato, onions, and cucumbers cooked in a pot with teryaki  sauce, honey, and crushed red peppers.  It didn't taste bad... After my preschool class I ate cheese, bread, and a tamarindo juice.  As I was watching Dominoes, I got gifted plantanoes, so for dinner I boiled one plantano, fried one platano and boiled two eggs.  All washed down with a banana smoothie.  This will sound like a weird dinner... but it was greatly enjoyed... I love fried plantonoes and boiled ones too, but I've never allowed myself to fry them before... All and all today I spent about $110 RD.

day 3 of 12 days of December... until Alana arrives

Last night when I woke up ( I guess I have woken up every night for the past month)  I was hungry... I went back to sleep eventually.

I started today off well, with the breakfast and a 2 mile run, followed by yoga, and other exercise until I was exhausted again... Then I listened to Snap Judgment (NPR) and studied GRE vocab.  Note about Snap Judgement... the stories always make me cry (in a good way most of the time), do not listen to this on a bad day.  I crossed the river today and practiced numbers and letters... and played cards with some kids.  Then I traded books and came home.

I did not do well on the whole diet thing... I had a smoothie and coffee for breakfast... crackers for snack after run, More pasta and passion fruit juice (because I literally had nothing else to eat in the house).  On my way to the playita I ate a small bag of cookies, and upon returning I bought a $30 RD slice of Pizza.  Dinner was salad and more passion fruit juice. So I'm pretty sure I stayed under $100 RD in food today... so I guess that's a good day. 

Final note, a life goal of mine is to live in a place where I can sit comfortably and eat any meal I please without being molested by mosquitoes.... jajaja.

Day 1 of 12 days of December Dedication and Devotion in 2013... maybe I will pick a better name.

 So today was a great start!  As far as the Thanksgiving stole all my money and I'm broke diet goes... I had a coffee and Papaya Batida (smoothie) for Breakfast. Crackers for snack....Pasta and homemade passion fruit juice for Lunch.  2 Boiled eggs, 2 Bananas & Banana bread for dinner.  Total Spent $92 RD

Ohh... and I was gifted a fish empanada... as to be honest.

Today's Accomplishments:

• This may not look like it but this is my new Yoga studio (hey there's a mat and some pictures of Yoga...)
• 1 Dead Scorpion in the bedroom...Maybe this is what bit me the other day in bed... We'll never know. 
• 3.5 mile Run :)
• Re-registered for the GRE... going to show up on the right day this time.
• Cleaned House... Dear Archer, I love you... but you SUCK!  If you continue to stand in my dust pile and try to attack the broom you will regret it...
• Organized/ Improved my Wall of Inspiration.  
• Visited neighborhood people and played with kids...

Reading and sleep will follow... Tomorrow starts the real work.

Let's finish 2013 in my site with a BANG! and Start and Awesome Month :)

Thanksgiving was Awesome!  I loved spending some quality time with the girls... even though part of it involved planning for saying goodbye to one of my closest friends in Peace Corps... I'm going to miss your face Sabine... and our talks... and everything about you in general.

Sabine and I had a discussion about our perfect months we did earlier in the year... I think we both agreed they we ambitious, yet the simple setting goals made it easier to accomplish things that are often set aside, and build better habits.  Out of my perfect months I have started the habit of making awesome smoothies for breakfast everyday, running on the reg, I studied more for that GRE, and in general writing and planning personal goals.  However I did not stick to my plan completely (life gets in the way).  So here's to making goals and finishing out 2013 in the DR with a bang.  From the 1-12 of December I've made some personal goals to be accomplished in my site.  From the 12-18 of December I will have the lovely Alana with me, and one should not plan personal goals when they are planning on seeing their best friends for the first time in 2 years!  My goal from that time will be to relax and let loose a little.
So here are the goals for 1-12:
-Finally conquer GRE studying... I planned badly last time and I guess it means I need to study more.
- Plan party for my book club
-Plan/possibly do another mural
-Create collage with photos for Women's Association
-Run! everyday
-Blog! everyday... food journal... Maybe I should include photos?
-Write out more concretely the next two years of my life that I planned out last week... (we'll see)
-Yoga/exercise other than running
-Swim twice a week (why not... ?I live next to the ocean)
-Dance party at my house every night...
-Read another book (Simona if I read this book that you told me to read, and you don't, than our private book club is off!... get on that!)
On a different note, it has come to my attention that I might be broke, even in PC terms (We all know I've been broke for the past two years...)  So I've decided to save some money for my visit with Alana, who will be coming on the 12th by controlling my diet a little.  I know volunteers often go with less than $4 a day on food, hell half the time I do too, but not consistently.   My goal for the next week is to not spend more than $4 a day (completely possible) but focus on spending $2.5 a day ($100 RD...maybe possible).  I've done the math... kind of... and this is the break down as it stands now.  in a week I will spend $200 RD on Breakfast (Papaya Smoothies and Coffee).  That leaves $71 RD or $1.79 US to spend on lunch and dinner.  Staples will include onions, tomato, cucumber, lettuces/cabbage, eggs, bananas, plantains, and milk.  I will be cheating slightly by using pre-owned whole grain pasta and noodles.

The other side of the river

Last month I hit a wall with my projects... The river trash problem is what it is... How can one fix a problem on a local scale that comes from a problem on a national scale.  My water project fell apart due to a company coming in to buy up all the land... People stopped coming to meetings... it was hard.  I struggled with the idea that I'm wasting my time here, that I am not the type of person that can create meaningful change in other people's lives.  Luckily it was rainy season so I had a good excuse for hanging in my house and giving myself the space needed to get over the poor Kristie mood.  I decided to take a break from the town across the river, and focus on other things that seemed more successful (Books and Trading Books like cards with neighborhood kids).
Wednesday I saw the president of the Junta de Vecinoes of the other side of the river, and he was happy to see me.  He asked the typical questions when one's been absent.. Have you been gone?  Did you go home?  We thought that you went back to your country! and he asked me to come back to the meeting Thursday.  So I did.  Everyone was happy to see me :)  Menga, one of the christian grandmothers, told me how happy she was with my work and how the Teacher had really started to teach this year.  We did a campaign to get him to act more like a teacher over the summer... She said he loved the mural we did at the school and was using it to teach the kiddos.  I got her kid to read me a book (which is amazing considering last summer I was trying to get her kid to identify letters).  I don't know what kind of impact I've truly had but I was proud yesterday.  I'll go back again next week.

Guagas...

In training we went in depth about guaguas (public buses)... Try to have exact change, always have your ID on you (especially around the border), DON'T ride hanging onto the side or half way in if it's full (This is not safe...), be aware of where the hands of the people sitting next to you are and your wallet....ohh and get off if the driver is drinking...

Well I have to say I have had a passionate love hate relationship with guaguas and the adventures that they come with.  I have had a crazy old man sit next to me and sing loudly about me (the gringa that doesn't want to tell him her life's story), I have gotten lost many a times and found myself with the help of some friendly cobradores..  If you ask me about it I'll tell you about my close call with the train and the many reasons I'm happy to be alive today.  I have been on a guagua when it ran into another guagua, at which point the cobrador got off put the bumper back on and we were off again...Yet I have to say that at this point I love going on guagua rides.  I have always loved staring out the window of a moving vehicle and doing it on a guagua with the Dominican countryside passing in the window and background music of Bachata it's a perfect way to clear one's mind.  I like knowing that I don't have to know exactly where I'm going because there are Donas (old Dominican women) that will guide me... They will go so far as to call someone on the phone to check directions when they don't know... They will get off with you and walk you to the right street or house.  I am sure that I can not explain the feeling I get about guaguas... It's like floating along with your life in the hands of a complete stranger, but also knowing that for the most part everyone just wants to go to the same place and are willing to help you get there.  I guess that's life, most days.   Maybe I just like asking directions, because the responses tend to surprise me :)  Anyhow this is my advice... Follow the instructions given above (just good common sense) and always ask directions, even if you know where you're going you might find a better way.