Blogs from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Central America Caribbean - page 5

I am going to try to post the picture of my view from my room. I took this pic sitting on my bed. ... read more

This was the summer that began my travels (summer 2007). It was also the summer before my first year back in the classroom. I was finishing my last year in my masters in teaching program, was about to embark on a year of student teaching (paid minimally as a teacher's aid) and I wanted to take advantage of having the summers off, but I didn't have a huge budget to spend on a trip... yet! Habitat for Humanity does 1-2 week overseas home-building trips called Global Villages. You find a destination and date that fits your schedule, fill out an application, and then have a phone interview with the trip leader for that location. They basically want to hear that you are a team-player, are flexible, and are up for the challenge of heavy lifting and ... read more

De afgelopen tijd ben ik voornamelijk in de hoofdstad geweest voor het onderzoek dat ik samen doe met een consultant van IDEAC. Er is weer te veel gebeurd om op te noemen! Ik ben verhuisd, heb kennis gemaakt met mijn nieuwe buren, heb mijn eerste onderzoek afgemaakt en opgestuurd en niet te vergeten, ik ben getrouwd. Ik moest wel met Alexis trouwen om met hem samen te kunnen wonen. Ik heb ook kikkers uit huis gejaagd, een week zonder stromend water overleefd (dank aan buren die hier beter op voorbereid waren), ben gestoken door twee zee-egels en heb een kleine voedselvergiftiging opgelopen. Die voedselvergiftiging was het gevolg van verschillende fabrieksbezoeken en het verplicht proeven van allerlei soorten dominicaanse zoete massa's op basis van fruit, suiker en wie weet wat nog meer. Maar om bij het begin ... read more

From our insel Air window, SDQ looked green, flat and sparsely populated. Rusty zink sheets covered the roofs of the homes in the shanty town which lie along the flight path. The approach was turbulent but the landing was good and the passengers broke into applause. It was 2.16 pm. Bienveniedos a SDQ. We spent the night before at Tante Ligia who graciously offered us to share her house since we had neither furniture nor house. We slept fitfully at 2 am, woke at 6.15, left some baghs and instructions for Panic (who is camping at a pet resort until our return) with Eve and got to the airport on time. To see us off were Rose, her son Shaquille, Gera, Eve (all good friends) and Shanna´s oma (grandmother). The flight took us thru St. Maarten ... read more

A theatre history teacher in Miami begins all of her classes by saying, “Death is all around us.” And I suppose it always is. But when we inhabit the modern world, its inherent order, its many rules that codify our behavior, that lead a city to flow like a machine because we are programmed into it, implicitly stopping at every red light and seeking the help of cops and judges instead of relatives with guns (for the most part anyways) - all these restrictions and limitations bred into our freedom of choice over action prevent an array of deaths that would otherwise result in the increasingly complex landscape of urban life. Likewise, health and safety codes further deter us from getting electrocuted, poisoned, trapped in a burning building, buried under the rubble of a poorly ... read more