Healthy Travels: Better Late Than Never

Wednesday November 3, 2010

Day 61

I observed in the pharmacy today and it was very interesting. I learned quite a few things and the person who was teaching me was very helpful. One thing I realized is that I can not read most of the prescriptions for three reasons: messy handwriting, words in Spanish that I never saw in writing, and of course, I rarely read things in cursive anymore. I think I will need to practice all three of these things.

I spent a lot of the day tracking the storm. My brother is coming Friday and I am worried that he will not make it here because of the bad weather. Tomas, leave my brother’s trip alone! At night the entire family, including the dog, went to go pick up Juan Carlos from his school trip. I wish my family missed me that much when I was gone for only 12 hours.

Thursday November 4, 2010

Day 62

The world came to a near halt today; it was raining. It was actually raining a lot today and the drainage is terrible here so it makes a little more sense that everything slows down or stops. I didn’t bring my computer today because I thought I was going to the clinic and I don’t use my computer there. I was able to go back to the house and get my laptop and I also changed into rainy weather clothes (I copied this outfit from Teresa and others at the office and around town): capris and sandals. I got a lot done at the office today. I worked on some stuff for the conference and spoke with a dentist who is coming to do a presentation at the clinic during the conference.

After work we picked up the kids and went to the mall. Teresa had to get some things before her trip to Mexico tomorrow for a conference. At the mall we had Taco Bell and Teresa agreed that it was all in preparation for her trip to Mexico. Yes, I ate Taco Bell (hard corn taco with chicken, lettuce and tomato) and loved every bit of it. See what happens when you are deprived of fast food as a child? Thanks, Mom! After the mall I started packing for my vacation with my brother. I can’t wait until he gets here. Stay away, Tomas!

Friday November 5, 2010

Day 63

I woke up early today so I could check on my brother’s flight status. I also had to be up to take the kids to school with Freddy, our favorite taxi driver. Teresa didn’t want to send them in the taxi alone so I accompanied them. When I got back from that I finished packing for my trip with my brother. Freddy came back and picked me up so we could go get my brother from the airport.

My brother’s plane landed just in time because within minutes the storm really picked up and he would never have made it here in that weather. As we were driving back to the hotel the visibility decreased dramatically and the rain was coming down extremely hard. On the other side of the road we saw palm trees falling and blocking the road. It was crazy.

Since the weather was really bad we ate lunch in the hotel and decided to stay indoors for a while. After lunch we went to the gym and then prepared for dinner with the family. Nanita made us a delicious dinner and Kenny’s favorite part was definitely the tostones (cut plantains that are squished into flat circles and then fried). After dinner we went back to the hotel because Kenny was obviously exhausted after a long day of traveling. Tomorrow we will go to Ruben’s and that will be exciting too.

Saturday November 6, 2010

Day 64

Today we woke up and prepared for our trip to Ruben’s. We had a tasty and filling breakfast at Dominican Fiesta Hotel and then went to my favorite grocery store, Bravo, to get some things for the trip. Freddy picked us up and we went on our hunt to purchase some more art supplies for the kids of La Lomita. Unbeknownst to us it was a holiday and everything was closed. Not a good way to start the day but it happens.

Freddy drove us most of the way but Ruben met us outside of his town because the roads by him would be impossible to pass in a taxi because they aren’t really roads. The “roads” ended up being deep, muddy pathways that were only passable with Ruben’s pickup truck. Thank goodness for trucks! When we got to Ruben’s house we had lunch and then he gave us a tour of his property. The whole time he was handing us more fruit than we could possibly consume.

After the property tour Ruben, his daughters, Kenny and I went to visit La Lomita. When we got to La Lomita, Ruben wanted to give a few people he knew some powdered infant formula that he received as a donation. He only wanted to give it to a few people but he ended up getting mobbed by everyone who heard he had something to give. My brother and I were standing five feet away, in utter amazement at what was happening. They were literally begging for a can of powdered milk. When he couldn’t give everyone milk everyone was very upset. We continued with our tour of La Lomita (the milk locked safely in the truck) and I think my brother enjoyed seeing what Grace Cares has done so far in this community.

When we were leaving La Lomita some little kids hopped on the back of the truck and were being very rude. One of the kids, probably about 6 years old, was literally pretending to throw his knife at us. Yes, he was only 6 years old but the blade was about 9 inches long and he was doing that in front of Ruben’s little daughters and I as we sat in the back of the truck, unprotected of course. Who knows if he was going to accidently let go of the knife and hit us. We were yelling at them to get off and eventually Ruben got them off the truck. As they were running away from the truck they were throwing rocks. Two weeks ago when I was there, all of the children were so cute and sweet. I don’t know who these little rascals were but Ruben promised to straighten them out the next time he saw them.

At night we had a nice dinner and a relaxing evening. My mom sent a game with Kenny to give to the girls so that is what we played. It was a giant carpet game board that had one side for checkers and one side for tic tac toe. Kenny and I successfully taught the girls how to play and we played a little too.

Sunday November 7, 2010

Day 65

We woke up to the sounds of rain, chickens and ducks. It is a surprisingly nice thing to wake up to. Kenny and I went to church with Ruben and his family. This church was different than the one we went to last time and it was much bigger. The people who sang at the church had great voices and could definitely start a singing group if they wanted to.

After church, Ruben took us to a lake a few miles away. He wanted to show us a dam where he was thinking of doing a project. It was really nice by the lake and I was so mad that I didn’t have my camera with me at that moment. We stopped by a restaurant for a drink and then Kenny and I decided that we should have brunch while we were there. We picked out some fish and they fried it (without breading/batter, finally!) and served it with tostones. The fish was so good and Kenny even said it was some of the best fish he ever had.

After brunch we went back to the house and Kenny and Ruben discussed some Grace business. I listened in but the two of them had all of the good ideas. Ruben gave Kenny plenty of stuff to work on and I just sat there thinking, "let’s just do it all!" When there are so many people to help it is hard to choose WHO to help.

After the meeting we packed up our stuff and Ruben and one of his workers/friends, Santiago, drove us to Puerto Plata. Our neighbors from Toms River were arriving today so we wanted to get there around the same time as them and we were successful in that plan. When we arrived, Ken and I had a bit of culture shock. We just came from a place where people were begging for powdered milk and now we were walking into an opulent, all inclusive beach resort with 24 hour food and drinks. It was also kind of funny to see our neighbors, Danny and David (twins that Kenny and I have both known since we were born) at the hotel when we got there. It just seemed so odd that they were here, in the Dominican Republic. Strange.

November 8, 9, 10 2010

Days 66, 67, 68

I will now summarize the next few days. It included way too much food and golf cart riding. Monday was nice and we were able to go to the beach during the day. At night there was a huge party on the beach for all of the guests and there were musical performances and fireworks. On Tuesday it was raining but we went to Ocean World for a little while before it got too bad. Ocean World is like a mini Sea World and it is right next to the hotel where we were staying. We saw a show about sharks and then I went snorkeling in a fish tank with the twins. It started pouring again so we went back to the hotel.

The hotel, which isn’t really a hotel but more of a huge vacation campus, was great. They had every amenity possible and the beach there was beautiful. The best part about Puerto Plata is that you can see mountains all around you. Beach + mountains= beautiful.

I had a lot of fun with my brother and the twins (I should probably stop calling them that now that they are 29 years old but it is a habit) and was sad that I had to leave on Wednesday. I took the bus back to Santo Domingo (four hours) and made my mom nervous the whole time. My mom had been worrying about this bus trip ever since she heard that was part of my plan. Everyone kept telling me it was safe and in the end, everyone was right.

Fun Facts:

1. Apparently in this country, twins are just about the coolest thing possible. Everytime someone noticed that they were twins they would get all excited and say “gemelos? Mira, ellos son gemelos!” or “twins? Look, they are twins!”

2. Most of the guests at the resort were from the US so when I spoke Spanish to people at the hotel they got all excited. It was fun.

3. I can barely make a phone call in Spanish. I try to avoid them at all costs.

4. When I was boarding the bus in Puerto Plata I learned that they have a different procedure for this. There was some form of a line but then, as soon as they opened the doors everyone started pushing and shoving to get on the bus. I was literally pushed out of the line. It was scary. FYI, these were mostly older women doing this.

5. On the bus, a lady in the row next to me played really loud music on her cellphone and then decided to put on her headphones after a few people started giving her dirty looks. After she put her headphones on she decided to sing even louder than the music was before.

6. This lady who worked at the resort told me to sit in front of the bus but wouldn’t tell me why. She insisted that I just listen to her but wouldn’t offer a reason. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a seat in front but nothing bad happened to me in the middle/back. I am still confused about this.

7. Our first golf cart was horrible and kept backfiring every few yards. Luckily, we got a new one and it was much quieter. I want a golf cart now.

Peace,

Jaclyn