(26 but bites on both legs just from knee down)
Today was awesome! We woke up and grabbed some pan and yogurt. Santo Domingo was practically dead at 6:30 AM which was quite a change from the bustling city we arrived to. We made our way to Rons community to do our charlas at a school.
This time we were to give a teeth-brushing charla. The classroom was full with students and desks so it was hard to do our dinamica but for the most part it went well. The kids were really well behaved and for the most part understood the point we were trying to get across about brushing teeth.
After that we headed to a center for malnourished children. It is Catholic supported and only one of two in the whole country, which seems kinda crazy because malnutrition’s one of the most prevalent problems here. What the center does is it takes in children that are malnourished; they also have to be accompanied by and adult so that as the child gets help-usually physically with food- the guardian (usually mother) can get emotional support and training. The youngest mother that’s come to the center was 9 years old. NINE!!! Also some of the children need to stay at the center Mon-Fri in order to ensure they get better.
After this we had some time to get food. A couple of us went to the mall to get food. I had a personal pizza, bbq chicken and oh soo good! After wards we splurged and got ice cream. And no, I don’t feel one bit guilty about it. We had to be out of the hotel by one, so we packed up and made our way to the next destination-Pedro Vicente.
Apparently there were two ways to go. One was direct, but there would be protesters along the way at some point. Protesters here can be dangerous I guess…according to our safety director. The other way would involve a more complicated route and 2 buses but much more “safer”, actually Bibi, our program Manager forbid us to go the short way and advised us to go the long complicated way because it was going to be safer. So which way did we go, well of course, the shorter yet “more dangerous” route. Not to worry, there were no protesters. We arrived to Pedro Vicente in no time. Although it was wicked hot and the bus ended up making frequent stops.
Pedro Vicente is an adorable community with about 4000 people. We met the PCV working there, just about to finish up her 2 years. Her name is Joy and they call her “Alegria” which means happiness in Spanish.
We talked to the mayor and he gave us some more info about the city. Apparently they’ve been re-doing roads and what not. The city is like my ideal community, not too big, not too small, the weather although hot and humid is still manageable and quite pleasant at night.
We then headed straight to the high school for our second charla. This was a group of students probably 14-17 years old. I think it was our best one yet! The kids were really involved and interested in what we had to say and do with them.
Really good group. Afterwards we came back to change for the aerobics work-out that Joy does here in the community. I wasn’t expecting anything too intense but boy was I wrong. She did an amazing job! We did a full hour long intense aerobics work-out. Apparently she’s gotten some women on board to continue the class when she’s gone. Her Peace Corps service is like the ideal in my mind because she does other activities on the side to working with her counter-part, who we have yet to meet. Plus everyone knows and lover her.
After the intense work out we went a couple blocks down to where they had food stands and fireworks. Evidently Pedro Vicente is celebrating 20is years as part of the Canton, which is like a county in the states. We had some good street food, different Kabobs, donut type things and a traditional drink called Canelazo (not quite sure on the name). It’s a warm drink, kinda like apple cider with alcohol, an equivalent to our moonshine. Personally I think it’s better than moonshine, just because it’s a lot sweeter (if made right). We’ll see how all the street food sits with me..
Tomorrow we’ll be giving our last charla and meeting up with the other group
Besos
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