I was lucky enough to have a couple weeks between leaving my job at WFP and starting my new job at March of Dimes - so I spent a week in the Dominican Republic visiting my sister Jenni! We did so much in seven days it's hard to recap it all!
I flew into Santo Domingo (the capital) but didn't stay long - we immediately headed to my sister's site. It does take a while to get there! We had a 45 minute car ride from the airport to Santo Domingo then a 2 hour bus ride on what's called a "gua-gua" - like a minivan meets minibus. It took us to Cotui where Jenni's friend from her community picked us up in his truck! From there it was about an hour to her community. On the way we drove through 4 RIVERS! The trucks are built to do it but it's still pretty intense! Here's a picture from our crossing:
Jenni's community is called La Hondonada! In Spanish it literally means "the deep nothing." It is so incredibly beautiful - everything is green, and most of the people work the land. There were so many huge pineapple fields! All of the people were so kind and very patient as I struggled with my elementary Spanish - no one in the community speaks English. I was so impressed with Jenni's Spanish!!! She speaks really quickly and is so animated - it's no surprise she'll be completely fluent by the time she finishes her placement! Her host family - who she now lives next door to - were so kind to me. They are Ramona and Theodoro. They clearly adore her! I also met some of her neighbors, we spent a lot of time with Nana and Ezekiel and their three adorable boys Edwar, Eorie, and Estalie.
The Sunday in her community was a holiday called Dia de los Reyes - the day of the kings! It is when kids get presents in the Dominican Republic - like Christmas for us! There was a big party and we did some dancing - the most common dance is the merengue - I was even invited to dance a couple of times! We also hiked to Jenni's water site, where she is about to begin construction on her water system that will bring water to people in her community for the first time! Words cannot express how proud I am of her! It was quite a hike but BEAUTIFUL when we got to the top! The water comes out of a tall hill, and the view looking down on her community is breathtaking:
After two and a half days in Jenni's community we headed to the beach! We went to a beach close to the capital called Juan Dolio - it is on the southern coast. It was a pretty quiet, beautiful beach. We spent two days with Jenni's puppy Missy laying out by the water! We stayed at a really cute budget hotel called Fior Loto that was Indian themed with the nicest people - I never wanted to leave!! We also had great food especially two amazing dinners, one at an Italian restaurant and the other at a Mexican restaurant!
After two and a half days at the beach we headed back to Santo Domingo, our last destination! We walked the Zona Colonial and did a little shopping, eating at a yummy sushi place and later pizza on the Malecon - the road that runs along the water (Santo Domingo is on the coast). My favorite thing we did was have fresh fruit smoothies called Batidas - ours were pineapple banana and they were delicious!!! I also loved seeing the house Christopher Columbus stayed in - it is a huge stone building and looks like a fortress! My favorite thing we saw were ruins in the old Colonial Zone - especially this one of a former hospital:
I wish I could have stayed longer but I had to get back to NYC!!! I loved seeing my sister and I'm so proud of all she is doing! Nate and I are coming back to visit in May, where we will see the other big city in the Dominican Republic called Santiago and we will relax at a resort on the northern coast called Puerto Plata. I can't wait to return!!
I flew into Santo Domingo (the capital) but didn't stay long - we immediately headed to my sister's site. It does take a while to get there! We had a 45 minute car ride from the airport to Santo Domingo then a 2 hour bus ride on what's called a "gua-gua" - like a minivan meets minibus. It took us to Cotui where Jenni's friend from her community picked us up in his truck! From there it was about an hour to her community. On the way we drove through 4 RIVERS! The trucks are built to do it but it's still pretty intense! Here's a picture from our crossing:
Jenni's community is called La Hondonada! In Spanish it literally means "the deep nothing." It is so incredibly beautiful - everything is green, and most of the people work the land. There were so many huge pineapple fields! All of the people were so kind and very patient as I struggled with my elementary Spanish - no one in the community speaks English. I was so impressed with Jenni's Spanish!!! She speaks really quickly and is so animated - it's no surprise she'll be completely fluent by the time she finishes her placement! Her host family - who she now lives next door to - were so kind to me. They are Ramona and Theodoro. They clearly adore her! I also met some of her neighbors, we spent a lot of time with Nana and Ezekiel and their three adorable boys Edwar, Eorie, and Estalie.
The Sunday in her community was a holiday called Dia de los Reyes - the day of the kings! It is when kids get presents in the Dominican Republic - like Christmas for us! There was a big party and we did some dancing - the most common dance is the merengue - I was even invited to dance a couple of times! We also hiked to Jenni's water site, where she is about to begin construction on her water system that will bring water to people in her community for the first time! Words cannot express how proud I am of her! It was quite a hike but BEAUTIFUL when we got to the top! The water comes out of a tall hill, and the view looking down on her community is breathtaking:
After two and a half days in Jenni's community we headed to the beach! We went to a beach close to the capital called Juan Dolio - it is on the southern coast. It was a pretty quiet, beautiful beach. We spent two days with Jenni's puppy Missy laying out by the water! We stayed at a really cute budget hotel called Fior Loto that was Indian themed with the nicest people - I never wanted to leave!! We also had great food especially two amazing dinners, one at an Italian restaurant and the other at a Mexican restaurant!
After two and a half days at the beach we headed back to Santo Domingo, our last destination! We walked the Zona Colonial and did a little shopping, eating at a yummy sushi place and later pizza on the Malecon - the road that runs along the water (Santo Domingo is on the coast). My favorite thing we did was have fresh fruit smoothies called Batidas - ours were pineapple banana and they were delicious!!! I also loved seeing the house Christopher Columbus stayed in - it is a huge stone building and looks like a fortress! My favorite thing we saw were ruins in the old Colonial Zone - especially this one of a former hospital:
I wish I could have stayed longer but I had to get back to NYC!!! I loved seeing my sister and I'm so proud of all she is doing! Nate and I are coming back to visit in May, where we will see the other big city in the Dominican Republic called Santiago and we will relax at a resort on the northern coast called Puerto Plata. I can't wait to return!!
