After language class this morning (Friday), we piled a number of students in our car and the rest got into a mini-bus. We all went to the Colonial Zone (Zona Colonial) for lunch and then a walking tour. Lunch consisted of plato del dia (lunch special) which was arroz, habichuelas, polo gisado, tostones, y enselada verde (rice, beans, chicken in a sauce, fried green platanos, and a green salad).

The tour of the Zona Colonial started at the Cathedral in the square and ended back in the same square after having visited numerous sites in the area.

New this time is that we have a student living directly on the Conde. Joel lives with a new family in a 3rd floor apartment about 1/2 of a block from where we ate lunch. The Conde is the famous street for pedestrians that has many tourist shops along it.

Photos: #3 - 6 in the restaurant of the Hotel Conde; #7 & 8 inside the cathedral (Cathedral Basilica Menor de Santa Maria - oldest church in the Americas); #9 - 12 at the Ozama Fort (Fortaleza Ozama); #13 the women (minus Megan and Ruth) on Calle Las Damas (Street of the women); #15 - 18 Alcazar de Colon (Diego Columbus' house, son of Christopher Columbus); #19 Ruins of the monastery (Monasterio de San Francisco, the oldest monastery in the New World); #20 a shoe shine in the park (Parque Colon).

The newspapers predicted scattered storms for today, but the sky around our house was pure blue--a gorgeous day for spelunking followed by a trip to the beach. The students on the west side of the river met at our house at 8 am. We picked up the remaining 8 students that live on the east side of the bridge at a gas station along our way to the cave at Tres Ojos (3 eyes - in this case, it is 3 lakes inside some caves--see photos). There was one minor glitch with a student going to the wrong Shell station. But, he quickly noticed the "error of his way", called us and walked to the correct Shell station.

At one of the lakes, many of the students joined hands in a circle and sang "606" - Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow. It was a beautiful moment to stand there and hear 4 part harmony coming from a dark hole in the ground. We spent an hour or so walking through the cave at Tres Ojos and then headed to the beach at Playa (beach) Guayacanas. This was the first trip to the beach for most of the students. And, most of them have no idea that storms were predicted for the day. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with a nice breeze blowing off of the sea.

There were a variety of activities happening at the beach. These included the usual beach activity of sleeping in the sun long enough to toast on one side and then flipping over to get the other side evenly reddened (despite sunscreen). Laurina has had a lot of experience snorkeling. She took a number of students out with her and was able to identify a nice variety of fish and coral.

Note: The quality of the first 5 photos is not great because they were shot in the darkness of the cave. Photos: #1 - 5 Inside the cave; #6 Singing 606 in the cave; #7 Outside of Tres Ojos (the cave); #8 & 9 Lindsy and Luke playing frisbee; #10 applying sunscreen; #11 - 15 activities at the beach; #16 Beach volley ball; #22 playing games.

Today's Casa Goshen group was Lindsy, Joel, Laurina, Erin, and Bethany. After finalizing menu details and deciding quantities to purchase, they headed off with Eric in the SUV to the fruit and vegetable (and more) market.

They prepared a delicious meal of haystacks (rice, black beans, hamburger, taco chips, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cheese, guacamole, and salsa), carrot sticks, and fresh fruit salad (pineapple, papaya, bananas, oranges, mangos). The food was ready before the students arrived from their explorations.

Our time of worship consisted of reading of scripture, singing, sharing something that we are greatful for, prayer, and more singing. After worship time, the students hung around our house talking and playing dominoes. They seemed quite hesitant to leave, but gradually, by 4:30, they slowly started to leave.

Photos: #1 - 3 at the market; #4 - 9 preparing the food; #10 - 14 eating lunch; #15 & 16 worship; #17 playing dominoes; #18 Eric & Ruth celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary today and treated everyone to a rich chocolate cake from Le Croissant Dore (our favorite Dominican/French bakery).

A big part of the economy in Dominican Republic centers around the production of sugar. Today's field trip started with a tour through an ingenio (a sugar mill) and ended at a batey (a very poor community where the people that harvest the sugar cane live).

The people at the Ingenio Cristobal Colon graciously allowed us to tour their facilities. They took us through the plant from the time that the sugar cane arrives directly from the field in train cars or in big trucks all the way to the end product - a huge mound of sugar almost 100 feet high. It is a very hot, loud, and smelly process. After the tour, the ingenio treated the entire group to delicious grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and coke. A dish of ice cream from the Helados Bon shop in San Pedro de Macoris was our dessert before we headed to the batey just outside of San Pedro.

As soon as Stefany (our guagua) arrived in the batey, she was surrounded by many children who eagerly awaited a GC student to latch on to. The adults took us first to see a pen of goats. At that point the children took over and guided us to the basket ball court. We were surprised that we would be playing basketball because baseball is the game the Dominicans play with a passion. But, the purpose at the basketball court was not to play basketball. It was to play an interesting game of jumping off the end of the basketball court which the little children of the batey enjoyed showing the GC students how to play (see photos).

After the GC students tired of that game, the older children lead them to the baseball field where the young men from the batey challenged our students to a game. Since there are only 6 men (plus Eric) in the group, some of our women joined in baseball while the other women enjoyed playing with the young children. The young children loved to feel the hair of our students so they spent an hour playing with their hair.

Photos: #1 - 13 at the Ingenio; #10 taste-testing the pile of sugar; #14 - 16 Helados Bon; #17 our hosts for the Batey trip, Domingo and Mirka; #18 - 20 in the church at the Batey; #21 SST'ers singing for the church; #26 - 30 SST'ers "learning" a new game; #37 hair styles compliment of the Batey young girls.

Today (Sunday, May 14) while many of you are celebrating Mother's Day, we were having our traditional family picnic. Mother's Day is celebrated in Dominican Republic in a pretty big way. But, it is celebrated the last Sunday in May.

Eric and Ruth provide sodas, ice, water, and baked chicken. However, since today was so hot, we ran out of ice. The families all bring a dish to share. It ends up being a nice variety of food that is unfamiliar to some of us.

The students wanted to remember their moms back home in a special way. So, the first photos send the message to mom.

One of the traditions is that photos are taken of each student and their family. These photos will be posted 3 at a time. But, first, there are photos of the picnic to see. Photo #1 & 2 Mother's day greeting from DR SST summer 2006; #5 Eric's words of welcome; #6 Group singing.

Maria - Miguel Yeara and Marilyn Orosco

Hannah - Xiomara Perez and Victor

Daniel - Tita Caba-Rodriguez

Nathan - Alejandro Colon and Rosy Felix

Heather - America Lorenzo Liranzo

Natalie - Fernando Ortiz and Walesca Cano

Jonathan - Monche Marfe and Margarita Villiman

Joel - Vilma Rodriguez

Sarah - Oleidy Calcagno

Kelly - Angela Gonzalez

Erin - Porfiro Sanchez and Katia Urena

Stephanie - Ramon Cruz and Johanna Almonte

Luke - Ludovina Fermin de Mercedes

Bethany - Ruben Ramirez and Betty Munoz

Laurina - Martirez and Kristi Olivera

Courtney - Victor Alcantara and Nancy Mesa

Matt - Nino Carvajal and Leny Felix

Krista - Gisela Paulino

Jessica - Enrique Matos and Maria Rosendo

Lindsy - Pina Encarnacion

Claire - Ramon and Nuris Jerez

Joyclyn - Williams Velez and Lourdes Villiman

Megan - Ruben and Dydi Mateo

Yesterday (Tuesday, May 16) was election day in Dominican Republic. On election day, things pretty much close so that people can vote. So, it was a free day for the students to be with their families. It was a very peaceful day and night. We haven't heard the results yet, but so far both of the major parties are claiming victory.

Because of election day, there was a bit of uncertainty how exploration groups would get along today, but all of the exploration sites were open: Faro de Colon (The Columbus Lighthouse); Plaza de la Cultura (a complex with several museums that our students visit); Jardin Botanica (a huge botanical garden in the city); and the Mercado Modelo and Little Haiti (tourist market and Haitian Market).

The Casa Goshen group consisted of Claire, Maria, Natalie, and Jonathan. After creating the grocery list, Eric drove the students to the outdoor market where they got fruits, vegetables, and meat. Then they went to a more traditional supermarket to get the rest of their groceries.

The menu today consisted of: hamburgers (with buns); all of the traditional condiments (minus lettuce)--ketchup, mustard, pickles, mayonaise, cheese, and onions; doritoes; macaroni salad; pineapple; cantelope; and soda (pop).

After lunch, the four students lead the group in a time of worship. When the group activities were completed, some students went to Helados Bon for ice cream, some went to our favorite french bakery, some headed off to do shopping, while others simply hung out to talk or play dominoes.

Photos: #11 the Mercado Modelo group showing off some of their purchases; #12 many of the groups got caught in a downpour just as they were arriving for lunch; #17 singing during worship.

For class on Thursday (May 18), we met at the Peace Corp office. Jehan Jones, from the US embassy met with us first to talk about what the US embassy does in Dominican Republic. It was interesting, also, to hear how Ms Jones got into the foreign service.

Three Peace Corps Volunteer Leaders, Katie, Jason, and Mariah, met with us to talk about the Peace Corps in Dominican Republic. They were all very passionate about their Peace Corps experience. They gave us a brief history of the Peace Corps. We hope the several of the students will work with Peace Corps volunteers in various parts of the country.

Photos: #3 Jehan from the US Embassy; #5 Katie, Jason, and Mariah from the Peace Corps.

The students met at Casa Goshen at 7 am on Friday (5/19) which means that some of them needed to leave home by 6 am to take public transportation. The students were all dressed nicely because our first stop was the Mirabel Museum in Salcedo. There were 4 Mirabel sisters who were instrumental in the revolution to oust Trujillo from power. Three of them were murdered by Trujillo's men and one survives - Dona Dede Mirabel. She is a national hero and we felt honored that she agreed to take time to meet with us. After touring the museum and the grounds, Dona Dede met with us for a bit to answer the student's questions.

After leaving the Mirabel museum, we drove to Jarabacoa, a small city in the mountains in the center of the island. The students found lunch in a variety of places and then we boarded Stefany (our guagua) to head to Los Calabazos, where we would spend the rest of the day and the night.

In the small campo community of Los Calabazos, they have developed an eco-tourism business that they call Sonida del Yaque (sound of the Yaque). The Yaque is a river that flows by the community. This group of students is the first to stay in the cabins that they have built for tourists. In the past, SST'ers have spent the night at a hotel in one of the cities close by.

As we planned the afternoon activities, we (Eric and Ruth) thought that hiking in the beautiful mountains surrounding the community would be the afternoon activity. But, the students found the river calling them after several hours of riding in a bus. And, it proved to be an enjoyable place to spend 2 hours on a hot afternoon. There was still daylight left after they got out of the river, so some of them enjoyed climbing some of the mountains.

The activity did not stop after eating supper. There was a very small colmado (convenience store/hang-out) in the community. The students went there to buy sodas and very quickly, the young men of the village came and invited the young women of the group to dance merengue with them. The men were very reluctant to take "I don't know how to dance" (in Spanish of course) for a "no" answer. So, even those that aren't comfortable dancing got in on the fun.

Photos: #1 - 5 Mirabel Museum; #6 - 8 meeting with Dona Dede; #11 Nathan getting his shoes shined; #12 at the "top" of Los Calabazos; #15 - 17 since it is over 200 steps down to the river valley community of Los Calabazos, a burro was hired to take Megan down (and bring her back up); #18 - 24 playing in the river.

After an afternoon of swimming and hiking and an evening of dancing, the sound of the Yaque River (sonida del Yaque) lulled everyone to sleep. We had breakfast in the restaurant and then headed up the mountain to the road to find Stefany (our guagua) cool and inviting. The organic farm of Don Jose and Dona Nati was our next destination.

Doctora Xiomara lead us on a tour of the farm (finca) because Don Jose (the owner of the farm) was conducting business in Jarabacoa. When we set off on the hike, we did not quite realize where all we would be going. On our hike, we saw an amazing variety of trees and plants including, macademia nut trees and cashew nut trees. We also saw many fruit trees: oranges, mangoes, grapefruit, mandarines, and more. Our mouths watered as we saw red raspberries and strawberries growing abundantly. Since it is an organic farm and they are very careful about how they grow things, we were able to sample a few raspberries and strawberries (even though we didn't boil, peel or cook them before we ate them).

Part of our trekking took us through a grove of bamboo. In places it was quite dense. About 45 minutes later, we returned to our starting point.

We had a delicious lunch at the farm. The students had an opportunity to purchase ceramics made by a local artisan and coffee from Don Jose's farm. Don Jose's organically grown coffee has won all sorts of awards and recognition for its flavor. Our students purchased all of the coffee that he had available--there wasn't even any coffee left for Ruth and Eric to purchase. Oh well, they will return and have another opporunity to purchase coffee.

The next stop was at Salto Baiguate (a falls). The students didn't have much time to spend at the falls, but it was another opporunity for them to use their bathing suits that they had brought with them.

Photos: #1 & 2 the cabanas; #6 tasting the fruit granada (pomegranite); #13 eating apple bananas; #15 Kelly trying to milk a goat; #19 Taino pottery (the taino were the indigenous people killed off by the Spaniards); #21 - 27 Salto Baiguate (the falls).

Yesterday (Monday, 5/22) was our day for hearing about folklore and dance in the Dominican Republic. Xiomara Perez, who is also Hannah's mom, has taught our students about dance and folklore for quite a few years. She has her own dance studio and writes her own weekly column for one of the big newspapers, Hoy.

The students enjoyed learning how to dance merengue and bachata. She has graciously offered to reduce her fees to give some private lessons. There will be 9 or 10 students going to her studio next Monday night for 3 hours of private dance lessons.

The photos pretty much explain themselves.

This week's cooking group consisted of Daniel, Krista, Courtney, and Megan. They decided on a menu of spaghetti with marinara sauce, vegetable tray (carrots, cucumbers, and peppers), bread, and fresh fruit salad (pineapple, bananas, and mangoes).

The group worked well together and food was ready when the rest of the students were ready to eat. After worship time, the cooking group surprised everyone with a dessert of a rich chocolate cake from our favorite French bakery.

During the singing part of the worship time, we heard a loud bang from the street. When we went to investigate, we discovered that the spare tire that rides on the back of the SUV had exploded. They say that the sun in DR is "mas fuerte" (very strong) and we all believe it. (See the last 3 photos.)

Thursday, May 25 was the beginning of our four day trip to the southwest area of the country. Our first stop was at Las Caritas, where we climbed up the rocks to a small cave where there are some aboriganal drawings. This also gave us a nice view of Lago Enriquillo and the arid landscape.

Our second stop was at Lago Enriquillo, which is home to flamingos and the american allegator, neither of which were sighted by the group. We did see plenty of the large iguanas which inhabit the area.

Unfortunately, the drive up to this point had involved several unexpected,long slow detours. So it was 2:30 when we sat down at La Descubierta for a lunch of rice, beans, chivo (goat), cerdo frito (fried pork) and pollo (chicken). The food was quickly devoured.

After lunch, we drove to the town of Jimani, which is on the Haitian border. We walked across the border to the small market. The market is used by both Dominicans and Haitians, but primarily serves the Haitian population. One could find all kinds of clothing, shoes, and household and personal care items. Jimani is also the area that was hit hard by flooding several years ago. Some of the damage could still be seen.

After our visit to the market, we drove to Barahona where we spent the night.

On Friday, May 26, we left Barahona in the morning to drive to Pedernales, which is on the south coast and the Haiti border. But first, we stopped at Playa (beach) Bahoruco to search for larimar. Larimar is a semi-precious stone that is only found in the DR and is made into lovely jewelry. The stones wash down the river from the mines north of Bahoruco and end up on the beach. The students enjoyed searching the beach for the larimar and the local children also helped. If none was found, the children were very willing to sell the students larimar that the children had found for a few pesos.

From Bahoruco, we drove to Pedernales. There were many sleepy students on the bus for the three hour trip. We checked into the hotel and ate ham and cheese sandwiches before heading out to a sandy beach called Cabo Rojo. There the students enjoyed swimming, snorkeling and catching the sun. They also enjoyed the fresh mangos which are in season now. We stayed until the sun went down over the water.

Supper that night was at the comedor (small eating place) of Minga's, where several past SST groups have eaten. Minga did her usual fine job of cooking the rice, beans and chicken that are the staple of the Dominican diet.

Saturday, May 27, found us heading to the DR/Haitian border. After recieving permision from the border officials for an "unofficial entry" into Haiti, we split into two groups for a walk around Anse-a-Pitres, on the Haitian side of the border. The differences between the two sides are dramatic. The lack of paved roads, difference in housing, and lack of items in the market are some of the obvious differences. Even though we see poverty in the DR, it was sobering to realize that there are countries that are even less well off.

After returning to the hotel to change and gather supplies, we bussed to La Cueva where we loaded unto two boats to go to Bahia de Las Aguilas. Bahia de Las Aguilas is in a national park that hosts one of the most pristine and beautiful beaches in the DR. It is also home to a delicate and unique ecosystem. This may be one of the last SST groups to see this area as it is now, as the president of the DR recently signed an agreement with a French firm to build up to seven resorts on the beach. This is being debated both within goverment agencies and with other interested groups. The changes that this could bring to the Pedernales area are already reflected by the greatly increased hotel prices from our visit just four months ago with the spring SST group.

Day #4 found us boarding Stefany once again to head back to Santo Domingo. We stopped briefly at an overlook outside the town of Paraiso (Paradise). With the view of sandy beaches, the ocean, and the mountains, it was easy to see how the town recieved its name.

The next stop was at San Rafael where we hiked up a small stream. The water was cold and refreshing in the heat of the day and the hike was challenging. Everyone helped each other over the difficult parts. After the hike we enjoyed lunch on the beach. Along with the usual rice and chicken, we had guandules con coco (chickpeas with coconut milk) and fish (the entire fish). Even though it was a little strange to have the fish staring at you, it tasted excellent.

After lunch, the coconuts in the trees started calling some of the guys. Both Nathan and Matt attempted to reach them, but Daniel was the one who succeeded. After he got one down, our chofer (driver), Jose Miguel, used his machette and cut it open so the students could sample the milk.

It was a quieter bus in the afternoon on our way back to the city. A number of students caught up on their sleep as they recovered from the long and successful trip.

Dra Catherine Scheraldi has been the physician for SST'ers in Dominican Republic for a number of years. On Monday, May 29, she spoke to the class about Health Care in the Dominican Republic. It was interesting to hear about the health care system from a physician's perspective.

As we continue to tell the students, flexibility is a key ingredient of SST. Tuesday, May 30, was our much anticipated trip to the National Palace. However, when Williams called to confirm the appointment that we had for several weeks, he found out that tours of the palace have been suspended indefinitely. So, we developed another plan. . . supper and games at the home of our assistant, Williams and Lourdes Velez.

We spent the afternoon and evening in a variety of activities. It gave the students a time to just relax and enjoy each others company after 2 intense weeks of travel.

Lourdes and her daughters, Paloma and Pamela, provided a nice variety of options for supper: hamburgers, tacos, spaghetti, 2 different lettuce salads, and moro (a dish consisting of rice and beans mixed together). And, for dessert: Bon ice cream and cake and cinnamon buns.

This week's cooks faced some challenges that they quickly overcame--traffic jams, down pours, and trying to decide on a menu. Each group likes to try to think of food that they miss from home, food that hasn't been made before, and that is within their budget. And this week's group of Jess, Luke, Matt, Heather, and Kelly decided to have French Toast as the main part of the meal. They also had sausage, fried potatotes, fruit salad (pineapple, bananas, and oranges), and 2 types of fresh fruit juice (orange juice and papaya juice that they made). The fried potatotes were to have been part of a potato and scrambled egg dish, but they ran out of eggs. It was all very yummy and the best part was that they didn't run out of food!

They did run out of money, so there was no money for a dessert. However, Laurina conveniently has her 21st birthday on Sunday, so Eric and Ruth bought a special cake to celebrate her upcoming birthday.

The cutting of hair usually happens on the Wednesday before the students leave for service. The hair-cutting started today! After seeing life outside of Santo Domingo on the last 2 field trips that we have taken, this group is eager to get started with their service locations. They will all miss their families and wish that they could somehow take them with them to their service location.

The students have their village studies on Friday and Saturday this week. If any of them bring photos back with them, we will have a posting telling about village studies. Our next field trip is on Tuesday, June 6, so there will not be a lot of news getting posted for the next week.

On Friday and Saturday (June 2 and 3), the students left Santo Domingo in groups of 3 and 4 for the exciting experience of Village Study. The assignment is to find out where the pueblo is and how to get there.

Once they arrive, the students need to find lodging and food. They are also given a list of things to find out about the pueblo that they are visiting. As you can see in the photos, they participated in a variety of activities.

Many of these pueblos are small enough that they do not have a hotel, so the students often contact the local priest or a pastor for assistance with this task.

The students all had very good experiences in this little adventure and continued to experience the hospitality that the Dominicans are so known for. The students came back with lots of funny stories that they continue to share with the rest of the group. Each group gave a short presentation about their adventures to the entire class. They also wrote a short paper on the experience. Village Study is a good preparation for service. They leave for service on Friday, June 9.

Photos: #9 Daniel, Kelly, Laurina, and Heather went to Las Yayas de Viajama; #10 Jonathan, Bethany, Krista, and Claire went to Jima Abajo; #11 Luke, Lindsy, Steph, and Courtney went to Guaymate; #12 Joel, Jess, Maria, and Sarah went to Cevicos; #13 Matt, Megan, Erin, and Joyclyn went to San Jose de Ocoa; and #14 Nathan, Natalie, and Hannah went to Sabana de la Mar.

Today, Tuesday, June 6, we went on our last field trip to San Cristobal area. San Cristobal was Trujillo's, the Dominican dictator, home town. So, today's field trip was a bit of a Trujillo day.

After a late start, our first stop was at a baseball camp for the Washington National and Detroit Tigers. The name of the camp is Loma Sueno (Mountain of Dreams). Baseball is a huge sport in Dominican Republic. These training camps offer a Dominican youth an opportunity to go on to play on a minor league or major league team in the U.S. Once the youth signs a contract, they have 3 years in the camp to make it to the minors (or majors), or they are out of the system.

After the training camp, we went to the city of San Cristobal where we visited a church that Trujillo built in honor of himself. After the tour of the church, the students were given money to find lunch on their own.

The last stop of the day was at La Toma Balenearios. These are a series of human-made pools that were theoretically built by Trujillo.

We had hoped to visit The Mahagony house, one of Trujillo's homes. It is in ruins, but on a previous trip, Ruth and Eric received permission for a tour of the house. Due to our late start, however, we were unable to make this stop.

Photos: #1 - 7 At the baseball camp, Loma Sueno; #9 & 10 at Trujillo's church; #11 in the cript at Trujillo's church--yes, that's a coffin that Megan is staring at. It's the coffin that Trujillo's body was in for 6 months after he was killed. Then, his body was moved and the coffin was left in the spot where it had been resting.

So, what do you think of when you hear the word "chili"? It probably is not the Dominican Republic in June, or even soup in Dominican Republic in June. This week's Casa Goshen group consisted of Nathan, Steph, Sarah, and Joyclyn. They decided that chili would be the main course for the meal. The meal consisted of a wonderful chili, vegetable tray (carrots, cucumbers, and peppers), garlic bread, fruit salad (pineapple and bananas), and Helados (ice cream) Bon (chocolate and vanilla).

The group lead us in a time of worship. We shared about the surprising things that we have learned during the first 6 weeks in the city.

After worship, we had a cake to celebrate Jess's birthday tomorrow (Thursday, June 8), and for those having birthdays while on service: Jonathan (June 17); Courtney (July 1); and Steph (July 8).

Thursday, June 8 was a busy day for the students. It was the last day for going to CEIC, the language institute. The professors from CEIC had a graduation ceremony and then fed the students a light lunch after the ceremony.

After lunch, the students had 2 hours before they needed to be at Casa Goshen to take the Lecture Exam and talk about service. Many of them had last minute purchases to make before leaving for service in the morning. Some used this time to go shopping, some used it to find their favorite "city" foods to eat, and others just hung out.

Tonight is their last night with their Santo Domingo families for 5 weeks. And, it will be an early morning for most of them as their buses and guaguas to their new homes will leave at 6:30 or 7 am. Two fortunate students get to wait and take the 1 pm bus to their locations.

The students have all made it to their service locations. They are scattered all over the country and we will begin visiting all of them in about 1 1/2 weeks. As we visit each student, we will give more detailed information about where each student is and what they are doing. . . and, of course, we will post pictures.

Megan Sohar - Barahona (small city on the southwest coast) - working with Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity) - am's organizing office; pm's teaching English.

Jess Buller - Boma (campo community in the mountains near Jarabacoa) - working with children's programs.

Sarah Buskirk - Bonao (city in the center of the country) - Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana (Episcopal Church) - teaching music.

Luke Gingerich - Bonao (city in the center of the country) - Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana (Episcopal Church) - teaching music.

Joyclyn Nafziger - Constanza (a small city in the mountains near Jarabacoa) - working with a church.

Laurina Graber - Constanza (a small city in the mountains near Jarabacoa) - working with a church.

Krista Bergey - El Caimital (a campo community in the northwest part of the country) - working with Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps).

Hannah Wigginton - El Caimital (a campo community in the northwest part of the country) - working with Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps).

Kelly Wiebe - El Cercado (a small community near San Juan de la Maguana) - working in a private, not-for-profit clinic.

Joel Kauffman - Jaquimeyes (small community close to Barahona) - working with Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity) - construction.

Maria Rakochy - Jaquimeyes (small community close to Barahona) - working with Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity) - construction.

Steph Kennell - Los Dajaos (small campo community close to Jarabacoa, in the mountains) - working with a physician in a small clinic.

Lindsy Glick - Los Pinos del Eden (small campo community in the far west, close to the Haitian boarder) - working with Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps).

Jonathan Hoover - Nagua (city on the northeast coast) - working with Habitat para la Humanidad - construction.

Matt Yoder - Nagua (city on the northeast coast) - working with Habitat para la Humanidad - construction.

Erin Boers - Pancho Mateo (a large batey on the north coast close to Monte Llano) - working with Markarios (an educational development organization).

Claire Lagerwey - Pancho Mateo (a large batey on the north coast close to Monte Llano) - working with Markarios (an educational development organization).

Courtney Welborn - Pancho Mateo (a large batey on the north coast close to Monte Llano) - working with Markarios (an educational development organization).

Daniel Clouse - Rodeo (a campo community on the far northwest coast close to Monte Cristi) - working with Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps).

Nathan Picklesimer - San Juan de la Maguana (small city in the west) - working in a not-for-profit clinic, Clinica Cristiana de Salud Integral.

Heather Slavin - La Zanja (a campo community close to San Juan de la Maguana) - working with Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps).

Bethany Wright La Zanja (a campo community close to San Juan de la Maguana) - working with Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps).

Natalie Schmucker - Vallejuelo (small community close to San Juan de la Maguana) - working in an orphanage.

Lindsy is living in the campo community of Los Pinos del Eden. She is working with Peace Corps volunteer Shanna Lillis. To get to Lindsy’s community, you first drive to the small town of La Descubierta and then find the "road" that leads to Los Pinos. The road looks more like a lane coming off of the main road. Next, you drive over 45 minutes on a very rough road up into the mountains that is really best accessed by 4-wheel drive vehicles, or moto conchos (small motor cycles). The drive is worth the difficulty in getting there – it is very beautiful. Lindsy’s community is a small campo town high in the mountains very near the Haitian boarder.

LindsyÂ’s parents have 4 children (3 boys and 1 girl). Lindsy is working with Shanna on a variety of programs: youth programs; womenÂ’s groups; and health education. She is also enjoying the peace and quiet of the campo after the many noises of Santo Domingo. She is able to run almost every day in the mountains and surrounding area. Her favorite thing to do after her runs is to climb a mango tree and eat a couple of mangos for breakfast.

Photos: #1 & 2 road to Lindsy's home; #6 one of her hang-outs (closed during the day); #8 Lindsy and the baby goat that has freedom to go in and out of the house at will; #9 eating guanabana; #10 her shower; #11 & 12 Lindsy and her mom.

Joel and Maria are working with Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity) in Jaquimeyes which is just outside of Barahona in the southwest part of the country. Habitat helps families build homes, which they would otherwise be unable to afford. They havenÂ’t done a lot of work with Habitat yet due to a shortage of supplies. Habitat relies on donations, in addition to what the families pay in order to build the homes.

Joel is living with Asuncion Martin and Ramon de los Santos and their 3 children. JoelÂ’s mother is an engineer with Habitat. He spends a lot of his time at his "grandmaÂ’s" house where many children of the neighborhood have learned to know Joel. Maria says that Joel always has a "posse" of kids following him wherever he goes.

Maria lives with Aida Batista Beltre and Luis Gilberto Matos and their 2 children. MariaÂ’s mother works in the Habitat office in Barahona.

Maria and Joel are looking forward to spending next week in Paraiso working with a group from the US on some Habitat projects in the Paraiso area.

Photos: #1 Maria and Joel outside of the kitchen at Joel's grandma's house (they both spend a lot of time at grandma's house); #2 Joel with part of the family at grandma's house (Joel standing next to his mom, grandma sitting, some of the siblings and cousins surrounding them); #3 Joel and his mom in front of his house; #4 - 6 at Maria's house; #7 Maria and her mom at work in the Barahona Habitat office.

Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity) recently consolidated 5 offices into one in the Barahona area. They were eager to have some help to organize the many documents and other items that came from those other office. And, Megan was eager to help Habitat out in this way. In the morning, Megan is helping the staff in the Barahona office to organize the documents. In the afternoon, she is teaching the office workers English. It is a bit awkward for her in that in the afternoon, she becomes the "authority" person for her superiors.

Megan is living with Jesus Vasquez and Isabel "Yaritza" Soler and their 3 young children. Megan is enjoying this young couple and their energetic children. Jesus is an engineer with Habitat and her mother, Yaritza, stays at home with the children.

Photos: #4 Megan's home in Barahona (grandma lives in the house on the left and Megan and her family live in the house on the right.)

NathanÂ’s nursing education is very useful for his work on service. He is working in San Juan de la Maguana in the private clinic, Clinica Cristiana de Salud Integral. San Juan de la Maguana is a city in a valley in the western part of the country.

There are a variety of specialties in the clinic and he is able to work with all of them. He is getting to use his nursing skills in the clinic in a variety of ways. And, he has been able to observe surgeries and other medical procedures such as endoscopies.

Nathan is living with Ramon and Oneyda Calderon and their 5 children (ages 16 to 23). He enjoys the many activities that he is involved with the family and the youth from his church. He has become the gringo to challenge in Dominican Dominoes both at home and with the friends from church.

Bethany and Heather (aka Laura) are living in the campo community of Las Zanjas, about 15 kilometers from the city of San Juan. They are working with Peace Corps Volunteer, Yuriko de la Cruz. Yuriko is back in the US for a short vacation and Bethany and Heather (aka Laura) are running a day camp for children. In the morning, the 4 to 8 year olds attend and in the afternoons, 9 to 12 year olds attend.

Bethany lives with one of the youth that Yuriko has been working with, Rossi, and RossiÂ’s grandparents. BethanyÂ’s grandpa is quite a humorous guy and her grandma is trying to take good care of Bethany. BethanyÂ’s home does not have a lot of the amenities that we are accustomed to, but she is learning how to live in a campo community.

Heather, or, as everyone in her community calls her, Laura, is living with Mireya and Carlos and their 4 adult children. No one in Las Zanjas knows who Heather is, but just about everyone, especially the children and youth, know who Laura is. Heather is enjoying living in the campo community in such a beautiful location.

Photos: #6 Heather, Beth, and the pig "Cuba" that lives between them; #10 in front of the school where they have their camp for the children; #11 some of the morning participants.

Contrary to rumor, Natalie is not living in a one room house. Her home is a typical home for a small town setting with the main living area on the one side and the bedrooms coming off of that main area. The kitchen is in a separate small building off of the back.

Natalie is living and working in a small town called Vallejuello in the mountains near San Juan de la Maguana. She is living with her dad and 3 sisters. One of the sisters is married and lives close by with her husband and young child.

She is working in an orphanage called El Buen Samaritan (The Good Samaritan). The orphanage has only been going for about 3 or 4 years. There are 40 children ages 4 to 9 with a couple of older children who help out. Natalie spends her mornings at the orphanage playing with the children and washing and braiding their hair. One afternoon a week, she teaches English to children at the student center where her sisters work.

El Cercado is nestled in a beautiful mountainous valley about 45 minutes from San Juan de la Maguana. Kelly is working in a clinic is this small town. The clinic is an outgrowth from the clinic in San Juan de la Maguana where Nathan is working and it has the same name - Clinica Cristiana de Salud Integral. She is kept busy taking blood pressures and helping out in other ways around the clinic. Her favorite days are Wednesdays when she accompanies a team of a doctor, nurse, and some assistants to campo communities. She helps the team as they perform public health clinics including well baby check ups and immunizations.

Kelly lives with Jose and Yudelka Lorenzo, a Mennonite couple, and their 5 children. They are in the process of building a house next to the grandma's existing house. There are over 15 people that live between the 2 homes. Her father and brother are physicians that work at the public hospital. With so many people under the same roof, there is never a lack of activity.

The cool (almost cold) city of Constanza is the current home for Joyclyn and Laurina. Constanza is a city in the beautiful mountains in the central part of the island. It is in the middle of the "bread basket" of the Dominican Republic. There are all sorts of rumors about Constanza – i.e. it has gotten so cold in Constanza that the rivers froze enough for a person to walk on them. It does get cold enough to have frost at certain times of the year, but not cold enough for rivers to freeze!

Laurina is living with David Bello and Altagracia Fajardo and their 3 children (18, 17, and 13 years). When she isnÂ’t teaching English, she enjoys spending time with her various family members.

Laurina is teaching English to school age children in the barrio (neighborhood) of El Chorro. This program is being operated through contacts with Fundacion Contra Hambre (Food for the Hungry) – "F.H.".

Joyclyn is living with Maria and Jose Quezada and their 2 children. Joyclyn keeps busy with teaching English and working with different groups that come from North America with Fundacion Contra Hambre. She is teaching English in 2 different barrios, El Gajo and Los Flores.

Joyclyn and Laurina recently had an opportunity to help translate for some F.H. groups from Ohio who were in Constanza doing some construction projects. (See photos - #13 to 15 - of some of the places that the group worked.)

Photos: #2 Laurina and her mom (her mom works in the F.H. office); #3 Laurina and her siblings; #5 Laurina in front of her school; #7 Joyclyn and her mom in front of the F.H. office where Joyclyn's mom is the director of the program; #8 Joyclyn, her cousin, and her sister; # 9 & 10 Joyclyn at one of her schools; #11 Joyclyn at her second school; #12 view of Constanza from in front of Joyclyn's second school.

"ATENCION, ATENCION ¡INSCRIPCIONES ABIERTAS!" (ATTENTION! ATTENTION! OPENINGS AVAILABLE) This is what the flyer advertising the classes that Luke and Sarah are giving says. Luke and Sarah are giving voice lessons for interested persons in Bonao, a city at the foot of the mountains in central DR, about 1 hour from Santo Domingo. These classes are being sponsored by the Episcopal church in Bonao called San Juan Baptiste. They are finding it quite challenging as most of their students cannot match pitch. Dominicans can dance and have great rhythm, but as a rule, Luke and Sarah are finding that many that they are working with cannot carry a tune.

Luke is living about 10 minutes by motoconcho (motor cycle) from the church in a small campo community. The only transportation available to him from his home to work is motoconcho.

He is living with Jesus and Ramona and their children and many grandchildren. Many children are in and out of the house all day, so it is hardly quiet around the house, but Luke enjoys all of the activity.

Sarah is living in the city of Bonao about 3 blocks from the church. Her family, too, consists of a mom (Juana) and her children and many grandchildren and a couple of other teens that have no family. Sarah loves living with so many young children; she loves singing and playing games with them.

"I love it; make sure everyone knows that I love it!" ThatÂ’s what Jess says about her new home in Boma. Boma is a small campo community in the mountains about 8 km west of Jarabacoa; it isnÂ’t even large enough to be called a "pueblo". Boma is only accessible by 4-wheel drive or at certain times of the year, by motoconcho (motor cycle). To get there, you drive across a river, drive around narrow mountain passes (barely wide enough for our 4-wheel drive vehicle), and up grassy lanes that barely pass as a "road".

Jess is living with Jose and Maria Luz, their 14 year old daughter (Lu), and their 12 month old granddaughter that they are raising as their daughter. They have 4 grown children living in various parts of the country, but not in Boma. Jess has a great relationship with all of her family, but a special bond has formed between Jess and the baby (see photos).

JessÂ’s service work is through the church in Boma. Every afternoon, she and her sister work with the children in the community; most of them are 4 to 14 years of age. They do a Bible study, tutor in various school subjects, and play games. Jess is primarily tutoring the students in math. There are 10 to 30 participants, but usually there are at least 20.

Photos: #2 This is the baseball field, Eric (on the left) is on 1st base, Jess (in the red) is on 2nd, and Steph (in white) is on 3rd, home plate is the bare spot in the center of the photo.

Steph is living in the beautiful, mountainous community of Los Dajaos. Los Dajaos is about 20 km east of Jarabacoa. Whenever we drive to Los Dajaos, we pray that the recent rains havenÂ’t washed out the roads. On this visit today, there were a couple of places that were a bit tight, but we made it through.

Steph is living with Dra Xiomara Fernandez and XiomaraÂ’s mother, Mari. Dra Xiomara runs the clinic in Los Dajaos and her mother recently moved from Santo Domingo to help Xiomara with her household tasks. The clinic is attached to one end of XiomaraÂ’s home, so when a patient arrives during the night, they donÂ’t have far to go to get the supplies they need to care for the patient.

Steph has 2 jobs for service: she works in the clinic with the doctor and she helps a Peace Corps worker teach English classes. In the clinic, she assists the doctor and she also observes a variety of procedures. The doctor has no assistant, so, Steph fills that need very nicely. English classes meet once a week. The remainder of StephÂ’s time is spent hanging out on their front porch, learning to know the community folks, and hanging out at the neighborhood colmado (convenience store/hang out) with Xiomara.

El Caimital, a small campo community in the rolling hills in the northwest, is the current home of Krista and Hannah. It is small enough that you wonÂ’t find it on any map. The community is spread out over quite a distance. Krista lives at one end of the community and Hannah lives at the other end. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from one home to the other.

Hannah and Krista are working with Peace Corps Volunteer, Chelsey Cagle, running a camp for the community children. They run the camp every morning for children 4 to 14 years of age, but others try to join in on the fun, even if they are too old (or too young). They have around 70 participants.

Krista is living with Doña Reina and her 20 year old son, 30 year old daughter and her daughter's 3 children (14, 11, and 4.) Doña Reina runs a colmado (convenience store) out of her home. When Krista isnÂ’t helping Chelsea or going to the river, she enjoys hanging out with her family and friends at the colmado. There is usually quite a bit of activity at the family's colmado.

Hannah lives with Zorida and Enrique and their 3 daughters (10, 9, and 5). Enrique is in the military and is gone for extended periods of time. So, Zorida is really happy to have another adult in the house. Hannah is getting to know the people in the community. At her end of the community, there are at least 30 different families and she has met all of the families. She and her young sisters like to visit someone different every day.

Hannah and Krista really enjoy their community. They find the people of the community very compassionate and caring. They will miss them a lot when they leave.

The arid northwest near the coast is the home for Daniel for the service portion of SST. Rodeo is a small campo community of about 30 homes, a bunch of goats, chickens, and sheep. As soon as we got out of the car, we were greeted by mean, hungry mosquitoes. So, Daniel and Emily Rabe (his Peace Corps Volunteer) use a lot of insect repellent to keep the mosquitoes away.

Dan is living with Mirali (mom) and Taito (dad) Olivo and a young "brother" Nugi. Both of his parents work in another community all day, so he does not see much of them during the week. Mirali and Taito have grown children living away from Rodeo.

Dan is working with Emily and her nutrition education program. They are also working on organizing a youth group. There are not a lot of youth in the community, but those that live there do not understand even simple concepts about health and the way the body works. As many other SSTÂ’ers do, Dan is spending a lot of time sitting on the porches and under trees talking with people and building relationships.

Photos: #4 Daniel standing in his bano (shower); #4 Daniel, Emily (his Peace Corps Volunteer), and Eric walking to one of the "hang-out" spots; #6 - 9 at one of the "hang-out" spots; #10 even though Dan lives very close to the coast, he had not been to the beach until we took him there, this photo is of Dan and Emily at the Atlantic ocean at an interesting place called "El Morro". It is a huge mountain rising up right at the coast in an area where there are no mountains.

July 1, 2006 Courtney turned 20 years old. It is also the day that we visited Courtney on service. Unfortunately, we were unable to bring her a birthday cake from our favorite French bakery in Santo Domingo (Le Croissant Dore), but ErinÂ’s family is planning a big celebration for her tonight (Saturday, July 1) complete with a decorated cake from the caterer that they use for weddings. (See ErinÂ’s posting for more information on ErinÂ’s family.).

Courtney (aka Olivia) is living in Monte Llano, a small city on the north coast, just a few km from the ocean. If you call CourtneyÂ’s home and ask for "Courtney", you will be told you have the wrong number. She is known as "Olivia" by everyone in Monte Llano. "Olivia" is living with Sylvia and SylviaÂ’s 4 year old granddaughter. There are a variety of family members in and out of SylviaÂ’s home, so Courtney is kept quite busy.

Courtney has several things that she is doing on service. She is working with a group called "Makarios" on a big batey, Pancho Mateo. She plays with the children on the batey when she goes there with Makarios. She also goes with them to another batey called Chichigua where they do arts and crafts with the children and also dig latrines for the community. However, the volunteers with Makarios are all leaving soon, so she has also found work in a clinic close to her home, Clinica La Maternidad. She volunteers there several times a week.

Erin, also known as Maria, is living in Monte Llano, a small city on the north coast just a few km from the ocean. Erin ("Maria") lives with Luz, her husband, LuzÂ’s son (Tito) and her daughter (Luisana). There is a lot of activity in "MariaÂ’s" home too as various family members are in and out as well as employees from the many businesses that the family owns. Two of her motherÂ’s main businesses are a furniture store (see photo) and a complete wedding planning business that she runs with one of her daughters.

Makarios is an organization working on bateys on the north coast. They are working at issues of community development on the bateys. Erin was supposed to have worked with Makarios for service, but because the volunteers are leaving soon, there wasnÂ’t a lot of work to do, so she is volunteering several hours a day at Compassion, a school in Monte Llano. She helps in the kitchen and with cleaning.

Erin loves her new family who keeps her very busy, since she isnÂ’t real busy with work. When she isnÂ’t doing something with her family, she can be found playing dominoes at "OliviaÂ’s" house (CourtneyÂ’s house) or with her "crush" guy.

When Claire arrived in Monte Llano, she discovered that she and Erin were to live with one of the wealthiest families in Monte Llano. (Monte Llano is a small city on the north coast.) After a few days, she and her family in Monte Llano, found a family that lives in a small campo community just outside of Monte Llano. Claire is living in Caraballo with Cenaida and her 3 children (17, 10, and 5 years).

Claire runs every day with the little girls in her family and neighborhood. They run through the sugar cane fields and swim in the nearby river. She also plays soccer and baseball with the community girls.

Claire has found her own work in the community that she is living in. She has three different things that she is doing: tutoring students in reading Spanish; teaching English to 10 children that want to learn to speak English; and working with a local Peace Corps volunteer to teach Sex Education to teens in her community.

Photos: #1 - 3 at Claire's school (it is very unusual to find a library anyplace, especially in the campo. The Peace Corps Volunteer has worked very hard to collect donated books for the library and encourages the children to "check them out".); #8 the baseball field where Claire plays with the women of the community.

The northeast coastal city of Nagua is the service home for Matt (Mateo) and Jon (Juancito). They are there working with Habitat para la Humanidad (Habitat for Humanity). Habitat hasn't had a lot of work due to a lack of supplies, so Matt and Jon are putting in long days volunteering at Matt's dad's place of employment, a cement block making business.

The name of the company where they are volunteering is Blanco Ventura Fabrica. Haitians are employed for the hard physical labor of lifting the blocks. All of the time that Matt and Jon are working is directly benefiting the Haitian laborers. Their goal is to be able to keep up with their co-worker who they affectionately call Leonel "la maquina" (the machine). One truckload of bricks has 1000 blocks on it. The guys load a truck, ride on the back of the truck to the construction site, and then unload the truck, all by hand.

Matt is living with Antonio and Carmen. They have 6 grown children who live close by. Each of the children have children so the house is always full of children, usually at least 7 to 12 kids at any given time. Matt is definitely having plenty of opportunity to learn how to be patient with lots of kids.

Jon is living with Nini and her 2 daughters and one son. Jon also has many relatives living in houses very close by. He has a young "cousin", Jeffrey (5 years old), who is being raised by Nini.

Photos: #2 Matt and Jon with Antonio (Matt's dad); #3 the guys with Leonel "la maquina"; #11 Jeffrey brought Jon a green coconut so that Jon could drink the coconut water (one of Jon's favorite things); #12 the lot on the right of the picture was overgrown with weeds, etc, Matt & Jon used their machetes and cut the weeds and cleaned up the lot; #13 they helped Habitat finish part of the Catholic church (laying cinder blocks); and #14 the beach that the guys have gone to occassionally called Playa Gringos (the Gringo's beach), but they say that they are the only gringos they have ever seen there.

All of the students have returned to Santo Domingo from their various service locations. They began arriving at our house around 12:30 pm and by 6:30, we had to "invite" them to leave. A few arrived around 5:00, but most were here much earlier.

There was a lot of catching up to do as was evidenced by the loud chatter that took place. They enjoyed trying to top each other's stories about what they did, where they worked, and who they lived with.

They have the next 2 days to spend with their families. On Tuesday, July 18, they all return to our house where they will take 2 written Spanish tests. After the tests, we leave for the final retreat. We will go to Playa Esmerelda for our finals days in Dominican Republic. On Thursday, July 20, they will return to the US. (The next posting will be late on July 20.)

Photos: #1 Laurina was 1st to arrive and didn't stay long due to activities with family - she is completing one of the evaluation forms that was required of all today; #3 many of the students left things in storage at our house while they were on service - today was the day for them to retrieve those belongings and begin to pack things up for returning home to the US; #7 it was a hot and sticky day in Santo Domingo, so we had Helados Bon ice cream/popsickles waiting for them. Many of them also enjoyed a fresh mango straight from our mango tree in the backyard. In photo #7, Lindsy is washing the remains of the messy, but delicious mango from her face.

The last few days have been filled with testing taking, relaxing on the beach, group sharing times, relaxing at the pool, and informal times to catch up with each other. Unlike in Goshen where many donÂ’t choose to get up much before noon, many have gotten up to see the sun rise over the sea. This meant they needed to be at the beach at least by 5:45 am.

The final retreat has been at the same location that the last several groups have been to - Playa Esmerelda. It is a rather small resort, as resorts go. It is a good place to relax and begin the transition from the service settings back to home.

Photos: #1 - 3 Gathering at Casa Goshen for the last time; #4 - 6 Testing (at Casa Goshen and at the Retreat); #7 the last trek to our friendly neighborhood Helados Bon store; #8 - 9 formal group time; #22 final group picture, without the men - they chose to watch TV rather than join us on the beach for the last group photo.