Entrenamiento: Phase 1

Hola a todos!!! It's been a while since we arrived Sept. 7th (my apologies for not writing sooner) and they've kept us pretty busy, but now I have a moment to write and let you know how the weeks in Santo Domingo have been. First of all, it's HOT in this country. And you know how redheads fare when exposed to direct sunlight all day and intense heat all day AND night. I think I might actually be adjusting to the climate though, albeit slowly. For the first week I had a terrible time staying awake all day because of the heat, and found myself struggling to not fall asleep after all meals, breakfast included. However, this past week I only took about 4 naps, so I consider that an improvement.
The fact that the people here are so welcoming and friendly makes the adjustment easier, and of course the country is absolutely gorgeous. We haven't gotten out of the capital much yet, but every once in a while I catch a glimpse of the green mountains towering in the distance or the aquamarine sea, and I can't believe how lucky I am to be here.
The poverty here in the capital is very apparent, but at the same time, my accomodations with my host family are much nicer than I had expected. We have running water most of the time, and they have a generator so when there are blackouts (which occur about 3 times per day) the lights still work. Conveniently, I live right around the corner from the Peace Corps training center on the outskirts of the city, and the other 2 volunteers that live accross the street from me are great. My family here consists of a couple, their 4-year-old daughter, and the grandmother. It's actually really nice to have a little kid in the house; I've found that playing with and talking to kids can be the best way to learn a new language or--in my case--improve my Spanish and work on my accent. Plus there's a colmado (small store, like a bodega) across the street, and the neighbors sit outside, day and night, talking and talking and talking. And playing dominos. Our neighbor, "El Flaco" (which literally means 'The Skinny') taught the Americanos in the barrio how to play last week, and now we sit out there and play with him every couple of days. Along with baseball and Merengue, Dominos is one of their national pastimes--so, for the sake of 'cultural immersion,' it's extremely important that I learn to play and practice a lot. And it would be great to beat Flaco at his own game!
Training has been going well so far, but I'm anxious to get out to where I'll be living and get to work. This weekend we're all going out to visit volunteers scattered across the country, which should be really interesting. The girl I'm visiting is working with a coffee org. and a womens group in the border town of Pedernales, and has liked working in this country so much for the past two years that she'll be staying an extra year. She should be a great resource, and even though we can't cross over into Haiti, it should be really interesting to see what life on the "frontera" is like. More to come!
Love,
Melissa

The siblings, pre-departure

Nate, Kimberly and I during our last visit to Spokane, at the much anticipated (and much enjoyed) Schreiner wedding. Yee-haw!

Two days to go!

After a fabulous CSM send-off, an official apartment move, and a wonderful (yet far too brief) road trip to Dallas via South Carolina, I'm back in Boston--for now. I leave bright and early Tuesday morning for Miami, where I'll meet all the other PC trainees and spend two nights before flying out to the Dominican Republic. The excitement about what's to come combined with the sadness about saying goodbye is actually keeping me up at night, but I think I can safely say the excitement is winning out. I've been so fortunate to have such supportive friends and family thus far in the process, but still, I can't believe my time in Boston is coming to a close so suddenly. Don't worry though, I did get rid of the aforementioned bed (as well as the green couch and rickety dresser, right), so I'm pretty sure everything will work out just fine. Thanks for all the help and encouragement!

And it begins...

July 17th, 2006. My roommate calls to let me know the long-awaited Peace Corps invitation has finally arrived at my Somerville Apartment. I rush through my day at the Monitor, knowing that the plan for the next two years of my life is silently awaiting me in a sealed FedEx envelope at home. 5:30 comes and, trudging through the sticky mugginess of a New England heat wave, I walk--slowly, since in such heat it's impossible to hurry--and mentally brace myself for any possible invitation. When I open the front door my roommate Melanie bounds over to me with the envelope, practically as anxious as I am to see what it says, and we go situate ourselves in the living room. I look at Melanie, looking at me, and then I look down at the envelope and slice it open. As the packet unfolds, the pink-highlighted words jump out at me:

Assignment: The Dominican Republic.
Departure date: September 5th.
Title: Community Economic Advisor

I gasp, my mouth huge and smiling, my eyes wide in shock. It's absolutely perfect! A beautiful, Spanish-speaking country; a departure date that, though soon, coincides perfectly with the end of my lease; and the exact assignment I had been hoping for: community economic development! What I really couldn't believe, however, wasn't written on the paper in my hands: the fact that my sister and brother-in-law, Kimberly and Nate Cole (who had learned months beforehand of their own Peace Corps assignments) were going to be going to the exact same country at the exact same time. Now tell me, what are the chances of that? What a coincidence! So now I just need to pull my life in Boston together in time to be ready to go in a mere 6 weeks... Should be easy enough, right? Anybody need a bed?