Isn't she the cutest baby in the world??? I am so excited to meet her, and for that reason December can't come fast enough! However, I don't want to think about leaving the DR just yet...
Anyway, this past weekend I went to the Jardín de los Niños, or the Garden of the Children. The story behind it is this: This French Canadian woman visited the Dominican Republic in the late 70s/early 80s, and loved it so much that she moved here for good. Soon after she was in the DR, a lady asked her to watch her daughter for the weekend while she went to find work. Basically, the lady never came back, and Paulina adopted the girl. She has since adopted about 20 children, and they live up in the mountains in this awesome area that can only be described as Swiss Family Robinson-like. It has got to be an amazing place to grow up. There are trees everywhere, they raise chickens and pigs, and there is a river at the edge of the property. There is also a schoolhouse there, where Paulina has a free school for both her children and the other children that live near. Basically, it was how I always imagined Neverland to be. It has got to be an amazing place to grow up.
We arrived on Friday afternoon, and met the kids and went to the river. These kids love to play baseball, and they play with a stick as a baseball bat and a tennis ball as a baseball. We broke up into teams and started playing with them, and I would just like to say that I scored several runs over the course of the weekend. Impressive, considering the last time I played baseball was back in my Pathfinder days. We also played dominoes and cards with them later that night, and ate delicious food. I know that I normally steer clear of any food containing baked fruit, but Paulina made this apple strudel-like thing (that was mostly bread and little apple, which was ok by me!) and it was delicious! The next day, we started work. Some people went up a mountain to pick avocados and oranges, some people painted a mural in one of the classrooms, and some people painted the bathroom and the bars on the windows of the school. I was one of the lucky ones who painted the bathroom and the bars, and, surprise surprise, got paint all over me. We ate a delicious lunch, and then played with the kids some more. I jumped rope, played Frisbee, and played volleyball, and then we all went swimming in the river. The river has these rocks that the kids like to jump off of, not very high, only about five feet or so, and I joined them in jumping off the rocks! And then I got into a water fight with one of the boys that live there. Since I am taller and bigger than him, I had a bit of an advantage. My favorite move was when he would grab me around my waist, so I would just fall on top of him, taking him down. That night, we made a GIANT bonfire, and ate a dinner consisting of only fried foods: fried eggplant, fried plantains (my new obsession), and fried cheese (my newest and unhealthiest obsession). It was DELICIOUS!! We had coconuts and sugar cane for dessert, yum. And then it started to rain. I have never before stood under an umbrella in front of a fire, so I can check that one off my list!
The next morning, after a lovely breakfast of coffee and bread with some sort of jelly, I helped make pizza. I kneaded the dough, spread it out in a pizza shape, and put sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on it. Basically, my sweat and blood went into that pizza. And I don't know how Paulina made the dough, but it was like eating a pizza on a biscuit. It was amazing. Also, some sort of animal fat was used to grease the pan (I have stopped asking questions and just eating) and it made all the difference. Then we, unfortunately, had to leave. Even though we were only there for a couple of days, it was so sad leaving! They are the sweetest kids ever, and I had a great time! Plus I got to know people in the CIEE group better.Yesterday, I went on a field trip with my spanish class to the Museo Folklórico, or the Folklore Museum. It was really awesome. It is basically a museum about Santiago and the Cibao, the region of the Dominican Republic Santiago is located in. There was information about the Tainos, or the native people who originally lived in the DR, as well as these crazy giant masks that are used during Carnaval. Carnaval is basically like Marti Gras. In Santiago, people wear these pig masks, which are used to represent devils, and just run around acting crazy. And unlike Marti Gras, Carnaval lasts pretty much the entire month of February. I'm a little bummed to be missing out on the amazingness that is Carnaval, but alas, at some point I need to get back to my math-fueled life.
Now on to the tarantula. I got back home on Sunday, and there was a tarantula in my closet. A legit tarantula. A live one. At first I thought it was dead. It was in the corner of my closet, and I may not have noticed it before, so I decided to give it a night. I woke up Monday morning, and it had moved to the other side of my closet. Unfortunately, my mom was at her mom's house, and there was no way I was going to deal with the tarantula on my own. So I come home at lunch, and the tarantula has moved. Now it is in my shoe. I told my mom, and she showed up with a mop. She hit it with the mop, and it ran across the room quickly, so of course I screamed and jumped on my bed (quite a feat when you have a mosquito net over your bed). My mom laughed, and chased it outside, and then the tarantula crawled up the handle. So my mom decided to kill the tarantula. It is dead, I feel safe, and my windows are shut. I am not opening them again. Even though my room is like a sauna with the windows open...
Anyway, that's all for now! This weekend I am going to the Mirabel sisters museum, and possibly to another beach. Keep you posted!
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