Jarabacoa

Yesterday all sixteen interns and I arrived safely in the Dominican Republic (D.R.)! For many of us this is our first time in the D.R. so it is very exciting for us. However, my first impression of the country was not so exciting. My first impression: man, is it humid! Just moments after stepping off the plane in Santiago all I could focus on was feeling. Thick, hot air engulfed me and there was nothing I could do to escape it. It was 7:30 at night and it was still nice enough to be comfortable in just a bathing suit. I had capris and a t-shirt and I was roasting. Thankfully we soon headed to las cordilleras centrals (central mountains) where the temperature is a little cooler. For the next few days we will all be staying in Jarabacoa a mountain town in the western middle of the country. It's not to far from Haiti in distance but to drive from there to Haiti takes awhile. Today we had orientation stuff including a scavenger hunt where we split into teams of four and went to town to practice our Spanish and get familiar with our surroundings and how much things cost,ect. We also played the "Never Have I Ever" game. Everyone has done some pretty radical things, especially when it comes to eating. Haha. We ate Columbian food today and it was delicious so I guess that's why that topic was so popular. We'll eat Dominican food tonight. Though there are sixteen interns we will be serving at different sites around the island. On Thursday we will go to our destination sites for the summer. I will be going with my team of four to Caraballo, a town on the northern coast. Tomorrow we have teacher training :)

fun fact: Dominicans always clap for the pilot when he lands in the Dominican Republic, or at least at the airport we flew into (maybe it's hard to land here?).
*I learned this from a sweet, twenty year old Dominican college student named Laura Alvarez. She sat in the seat in front of me on the airplane from Miami to the D.R. She's related to Julia Alavarez (prolific Dominican writer), which I think is pretty cool. Another fun fact, I guess.

PRAYER
Please continue to pray for my team as we are in a time of transition. Pray that we are able to adjust quickly to Dominican culture and that we maintain a positive attitude. I've had a few frustrations such as not being able to use my camera and it's only the first full day I'm here. Please pray that I will be able to figure out how to best cope with this situation and to trust that it is in God's hands. He will provide what is necessary for me. Another frustration I had was that I couldn't get my deet spray to work. Thankfully I borrowed some from one of my roommates. so far....no bites :) I'm staying in an apartment with my team from Wheaton and two other girls for the next few nights. It's actually a pretty nice place. I'll hopefully upload pictures to the blog soon so you can get a better and quicker idea of what life is like here. I'm excited to share with you Dominican culture.

Dios te bendiga (God bless you!)