So it's been interesting experiencing life as a minority. When we travel as a group, nineteen gringos (white people) attract a little bit of attention, to say the least. We went to Santo Domingo this past weekend, which is the capital of the Dominican Republic. It was very fun and also educational (I AM learning things, Dad! Just a little :) We explored the city by foot, checking out the first Cathedral of the Americas, the first courthouse of the Americas, the first jail of the Americas...you get the idea. Basically, everything started in the DR!! We also saw the graves of the three founding fathers and one of Columbus's houses. We are talking a lot about the founding of Hispaniola (which is present day Haiti and the DR) in our social justice class, so it was neat to see where everything actually began. There is also a lighthouse in Santo Domingo to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the "discovery" of the Americas, but we didn't go there because rumor has it that it is CURSED! I looked at it from a distance and a bird pooped on my foot later in the day...I am a firm believer! In the evening, we attended a perfomance in an open plaza with very lively Dominican music, and of course spent some time at the beach the next day. All in all, a very fun weekend!!
As for a little bit of ILAC news, we had a helicopter land in our backyard today!! I believe it was doing a transport of medical supplies for Haiti. So that was cool. Also, there is a team of doctors here this week from St. Louis!! yeah!!!
Much more is happening here, but I might not get a chance to write about it just yet. We leave for our first campo immersion on Saturday. I'm excited!! No computer for ten days :) In the meantime, classes and service are keeping me extremely busy. And not to mention Spanish...
Con amor,
Katie
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con amor means "with love"
ReplyDeleteoh yeah 2nd semester of Spanish :)
What's involved in a campo immersion? I was going to ask about Haiti and what effect it was having over the border....the heli sounds exciting....is a refugee influx anticipated in your neck of the woods? What a time to be in the DR!!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I once had a bird poop on my head at a Renaissance Festival and some weirdo dressed as a woodland fairy tried to comfort me by telling me it was good luck....I'm with you on this one....LOL -Steph
Hi Katie, We are trying again to write to you. We tried last week and I could not get it to work. The kids all had messages to send that they miss you and hope that you had a great Valentine's Day. It sounds like you are doing well. We enjoyed the pictures and will continue checking on you. BTW, a secret- use the pure vanilla on your pressure points as a mosquito repellant. Take Care- Mrs Greunke
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