The Adventures of Margaret and Kirsten

Almost directly after my mom and Peggy left, Margaret and Kirsten came to visit me. Hours before they were supposed to arrive, I got a message from Kirsten, saying her flight was delayed and she would probably not make the connection flight to the DR. Now the airport is in the capital, but it is not really close to anything and it a fairly far and expensive taxi ride away from the hotels and restaurants. So at the last minute I decided Margaret would probably not want to just be waiting around in a hotel room in the dirty, stinky capital while she was in the DR she would probably want to see part of what this wonderful country had to offer. So, I made a split second decision and decided that I would take her to Juan Dolio, which is a beach town fairly close to the airport. We would stay the night and if Kirsten did not come in on a flight until the next day, which was entirely possible, at least we would be able to experience a carribean beach for a few hours, not too shabby. Luckily, Kirsten was able to get flown to New York and flight out of their for a night flight. So, as Margaret and I were waiting comfortably in an Indian themed, Dominican hostel in a beach down, sitting on a sequenced embroidered pillow, we sent a very kind taxi driver to go pick up Kirsten (la ultima rubia) at the airport and bring her back to us. Finally when we were all safe and sound on Dominican soil, we spent some time at the beach, lathered in sun screen of course, and ate a wonderful Columbian meal before we caught a gua-gua to the capital that afternoon. Our gua-gua ride was less than eventful, not too crowded and Margaret and Kirsten had packed very efficiently I am so proud to say.

Once arriving in the capital we walked around the colonial zone and went out to eat. We enjoyed air conditioning and running water before I brought my friends to my community. On the way to my community we were running a little behind and so took the less fancy gua-gua to San Juan which Margaret and Kirsten were troupers about, squished as tight as can be in a hot, small bus. We finally arrived in Santo Domingo. The capital was a little bit hectic. While we were there the law had just changed regarding people of Haitian descent. As a consequence, there were a much larger number of gaurds and police roaming the streets of Santo Domingo with large trucks to cart people off in. We saw someone get picked up on a motorcycle, squished in between two policemen, a total of 3 people on a motorcycle, none with helmets of course to arrest someone for not having papers and having darker skin with more African bone structure.

Still, the city was not too crazy to see the first church in the Americas, Christopher Columbus’s brother’s house, eat some amazing tapas, take a peak at the ocean, and visit a chocolate museum.

Following the capital, we then went to my site for a few days. At my site, we got to walk around Tierra Prieta, to Los Portugueses, hang out in my house, watch movies, and help out with the Escojo Mi Vida graduation. We also got to tour around San Juan and while they were on their trip I think we tried 4 different empanada places! We also had some down time with reading, watching movies, and cooking. They got to meet all of my youth and a lot of the women. They helped me out immensely with the graduation and were just all around an amazing comfort to have at my site! As with my mother and peggy my whole community kept saying that they should stay for longer and I couldn’t have agreed more! I really just wanted to have them stay in my community for months, but we had even more adventures ahead of us. So, following the graduation, we hopped on a gua-gua and headed off to visit some of my volunteer friends in the bateyes of the dirty south. I was able to see my friend, Sophie’s site for the first time, her new lincon log house, and kitty cat. We then hopped on another bus to head off to a beautiful beach in the south, San Rafiel. We put our things down at the house overlooking a small inlet and beautiful beach. It almost felt like we were in middle school again, having a sleepover, eating snacks, and just hanging out, talking til the wee hours of the morning in this quiet, beautiful house. We stayed two days at San Rafi. We were trying to go surfing, but the waves were too big. After Kirsten and I almost got stuck in the ocean, it was decided surfing was probably out of the question in these conditions. Instead we had some beachside drinks (Margaret finally got her beach side drink in a coconut) and we absorbed some sun and just hung out. The second full day we were there we went on an eco tour with the surf guide. It was beautiful. He took us into the moutains so lush with greenery and so many plants and fruits I had only heard of, or perhaps dreamt of. We were able to try slightly sour chocolate plant, we ate coconuts straight from the trees, had mangos, saw bread fruit, and much much more. We also swung from vines, crossed over rivers and scaled down ravines. It was awesome and I hope some day I get to do it again.

Once our ecotour was over and we were thoroughly soaked and caked in mud, we rinsed off quickly and jumped onto another gua-gua headed on our way to Santo Domingo once again to finish up the trip. We hung out at the hotel as Kirsten left. Margaret then had about an extra 12 hours with me in the country. When finally she too had to leave, I realized how it had all flown by so quickly. I had had such a blast with my friends. It was so good to see them. It is incredible that no matter how much time passes we can always just pick up so easily where we left off. I am so lucky to have friends like Kirsten and Margaret and feel so incredibly special that they took the time to come visit me. I can’t wait til the next time I see them, hopefully sooner rather than later!