Monday, January 25, 2010

A birthday to remember.....




Well, we are nearing the end of our journey here and have finished all but one of the missions that we came here to do and sent the items we had left to Haiti. We've attached a few pictures of the poor community that we returned to as promised since we didn't have quite enough items the first time.



Many of the kids were wearing the clothes we had left them from days earlier. They seemed very happy and were playing when we arrived. Here is a picture of Jessica's house ( the Haitian woman who invited us into her community and another pic of the kids we met there.


I (Marsia) had my birthday on January 20th. It was different celebrating it without my family and friends but I had my Dominican family and friends here for me. Jill baked me a cake (soon to be realized it wasn't just for me) and made delicious taquitos with a little mexican rice. It was a neighbor's birthday as well so his friends and family joined the festivities and they made hamburgers to feed all the extra unexpected guests.

Early in the evening, while Jill was slaving away once again in the kitchen getting everything ready for me, I went to my little house upstairs to retrieve a few items and walked in on a man with a knife robbing us. He just had me sit on the bed silent until he got what he needed then left. Fortunately, he was only after money and things of value. I was shocked and upset for most of the evening so that put a damper on the party. All the neighbors were very supportive in trying to find him that evening. Of course, we didn't have any luck finding him and we have moved back into the main house.

We've decided to take a positive attitude and not become victims of the incident. We are going to try and focus on all the wonderful people we've met here and amazing experiences we've had instead of letting this end our trip. It was awful, will never be forgotten, but we are safe! We decided a trip of people watching at Boca Chica might be the best medicine for the moment. So we've planned a little side trip there on Wednesday. :)



One really good outing we had was a baseball game at el Estadio Quisqueya. Our friend Ramon is the only Dominican umpire who has gone through the Professional Umpire's Academy in the USA. Here is Ramon with the crew working the game we saw. Ramon was off that night, but went to the game with us anyway. Check out the pictures of the Brugal Girls, the stadium and the umpires.... all very interesting.



We'll post again after Boca Chica.... until then.... BE SAFE!!!
Word of the day: ¿Oite? Which should be Oiste, but Dominicans all eat their "s's".... (when there is nothing else to eat). Oite means.... did you hear? They use is about as often as a teenager uses "like".

2 comments:

  1. Hey there! I've been thinking about you guys and continue to be relieved you are safe and only material items were jeopardized.
    You're pic's are awesome! I need to get an outfit like the Brugal ladies! I think it will look especially cute with my pregnant belly and expanding hips! :) If you see one lying around, don't be afraid to snatch it for me!

    I'm looking forward to seeing you guys when you return. Until then, be safe and enjoy the final week and a 1/2 of your trip. Soak up the sun, because it's going to be a few more months before you'll see it here!! Love you~Katie

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