It has now been 6 months since my last post. During this time, I spent 4 months in the States to have my baby girl, Mary. The last two months I have been settling back in to life in the DR, every week with the intention of starting up this blog again. This post will be a bit of a catch up of some events over this time period. Also, I feel it is a bit of a lofty goal to post a new picture every day, but I will be posting pictures frequently. Please feel free to contact me if there are any specific people or things here in the villages that you would like to see. |
| Maximo is a university student with COPA. Patrick visited their home back in December just to spend some time and get to know them. As you can see, their structure is very basic, with sheets for partitions, but they have a formal dinning set for eight. We have seen this in many homes both in Bombita and La Hoya. |
 |
| This is Maximo's little brother, who entertained Patrick all day by beating his pant off at dominoes. Notice the clothes hangers on his ears which mark the score! |
 |
| Patrick and Katie and some friends went to La Vega to celebrate Carnival . They met a number of INTERESTING characters while there, as you can see below. |
 |
| In La Hoya, my group of cooking girls threw me a surprise baby shower upon my return. They were so sweet and planned it all on their own. They planned a few games, sang a baby shower song, and made pizza! They also each brought a small gift and a prayer for Mary. |
 |
| About 45 minutes drive from La Hoya is a private area that houses a number of small waterfalls and pools. It is called Casa Miriam, named for the private residence. You can pay 100 pesos a person to go in and stay as long as you like, or if you want to reserve it for a group you pay 6000 pesos for the privacy. |
 |
| On April 7th Marcelo, the Bombita librarian, married Soledad. |
 |
| This past weekend we went to a small hotel called Casa Bonita for my birthday. I had received a gift card that covered a massage and was thrilled to see this blissful spot by the river, smelling of lavender and other wonderful smells! |
The view from Casa Bonita in the morning is spectacular!
 |
| On a hike beyond Casa Bonita we spotted a few horses cuddling in the jungle. |
 |
| Mary gets a lot of hiccups, and her nanny, along with all the other women in the village, suggest that I put a piece of white string (it HAS to be white) wet with my spit on her forehead. Then I am supposed to wet my finger with my saliva and make a cross over her diaphragm. Caco, Mary's nanny, does this but it doesn't seem to help much... |
