There is a lack of Palm Trees in Washington D.C.

Hello all,

I suppose that I should have written sooner, but I really did not have anything to write about other than the fact I have returned home safely. The return trip home totalled about 30 hours, and since then I have been simply relaxing by way of some novels by Ian Fleming. They are completely trashy, I know, but it sheds some light on why the modern character of James Bond is hilariously anachronistic. The last couple of weeks I passed in Morocco by making a trip to Marrakesh, which itself was a lot of fun, as well as some other places along the way. I go back to school next Tuesday, and I look forward to seeing many of you. In all I think the trip was fantastic, despite the illnesses and some setbacks, and I would not have any reservations about returning.

-Adrian

Ignore this man behind the curtain, this post is TOTALLY by Sarah

Last mass email, last update, coming from California this time. All I can say is reverse culture shock sucks (as most of you know), but I think this time around it’s better. Well, anyway, read on….

Hola a todos y todas,

It seems a little odd to me sending you a Dominican update from California instead of the Dominican Republic. On the other hand, not sending one last email to put some closure on these emails seems even stranger to me, so here we go.

My last week in the Dominican Republic I participated in the second house build of the organization I was working for. It was very similar to my first week down here: a group of Americans came down (including my own family) and, working together with the community of Las Charcas de Garabito, we built a lovely house for a young couple and their two children. After the house build, we spent the next few days touring the southwestern corner of the DR: we saw ancient cave carvings, hot springs, iguanas, the Dominican-Haitian border (no, this time I didn’t cross it), and beautiful white pebble beaches with Caribbean-blue water. Since the southwestern corner is not visited by many foreign tourists (yet—I predict that will change in a very short time), it was fun to see parts of the DR that many others don’t get to see. We spent our last full day in Santo Domingo walking around the Zona Colonial, where there are a lot of museums and historical landmarks, and caught the tail end of the merenge festival—a free concert in the heart of the Zona Colonial—and spectacular fireworks. On Tuesday I said the last of my goodbyes and left the country that has been my home for these past ten weeks.

Spending the last week with other Americans on the house build and traveling around the country was probably the best way for me to end the summer and start preparing me to come back to the states (although, as many of you already know, no amount of preparation will fully prepare you for returning to the states). But it also made me realize how much the people of Las Charcas were like a family to me while I was there. The night we all said goodbye to them, they surprised me with a plaque thanking me for the work I had done with them and Cambiando Vidas during this summer and they told me I had to come back soon to visit them—my Dominican family—again. As always, that is the hardest part about leaving—saying goodbye to the people you have met along the way, who have taken you in to their hearts and homes, and who have become part of your extended family. I called my boss the day after I came home and he told me that everyone in Las Charcas was asking for me and wanting to know when I was coming back. I’ve already had two phone calls from friends there asking me the same question. I suppose it’s nice that I can maintain contact with my friends there through email and phone calls, but at the same time I am constantly reminded of what I left there and that I need to go back soon.

And now I will sign off and get back to readjustment to life back here. That includes going through the hundreds of pictures I took, sending them back to Dominican friends, and hopefully putting them up online soon (I’ll send out the link). And, once again, if you’re interested in checking out who I was working for this summer, and seeing pictures of what I’ve been doing with the organization, check out www.cambiandovidas.info.

Amor y paz, como siempre.

Always,

Sarah