Adios

Ten weeks have passed and it is time to pack again. We have cleaned out most of the condo and the fridge has been defrosted. The door is open and we are enjoying the night air. The city is preoccupied with Holy Week celebration, school vacation and partying. We have been totally awed by the show the sea has been putting on. Although the weather is sunny and hot, the waves have been pounding in and slamming into the shorelines, washing away the beautiful sand, as a result of a storm at sea. Our favourite beach at Sosua by the Sea is a rocky shore now. The sand will be back but it may take a few months. Speaking to the manager of the hotel, he mentioned he had never seen the sea that wild with waves that large.

We have been able to bring closure to our time here and are excited about heading north again. We'll say our final goodbyes in the morning when a few friends from church are coming over at 8:00 am (can they really do it?) and Garcia picks us up by 8:30 to take us to the airport. Dios les bendiga.

Gratitude

Today is a special day because the church we have been working with in Los Charramicos received word today that after a two year process their official church registration has been processed. They are now in a position to legally own property. It is exciting because we together with them have been looking at some potential properties to purchase so they can build a church rather than continuing to rent premises. Last week Larry and the pastor (Victor) toodled out past the edge of town on this outrageously tiny bike that was donated to the pastor to look over a piece of land. It's a complicated process here to research property for sale and it could be a while. Yes, they made it back safely and the pastor continues to putter along. The pastor and his wife have 6 kids and this is their only transportation, other than the public "transit". Again, a lesson in gratitude to be learned from them as Victor comes in beaming thanking God for His amazing blessings!

Around Town

Sosua is interesting with its European and Latin influences. The northern coast has a mixture of cultures and one surprising evidence is this German bakery within walking distance in town. Inside is an amazing assortment of breads, pastries and sausage/cheese rolls and the aroma of coffee. We have visited this shop several times (Sorry Larry, no gluten free baking here) and though the products look & smell delicious, have found them to be a little disappointing for flavour and texture. Guess there's nothing quite like Tim Horton's. Guess I was expecting the brown flecks on my sweet roll to be cinnamon and it tasted more like ground poppyseed!

There is a Jewish Museum and synagogue in town which is still on our list of places to visit. Sosua welcomed the Jewish people as they were fleeing Germany and you see German names on businesses on shops. There are many German and Dutch tourists that frequent the area, and surprisingly, many Italian and French speaking tourists from Canada. Many times local vendors will approach us in French and we can honestly respond with "No entiendo".

The country has a colourful history with having been conquered and claimed by different countries. There is a political campaign happening for a presidential election in May/08 but the sense is the current president will likely remain in power. We have seen evidence of the campaign trail with the nasty potholes in the road to Arroyo Seco being worked on, after years of neglect. Good things.

Day to Day

Life in the D.R. has taken on a routine, after the novelty and busyness of the first few weeks. We still so appreciate the warmth and brightness of the climate as well as the friends we have made in this area. The everday housekeeping has more challenges without a few of the conveniences of home, but mostly we are still so blessed with everything needed and more. It is good for us to live in a setting where the majority of people we interact with have little more than the basics day to day and are grateful for what they have. So many things we take for granted at home such as access to medical care, having the resources for vision and dental care, at least one vehicle, a roof that does not leak when it rains, parents caring for their own children, even electricity.
We realize how quickly one becomes accustomed to seeing need all around, as Mark mentioned when he was out "I'm surprised you have anything left for yourselves at all, with all this need". But then, certain circumstances tug at your heart, like when a group of 5 or 6 young Haitian shoeshine boys in the street took a break mid afternoon to play marbles in the shade on the sidewalk near our condo. Even little boys walk around long hours trying to find shoes that may need touching up, and seeing mostly tourists in sandals! We were on our way to the Supermarket and Larry insisted on picking up a special package of cookies for them to give them on our return. (One fellow stopped us at our gate the next day to give me a single pretty flower not wanting payment, just a smile. Probably was picked off the neighbour's shrubs).

This morning we were able to make connections to visit a friend from church by hopping on a motor bike taxi(motor concho). Larry, being the third person on, had to hold onto me as we bumped along the highway and had to make several stops for traffic. I saw later he was seated on a metal bar behind the padded seat. It was a worthwhile excursion as our friend needed to talk about her situation and we were able to see where she lives. Again, typically, she had an open door policy and she had her own 3 children there, was babysitting her little toddler nephew, and then we lost count of the number of neighbourhood kids that wandered in & out. Unfortunately, we had not aniticpated this outing when we left home and were not prepared with goodies for the kids.

This afternoon we will need to walk to the Supermarket to pick up a few items for supper, maybe for some meat to eat with our rice. As we do not have a vehicle, we walk most places and the days we took the pedometer we logged about 5 miles a day. This means I have shed about 5 to 7 seven pounds in our 2 months here and it feels good. Even as we appreciate what is a healthy lifestyle, we realize so many here do not have the options for healthy nutritional choices, so therein lies the constant tension of gratitude vs we can never share too much.

Birthday

My birthday was celebrated on the beach this year with Larry, Mark and Bert and Elma. It was a lovely sunny day and the water was very calm. It was one of those days when you have to swim frequently to keep cool. It was fun introducing Mark as well as Bert & Elma to the Sosua Public Beach, with all the vendors trying to sell their goods. I chose to take a picture of this Haitian lady and her little girl who were walking by with their fruit and ended up buying a melon for at least triple its store value. These women always impress me with their neck strength, great posture and balance. Beautiful.

Thanks for sharing the day making it special. Also thanks to all who sent birthday wishes by email. It was greatly appreciated, especially feeling so far away from loved ones.

Proposal

Further to the post about the dancers, there was an exciting event for the church group when Rafael, boyfriend to the pastor's daughter Llamaly, surprised her with a proposal in front of the congregation. He had arranged to have some rap music played over the sound system while he slipped a ring on her hand. She seemed overwhelmed but then she's only 16. Apparently he wants to finish his education before they get married 2 to 3 years from now. It was a touching moment.