Sorry for the delayed post, but i have moved and it's taking a while to get re-settled in. All the education sector people are now living in El Seibo, a town in the eastern part of the country. I once again have a little old dona who is super sweet. this one, dona agueda, is much quieter though, which is...very different. i am definitely still getting accustomed to not having 800 people running in and out of my house all yelling for each other all day. Now it's just me, my dona, and our little dog bandito! he is only 8 months old and is pretty cute, despite his unfortunate handicap of being a small dog. he is always trying to hump my leg though. gotta put an end to that particular habit!
So I'm sure you are all wondering about the title of my post. yes indeed, i saw my first tarantula! it was pretty exciting and i forgot to be nervous. we hadn't learned yet about their mad jumping skills, so i was more intrigued than nervous. besides their bites hurt like a mother but they don't kill you or anything. anyway, i had my volunteer visit last weekend up in the northern part of the country, in the Cibao region (which coincidently is GORGEOUS). It was a great visit. i was there for 4 days and got to see my volunteer's youth group, helped her prepare for a charla on AIDS awareness and women's health, and basically just got to see all the things she is working on. it was really nice to get advice from someone in the field, as opposed to just hearing stories and brief meetings with volunteers at the training center. it was a big reality check, but ultimately just got me more excited about starting my service. so anyway about the tarantula: so my volunteer's host mother is the mayor's sister. and the mayor's daughter had her 10th birthday party while i was there (it was awesome by the way, if i could eat that cake for the rest of my life i would die fat and happy). So we stayed at the party until it was after dark and when we were walking home we were looking at the stars. they were stunning but we wanted to get out of town a bit because some lights were distracting us. There was another volunteer visiting so the three of us walked around the lake outside of town to look at the stars and we even saw some shooting stars which is always fun. I am aware this is a really long lead up to the tarantula by the way, but deal with it. So we brought flashlights with us because obviously it was very dark. i was scanning the ground and saw something move quickly on the side of the lighted area and managed to catch it in my beam. like cops in a helicopter or something haha. anyway it was a tarantula! i have pictures i will put up as soon as i can, i will spare you all the details but suffice it to say it is difficult getting internet here, and much moreso to get it on my heavy laptop.
So long story short, i had a wonderful, exciting volunteer visit and have moved out of Santo Domingo. two big events in about a week's time. here's the zinger though: after i got back from my volunteer visit i got crazy sick. once again i will spare the deets and just say it was gastritis. you do the math. so moving and packing with all that going on was not fun. luckily i am feeling better now. and super luckily it wasn't appendicitis which the doctors were worried about because i was in so much pain and my coloring. apparently i'm just a wuss. who knew?
So I'm sure you are all wondering about the title of my post. yes indeed, i saw my first tarantula! it was pretty exciting and i forgot to be nervous. we hadn't learned yet about their mad jumping skills, so i was more intrigued than nervous. besides their bites hurt like a mother but they don't kill you or anything. anyway, i had my volunteer visit last weekend up in the northern part of the country, in the Cibao region (which coincidently is GORGEOUS). It was a great visit. i was there for 4 days and got to see my volunteer's youth group, helped her prepare for a charla on AIDS awareness and women's health, and basically just got to see all the things she is working on. it was really nice to get advice from someone in the field, as opposed to just hearing stories and brief meetings with volunteers at the training center. it was a big reality check, but ultimately just got me more excited about starting my service. so anyway about the tarantula: so my volunteer's host mother is the mayor's sister. and the mayor's daughter had her 10th birthday party while i was there (it was awesome by the way, if i could eat that cake for the rest of my life i would die fat and happy). So we stayed at the party until it was after dark and when we were walking home we were looking at the stars. they were stunning but we wanted to get out of town a bit because some lights were distracting us. There was another volunteer visiting so the three of us walked around the lake outside of town to look at the stars and we even saw some shooting stars which is always fun. I am aware this is a really long lead up to the tarantula by the way, but deal with it. So we brought flashlights with us because obviously it was very dark. i was scanning the ground and saw something move quickly on the side of the lighted area and managed to catch it in my beam. like cops in a helicopter or something haha. anyway it was a tarantula! i have pictures i will put up as soon as i can, i will spare you all the details but suffice it to say it is difficult getting internet here, and much moreso to get it on my heavy laptop.
So long story short, i had a wonderful, exciting volunteer visit and have moved out of Santo Domingo. two big events in about a week's time. here's the zinger though: after i got back from my volunteer visit i got crazy sick. once again i will spare the deets and just say it was gastritis. you do the math. so moving and packing with all that going on was not fun. luckily i am feeling better now. and super luckily it wasn't appendicitis which the doctors were worried about because i was in so much pain and my coloring. apparently i'm just a wuss. who knew?
Good stories Ginny thanks for a terrific post. And VERY happy to hear you DON'T have appendisitis and you were NOT bitten by the tarantula. Sounds like never a dull moment and that you are successfully adapting which each new twist. I would have loved to see the stars that night. What extraordinary experiences. I cannot wait to come see you. Love you sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteGinny, so sorry you were sick. What a total drag. Hope your new digs are homey and comfortable. Can't wait to hear more about your adventures and your service. Love that you could help prepare for such a cool information session with your volunteer. You are learning so much!
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
Aunt Lisa