Life!

As I lay on my floor listening to Danny Cox (Thank You Mom and Dad!) in my skirt, tank top, and a scarf around my neck (weird combo I know), I have developed writers block. For the first time I do not have much to say to my faithful readers! I do not have any new pictures to display, no new stories really!



It was just your typical week after a Holiday. Monday was a Holiday because the new political cabinet was Swore in, so a Holiday was given so Dominicans could attend the function. I did not attend the event but heard about it after. There were numerous reasons why I did not attend and a few reason why I should attend but at the end of the day the reason why I did not attend outweighed the reason why I should go! Because of Monday being a Holiday, school did not start until Wednesday, so I did not see my students this week but did makes LOTS of copies and lesson plans for them for the upcoming week! (Thank You ChuChu Family!)!



Wednesday I did start a new program. Once a week I am working with four women doing therapy with them. It will be focused on gaining self-esteem, behavioral change and thought process, re-uniting with family and friends, healthy relationships, etc. I am very excited! I have met with the women twice and they just as excited as I am about the process. I am doing group with them and then meet with each woman individual every other week. So far so good! I LOVE to work with children and tutoring but it is great to be able to apply what I learned for four years at university!



(If you look closely the rock was engraved 'Mitchel'- Sometimes in the DA that is what people call me or how they spell my name. The rock was at the top of Boiling Lake)

Also, at Month End myself and another volleyball player are planning a Beach Volleyball Tournament! It will have a men and women league and we will be playing twos! I am excited, it is my first volleyball tourney I have planned! It is going well but it is approaching quickly and we need to get moving! Monster Energy Drink will be our main sponsor a long with Dominican Beverage and Brewery and I am hoping for one or two of the cell phone providers as well! I will be playing with the other Peace Corps Volunteer and naturally we plan on winning! :o)



One last thing! Every since my friend left I have between a little motivated to cook! It quick impressive for this girl to cook and enjoy it! I LOVE to back but to cook is another story! I think it has a lot to do with I do not like to eat a lone and I enjoy to feed people. To me, making a good meal and not sharing it is a waste! I am trying to get over it and I have made homemade hummus, crunchy chicken, and I had a little splurge and bought some asparagus (very expensive!) and made some really good chicken, asparagus, alfrado sauce (also a splurge) pasta! Yummy!

For a girl that thought she had writer block sure had a lot to say!!

Until Next Time…

2010

I cannot believe it is already 2010! For me that is crazy to think! I have almost been living on Dominica for ONE YEAR! It as almost been ONE YEAR since I have hugged my mother, held my nephew, laughed with my Brother in-law, been shopping with my bestest, and hung out my sister! On January 2, 2010, it will be 11 months since I have first placed my feet on the beautiful soil of Dominica!

New Years Eve was a very calm and content day for me! I had a PCV from Grenada staying with me from December 26, 2009 to January 3, 2010. Myself, Alicia (A PCV in DA), and Alyssa (PCV from Grenada), spent the day on the beach, the weather was not the greatest, it was a little raining and what not, but we made it work! Then we all came back to my house to make dinner, hang out, and bring in 2010! We made an amazing Eggplant Lasagna, Sautéed fresh veggies from the Shoppe owner’s farm, and some tostadas (Fried Plantain (Part of the Banana Family) with a Ketchup, Mayo, and garlic sauce)! VERY Good!!

Since we are one hour behind New York, we watched celebrated News Year Day twice! Once for Dominica time and then again for New York time! Again, like all Holidays, it was bittersweet! I was grateful to be with Alicia and not by myself, but every year I spent it with my Bestest Beth and then this year it was just a phone call/text!

Every Step is ONE Step Closer!

‘Every Step is ONE Step Closer!’ Coach Scott Wooster told me that one day when I was in High School running during Track Practice! More then likely I looked like I wanted to die and stop but as he told me that I pushed just a little harder and finished the work out!

On Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 8 crazy souls decided we wanted to accomplish and finish one of the hardest hikes in Dominica! Boiling Lake! Boiling Lake is a 5 mile hike each way with about 15,000 STEPS!! It is fine to re-read it, I did say FIFTEEN HUNDRED STEPS!!! We are talking up hill, down hill, smooth, narrow! Yes some moments I wanted to die, I wanted to stop, I did not want to finish! I did not think I could climb one more step, cross one more river, or put my foot in front of the other just one last time. As you are hiking, you must finish, there is no helicopter circling the area to pick up tired walkers, nobody will carry you on their back when you are tired, it is YOU and only YOU!! The hike takes about 6 to 8 hours to complete! The irony of it all is once you get to this LARGE LAKE that is boiling, in the back of your head you are thinking, I have to get back, and I have another 3 hours to go! One I had it and our guard said “Welcome to Boiling Lake,’ my face light up with such great pride and sense of accomplishment as the guard gave me a knock!

We did, all eight of us finished! We achieved our task, we can cross off one more thing off our ‘To Do’ list! We laughed, we shared moments, we have memories to hold onto from the hike! Many are not even prove enough to take that first step of the Hike but we took all 15,000 and made be a little sore, but together we did it! Together, we accomplished one more thing on this journey! Together we proved one more time we are truly pretty Bad Ass!

Click HERE for picture!

Thank You!

Every blog I write I could say a Thank You and it would still never be enough! I would like to Thank EVERYONE for all of the Christmas Notes, Cards, and E-Mails! A Thank You to ALL who thought of me on Christmas because I was thinking of you as well! A Thank You for making it just a little easier, for making smile me while I just wanted to cry (or letting me cry)! A Thank You for loving not only on me but on my children as you sent candy canes, stickers, and window clings! But most importantly, a HUGE THANK YOU for instilling in me the traditions, the memories, and the moments that make Christmas Christmas!

Christmas Day!

December 25, 2009- Christmas Day with a little or a lot of a Dominican Twist! I was in Roseau for Christmas Day staying by a friend of mine! Honestly it was crazy to wake on Christmas Day and not run to the living room to see if Santa made it to my house, to open gifts with my sister and now Andrew and Austin. To wear those silly hats mom loved! It was weird to be sweating wearing shorts and a t-shirt in December. Everything that was Christmas for me was not there. No cold weather, no family, no presents under the Christmas Tree, no Christmas Tree, no coffee that Dad made! Nothing that for the past 22 Christmas was there for me! Yes it was hard, and in true Michelle, Christmas fashion, I had a “Michelle Frustration Moment,” that I got over a lot quicker then I normally do!

My Christmas day went a little like this! After waking up and eating breakfast, we just hung out around the house watching TV and what not! I was getting antsy so I went for a walk! There happened to be a Cruise Ship on the Bayfront, so I decided to head that way! I spent most of my Morning, hanging out on the Bayfront, watching people, the sea, and just pondering about life! In a million years I would of never thought I would on an island that I called home, in the sunshine, with my feet in the water on Christmas Day! Once I got back, I found out our plans had got cancelled so it was time for Plan B or C! We went over our friends house who was having family over for Christmas! She has an amazing house, with a beautiful outdoor veranda that wraps around most of her home, with amazing company, great food, and a great view! Our lunch was very similar to a Thanksgiving dinner! There was Turkey, Ham, Lamb, Hummus, Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows, Green Beans, and for desert there was even those ‘Sugar Cookies that come in a tube that you cute apart with a christmas 'stamp' on the front of them!’ Amazing, it was a taste of home! The host of the party is dating a gentleman who lived in Michigan! Not only Michigan, but in TROY! What a small world even in the island!

Christmas in Dominica is all about Friends and Family! Going from one home to the next, drinking some juice, eating some food, but most importantly just spending quality time with individuals who you love and care about! At the end of all it that is the most important factor is to surround yourself with individuals who love and care about you!!

Christmas Eve

This day is HUGE in Dominica! All of the stores in the capital, Roseau, are open MUCH later then usually, till about 10:00PM! There are people BBQ on the corners, liming with friends, doing LAST minute shopping and just taking in the hype of Christmas Eve! Many individuals that live in the country and do not come into town often are in town for Christmas Eve, the streets are packed with the young, the old, and every in between. For the first time during the whole Christmas Season, I felt the hustle and bustle of the holiday season! There was almost a sense of panic to finish their shopping, meeting with friends, and just enjoy themselves. Town was ALIVE, it was marvelous!



Naturally, I had to be in that scene! I went down around 8:00PM just to check it out but did not have anything to buy! I ran into some friends of mine, got some AMAZING BBQ chicken from the mother of some students from my Library Camp and just walked the streets of Roseau. It was crazy to see all of these Dominicans in one place, almost a little overwhelming! It was good to see the country celebrating Christmas because with the Elections and what not, people were more focused on Elections then on Christmas, so it was simply great to see Christmas being celebrated!



Of course, I missed the traditions I am use to on Christmas Eve of going to church then getting dinner with Grandpa or our newest tradition of going to the Christmas Store, the Holt’s Church/House then back home. It makes me thrilled that Austin is getting to experience and start his own traditions because being a way I have a more appreciation for the traditions my parents had have with us as children into adulthood! It is what gives the holidays a special twist and treat to them. It makes the holidays memorable!

+ The Pictures are from what I was doing the Day BEFORE Christmas Eve! Don't be jealous that I was in the sun/sand instead of shoveling snow! +

Poker Night!

OoO Mine! Where do I even begin! It feels like a long time since I have blog and a lot has happened. It is the Holiday Season with a little Dominica Twist. The Elections are finally over and for about a week we (Dominicans) can actually celebrate the Christmas Season and not be totally concerned with the Elections anymore. The Elections were on December 18, 2009 and the unofficial results were announced on the same day! The final day, Saturday, the OFFICIAL results were announced. On Friday, some of my friends and I had a Poker/Election party at my friends's home! It was a ROIT! The Dominicans that were over have never played poker before but rather just watched it on TV. Myself and other PCV (mostly the other PCV, Austin) taught them all how to play. I know a little bit how to play but not really! My friends loved it, we did not play for real money but used chips and all of that good stuff! My friends caught on really fast and after all of it they were like, ‘Now I understand a little more of what I see on TV!’ It was fun to share a little of American Culture and fun with my friends!