Here are some photos of my volunteer visit to the Batey. Enjoy!

the kids and I in front of Alison´s home

Me and Olgah, Alison´s project partner.

Off to Constanza

Today marked the end of CORE training for our group of 48 aspiring PCV´s. Tomorrow we will begin CBT where we will spend the next 5 weeks with other members of our program (in my case YOUTH). I am really excited about living in Constanza for 5 weeks because I have heard nothing but wonderful things about it. Mountains, cooler climate, fresh fruits, waterfalls, etc. Finally, after hearing so much about it, myself along with the other 15 youth development promoters will finally be in Constanza. We will be introduced to our new host families, meet our youth groups, and begin working more specifically in terms of youth and community development. Not to mention, we will get a break from this HEAT! I have been told that the barrio we will be living in will have internet accessibility to I will definitely update you all once I am there!

Learning to Live a little

This week is exciting because I will be visiting a fellow volunteer at her site. I will be taking a 4.5 hour bus ride to a batey in the south of the country to get a more in depth look at the typical life of a pcv. Bateys are communities in the south of the country, with a mostly Haitian population, where the most common form of making a living is working in the sugar cane fields. i expect the experience to be educating and eye opening.
next week i will begin CBT training in Constanza. I will spend about 5 weeks there and I am really looking forward to that because it is located further North in the country so the weather will be cooler. I will miss my host family here in santo domingo though. Especially the delicious natural teas that my dona makes me every morning! But I look forward to the change of scenery. Time goest by really slowly here. At first I thought it was just me but after speaking with some other volunteers, they feel the same way. After doing some serious thinking as to why this might be, I came up with an answer. Pace of life in the U.S.( even if you´re from a small city) is so much faster than life in the DR. In the states, people are always doing something, even when they´re not doing anything ie..computer, watching tv..
But here, since surfing the net and watching tv for hours just isnt part of societal living, people do other things to pass the time such as go outside and sit in the porch, walk around, or hang out by the colmado. Based off of my experience it seems to me that Dominicans really live each day more and take life each day at a time. I never really see anyone in a rush or a hurry. This is very different when compared to the U.S..... especially NYC. I have therefore come to the conclusion that the reason why me and other volunteers that i have spoken to feel that we have been here for over a month when really its just been 11 days, is because we are adjusting the the change in pace of life. I think that with time, we will grow accustomed the the pace here, and I personally look forward to it. A couple of days ago I thought to myself, ¨the days go by so slow here.¨ But now I know better and think that Dominicans live each and every day in a way that we could never understand.... unless we lived it too..Talk about giving a new meaning to the tem living life

Saludos desde mi barrio nuevo!

Hello everyone! I am writing to you all from an internet cafe which is literally like a 5minute walk from my new home! It is my third day here in my new barrio right outside of Santo Domingo and I love love love it! The barrio where I live is relatively big and there are a lot of stray dogs around. They seem sick whenever I pass by and don´t bother anyone. Almost everyone rides un motoconcho and there tons of colmados on the streets. There are also two panaderias in the barrio, in fact, one of them is right across the street from this internet cafe. The other one is right around ¨El Parque de Toronja¨. I live with a wonderful woman named Dona Diga and her granddaughter Lorena who is right around my age. I live right across the street from 4 other girls so we pretty much go everywhere together. The other girl´s host mom´s and my host mom are all related so the families are all very close. I lost count of how many primos, tias, tios, and hermanas I have met. And the children....they are wonderful! Dona Digna says ¨que le cai muy bien a todos¨ so I am pretty happy about that. Yesterday me and the other girls were playing futbol with them, singing to them, and even did some dancing! The kids love to listen to me sing in English. I sang some Chris Brown, Ciara, and even some Michael Jackson. haha.
Dona Digna is really sweet and a great cook. And get this, the four trainees that she housed before me were all vegetarians as well so she is a pro in vegetarian meals. My first dinner consisted of yucca topped with onions, berenjena, cheese slices, and a side of tomatos, mangos, and a banana!
Yesterday me and the other girls rode the carro publicos for the first time. Carro publicos are like taxi cabs but are less expensive and follow SOMEWHAT of a designated route. I still haven´t ridden the gua gua or motoconcho but I look forward to both!
Today Lorena, Gitana, Andrea, and I went to La Sirena, which is equivalent to a Walmart of Target in the states. I bought some post cards, some instant oatmeal, and candies for los ninos.

I am really enjoying my time here so far and I feel lucky to have been placed with such a nice family. I have already become a pro at taking bucket baths! You will be amazed at how clean you can get with minimal water. The people around my barrio are all really social and endearing. In the evenings everyone goes outside to talk, listen to music, and just try to keep cool! It has been raining on and off today and the weather was the same yesterday. Still, it is always humid, humid, humid. But I don´t mind it that much at all. I think living in Miami for three years helped prepare me for this weather. It might also have been my own little summer pre Peace Corps training where I slept without any AC! My family thought I was crazy for doing so, but it is paying off now =) I am off now, but I will try to write once a week while I am here so keep a look out for new posts. I will try to post some photos tomorrow when I ask to borrow a fellow trainee´s laptop at ENTRENA. By the way, our group is awsome. There are about 53 of us, 30 something females and 19 males and hopefully that number stays the same! Ahora si que me voy!
PS' If you wish to send me mail (PLEASE DO)
The address is the following. There was a mistake in the address I posted before.

My name, PCT
Cuerpo De Paz
Apartado 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

I love and miss you all very much

Goodbye U.S.....Hello Santo Domingo!

In approximately 3 hours we will leave D.C. and head over to Santo Domingo. It hasn't hit me yet that I will be living on the island for the next 27 months ...si dios quiere.
I think that it will take me stepping foot on Dominican ground for it to really sink in. Everyone seems really nice and I am excited to officially begin this new chapter of my life. Don't get me wrong, saying goodbye to my family this morning was no easy task. What can I say...I laughed...I cried...But honestly, I feel like I am right where I should be. I just cannot wait to arrive and get to work. I can't wait to breathe Dominican air. I imagine it and it seems so wonderful! But really, I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Earlier this evening me and a couple of volunteers walked into 7Eleven and as I walked over the DVD section, one of me and my mother's favorite movies was there...just waiting for my attention. The movie by the way is Evening and I highly recommend it. Anyway, estatic by the awsome and RARE find, I bought it. What are the odds that was going to walk into a 7Eleven today (in Arlington, VA I might add)and find one of my favorite movies of all time? Some may call it a coincidence. Not me. It was something much more powerful than that. It was a sign and it said, "Valerie, you are here for a reason."
But enough about that. This time tomorrow I will be in the DR! Yay!
p.s.- thank you to all who called me today to wish me safe travels! please write!

Framepacks and Hair cuts

-the framepack
I did it. I finally did it. After a good month of deciding and then not deciding to get a frame pack (those big backpacks people use for hiking trips), this morning I ordered a black High Sierra 45L. It should arrive between August 6 -12.
For a long time, I couldn't decide what travel equipment would serve me simply and comfortably on my two year long trip to the DR. I thought, "Big roller luggages? Too big and heavy!... Small roller luggages?...not big enough!... big Framepack?... Too expensive!...Duffel bags?...Too much hassle..." You get the picture...
But alas, after all of the mental confusion, I finally got my stuff together. My luggage goes as follows: 1 framepack, 1 medium sized roller luggage, and 1 everyday- style back pack (thanks Chris!) Now all I have to do is get a real move on the packing. I have already begun to select the clothes that I will bring with me, but that in itself quite the process. A part of me wants to bring 4 or 5 bottoms and 6 or 7 tops and call it a day, but another part of me wants to brings so much more! I have a plan though. Each day I am going to go over my current pile of potential peace corps attire, and weed out the pieces that will stay nice and unworn here in NYC.

The frame pack that will assist me with my travel needs in the DR.


-the haircut



Females know what I am talking about when I say, maintaining hair is a job that requires time and effort. During my service, I would like to minimize the amount of time and effort devoted to my hair as much as possible and that is why a few days ago, I asked my mom to cut it. Now I wash it, put on some frizz-ease, and 10 minutes later I am all done. Not to mention my head feels so much lighter and cooler :)

DR Address

One more month before the big day!
While I am in the DR please send any postcards, letters, packages (padded envelopes only) to
the following address:

(My Name), PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Avenida Bolivar 451, Gazcue
Apartado 1412
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic

DR, I will there soon!