A weekend of reconnecting with Wil...

Today I thought I would be in the town of Miches, but I'm not. I'm still in Santo Domingo. As we neared the weekend, Wil expressed his fears about me being in Miches at this time. He is living in a building where there are 3 or 4 rooms. There isn't much furniture in the house. One of the rooms is the government office where he works, and some of the rooms are occupied by military police of some kind at present. The soldiers were brought in to 'scare' the local criminals(the crimes are minor, and sound a bit more like corruption). The soldiers will be moving out soon, but Wil was not comfortable having me be there now. So, definitely some disappointment for me. And, to add to it, Wil has been selected to attend a conference in the north peninsula of the island from June 6-19....ugh!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully, I'll get to go up north for a day or two, stay in a hotel, and harass Wil a little. But 4 weeks basically alone, is going to be pretty lonely.

Then, Wil shared with me that one of the interns from Columbia University working on the project needed to come to the capital with Wil over the weekend so that they could shop and compare prices on nets for the project at Miches. He asked me if it was 'okay' and of course I said yes. I mean, I don't want to be the bitchy fiance that is like, "no way." But I felt like that. I've been here a month, and we just have not had much time together where Wil was actually feeling healthy.

That brings us to last Friday. I had done some cleaning around the apartment. I had the food ready to cook (Wil had requested his favorite meal). I was trying to figure out what time Wil would arrive. At one point, he said he would be on the helicopter with his boss, so they would be here in a couple hours after some meetings. That was at about 3. Well, finally, at almost 7:30, he was at the door. I had cooked the dinner so that it would be ready. Wil greeted me at the door and said, "there are two people down there." I said, "are they both staying here?" He said yes. I was a little overwhelmed. As I have written about before, our apartment is not large. We make the space work, but still. A and K were the two Columbia U. students. They were great; they seemed really excited to be in the capital, so their enthusiasm was fun. I decided that they were young and could figure out the single bed and short settee sleeping situation.

K really wanted to go dancing. A was up for anything. We looked through the guidebooks and found that Zona Colonial seemed to offer our best bet for salsa or other Latin dancing that K desired. Wil called his friend, Osvaldo, to join the fun. I was excited since we really haven't been out much at night. Wil is always nervous at night when it is just us. I was happy to have a group to explore the night life a bit.

We had a fun night in Zona Colonial. Osvaldo does not speak much English, but he and I are able to communicate. And, he is the kind of person that always makes you feel good. We walked around with Wil and Osvaldo taking turns at the lead. When you follow a Dominican, you may or you may not end up at the destination you set out to find. We did not find 1492, the club from the guidebook, but we did finally find a tiny little bar where there was dancing. The crowd, as Osvaldo pointed out, was generally 20-40 years older than us, but we still danced and had fun. Then we found a pool hall (quite popular here) and played a couple of games in the wonderful A/C.

Saturday we woke up fairly early, but then Wil wanted to do laundry. He worked on that and I made some breakfast. A and K got ready. We finally left the apartment at almost 2 p.m. to go looking for fishing net prices. We made it to the Malecon, an area along the ocean where there are a few fishermen, a lot of garbage on the rocks and beaches, hotels, casinos, shops etc. A and Wil were excited when we came upon some net makers. I forgot to get a picture of one of the net makers.



A view from the Malecon. It is a cool walk along the crashing ocean waves, fishermen, various rock and cave formations set against the modern city backdrop.



One of the dirtiest beaches I've ever seen. There was basically a 6-8 foot wide band of garbage all along any part of the coast that had shoreline for the trash to gather.



Fishing looks pretty tough here to me. I didn't see this guy catch any, but I did see some fresh catch with some other fishermen.



This was a little opening under a walkway where the fishermen keep their supplies. Wil and A went down under there while they were visiting with one of the net makers.

They found out the information that they needed for comparison shopping and then we moved on.

Soon we spotted a chicharrones (pork rinds) maker on the sidewalk. Wil bought some for us. These ones were plain and fresh, so tasty! I love street food, and it was cool that we got to choose the one that we wanted. These are different than the pork rinds that you may find in The States. These ones often have a little meat left and, obviously, they are fresh!



Sometimes they are served with a lime slice as well.



It's exciting to see Wil enjoying food again. We need to build him back up to his 'competition' weight of 120, ha!



The chicharron all sliced up for us to enjoy!

We walked back to La Duarte through Zona Colonial. I see new things in the Zone every time we walk through it. Or, I remember things I wanted to take pictures of in the past. So, here are some of those random shots.



Some statuary on the outside of the oldest church in the Americas. This would be along the wall behind the altar. Unfortunately, the church was closed for a wedding. We did sneak inside so that A and K could see it though, wink wink!



Looking through the iron grate work of the fence.



A beautiful facade that is being restored. This building will house the new museum of the cathedral.



Just another beautiful building front.



More wonderful, old architecture around Zona Colonial. This one is in the courtyard next to a huge, church-like mausoleum dedicated to important Dominican leaders and historic figures. The women who designed and sewed the first Dominican flag and the men who wrote the words and music for the Dominican National Anthem are buried there, among many others.



My postcardish shot of the Columbus Mansion.



The Museum of Ham people! That is good stuff! We have passed it before, but I never got a good photo of it. It is not actually a museum, but part of a chain of restaurants where you can try many hams (and other things too). We didn't eat there, but I'm not ruling it out!



These are some ruins that we have passed several times. Wil doesn't know what they are the ruins of, only that they are called "The Ruins."



This is a beautiful gazebo in the plaza near La Duarte that I have loved each time I've walked past. Usually I don't have my camera, but on Saturday I did.



This is one of the funniest things I have seen on this trip. It's a phone in a tree that looks like it should be in a cartoon or book illustration. We assume it is for the taxis to call each other or something. The tree sits at the corner of the park of the oldest church in the Americas, just across from The Hard Rock Cafe. This whole last paragraph is pretty weird to type, just full of strangeness.

We headed on to La Duarte where A and K did some shopping. A wanted to cook some 'American' food that night. Though they have only been in The D.R. for about 9 days, they were really missing food from home, including peanut butter and granola bars. A made pasta with red sauce when we got home and then we all watched a movie.

I have to say that having company again was fun, but I was relieved when A and K said that they were returning to Miches on Sunday. Wil and I would actually have one night alone together, yay! But, Wil is so stressed with his new job (huge responsibilities), leaving his old job (resignation letter, etc), designing and printing the invitations to his friend's wedding, and of course with me being lonely and depressed here in Santo Domingo, that I could feel his stress and discomfort most of the day Sunday. So, that made me sad too. I have been in that place where it seems like there is just too much to do and not enough time to do it. And to add to all of that, Sunday was the culmination of Mother's Month in The D.R., Mother's Day. We went to see him mom. Mother's Month is a huge deal here. It is bigger than Christmas is to most people in the U.S. Wil and his brother gave their mom a new living room furniture suite for Mother's Day, serious stuff!



Now that Wil is feeling better and more comfortable eating; he was able to enjoy some mangoes with his brother, Dominican Style. Basically, they start peeling it with their teeth, taking off some of the skin. They clean the mango from the skin with their mouth and continue. Then they just bite the mango flesh off of the pit as they go. It's a little messy--you can see the bowl of water and mangoes under them. But, as Wil's friend said last week, "mangoes should be eaten like that when you can be sexy and messy and fun!" Oh my!

We then went to see his favorite aunt and visit there for a little while. We made it to Wil's old job for him to turn in his letter, ID badge, and headset. So long and good riddance to Stream and DishNetwork!!! Wil is moving on up. And, that is what I have to keep reminding myself. This job is a great opportunity for Wil. We are both working toward our goals of being together forever, so being apart some now is the sacrifice we will have to make. Of course it sucks. And, I found myself perusing airline sites last week to check out flying home for a few weeks and coming back, but it is just too costly. And, his mom and aunt and friends have all invited me to do things with them. I need to take more advantage of that in the coming weeks. And, I will.

Last night when we got home, we did finally get to have some relaxing time together. We ordered a pizza and watched a movie together. We got to talk about our plans and how we are going to make them work--together!

Keep up the good thoughts for us. And, if you get to be next to the one you love tonight, give them an extra hug and kiss.

I have been abducted by TV!!!

Hello People!

Well, it has been over a week since I last blogged, and there is no good excuse for that. Last week, I was at the apartment, alone, for most of the time. So why didn't I blog, you ask? Because thanks to my friend, Annmarie, I found a site where I can watch TV shows from The States. And, boy, have I been!!

I like TV, but there are not a lot of shows that I absolutely have to watch each week. And, when I was here last Fall, it was difficult to find anything available to me, except on Youtube. The networks and HULU and some of the other sites do not have rights to broadcast the shows outside of the U.S. So, I did a lot of reading, watched a lot of pirated movies sold on the street here, and listened to some books on CD.

The shows that I do really enjoy are The Amazing Race, Brothers & Sisters, Glee, and Modern Family. When I first got here it was the end of this season's Amazing Race. I could not find it on Youtube. I was desperate to watch the finale. So, I treated myself to the last two episodes on Itunes. What a joke! It was not too pricey, like $1.99 per episode, but the download time was ridiculous. It took about 6 hours to download each 42 minute episode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I will never use that service for TV shows again.

During Wil's recovery, I found America's Next Top Model (ANTM) on Youtube. If you don't watch ANTM, you may not understand, but it is total crazy fluff entertainment. Wil had watched it a couple times with Jen and me, and he gets its mindless entertainment value. We watched an entire season together!

Then Kathy came to visit and I had live entertainment. Thus bringing me to last week. I was Skyping (another new verb) with Annmarie and Jen when Annmarie talked about a site where she watched TV from The States. I asked her about it and almost immediately was sucked in as I saw Glee, Brothers & Sisters, and Modern Family. I was soon caught up on those shows and moved on to another, Dexter.



I have never watched Dexter on TV because I have never had Showtime. But, I enjoyed watching Season 3 with Dana and Allison thanks to Netflix. I have now watched Season 4 and just watched the pilot episode today!

Now you are caught up on my TV habits, soon I will post about this last weekend, post a catch-up blog for all of the extra photos and tidbits to share over the last few weeks, and let you know where I am and where I will be going next.

P.S. the website is named sidereel.com

P.P.S. Don't get too scared, I wasn't just in the apartment eating bonbons and watching TV all day. I also walked to the grocery store and to get the mail. I really appreciate the people who have sent cards. Remember, it only costs the price of a regular stamp for you. Plus, if you mail me something, it means I walk about 4 miles that day. So, you are helping my health, both physically and mentally. Yes, this is a flagrant plea for mail. The address is---

For letters, cards, etc:

My name (if you wonder why I don't type my or Wil's full name, it is because we are trying to keep a lower profile online since we both have unique names. We don't want future employers or other lookeyloos knowing all of our business)

My Name
SDQ 1632
P.O. Box 025725
Miami, FL 33102-5725

For packages (more expensive for you and for me. So, not necessary, but appreciated):

My Name
SDQ 1632
2250 NW 114th Ave. Unit 1A
Miami, FL 33172-3652

The reason we have Miami addresses is that our address is through MailBoxes Etc. not through the local (unreliable) postal system.

Kathy's last full day in The D.R.

Thursday night Kathy said something like, "I can't believe tomorrow is my last full day here." I think it made us all a little sad. Of course, vacations come to an end, and people go back to the everyday lives. But, we have really had a great and magical week of fun, love, and friendship. Wil and I are so glad Kathy made the trip to spend time with us!

For Kathy's last day here, she had some goals to achieve. She wanted to visit the Jardin Botanico, get back to the Zona Colonial since most things were closed on Monday, and do a little shopping for some special folks back in Seattle. Oh, yes, and have pica pollo (Dominican fried chicken). I'm happy to report that we were able to mark most of these tasks off of her list.

Wil was notified last evening that he needed to report to his supervisor today. So, instead of hanging out with us, he had to go to work for part of the day. But, he has a good friend, Eliseo, who was going to join us anyway, escort Kathy and me for the day.

Wil was able to be with us for our morning at the botanical garden.





Though the orchids were not in full bloom this time, Kathy still enjoyed the blossoms and the beautiful garden.



After the orchideria, we went on the train tour of the garden that is included in the price of admission.

We enjoyed many aspects of the tour, especially our time in the Japanese Garden.



Since Wil and I have been watching America's Next Top Model on Youtube, we have been making jokes about the Dominican Republic's Next Top Model. In the photo above, we decided Eliseo was posing for the show!





Kathy just being her adorable self in the Jardin Botanica.

Kathy is a little more honest than most. We didn't even cheat and use pictures from Monday when we were in Zona Colonial. Eliseo, Kathy, and I visited the Colon (Christopher Columbus)Family Mansion and the Royal Houses.





Kathy looks very prim and proper, doesn't she? Legs crossed at the ankles and everything, very lady-like.

After Zona Colonial, we made our way to La Sirena (a fabulous supermarket), found pica pollo (delicious), found some treats in La Duarte (a busy, crowded market place full of street vendors, produce markets, and stores), and made our way back to the apartment by 2:30. Basically, we rocked it out today!

Tonight, we had our last feast of this trip. Wil made one of my favorites, chenchen, and it was amazing. I do believe it is one of Kathy's favorites now too!

Guest blogger Kathy here -- Sorry this post is late. Joel was starting it Friday night and I said, "I'm just gonna lie down here, but you let me know if you want input and when it's my turn to blog."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Anyhoo, Joel is absolutely correct. Chenchen is SOOOOOO good! But basically, ALL Dominican food is good (especially everything Wil makes). Muy bueno, indeed! It's funny to think of parts of my visit being goals, but Joel is absolutely correct again. For most of my trip I just had to let go and accept the "time is fluid" thing down here. It's probably been good for me. But for my last day, I was like, "This is what I wanna get done, and this is how we're gonna do it." I'm so colonial in that way, enforcing my U.S.-ness on the locals (hee hee). Anyway, the original plan was to take an inexpensive guagua to the Jardin Botanico (only five pesos -- about 14 cents), but that would have gone all over the city and taken about 45 minutes. I got all bossy and insisted we take a taxi, saying that it was worth the money to save the time. I think that was my only "Bossy American" moment of the trip, but you'll have to ask Wil & Joel!!

Got a few more mosquito bites at the Jardin Botanico (pond in the Jardin Japonese attracted 'em, I think), but it was worth it. Much like the Japanese Garden in Seattle's Arboretum. It was also nice to go back to Zona Colonial. I had my doubts at first, but the Columbus Mansion was worth it. The Royal Houses were very cool too, and after my DC trip it was a little weird to be in museums where most things were NOT in Plexiglas boxes and were exposed to the open air (no panes in the windows here!). Plus I could take flash photos of everything, so believe me, I did! I also got pretty good at avoiding the insistent "tour guides" and maitre d's who virtually (and sometimes literally) grab you to try to get your business. What's really funny is that when Wil joined us again later in the afternoon he was cracking up because Joel and I were maneuvering through traffic (on foot) like we'd been doing it forever. If only we'd taken pictures of all the jaywalking I did. No one here would believe it otherwise! But it's true.

I think that's about all I have to say. I truly, truly enjoyed my week here and any inconveniences (inconsistent utilities, mosquito bites, oppressive heat/humidity) were totally mitigated by how much dang fun I had. It was definitely over too soon. Back to Joel . . .

Yes, Kathy jaywalked a lot in The D.R. If she hadn't, she would still be waiting at the first street, ha! And, even with the inconveniences that are just part of life here for the natives and things I've gotten used to in my time here, Kathy was a trooper all week. We truly did have a fun time.

I have to say that yesterday was a definite let down for me. I went to the airport with Kathy, while Wil went to begin his new job (he found out on Friday that he would leave on Saturday) in a province about 3 hours away. I came home to the empty apartment and was missing the companionship. But, I've been working on my online classes, reading, and watching movies. And, best of all, Wil has talked to his boss about me being a volunteer and living with Wil in the other town. So, after this weekend when Wil comes home, then I will return with him. Yay!!!

Del Suroeste al Este

Tuesday we headed out of Santo Domingo for a three day jaunt around the country. Thankfully, it's a small country, but with public transportation, it is still a trek! We went by guagua to Wil's hometown of Las Matas de Farfan. Wil showed us around to meet family and neighbors. Eventually, we walked back to the center of town to get in a vehicle to visit an aunt who lives outside of the town. We visited his sister and niece and they escorted us to the campo (like the family homestead) where his aunt lives. Initially, our plan was to pick fresh mangoes from the campo (free is always good), but the ones that were ripe were surrounded by a rice field with knee-high mud. So we had to buy mangoes instead. Boo hoo.


Kathy and Joel under a tree of unripe mangoes at the campo.

Later that night we fought the mosquitoes while his aunt and some friends/neighbors played dominoes for 5 hours straight. Kathy climbed under the mosquito net for some relief while Wil and I visited with a couple of his cousins.



Guest blogger Kathy here -- we had some internet trouble last night which is why we're posting this a bit later than planned. Let me tell you -- Wil's campo was SO much like being at the Grant ranch I couldn't believe it. Complete with me being eaten alive by mosquitoes. They loved me as a child and apparently still love me as an adult. Wil was bitten a lot too, on his legs. My bites are primarily on my right arm, but seem to be healing by now. They don't show up as much on Wil, though. I was so desperate to get under that mosquito net (mosquitero) that I went to bed about three & a half hours before everyone else. Mosquitoes suck. Literally. When we left the next morning, we were unable to get a ride with the milkman as planned, so despite my (understandable) fear of hopping on a moped with another person and our luggage, necessity won out and we walked to the main road and took motoconchos back to where we caught the guagua back to Santo Domingo. Next stop -- yet another guagua to Las Terrenas in Samana, to visit the aptly named Playa Bonita. Back to Joel . . .

Yes, you read that correctly, we had to go all the way back to Santo Domingo (southeast of Las Matas) to catch a guagua to Las Terrenas (northeast of Las Matas). The three cities sort of create a triangle, but for some reason it is not possible to go across the one leg of the triangle, wah wah. So, we went back and then forth to Las Terrenas.


Here we are, making the best of several guagua rides around The Dominican Republic!

We arrived at the Hotel Acaya (where Wil and I stayed last time) in time for swimming before the sun went down. Then we had a fabulous dinner and a few drinks.







Wil had a little drink, but mostly napped after dinner, in the hammock next to our table!

The next morning we headed back to the beach for swimming, bodysurfing, beachcombing, and sand burial, as shown.








The nice thing about Hotel Acaya is that, like many things in The D.R., they are very fluid about time. Instead of having a set check-out time, they told us to enjoy ourselves on the beach as long as we wanted, to shower and use the room until we needed to leave to catch the last guagua for Santo Domingo at 3 p.m.




Guest blogger Kathy again -- I have often said I couldn't imagine enjoying myself in a tropical climate because I'm not too fond of the heat. This was before I knew how fan-farking-tastic the Carribbean is! The water is beautiful and clear (and certainly warmer than Washington waters), the scenery is gorgeous . . . seriously, I can't say enough good things about this trip to Las Terrenas & Playa Bonita. I felt like a new woman. The only downside was my failed attempt to get a LITTLE color on my skin. I got a little color; unfortunately, it is RED. Yes, I was burned by the equatorial sun. However, it's nowhere near as bad as the burn I got when I graduated from Evergreen, so I'm not worried. The plus side of it is that now my red mosquito bites blend right in and are nearly invisible. Back to Joel for the closing . . .

Our friend at the Hotel Acaya, Mery, called motoconchos to take us to the guagua stop. When they arrived, Mery introduced them to us. Kathy and I each heard part of the introductions. Only tonight, when we were getting ready to blog, did we compare notes. She said, "well I know the name of your driver was Marco." and I'm like, "no way, I heard the one name as Polo." So, yes we are going with that Marco and Polo were our drivers.



Kathy on Polo's bike. Wil jumped on as well.



My driver was pretty determined to get ahead of Polo, so it was somewhat difficult to balance my backpack, hold on, and try to take photos of Kathy and Wil on the motoconcho as they and I swerved and veered through traffic.

Obviously we made it back safe and sound. In fact, a friend of Wil's came over soon after we arrived in Santo Domingo to make us dinner! Cinthia's Dominican Spaghetti was delicious and we had fun with her.

Las Chinas Son Deliciosas!

Today we went to Zona Colonial after a lovely breakfast made by Wil. On the way there, we went to La Duarte, and Kathy was enchanted with all of the produce stands along the way. She wanted to take pictures to show the folks at her produce stand, Frank's, back in Seattle. While we were taking photos, Wil bought some oranges for us to enjoy. Here they have oranges that are named naranja; they are the oranges used to make juice. Then there are chinas, which are the oranges for eating. The vendor peels the chinas and slices them in half. When you buy one, you hold half of it in your hand and chow down (as shown). We enjoyed these while riding the guagua (local bus).



Guest blogger Kathy here -- Zona Colonial was very cool; however, as today is the day after Election Day, most of the stores and sites were closed. Everything was supposed to open at noon, but as we learned from Heidy (Joel & Wil's friend), many people elected to take off the entire day (without notifying their bosses!). Heidy was the only one who showed up in her department today . . . Anyhoo, we arrived at Columbus's Mansion to find it cerrado. We took pictures anyway and may attempt another visit before I have to leave Saturday morning. I should note here that I have been speaking as much Spanish as I can, and Wil said my Spanish was "the best." Now I have to worry about my cuello snapping from the weight of my overinflated cabeza. Saw my first cucaracha today. Joelfre says they show up in the apartment every few days. Wil stomped this one. I usually like insects, but I'm hoping I see only one more at most. It's a little startling when they're as big as a small mouse (which apparently may also show up at some point). Aventura!

Back to Joel---I, too, hope that none of us see many more insects, rodents, or other uninvited guests in the days to come. But, our shoes are always ready for the bugs...for the mice, it's the broom, I guess.

We have more adventures planned for the next few days. We will travel to Wil's hometown tomorrow and then on to the northern peninsula of the island on Wednesday. We will be returning to Santo Domingo on Thursday evening, so we may be offline until then or Friday. But, we shall definitely be posting again before Kathy returns to The States.

Mi Prima Esta Aqui!

That's about all the Espanol you will get in this post, but it's a good title!

My cousin, Kathy, arrived today after a week long trip to Washington, D.C. Isn't she the lucky one to get two whole weeks of vacation, travel, and adventure? She thinks so. Yes, she is here looking over my shoulder dictating as I type.

After picking Kathy up at the airport, we traveled by car, train (Metro), and foot to Wil's Aunt Morena's. We gorged ourselves on some great Dominican food, including locrio (rice), double fried plantains, pork, chicken, and sancocho (stew). Plus, lots of cerveza to wash it down.

We were also able to help Aunt Morena celebrate the opening of her new store. It is a colmado (convenience/corner store) in one room of her home that opens to the street. She had several customers throughout the evening and the shelves were stocked and lined with all of the essentials.

Guest blogger Kathy here -- Wil's family members were so completely welcoming and friendly that I felt at home immediately. The outhouse also brought back memories of Grant family get-togethers! And believe it or not, the three years of Spanish I took in 8th/9th/10th grades is totally coming back. Granted, I speak at about the level of a four-year-old, but the folks here can understand me and generally, I can understand them too. Most importantly -- I have now navigated the spiral staircase outside Joel & Wil's apartment twice, and have sustained no injury! Back to Joel . . .

I'm back, but I don't have too much to add. We had a great first day with Kathy and we are looking forward to a fantastic week! We will post more of our adventures in the coming days. And, eventually, I will also post about last week, ha!

Our Address

So, the address once again:

For letters and cards:

One of our names
SDQ 1632
PO BOX 025725
MIAMI, FL 33102-5725

For parcels:

One of our names
SDQ 1632
2250 NW 114th AVE UNIT 1A
MIAMI, FL 33172-3652

Day 5 or 4 depending on your math!

Wil is on Day 5 (my math) since his surgery. Friday he did really well, trying to eat some soups and things and drinking quite a lot of fluids. Saturday, he found that he liked the soup better really hot. And, he was definitely in more pain on Saturday. I had read up online about recovering from a tonsillectomy as an adult and it seemed that days 3-7 were usually the worst. And so it seems...

Yesterday, Wil's mom and Aunt Ivelia came for a visit. I had prepared as best as I could. Of course, I wanted everything to be okay. Even though she may not know it, I think of her as my mother-in-law...They had come prepared to clean the apartment, so they were impressed when it was clean. We visited for several hours and his mom made a spaghetti for us. She also showed me three vials and syringes that she had brought for Wil. oh no! I took the information that she gave me. Then, she gave him one before she left. It was supposed to calm his throat. He rested for a time after they left. Then, it was like a different Wil for awhile. His throat didn't hurt and so he talked. He talked quite a bit, which may have aggravated his throat.

Today, he has been in more pain all day. I thought I had gotten out of giving any injections, but I was wrong...Late this afternoon, he asked me to give him one. I gave it to him in his arm, though here they seem to only give injections in the butt. He survived, and so did I, but I don't think I'll be giving injections again. It was too painful for him, and too painful for me to watch him be in pain. I guess I have been lucky that receiving injections never bothered me, even the preemptive rabies cycle that I had before Kenya.

I'm bummed because apparently it is not avocado season right now. They don't even have them in the huge grocery store. And, the few on the street are tiny and overpriced :(

But, it is mango season. I had a delicious one the other day! We have been planning a potential day trip to Wil's home town to get mangoes there while my cousin, Kathy, is here with us next week. We are so excited for her visit; last night we were planning the itinerary!

A long week in the D.R.

I can't believe I left Montana a week ago! It has been a long week of ups and downs. Dana, Allison and I left Montana last Thursday headed to Seattle. We had a fun dinner with Dana's friend, Jim and his girlfriend. Then, we went to a movie. We just wanted to see a movie, and due to timing, we had to choose one in the 10:00 hour. Our choices were limited, but we finally settled on Date Night. It was good, not great, and a little more serious than we were expecting. Oh well!

Friday, we went to the airport, so I could begin my flights to the D.R. We were there plenty early and everything worked out great! I was even able to check my luggage all the way through, even though I had a 8 hour layover in NYC. I spent my night in JFK airport. It went pretty well. I was able to chat with Jen, Dawn, and get caught up on The Amazing Race :) I also did some reading and listened to a book on cd.

Saturday morning I flew to Santo Domingo. Wil was at the airport waiting for me. He looked so sweet and also so tired sitting there. We got to our apartment and rested for a little while before going to see his aunt for her birthday. It was a good evening.

I was concerned about Wil because of his impending tonsillectomy. In addition, Wil had a lot of lower back pain and some other symptoms that made me think he might have a kidney stone! ugh! Our time together alone the first few days I was here we were not able to relax much since it was usually at night when the pain seemed to be worse.

I spent all day Monday with Wil's family while he went to doctor's and to his new job, yes NEW JOB!! A few weeks ago, while dealing with his tonsils, while dealing with his father being hit by a motorcycle (his father is recovering well, but does have a broken arm, broken leg, and several stitches in his head), while getting ready for me to arrive, Wil met with the director of the environmental agency here in the D.R. and now has a cool job. He was even flown all over the D.R. in a helicopter!!

Wil's mom learned some English, and I learned some more Spanish on Monday. That evening I met Wil and a friend of his and we went to a Feria (a fair). We walked around the exhibits and could go in two museums for free during the fair...sweet!

Tuesday, Wil was able to see a urologist and confirm that he does not have a kidney stone, but has some other issues. He will have to have a surgical procedure later to remove some scar tissue or something(I'm truly not exactly sure what it is). The doctor did give him something for the pain though, so Tuesday and Wednesday nights Wil was able to relax more. Therefore, we got to reconnect with cooking and talking and relaxing. As I have told everyone that I've talked to lately, we are definitely taking care of the "in sickness" part of the vows before the marriage! Hopefully, that means "in health" ahead!

Wil is also dealing more with being gay here and being gay period. It is so complicated anywhere, but he is working through his feelings of anger at culture, "friends", and so forth. Keep him in your thoughts.

Thursday was the big day of his tonsillectomy. I stayed at the apartment so that he wouldn't have to worry about me in the waiting room, etc. It was difficult for me to send him off at 5:30 in the morning to catch the cars to the clinic. I busied myself by finally unpacking properly. I also made jello, went shopping, made ice, got water, etc. in preparation for his return home. I thought his family would call or text me when they had news. Finally, at 12:20 I walked to his aunt's work and talked to her through the window. Wil had made it through the surgery. Yay! Last night, a friend of Wil's escorted me to the clinic, so that I could see him. He was much more awake than I thought he would be and he talked more than I thought he would. I was excited to hear that the surgery had been laser, so there was no scar. Also, it made me feel like they were a little more up-to-date than I thought they might be.

Today Wil got home. I was a little nervous when he texted me that the doctor might send him with an injection and that he would need to stay at his mom's so she could give him the injection. I wanted to take care of him and I wanted him to be with me here, so I texted back that I could give him the injection. I have given injections before many times, but never to humans. But, how different could it be from a cow, goat, or sheep??? Ha! Thankfully, he arrived with no injections, just huge pills. UGH!! He has difficulty swallowing pills normally. So, I've been trying to mash them up a bit. But I don't have a mortar and pestle, so it's been interesting. I made a huge pot of chicken and rice soup and he was able to eat some of that. He has been drinking well. He's just in a lot of obvious pain, so that is hard to watch. And, according to what I've heard, the worst is still ahead in the next few days.

Well, that brings me to now! I'm here in the first room so he can relax a bit in the bedroom. I should probably make some more jello; he has eaten a couple little cups today.

Oh, I was told by my friend who is studying in New Zealand, Maryanne, that I should let everyone know that I received some good news just before I came down. I have been accepted into the Library Media Endorsement program at the University of Montana and I have been awarded a scholarship that covers 80% of the program! So, now I can be a school librarian :) very cool!

Also, I want to give a shout out to Char and Greg, they are expecting a little girl in September!! Another little girl for me to play dress-up with, I can't wait!

Finally, Wil and I have a home phone number now; it is 809-620-0096

and I have a new cell phone number here; it is 829-826-3186

and, and, if you are on skype, our nickname on there is thedominicanandme

and, and, and I haven't even taken any pictures yet, but I'll get on it!

Take care of one another!!!