December Wrap-up

Back in the DR! I went home for Christmas, but before that I did a few things in December that I never wrote about. Just ran out of time, but here it is now:

1. Youth Conference - In early December, our sector held a national conference for Dominican youth. All volunteers in the education sector brought 1-3 jovenes from their campos/pueblos to Licey (same site as the Medical Mission) for a 3-day conference to learn about leadership, computers, technology, etc. I brought a 14-year old from my neighborhood, and she loved the conference. It’s really easy to travel in the DR, but I find that most people in my town just don’t leave that much. So my joven really liked traveling somewhere new, and meeting kids from all over the Dominican Republic. Here’s a photo of the joven I brought and a few more who attended the conference.
2. Monte Cristi - (Located left corner of map, northwestern-most city of the DR). My school went here for a graduation, art show and dance performance. The graduation was for the environment courses that our padrino, Banelino taught. The course taught different ways to incorporate environment-knowledge and recycling into teaching in a classroom. The class was held monthly for the past 6 months or so (since last spring when I arrived to Mao). After the graduation some of the kids got prizes for their environment-themed art they had made. In the last post about the recycling exhibition you can see a photo of the winners holding their drawings from the art contest. Monte Cristi itself isn’t too far from Mao, maybe 1.5 hours? Possibly less. And the ride up there is really different from anything I’ve seen so far - lots of dry land, even cactuses (cacti?). Yup cacti in the Caribbean. Here are a few photos from the day: the shore in Monte Cristi, the kids’ dance at the graduation, and students thanking Banelino for working with our school.
3. Candy making with host family - Right before I left from the capital to the United States in mid-December, I stayed with the host family in Pantoja for a night. The family made a sesame and chocolate candy and gave me some to share with my family at home. Here are some photos of the candy-making process. Those big leaves in the pictures are banana or plantain leaves.

Bye!

XO