Getting in Deep

*Sorry if the blog is a bit choppy, I write when I can and it also may contain a lot spelling errors.
I feel at home already. It was worrisome for a little but all it took was reminding myself that I chose this and for a good reason at that. Life is pretty amazing here. There is a lot more time since I do not have things like television, constant internet access and a car. Instead I wake up and visit with my host mom and my new best friend who is a nine year old girl. She has more life than anyone I ever met in my entire life. Then on days I have training I catch a taxi or ride the bus to the training center. The roads are intense here, you have to be careful and there is no such thing as crossing the street because it would be like an unfortunate game of Frogger. Then we come back around 5 and do what ever we want play in the streets with kids, play dominos with adults, dance the meringue, and the bochacha (I don’t know how to spell it yet) and salsa is not as popular as I thought.
There are only two people who live in the same house as me. However during the day there are many people who come over and visit. Many people live in different houses but not far away. It would be as if your entire family and the friends of your entire family lived in one neighborhood.
The food is also a treat. My host mom thinks it is weird that I drink my coffee with no sugar but I guess it is not normal in the states either. In this culture it is popular to treat people with extra sugar and oil in some foods as a sign of hospitality. I think she understands that I am a bit of a health freak but that does not mean I turn anything down.

We are getting in deep. While we have only been able to experience life in Santo Domingo, I feel that we are slowly turning into Dominicans. For one thing, my skin is getting a darker and my Spanish is getting faster. My desire to take showers are limited to when I go to bed and not every time I break a sweat…which is every second here. And for the most part, the mosquitoes are beginning to leave me alone. If you come to visit me you will have to accept that you have new blood that the mosquitoes go crazy over. One thing that you will need is a good mosquito net, some spray, and malaria pills. Also it is recommended to take B-Complex which works for some and not for others. I suggest taking malaria pills a month prior to coming. You will have crazy dreams but that is free entertainment as I see it.
Every day we have training but yesterday are training consisted of a field trip into the city. What I mean by that is right now we live in an area that is concentrated with many barrios and the city is the metropolitan area where there is historical buildings and sites and shopping galore. I guess I can refer to it as the Zona Colonial. It is a great place with many things to do, but I was a bit turned-off because I have been enjoying my barrio life so much. It is an adventure every day. Sometimes you wonder how anyone can live in a place like this, and some days you wish that you grew up here. The barrio life is much different than anything I have ever seen or experienced in my life. It is the real deal; muddy streets, dogs everywhere, loud music, and people always sitting and enjoying their time together.
Today at training we learned a few dances and to play dominoes. I can see why it is so popular here and I am not sure why American doesn’t have a game people play all-day together other than World of Warcraft. On the other hand I can see why people play those online games. There is something lacking in American culture. It is not like people here don’t work all day or go to school. They do, but when they come home they play, dance, cook, clean, sing, dream, and visit with neighbors. Some how I lost a lot of those things when I got so wrapped up in my own personal life. I hope when I return the United States I can continue to live this way. Work is great, but it shouldn’t spill into my family and friend time. However, if I am the only one who thinks this way, it will be difficult to find others who are willing to enjoy their time with me and not think of all the many things they need to accomplish for work and themselves.
Enough bagging on American culture. I was able to really exercise today for the first time. I ran about a mile and a half to play basketball with my friends at the park. We played 5 on 5, Americans vs. Dominicans, and I am pleased to announce that we won twice. I was sweating like a pig but we won none-the-less. I can get used to working out here; the hardest part is sucking in all the bad air from the pollution. The cars here would not pass a smog check if their life depended on it. It makes me believe that the hardcore environmentalists in America are delusional because the amount of pollution same as other 2nd or 3rd world countries in the world. It is expensive to be green…Maybe environmentalists are on to something…something profitable???? The Industrial Revolution created such a mess.

3 AM Found Me in the Dominican Republic

August 19th-21st

3 AM found me in the Dominican Republic. For those who do not know what I am talking about, back home in California I would always wake up around 3 AM and usually eat a snack of some sort but here I am not hungry, I just naturally woke up at 3 AM. There is a ridiculous amount of stuff that has happened in the last 48 hours since I have been here so I will do my best to recap it all. I guess first off we made it safely with no problems. That is impressive for a group of 51 Americans traveling at 2 AM on little sleep. I remember sleeping at the airport underneath the rows of waiting seats. Most of everyone was passed out asleep and much of the same for the flight from Miami to Santo Domingo. When we touched down in the Dominican Republic we had to practice this phrase, “No gracias”. The reason being because there are several polite Dominicans who will help you with your luggage but request a tip. Even though I practiced my “no gracias” like the rest of the group, somehow a guy about 5 feet from the luggage truck grabbed my bag for me and placed it in the truck. I actually did not mind because it aloud me to get a sweet spot on the shuttle…bus…van? We spent the first night in a large church for dinner and some training. I was dying because we had a snack and then they began some presentations and turned the lights off. Just like in any school setting when the lights go off, my eyes go shut. It was difficult and painful to stay awake but I did my best has they explained some important rules and information for our safety. The accommodations here blow my mind. They are more than anyone would imagine for the Peace Corps. They say that the Dominican Republic is one of the most desirable Peace Corps countries to serve in….I am definitely beginning to see why.
The next day we traveled early in the morning to the ENTRENA training center for a day of information, Spanish training, and signing forms. ENTRENA is the company outsourced to train us. We are 1 of 2 Peace Corps countries that receive outside training by a private company. You have no idea how special this is. The food is amazing here and it is made up of different kinds of salads, chicken, rice, beans, fried treats and plantains.
After the day was coming to an end I got the opportunity to meet my host Dona. My Dona is fabulous. She has had many Volunteers before and knows how to make an American feel comfortable. One of the first things she said was that with all her Peace Corps volunteers she has confidence and trust in them to tell her exactly what they like and do not like because she is my Dominican mother. It is a bit difficult to communicate at this point but it is only an amount of time till Spanish begins to spew from my mouth. The only person here that speaks English is a joyful 9 year old girl who lives here and is wise beyond her years. She is a real treat because like many other girls in the U.S. loves Hannah Montana. I guess you can never escape the influence of Disney no matter how far you travel. They also like to watch the Simpsons here, Go Homer! The little girl said at dinner that needed to be excused because she needed a little bit more Homer. My house has fans, electricity, regular shower, and toilet, lights, music; you name it I got it. I don’t have wireless but come on that is asking a bit much.
Well it is now four and I should be getting back to sleep.

Last moments in the United States!

Made it safely to Pre-Training in Arlington, VA. It was a wonderful coincidence that my friend Scott Kircher was flying on the same plane from Sacrament to Washington D.C. for business school at George Washington University. We arrived a night early and was able to enjoy a little bit of the nightlife in Washington. All the monuments were on the way to his place. Washington would be a fun place to live at my age. There was plenty of people out on a Tuesday night and they all seemed around their mid-twenties.
We arrived home late and I wanted to grab a bite to eat at McDonald's next to our hotel but however their lobby was closed. I thought it would be worth a shot to order through the 24 hour drive-through and it worked...until I walked to the order window and the guy would not serve me. I sadly walked backed to my hotel room where I sat thinking about those delicious chipotle bbq snack wraps. Oh well.
The next day was filled with meeting all the 50 other volunteers headed to the Dominican Republic. The majority of the people were in their mid-twenties and the oldest was a grandmother. The guy to girl ratio is 1:1. We did a lot of basic training talking about risk and how to prevent them. It was fun and interactive but a little exhausting. They gave us $120 dollars for the next couple of days. Everyone was happy about that. My last meal was at Crystal City Sports Bar and I add chips and salsa, bbq sliders, and a nice cold beer to celebrate. We played a little pool and went home to get ready for our 2 AM wake-up call. Well that hasn't happened yet, it will in about an hour and I am sure I will regret not going to bed. However the time change isn't helping me much either.
Next blog will be in the Dominican Republic!

Who Am I?

Donny Moore

Roseville, CA

Youth Development Program

Domincan Republic

Send me your heart:

Don Moore PCT

Cuerpo de Paz

Avenida Bolivar 451,

Gazcue Apartado 1412

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Ground Control To Major Don

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1....Lift off! Check ignition and may God's love be with you. Here I go. This is epic. Can what I am feeling be any different than Colombus before he set off to find new trade routes or Niel Armstrong prior to launching off to be the first man on the moon? I can only imagine that they went through the same changes, leaving dear friends and family behind to embark on an adventure. All I can say is that I am blessed and will never take this opportunity for granted. It is a gift. For anyone reading this that personally know me, I would like to thank you for your support and friendship. I hope you come visit and if not then at least write and enjoy my stories and pictures. I love everyone.