Kids

These are some kids photos

Construction

These are some of the phots from the construction part of the volunteer work.

In the truck on the way there. It takes an hour to get there each day.

1 Week In

Well it's been a week now and we're back at the beach in sosua for a fun day out. We're not going on the beach today because yesterday we went to a place called 27 Waterfalls. About an hour out of puerto plata the place is located at the back of a sugar field. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there and the 20 minute hike to the actual waterfalls made us wonder if it was worth the 10 dollars we paid to do 12 of the 27 waterfalls. It was. The activity consisted of half climbing and half being hoisted up waterfalls by underwater monkey men. The place was beautiful and i took plenty of pictures with my underwater camera as we swan along the deep channels carved over millions of years by the running water. When we got the the top of the 12th waterfall we had to head back. What better way to head back then to jump and slide down all the waterfalls we had just climbed! The Pentax Optio w30 is a really well made waterproof digital camera. These waterfalls were the acid test for this type of camera and it passed with flying colours, not leaking when i lept off a 30 foot cliff into a pool of water with it. I will post the photos when i find an internet cafe that lets me use my memory stick.

The volunteering is ace. The school is already ahead of schedule and on friday we levelled the floor and on monday we will be starting on the walls. The old school we demolished was made out of sticks and tin and came downb really easily. Its hard work but you can always see progress at the end of the day.

Every other day we go and teach some poor spanish kids different things. This is also fun and the kids can be really adorable. We tought them Geography and Ecology last week. I'll write more next time.

More Info

We've had one weekend at the CSA complex now. Its been not that bad. The place is a bit of a hole, but we are volunteering so its not worse than can be expected. Lots of bugs hanging around, there was a cockroach on the wall in my room the other day but it cvanished before bed time.

Ben got his luggage back. Traveller's tip: Dont fly with American Airlines, they seem to have a reputation for losing baggage all over the show for domestic and international flights. Everyone i spoke to got their bags back eventually but its still a bit of hassle that can be avoided.

For our project we are going to be demolishing an old school and building a new one. Well we're not expected to finish the whole thing other groups will come in after us and finish off the job but we're the first there. Hopefully we'll get to the bit of laying the foundations.

We went to the beach for the day today. The place was humming. Isla and I waklked up and down the parade looking for shorts for her to work in. Bartering and Dealing with the locals is a pain in the ass. We were exhausted by the end so settled on some shorts she didnt really like. Lunch was nice though and we got to try some more of the local rum and a pinocolada served in a whole pineapple. Pretty good stuff.

gotta dash

Joel

Safe Arrival

After several hours of flying, sleeping on the cold, hard floor at JFK international and a ride in a planbe barely bigger than the average bus we have arrive safely in the dominican republic! Its very hot and quite humid but its not too unbearable.
It's not all great, however. For a start Bens luggage got lost and when we got out the airport we didnt know where to go cause an e-mail ISV supposedly sent us never arrived. After some long distance calls to the ISV US office, however, All was saved and we got a taxi to a Hotel where ISV put us up for the night. Hopefully ben will get his bags back when we go to the airport again later today.

Later today we are going to get shipped off to our volunteer project. This is where the 2 weeks of hard work begins. :)

Later

Joel

P.S. Took my underwater camera in the sea yesterday and got some piuctures of us. It still works so I guess thats decent.

Heathrow express

Goose and i on the heathrow express. In 15 minutes we'll be at terminal 3. So far everything is going as planned. Whether adam turns up is a matter of debate. Im sure he will but its funny to imagine he forgot the time. 10 pounds for the heathrow express with a young persons rail card. Good value.

Project Overview

We have finally received our project overviews from ISV. All the mystic details of what we were doing in the DR have finally been revealed.

The volunteering organisation we'll be hooking up with in the DR is called the community Service Alliance (CSA). They have a complex overlooking the mountains in the Puerto Plata region which supposedly overlooks the hills. They have a waterfall and the guy who runs the place is called Father Pepe.

The group of us going with CSA gets split into 2. In the morning one group builds houses and things for the nearby villiages and the other interacts with the local community. After lunch the groups swap round.

The nearest town is a while away so in the first 2 weeks I may only be able to post when we get outings to the local town on Saturday afternoon or Sunday. Hopefully I can then post the best of the pictures I take then.

So with barely over 6 Days until we depart we know what volunteering will be like. Its going to be good fun although I won't be able to drink on my birthday as CSA seems to have a no drinking policy. I'll have to find a way to get around that I think.