Coast & Class

This week has been full! I've been doing quite a bit of exploring. I've visited three nearby towns multiple times- Puerto Plata, Sosua, and Cabarete. Each are unique and charming in their own way. Puerto Plata is the largest town on the North Coast. It's dirty and crowded, but in that colorful and exciting Latin American way. It also has a really long boardwalk along the ocean. I walked from one end to the other yesterday, hoping to see some pretty views and find some good eats, but ended up with some pineapple from a street vendor. It was a beautiful walk, but I was hungry for most of it.

Sosua is touristy and busy. It has a nice beach, but most of it is lined with shops and bars. I walked the length of it and was harassed about buying painting and food the entire way. I ended up walking a little too far it turns out, because I ended up in Sosua Abajo, which is a small town beside of Sosua. This was ok, but it ended up being really difficult to find a taxi back to Montellano. The taxi driver I did find tried to convince me that I needed a Dominican boyfriend in addition to my American boyfriend (No importa- puedes tener dos y los dominicanos son mejores). The funny part is that this guy was married- I guess he was looking out for his friends. Who knows? I assured him that I was very happy with the one boyfriend that I have!

Sosua also has a serious problem with sexual tourism (prostitution). It is very common to see beautiful young Dominican and Haitian girls (sometimes midteens) with older European or American men. I remember studying this in some of my Latin American Studies classes at Wake, and I also saw quite a bit of it when I studied abroad in Cuba. It's hard to see it. I worry about all the beautiful little girls, many already living in deparate situations, that attend school at The Care Center and pray that this is something they will never have to face.

The third town that I have explored is Cabarete. Cabarete is a beach town east of Sosua. It boasts some of the best windsurfing and kiteboarding conditions in the world. It was also really touristy- more so than Sosua. I enjoyed walking around and had a really good dinner there, but I'm not sure if it's somewhere I will hang out too much. There is another beach nearby called Playa Encuentro, that is supposed to be good for surfing. I have yet to check it out though. I am interested in traveling to some of the less touristy towns along the North Coast (apparently, there aren't that many)...

The best news I have is that I will have my own classes in the mornings next week! I am working on providing some classes for students that need extra help. The problem is that most of the children at The Care Center need extra help. All of the children that attend class at The Care Center also attend public Dominican school. The problem is that the public school in Caraballo (the village where I work) has at least 60 children in each class!! The kids aren't learning anything! The Care Center has around 20-25 kids in each class and it is still difficult to help all of them. So, in most grades, about half of the kids are behind at least a grade level. I have one child in my third grade group that performs at about a 1st grade level.

So, I will have some smaller classes starting on Monday. Unfortunately, I can't see all of the kids (there aren't enough hours in the day), so I am having to choose which ones I think need the most help. Please pray that I am able to be effective. I expect that there will be plenty of kinks to work out, but I am very hopeful about working with the kids.

Thanks for all of your prayers- they have definitely been needed and have been very helpful to me. I have felt a sense of encouragement since I arrived here. Even when bad things have happened, I have felt content. I am very thankful that I have this opportunity and am excited to share more with you.

Love & God Bless,
GA