Wow….I cant believe the time has finally come. After months of preparation I'm finally on my world race. We arrived in The Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo on Saturday and after a four hour bus ride ended up staying the night in Miguel's house in San Juan. Miguel is an American missionary contact for the world race. We stayed there until about noon the next day and then left for Montacitos. Montacitos is a small village high in the mountains where my team will be staying for the next month helping out the local church. The ride to Montacitos was pretty crazy. It reminded me of the off roading I did in Patagonia, Argentina. Except this wasn't inside of an SUV. We sat in the back of a small truck with all of our packs and two weeks worth of food we had bought. Fortunately the ride wasn’t too long. Upon arriving we met with the pastor of the church and set up our tents for the month ahead. By the way, the view I have when I wake up in the morning is absolutely amazing. The nights are equally amazing. I have never seen so many stars before in my life. I promised myself I’d spend some quality time this month stargazing.
Joining us on our journey this month is our translator, Ronny. He’s a Dominican from San Juan who works with Miguel. And he speaks almost perfect English. He made the trip to Montacitos with us along with his wife Patrias. They have only been married a month. Although we have Ronny, I have also acted as a translator of sorts for the team. Living in Argentina for a year, I picked up quite a bit of Spanish. And while I don’t consider myself fluent, Ronny as well as the locals are quite impressed with my Spanish speaking skills. I have to admit they have come in handy thus far.
Life here in the mountains, as well as all of The Dominican Republic, is pretty wild. Everyone here is extraverted. There are no introverts. To be quiet and withdrawn is almost seen as rude. People here live there lives in the moment and on the streets. Time is mostly spent with friends outside, and the inside of the house is rarely used. Also, the children here seem obsessed with us. They have taken to following us around and standing in the doorways watching us. I have offered them candy thinking that is what they wanted but they always politely refuse. I guess they just like watching. Even as I write this there are a few spies staring intently from the doorway.
Well that’s all I got for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I’ll try to respond in a timely manner. Seeing as how we are at the top of a mountain, that might be hard. You can also leave comments. Anyway, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I’ll try to write again soon. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family about my blog!!!!!! I need as many viewers and subscribers as possible!!! LET'S ROLL!!!
