It's been awhile

So much on my mind and there's no way this short entry will be sufficient but.....

Noel: The dang storm did a ton of damage. The roads turned into rivers, homes turned into pools, and people and animals lost their lives. We didn't have power for 8 days and food was becoming scarce. Luckily all of the PCTs are ok. The water group was evacuated from their training site by hellicopter. That made for a good story. There's some good footage of the damages caused by the storm on You Tube...check it out and let me know what you think.

Site: I received my official placement last week! I'll be in a small community surrounded by the mountains of the Cordillera Central in the province of San Jose de Ocoa (I left San Jose, Ca to end up in San Jose of the DR...go figure). It takes 1hr 45min to get to the community from the city. The road is really dangerous and scary, but leads to my paradise. Fast facts: the community is made up of 54 houses, there's a school that goes up to 5th grade with 45 students, the community has had an agro-forestry PCV in the past so there is tons of vegetation, I live near a river, It is really cold at night (yay!), my outhouse is about 50 yards away from my house, I use the "pee pot" at least twice a night, It's amazing.....you should come visit.

Early XMAS: Thanks Mom, Tracy, Juvie, Christine and Danny for the wonderful packages and mail. I received everything last week when I arrived back at the capital and enjoyed my early Christmas. Some highlights were: post-its, tapatio packets, M&Ms, UNR stickers, trail mix, granola bars, Gulliver's Travels, magazines and batteries. Don't worry, I am sharing my goodies with the other PCTs. Again, thanks so much for making me feel special.

Communication: Once I am permanently at my site I will only be able to check my email bi-monthly. Please remember to send me messages and or funny emails whenever possible. It'll be a nice balance to all the messages I get from my mom telling me of a new personal item she has decided to sell or give away (love you mom).