Timeline of Monday and Tuesdays events:
Monday 12/10 evening: My neighbor announces to the community that there was some
ciclon coming towards the country.
*In my community, there is no phone service and no TVs. 2 people own radios and we rely on them for the
noticias
Tuesday 12/10 8:30a: I walked outside to clean my "pee pot" and noticed a sky full of clouds. Brief thoughts of packing up essentials and heading into the city to call the PC office to see what was happening ran through my mind. Problem: Only ONE truck heads down from my site into Ocoa. It leaves each morning at 7:30a.
Went about my day.
There were more rumors of a storm coming towards us by 2:00p or 5:00p. Everyone kind of stayed indoors and didn't show much concern.
1:00p The skies continued to darken. I told my host-mom that if the weather gets bad, I'd have to find a way to contact the PC office. She laughed and said "
Si Dios quiere". 3:00p An unfamiliar motorcycle driver came looking for
la Americana to hand deliver a note. Sure enough the note said for me to head to the capital immediately. My contact in the city received a phone call from the capital advising her to reach me. She sent a moto-driver up to my site (this cost me a pretty penny).
I packed up, grabbed a backpack full of necessities, put on my helmet and hopped on the back of the motorcycle.
*The road (if you can call it that) is really rocky, you have to cross a river at least 5 times, and motorcycles suck. I thought I was going to fall off.
3:30p: On the road, we passed a motorcycle driver was looking for
la Americana. We stopped and he handed me a note. A volunteer had written it stating that all PCVs were now in the CONSOLIDATION PHASE and need to report to "safe-houses" (i.e. hotels throughout the country).
4:15p: A man in a truck traveling towards my site flagged us down. You guessed it, he was looking for
la Americana. This driver said that he was sent up the mountain to pick me up. I was ecstatic as this meant no more moto ride for me!
The ride down the mountain was really bumpy and became pretty scary once it started to rain. We picked up hitch hikers on the way as many people wanted to head down to the pueblo for a safety. I grew antsy because I knew that the last bus to the capital would leave by 6:00p.
5:56p: The truck driver dropped me off at the bus stop and they were still loading! I boarded and found Katie, but none of the other regional PCVs (there are 5 of us). We headed to Santo Domingo.
8:45p: Katie and I arrived at the assigned hotel SAFELY. We checked in and met up with the other PCVs and gobbled up a delicious (and very free) dinner.
Notes:
I can honestly say that some of my faith in the PC system has been restored. I whole-heartedly appreciate the efforts taken to get me to a safe location during OLGA. You all should know that all PCVs have been accounted for. A couple were unable to leave their sites, but PC has had contact with them. As far as the storm direction, you all in the States probably know more than I do. I believe the eye is passing Haiti, but we're expecting tons of rain as the tail whips over us.
Spoiled American Notes: All consolidated PCVs are happily enjoying our air-conditioning, cable tv, hot showers (REAL SHOWERS) and the yummy hotel buffet thanks to the PC. A few of us made the 5 block trek in the crazy rain to the PC office to retrieve packages. Thanks Tia Vero, Mom, and Danny for all the love.
Back to Reality: We'll be here at least one more night. All of us are dreading leaving and are scared to hear about the damage the storm has caused in our sites. Whatever the results, I'll try to keep you posted. I think my house will be fine. We'll probably just have an increase in rats. Yeah, rats. I'll write about the rats later.
For now, have a great holiday season and good luck with finals UNR!
