Not feeling very creative today, sorry.

Last week in Jarabacoa. We have been here learning about organic coffee, cocoa, fruit tree plantations, vegetable gardening, forest fires, and tree planting. But honestly, we are ready to get out of here. I have loved being out of the capital and being able to go running in the mountains and swimming in the waterfalls, but I want to get started on my project now more than ever. It has been very hard for all of us to go through this training without knowing where we are going to be working for the next two years. We leave here on Monday to visit the border of Haiti where there are a lot of cacao and caf plantations, and the Monday after that, April 25, we will finally know where our sites will be. I will also finally have a cell phone so that I will be able to receive calls, in the event that anyone ever feels the inclination to call me. BUT THAT DOESNT SEEM LIKELY. In any case, I am ready to get going with this whole Peace Corps jank. I am really concerned about my ability to relate to the country folk too though, because I am about to punch my house mother in the head if she feeds me any more platanos and sausage. It is just disgusting, and nothing that I say will change her belief that they are the solution to all that ails you. But they keep you from being hungry at night! she says. First of all, I have never felt hungry in the middle of the night before, and just because you are in a carb-coma doesnt mean that you are healthy. And also, just for the record, coffee is not what you want to drink when you come back from running to cool you off, taking a shower after you get sweaty does not cause you to get sick, and rice is not a good source of vitamins. But try and tell her that. This week at the border will be nice because we will finally be able to make our own food though, so I am going to stock up on my veggies. Crazy Dominicans. Okay, I am kind of tired right now, but I want you all to enjoy some friendly banter about life here, so here is a section from my friend Laurens blog that I thought you might enjoy:So some funny things have been happening to us lately and if you are weird about bowel movements or other not so PC things to talk about then please skip this paragraph. I know there are some of you that will appreciate the absurdity of some of these happenings. So the people in the DR do not get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. They use a chamber pot which is pretty much a normal old plastic bucket or tin dish that they keep right next to their bed. Well my friend Jen was taking a shower the first week we were here and decided that she needed a good cleansing on her back. Well there was a small little bucket at the foot of the shower that seemed to be the perfect thing to use for the spilling of water on her backside. Remember, there are no shower heads here, just a big bucket and a small bucket. Long story short, the splash was a little less refreshing than Jen thought it would be initially. I really dont understand this cultural norm. They have a bathroom but they choose to not exit their bedroom and use it. Instead they simply lean over the edge of their bed outside the mosquito net and hope for the best. With a tin roof this makes for fantastic acoustics. The other topic that directly affects our well being is our health. Every process that runs smoothly in the states, in the DR, takes some getting used to. The only way Liz is able to function correctly in the morning is to run very early and take care of her business on the side of the road. Without the running she has some problems with her plumbing. Now, I know you are all thinking, why in the world is Lauren telling us all this, this is so gross. Well, I think we are all a little tired of hearing how pretty the mountains are and how ridiculous my life has been lately. I thought it would be nice to here some good old honest banter about some of the things that arent so amazing about this country. I cannot wait for the day when my beautiful mother (and Bianca too) walks into my shack and realizes she has to walk out the back door and into a 3x3 hut with a shower curtain as the door, and a cement hole as a toilet, to use the restroom every time they need it. This will be priceless. Might just be the highlight of my week. Theres Jarabacoa from where Lauren is sitting. Maybe our perspectives will change when we get a location change. See you en la Frontera!