Sigo Yo

Today's my last day in Santo Domingo as I leave tomorrow for a town in the Cibao region of the country for five more weeks of training, or as PC likes to call it "country-based training" (CBT) . There, I'll learn more about the project areas I may be working in, experience campo life, and, of course, have more much-needed Spanish lessons. Last week, the CED volunteers and I sat-in on several presentations on the coffee industry in the DR by members of an organization that services coffee associations across the country. Too bad I couldn't understand half of what the presenters where saying, but at least I could read the power points and I did learn a lot about the opportunities and struggles these associations are facing. Also last week, a current volunteer nearing the end of her service presented her main project of the past two years, which was helping artisans market and sell their products in tourist areas. Doing this is a difficult task for many reasons, one of the main ones being that many tourists do not explore beyond the all-inclusive resort they are staying at. Often times, artisan tables are set-up within the resort to provide a "market" experience, but even then, these tables are arranged by the resort or hotel. Another major challenge is strengthening a group of artisans to work together efficiently and develop business skills, even as simple as customer service.

I'm sad to leave and say good-bye to my host family here in the capital, but I'll get to see them when I return for the swearing-in ceremony when I'll become a full-fledge volunteer. The past month here in the DR--training, my host family, public transportation, all of it--has been a friendly, loud and tiring learning experience. By the way, I need to give a shout-out to my friend, Erin, who sent me the first letter I've received here. Getting a hand-written letter in the mail was not only comforting, but reassuring as well because there's a a couple volunteers who get, literally, twenty letters a day and it started making me and the rest of the volunteers feel insecure.