four.

written Sat.

you know, its hard for me to write this without smiling. i have only felt as i have today a few times, less than fingers on my right hand (or left). i have never felt so welcomed by an unfamiliar culture, so loved by a foreign family, so...i dont know, it's hard to describe. i feel like many of my entries during the next three weeks will be like this. so where should i start. first, with the bad news. i am completely bitten by mosquitos, which shouldn't be too bad, since I am taking my malaria profilaxis. i'm not too worried about dengue, and neither should you all. its survivable, and once you have it, you can't get it again, as it is viral. although there are three strains, so technically, well i wont get into that. right now i am safely sheltered by my mosquito net, so i have no fear. outside, my host mom and sister are chatting furiously about topics unknown to me, and i have hidden away in my room to write this little entry. anyway, where was I. right, my family. well, my "mom" is as motherly as moms can be. she feeds me constantly, and if I can ever post my pictures, you can see exactly what i mean. she cooks all day long, either for me, or for the millions of others who come through the house. the dominican culture is one of compartir. or sharing. and nothing is just yours, everything is everyones. its wonderful. my "mom", and yes, i put mom in quotes because I do not want my own mother to feel replaced, which you could never be mamochka. but my "mom" is always busy, cooking, cleaning, peeling yuka, all sorts of things. my "papa" is a musician, who plays the saxophone and many other instruments when he isn't out fighting his cocks. today we spoke at length about his musical career, my language skills, life, the importance of health, silence, and even kandinski. yes thats right, kandinski. i also have countless nephews, one of whom, carlito, I have been spending much time with. at the age of thirteen, he's slowly becoming a man, but with the energy and desires of a child. i spent much of the evening playing frisbee, voleyball, and soccer with him, another volunteer by the name of heide, and other neighborhood children (ivan, juan carlos, a girl whos name i can't remember who is also part of my family, and many others. once the games began they just kept coming). actually, that's kind of an interesting story, as the location where we played today was an old gutted stadium church thing, which sits in the middle of the barrio. there, a guard stands watch all day with a shotgun (all guards here have mean looking shotguns), while children are allowed to play inside. its amazing that noone ever gets hurt. in the states such a building would be forbidden, but here, its a safe playground for all. i guess its better this way, as children seem to learn much about survival in places like this. anyway, moving on. i even passed some time with pucho, a man who's relationship to the family i still have yet to destinguish, but who lives next door, while he tended to his garden. he showed me his ornamental plants, which he sells around time, his avocado tree, his mango's, bananas, rabbits, chickens, everything. he even showed me how to properly, i don't even know how to call it, but create a new tree from a preexisting one. apparently, with many plants, a portion can be cut, planted in the soil, and later sprout roots. this is a well known concept, planting cuttings, but what i was shown today was completely new. it seems that if one is to remove bark from a branch of avocado, mango, or banana, wrap the skinned portion in some soil surrounded by plastic, the tree will sprout roots at the same spot. then, after 25 days, the portion can be cut, planted, and a new tree appears, as if by magic. i was stunned, and now i can't wait to plant my own. i even spent some time charlando, or talking, with the local youth about michael jackson, who's a big topic, rich people, and all sorts of silly topics. here people love to talk, about anything and everything. much of the day is spent with your friends, family, etc. talking. oh, and i even did a little construction, paving to be exact. not bad for a second day, huh? anyway, im tired now, and hope that i can write more tomorrow. im supposed to go to "papa's" concierto tomorrow at a local bar, so i should have some words about that. til then.