not a graceful re-entry

well, here we are...back in vermont. i will begin with the most recent and take you backwards to sunny, warm and active dominican republic....

upon returning, my daughter and i entered our house to find no working furnace, a strong odor in the house and that i had changed the password to the computer and could not remember it! this was at 11:30pm! so, we packed ourselves up again, and grabbed the dog, and ran to our friends house. a very cold house and 3 technicians later, we were finally up and running.

since then, i have just been trying to get on top of all the details of life that had not been touched for a month, as well as emptying the suitcases, washing the endless loads of laundry and helping with homework. big cell test tomorrow!

but, let's go back to our warm place, shall we? i must admit, whether it is the fact that our transition was not extremely easy, or i am just having issues, but i am not feeling very good about being home. the difference in the way people look is incredible. i know that in the d.r. you can see some crazy tight outfits, and some women falling out of their tops, but they walk with sass, talk with sass, and make an effort to not wear baggy, holey jeans and layers of ripped clothing. people talk to each other in the grocery store about everything. they walk with their heads up and will discuss politics and music everywhere. it is a little easier today, as daylight savings time has improved the look of everything and the ice is melting.

our last days were spent on the north coast, our home away from home. cabarete and sosua are such fun places. very different beaches. very different people, and very different food. the good news, as i mentioned before, was the german bakery in sosua with bread and nutella. our last day, for breakfast we had lambi a la criolla en la playa en sosua!

as i promised my daughter we rode horses on the beach, and she got to drive the funny buggies. that was a typical dominican experience, where we negotiated one price, were later told it was not enough, almost didn't get picked up, then when we did, drove around the block in sosua, to go back to where we were just picked up, to switch buses, to later be told that my daughter could not drive?! after a brief discussion, in spanish! i had that all settled, as i did not just go through all of that and pay 70.- for me to drive the dusty, rocky roads for several hours. after the ride they tried to convince us we needed to buy the dvd of the experience, by telling us there was dominican music included. i explained that i had dominican music. the guy asked me what i had, and when i began listing the artists they got hysterical and left me alone...i knew that i had everything they were going to include and more!

my daughter and i went to puerto plata to visit the family of a friend. it was a highlight of the trip for us. we hung out with the boys in the backyard, where they gave us presents this time. usually i bring them treats, this time we brought a small pizza, but they gave me a beautiful bracelet, and we helped with homework, and my daughter got a new nickname from a local lady...blancita! and i had enough spanish to understand more and to talk more and be silly. we wanted to come back but we were leaving. we love them all. tears are filling my eyes right now, as i write this. i promised the boys if i come back in july, that i will have art supplies for the older one and a basketball for the younger one.

my daughter is a perfect traveling companion. i enjoyed her company to the fullest. i hope to continue to show her so many places in the world, or even if it is the same country, that we are able to see how lucky we are and help others, and be touched and motivated to be kinder people, and to reach out to our "neighbors" more. life is short, and what makes it special are the connections.

each day was more perfect than the day before. and, although, i was ready to have my vacation portion be finished, i was not ready to return. i was ready to head back to santo domingo and work on more spanish and dance., and make more business connections. i wish there was a way to live there for about 6 months to practice my spanish. i would be so much better.

thank you to all those that i came into contact with and all the experiences that made me stronger. i am so sure now that i need warm, rich thinking people in my life all of the time.

kisses to all.

a