Las Tablas. Wow. What an amazing community! I have been here less than 2 days and I feel as comfortable as if I were at home—the people are incredibly warm and welcoming. I’m officially in the “campo” (country) and my backyard borders on mountains (or very large hills) that are completely green and ridiculously beautiful. My backyard should be a postcard. The nearest town is about a half hour drive away, over unpaved roads. We are in a desert climate, so although it is technically hotter here than in Santo Domingo, the humidity is about 50% less which is a relief. I was actually cold last night and used a sheet in my bed!

My host family definitely lives a rustic life compared to that in Santo Domingo. We have a small, blue block house with peeling paint. There are 3 bedrooms for 5 people, and a general kitchen/living room. There is a small galley for cooking and a large backyard with a wonderful covered porch. We use a latrine, which is a hole in the ground (literally a concrete floor with a hole in the middle—not even a seat to sit on). Going #2 is especially tricky. I bathe in a tin shack where my head touches the ceiling and creepy crawlies thrive. All of our trash gets piled in the backyard and is then burned. However, I am privileged to have my own room with a wonderful queen-sized bed (I think my host parents gave it up for me).

The food here is also very different from Santo Domingo. In the capital I was provided with a plethora of food covering all the food groups (especially fruit!). Here in Las Tablas I have not been given any fruits or vegetables but rather potatoes, bread, eggs and coffee each meal (and rice and beans and chicken for lunch).

As previously mentioned, my reception into the community has been incredible. I happened to be placed to live with the woman who is the leader of the town (the president of almost every community organization), so we have about 3-10 people hanging out in the backyard at any one time (although only 4 people live in the house). Everyone is excited to meet the “Americana” and is impressed that I speak spanish! I can tell that even a day in the country has improved my spanish immensely because I am no longer surrounded by other PC trainees. I have an awesome host sister who is 14 (but looks 20) who has toured me around the town and introduced me to everyone! I also attended a community meeting today and got to meet other involved
community members afterwards.

I am excited to finally put into practice much of my training; I begin health surveying this weekend. I have about a 30 question survey that I will use through individual interviews to discover more about community health (which means I will be conducting all interviews solo in spanish!). I have also been put into the advanced spanish class with only 1 other girl, so the classes have become more specific. It also helps that we have class on a porch overlooking the main drag, so our mornings are filled with hellos and meet and greet.

Other Updates:
• My host brother of 11 years old was wearing a Wayland soccer jersey (how he acquired it I may
never know, but what a weird coincidence)
• Las Tablas has a sanctuary/church made entirely out of stones up on this large hill, which I have seen in Dominican Culture books. Apparently, many devotees journey to the church at different parts of the year to pray and make offerings. I was able to journey there today and it is breathtaking (not to mention breezy) and have decided it is the most peaceful place I have been yet.
• Another PC volunteer in Las Tablas woke up today to a tarantula on her head. Not pretty, I
imagine. She tried to flush it down the toilet but it only crawled up. Moral: always make sure the mosquito net is tucked in at night.
• Dominoes is a town past-time in Las Tablas. There is a constant game of dominoes being played
morning, noon and night on my street. I’ve learned that I suck at the game, but it’s a great place to hang out.