Happy Thanksgiving!

***Make sure to look at the updates on the tabs "BOTTLES" and "Rain Water Catchment"*****

While I didn't get any turkey this year (or stuffing or pie!), I did have some goat jaw the other day (see picture on right). I mainly eat "normal foods" (peanut butter, eggs, oatmeal and rice and beans make up 90% of my meals) but my neighbors sometimes bring over something interesting. My Doña (the women who lives next door and takes care of me) killed one of her goats. She spent the day cleaning and saving EVERY part. The jaw was ok, I broke it in half and nibbled on it like a turkey drumstick. Happy Thanksgiving!

A group of girls and women from my community went to the Mirabal house outside of Moca, which is now a museum. This is Dede Mirabal, the fourth sister.

Dianaciónal de No Violencia Contra la Mujer:

Today marks the anniversary of the deaths of the Mirabal sisters in 1960. Some Dominican history: for 31 years (1930 till 1961) Trujillo ruled the island as a dictator. Anyone against him was imprisoned, killed, or disappeared. The Mirabal sisters, who opposed his dictatorship, were tortured in prison and then their car was ambushed and three sisters and the driver were murdered. The murder of the sisters, along with other equally horrible events, led to his assassination a few months later. Their story is truly amazing and I could not do it justice here in these few lines. Julia Alvarez wrote "In the Time of the Butterflies," which tells their story in a novel form.

Los Derramaderos! At the base of a mountain chain. I used to hike up there all the time. Now I'm just too busy! There is coffee, oranges, mangoes, avocado, and lots of crops of yucca and other root vegetables. Unfortunately, the hills are almost always on fire these days - farmers burn large plots to make room for planting more foods or grazing areas for their cows. It's tough: everyone understands that the deforestation is exacerbating their water shortage problem, but they also need to grow crops and feed their cows to make a living!

Some kids playing baseball.

We built a hand-washing station next to the latrines in the school as part of a hygiene and sanitation project. Before, kids would use the latrine and then run off with dirty hands. It was gross! We also fixed the  water-catchment system and cistern and cleaned out and fixed up the old unused latrines. Now we are working on education with the kids. I have to admit that when I caught the girls washing their hands it was one of my proudest moments here!

I work A LOT.....but there is always a little time for the beach (hey, I'm in the Dominican Republic!) This is a beach on the southwestern coast, which is gorgeous, you should go there.