Week #10

November 28 - December 3

Kira and I were only able to work at the international school once this week, and didn't get to dive at all because we have been sick with colds for a few days now. When we're congested, we can't equalize our ears and therefore can't dive and we didn't want to get the kids at school sick. :(
The one day that we did work at the school though we finished our huge project of cleaning all the toys for the preschoolers which was awesome and a big relief!\



Although we didn't get to dive, we did work at the dive shop. Aldeas de Paz rented out two new rooms for the dive shop across the little plaza where the old dive shop rooms are. Kira and I spent a couple days this week painting the walls of the new rooms and helping to move things across the plaza to store in these rooms.

Besides working for a few days we didn't do that much this week just because were so sick. We spent our free time when we weren't in bed at Playa Bonita, soaking up the sun as our time comes to an end. The sunsets here still put me in awe every day and I am so incredibly grateful to have the ocean so close to our house.

Hanukkah started on the 2nd, but unfortunately I do not have a menorah to light. I still thought about all my family though and am wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday!

I am so not ready to come home at all but I am excited to see everyone once I get back because I miss my friends and family endlessly.

Week #9

November 20 - 27

Can't believe it's almost the end of November and Thanksgiving was this week! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I was definitely missing home, family, and friends on Thursday- I think the most in a long time. I do have to say though that I wasn't missing the cold (the snow maybe a little haha)!





We continued working at the international school this week, however the couple that runs the school are from the US and therefore the school had a Thanksgiving break (closed from Thursday -Monday). We spent more time with the five and six year olds, and also spent hours washing their toys that had not been washed in almost three years!! They were very very grateful for our help with that project. We got to go with the students to the international school's playground down the street from the school. Originally the school had just been a library, but when they built it out into a school they also created a big, nice playground down the street in an empty lot for the kids to play in. This was the first time we really got to spend time with the kids while they were running around playing and it was fun and a good contrast to working with the people at the dive shop!

Kira's friend Dennis visited this week for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving night we ate out at this restaurant called El Pasito. I had black squid ink risotto and shared ceviche. It was soo good, but of course I still missed home.



On Friday I helped at the dive shop all day. In the morning I was just in the shop getting kits ready and in the afternoon four of us volunteers had to go out to do do snorkeling surface cover with clients who were try diving. There were 17 of them, and they were all on a mission trip from places like Indiana, Ohio, and South Carolina and ranging in age from ten year olds to seniors. We split them up into three groups and took each group out for a short shore dive from Punta Poppy. As surface cover, pretty much we snorkeled above the divers (because they were new and not certified) and made sure they were ok. If anything went wrong we were supposed to notify Paul, Audrey, or Josh who was on rescue. Everything went safely, but it did take about four hours and until the sun was setting to get everyone in for their dive. To be honest, at the end I was very hangry and cold and all I wanted to do was go take a warm shower and go to sleep! The sunset that we saw from the water was very pretty though which put me in a better mood! After this when we got back to Fata Morgana Josh made me his special hot chocolate which was super tasty and good.

Over the weekend I didn't do that much but I went to Playa Bonita both days. On Saturday I went around far to the left of the beach with a couple friends and around the point to where the water is calmer. There was, yet again, a beautiful sunset that faded over the green hills.







I had three more dives this week, with one of them counting toward my advanced certification meaning I have two more to do to be a certified advanced NAUI diver.
The first two dives (not counting toward my certification) were on Monday at a deep wreck near a beach called Portillo a little ways out of Las Terrenas and at a coral garden a little closer. We were supposed to do the dives on Sunday but it ended up being two wavy so we went on Monday instead. The first dive went smoothly, with the wreck being at about 25 meters. We were able to swim through the top cabin of the boat and we some lion fish and other smaller colorful fish.
On the second dive, I still was able to dive but I was having a hard time equalizing my ears. I still saw the beautiful coral garden but couldn't go deeper than 18 meters for some reason.
After lunch break, Paul wanted me to stay and help paint the wall of the compression room. This didn't take all afternoon however, and after this Jack wanted to go on another dive to go look for his mask and a clients mask that got lost by Punta Poppy a day earlier. He wanted our help to look, so we all kitted up and drove to Punta Poppy. Ironically, as we were putting our fins on in the water, Jack lost the new mask that he was using, and so now we had to find three masks instead of two. On the dive, I was fine at first, but only a few minutes into the dive I was unable to equalize one of my ears only at three or four meters, so I decided not to risk anything and got out of the water. The rest of the divers returned without any of the lost masks.





Yesterday, on Tuesday, I did a shore dive successfully in the morning. This dive was from Punta Poppy and another attempt at looking for the lost masks. We again didn't find any. After this dive in the afternoon I stayed to help paint the stairs leading up to the dive shop and then went home.

Week #8

November 12 - 19

Just yesterday, on Monday, we started volunteering at the International School here in Las Terrenas! Last week we had a talk with Paul and Audrey about our schedules at the dive shop, and it was agreed that Kira and I will only come in when specifically told to for diving or if they really need hands doing something else. This gave us a lot more free time to do other, more productive things with our time here. Kira reached out the Mahatma Gandhi foundation here in Las Terrenas about us possibly volunteering with them. They run the international school with the goal of giving an equal education to students of all races, backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses. The school is 50% lower income local Dominican and Haitian students and 50% other students- mostly European students with families that moved here. Kira and I are helping with the pre-school and kindergarten classes because it seems that is where they need the most help.





It has been a challenge, because it is always hard to get kids this age to listen, but it is especially difficult when they speak different languages! Some of whom don't speak English or Spanish but only Haitian French or Turkish! It has been a good, fun challenge though and we both feel like we're being more effective at the school than sitting around the dive shop. It is nice to be around laughter and kids playing for a change.







On Saturday we went to Samana. I got to do my first deep dive to 40 meters at the first dive site which was super cool. We went to the normal wall there, but then kept going deeper past 18 meters until 25 to the bottom of it, and then into a trench bellow all the way down to 40 meters. Thinking about going down that deep seems pretty scary but it actually wasn't bad at all. It was quieter down deep and was also easier to equalize my ears. On the second dive, Kira and I again dove around the coral gardens near the wreck and stood up coral that had fallen over.

On Monday night the residents of Las Terrenas held a candle light vigil protest here. In 2012, the hospital that used to be here was knocked down with the promise that a new one would be built right away. The government started construction on it, but stopped in 2016 and hasn't started up again since. So, before sundown, people went up and down the streets setting up candles along the curb. When it got dark these thousands of candles were lit and the streets had a magical yet sad glow. There are about 25,00 people in Las Terrenas during the low season and this number almost doubles during high season, yet there is still not big public hospital, which is unacceptable. I am so grateful for my access to medical care and all the resources we have back home. It was powerful to watch the whole city come together though in support of this cause.







We still go to the beach a lot. I am definitely going to miss being able to pay $1 and be at the beach five minutes after leaving my house! Missing fall is hard but I assure you I am still loving the warm weather here!!

Week #7

November 7 - 11

Sorry it had been so long since I have written! It’s crazy to me that we’re more than halfway through and the weeks are going by faster now. I miss people at home a lot and I will miss thanksgiving with everybody, but it is definitely still so nice to be in the warmth of the tropics!

This week I had three more dives, meaning I have now been on seven dives total. After Samana on Monday and Playa Eden on Tuesday (which are in the last post), I went to Samana on Thursday to begin training for my advanced certification. I was able to count the two dives towards two of my training dives - a boat dive and a wreck dive. I really feel now that I am able and confident diving on my own which is exciting for me! Then, Kira and I went back to Samana on Sunday. For the first dive, Kira, Wendy, and I snorkeled and went on land to the little island in the bay there called La Farola. There are paths made and a lookout point for whale watching season. It takes probably less than 15 minutes to walk around the whole island but there are beautiful rock faces and butterflies all over. Then we dove at the wreck and Kira and I spent about 50 minutes standing up corals that had fallen over in the coral gardens all around the wreck. The day was tiring, but satisfying and it was cool to try some new things and do some marine conservation as well!







On Friday we went to a nearby freshwater lake for the first time. It's called La Noria and it is quite small but beautiful and the freshwater felt great! It is somewhat hidden down a path off the road and there is a tree you can jump off of into the water which is fun.



On Saturday I went to get my nails done (after Kira got hers done on Thursday without me while I was at Samana haha) at the O.P.I. nail salon here in Las Terrenas which is super nice and clean and organized and cheaper than at home!