This is Gordo (nickname in Spanish meaning "fat guy") riding a donkey. Everytime I saw Gordo, he was riding that donkey. It was hilarious, but it was so his mode of transportation. 

Ikuko's humble abode. It was very basic. In the DR, the electricity went off in the middle of the day and at night. There was no warning when it would shut off, but you knew it would. There were some nights where we were lucky if the electricity stayed on past 10pm.  

One Crisp Morning near Colegio Loyola, the local high school in Dajabon. Most kids get to school by walking or hitching a ride on the back of trucks (oftentimes Ikuko's truck), etc. I just thought that this shot was great in showing the kids on their way to school.  

(from left) Altagracias, her granddaughter, Ruben and Flores. Flores did my hair while I was in Clavellina and then invited me to lunch with her family. I had the Dominican dish, "los crillo" (I bet I'm butchering the spelling and the name). It was muy bueno! Flores' family is what a typical Dominican family looks like, mixed white and black. That's why Dominicans are so many different shades, much like African Americans.

Teaching the Haitian migrant children at the center.

The kids learned about colors and body parts.

While I was in Dajabon, Ikuko asked me to teach English to some of the Haitian kids that came to this center that she works with. It was such a great a experience. We didn't speak any of the same languages (they spoke Creole and some Spanish) and I spoke Japanese and English, but they learned some things. I taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." They must've loved it because as we followed them back across the border they were doing the gestures that go to the song and laughing. Ikuko said that that was the most that she'd seen the kids smile. I was happy to laugh with them. 

Haitians crossing the river back into Guanamen, Haiti, after a long day of working in the market in Dajabon, DR. If it threatened to rain, then they had to leave early or the river would be too high to cross. The soldiers that monitored their return often said mean things to them.  

Little Barbara! She is only 6 years old and she is SO mature. She is Ikuko's neighbor in Clavellina. She would come over when Ikuko was home and help her around the house or just to talk to her. I hope my daughter is just like her! She has a sister, Jilda, and brother, Amaori. 

La feria: Some of the factory workers advertising their product, Yuca and Platanos chips, that they make in the small town of Clavellina. 

The Taiwanese expert and Dominican locals there checking out the shrimp in the pond. This is one of the projects that Ikuko coordinates that she hopes to be another way for the people of Clavellina to sustain themselves. They raise shrimp and sell them in town. It's month two...we'll see. 

Manolo (mi tio), me, ChiCha (mi tia) and Juandi. I fell in love with this family! They were the best. As soon as she met me, she gave me the greatest hug and fed Ikuko and I. She thought that I was Dominican (as everyone I met thought) and called me a "Dominicana Americana." Before we ate this meal, she told us that she made the food with love "con amor." I cried after leaving her house the first time I met her. I never knew someone with such great energy and love. She adopted Juandi. Apparently he came to visit her once from Mao and cried to come back, so she she let him stay and enrolled him in school there. I'm coming back to visit them, mark my words. 

The year of the Dominican Republic's independence.  

Your average little bodega (I'm calling it that because they remind me of the bodegas or little mini stores in NYC). 

There were mountains all over Dajabon. It reminded me so much of Japan.  

Ikuko, Morfi and I in the mountains after the Boshi-Techo workshops. The workshop's aim was to introduce the Boshi-Techo program created by Japan to Dominican mothers. The program was created to decrease infant mortality rates (which increased in Japan following WWII). Infant mortality is a huge problem in the province of Dajabon. The simple solution that Ikuko and the ministry of health (Morfi presents in the workshop) seek is to introduce these "History of my health" books to the mothers so that they can keep the records of their children's health. Something as simple as that can help doctors and parents in keeping up with the health of the children. 

Boy on horseback near one of the clinics in the mountains. The journalist that came to document one of the Boshi-Techo workshops took it really quick for me. He has a great eye. 

Vaca Crossing: This happened to us so many times: boy on horseback herds cows down a dirt/main road, we wait in the car until they pass. I swear, that really happened everyday that I was there. 

Memorial to the Japanese that came to Dajabon after/during (? ) WWII. Ikuko says that the dictator of the DR placed them there in Dajabon close to the border of Haiti because he believed that if the Haitians (?) tried to attack, then the Japanese government would come and rescue them, making them a buffer between the Dominicans and the Haitians. I met one Japanese descendent in Dajabon, Yamanaka-san, who was an owner of a shop.

This guy was taking the bus with us from Dajabon to Santiago. I thought that he looked different from the rest of us "Dominicans." Turns out he was a United Nations representative from Guinea monitoring the conditions in Dajabon and Haiti. He only spoke French and Ikuko spoke some French. His friend was from Haiti and could manage a bit of Spanish to speak to Ikuko. It's a small world. He showed us pictures of him in his U.N. uniform. So cool. 

The best meal I had during my trip. I had sea bass fillet and Ikuko had conch. Well...the best meal was at ChiCha and Manolo's home. 

Drinking juice in the morning. This was the view from our bungalow in Sosua. It was lovely :) 

Beach Girls just wanna have fun. Ikuko and I on the beach in the early morning hours in Sosua. 

This can't be the last time I see the shores of the Dominican Republic. 

Ikuko says goodbye to Sosua, Dominican Republic.  

What Reverse Culture Shock?

Well, I've been back in the States for a month now and I have yet to experience this "reverse culture shock" that many of my friends said that they experienced when they came back from Japan. I think that I haven't experienced it because I came back on July 31st and on August 8th I was back at work at ICFJ (www.icfj.org ). It was good to get back to some level of normalcy, although my body paid for it. For about three weeks, I was jetlagged. I would sleep only until 4 am and then wake up and go back to sleep an hour later.

Some of the things that I notice about myself is how I have changed in social settings. In a conversation with a group of people mixed with those that I don't know, the old Gina would've been talkative and welcoming. The new Gina is more standoffish (is that a word? another affect of living abroad in a non-English speaking country) in a great conversation. I often sit and listen and observe because I'm so used to not knowing how to express myself effectively in Japanese in a Japanese conversation that I was often unwillingly thrust into. Don't get me wrong, I did have great conversations in Japanese, it's just that the dynamic of the relationships within the "talking group" might not be a group of people that may appreciate what I have to say about a sensitive topic. Most Japanese people stayed clear of conversations on politics because if it involved my country, it often wasn't good. And I got the feeling that they followed the rule that my grandparents followed, "If what you have to say isn't nice, don't say anything at all." Yeah, that about sums it up. So, I've started following that rule. I've started not speaking unless I'm spoken to and I often tell myself that I shouldn't do or say things that might "rock the boat." So, please excuse me as I go through my "reverse culture shock" in my own way. I am slowly coming back to my old ways, but I've been through so many changes in these last few months (i.e. the joy of knowing God [see "The Purpose Driven Life" book] and my heart [break] attack). There's more to come in the changes in my life. The cultural connections that I've had in these last two years have been enough to fill a book (see my future book in say... 3 years).

Working
Yesterday was my last day of temporary work at ICFJ. It was good to come back to work with my old friends there. I have been trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with my career, and it has caused me some stress just dreaming about it. But the overwhelming feeling that I get is that my calling is somewhere in the world of international development. I have had two great job offers working in that field, although indirectly, that are a great step in the right direction. I should find out which job I will have by the end of September or the beginning of October. I'm not worried though, God knows what he wants for me and I'll do the best that I can at whatever job I do get.

Volunteering
Well, starting Tuesday I will be heading to the Dominican Republic to visit my friend, Ikuko Shimizu, who has been living in Dajabon, DR since January. She is doing some great work there in that small village (www.ikukosh.blogspot.com). I will know more in depth what it is exactly that she does there when I arrive. I will help her with some workshops that she will administer and get the opportunity to teach English to some Haitian immigrant children that cross the border everyday. I just want to get my hands in there and work in whatever way that I can. I really wish that my Spanish skills were up to par (it's been ten years since I've taken Spanish lessons), so that I can communicate with them. I'm not too worried though because when I first came to Japan, I had that same problem, but I survived. I know that going there and having this experience will give me one more new perspective of the world outside of America. I wish that ALL Americans had this opportunity to see the world in this way. Every chance that I get I want to travel abroad and not just for leisure travel in overpriced hotels and resorts, but the chance to make real cultural connections. I want to contribute somehow to the society/community that I visit wherever I go. I can't imagine going to another country and not being educated somehow. I will post pictures to the site when I return. I bought a disposable camera with me just in case I lose my digital camera. I'm so excited to go. You'll get to read more about my experiences later.