Janeane Garafolo's dogs

So I just spent all afternoon and evening with Janeane Garafolo's dogs. How, do you ask, did I end up spending the afternoon with these lovely dogs? Well, it's a long story, and I'm awfully tired, so I guess you'll just have to hypothesize!

Espanol

Despues de mi vacacion a la republica dominicana, yo decidi que quiero que aprender espanol. Ayer, yo asisti mi leccion primera con mi maestra, Denisse. Hay muchas personas quien hablar espanol en Nueva York y yo tengo muchos oportunidades a practicar mis lecciones. Tambien, mi Tia Nancita es una maestra de espanol en Minneapolis. Espero que ella puede hablar y escribir conmigo y ayudarme tambien. Lo siento si no comprende esta parrafo.
Tia, como es mi parrafo?

Cold

It's REALLY cold in NY these days. And the heater in my apartment doesn't work too well. It's just one of those poles that runs up the wall and supposedly radiates heat. Yeah, so it's warm in the corner by the pole but how bout the rest of the room?

L. Loh

She's into superstition black hair and skin and bones
I feel a premonition that girl's gonna make me fall
She's into new sensation, Mary Kate and Camel Lights
she's got a new addiction for every day and night

She'll make you take your clothes off but you can't see her in the rain
She'll make you live the crazy life and she'll take away your pain
Like a Red Bull to the brain

Upside, inside out, Livin La Vida Lohan
She'll push and pull you out, Livin La Vida Lohan
She will wear you out, Livin La Vida Lohan
She's Livin La Vida Lohan

Woke up in New York City, in the back of a cheap night club
She took a puff and she took a chuggie, must have slipped her an inhal-ah

She never drinks the water makes you order tequila
And once you've had a taste of her you'll always feel the love,
Between Michael and Dina-h, LOHAN

Upside, inside out, Livin La Vida Lohan
She'll push and pull you out, Livin La Vida Lohan
Her hair is platinum blonde and her boobs are double digits,
She will wear you out, Livin La Vida Lohan
She's Livin La Vida Lohan

It's baaaaaaaack

You know it. You love it. You can't live without it. T minus 6 minutes and it begins. And if I need to tell you what it is, we're going to have words.

Dominos

Dominos
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

One night before dinner, 3 of the Dominicans taught us how to play their version of Dominos. In this picture is Dr. Diedre, Lourdes' son, volunteer Lauren, and another Dominican whose name I don't remember. They were REALLY good at it and it was fun learning their version of the game!

My bedroom

My bedroom
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

This is the room where Trish, 2 other volunteers and I slept. There were 4 beds in here, all with mosquito nets, and 1 lightbulb that sometimes worked. We got ready with flashlights a lot of the time but we were comfortable and definitely bug free!!

Lourdes' house

Lourdes' house
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

This is where we ate ALL of our meals. Lourdes and her group of cooks made us great food! There were various variations on rice and beans, corn fritters, oatmeal, potatoes etc. I thought it was really good. She even made us 2 cakes on the first day we were there! you can't really see, but there are 2 long tables under the awning to the left of the house and that's where we all sat and ate.

The view from the clinic

The view from the clinic
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

The scenery was breathtaking!

Lourdes and her granddaughter Noelky

Lourdes and her granddaughter Noelky
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

Lourdes' granddaughter Noelky lives in Santiago (a bigger city about 2 hours away) and Lourdes went there to pick her up bring her back to see the doctors. She wasa a year and a half!

A typical bathroom

A typical bathroom
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

This is the bathroom, er, outhouse outside the clinic. the seat is just a big board with 2 holes in it. The one at our house was the same thing.

Lourdes' rooster and shower

Lourdes' rooster and shower
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

Lourdes had a shower on the outside of her house that was a bit like the one at Cristina and Severo's house. It had a hose and a bucket inside. I only took 1 shower while I was there, and it was surprisingly pleasant. A bit chilly, but not too bad!

Family

Family
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

This family was one of the most fun at the clinic. I was able to talk with the mother for awhile. They live in a community called El Rubio that was close to Naranjito and the mother was originally from Santo Domingo, the capitol of the DR. The boys are 4 and twins who are 6. She also had 2 daughters who were older. The guy in the pic is Gareth, one of the volunteers. The boys were absolutely adorable and brought a lot of smiles to their mother and the rest of us there!

Maria and her son

Maria and her son
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

Maria was another lady I was able to have a conversation with during the week. We talked about her son, who is sitting behind her. He is 16 and she had 2 other sons who weren't able to come to the clinic, 18 and 12. I told her I loved their community that it was beautiful. I then took their photo and said I would send prints back to her. They don't have cameras and don't have photos of their families, so anytime they get photos, they cherish them!

Hermanas

Hermanas
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

These ladies were 70 and 74. Their names are Laura and Ramona and they are sisters. They were so sweet and so excited to have their picture taken and meet all of us.

Maria and Chris

Maria
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

Maria was another community member who worked to coordinate our days at the clinic. She was in charge of getting people on the dental list, and Chris, a volunteer was in charge of getting them into the dental area.

Trish in action

Trish in action
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

My cousin Trish was a dental assistant, working with Dr. Sam. He brought digital x-ray equipment and his computer and many of these people were able to see x-rays of their teeth for the first time!

Cristina

Cristina
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

Severo's wife. We ate all our meals at Lourdes' house about a half mile away from the clinic and Cristina was one of the cooks. She was very sweet.

The line

The line
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

People come to the clinic from communities all over the area. Some walk or ride burros for HOURS just to get there and many show up well before sunrise. This is the line during some point in the day. The community church is in the background.

94 and 87

94 and 87
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

The gentleman on the left was ninety four and the one on the right was 87. When the doctor came out to give us the prescription for the 94 year old, he said, "this guy is 94, we want to keep him going a little longer!" Then when he came over to pick up his medicine, Patti, another pharmacy volunteer said, "hola Senor, como estas?" and he said, "Muy bien, yo tengo noventa y cuatro anos!" meaning, "well, I am 94 years old!!". If I was 94, I'd be telling everyone i met too!

Sin Sombrero o con sombrero?

Sin Sombrero o con sombrero?
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

This gentleman was a perfect example of the Dominican photo pose. By the looks of the pictures, you would think no one smiles, but they are all very smily and when you ask for a photo, they all get a very serious and dignified look on their face. It's interesting. Before I took his picture, he was going to take his hat off, but then asked me "With hat or without hat?". I of course said with hat, and I think this is a great pic.

Severo

Severo
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

This gentleman and his wife Cristina were kind enough to host us in their home. They were wonderful. Also, notice his bullhorn...this program is run with full participation and coordination from the people who live in the community. Severo was the master of the bullhorn and he kept the check in process running outside.

Jose

Jose
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

Although I wasn't able to have very in depth converstaions with people, just saying a "hello how are you?" to them meant the world to them. This gentleman's name was Jose. When I first saw him, he was hugging Dr. Ed, the doctor who saw him last year. After that, he stepped aside to wait for his medicine and I went to talk with him. Our conversation went like this.
Anne: "Hola, como se llama"
Jose: "Me llamo, Jose...." (I don't remember his last name) and he said his name with an immense amount of pride.
Anne: "Me llamo, Ana. Mucho gusto, Jose! Como esta?" (My name is Anne, nice to meet you. how are you?)
Jose: "Muy bien. Tengo cuatro de ustedes en mi casa!!" (meaning, he had 4 of the volunteers staying at his house. Again, said with so much pride.)
That was the extent of our conversation, but as it went with every small connection you made, he touched my heart and I think the same was true for him.

Pharmacy waiting room

Pharmacy waiting room
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

I worked in the pharmacy, giving out the medications that the doctors brought along. This area, at the back of the school was where the people waited after their doctor's appointment to get their medicine and see the dentist. It was wonderful because almost every person who came through had to stop and pick up medicine, so I was able to see and talk to so many people. They were absolutely wonderful, and very patient with my not so good Spanish!

The Clinic at Naranjito

The Clinic at Naranjito
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

My cousin Trish, my Uncle Mike and me in front of the clinic at Naranjito. As you can see to the right of the clinic there is an amazing view. This community really is on the side of a mountain and the scenery is unbelievable!

DONNA MARTIN GRADUATES

This AWESOME shirt was waiting for me when I got back. Thanks, Lewdogg!!!!

IMAGE_00027.jpg
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

El Naranjito

El Naranjito
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.

The sign as you turn the corner and get to the clinic. Contrary to what you'd think about this community, the school, clinic and church are the center of town and there are houses scattered throughout the mountains surrounding

What a week

Well, I'm safely back in NY after one of the most incredible weeks of my life in the Dominican Republic. I'm a bit too tired to write about all the experiences now, but I'm going to post a few pics and will write more later. I will say though that the people of the DR are incredibly welcoming, nice, patient and appreciative of what they have. What sticks with me the most is that we can certainly learn a lesson or two about life and what is important from people whose lives are very different from ours. AND no matter how different they are, we all have something in common and the closer we can bring our two societies, the better off we will ALL be. The group I went with is called Somos Amigos, which in Spanish means "we are friends" and I feel very fortunate to have all my new Dominican friends. I will be back to see them as soon as I can!!

Dominican Republic

So I won't be writing anything for the next week because I leave first thing Saturday morning to head down to the DR. I'm going with Somos Amigos Medical missions, an organization with doctors, dentists and other volunteers that goes down there twice a year, sets up a clinic in a small community and sees patients for 3 1/2 days. We will actually be staying with the families in the community who we are helping. It is going to be an amazing experience! So I'll be completely incommunicado for the week. My mom knows how to reach me if its a dire emergency. Otherwise, look for a post next weekend when I get back. I'll have pictures and experiences posted as soon as I can.

IMAGE_00026.jpg

IMAGE_00026.jpg
Originally uploaded by akeegangu.