What a summer. So much has happened; I don’t even know where to start. Summer, for me, means a time of personal growth. I don’t know if it has to do with my sign (Aquarius) or the way the earth is tilted during the summer months or what, but every summer I go through a personal growth spurt, and come fall, I emerge a changed person. And this summer is no exception.
Lately I have done a lot of self-discovery through yoga and meditation. In July, my friend Rita had her family visit from Spain. Her mother, an incredible yoga teacher, offered yoga classes to me in exchange for English classes for her son. So at nights, I would go to their hotel, give an English class to Rita’s brother, and then meet her mother for yoga on the balcony. She taught me new positions and techniques, which she has picked up over the years through practice in several different countries, including (one my favorite places in the world) India. I’ve always wanted to learn how to meditate, but never have been able to find a teacher or the time to do it, so I was excited when she told me she could teach me. My first meditation experience was one I’ll never forget. We sat there on the hotel room’s balcony in complete silence, while the noises from the pueblo below whirled around us. In the midst of bachata music, crying children, and motoconchos, we were able to find inner stillness and tranquility. What an incredible, nourishing experience. She has inspired me to return to India one day to practice in an ashram. (Just add that to the endless list of things I want to do before I die!)
Being balanced inside has also helped me in my work. We’ve accomplished a lot this summer (though, I feel like it’s still not enough). First, there’s La Ruta Cultural, La Punta – my main project. Mid-July a La Romana-based TV program called Punto Verde came to Bayahibe to film
a segment on the Ruta, complete with an interview with Ileanys (the administrator), Giovania (a guide), and myself. We spent several hours filming and re-filming to make the coverage just right. Then a few days later, Ileanys and I went to the studio in La Romana for a live interview with the TV show. It was quite an experience! We had the lights and cameras on us; I had to speak in Spanish; we did a prep with the show’s hosts, etc. I really wasn’t prepared for such a formal affair, especially with my less-than-perfect Spanish (at least I can use that as an excuse for any mistakes I made on air!). But it went very well, and the entire pueblo of Bayahibe told us how wonderful we were the next day. Hopefully, even with my faulty Spanish and nervousness, the show will bring more people our special little town. Punto Verde said they were going to invite us back to the show, which would be great. Then I’ll have a second chance at making a fool of myself for Southeastern DR! 
Apart from the Ruta, I’ve been busy with a couple of other projects. First, I still have my weekly kids’ club, which right now just serves as a time for us to play and get to know each other. In the future, though I hope to do a few projects with the kids and perhaps some English classes. I’ve just been too busy this summer to plan anything other than games and coloring, but that should change soon (I hope).The biggest project I’ve completed was setting up an art fair at the casino. About 10 minutes from Bayahibe is an area called Dominicus, which houses 5 all-inclusive resorts, a small expat community (mostly Italians, some Spaniards and French), as well as several gift shops, restaurants and other tourist traps, such as Casino Dominicus (that’s right… if you come visit me, I’ll take you to a casino!). Less than two weeks before the art fair was to be held, my project partner (The Association of Hotels, La Romana-Bayahibe) handed me the job of coordinating the entire project – from setting up the physical fair (tables, panels for paintings to hang on, electricity, etc) to coordinating with 3 different
communities of artisans (not always easy when some places do not get cell phone service!) to transportation of hotel guests, to the promotion of the fair (for which, of course, we had a very limited budget). The end result was not bad, but it definitely could have been better. I was actually hoping for more of a turnout, but with the limited budget, I’m afraid we didn’t reach all the people we would have liked to. At any rate, the fair looked nice, the artisans were happy to make a bit of extra money, and the clients seemed pleased with their purchases. Overall, a success, I think.Through planning the art fair, I learned a lot about working with Dominicans - things that I knew or had been told, but hadn’t yet experienced, such as: If someone says it will be done in two days, plan on it taking at least a week; and sometimes it takes 10 phone calls to the same person before they’ll finally send you the information you need; and it is very important to be specific with all details when it comes to promotion…of course, that depends on the accuracy of and the unchanging relay of information from people running the event… Whew. Glad it’s over. I’m definitely more prepared to plan the next one, though, which might be held in Bayahibe instead of the Casino. We’ll see.
After the art fair (and basically two weeks of 12-hour work days), I needed a vacation. Luckily it came just in time for Erica’s birthday (Erica is one of my best friends here), which we celebrated in Santiago. A group of us got together for a weekend filled with drinking, dancing and shopping – just the kind of weekend I needed. I love hanging out with other volunteers, especially when I haven’t seen them in a while. And it had been a while – at least 2 months. The last time I had hung out with other PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) was the weekend of the Kevin Invitational and July 4th. A group of us (invited by my good friend Kevin, hence the “Kevin Invitational”) rented a guagua and a keg and drove a loooong drive (I can’t even remember how long it was… who was counting anyway. We had a keg to keep us busy) down to Bahia de las Aguilas in the southwestern part of the country, where we met up with other volunteers to celebrate the 4th of July on the beach. There were about 70 volunteers in all and we spent the entire day playing in the water, napping on the sand, slip-n-sliding (okay, only the brave ones did this… and they have battle wounds to 
show for it), snorkeling, hammock-ing, etc. It was a great way for us to get together and celebrate Independence Day… even without the traditional fireworks show.So, we have meditation, TV, kids’ club, art fair, partying with volunteers… que mas? Oh, I’m working with an organization called Reef Check to plan a kids’ camp for the beginning of September. We’ll be giving educational talks and doing activities related to the conservation of coral reefs, marine life, etc, followed by a day of snorkeling in Bayahibe. It should be a great couple of days and I’m hoping the kids will take away something useful from the camp about conserving the beauty of the ocean that is their backyard. I’ll let you all know how it goes.
I’m feeling good about where I am and what I’m doing. There are definitely hard days and I have certainly contemplated going home (mostly because of the Dave thing), but I’m determined to stick it out through the good and the bad. I’ve already learned so much about myself, and I’m very excited to see what in store for me for the rest of the ride. As of August 13, we’ve been in country 11 months! At the one-month mark, we’ll have a celebration, and I know it will be downhill from there. My next trip home will either be in November for Claire Bennett’s wedding or December for Christmas! Hopefully I’ll see some of you then.
I’ll be in touch before then… Sending each of you thoughts of love and peace,
Tara
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