The first few days

I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore! Where is Toto when he is needed? ;) Things are the same here as they were there.

And yet so much of life's small details are so very different. From day one the most difficult thing has been the showers. I have quickly decided that showers without hot water are not my favorite thing. Showers without hot water with lips pressed tightly closed to prevent any water "leaking" in are also not my favorite thing. And these showers at 6am in the morning are definitely not among my favorite things. No disrespect to "Sound of Music," but I don't think "Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels" will change that. ;)

But perhaps the worst part of the showers is that I just don't feel clean after taking one. And my feet seem like they are dirty before I even get back to my room. Perhaps that is the secret to the Dominican "tan"? Defintitely near the top of my list when I get back to civilization will be to take a nice, l-o-n-g hot shower!

A little from my first few days here:

The arrival. It turns out the vast throng at the airport waving flags was not there to welcome me to Banica. I was most disappointed... They were there to greet their returning Olympic hero. Unlike the US which would be devastated if their Olympic team returned with a mere single gold medal, a single gold medal (in boxing) was cause for a celebratory parade here in the Dominican Republic.

Day 1: Morning mass is at 7am Monday thru Friday. For being such a notorious night owl, I have adjusted pretty easily. At my very first mass, Fr. O'Hare introduced me to the congregation and informed them that I did not speak Spanish. Then in his wonderful way, he told them that my presence here was a good opportunity for them to practice their English. :)

The afternoon activities will surely surprise many of you. I played catch with a baseball with the local youth, whom I have dubbed the "El Centro Gang". They have no idea what I have in store for them! Baseball and bike riding and other fun things will come at a price. I am sure they will be spending more time at church and in prayer than they could have imagined in their worst nightmares!

Day 4: After a few days of following Dave Kirby around trying to assimilate everything he knows (forget Toto, where are the borg when you need them?!!), Saturday arrived and with it, the Kirby's "Thank you" party for all those they've worked with these last 2 years. I took photos and will be posting them once I have both the time and energy for the task at the same time. ;)

Of course I had to spend most of the afternoon tossing the baseball around while completely ignoring the adults. Then again, speaking Spanish is not a prerequisite for throwing a baseball!

Day 5: Sunday began with the 7am mass. Lunch was at the home of Dany (pronounced more "Donny" than "Danny"). None of the houses are large enough to enable eating a family meal inside. So if it rains, lunch/dinner invites are cancelled. Luckily it did not rain this day. Dany and his family did not eat - all the food was for the guests. I don't know if they ate before we arrived or if they only got the remains. I am not sure I want to know the answer to that - especially after I forced myself to eat a couple large slices of beet. It seems beets are well loved by the natives. I sure hope I didn't force some down while Dany and family went without one of their beloved dishes.

Later Sunday afternoon, Dany and his extended family joined us at the river. We brought along several inner tubes. The men and boys all went first with the tubes. When they had made several floats, I tried to give a tube to one of the young ladies. Dany corrected me wagging his finger, "No! Los hombres primero". (sigh)

Day 6/7: Rain. No internet connection. And a little more rain for good measure. I also practiced with the "Sunday Choir". It is amazing, the Lord has again put me somewhere that is in dire enough need of a voice, any voice, that they actually consider me helpful for their choir - even without me yet speaking Spanish.

Day 8: Wednesday I drove the military truck for the first time. On a practice "soup run". Down a dirt road. Down a pot-hole filled dirt road. Down a dirt road with a thick layer of chocolate frosting that you might know as mud. And around hair-pin turns with steep hillside waiting to munch the truck on one side and a deep ravine waiting to swallow it whole on the other. And meanwhile me making my maiden voyage behind the wheel of a truck with a turning radius that might be a wee bit smaller than that of the Titanic. Dave did not volunteer to drive on the way home....I assure you, I did not wait long enough to give him the chance before informing him it was his turn to drive. ;)

After the Wednesday evening Holy Hour (6pm), I had dinner with Frs. O'Hare and Murphy. I can be a bit dense at times, but I am about to figure out that rice and beans are the only thing worth eating every day... It was good to sit down and relax for a few moments while also managing to tackle a few things on the radar screen for new employer and employee.

Day 9: The Kirby's made the 4-5 hour trip to Santo Domingo for a few days of well-earned vacation before they return to the U.S. this week. They toured the colonial part of the city and came away very impressed and pleased at all they saw and learned.

Meanwhile, I was on my own for the first time. Well except for the animals. The animals who were mopey and seemed to demand extra attention now that there was only one person to care for them instead of five. Alone except for the El Centro Gang who love to stand at the gate and yell, incessantly "Weeellliam", "Weeellliam", "Senor Toma(s)".

("Weeellliam" is the 8 year old William Kirby whom the local boys had been told many times was in Santo Domingo. "Senor Toma" - Dominicans speak their own version of Spanish. "S's" at the ends of words are usually silent).

Wouldn't have been so bad if it didn't start before 10am and continue all day. Though I must say it blends in nicely with the raucous chorus from the guineas that have adopted El Centro as their sacred tribal home. Oh and the roosters who unlike many Dominicans are quite industrious... they crow all day and all night. And the dogs didn't want to be left out of the fun, they bark just to let me know they are still there. And it simply would not be complete without the occasional might trumpet blast of an offended donkey that dominates all other sounds. Yes I was truly alone for those few days...

Day 10: I drove "the beast" (military truck) into Las Matas, the closest "city" to Banica. I need practice driving the truck and I needed bicycle tubes to fix the bicycle fleet here at El Centro for the boys. Seemed like driving the truck to Las Matas was the perfect answer. Wrong! It was just this side of miraculous that I made it thru Las Matas and safely home without hitting anyone or anything. It was very nerve wracking!

Day 11: There are 7 bicycles here. I had tubes to fix all of them. It turns out that the El Centro Gang had continued to ride them all even when the tires were flat. So after the harrowing experience driving thru Las Matas for tubes, I have 3 bikes back on the road and 4 that are out of commisssion. The other 4 have a bicycle rim that is basically destroyed from having been ridden while flat.

Day 11: Sunday. Today. Sang at mass this morning. We sang "Dona Nobis Pacem". What an absolutely beautiful song! Naturally, Juan and I (the bass section and only male voices) did our part to make sure it was not perfectly angelic. It seems Juan has my disease - he likes to follow the melody on occasion instead of sticking to the bass part. (sigh)

Last night we had some torrential rain. You really have not experienced a downpour until you have expereienced it under a thin tin roof. I had thought rain was good "sleeping noise". I am learning so much! ;) Today the rain has stopped (for now?) and the wind has picked up. I am guessing 20-30mph gusts. Hopefully that is the worst we get from our DLF (for all you Chronicles fans!) - Ike.

That will do it for now. Hope everyone who reads this is doing well and having a wonderful day. May our dearest Lord bless each and every one of you! :)

Tom