Settling In, Part Deux

Kirsten here, breaking radio silence to announce that...I have moved again! In a ploy I've come to think of as "bait and switch," a Ministry of Education official called me last Thursday (2/6) afternoon with the orders that I be packed and ready to go by Friday morning for the cross-country journey from Higüey to Neiba, a smaller town nestled in the foothills of the southwest. As if I would take that news lying down. I spent the better part of the day making phone calls to try and sort out the situation. As it turns out, the Ministry had planned to move me to Neiba all along. Funny how I wasn't made privy to that important bit of information. I could rant here for a few more paragraphs...but the fact of the matter is that I have already come to love my new home and the people I have met here. I am now staying with a host family in Neiba. This is the living situation I had wanted from the beginning: the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture, cuisine, and Spanish language that characterize the Dominican Republic. From the initial anger at the bait and switch I have arrived at a supreme contentment with my day-to-day life. I have so much to share but so little time in between preparing supper and my classes for tomorrow. Saludos for now, and more news to come!

~Kirsten