Susie's in Samaná

                           Me: "Hola, mi nombre es Susan" (Hi, my name is Susan)

                           New Host Mom: "Suuuzzzaan"

                           Me: "O Susie" (or Susie)

                           New Host Mom: "¡Susie es preciosa!" (Susie is precious!)

View of Samaná from above

     And like so I have been re-named. To my new community in Samaná my name is Susie. Yes, I have arrived at my permanent site here in the DR, and it is in the lush peninsula of Samaná! I live in a small community of 800 people along the side of the road between the towns of Samaná and El Límon. I have already visited all the families in my community minus one or two. There are also two corner stores, a church, hairdresser's, a bar, a lottery, a community building and, a four classroom school. The homes are made of cement or wood, some have zinc roofs others cement. The region of Samaná is a mountain range, which means I can see the ocean from parts of town. The ocean itself is only a 10 minute drive from my house and happens to be the launching off point to go see the humpback whales which come to Samaná every January-April to find love.

Mural in Santa Barbara de Samaná

    Rest assured, live in Samaná is not going to be one long vacation for me (although you are welcome to use your vacation time to visit). My primary project is going to be establishing a library in the community. There is a space set aside for the library but it needs some TLC, such as a floor, a 3rd wall, and books. While I am not working on the library I will be working on other education related projects that are TBD. Part of the beauty of Peace Corps is that the first three months I am in my community I am supposed to focus my attention on getting to know my neighbors and along the way the strengths and weakness of the community.

     For example, while visiting my community I learned that there is no running water in town. All residents collect rain water and when that runs out they gather water from nearby rivers or pay for water to be delivered. My community is the only one in the area without water and they feel neglected by the government. Last year they held a peaceful protest about the lack of water and a man in the community was shot and killed by the police. My host sister said that the dead man did not approve of a policeman who liked his married daughter, and the police used the protest as an excuse to kill an innocent man. It made national headlines when it occurred. And you thought telenovelas exaggerated things. I would like to help improve the situation but I am not sure in what way I can be of best use for my community in this situation. Hopefully, I will figure something out in the next three months.

   To end on a positive note, next Saturday I am going here with a church group from my community:

Las Terrenas