Santo Domingo, here we come!

Wow! We have been so busy over the last two days that I don't even know where to begin. Here are some of the highlights...

• On Sunday, we were invited to attend a church service at La Anunciacion. While an Episcopal service here has the same format, in practice it is much more relaxed. The most noteworthy part was greeting each other. As we observed our students greeting every individual in the (admittedly small) congregation, wishing each other "la paz," we reached a whole new understanding of the meaning of service. It was beautiful to watch.
• Ellen Snow and Padre Salvadaor were kind enough to organize a tour of the Centro Leon and the Monumento. The Centro Leon is essentially an art museum, that had a fantastic exhibit of the artwork of Wilfredo Garcia, who specializes in capturing life in the Dominican Republic. The Monumento (whose full name is Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration of the Republic) was built by Trujillo but renamed after his fall from power. It offers panoramic views of the city of Santiago. The kids spent about twenty minutes up there trying (unsuccessfully) to find our hotel in the maze of the city.
• On Sunday night, we hosted a barbecue for the congregation and some of their friends. The grill was a converted Texaco oil barrel. (Does Texaco even exist any more?) We were absolutely blown away by how delicious the food was. I guess it really is unnecessary to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy gas grill---but, regardless, you won't see me giving mine up any time soon! After dinner, our students learned the bachata and the merengue from our Dominican guests, and taught them how to bounce around to the infamous "Numa Numa" song. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, google it and click on the YouTube video. This video has been viewed around the world, and, for better or for worse, now it is a sensation in Santiago.)

Everyone is very excited to finish our project today and head to Santo Domingo this afternoon. We will be staying right in the heart of old Santo Domingo - the oldest European city in the Western Hemisphere! Look for a post on our experiences there when we return to the states on Thursday.

Adios!