This is it

Saturday I was walking into the grocery store, when I saw a pregnant woman with her groceries packed in plastic bags from the store. What?!? This woman, who is about to leave a HUMAN behind on Earth, doesn't even care enough to bring reusable bags to the store?

A colleague at work buys single use, plastic water bottles to drink out of.

Cigarette butts litter my street.

Packaging is out of control, especially at Trader Joes.

Based on my anecdotal evidence, I've developed a hypothesis.

Hypothesis: There is an inverse correlation between a person's belief in afterlife and their views on taking care of the environment. The stronger the belief in a god/afterlife/heaven, the less they care about taking care of the environment.

Reasoning: The reasoning is simple. If you believe that there is some place to go after you die, you aren't worried about the state of the Earth. If you don't believe in an afterlife of any sort, then this is it. This is your life. This is your Earth. You've got one chance. All living organisms have one chance. You are a part of the chance.

Evidence: I'll admit that I haven't surveyed a large sample of people (I wish someone would). My evidence is based on observations. I know a few pious individuals, and what I've witnessed is those are the people that buy water in plastic. I don't live in Flint, so there is no reason to be buying water that some company has taken from a tap, bottled in toxic plastic, and now is profiting from.

The other day I was minding my own business in my home, when 8 marked police cars flew by my front window, followed by an unmarked car, an ambulance, fire truck, and then the ghetto bird (police helicopter) began circling. The neighbors came out and we all congregated at the end of the block, looking down at the chaos. My elderly neighbor, who is extremely religious, and has written and published books on god/religion, came over to my yard. He's a quiet, peaceful, gentle man. We stared down at the flashing lights and I asked him how he's managed to stay so positive about living in such a crazy world. He comment - I'm paraphrasing: "I have hope of a great life in Heaven."

So, wait. The idea of going to heaven, excuses you from taking action now?

And then there's my atheist friends. People who believe that this is it. Our time on Earth IS the point. Those are the people carrying around reusable bags, going to yoga, refilling water bottles.

"Gotta do much more than believe, if we really want to change things.
Gotta do much more than believe, if want to see the world change." - DMB (Gaucho)

"Please Wake Up" -DMB

Proudest fake mom ever

The highlight of my teaching career happened this past weekend while I watched one of my former students give a key note speech at the Global Issues Network Conference in the Dominican Republic. I think that she was asked as kind of a token appreciation since she was a great contributor to her high school, but when she stood up there and started speaking it became instantly clear that she not only deserved this moment, earned this moment, but she was owning the moment.

Tears ran down my face as I sat and watched her rock every person, young and old, in the gym. I felt like a true proud parent. 

Watch MJ as she inspires us all.

If you are feeling like you need more, you can watch MJ and I inspire kids to set themselves up for success...

Reason

It's not that I'm forcing a reason that I moved back to this frigid inferno of ice cold arctic hell, but I think I've found one anyway. A while back I found this poem by my favorite artist...

It struck a chord. It does seem that meaningful stuff happens where ever I go and it tends to be instigated by me. I'm never satisfied with the status quo and I'm always thinking my way out of that damn box. 

So now I'm here, back in snowball hell and I've managed to get my school in the DR to pay for me and 2 students to attend the big student led environmental conference in March in Santo Domingo. I've chosen two kids from my club to travel outside the country, well here and Mexico, for the first time. For both girls this is their first time on an airplane and they get to go present our research on Toxic Treats (more on that horrifying topic later). 

Was I supposed to be here for this? To instigate and lead this opportunity?

Now, to get these girls a passport... not as easy as it sounds.

A months worth of cookies, actually 35 days.

When you live in a 3rd world country you pick up some strange habits. Going to the grocery store has always been a chore for me. I don't like shopping because I don't like cooking. Well, at least in the US you can go to the store, walk down the isle and buy what you usually buy. Not in the 3rd world. Going to the grocery store is like russian roulette. You never know what you're going to get. The worse place I've been? Bolivia. We all swore that what was on the shelves was just whatever got crammed into the container ship and slowly made it's way South. There were mac and cheese boxes that when you buy don't expire for 5 years and in Bolivia they were going to expire in a few weeks. Dinged cans, old packaging, Halloween candy in January. What happens is that when you do go to the store and find something you like you end up buying the whole shelf. Laura did this with diet coke. We heard a rumor that the special part at the coke plant broke so when we shopped she bought the entire shelf. Good thing too because diet coke went missing for a while.

In the DR it was hummus. You never knew if the store would have it and what kinds.

It is so weird to be back in a place that just stocks their shelves. Unfortunately I've picked up this bad habit of hoarding products when I find ones I like.

This is what my cabinet looks like right now.

I found these cookie/snack things that I like and have been using as my mid morning snack and the only place I can find them in Whole Foods and the one that is convenient to me is always packed in a pain to get in and out of so I got online and look what I did... I ordered $91 in cookies and had them delivered right to my door. Free shipping, I might add.

ay ay ay

My final day working in Santo Domingo. As I pack up to leave I keep getting asked what I'm going to miss. Of course the students, my coworkers, the fantastic palm tree lined beaches, but this city, ay, this city. I am shocked when I hear that people like this city, or find this city redeeming in any way. You know how I feel about the trash, rats, dirty air, but let me share what just came up on my news feed...
Dominicans could have a 911 emergency system by yearend

Here's why this is so infuriating. In this city, yes, there are slums, no water systems, beggars, all that you imagine when you think 3rd world. However, and it's a big however, there is a TON of money here. This city is bursting with high end malls. Every time you turn around there is more construction. These malls are filled with stores like Coach, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, super expensive, unnecessary stores. There are tons of high end restaurants here and people go to them. There is money in this city. You go a bit north and there is a neighborhood of mansions. Ok, so Santo Domingo has high end malls, restaurants, people driving Mercedes, BMW's and there isn't a 911 system!!! Better yet, in the article is says that the US is going to donate the technology needed to get this thing underway, WHAT? Why would the US donate money to a government that is oozing with pesos? A country where people fly their helicopter across the city. A country where the tax to eat at a restaurant or stay in a hotel adds up to 28%. Dominican Republic, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Que bonita

My final weekend in the DR concludes with a visit to my favorite beach, Playa Bonita in Las Terrenas. Awesomeness from sunrise to sunset...

I will miss the palm trees on the beach and the warm, calm, crystal clear waters.

If you find yourself in need of a tropical, out of the way, isolated place this is it. You can fly into Santo Domingo, rent a car and in just 2 hours be in Playa Bonita. It would probably be much easier to fly into Samana, check ticket prices now. 

The final flushes in Santo Domingo

Imagine being able to take a shower at any hour of the day. Flush your toilet whenever you go the bathroom. Wash dishes with hot water. These simple luxuries are about to be mine! For 2 years I have lived in an apartment building that restricts water by turning off access from 3pm - 6 pm and 11 pm - 6 am - every day. On the weekends the water doesn't come on until 7 am. Once the toilet tank is empty, you've had your last flush. The shower and sink are connected to an auxiliary tank called a tinaco, but the water only trickles out so it's impossible to wash your hair. Not a problem most days, but imagine having to get ready for let's say graduation at 6 pm and not being able to wash your hair, only sprinkle yourself with cold water.

Places here have a hot water heater that has a switch that you turn on 20 minutes before you need hot water. The tank doesn't have an automatic shut off valve so you need to remember to turn off the switch so the water doesn't continuously heat. During those water restricted hours there is no access to hot water at all. Just trickles of cold. It's tropical here so you don't need steaming hot showers, but the garden hose frigid water isn't always easy to take.

I'm all for conservation of water. This isn't the end of the world. I've been doing it for 2 years, but boy am I ready to be able to take a quick shower whenever I want and isn't it going to be nice to flush.

Santo Raton, Dominican Republic

I've actually heard people say that they like this city. In fact, there is this expat website where I saw a person post that they came to visit and they liked it so much they want to move here. I didn't reply, or give my opinion, because I am fully aware that I'm a bit jaded. Wallowing through piles of trash isn't my idea of a nice city. Now that I have Fresa to walk I am even MORE aware of the trash because she, of course, is on the constant look out for good trash to eat. Do you know how many chicken bones are on the streets here??? Ugh.

So this morning, a nice calm, quiet typical Sunday morning, a friend and I decided to walk to the grocery store. I'd been up since 5:30 am and had already ventured into the streets for a puppy walk. For groceries I'll leave Fresa at home. Ok, so on with it. We're walking down the street and trying to avoid as much trash as we can when I stop dead in my tracks at the sight of this...

Oh, Santo Domingo, seriously? Strangely enough this pobrecito raton wasn't even squished. He looked like he was gorging on trash, started to walk away and dropped dead in this tracks, which also happened to be in the middle of the sidewalk. I wonder how long that rat will lay there? Usually dead dogs stay for weeks. I guess it's hard to have a city dead animal picker upper when you don't even have a sewer system.

Puppy Time in Playa Bonita

It is low season here at DR beaches and you know what that means? Cheaper rates, less tourists and a bit of rain - worth it. Playa Bonita is exactly how it sounds, beautiful, and my favorite place I've been to on this Island. The gov't has been doing work on the roads and a once 5 hour drive has been dwindled down to 2 1/2 hours. The cost for the speed, however is a bunch of tolls. Not a terrible price to pay to leave Santo Inferno for the weekend.

The teachers tend to congregate at a place called Atlantis on Playa Bonita and they allow dogs. I know I needed time to heal from Winnie's death and I've been living out of suitcases, but I MISSED having a dog in my life. I feel a huge wave of relief having her around. Of course it's more work and I have to change my schedule a bit, but it is worth every sleepless moment.

You know what else I've figured out... it's not that I'm not a morning person it's that I've been waiting for someone to share my mornings with. Fresa's routine has been established to get up at 5:30 no matter the day, so at that ripe time she whined and we headed out to the playa. Without her I would have missed this...

Early morning beach walks are the best. Especially in a place with perfect temperatures.

Las Terrenas has done a great job vaccinating and fixing their street dogs. A bunch of dogs hang out at this beach and since you are isolated from any roads and there a few tourists this time of year, Fresa was able to run and play to her and my hearts content.

She rarely sits still for very long when she's awake, so I hung out with her in the grassy area above the beach and we had a little photo shoot.

I love having a puppy. One of the things I always missed with Winnie was that she never looked at me. She was too abused and too old when I got her and I saw my other friends with their dogs have a different connection than I had with Winnie. Getting a puppy is the way to go.

Santo Inferno

You won't believe me when I tell you that I've really been trying to be positive about this city, really. With only 4 weeks and counting I thought I could endure the 4 weekends and stay in the city and save some cash. It seemed like a plan until this morning when a coworker and I decided it was going to be torture to stay in the city. Need I remind you of this place........

I lost 6 months of lung function on the way to school today. It is great that I only have a 4 minute walk to school, but somedays those are some deadly minutes.

We could go to the beach for the day, but there aren't any beaches close by that aren't filled with garbage, and after the sand flea trash attack of last weekend we decided to suck it up and get a place in Las Terrenas, one of the paradises of this island.

I'm going to take Fresa, so this outta be interesting. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sand fleas and trash

There's this little spit of land just to the southwest of Bani in the Dominican Republic. It is known for it's piles of salt and is appropriately called Las Salinas. In the past two years I had been there three times and this weekend I decided to head out for one last jaunt before I leave the island. I packed up my stuff, which this time included little Pooch Face, or Fresa, as she is now named, and headed west in my rental car. The little spit of land divides the water into a windy side and a calm side. On the calm side you can walk for about 40 minutes to a nice little snorkeling spot that not too many people go to, so it's calm in terms of both waters and people.

I left early and arrived to an empty parking lot. Perfect. I hauled all my stuff out of the car and headed towards the corals. Over the spit to the calm waters here's what I see.

At first glance it looks pretty nice, huh? Well, can you focus your eyes a little better? Look at the white flecks floating out there. Yup, styrofoam, the environmental devil. My hopes of a peaceful day have been crushed by styrofoam. As I lifted my head and started walking to the secluded spot here's my view.

Don't get me wrong, this place was never pristine, but seriously? What has happened? The entire beach and shallow waters are littered in trash, literally. I found your typical plastics and styrofoam, but shoes?

Strewn up and down the beach were dozens of shoes. Did a container ship loose a load? This is disgusting and creepy. I feel like I'm in an episode of Law and Order and I'm about to find that desiccated washed up body in between some shoe remains.

I'm trying not to let the process of wallowing through garbage dampen my mood, but how couldn't it? You'd have to be blind to enjoy this trip.

But I drove all the way out there, so I'm going to keep going.

Oh good, my new pooch is playing with garbage.

"Everybody wake up, if your living with your eyes closed" - DMB

Needless to say I'm not going to miss this part of the island.

As I keep walking the trash gets thicker and thicker. I decide to find a semi clean spot and rest for a bit. Little did I know (I wouldn't realize this until the next day) not only is the beach filled with trash, but apparently sand fleas as well. Now I not only have the horrifying trash images burned in my brain, but the burning itching of sand flea bites to go along with it. Nope, I'm not going to miss this place.

Back to heaven (aka Fronton)

Remember my trip to Playa Fronton last year? Well, I'm taking 20 students back to Fronton this weekend. I am really looking forward to it. Camping, snorkeling, rock climbing, hiking, adding to my positive feedback loop!

A quick journey around the island (with my photos)

I've been thinking about this place, the Dominican Republic. The weather is fantastic, perfect, I couldn't ask for better weather. On the surface, not digging too deep, there are some amazing spots here. In my year and a half here I've explored quite a bit. There is still one more place I'd like to go before I leave, Monte Cristi, but all in all I've done a pretty good job seeing the beauty. Of course, under that surface there is a huge pile of burning plastics and trash, floating styrofoam, but right now I'm going to show you the beauty. The reality will come in time and my time here is coming to an end. You don't want to say never, but right now I can't imagine coming back here, there are just too many unexplored places on my world map.... For now, enjoy a short ride around the island.

Let's start in the Samana Pennisula. From Santo Domingo you'll need to drive east towards the airport but then north for a few hours.

This is Playa Bonita near Las Terrenas. Now that there is a new toll road the trip is pricer, but a lot quicker. You can stay in a little hotels right on the beach here. If you are in need of peace and quiet, calm waters, gentle breezes and palm trees this is your place.

Playa Bonita

Las Terrenas is a tiny town that has some good qualities. The French have settled there and they have started some programs to help vaccinate and tag stray dogs. You gotta love that. One of the big condo-resort places is called Balcones del Atlantico, and the beach in front of the resort is amazing. There is a coral reef here and the resort actually spends money to help protect the ecosystem. 

Las Terrenas

East of Las Terrenas all the way to the end of the Pennisula is Galeras. From here you can take a boat to the west and end up at Playa Rincon...

Playa Rincon

Take the boat in the other direction and turn around the bend a bit and you'll end up on Playa Fronton, heaven on earth. I'm lucky to be heading back there again in a week.

Playa Fronton

Now head back to the mainland. On a recent trip when we were just about to turn south from the pennisula I looked in the rear view mirror and saw this.

 After enjoying the view keep driving south and to the east and you'll end up in Bavaro, which is a town north of Punta Cana. This is resortville and filled with tourists and locals that all want a shot at your dollars. 

Bavaro Beach

From the east coast you'll need to head back towards Santo Domingo. Right outside the airport is La Caleta. The government has declared the waters here a marine national park. The coral reefs here are trying to be protected. This place is usually not quiet, on the weekends it's filled with local people, food and music.

La Caleta

Before passing through the city you could stop at a cave called Tres Ojos. Literally three eyes. Don't look too gringo or they'll try to rip you off. If you can get down in there with your wallet you'll see some amazing views.

Tres Ojos

Now you can keep driving through the city west to Las Salinas. This little spit of sand jets out and in the formation of a little bay you get a super windy side and a super calm side. Here's a shot from the calm side.

Las Salinas

Not to far out in the shallow waters is a coral reef in need of protection.

El Durrumbao

Get back in the car and drive towards the south western part of this side of the island and you'll get to Barahona. 

Barahona

This is usually a stop before continuing on the long desert journey to Bahia de las Agulias. Many people think this is the most beautiful place on the island. I don't disagree, but it's such a pain to get to that most people will never make it there.

Bahia de las Agulias 

Before we head back up to the coast let's stop in the mountains. The highest peak in the entire Caribbean is Pico Duarte. The trip takes 3 days minium, but here's one of my favorite photos from both trips.

View from La Comparticion

For a great, but somewhat risky adventure, you can head to 27 Waterfalls. This is just north of Santiago and the north coast.

27 Waterfalls

Driving north and going a bit west you'll end up in Punta Rucia. The Atlantic waters here are also filled with corals. 

Punta Rucia

From here drive a short distance east and you will encounter a protected area of manatees. A couple takes care of the area and you can rent kayaks and head out into the green organic waters in search of the sea cows.

Estero Hondo

On the north coast drive east to Caberete. This is actually my least favorite beach on the island. People love it because there are actually waves for surfing, and wind for wind surfing. The sand and water reminds me of North Carolina beaches, not the perfect paradise you think of here.

Caberete

You'll probably need to head back to the Capital to catch your flight...

Tattoos continued

Dominican tattoo - check

2012 was a good year for tattoos, or bad, depending on what you think about tattoos. In January I finally got a design I'd been holding on to since I went to visit Bagan in Burma. I got the work done in Raleigh, though. Then this summer while I was in Nepal I decided to get some ink there, and in November I got my DR tattoo. My plan to stay away from my forearms has been broken, so I'm thinking full sleeves some time soon... I am heading to Colombia in December so I should probably do a tattoo there. At this point it's impossible to capture my ink all in one shot, but this is a photo one of my students took of me while we were on a snorkeling field trip...

My life has been all about lionfish here, with the Sea Savers club and GIN conference, so it was only fitting to get a lionfish tattoo. 

Now for Colombia...

Reefs, manatees, mangroves, and the moon

There are manatees in the DR!

So a few months ago I was looking through a tourist brochure and I saw an article about a protected bay on the north side of the DR that is a safe haven for a population of manatees. I was instantly intrigued and started brainstorming ways to get up there and check it out. Of course, one of my ideas was to organize a trip for my high school students, so they could see this awesome part of their island. I had no idea what to expect and my expectations were low, but the trip turned out to be amazing.

After a 5 hour bus ride from the capital through the winding mountains we ended up near Punta Rucia.

Day one we hopped on a boat and headed straight for Cayo Arena, a spit of sand out in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by a reef. 

We had 28 students and 4 chaperones with us. When we arrived the sand bar was filled with tourists. 

I saw the most fish I've seen snorkeling on this island. The reefs are being protected and some areas are roped off, so it looks like things are a bit more healthy here. Good news.

After a few hours we headed back to Punta Rucia and prepared for a night of astronomical adventures! 

We're only 19 degrees north of the equator here so the sun sets around 6:15 and usually pretty fast. The air was filled with moisture and before the sun went all the way down I was able to get some sunset photos...

Sun's down... time for the night sky.

Not only was Jupiter and 4 of it's moon visible, but the Perseid Meteor shower was peaking.

One of my students took this photo of the moon by resting her camera on the eyepiece of the telescope.

Sleep time is always the worst part of any school trip... I'm a human so I can't just stay awake and watch all the kids all night.

The next morning we headed to Estero Hondo. Just a few minutes east of Punta Rucia, this is the location of the Mammal Sanctuary. A Belgium man and his Dominican wife live at the sanctuary and look after the manatees. 

When we hiked down the dirt road the kayaks were waiting for us and before we could give any instruction a group of students jumped in and started paddling away. The funny part about this is most of our students had never been in a kayak before, they were just so excited to be there that they couldn't contain themselves and left a group of us behind... I had been thinking about those manatees for so long there was no way I was NOT going to see them... The left behinds waited patiently and finally got our chance to paddle out into the bay. What awaited us was a million times better than I could have imagined. The calm, peaceful waters surrounding our kayaks while we patiently waited for the manatee faces to peek up out of the water for a deep breath of air. It was impossible to capture a photo of their face and I decided to put down my camera and just observe rather than obsess about a photo. So here's where we were...

If you decide to venture out to Estero Hondo it's better to take the kayaks out in the morning when the manatees are more active. In October/November they are mating so are more active. This is one of the awesomest places I've been in the DR!