Pooping in the monte

Well, I managed to make it back from my whirl-wind adventure up and down the country. Rosalia and I went to the Capital then way down south to Barahona and the Haitian bateyes. It is kind of like driving from Florida to South Carolina...and then some, time wise anyway. I was able to visit a few bateyes and a village right outside of the Capital.

Rosalia and I had a few adventures. We got caught in the rain, blew out a tire, and got lost. Those 3 things pretty much happened in one day. I was on my way back from Barahona and it began to rain, so I stopped off at a gas station to wait it out. I continued on after it dissipated, but I kept running into showers so I just drove through it....slowly. I roll into the Santo Domingo area around 5 and i decide to take an alternate route, which i thought was a short cut, but in reality just turned me all around. So I am cruising through some unknown part of the Capital when the back of my bike starts wobbling. I assumed it was uneven pavement and kept going. Eventually, I started realizing what everyone on the sidewalk was screaming at me.....my rear tire was flat. Great. Everything is closed, so I am pushing Rosalia in the rain during rush hour traffic in Santo Domingo. Luckily, I found a tire repair shop just about to close. I was able to buy a part and get it replaced. I arrived at my friends house around 7pm. So, that was my day 11am-7pm on the road, blah.
Here is Rosalia half taken apart:

Other than that, I am pretty much a pro at riding now. I have ridden in every condition this country can throw at me. I was in the south Monday through Thursday so I have just been catching up on paperwork since I have been back.

The Bateyes were a very interesting situation. I spent 2 days traveling to 3 of the 9+ villages that are comprised mostly of Haitian sugarcane field workers. It is an intriguing project, because there already is a lot of aid present in the area. World Vision has set up a huge health clinic, and staffed it with specialists and nice new equipment. Not to mention, they have a child sponsorship program where you too can give a child a better future for only 20 dollars a year. Medical missions trip head over heel to offer care to this minority immigrant population. So, what would we do there?
There are ideas and realities. Medical missions have a great idea in coming down and providing free surgeries and general care to the people who can't afford medical care. World Vision has a great idea in building a clinic and providing children with sponsors for better futures. The reality is, with so many medical missions coming in the people begin to depend on them for their primary care, but what happens when they don't show? The reality is, World Vision sponsors so many kids, but after interviewing over a dozen families it seems that the children aren't receiving any aid from the sponsorship program. So, where does all that money go?
Initially, i'm sure every organization sees a problem and develops an idea that turns into a reality they may or may not have envisioned. What is mine going to be? I'd like to think we are different from everybody else, that we will have a real impact on the world. Who knows? Sustainability is such a subjective idea.

Those are my deep thoughts for the year. Here are some photos from my travels:

 Yea, that's not sanitary....he is not happy either. Thats 1/4 tired filled with questionable water. Bathtub?

 These kids loved having their photo taken.

 Does you kitchen look like this? What is what, right?

The trick is to cook your meal without burning the tire.......Haitians are creative and resourceful. I would not have thought of this.