The Art of Electrocution

I was in two countries today. That is one of the things I think is cool about this island; its 2 countries. I visited a site in Restauracion, which is 12km from the Haitian border, so when I finished with all my meetings i just drove over for a quick sec. Then I drove all the way back to Santiago which is about 175km away. Rosalia and I had a quite the adventure. The day before, I drove into the border town of Dajabon and stayed the only hotel I could find. Check this out:

Probably squinting your eyes huh? (maybe its just me that does that) What is that thing? Is it some type of artificial lung or a lawn mower battery? It is the shower head in my hotel room on the dinky border town of Dajabon. It "supposedly" "heats" your "water" as you "shower". What they really mean to say is, "This will electrocute you to death." No thanks, I choose life. You are supposed to flip that switch while your in the shower all nakey and what not. Yes, the water does drip from what looks like the male end of an electrical cord, it drips right off of that onto your body. Things you don't see everyday.....

Anyways, the site i visited was great. There is a lot of potential there to help not only the Dominicans that live in and around the town, but also the Haitians that live in and around the town. The population is about 1/3 Haitian. Most of the town is functionally illiterate, and the main source of jobs are the coffee and other cash crop fields. The leadership the town presents is outstanding, and that is not something you see everyday either. Most leadership is non-existent to weak at best in rural sites, but Restauracion has a bevy( oh yea got to use it) of leaders that are very willing and excited to work with us. It was very refreshing. They have a small hospital that only offers basic treatment, no surgeries, and they are very poorly equipped with staff and supplies. I feel like everything is in place it just needs a big shove to get going.

I met with the town mayor, hospital director, local teachers, local governmental staff and some families. It was all very positive. I have a good feeling about this one. Here are some photos:

 This is a typical Haitian home in the town. All wood and tin, warehouse style sleeping arrangements.....

 This is a cute little Haitian boy who was being treated at the hospital....

This is a special room where they treated everyone who got Cholera when it broke out last year. Hundreds of Haitians flocked to this hospital to try and nab one of these 3 beds.......

Really looks like Haiti is the theme of this blog.

Like i said, after i spent the morning here I sped down the mountain to come back to home sweet home, Santiago:

This is what my drive back looked like most of the way; curvy country roads. Now you can see what Rosalia and I see :)

Adios! gonna spend the 2 days doing all the paperwork and not dying in the shower!