rich

Today I stood in the back of a truck, listening to my iPod and sharing it with a new friend, Zoe. We bonded over mutually-liked songs. Our truck climbed the steep mountain, always revealing breath-taking views of the valleys giving way to more mountains and the city of Santiago, way below us. Everything was green. I saw seas of tobacco, interrupted only by huts to dry the leaves and tall talms. We spotted a large waterfall in the distance and I felt it calling me to locate a path towards it. We passed a few men urging their donkeys up the mountain. They paused, waved, and shouted an hola to us. One of the ride's highlights was a mama goat and her 4 kids, with some of them nursing.
Later on, after working the land to learn gardening techniques (by land, I mean mud and clay), our trainer took us further up the mountain to a tiny house where Dominicana lives. She's small, shuffles, has a hairy chin, and apparently makes the best dulce de coco in the entire Cibao region. I won't argue, it was incredible! We wished Dominicana a "Buenas Tarde," and headed down the mountain. Once in Los Cocos, I walked home, worried only about my favorite gallina because I haven't seen her in two days. Zoe and I then discovered that one of the gates we normally walk through is now wired shut. That was earth-shattering news, worth several minutes of discussion. I love that the things that worry my mind these days include missing chickens and re-wired gates.
I arrived home to a smiling Dona who asked how my day was and declared that I'd arrived just in time, as she has just completed cooking my dinner. She kept me company while I ate, then let me be as I prepared to bathe. I found my bedroom spotless, and was grateful that she had cleaned. I enjoyed a much needed shower, and prepared to go out. Plans had been made to visit another volunteer, watch a movie, and relax, but the rains came and transformed my street into a river. When rains come here, plans change: schools close and people stay put. For me, that meant snuggling into bed early in order to enjoy a lullaby of rain pounding the zinc roof. I feel so rich.