Vengan conmigo a La Cumbre

I have spent the past month in La Cumbre, a mountain campo near Santiago for community based training. We got dirty learning erosion control, gardening techniques and building ceramic stoves. I embarrassed myself time and time again with Spanish miscommunications and a four hour Earth Day presentation to eighth graders. We all got a little better at dancing the bachata and merengue at the Plaza, a little outdoor colmado that could easily be mistaken for a storage unit during the daytime but transforms into a hotspot at night with blaring music and a row of parked motorcycles. I ran every day and ate more fried cheese than I would ever care to quantify.

I loved my family even though much of our time was spent in silence. My host sibblings taught me cool Dominican expressions and then laughed hysterically when I would slip them into conversation. I translated an Akon song into Spanish for my host sister to the best of my ability. Akon has to be the most famous American here because not a day goes by that I don´t hear a little kid singing "I want to make love right now now now" with a cute accent. We made a lot of friends through conversations or silence while sipping tiny cups of coffee. I also met some running and hiking buddies who I was really sad to leave. Our time in La Cumbre made me realize that it is possible to feel welcomed into a community, feel comfortable with no doors to the bedrooms or bathroom, and feel at home while blatantly standing out with all the wrong clothes and a really bad accent.

I am back in Santo Dominingo getting wet from sideways rain through an open window in an internet cafe. This coming Tuesday the Peace Corps will disclose our sites. I am of course psyched and nervous to hear where my new home will be and even more anxious to go visit on Wednesday. No matter where it is, I have already decided that I will like it. After all, it´s all about the attitude!