Safety!

We have a gate on our door!! (see above) Our landlord has really come around and delivered for us. I feel alot safer. Tomorrow he's going to seal our kitchen door and put some locks on the back doors. The girls upstairs have bars on their windows now!! Look:


I think we will all sleep better now. I know I will!

The bars and door involved alot of metal cutting, which occurred on our front porch without safety goggles. Naturally. Now, you may imagine this welder requires some power. And this is how they hooked up their extension cord:

Yes, those are live wires. I love this place.

water and thieves

Well, I think it's safe to say that this weekend is all over the place. On Friday night I finally got to watch The Blind Side, and it was fantastic!!! It's a great movie even if you're NOT from Baltimore, but since I am, I felt especially proud.

Yesterday morning, my two roommates went out for their usual Saturday morning activities (hair appointment and Awana), and I went with Holly, Brooke, the Stanley's and Mr. Stanley Sr. (visiting from MN) to a little something called the Upper Jimenoa. Which is a HUGE, gorgeous waterfall. The hike down was great; the hike back up is a little rough. But either way, the waterfall is amazing.

We were all set to get home and nap or eat, but about a minute after I went into my house, Holly and Brooke came down in near tears because their house had been broken into while we were gone. Their laptops have been stolen as well as money and their American cell phones. The laptops are the biggest loss though, since we use them to stay in touch with people at home. Whoever it was came in through a window and then used a rolling pin to bust off the door knobs on their bedroom doors (which were locked). It was a crazy afternoon with police reports (written in what appears to be a composition notebook...very official), stress, and trepidation.

We had a large sleepover in their living room last night complete with machete and mace, just in case. It resulted in not alot of concrete rest for me, so a nap is sounding pretty good right now. If anyone hears of or knows someone that would want to donate a used laptop, let me know! :)

Ironic thought for the night:

I'm currently writing an email to a close friend from college, who I lived next to Sophomore year. This reminded me to blog about something I have remembered before but kept forgetting to post. During my spring semester of that year, I took a Caribbean culture and society class. I was extremely frustrated with the grading system - about 5 multiple choice tests. (I am more of a paper writer. In terms of tests, I am more of an essay test taker). I was complaining to this friend and her roommate, and on more than one occasion I specifically remember bemoaning about the preciseness of the questions:
"Honestly, when am I EVER going to need to know what side of the road people drive on in the Dominican Republic??!!"

Too tempting of a question, it would appear. God has a sense of humor...

Happy .5!!

This is probably the most promptly that I've ever reported anything, but I am very excited about this one! Tonight my family down here threw me a surprise half birthday party! (Technically my half birthday is tomorrow, but Holly and I will be at Young Life, so they threw it tonight!) I was completely surprised and it was wonderful. I have a superb crown made by Karyn, and Brewer distracted me while everyone went to Holly's. Then we ate Chinese. It may be the first half birthday party I've ever had, but I think there's a good chance it will always be the best, too. Thanks to my wonderful amigas for all the love!

As Angelica would say, "Bomb-iting"

I feel like I can't be the only one in existence who has hung their head over a trashcan in a third world country wondering why. As I recall during my 24 bodily rejection of fluids and nutrients in Shanghai, through the haze of illness I pondered what in that communist country could I have consumed to make so ill. Today I had my first Dominican stomach revolt, and I'm happy to say it appears to be short lived. I'm still confused as to what prompted my sickness in the morning (not to be confused with morning sickness), but I'm just going to take it easy and not eat anything for a little bit. I'm hoping this won't permanently ruin bananas and peanut butter (today's breakfast item) permanently for me.

Somewhere in York, PA, my sister is dying a little inside as she reads this...

Off topic, rumor on the streets is that the Brewer/Staats/Fisk house has had 3 mice in a week. I am feeling blessed that nothing else has shown up in my room.

Also, in the Top Ten Things You Don't Want to See On the Side of the Road list, new entry: dead kitten. Just trust me, it's pretty sad.

Since lunch supervision is in about 5 minutes, here is a picture of the river from a spot we like to ride to on our motorcycles! The camera doesn't do it justice.

Christmas!

My mom sent me some small things for my kids for Christmas...and they loved it! Here are two short videos:

Haiti stories

I know you barely have to move your small toe to hear the stories out of Haiti, but I think these are two of the important ones that need to be mentioned.

The first is by Missionary Flights International, the guys that bring us our mail bi-weekly. I hope you watch the video!
http://www.missionaryflights.org/field-reports/148-we-are-bringing-our-babies-home

The second is about a Towson student and Baltimore resident...
http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/news/104051/haiti-with-love-hope/