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I have now been on the Earth for a quarter of a century.  I’ve been lucky enough to see some cool places and meet some amazing people and hopefully affect some lives in a positive way.   These days, well into year two of my Peace Corps service, I feel almost complete freedom where I used to feel trapped.  I am known; I am safe and loved in my community.  I can come and go as I please.  I have fun times all over this island with both American and Dominican friends.  I feel like my work is actually becoming effective (which is a question in the mind of every volunteer: “Is any of this helping anyone?”).  I am enjoying this life, and that really is the most important thing.  It flies by!

The month of September is full of festivities.  I celebrated my birthday with Peace Corps friends, dancing in the capital and then enjoying a day at the beach.   Now it’s patronales in Tabara Arriba – the 10-day festival for our patron saint.  All communities in the Dominican Republic (and most Spanish-influenced countries?) celebrate patronales.  So, from last Friday until next Sunday, we are in fiesta here.  There are rides in the park, a stage for concerts, lots of alcohol, dancing, and general merriment.  Last night I went on the Ferris wheel and immediately realized that it wasn’t a great idea… not exactly inspection-approved machinery, though clearly I survived to tell the tale.  The Merry-Go-Round has a plaque that says, “Made in Kansas, 1948.”  I assume the Ferris wheel has similar origins.  So if you ever wondered what happens to antique amusement park rides when America doesn’t want them anymore, now you know.  Apparently the last time they brought rides to patronales here was four years ago, and my friend Yara fell out of her Ferris wheel seat and was hanging on for dear life until someone saved her.  And another woman fell out of the flying swing ride.  Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence…

While all this is a definite distraction from the school, we started our reading program last week and so far it’s going really well.  I finally have the enthusiasm of teachers, students and facilitators to keep me motivated.  It took a while to make that happen, but that’s why we’re here for two years.  I’ve gotten more of my friends involved, and now have six Dominican facilitators working with me!  So we can give 45-minute sessions of small group attention to around 90 kids every day in the third and fourth grades.  Everyone is feeling good about our work so far, though school attendance will likely suffer during this week of festival…