4H Equipo GIS

Today was one of the most interesting days I have had since last lear. Friday at last and we were finally on our way to Boca Chica and exitement was in the air. After a very long wait at the hotel for “unclear” reasons, it was around 12 in the afternoon and we were finally ready to go. About 30 minutes later, we were arriving at Boca Chica, when the driver turned into this very small and densely populated street. The driver continued driving towards the end of the street and told us he would drop us off at the far end. As our van approached the shoreline 10 to 15 people “happily” came rushing to greet us. Getting of the van was like walking into an obvious trap. Immediately I was told that because I spoke spanish I would be able to get a great deal on beach chairs and “great” food. Walking towards the shoreline we though we had escaped these wonderful people. As luck would have it, we were again immediately swamped with a multitude of vendors that their merchandise ranged from necklaces to hair braids to manucures and massages.  It definitely was some very exiting moments. Tom, who had felt the frustation before, let out a loud and very comical response. “NO!, NO!, NO GRACIAS!,” he said. finally we were able to make it out alive and settle on the shore. I named this attack the First Wave because I knew this would not be the end of our arch enemies.

We just lost all POWER! The lights have gone off and the whole hotel is without light. This is probably because of the wind…we can hear the rain pounding our window outside. Its supposed to be to the west of us but what if it had gone over us? That wouldnt have been good..

[um..the laptop is running on battery, just in case you were wondering where i was writing from]

Oh! The lights just came back on…yay! Well this is going to be an interesting night….

      Hoy estaremos preparando nuestra presentación de GIS todos estamos muy exitosos y listos para llevar acabar una presentación en la Republica Dominicana que ningún otro miembro de 4-H Techwizards a hecho. Me Siento muy orgulloso y agradecido por ser seleccionado para representar mis compañeros en Forest Grove High School. El Primer día era un día para recordar. Pero hablare de eso ya luego.

             Nothing could have prepared for the amazing and sometimes scary things I was about to experience here in the
Dominican Republic. Although my fellow blogers have covered most of the main events, I will cover my perspective. At around 5 in the afternoon Friday evening, Lisa calls me to tell me she will pick me up in about 45 minutes. My mom who was supposed to buy me some of the things I needed for the trip was nowhere to be found. At the same time I was packing like crazy trying not to forget anything. Then Lisa calls me again to tell me she won’t be able to come until 10 after 6 pm. We agree instead to meet at

Capitol
Center, I’m ready to go, and Lisa asks me to show her my passport. So I open my bag and realize that it is not in there. After maniacally looking for it I have a movie style flashback to realize that when I was packing the passport I also packed a 700 hundred page in my bag. When I decided that the book was too large I pulled it out and as fate would have it my passport was neatly tucked inside. I then immediately called my brother to get it over to where I was and in 20 minutes we were off to the airport.

            At the
Portland airport it was very straightforward. Everything went very smoothly. At the terminal I got to try out some nice looking and sounding ear buds. They were a $250 dollars a piece. On the plane we got to see a “nice” and family friendly movie by the title of “Nancy Drew Get a Clue.” After 4 and half hours we arrived at out halfway point of New York City. Contrary to popular belief I did not find the city very exiting, maybe because of the rain. By that time at around 7 am (4 am
Pac. time) I was feeling pretty tired and ready to take a nap. Heading finally towards Santo Domingo I was momentarily anxious to get there until we arrived to a very warm, humid, and rainy
Santo Domingo. I hope the weather gets better soon.

Clara, Luis, and Sarah arrived in the Dominican Republic after nearly 18 hours on planes and in airports!

JFK was a wonderful experience with weather delays (rain) and air traffic issues. We left New York exactly two hours late! Luis like the NY to Santo Domingo leg of the journey!

Descending through the clouds into the Santo Domingo area we flew through a thunder storm complete with cloud bursts over the ocean and lightening! Our first view of Santo Domingo was extraordinary! Heavy, dark clouds to the south, and green city to descend into to!

We cleared customs with minor confusion, and giggling. The sleeplessness was starting to hit us all! We found a taxi to the airport without any trouble, however, the driving skills of our driver appear to be questionable. He took his half out of the middle, cutting of another driver at one point, to which the other driver proceeded to pull up along side of the taxi, and welcome us into the country!

We arrived at the V Centenario in Santo Domingo without actually crashing, only running one vehicle off the road, only ignoring one red light, and without running out of gas…..note: the gas light was on the entire trip!

It is warm and raining hard. Buckets and buckets of rain! We walked (because Luis wouldn’t let us nap!) and found the conference hotel, and walked along the sea front.

We are currently waiting for Liz, Thomas, Gabriel, and Christian to arrive. We have dined on Salmon, capers, and onions….and chicken fingers that had a distinct fish flavor…..

After the rest of our group arrives, we plan to go explore the Zona Colonial.