Two plus two... (Katie)

It has now been almost three weeks since I arrived and we are settling in more and more each day. We are still waiting for our shipment of furniture, but we have been happily nesting in our apartment with furniture graciously lent to us by Amanda, our landlady. Exploring a bit more each day, we are getting to know our neighborhood. The local supermarkets, cafes, parks, shops, restaurants etc. A hop, skip and a jump and we are at the ocean front, which lacks a sandy beach, but has an excellent running path with a refreshing breeze. The swimming pool on our roof is the perfect escape from the heat and destination for a relaxing night cap.

One of our delicious home-cooked meals: Ginger Hoison Noodles!

We've had a few amazing storms since we moved in. We learned our lesson about keeping our back windows open during a storm the hard way (with our open suitcases of clothes underneath)! When it rains it poors! The skies open up, the lightening is terrific and the thunder sounds like it is one foot away from your head! Our balcony is covered, so we can watch the rain and lightening with the doors open - it's incredible.

I am still going strong in my Spanish classes and I'm starting to think about volunteer opportunities to facilitate more of an immersion experience (and of course to volunteer). Jeremy's work has been busy and interesting. He has done a number of asylum case interviews of individuals who have been in this country without status for decades. It's fun to hear about his work when he gets home each night. We are very fortunate to share similar professional interests. His co-workers are great and my overall impression is that his contract with UNHCR is going to be an increasingly enriching experience.

To make or Dominican adventure even more exciting...

On Wednesday Jeremy had the day off so I took a vacation from Spanish classes. The day started out just like any other with a little bit of yoga, coffee & tea, doing work, sending some emails, and running some errands. Somehow we ended up at the local pet shelter just a few streets away. There we met many beautiful dogs including four puppies who were rescued over the weekend. It's not a long story to tell because we pretty much knew the minute we saw them that there was no going back! So, short story made even shorter: Meet the two new members of our household!

Luna (left) and Fia (short for Confianza, right)

The girls are adorable and a much loved addition to our life here. We certainly have our work cut out for us, but their cuteness far outweighs the challenge. They have successfully slept without whimper or howl for at least six hours two out of the three nights (we won't talk about the first night). They are slowly learning to do their business on newspaper (60% of the time), they have recently learned to go up and down stairs (with only a few somersaults), and, most importantly, they have quickly adopted us as their parents.

Fia bebe and her dad

Luna, Fia and I are holding down the fort for the weekend while Jeremy is in NYC for Abby and Jason's east coast wedding party. I'm sorry not to be there with them, but I am enjoying my first girls weekend in the tropics!

tropical perks

Much love to our family and friends from the four of us! Luna and Fia look forward to meeting you!

Dominican Beginnings (Katie and Jeremy)

Two months after shopping for our unidentified home's furnishings at IKEA in Massachusetts, we have arrived in the Dominican Republic! Jeremy arrived three weeks ago at 6:30 in the morning and started his first day of work as a Protection Officer with UNHCR two hours later. His first few weeks were full of work, apartment searching and reporting back to Katie in Minnesota. Katie arrived last Tuesday and promptly threw away all of Jeremy's work, blazing her own trail to find the right apartment.

Jeremy sent Jose to pick Katie up at the airport

Katie found the apartment herself with only three hours of Spanish classes under her belt. Language was unnecessary when she and Amanda, our landlady, quickly became friends. The apartment is in the colonial zone, the oldest part of Santo Domingo. The neighborhood has a large population of foreigners, but is overwhelmingly Dominican. The architecture is Spanish Colonial with small cobblestone streets winding their way past old churches, ruins, cafes and corner stores called "colmados". There is no shortage of domino playing under shade trees.

Celebratory dinner en la zona colonial

As it turns out there is an IKEA in Santo Domingo. We would like to think that the prices are three times as high here and that having sent our furniture from the U.S. we have, in fact, brought a bit of home with us. We move into our apartment on Tuesday and hope our shipment arrives soon thereafter. In the meantime, we have been enjoying the pool, gym and convenience of Hotel Embajador where the UNHCR office is currently hiding out while waiting for their new digs.

Jeremy is working away and Katie has jumped right into her intensive Spanish program. The adventure has begun!

We will keep updating our family and friends throughout this journey. Sometimes we will write together and other times separately, so that you get a taste of both our joint as well as our individual experiences. Let us know if there is anything in particular that you are curious about.

¡Saludos!