Atabales

Hola clase!

Hey guys! I just posted a new video for you to check out. I recorded this song and took the pictures you'll see a few days ago in my community, Pedro Sanchez. The Catholic church here celebrates and honors the Virgin Mary with 10 days of parades, carrying her portrait from house to house. The portrait is left in a different house every night and members of the church get together to sing songs, pray, dance and make lots of delicious food. It's chilly here at night, so yesterday they served a spicy hot ginger tea to everyone who came. It was out of this world!

I want you guys to pay attention to the sounds and music that you hear in the recording. You'll hear some special traditional instruments -- the guira, panderos and atabales-- all of which have their roots in Africa. Atabales are big drums, they look like bongos. The panderos is a kind of tambourine. And the guira makes a sound that sounds like maracas. There is a picture of a young boy playing the guira-- he's the one holding a can in one hand and a metal rod in the other. Typically the men play the drums and the women sing and clap. Anyone who wants to can dance. Sometimes they get so worked up that a single song can last for hours! You can just imagine how tired the dancers get after hours of dancing.

We walked from the edge of the town towards the center to the church. Lots of people joined in and pretty soon are little group looked a lot more like a parade! By the time we got to the steps of the church, there were hundreds of people crammed behind, waiting to go inside. It was a very beautiful ceremony with lots of music and smiling faces. I've included a couple pictures of kids your own age so you can see what they look like :)

Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo!

Hey everybody!

It's great to hear from all of you. I hope that everyone enjoyed a happy and relaxing holiday break. I'm very excited to see that you have so many good questions, so let's jump right in!

Sophie, that's a great question! Many Americans consider joining the Peace Corps, but the application process isn't easy-- or quick. You start by creating an application on the Peace Corps website-- www.peacecorps.gov. After you answer all of their questions about your past experiences and education, they call you in for an interview to see if you're the right kind of person for the Peace Corps. Living and working in a new culture requires lots of patience, a sense of humor and dedication. If you can prove to them that you've got "the right stuff", they'll accept you! After you undergo a very thorough medical examination, you wait... and wait... and wait... until finally a package comes in the mail with your official invitation to serve! It will tell you about your new country of service and a little bit about what you'll be doing there. So like I said it's not easy or quick. Typically the application process takes an entire year! But if you think you might want to join someday, my advice would be to just keep studying. Almost every single volunteer has graduated from college.

Anushka, how cool that you got to go to Montreal! I've never been. Was it cold when you went? Even though it's January, it's still hot here-- about 80 degrees Fahrenheit! Can you imagine?

If you guys like to visit strange new lands with lots of rivers and mountains, you'll like this photo I took during New Years:

That's a bridge over a rushing mountain river in Jarabacoa, a town located in the center of the country. There it's much cooler-- you'll even find pine trees, just like in the United States! but as you can see... sometimes the bridges aren't so safe. Crossing this one, I stepped on a board that cracked and fell straight down into the river. Yikes! Right? Don't worry though, we take care of ourselves here. :)

The holidays were great, but I'm happy to get back to work. In my next post I'll tell you a little bit about the new and exciting projects I have planned for this year. Until then, keep your questions coming. All the best!

Dan