November 11

Yesterday was filled with facebook status commenting on their love and appreciation to those who have and are fighting for our wonderful country. I unfortunately forgot about Veteran’s day until I was reminded on Facebook. Once again I unfortunately read statuses and kept going on with my day without thinking about my feelings on the importance of the day.

Once a week I have my Infectious Disease class that is taught by Dr. Sowby who retired two years ago from teaching at a University in California. This is the only class that he teaches and even though I signed up for him because I heard he was easier, the class has been a beneficial asset to my education. I have gained an immense amount of knowledge that will benefit me throughout my life. A few examples of the knowledge I have gained include reasons why you do not give children aspirin as it can cause Reye disease, why you do not give babies honey, the truth about influenza (particularly H1N1), and how vitamin C, Echinacea, zinc, Zicam and Airborne do nothing for preventing and fighting off the common cold. Most importantly I have never been to a class where I have not almost died laughing. The man is hilarious and almost inappropriate, which to be completely honest is refreshing, but do not be confused, I am a proud Cougar and I bleed blue through and through. I won’t go into too much detail, but I never thought a male’s reproduction system could be compared to a vacuum cleaner…

Yesterday he was in a suite and a man in my class commented on his wardrobe and Dr. Sowby replied that he always dressed up for Veteran’s Day. He then started class with showing us the medals he had received and said that he got the medals instead of bullets. He was drafted the last day of the draft and proudly fought for our country. He lost a lot of friends and shared his sincere appreciation for the ones who have fought for our country. He ended with the words, “I pray every day for those who are fighting and I hope you do too.” I have a lot of respect for my professor in his knowledge and experience in the Public Health field. I gained more respect for him as I learned a little more about his life and the kind of life he lives.

I too am grateful for those who have fought for our country and I am grateful for the words that Dr. Sowby shared.

A Noteworthy Cause to Blog About... My Mother is Amazing.

I just want to brag about my mom and highlight one of her many talents.





My mom made Jade and Baby Layne their Halloween costumes and she did a great job. Growing up, she always made mine and Jake's costumes and we always had the best costumes. They always have been and always will be made with love.

I will never even measure up to be a mother like my mom.

Oh and she already committed to making my kids Halloween costumes:)

Bored? Need another Blog to read?

Well I have a solution!

Click HERE, to meet my friends that I met in the DR that are living abroad and recording everything they see.

They are a great family and are doing a lot of good in a troubled world.

I hope you enjoy the adventure of reading and seeing their travels.

27 Waterfalls

One reason, I decided to go to the Dominican Republic was for all the outdoor activities. Someday I desire to travel to other countries that are packed with history and sights, but this summer I wanted to spend my days outside in a bathing suit. There was so much to do, that I had a hard time managing my time. Tour companies offer bikes, hikes, surfing, rafting and my favorite 27 waterfalls! The Dominican Republic was a perfect vacation for me, because I don't want to spend my time inside, I want to be out in the sun!

Cascading, is the name of an adventure that requires you to jump off waterfalls. It was simply amazing. You are led through the jungle by tour guides that are not human. These "men" were monkeys and they would be standing on slippery rocks and then completely pull you up from the water you were floating in. I really liked that part of the trip and I think I know what it feels like to fly. They pulled me up in the air as if I weighed 10 pounds and they were expecting me to weigh 200. Later our guides would show off as they jumped off the cliffs and if you have ever been to the Mayan restaurant in Salt Lake, then you have not seen anything compared to these men. Our hike up to the top was beautiful as we would have to climb ladders, swim, and walk up the mountain holding onto a rope. The scenery was beautiful and I only wish I could have captured all that I saw.


Here are some pictures that also give a glimplse of the beauty that I found online.





There were five of us that went together from the DREAM project and then we made a lot of friends. There were two "love birds" from Austria, two Italian men that wanted to hook up on the beach that night, a family from Holland, a couple from San Francisco, and a family from LA. We had fun singing, laughing, screaming and talking about life were we grew up. Everyone spoke English and I was amazed at how many languages my European friends could speak. I can't even speak Spanish!

Unfortunately, our adventure hit a rough spot. My friend Bianca, who was with DREAM, was climbing down to a spot to jump and she dislocated her shoulder. She was in a great amount of pain, but surprisingly, the father of the family from LA was a fireman and therefore was a certified EMT. He tried to put it back in, but could not and the entire time Bianca kept fighting off the pain. She had to get back down the mountain and I honestly don't how, but she was able to climb down. We finished the remaining waterfalls, but the entire time we felt bad for Bianca. As we finished the last waterfall we saw Bianca with the father of the family from Poland, who did not jump the waterfalls, and he just so happened to be a shoulder specialist. He was working her shoulder and easing some of her pain. We all finished our hike which took us 15 minutes and Bianca was rushed to the hospital. We were definitely being watched over and things could have been a lot worse if the EMT and the shoulder specialist had not been in our group.

Don't let my little story scare you, this is one of the most incredible things I have done. I wish I could put into words everything that I experienced, but I have to act like the travel channel and say that this is something that you HAVE to experience on your own.

More Samana

I love Samana, I don't think I will ever be able to vacation to Hawaii because I love the Caribbean. We went to a Pirate beach, which got its name after we pulled up in a boat and realized it looked like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.

A memory I will always cherish is when Roberto got a few of us some local guides to take us on a hike to Playa Colorado. These little boys were so cute and kept getting us watermelon, coconut, and almonds. Kathryn and I body surfed with them and we played on the beach which we had all to ourselves.

I am definately not as good as the Dominicans.

This was a usual sight for me and Kathryn.



Playa Colorado








Casa Dorado!

One Amazing Summer

It has been awhile and I made it back to America. My experience in the Dominican Republic was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It changed me and I will be seeing the changes for years to come. A part of my heart lies in the Dominican Republic, with the people who loved me and lived great lives. The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country, with incredible beaches, luscious green forests, and kind people.

I want to update on my adventure and here I go...

My last week in the country was spent in Samana, a peninsula on the east coast of the country, that is AMAZING. Playa Rincon is ranked the 6th most beautiful beach in the world and Donald Trump keeps trying to get his hands on it. All the beaches we visited were undeveloped and contained natural beauty that was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

My field director, Dr. Page, paid for our bus driver and his family to come with us and have a vacation. This was something that they never would have been able to do and it was great sharing experiences with them. Everyone I met down there had more appreciation for life and what they had been given, and Ospaldo and his family were no exception.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast that was owned by Katherine, a main person in charge of the DREAM project. We got to meet her husband, Roberto, who is an incredible man. We were spoiled with wonderful food, a wonderful place to stay, and access to all the beaches. We visited four beaches and I loved each one. I was amazed at how close these beaches could be, but how different and unique each one was.

I had a very hard time deciding what pictures to post, but here are a few:

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo is incredible. It has the busy feel of a city, but also contains so much history. If you have a few minutes, I suggest spending the time and studing a little bit of history. Christopher Columbus first discovered Hispaniola which is the island that consists of the DR and Haiti. Santo Domingo is a very old city with the streets and buildings gushing of character.

Here is Christopher Columbus' house and there are many other tributes to him throughout the city.



Just a few of my favorite pictures from the city. I was pretty sick and made myself walk all over because we only had one day to shop and see everything. Needless to say I am not in any pictures and the pictures are not very good and are pretty random. All I could really think about was being able to walk and to capture in as much as I could.

Everyone knows and loves a "Lee." Thanks dad for giving me a great last name and to everyone else, I am not Asian.

The last two pictures show what you see when you get off the tourist road and see all the other things the city has to offer. There is more than just men staring and calling you a rubia. I just wish I could capture the sounds. Music is always playing






Did I mention that our main purpose of going to the capitol was to see the temple?! Well it was beautiful, as you can see from the pictures, but the best part was being able to be in a familiar place and to feel peace. Everything about the temple stood out in this city, to the perfectly trimmed lawn to the perfectly arranged flowers on the grounds. Every window and door in the city has iron bars that are usually quite decorative. I found out that it was not for decoration, but for safety. The temple was the only place that was not covered in protection measures. It was a great escape.

And this lovely edifice is where I spent two nights. It is the MTC and yes, I slept right below all the missionaries. So I got to sleep on temple grounds, I am pretty holy and I am thinking the next step in my life is translation (that was a joke, I try to be funny.)I talked to a few missionaries that said that people come from many different islands and Haiti and think they are staying in a 5 star hotel. They are blown away by the blinds on the window, let alone the hot water. I even got to flush my toilet paper! I thought about making a movie about this, but then decided to go to bed in a bed that I actually needed a comforter. Yes, I was cold at night, something I have not felt since I stayed at my parents house.

My weekend was wonderful, and I enjoyed pushing through my achy body and cold to experience the wonderful city of Santo Domingo.