My Next Destination

I am headed out to the East Coast on Thursday. I'm pretty stoked. I'm just killing time until then.
In other news, my Grandpa moved back to Seattle(ish). I haven't lived in the same state as him since I was 5. It's weird. He's dying, so that adds a little complexity to things, but it's a good thing overall.

My week with my fam

I spent the whole week down on the Oregon coast with my mom. Scott, Alissa, and Owen were there for the first part, and my dad was there for most of it, minus a short trip to Mexico.
The weather was pretty bad, but we had a good time doing puzzles and watching the olympics in the condo. For the Maxwell opinion on NBCs coverage, click here.


Me and Owen

Oregon Sunset

my sick cat... part 2

he died. the day before i got home from the dr, my mom took him to the vet and didn't take him home. he was a good cat. if only he had been able to fight off the AIDS a little longer...

my family

i'm hanging out on the oregon coast with my family. my brother and sister-in-law are here and my mom, but right now my dad is on his way to mexico to visit my sickly grandfather who is apparently dying. it's good to just hang out with the family for a bit though. my nephew is soooo fun, and i got to hang out with my niece before i left for oregon on saturday. she's getting big. i like my fam.

my journey home

i am sitting in the airport in santo domingo waiting for the first leg of my flight home. it is sw weird to think that just two months ago i was starting my journey down to the dr.
saying goodbye was hard and good. i know that God is continuing to do amazing things here, but selfishly it's hard to not be a part of that anymore.
now on to the next step.... whatever that may be.

my dominican softball game

we had our last softball experience... it was pretty good, but it was also a little intense. the two villages that we had playing each other dont like each other much, so there was a little added stakes to what should have been a relaxing game. no actual fights broke out, but i think we did come close. this was the first of the last things... things really are coming to an end. sad.

my last normal week here

Tomorrow starts the beginning of the end of my trip. This week is the last normal one that we have of tutoring and english classes. It weirds me out a little that in less than two weeks I will be back in Seattle...
The health is fine as long as long as I avoid super oily food... that does not sit so well...
On a different note, it is freaking hot here. I think it is well over 100 most days, and the electricity is hit or miss, so sometimes there is just no cooling down. That makes me ready to be back in Alaska... you can always put more clothes on... you can only take so many clothes off before it is inappropriate.

my improving health

i am feeling a lot better these days. i am fairly certain that i am amoeba and parasite free and i feel loads better. i am on a special no oil diet, so the cooks make a special kate plate and my family makes food special for me, but it has helped a ton, as my stomach seemed to be reacting violently to the food here.

anyway, i cant believe i will be in the states again in three weeks. it seems like i just got here.

my hospital visit

so, i went to the hospital for a few days. they call it a clinic, but i had an iv and nurses came to check on me in my hospital-style bed, so i'm going to call it a hospital. i had a bad reaction to my parasite medicine. i feel better now, but health is still a bit of an issue for me...

my parasite

the amoeba is gone, but i have a parasite now... dang.

my somach update

still feel a little sick... but in theory the amoeba should be gone. i can see my
heartbeat in my stomach, and i'm pretty sure that's not good or normal, but what can ya do? i just need to make it another month until i get back to the states so i can go to a doctor that speaks the same language as me.
and oh yeah, the phlegm is back too, which kinda sucks.
in other news, my hermanos and i have almost finished mario 64. it's pretty rad. we had a lot of time to play yesterday because my hermano broke his leg. it got caught in a concho wheel. (see previous post for pic) he's pretty upbeat about it though.

My stomach

i have an amoeba. its name is carolina mala. i dont think thats healthy. so im going to get rid of it by taking some killer drug things. i wrote a song for my amoeba too. im going to try to post a video of it later

my mode of transportation

this is pretty much the norm here... its amazing.
were not supposed to touch the drivers, so im holding onto the bar on the back of the bike and kinda holding up my friend jenna...

my growing patience

we havent started doing anything tangible yet. all we have been doing is planning. it can get a little old. so much of me just wants to get out there and start doing something. i guess thats kinda the way i live my life. i dont always stop to think and plan before i start something. so im probably growing or something...
and my keyboard doesnt have punctuation. it kills me.
this is a pic of my host brother. he cracks me up. i tell him hes crazy and he says, no, im just happy. i taught him to make a fist and say word up, but he cant pronounce it very well. its amazing.

Mi primero semana

My family is rad. My padre is the coach of the major league prep team here in Barahona. Whenever I walk in he says, "Hello" with a lot of emphasis on the o. It makes me happy. My madre works at the sugarcane factory and is studying to be a lawyer and I have two hermanos that like to play video games and seem to like it when I play with them.
I am loving it down here. Aside from the freaky hotness of it, anyway. We have been doing a lot of planning this week and we are going to start english classes next week and tutoring the week after. The other interns are amazing. It is a little funny because of the seven of us, six are very similar in that we like to talk a lot. So far its all been good though. I am super excited to see how this summer plays out.