So since Im the only one who has not posted a blog - we figured its appropriate I post about the return to my assignment in Rio San Juan. It was exciting to see how its changed in 20 years, and to try and show Jared and the girls what I remember of the town. We tried to find my old apartment, but after a bit of searching - there are a lot more houses now than there used to be and the neighborhood has changed a lot so we were not able to find it. We found the beautiful new kingdom hall I heard they had built - Much improved from the one i had attended - so that was awesome. We were able to find some landmarks I had remembered such as the Gri Gri Lagoon, a freshwater body of water that leads to the ocean thru some mangrove trees, Bahia Blanca - where we spent the afternoon snorkling with the local Dominican Kids who had gotten out of school, the Bahia Blanca, where I used to spend many evenings for dinner, either with my roommate, or with brothers and sisters from around the world for the French Onion Soup and the Ambiance, After snorkeling where a Haitian Girl attached herself to us and hung out with Jess and Jazz most of the afternoon, we drove down the hightway a bit to a rocky road that led to the awesome beach where I used to spend many a afternoons - Playa (beach) Caleton. Its still as beautiful as before but full of people and tourist - which I must say i dont care for. But we all were able to appreciate its beauty. A little further driving down the road led us to the renound Playa Grande. A beautiful Dominican beach. It was getting late so we needed to head back home before the sun went down (driving gets conciderably more dangerous in the dark) but plan to return because near there we found an unspoiled not crowded beach we want to check out. On the way home we stopped for a good old Dominican Baseball game. its a couple hour drive from where we are staying but Rio San Juan has a unique friendly feel, and it was really great to go back there . I didnt remember everything but was glad i remembered a lot of my previous time there. the beaches are still beautiful there. Tomorrow Service again - always a hightlight and always an adventure.
