Thanksgiving on the Island

Jesus and I had been toying with the idea of hosting an American Thanksgiving at our home or taking the weekend he had off work to go to a local resort.  As much as I wanted to cook, the resort won out.  We went to the Riu Merengue in Puerto Plata.  This resort was so nice!  Sometimes I wish I lived on the beach.  If I had to make one complaint...just one...I'd say the beds were super un-comfy but the resort wasn't designed for you to be sitting inside. It had a large pool with a kiddy pool for Joaquin.  It also had a very large beach which was nice and clean and a little Caribbean street (Calle Caribeno) full of shops and souvenirs.  It was all inclusive so all our meals were paid for and you could eat pretty much whenever you wanted as well as unlimited pina coladas.  And while it was no use to us Mormons, even the rooms were stocked with unlimited alcohol.  Over they years Jesus has taught me to be cautious of buffets.  He always reminds me of how long the food may have been chilling outside and whether or not is is fresh.  However the buffets here did not disappoint, even for Jesus!  The breakfast was so good and the international dinner as well!  And dinner was different each night making it extra fun.  OK OK if I had to make one other complaint...around 11:00 pm one night, Jesus sent me out to check out what they had for snacks.  This is where the food HAD been chilling!  It was lunch's leftover pizza and hotdogs and it definitely did not taste fresh.  I'm pretty sure it was snacks for all the people who partied a little too hard and had some kind of munchies.  Needless to say the trash in our hotel room's bathroom smelled like hotdogs and poopy diapers the rest of the night.  But again, the breakfast and dinner buffets were fresh and delicious!  It was interesting to meet the tourists at the hotel.  Joaquin was outnumbered by all of the Eastern European grandparents but that kept things nice and calm for the little guy.  The resort had lots of activities including, kayaks, jet skis, volleyball, horseshoes, aerobics and whatever else but we split our time between eating, the beach and the pool.  It was so relaxing and so perfect!  I'd recommend this place for a vaca to the Dominican Republic if you are in need!

first sand castles

mountains

no fear

the pool

coconut tree

what a view!

the resort housing

love!

So many nice people offering to take a picture of the tree of us, we didn't even have to ask!

My husband's a good photographer 

I've never seen a tree in this country without leaves!  I guess every tree needs to bud...

Dessert buffet...need I say more?

My Haitian tourist braids!

These two love to play!

So cute!

Turns out my cooking endeavors and showing off an American turkey got to happen as well!  Everyone in my English class I teach at the church, chipped in a few pesos so that I could buy a turkey for them! We had turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.  I didn't want  to fork out any more cash to make any more than that so it was just a sampling of the American tradition and I think we hit the main points.  The celebration went so well.  I gave a brief, very brief, history of where the holiday came from and then we all took turns saying one thing we're grateful for.  I told them how grateful I was for them.  I teach this class week after week without a steady curriculum, coming up with so much on my own.  I don't know if they are learning it and most don't even have an opportunity to use English but still they come.  Their desire to learn is so special and they come, even when it's me, just volunteering to do what I can.  Some of the students even said they were grateful for me and that too was very special.