By Christine L. North

I am in the Dominican Republic for my fourth visit.

We had a bit of a challenge getting here Friday – a mechanical issue with the plane delayed us for five hours – but we received a $100 voucher toward future travel and $6 to buy lunch so not a bad deal.  And given that there was a huge tropical depression sitting over the Dominican Republic and a lot of rain, we didn't miss much.  No real beach-time was sacrificed!

I did try to walk the beach Saturday morning but got caught in the rain on the way back to the hotel. Oh well. That's how it goes.  We went to the airport to meet our team of students and two other faculty members.  All arrived with no problem.  Then we started the three-hour bus ride to San Juan de la Maguana but, because of the heavy rains, we decided to just hang back and spend the night in San Juan.

As a result, we got up early Sunday morning and were on the road at 5:30 a.m.  We left early since the national elections were Sunday.  The polls opened at 6 a.m. and we wanted to be out of the city before they opened.

Once we got into the clinic and guesthouse, we ate breakfast and then began unpacking all of the things we brought and gathering things for the day at the barrio clinic tomorrow.

I will keep this blog updated on a daily basis, so hopefully it will be easy for anyone who wishes to keep up with the trip.  Many more details to follow!