On Monday, Mamí, Landy, Marcos and I went walking. My host mom and sister do so almost every day. Marcos, my host sister's son, doesn't normally go, but insisted on going since I was. They normally don't bring him along since he tires quickly (he's 6 years old), plus some of the ditches and gutters on the sides of the streets are steep and cars and motorcycles can drive crazy sometimes. Mamí likes to walk at a quick pace ... Marcos' whining made us all laugh - even though he said he was tired and wanted to take the next turn to return home, he giggled every time I ran with him to have him catch up.
The walk was really scenic, with the sun falling behind the mountains surrounding the town of Jarabacoa. We noticed some dark clouds above the mountains when we began and, sure enough, they caught up to us at the end. Even though we got soaked, the cool rain felt great after the heat of the walk ... which was about 5 miles or so.
On Tuesday, they went again and I was going to go with, but Marcos would have to stay behind because his shoes, which he wears to school, don't have good arch support or cushion for his feet. I decided to stay behind with Marcos and do my exercises with him. He loved the mountain climbers and burpees, although he didn't do much of them, haha. He got a kick out of the Hindu, bird-dog, and Spiderman pushups. My family couldn't stop talking about them, loving the fact that I did those exercises with him.
Wednesday came along, and mamí went walking early, before Landy got out of work, since it looked like it was going to rain; she wasn't going to make the same mistake they had made both days prior! I stayed behind again to do my exercises, this time with Carlos, the almost 3-year-old. It was a lot of fun doing it with him, giggling the entire time and drinking his freshly squeezed cherry juice. His favorite were the long jumps.
On Thursday, I accompanied my host mom on her walk. It was great bonding time, and I learned that Pico Duarte is the tallest mountain in the DR, found in Jarabacoa. Mogote is the next tallest in Jarabacoa - this is the one that my translator told me about how he has climbed it many times and that it's a blast - but hard work!
There's nothing like some family bonding with a little exercise.
The walk was really scenic, with the sun falling behind the mountains surrounding the town of Jarabacoa. We noticed some dark clouds above the mountains when we began and, sure enough, they caught up to us at the end. Even though we got soaked, the cool rain felt great after the heat of the walk ... which was about 5 miles or so.
On Tuesday, they went again and I was going to go with, but Marcos would have to stay behind because his shoes, which he wears to school, don't have good arch support or cushion for his feet. I decided to stay behind with Marcos and do my exercises with him. He loved the mountain climbers and burpees, although he didn't do much of them, haha. He got a kick out of the Hindu, bird-dog, and Spiderman pushups. My family couldn't stop talking about them, loving the fact that I did those exercises with him.
Wednesday came along, and mamí went walking early, before Landy got out of work, since it looked like it was going to rain; she wasn't going to make the same mistake they had made both days prior! I stayed behind again to do my exercises, this time with Carlos, the almost 3-year-old. It was a lot of fun doing it with him, giggling the entire time and drinking his freshly squeezed cherry juice. His favorite were the long jumps.
On Thursday, I accompanied my host mom on her walk. It was great bonding time, and I learned that Pico Duarte is the tallest mountain in the DR, found in Jarabacoa. Mogote is the next tallest in Jarabacoa - this is the one that my translator told me about how he has climbed it many times and that it's a blast - but hard work!
There's nothing like some family bonding with a little exercise.