Return Trip

Yesterday I booked my flight tickets for the DR! My boyfriend and I are going on December 29th. I'm staying until the 19th, but he's only staying until a week later. I'm planning on spending a few days in Santo Domingo with him and to see the New Year's fireworks that happens every year in Santo Domingo. Then we are off to Monte Cristi so that I can learn more about the lobster houses there. Angel, the head of the program there, is supposed to be there as well, so I'll have a translator and I'll actually get to talk to him in person after our numerous e-mail and phone calls. My goals while I'm there are to check the lobster houses, interview the fishermen, and learn all I can about the program. Then we might have enough time to go to Miches before Thomas has to leave so that I can show him where I spent my summer. : )

I found out yesterday as well that 40 more houses are going to be built this weekend! It's a good thing that I'm constantly logged in on skype or I never would have known. I chatted with Henry for a bit in the morning and that night Victor asked me for bus information because he is helping with the construction and is coming in from Punta Cana. This means that the houses might be in the water by the time I get there and that I can check them for lobsters, collect GPS points and any other information that hasn't been collected. The houses are going to be split between two communities: Los Mameyes (the community that already has the houses) and Sabana de Nisibon (the community that Angela is stationed in). Juan is going to be collecting data on the lobster catch that is brought in, including all of the information that I collected this summer, such as the fishing method, number of lobsters, species, weight, sex, carapace length, total length, tail length, and presence of eggs.