Please Don’t Stop the Music

There are 2 things that I just can’t seem to remember since I’ve been in the Dominican:1) DO NOT flush the toilet paper down the toilet, because it will plugwithout fail2) Don’t use the tap water to brush your teethMy roommate has very considerately posted a sticky note on the bathroom mirror that says “Melissa, don’t use the water to brush your teeth you goofy girl!”  I’m just starting to get the hang of this. But other than that, I’m having the most amazing time!! Today we visited a hospital in Puerta Plata where we painted a room for the children’s ward and I brought a guitar and went around jamming with the patients. I’m always amazed by the way that music breaks so many barriers, whether they be age, culture, language…it doesn’t matter when it comes to music. I tried to play some of the most well-known covers that I know (The Beatles, “Stand By Me”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”), in hopes that the patients would know the songs…which as far as I know was an unsuccessful venture…but it didn’t matter. I played “Hey Jude” and half way through the song a man, probably in his early 70s, began clapping his hands to the music in such a rhythmic way – and man, do these people have rhythm –  it began to feel like a total cross-cultural jam session in the middle of a hospital. I wish there was a way to describe the sensation of unity in words, but words just don’t cut it. So one of my friends who works at the hospital is bringing my CDs tomorrow to some patients there that asked for them! It was an LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute)ly beautiful experience to say the least. But ah! It is midnight and I have to be on a bus by 8:45 am tomorrow (that sounds like a lot of sleep but I need all I can get) to head over to a school/community center and work on building a kitchen! I would love to go on and on about what I’ve done/seen/heard here so far but…zzzzzzzzzz.——————————

See you in the morning!Melissa 🙂