Another great day in paradise. Today I had a day off, but who needs one?

8:30am Wake up and do the hotels cash for the day
9:00am Breaky: coffee, eggs and star fruit at the hotel bar while finishing up my Spanish homework
10:30am Spanish class with Yolanda "es mono romantica?" "no, mono no es romantica"
12:30pm Lunch: Salad, bbq pork with sauteed rice with hot sauce
1:00pm Visit Kieran in the garden who's building composts and worm farms
nap
4:30pm Body Thrive!!! best hour and a half of booty blasting fun!
     Today's Circuit: Dive Bombers, weighted rows, sumo twist and reverse sit-ups. You can expect a video soon! Oh, and did I mention its taught by a total babe called Kieran?
6:00pm Beach run down to a sick surf spot called Encuntro
8:00pm Diner at the Chicken Shack. A fantastic place where they cook up a mountain of succulent BBQ chicken. Its served with rice, beans, salad and your choice of yuka, plantain or green bananas. Tonight I had  green bananas covered in sauteed onions yummm. They taste a lot like potatoes, but are a little sweeter.
9:30pm gelato

Tomorrows gonna be another full day of adventures!

ps
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16yuTV2_ZEM&feature=youtu.be
   

Located 20 minutes away from Extreme Hotel, the owner also owns a 40 acre organic farm. In addition to growing tasty fruit and veggies, his team has also started harvesting honey. Nestled on a hillside, beyond the pastier, the bees are tucked away in a shaded area.

Good dedicated workers they are. Always reliable. Stealth, fast, determined.

Today the boys went up and prepped for some honey harvesting. In a couple of days, I'll be enjoying my organic Americano with steamed coconut milk with organic honey...om nom nom.

 In other news...

•  I discovered that our security guards' weapon of choice is a nine iron
• We've had 4 earthquakes in the last three days
• Good peanut butter is incredibly difficult to come by, and..
• we're building monkey bars in our gym!

The other day I learnt how to ride a motorbike. My friend Erika asked me "have you ever driven a motorbike?", "Yup" I said, a complete lie. I've driven an ATV and a bike..I guess I figured they'd count if I put them together. 


I felt pretty badass driving it. In my mind I could picture myself driving this motorbike like one of those characters from MadMax. Hair blowing in the wind, causal backwards lean, a deadly look on my face, topped  with some sick shades or an eye patch. In reality, my knees where bent waist high because Erika is about a foot and half shorter then me. I had her massive dirt biking helmet on, short shorts, a flower print shirt and my muddy running shoes. If this were a dating game, they would probably brand me as the "cute and fun girl that doesn't mind riding with the dogs in the back of a pick-up truck".


I felt pretty good driving around. All the other bikers seemed to accept me as one of their own, of course their motor bikes fit slightly better. 


I only got concerned twice. The first time was when I had parked the bike in an alley and realized I left the keys in the ignition. The other was when I realized that the break fluid was leaking all over my leg. I convinced myself  that that was just typical though. 


All in all a good day. I even drove past town to find a local garage sale that sells dresses and baked goods. 


Jo quiero una cinnamon bun ahora!  

Since graduating university a month ago, I have packed up my life and moved down to the Dominican Republic. I have settled into a fantastic new job that has yet to be ordinary. Working as the assistant manager at Extreme Hotel in a town called Cabarete, I am pleased to be finally applying years of education and hard work. I enjoy my growing administrative responsibilities, as well as the challenge of working with Dominican employees; needless to say my Spanish vocabulary is growing quickly. I am excited to be working for one of the Dominican’s only eco hotels and I am even more excited to share with you the many changes we are making in becoming increasingly sustainable.

I truly believe that I have found my perfect “first” career working at the hotel. For those of you who know me well, hospitality is something that comes very natural to me. I love entertaining and making sure that my guests feel comfortable and at home. Having the chance to do this at a small scale adventure resort with people from all over the world is even more rewarding.

For there to be a connection with the organization, ones values to match those of their employer and business. After only being here a week, I feel that I can see myself as an ‘Extremer’ and part of their team. I can identify myself within the hotels values of health, wellness, stewardship and sustainability.

From a very young age, I vowed I would never get stuck behind a desk… you know the type of job that has you imprisoned between beige walls, casino carpet and stale air? Well I think I’m golden.

This blog is meant to tell the story of girl who never lost her ambition. I may not be the smartest, the fastest or the most creative…but I’ve got heart and drive. I hope to share with you my experiences working at the hotel and the many adventures I will experience. I am a Canadian in a foreign country, so be prepared to read some wild, hilarious and unique stories.

Adios!