I have recently begun to realize that my time here is coming to an end...at least for now. I have learned so much about myself while being here. I have made friends I'll never forget and I've done things I wouldn't have normally had the chance to do. Here are a few reasons why I love the DR.
1. I have 43 kids to play with all the time.
2. I walk out of my room every morning to a beautiful sunrise and a view of El Morro.
3. Nyerka and I now practice ninja moves in the kitchen...when she isn't cooking of course.
4. Moni takes meals seriously...watching her run down people on the basketball court is truly entertaining. We all got lectured (in Spanish) about coming to dinner on time.
5. On a given night, you can see 25 shooting stars on the roof.
6. Edison screaming songs in church and then drooling during the sermon is priceless.
7. Getting up at 530 is worth it when running with Eliezer, Kelvin, Leonel, Jochi, Jose Luis, Kristopher, Edwin, Ariel, Freddy, Argenis, Juary, Marcos, Edison, Domingo, Moncho, and Carmello.
8. Watching their antics along the way is even better.
9. Fighting with Nena for no reason is a daily occurrence. She is such a joy in my life.
10. Seeing Jose Luis' smile everday could lighten up anyone's mood.
11. Wondering what outfit Luz Maria will come out with each day is interesting. (i.e., sweat shirt and pj pants in midsummer with her insect boots) Cutest 5 yr old there is.
12. Laying on the basketball court and having the little girls throw a giant frog on me and run away screaming and laughing.
13. The twins' laugh and voice.
14. Junior calling me his novia shortly followed by taking a chunk out of my shoulder.
15. Rocking Luis Alberto asleep.
16. Having David jump into my laugh with his precious smile asking me to tickle him.
17. Chi Chi's sweet dance moves.
18. Leonel learning funny English phrases.
19. Jochi's Spanglish...(i.e., Pastor, Sara esta singing musica del world)
20. Tito being so bad yet so adorable.
21. Going to Batey Waltario and Isabel
22. Reading with ten little girls on your lap.
23. Helping teach Goanni to read.
24. Marcos teaching me basketball.
25. Manuel, Odalis, Marcos, Manuel, Edwinson, Erickson, and Ariel all make my life.
26. Frozen jugo de manzana.
27. Running and passing giant pigs, a cow, goats and sheep is now something I don't even think twice about.
28. Listening to a church revival and a discotec at the same time right outside my window.
29. Watching 5-6 people drive away on one motorcycle.
30. Limoncillos.
31. Rocking out on the bus with Richard.
32. Having Peguero help me ALL the time. He's the best.
33. Playing assassins with the interns.
34. Having worship on the roof.
35. The workers at the grocery store singing about Americans. (Pa mangar mi visa)
36. Music- Dominican, Enrique, Michael Jackson, Justin Beiber and Glee.
37. White rice and chicken ALL the time.
38. Mexican night.
39. Culture days.
40. Having kids in the community yell your name while you are walking through town.
41. Colmados
42. Siestas
43. Playa Popa with the kids. In fact any beach day with the kids.
44. Talking to Negra, Dani and Gio before separation time.
45. Laying on the mesita with the best kids ever.
46. Cool breezes on a hot day.
47. Tarantula hunting with the little kids.
48. Cafe y chocolate malteadas.
49. Camp songs that get stuck in your head for days. (i.e., bananas, boom chica boom, martian...)
50. Coming here to change lives and make an impact but having my world turned upside down by a culture and people I have fallen in love with.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Yo quiero mucho agua...
Well yesterday was my birthday. Here in the Dominican Republic they have a tradition of dumping cold water on you on your special day. I'm not really a big fan of birthdays because I don't like being the center of attention. I was however really excited when I realized I got to spend my birthday here. I wanted to be with the kids all day and I wanted to be drenched. Well that didn't go as planned. For culture day we were going to Santo Domingo (the capitol of the DR) which is an all day event. When I realized I wouldn't see the kids I was so bummed. We got up at 4:30 to leave at 5am for the day. NOT a morning person. I started walking for the bus and ran into Bryson. Not fully awake yet, he started to say good morning and he pretended he was going to dump water on me. It was way too early to be wet especially with a 5 hour bus ride. Santo Domingo was a lot of fun. I had gone a month ago so it was still pretty fresh in my mind. I spent most of the day with Heather and Bryson walking around the Calle. Julie got mad at me last time for not going into the Cathedral so I made sure I did that this time. It was really pretty. For lunch we went to Pizza Hut and then had Baskin Robins (thanks Bryson for my ice cream!). It's weird to eat American food now. When we were loading the bus to leave Santo Domingo, Taylor soaked me with water. Dustin had done it a little bit before her but he only did a little bit which was nice. We stopped on our way back home in Santiago and had dinner at McDonalds. So weird to have so much American food. My stomach was not impressed by my poor food decisions. I used to make fun of my Dominican friends when they'd help us with camp they'd get sick off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and they complained about not having rice. I get upset now too when rice is not part of the meal. When we returned from Santo Domingo we did closing and I got another good soaking. Gotta love the DR.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sunrises are truly a gift from God...
Well I started slacking with the updates sorry. Two weeks ago we went to Batey Madre. The people there were so appreciative for the camp we put on. We usually only go out for a day or two when we do camp there but this time we spent the whole week. They loved it. It's amazing how eager they were to learn. Mothers who were 15 and 16 years old brought their infants with them so they could participate. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that some of these girls have children. They love learning though so hopefully there was a spark placed in them last week.
This past week we went to Manzanillo which is where Orphanage Outreach first began. OO is trying to do more outreach there. The kids were so excited. The bus pulled up and they run towards it chanting their team names for the week. It's such an awesome feeling to see their faces lit up. I really started thinking about all kinds of ways to reach out to the community there. So many ideas...
On a different note I got to spend some extra time with some great boys this week. Yesterday Steph and I got up super early to run with some of the boys who live here. I've learned here that I am not a morning person. We walked over to the orphanage a little before 6 and waited for them to come out. Slowly they came out one by one. First came Edwin (14ish)- who randomly walked around the field for a little while, then Jochi (16) and Kristopher (17ish) who chatted with us for a little bit. Jose Luis (13) came out next with his bright smile that could turn anyone's bad day right around. He is such an amazing kid. Marcos (16) soon followed after. Then finally out came Argenis (15ish) Kelvin (17), Leonel (19), and Eliezer. By this time I laid down on the patio and was practically back to sleep. We made our way to the gate and the boys started their stretching routine which was quite entertaining. We then realized Leonel didn't make it to the gate so we waited for him for a little bit. He had forgotten his water bottle (he's gonna need that later). So we start down the rocky road and within 10 minutes needed to stop. Leonel and I walked for a bit while the others ran ahead. I got to chat with him for a little bit about what he wants to do with his life. He then thought it would be a good idea to take some random road that was supposed to put us ahead of the rest of the group...didn't happen. Not much of a short cut. So we run to the end of the street and then stop for a bit again because his back started cramping. He needed his water but forgot he handed it off to Eliezer to hold for him. Woops. So we walk for a while and then see Marcos who had quit running. We caught up to him and then Odalis (18) comes out of nowhere and is practically sprinting to catch up with the rest of the group. Apparently he was really late so they left him. Leonel decided he wanted to sit at the benches and wait for everyone to come so Marcos and I walked to the bridge to meet up with everyone else. Marcos and I haven't really spent much time together. I tried to talk to him using the Spanish I know but we didn't get very far. I felt like he had a lot of stuff he was holding in. When I'm in these situations with the kids I usually try to talk to them about their future. He didn't really have much he wanted to share so we moved into hobbies. I couldn't make this kid crack for anything. Finally we met up with the rest of the group and Eliezer went to take Leonel his water. I think Marcos was relieved to have his other buddies back. I really want to get to know him though. I've kind of neglected that because the other kids were so much easier to break into. He's a bit deeper. We waited on the bridge for just a bit longer to watch the sunrise. GORGEOUS!! And then we headed back to meet Leonel in Eliezer. The thing I love about these boys most is that they are such a reminder of my brothers just in a different culture. Randomly Jochi, Kelvin and Kristopher stopped and started climbing trees to get grapes, Jose Luis decided to go running for the ocean and jump in, and the rest of them looked at the others as if they were all crazy. Overall it was a good morning. Best of all, Marcos gave me a nickname. The nickname is bamba which means peanut butter BUT here nicknames are a big deal. I broke down a wall with him and I will continue to try for the remainder of my time here.
This past week we went to Manzanillo which is where Orphanage Outreach first began. OO is trying to do more outreach there. The kids were so excited. The bus pulled up and they run towards it chanting their team names for the week. It's such an awesome feeling to see their faces lit up. I really started thinking about all kinds of ways to reach out to the community there. So many ideas...
On a different note I got to spend some extra time with some great boys this week. Yesterday Steph and I got up super early to run with some of the boys who live here. I've learned here that I am not a morning person. We walked over to the orphanage a little before 6 and waited for them to come out. Slowly they came out one by one. First came Edwin (14ish)- who randomly walked around the field for a little while, then Jochi (16) and Kristopher (17ish) who chatted with us for a little bit. Jose Luis (13) came out next with his bright smile that could turn anyone's bad day right around. He is such an amazing kid. Marcos (16) soon followed after. Then finally out came Argenis (15ish) Kelvin (17), Leonel (19), and Eliezer. By this time I laid down on the patio and was practically back to sleep. We made our way to the gate and the boys started their stretching routine which was quite entertaining. We then realized Leonel didn't make it to the gate so we waited for him for a little bit. He had forgotten his water bottle (he's gonna need that later). So we start down the rocky road and within 10 minutes needed to stop. Leonel and I walked for a bit while the others ran ahead. I got to chat with him for a little bit about what he wants to do with his life. He then thought it would be a good idea to take some random road that was supposed to put us ahead of the rest of the group...didn't happen. Not much of a short cut. So we run to the end of the street and then stop for a bit again because his back started cramping. He needed his water but forgot he handed it off to Eliezer to hold for him. Woops. So we walk for a while and then see Marcos who had quit running. We caught up to him and then Odalis (18) comes out of nowhere and is practically sprinting to catch up with the rest of the group. Apparently he was really late so they left him. Leonel decided he wanted to sit at the benches and wait for everyone to come so Marcos and I walked to the bridge to meet up with everyone else. Marcos and I haven't really spent much time together. I tried to talk to him using the Spanish I know but we didn't get very far. I felt like he had a lot of stuff he was holding in. When I'm in these situations with the kids I usually try to talk to them about their future. He didn't really have much he wanted to share so we moved into hobbies. I couldn't make this kid crack for anything. Finally we met up with the rest of the group and Eliezer went to take Leonel his water. I think Marcos was relieved to have his other buddies back. I really want to get to know him though. I've kind of neglected that because the other kids were so much easier to break into. He's a bit deeper. We waited on the bridge for just a bit longer to watch the sunrise. GORGEOUS!! And then we headed back to meet Leonel in Eliezer. The thing I love about these boys most is that they are such a reminder of my brothers just in a different culture. Randomly Jochi, Kelvin and Kristopher stopped and started climbing trees to get grapes, Jose Luis decided to go running for the ocean and jump in, and the rest of them looked at the others as if they were all crazy. Overall it was a good morning. Best of all, Marcos gave me a nickname. The nickname is bamba which means peanut butter BUT here nicknames are a big deal. I broke down a wall with him and I will continue to try for the remainder of my time here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)