Friday, October 28, 2011

I'm not good at titles

So I know its been awhile since I posted anything with any real substance. Its been a whirlwind 2 months and I finally have a minute to think through all of my thoughts. Its also hard to try to express all of my thoughts on here so that will probably be my excuse for a short blog.

This training experience really stretched me in a lot of ways and I found myself pulling from a lot of past experiences and lessons for strength to endure some of the challenging parts of this experience, and appreciate and acknowledge my growth in some of the beautiful moments.

The toughest part of training for me were the first 3 weeks because I didn't live that close to other volunteers so sometimes I felt like I was missing out on bonding opportunities. Major thanks to my core and TDP for challenging me to be more open and embrace meeting new people. I found myself walking to other people's porches to share life and just talk. If you know me, you know that I was always on the go in the states doing a million things so it was great to slow down and just enjoy others people's company.

I am a long way from where I need to be with my Spanish but I worked really hard during community based training and I raised my Spanish proficiency by 4 levels. I am motivated and determined to continue studying in my site and my community has really embraced teaching me. Although I wish I had more Spanish, sometimes I'm excited that this can be more of a teaching exchange where I have to learn from them in order to share anything that I know. I hope it gives the members of my community a sense of pride because I have way more to learn from them than I could ever possibly give or share.

I've worked so hard to become a volunteer and now that I know where I will spend the next 2 years of my life, it is slightly overwhelming. I am thankful that Peace Corps gives us the first 3 months to truly understand the climate of our community and come up with a plan to implement throughout the rest of out first year. I am looking forward to drinking a lot of coffee (its a long story about how I became addicted)  on my neighbors porches and learning more about how to support the youth in my community in changing their lives and their community for the better.

A little more about my community, it is a very small barrio on the outskirts of a large city. It is extremely poor so it is pretty rural and everyone in my community is extremely nice and welcoming. It doesn't have the city hustle and bustle feel, it is more slow placed which is what I wanted. The kids in my community really want to work with me and learn English so I am excited to see how this goes. y host family is amazing and extremely extended. My host mom and dad have 8 kids and I live with the youngest 2 and one of their grandchildren. but I have another sister and tons of cousins, uncles, and aunts that all live within the same barrio so I have a lot of names to remember and a lot of relationships to form. Since I am an extreme needs volunteer I am partnered with an organization that is a Dominican NGO and one of the best at what they do. They built a center in my community and my task is to bring youth to the community center and lead groups such as Escojo mi Vida (self-esteem/AIDS awareness), Deportes para la Vida (kinesthetic learning about AIDS), youth groups, and whatever else I my community wants based on my 3 month community diagnostic. I think that what my community wants matches the skills that I have so I'm excited to see where the next 2 years takes us.

Also side note to friends, please keep emailing, writing letters, responding to my twitter/facebook/blog posts, calling, and offering to send me things. All of these things show that you are thinking of me and that you care which has meant a lot and will mean even more in the ensuing months. Training was very structured and I was around a lot of Americans. Now I will be in my community on my own, speaking Spanish 24/7 and the first 3 months is supposed to be one of the loneliest/hardest times for Peace Corps Volunteers so please don't forget me for the next 3 months especially. Lots of love and thanks in advance!!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

I'm Officially a Volunteer!!

All 32 of us swore in as Peace Corp Volunteers yesterday! The U.S. ambassador to the D.R. swore us in and I was moved by his speech. To all of my family and friends thank you so much for all of the phone calls, letters, emails, text messages, facebook messages/status updates, twitter updates in support of my journey.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Some Photos!!

This post is all about photos!! (especially for you Jessica)

 my sisters and me
 the guys who live across the street and teach me Spanish everyday
 pretty view, my site is far below
 mcdonalds!! im excited to have this nearby whenever I'm in an American mood
 D.R. provinces..."states"
 down the hill to my barrio we go
 the rio bridge
my don in his colmado...I'm not sure why Dominicans don't smile in pics becuase he is one of the most genuine and nicest people I've ever met.

P.S. I'll add more photos later

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Updates Part 2

So the luz is still here, and my familia aqui has graciously allowed me to continue to use their computer...so we shall continue with the updates. I'm currently in my site so I'll give a little backdrop on that.

We actually found out our tentative site placements 3 weeks ago after the YD team, our Manager, PC Vol Leader, and Extreme Needs Specialists interviewed more than half of us a second time. I was one of the people who was reinterviewed which I was thankful for because I don't even remember what I said in the first one. The second time around, I was much more open to whatever placement they had in mind, as long as I didn't have to take a motoconcho (I'm listening Mom!) Anyways, on Monday we got our official site placements. I know that community based training allowed me to see the total beauty of the Dominican Republic and gave me the confidence to realize that this experience would be amazing regardless of where I went. Additionally they only gave us tentative sites because they ahve always had someone who decided that this experience was not for them and they choose to go home. So far no one in our entire group has said that... We came into the country with 32 and we are still 32 =)

Entonces I've only been in my site 2 days and I already know that this is the perfect place for me. (Someone remind me that I typd this when I go through the ebb and flow of the PC Volunteer experience.) I was placed in an Extreme Needs Site which means that the PC DR YFCD [program has defined the youth in this community as some of the msot at risk in country because of several factors they may encounter in their community]. When I first got to my site it reminded me of D.C and the stark contrasts within the city. There are some beautiful parts of D.C. where everything is beautiful (streets, houses, etc. and I saw that here because I live on the outskirts of a city) and when you go just a little farther within D.C. you get a totally different experience...poverty can smack you in the face. That is what happened to me here. Then I went to the community center where I will spend the next 2 years of my life working alongside jovenes. Its a beautifully built and very new structure that is designed to be a huge resource to this community. I'm so excited to learn more about this community and initiate projects that they feel they need, and prayerfully when I leave, numerous juventud leaders will step up and continue the projects. There are so many opportunities to do exactly what I'm skilled in and passionate about. (more on all of this 3 months from now) Hats off to Peeace Corps YD team, they really did find me the perfect placement. City life but with a campo/family style feel working with youth who need this the most. This is exactly the experience I came here to get.

Now my family here is also amazing. I really prayed for a family as amazing as the family I had in CBT (who by the way still call me everyday) and I believe I have exactly that within my host family in my site. Thanks to my sister for taking pictures of us through facebook chat and putting them up so you can go look and see them. Their family is huge and everyone is so lovely and caring. Everywhere I go in this communtiy, I have an aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, brother, sister. It is an amazing feeling...they hav FIVE generations of the same family living here...its breathtaking really. They have truly embraced me, calling me their daughter, sister, cousin, etc. I feel so loved and warm here, just like how I felt in community based training. While  I know its very early on, and the honeymoon season has not even started, I have an amazing feeling about this. Gracias a Dios!!

I have not really said that much about other trainees in my group, and that is not because they are not very special to me. I have developed some amazing freindships that I had hoped for but didn't necessarily expect. It is wonderful to have a amazing core group of friends/family within Peace Corps to share this experience with...all of the triumphs and disasters, and know that they support and love me. My friend Rachelle told me that I would develop friendships that would last a lifetime, I haven't even been here 3 months and I already know that to be true. Its wonderful to have a support network in country because I truly want all of my friends that I started with here to finish the journey with me.

But let me not get too far ahead of myself. We go back to training next Monday and prayerfully, all 32 of us will swear in next Wednesday and officially become Peace Corps volunteers. And then the next part fo this adventure begins. I'll try to post another blog before that happens thats more reflection focused on the past 2 months...si Dios quiere =)

Updates

The luz may go at any point so I'll try to touch on as many things as quickly as possible. Last week we finished community based training. CBT is when we go into a community, live there for 5 weeks, and learn more about our technical area. For youth development, we work with a group of youth to implement a service learning project, or some kind of talent show at the end of the 5 weeks. We created a community diagnostic, interviewed people in the community, and created a FODA. From that we identified an activity that would be beneficial to the community and youth. All while having training from 8-5 which included learning about specific youth development D.R. initiatives and projects and intensive Spanish. We also lived with a new host family (mine included a mom dad sister and brother, and my grandmother, grandfather, and great grandmother lived downstairs.I was surrounded by a lot of family and I've often said that if I lived in Nigeria, I imagine I would have a similar experience with a lot of love =)

It was by far the best experience I've had in the Dominican Republic. I had a great trainer, the best youth group team (much love to Hilary, Malika, and Sean) and I had the most amazing and loving host family. To top it off my Spanish teacher was amazing and another wonderful Spanish teacher lived downstairs with my abuela so I hung out with her all the time! Words cannot even describe how much working with youth in Monte Plata, learning Spanish with my host family, laughing and drinking cafe with my grandmother, just talking meant to me. The whole experience intensified/confirmed my belief that God has given me this opportunity for this moment in my life. I have much more to say, expecially now that I am in my site, but I will post little by little to ensure you to get to read at least some of it.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

If You ever wanted to send me anything

Hello lovely people

IF you ever wanted to send me anything... This is what I would love to get. Please send me an email though so I don't get too much of one thing. Thank you for thinking of me and please please send a letter or a picture to accompany your gifts because thats the stuff that makes my heart smile.


Deordorant (dove purple or blue)
Biore face wash
Crest whitening toothpaste clean mint
Dove soap
Rubbing alcohol
Stickers
Construction paper
Hand sanitizer
Bath and body works lip gloss (mint)
Cheap fun nail polish
Nail polish remover
Cotton balls
Pedicure kit
Baby wipes
Hard candy jolly ranchers
Head phones (the expensive over ear $30 ones so that it will last more than a week)
Glue
Glitter
Coloring books
Spanish/English children's books
Rice krispie treats
Cookies and cream reduced fat chewy bars
Spanish alphebet laminated
World map in espanol
Cotton round premiums purple from target
Pencils
Small pencil sharpener
Highlighters
UNO cards
Regular playing cards
Scrabble espanol
Credit to buy stuff on iTunes
Qtips
Monopoly
Credit to buy books for my kindle
Flashcards
Lined paper
Spanish letter flashcards
Sheet protectors
Index cards
More durable sandals
Nalgene water bottle

I'll post another blog with my site placement info soon!!