The Past Week

So I am working on sharing what my days actually look like here in the D.R. I just posted some photos on facebook too so check those out.

Last week, I headed down to the capital because the tendonitis in my hand started swelling up again. Once again I must say that the med staff of PCDR is amazing, they truly look out for me. I was able to see a specialist and have a treatment all in the same day. I am not supposed to wear my cast for the next week so hopefully when I try to write (aka study Spanish) I will experience no pain!

I live pretty far up north and while I'm def around some amazing people, all of my girls live around the capital so I def tried to take advantage of being down there. So I was able to eat lunch with my girls (and despite all the chicken and rice I get in my site, I still ordered fried chicken and rice smh) catch up on life in their sites and express some of my thoughts and feelings about some upcoming projects. This Peace Corps experience is so much more gratifying and rewarding knowing that I have the support of amazing people who are going through the same emotions as me.

This past weekend there was a huge celebration (of the patronales) in Monte Plata where youth volunteers had CBT. Of course, I loved my host family so it was only right to head back to Monte Plata for the celebrations and spend a little quality time with the fam. It was absolutely everything I could have hoped for. The first day that I arrived, we had a huge spread of my favorite foods and they have Gatorade uva and peanut butter waiting for me. (my peanut butter cravings in this country are starting to get out of hand). I got to catch up with my family; sit, reflect, and unwind on my favorite porch in the D.R.; and spend time with my abuela (who lost her mother in December) so it was nice to just hug her and listen to her because she is still dealing with her loss.

In the afternoon, we headed to the park to check out the horse races. While I'm not sure if there was ever supposed to be a horse race, we did see a presidential candidate ride by in a carriage several times. It was fun to see my brother and sister, as well as other youth we worked with in Monte Plata riding horses and enjoying the day. Maybe next year I will actually ride a horse, I couldn't work up the nerve this time around.

The next day Danny, Malika, Hillary and me walked around to visit all of our youth group's doñas so that everyone felt the love. Making rounds in this country is long and tiring but always well worth it. Also, my favorite Peace Corps employee ever, Veronica, came in the afternoon and it was great to catch up with her.

We left Monte Plata and headed over to Sabana Grande de Boya to check out Kali and Dustin's site. The ride from Monte Plata to their site was breathtaking. Beautiful valleys and mountains literally untouched and very clean! It only inspired me to make sure to visit as many volunteer sites as possible. It was wonderful to see them in their element and share their world. We got to check out some of the baseball leagues, we walked around their entire pueblo, checked out Dustin's new home, and had a huge feast at Kali's house compliments of Doña Lydia. It was great!

Another plus to checking out my friends' sites is that it is a good tool for me to continue to gain confidence in my Spanish is to continue to travel and talk to people in different regions as they all have different accents and lingo so I'm excited for the upcoming opportunities.

We have our 3 month in site training at the end of January. At this training, we have to bring a project partner, present the results of our 3 month community and institutional diagnostics, and learn more about DR youth projects and grant opportunities through various presentations. After this training, we are like officially official volunteers and can jump into any projects we want to start in our respective communities.  After that I am helping out with the Peace Corps D.R. 50th Anny and then taking 2 of my girls to the Northern Chicas Brillantes Regional Conference. I am really blessed to have the opportunity to be at the 50th Anny and I am so excited to take some of my girls to a conference because neither of them have done a lot of travelling. So the next 3 weeks will be extremely busy, exciting and rewarding, I'll be sure to take pictures so that you can experience it all with me.

New Years Hopes

This is a little late into January but better late than never. Today marks my 5 month anniversary in the Dominican Republic. I am continually reminded of how blessed I am to be here which led me to reflect on 2011. At the very beginning of 2011, based on one of Pastor Battle's amazing sermons, I felt led to wholeheartedly pursue my dream of serving as a Peace Corps volunteer. As some of you know, 3 years ago I wrote out a 30 things I would like to do before 30 and serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic was #6 on the list. Now that was before I knew the process of the Peace Corps (you cannot actually pick where you are going). Well through a lot of trials of perseverance and patience in the process, I was on my way to serve as a Youth Development Volunteer (after 3.5 year training as a youth development facilitator thanks to College Summit!) in the D.R. in August. After 2 months of training, I was sworn in as a volunteer and after February 4 (3 month training) I can officially start all of the programs that I want to implement in my community and my organization This was the biggest goal of 2012 and I accomplished it, but I do not want to get too comfortable with just being here. I came here to serve.

I have some goals for 2012 too and what better way to strive towards them than to make them public so that my family and friends can continue to hold me accountable.

1. live in every moment (this will always be my lifelong #1 goal)
2. celebrate everything! (life is just better that way)
3. go outside and meet people! (its hard to do some days but everyday I've talked myself into going has been totally worthwhile)
4. smile! (it can totally brighten someone else's day)
5. just let it roll off my bad, humbly (see my blog entry about being a dark skinned volunteer)
6. commit to 5 hours a week of serious Spanish study (to get better I need to work a little harder)
7. try to listen (this goes hand in hand with learning more Spanish so I can comprehend what I'm hearing)
8. share more about my life in the states
9. start my Chicas Brillantes, boys/girls step team, and boys group
10. teach my youth group Escojo mi Vida, Brigada Verde, Yo Soy Ingeniero, Construye Tus Sueños
11. do a mural at the Centro Comunitario with Carrie
12. at the Centro Juvenil teach the boys dinamicas and use didactic learning tools to teach math
13. at Centro Juvenil help kids learn to read with the Yo Se Leer manual
14. travel the country to visit all of my friends sites (even you Malika!)
15. host friends and fam from the states (hint that means you guys have to come!)
16. work out at least 3-4 days a week
17. blog about more specific projects and feelings so that I'm truly sharing my experiences here
18. actually kick off WWS with my AP & Mel
19. come home to see fam and friends in August and December (thats for you Mom, Dad, Connie, Linette, Jason, and Taylor!!)
20. take more pictures (you ((Jessica)) deserve to see them and I need to always remember the memories)
21. finally but most importantly, always remember who I serve ( “To love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is…our highest happiness. Love makes all labor light. We serve with enthusiasm where we love with sincerity…”)

Ya tu sabes! Hasta luego

When you get to the end of all the light you know and its time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen:either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly-Edward Teller

Al llegar al final de toda la luz que usted sabe y es el momento de entrar en la oscuridad de lo desconocido, la fe es saber que una de dos cosas sucederá: o bien se le dará algo sólido para estar de pie, o si se va a enseñó a volar-Edward Teller

The Holidays DR Style

A couple of people have asked me to write about my holiday experiences in the D.R. It was the first holiday season I spent away from family and friends so of course it had its usual moments of longing to be home, but overall, I had a pretty good time. Thank you KK for calling me when our skype didn't work and making me laugh through my tears and reminding me of why I have the best friends on earth...seriously! You lifted my spirits so much on Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve is really big in the Dominican Republic so we had a nice dinner as a family. We had also had one 2 weeks before when my other host sister was leaving to go back to Spain. Christmas Eve everyone gets together, has a lot to drink and hangs out in the streets. It was pretty cool to watch it from the safety of my house where its pretty tranquilo. Christmas day was a regular day here which could lead to homesickness because there was no passing time together, gifts, nothing. But my day was great because I spent the morning listening to worship music and then skyping with my family as my niece opened her presents. What a blessing skype is!! It allowed me to feel close to my family so my Christmas was actually a great day! My host sister here made a Christmas (huge) lunch so it was great to spend time with her and her family.

I spent New Years with all of my Peace Corps volunteer loves in Cabarete. They have quickly become my family here so New Years was amazing. Laughing, creating and sharing memories, tons of fun on the beach relaxing and reading, catching up with all the other volunteers from my cohort.....it was awesome!! Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think about how blessed I am to be serving in the Peace Corps on an island as beautiful and diverse as the D.R.

Ok now I have to run because Hadassah is eating her bowl and Carrie is trying to gain weight so she can keep her new pants size so we are off to McDonalds. A treat in the D.R. let me tell you! I'll try to write a more in depth blog next time!

And special thanks to everyone who has sent me packages lately! I'll pick them up soon!!