It's been a Month!!

By this point we should all realize that I'm pretty bad with blogging, and I cannot promise to get better within the next month. I am laptopless for the next month and one of my friends here is graciously letting me use hers to type out this blog (and prep for a session I am doing) I've also gotten 3 bug bites in the last 2 minutes so consider this love fam and friends.

I've been in the D.R. for over a month now and even though I am training (and technically not really settled) I am settling into life abroad. Slowly but surely I am understanding more of the language and working really hard to speak more and more daily. I've started to develop really positive friendships with other trainees and its nice to have really cool people to share this training experience. I am also taking time daily to reflect on lessons learned, cultural cues, and questions/things I need to work on for the next day. I definitely live hour by hour, day by day...its hard to plan or think farther than that. Also, now that I'm learning Spanish I realize that I will become pretty bad in 2 languages so apologies in advance for really weird tense usage and any Spanglish that might be thrown in here.

Now for some specifics... I am sure you are wondering about what my everyday life is like and some of the emotions I've been experiencing. I'll try to share as much as I can but we all know I'm pretty private and this is a very public space. Send me an email if you have any specific questions...and I love to hear about what is going in on you life so that is an added benefit.

I spent 3 weeks in Santo Domingo in core training where everyone in my group (there are 32 of us) went to training everyday from 8-5pm for Spanish and other pertinent info like transportation in the D.R. and staying healthy. I have been in our CBT (community based training site) for 2 weeks. So I am with 13 other youth development volunteers for this training. We are in a new site for youth development CBT so we are laying the groundwork so that future groups have positive experiences in this location. I absolutely LOVE it here...many people in my group wish that we could just have this site. It is a little urban, but it is not the hustle, flow, and noise that is Santo Domingo. It is more tranquilo and there is a family vibe here that I really dig. We are in the mountains too in a pretty pueblo. I feel more at peace here so the Spanish studying/development has really picked up in a positive way.

Who do I share life with right now. I live with a host mom, dad, brother (13), sister (just turned 12), and I believe an extended relation (she is about 20). They live on the 2nd floor. I have a grandmother, grandfather, (mom's parents) great grandmother, and one of our Spanish teachers (who is becoming one of my absolute favorite people to talk to) live there. My host family is amazing. They are patient, kind, and they have welcomed me into their family. They share everything with me and they are interested in the life I lived in the States. They are thoughtful, inclusive, and funny which has been an absolute dream. I really will be sad to leave them so please rest asssured that I am being well taken care of here. It is so nice to have extended family downstairs because I sit and have cafe with my grandmother (she converted me by giving me a cup and standing beside me til I drank it) playing scrabble with my host sister and my Spanish teacher, playing dominoes with my host brother and dad, and this weekend they are taking me and my youth group team to the beach. Yep pretty amazing! It feels like what life would have been like if I lived in Nigeria so close to my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I love the vibe and thankful to be able to experience it.

My group...We are a pretty diverse group which I am thankful for. People in my group come from all across the country, and have very different backgrounds. I appreciate all that I've learned about them and I am interested in learning more about their experiences with youth and in life because I know it will just enhance my volunteer experience. We are a pretty chill group, we don't ask a lot of questions, but everyone is thoughtful and reflective in their own way. Some of us had a second interview with our boss who came into our cbt site for the day. In a week, we will find out where and what kind of site we are going to spend the next 2 years of our lives. Exciting, unnerving, scary, and relieving all at the same time. I'll hopefully be able to post again soon after that.

My everyday.... I've started waking up around 7 to work out with some of the girls in my group. Its been a great opportunity to reflect in the morning and release some stress. I have to work out early because it is super super hot here right now. Then I get ready for training and for breakfast I usually have mangoes (yum) or boiled eggs and boiled plantains. Then I have 4 hours of Spanish or technical training and the opposite in the afternoon after lunch. Technical training covers how to do a community diagnostic of the community, how to work with gender initiatives, and other projects within PCDR YFCD (Peace Corps Dominican Republic Youth, Families and Community Development) Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and it is always rice, some kind of meat, and beans. It is also always very good and reminds of Nigerian food so that is a comfort =) After our afternoon session I am either studying Spanish, hanging with my host family, working with my youth group team or having a youth group meeting. (We were split into 4 groups to work with 4 different youth groups so that we can plan and execute a project with them before we leave. It is practice for when we get to our sites and an insight into Dominican youth.)  My days are pretty long but I never feel exhausted, I think I am still on a high from this opportunity.

The youth here are curious, creative, bright, fun, and they love dinamicas... Being at cbt has helped me realize that no matter where I end up in country, I am going to have an amazing, challenging, humbling, and thoughtful experience with the youth in my community.

Well this is all I have in me for today. By this point, I've gotten 5 more bug bites so enough is enough. So remember I am healthy, safe, in high spirits, and I would love letters/mail/treats from you guys. My next blog will include what I need. Hasta luego and thanks for reading amigos!