Not much new going on since the last post. Graduated one group of engineers, one class 3 of my new group. Thing are going just as smoothly. Im telling you what, i dont think i can teach any other class than this. Kids love it, and i love it, its easy to teach.
I just participated in a teacher training conference setup by 2 volunteers in Moca (Sabrina and Heather). As most of you probably dont know, the main focus of our job is to create sustainability. For us education volunteers are method of doing that is teacher training. Teaching teachers how to teach is the best way to keep the ball rolling, lol. Anyways, they had this 1-day conference planned to the tee. It was awesome, they had interactive charlas, free goody bags filled with school supplies, incredible. They asked me to fill in for a girl that was not going to be able to show up due to the tropical storm. So, i gave a lecture on the biological explanation of how the brain learns best.....it was alright, i did the best i could do on 1-nights notice, ahah. I was able to invite Francisco, who teaches night classes now, to attend the training. He loved it! all in all a very successful conference which i hope gets expanded to include most of the country.
This weekend i am bringing to kids on my community to another youth camp. I know, it seems like all i do is go to camps, but they are a huge part of what we do, and a really effective method of developing youth. Anyways, the focus of this one is diversity. Teaching them how to accept each others differences, especially on this island they share with Haiti. Haitiains are not viewed well here, so we want to try to spin that image positively. It is also a camp where they will learn more about the world. Ask any Dominican kid where the United States is on a map, they probably wont know what your talking about.....United States.....map? haha, they all think nueva yol (new york) is the entire US. When you show them a map and sw the New York is one of the smallest of 50 states they are blown away. Each kid (50 attending) will have to make a poster that represents a country. They will have to investigate they spoken language, typical food, currency, fun facts, etc So that they can build awareness of the world they live in. The camp will be great, its just this Friday till Sunday.
Then on Monday myself and 9 other volunteers are going to travel to San Francisco de Marcoris to help out at a youth conference (150 kids) setup by the country's ministry of environment. gonna be a busy weekend. Then, next Wednesday school starts back up!! I get to go back to the school that is all but unresponsive to my classes, haha. New year, new attitude, they will come to my classes!
Also, other good new. I was approved for a $1,500 international aid grant to complete a water system in the community next to mine. I had been waiting a while to receive notification and it was finally approved! Now im just waiting for the money to be wired to my peace corps account.
That is about all for now guys. Sorry i dont have any cool stories. I do have an epic beard going now.....sooo thats my august project....letting it goo.....look forward to photos, haha.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Graduation!
Woo hoo! So i graduated my engineers club! It was a pretty epic 2 months ended by an awesome camp. Im so proud of these little guys. I am starting another class on Friday and our goal is to have 1-2 kids from the old class, help teach the new guys every week. Then, with the new guys, i hope to take them to the neighbor community and put on a little science fair type thing for a group of kids over there. All about community service and sustainable education, woo hoo! Im gonna remain optimistic that its gonna work out, haha.
Each kid received a diploma and a superlative (most creative, best leader, most compassionate, etc) which were little origami shirts and ties, i thought they were just the coolest things ever. We had donuts and fresh-squeezed lemonade. They were excited about the idea to teach the new kids.
Wrapping up the business plans from my small business class, they are due on Sunday, so we will see how those turn out, lol.
Not much else going on here really. Oh! I guess i haven't told you guys about this. Myself, Fabian and Chandler (2 other volunteers) are planning a small "Sports day" for the kids from our 3 communities. It will be an all day event held at my high-school, we are gonna do things like water-balloon dodgeball, a couple relay races, some kickball, wiffle ball, etc. The point is to try to relate some relevant information to these kids ages 10-15 about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, safe sex, all that stuff. We see it as a huge problem in our communities so we thought we would bring 45 kids together, butter them up with sports and candy so that they don't fall asleep while we give our speeches, haha. That age range is around the time kids start discovering themselves, so we figured we would try to nip it in the bud. Anyways, through the donations you guys made last time i was home, and the fundraising Fabain and Chandler are doing it is looking like we are gonna be able to expand our little camp day. We may be able to invite other volunteers in the area to bring their kids and increase the diversity. So, thanks to all you guys forthe support and we promise to make it worth it! The tentative date is set for Sept. 3, so look forward to that!
Anyways, thats about it. Pasa un buen dia
Each kid received a diploma and a superlative (most creative, best leader, most compassionate, etc) which were little origami shirts and ties, i thought they were just the coolest things ever. We had donuts and fresh-squeezed lemonade. They were excited about the idea to teach the new kids.
Wrapping up the business plans from my small business class, they are due on Sunday, so we will see how those turn out, lol.
Not much else going on here really. Oh! I guess i haven't told you guys about this. Myself, Fabian and Chandler (2 other volunteers) are planning a small "Sports day" for the kids from our 3 communities. It will be an all day event held at my high-school, we are gonna do things like water-balloon dodgeball, a couple relay races, some kickball, wiffle ball, etc. The point is to try to relate some relevant information to these kids ages 10-15 about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, safe sex, all that stuff. We see it as a huge problem in our communities so we thought we would bring 45 kids together, butter them up with sports and candy so that they don't fall asleep while we give our speeches, haha. That age range is around the time kids start discovering themselves, so we figured we would try to nip it in the bud. Anyways, through the donations you guys made last time i was home, and the fundraising Fabain and Chandler are doing it is looking like we are gonna be able to expand our little camp day. We may be able to invite other volunteers in the area to bring their kids and increase the diversity. So, thanks to all you guys forthe support and we promise to make it worth it! The tentative date is set for Sept. 3, so look forward to that!
Anyways, thats about it. Pasa un buen dia
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Insight
Ok, so i wasn't planning on writing a blog today, and i have limited time to finish this one, but i thought i would post an insight i had today, i kind of revelation if you will. So, as many of you probably know i have been robbed twice, and lost most of my faith in Dominicans. So, if someone left a cell phone somewhere, no one is gonna return it to the front desk or call someone in the phone book to return it. ITs every man for himself here, lol. Well, today i was heading into the city, wearing my zipoff pants with really shallow pockets. My phone was in said pocket, and upon exiting the public car (main form of transportation here) must have fallen out onto the backseat. I did not realize this until i had reached the internet cafe. I quickly realized it and hustled back to the main road. For a brief moment my mind was this: im thinking how much this sucked, i would have to take a bus to the capital to get a new phone (700 pesos trip), my number would be different so no one would know it, i would lose all my friends, wouldn't hear about anything, pretty much my life is over, right? Normally this would make me lose it, i have a relatively short fuse, and i lose stuff all the time, phones, watches, wallets. Well, i decided to just TRUST that it would work out. I began to lose it, then regained myself, asked God for strength and hustled back the half mile to the route the cars are on. These public cars have a distinct route, and i took the B-car route so i knew where he would pass by again, but by this point he would have already filled the car up again and made a complete round trip. Someone would have seen the phone and taken it, it is a pretty nice phone. So im standing on the side of the road trying to memorize the car and the driver, i stopped 2 other cars thinking that was it and they looked at me like i was crazy, one guy said, "its long gone". Then, like a shimmering angel i spotted the car made eye contact with the driver, my heart raced as i realized this was it. If he does not have it, my week just got a lot worse. I asked him if he has seen it, he reaches down into his seat and hands me my phone with a smile on his face, i say " Ay Dios, gracias a dios!!" (Thank you God!!!) This may seem like a really stupid story to all of you guys, and i know its hard for you guys at home to relate because its pretty easy to replace a phone. This made me realize a few things that i wanted to share, though.
1. We put way to much stock into personal items. I realized how big of an impact this little phone had in my life and it was pathetic, lol.
2. We have to trust in God more. My mom, once told me, "people will always let you down. We are human, and no one is perfect. We may even let you down as your parents, but God will never let you down, he always has your back". In this instance, Dominicans blew away my expectations, but i thing it was because i trusted that God would take care of it. Even though it would have made my life a lot more stressful, it wasn't anything i couldn't handle with Him. It gave me great comfort. I truly think God was testing my faith/trust in Him. I think he rewarded that faith by giving me my phone back. You have to understand, this was like a miracle to me, haha. I never expected to see that phone again. To sum it up, I think God sometimes takes things away from us in order to shift our focus onto what is really important. He tests our faith and trust in Him, because there will be times when He is the only one we can trust. This has become more relevant in my life, the past few weeks have been really rough with work, community issues, general life stuff and I have been praying to be able to see God, to want to trust him with these issues that seem to drown me, to not have to worry all the time. I think thats exactly what he showed me today. At least, thats the message im taking out of it, may sound crazy to you, lol. He showed me that if i trust Him, everything will work out. It may not happen just like I want it to, because he has own plans for our lives, but sometimes it works out just how you hoped. He took away something i held dear, then returned it. Either way He will solve the problem, the trick is to keep that faith even when there doesn't seem an end in sight.
As for the 2 other people that i stopped, i was looking for answers in the wrong places. I thought i had found it! but twice i was disappointed, im not saying Jesus has a B-car route, but i kept the faith, seeked and found.
I just wanted to share this story with you all, because i know im not the only human that has struggles, haha, ps. i have more diarrhea, yippee. Hope this helps some of you as it has helped me.
Keep the faith! Adios
1. We put way to much stock into personal items. I realized how big of an impact this little phone had in my life and it was pathetic, lol.
2. We have to trust in God more. My mom, once told me, "people will always let you down. We are human, and no one is perfect. We may even let you down as your parents, but God will never let you down, he always has your back". In this instance, Dominicans blew away my expectations, but i thing it was because i trusted that God would take care of it. Even though it would have made my life a lot more stressful, it wasn't anything i couldn't handle with Him. It gave me great comfort. I truly think God was testing my faith/trust in Him. I think he rewarded that faith by giving me my phone back. You have to understand, this was like a miracle to me, haha. I never expected to see that phone again. To sum it up, I think God sometimes takes things away from us in order to shift our focus onto what is really important. He tests our faith and trust in Him, because there will be times when He is the only one we can trust. This has become more relevant in my life, the past few weeks have been really rough with work, community issues, general life stuff and I have been praying to be able to see God, to want to trust him with these issues that seem to drown me, to not have to worry all the time. I think thats exactly what he showed me today. At least, thats the message im taking out of it, may sound crazy to you, lol. He showed me that if i trust Him, everything will work out. It may not happen just like I want it to, because he has own plans for our lives, but sometimes it works out just how you hoped. He took away something i held dear, then returned it. Either way He will solve the problem, the trick is to keep that faith even when there doesn't seem an end in sight.
As for the 2 other people that i stopped, i was looking for answers in the wrong places. I thought i had found it! but twice i was disappointed, im not saying Jesus has a B-car route, but i kept the faith, seeked and found.
I just wanted to share this story with you all, because i know im not the only human that has struggles, haha, ps. i have more diarrhea, yippee. Hope this helps some of you as it has helped me.
Keep the faith! Adios
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Arm Edition
So, the last time i wrote in this thing i was on my way to the states. I have been back for a few weeks and a lot of stuff has been going on. I have been super busy.
Here is a little bit of what I have been up to; few days after I came back from the states Iwent to a 2day long training on Bio-Sand water filters sponsored by Rotary International and USAID. It was all in Spanish and I was the only American there, quite a welcome back into the country. Now I am a certified water filter “specialist”, so I am now in the process of developing a project with 3 of the community leaders in my community and choosing the 40 lucky families that will be receiving a 120lb water filter, lol. These filters are quite incredible, though, they filter out pretty much everything; Cholera, Diarrhea, Amoebas among many other water born illnesses, and they last for decades (if maintained well). What does this mean for the people in my community? They will never have to purchase water again. That may not seem like a big deal for many of us, but think about a family of 4-5. People buy water in 5 gallon jugs, many go through 1-2 a day, each one costs 30-35 pesos, so your looking at anywhere up to 500 pesos a week, 2000 pesos a month 24,000 pesos a year or 650 dollars. That’s a lot of money for a family who has an income of around 5000 pesos a month. Not to mention, it will allow families who couldn’t afford to buy clean water the opportunity to drinkas much as they want for free! Unfortunately, a lot of people drink from the tap here, which as many of you may know from my earliest blog posts is the worst thing possible. ☺
We just recently celebrated July 4th here aswell. A couple of us went up to Puerto Plata to the beach for the day ( gracias a my Aunt andUncle, haha), then the next day we bought a little disposable grill and grilled up some bratwurst, hamburgers and watched the Sandlot! It was a very nice andrelaxing holiday. Interesting story, on the way back from Puerto Plata we came upon a motorcycle accident, a motorcycle had run into a car or vice versa. Unfortunately, the man on the bike died, probably instantly. We saw a few people pick up his body and set it into the back of a random truck that happened to be passing through, and sent him to the hospital. After this there remained a group of people looking in the tall grass where the man had been thrown off his bike. I heard some people talking and then saw someone pick up the mans severed arm by the finger and carry it to the rode, get on his motorcycle (no helmet) and head after the truck on the way to the hospital. It was so crazy! I had never seen anything like that before, a dead body or a severed arm, I mean bone, flesh, blood, it was shocking, didn’t seem real. So, that was a great way to end a day at the beach, ha.
Then on the 6th of July I headed off to Camp Superman with 2 kids from my engineer club. It was a 5-day camp way way way up in the mountains above Santiago in a community
called Los Bueyes. 45 boys ages 1
1-15 attended
and about 15 volunteers. We played all kinds of games and talked about all kinds of topics. It was similar to a summer camp in the US, but absolutely in the middle of nowhere, off the grid. It took us 2 hours to climb the mountain in 5 trucks packed with kids and bags, and then we arrived to this little campsite by a river. It was an incredible 5 days. I was given the opportunity to see God work in the lives of these little kids. We split up into 5 teams, myself and 2 other volunteers headed up the green team, and we were able to see these kids mature in a span of 5 days. We had kids that came in rowdy and obnoxious, making fun of the other kids, saying bad words and by the last day they were helping those same kids, arriving quietly to all events, obeying all the rules and saying please and thank you at every meal. I was so proud of our team. There was this kid named Nilson (no, not nelson) and he was pretty heavy set, not very athletic, which was a shame because we played sports all day everyday. Anyways, by the 3rd day he ended up cracking under all the pressure from his teammates constantly making fun of him. He realized he wasn’t very athletic, but he never gave up trying. It all came down on him at once and he just starting crying. One of the volunteers sat with him and tried to cheer him up while myself and another volunteer tried to calmly explain the terrible thing they had done to one of their friends, while we wanted to drown them in the river, ha. Well, by the end of the day all the kids had apologized to him, and one kid named Frailey, who had been a terrible, rude, inconsiderate, leading the charge against Nilson ended up staying behind in the last activity so that he could run with Nilson and help him across the finish line! That’s all we as volunteers could talk about for the rest of the camp. It was such an incredible thing to witness; a kid who we thought had no hope of changing (Frailey) helping out a kid whom he had mocked mercilessly ( Nilson). Man, it was one of those moments when you can see Gods hand.
So, we come up on the 4th day of camp, we had just gotten back from a 2 hour hike to a magnificent waterfall. All the kids are settling in and getting ready for the afternoon when I see a group of kids huddled around one of my kids Starlin. Apparently, he had fallen while running a hurt his wrist. We checked with the volunteers from the Red Cross who were with us and they confirmed that it was dislocated…great. So, we had to take him to the hospital to get it fixed but it had been raining and no vehicles could make it to the campsite. We walked with him about 1 mile up a very steep, muddy hill to get to a level dirt road where there were cars. We took this mans 1970-something jeep about minutes to the nearest town to a free clinic. He told us we needed an x-ray and it may be fractures as well. So we get in the car and drive 30 minutes to get an X-ray from a technician with an “I Love Canada” t-shirt and a hat that said “Cowgirl”…perfect, why is this guy wearing a hat in the first place, lol. Anyways, we got the x-ray for 450 pesos drove back to the free clinic where I almost threw up watching the doctor reset the kids arm by breaking it again, then they but on a cast that went up to his armpit with a sling. The whole time i'm thinking that this kids mom is going to kill me. I take her son to a camp and he comes back with a broken arm, perfect. We leave the blood stained clinic and head back to the camp, oh but first we have to pick up the dinner for tonight. We stop by this random dudes house, walk into his garage where he is roasting 3 whole pigs, it was pretty cool. I got to try some meat while it was still on the spit. I helped break apart both the pigs and stuff them in black trash bags. Then we got back on the road, stopped by a store to pick up ice and 25 gallons of pure water for the camp. Lets recap: In this 2-seater truck we have the driver, Starlin with a broken arm in the front. Myself and the Red Cross volunteer are in the back with two 50-pound pigs 25 gallons of water and 6 bags of ice. Not to mention this truck is as old as time and looks like it could give at any possible second. Ok, all caught up. At this point it is pouring rain, and we still have to cross a river to get to the camp, and all the roads are muddy and slippery, obviously not paved. We are fishtailing while the driver continues to look back at me and say how much he likes driving in this weather, I’m just nodding my head while thinking about all of my loved ones and praying harder than ever, haha. Then the Red Cross guy starts trying to show me picture on his camera about his job, and I’m just like, hey guy I’m pretty sure we aren’t making in through this and the last thing I DO NOT want on my mind is a picture of you receiving an award at some ceremony for the deaf. Eventually, we did make it back to the entrance of the camp, still one mile to go by foot, this time downhill in the rain, I’m almost breaking this kids good arm with my hulk-like grip from my abnormally tiny hands for a man (thanks mom). We arrived at the site where all the kids were waiting for him and they began chanting Starlin, Starlin, Starlin and he just got the biggest smile on his face. It was nice for him. The first thing he said was, “ I didn’t even cry once!” He was a trooper through all of this, I think I probably thought about crying more times than him. Now it is a cool story, and all the kids signed his cast. Unfortunately, it had been pouring there as well and all the tents flooded (just cant escape it, lol). All the kids stuff is now soaking wet, sheets, towels, clothes, shoes, everything. So, there is only one area for shelter at this camp, as you will see on the photos, and it’s no bigger than a studio apartment. So, we moved all the kids’ stuff into this area, threw down a tarp and wrapped another one around the outside so no rain could enter. All 45 kids slept huddled together in this area. Guess who volunteered to sleep with them…..me! I had been sleeping terribly the whole time because I had been lying at this weird downward angle and blood would keep rushing to my head and I would wake up dizzy and numb, lol. In this gazebo thing, it was very level and smooth, still dirt, though. Another volunteer offered to take the bullet as well, unfortunately he happens to be 6’5” and took up all the rest of the free area on the tarp. I ended up sleeping on wet dirt wrapped in a single sheet like a burrito, did not fall asleep once, but I do remember having nightmares…very strange…maybe my nightmare and my reality somehow fused into one mega realtimare. Anyways, we woke up the next morning, packed up and left. Now I’m back in my site recuperating from the weekend. Starlins mom was actually very understanding about his arm. She said it could have happened anywhere and to not worry about it, which was a huge relief!
So, now I’m back to working on the water filters, and I may have to attend a medical mission in the next week because 6 people dropped out last minute. I may go there this weekend. I also have a meeting with the owner of an empty plot of land next to my house to have him donate a piece of it to our community garden project. My buddy Josiel is also meeting with the “vice-mayor” of Santiago to see if she would donate to our cause and he is also going to the nearby University of Agriculture to see if they would donate plants and stuff. A lot of stuff happening. Hitting the ground running. My small business class is finishing up soon as well.
Well, that’s about all for now. Love and miss you guys a lot. Hablamos!
Here is a little bit of what I have been up to; few days after I came back from the states Iwent to a 2day long training on Bio-Sand water filters sponsored by Rotary International and USAID. It was all in Spanish and I was the only American there, quite a welcome back into the country. Now I am a certified water filter “specialist”, so I am now in the process of developing a project with 3 of the community leaders in my community and choosing the 40 lucky families that will be receiving a 120lb water filter, lol. These filters are quite incredible, though, they filter out pretty much everything; Cholera, Diarrhea, Amoebas among many other water born illnesses, and they last for decades (if maintained well). What does this mean for the people in my community? They will never have to purchase water again. That may not seem like a big deal for many of us, but think about a family of 4-5. People buy water in 5 gallon jugs, many go through 1-2 a day, each one costs 30-35 pesos, so your looking at anywhere up to 500 pesos a week, 2000 pesos a month 24,000 pesos a year or 650 dollars. That’s a lot of money for a family who has an income of around 5000 pesos a month. Not to mention, it will allow families who couldn’t afford to buy clean water the opportunity to drinkas much as they want for free! Unfortunately, a lot of people drink from the tap here, which as many of you may know from my earliest blog posts is the worst thing possible. ☺
We just recently celebrated July 4th here aswell. A couple of us went up to Puerto Plata to the beach for the day ( gracias a my Aunt andUncle, haha), then the next day we bought a little disposable grill and grilled up some bratwurst, hamburgers and watched the Sandlot! It was a very nice andrelaxing holiday. Interesting story, on the way back from Puerto Plata we came upon a motorcycle accident, a motorcycle had run into a car or vice versa. Unfortunately, the man on the bike died, probably instantly. We saw a few people pick up his body and set it into the back of a random truck that happened to be passing through, and sent him to the hospital. After this there remained a group of people looking in the tall grass where the man had been thrown off his bike. I heard some people talking and then saw someone pick up the mans severed arm by the finger and carry it to the rode, get on his motorcycle (no helmet) and head after the truck on the way to the hospital. It was so crazy! I had never seen anything like that before, a dead body or a severed arm, I mean bone, flesh, blood, it was shocking, didn’t seem real. So, that was a great way to end a day at the beach, ha.
Then on the 6th of July I headed off to Camp Superman with 2 kids from my engineer club. It was a 5-day camp way way way up in the mountains above Santiago in a community
called Los Bueyes. 45 boys ages 11-15 attended and about 15 volunteers. We played all kinds of games and talked about all kinds of topics. It was similar to a summer camp in the US, but absolutely in the middle of nowhere, off the grid. It took us 2 hours to climb the mountain in 5 trucks packed with kids and bags, and then we arrived to this little campsite by a river. It was an incredible 5 days. I was given the opportunity to see God work in the lives of these little kids. We split up into 5 teams, myself and 2 other volunteers headed up the green team, and we were able to see these kids mature in a span of 5 days. We had kids that came in rowdy and obnoxious, making fun of the other kids, saying bad words and by the last day they were helping those same kids, arriving quietly to all events, obeying all the rules and saying please and thank you at every meal. I was so proud of our team. There was this kid named Nilson (no, not nelson) and he was pretty heavy set, not very athletic, which was a shame because we played sports all day everyday. Anyways, by the 3rd day he ended up cracking under all the pressure from his teammates constantly making fun of him. He realized he wasn’t very athletic, but he never gave up trying. It all came down on him at once and he just starting crying. One of the volunteers sat with him and tried to cheer him up while myself and another volunteer tried to calmly explain the terrible thing they had done to one of their friends, while we wanted to drown them in the river, ha. Well, by the end of the day all the kids had apologized to him, and one kid named Frailey, who had been a terrible, rude, inconsiderate, leading the charge against Nilson ended up staying behind in the last activity so that he could run with Nilson and help him across the finish line! That’s all we as volunteers could talk about for the rest of the camp. It was such an incredible thing to witness; a kid who we thought had no hope of changing (Frailey) helping out a kid whom he had mocked mercilessly ( Nilson). Man, it was one of those moments when you can see Gods hand.
So, we come up on the 4th day of camp, we had just gotten back from a 2 hour hike to a magnificent waterfall. All the kids are settling in and getting ready for the afternoon when I see a group of kids huddled around one of my kids Starlin. Apparently, he had fallen while running a hurt his wrist. We checked with the volunteers from the Red Cross who were with us and they confirmed that it was dislocated…great. So, we had to take him to the hospital to get it fixed but it had been raining and no vehicles could make it to the campsite. We walked with him about 1 mile up a very steep, muddy hill to get to a level dirt road where there were cars. We took this mans 1970-something jeep about minutes to the nearest town to a free clinic. He told us we needed an x-ray and it may be fractures as well. So we get in the car and drive 30 minutes to get an X-ray from a technician with an “I Love Canada” t-shirt and a hat that said “Cowgirl”…perfect, why is this guy wearing a hat in the first place, lol. Anyways, we got the x-ray for 450 pesos drove back to the free clinic where I almost threw up watching the doctor reset the kids arm by breaking it again, then they but on a cast that went up to his armpit with a sling. The whole time i'm thinking that this kids mom is going to kill me. I take her son to a camp and he comes back with a broken arm, perfect. We leave the blood stained clinic and head back to the camp, oh but first we have to pick up the dinner for tonight. We stop by this random dudes house, walk into his garage where he is roasting 3 whole pigs, it was pretty cool. I got to try some meat while it was still on the spit. I helped break apart both the pigs and stuff them in black trash bags. Then we got back on the road, stopped by a store to pick up ice and 25 gallons of pure water for the camp. Lets recap: In this 2-seater truck we have the driver, Starlin with a broken arm in the front. Myself and the Red Cross volunteer are in the back with two 50-pound pigs 25 gallons of water and 6 bags of ice. Not to mention this truck is as old as time and looks like it could give at any possible second. Ok, all caught up. At this point it is pouring rain, and we still have to cross a river to get to the camp, and all the roads are muddy and slippery, obviously not paved. We are fishtailing while the driver continues to look back at me and say how much he likes driving in this weather, I’m just nodding my head while thinking about all of my loved ones and praying harder than ever, haha. Then the Red Cross guy starts trying to show me picture on his camera about his job, and I’m just like, hey guy I’m pretty sure we aren’t making in through this and the last thing I DO NOT want on my mind is a picture of you receiving an award at some ceremony for the deaf. Eventually, we did make it back to the entrance of the camp, still one mile to go by foot, this time downhill in the rain, I’m almost breaking this kids good arm with my hulk-like grip from my abnormally tiny hands for a man (thanks mom). We arrived at the site where all the kids were waiting for him and they began chanting Starlin, Starlin, Starlin and he just got the biggest smile on his face. It was nice for him. The first thing he said was, “ I didn’t even cry once!” He was a trooper through all of this, I think I probably thought about crying more times than him. Now it is a cool story, and all the kids signed his cast. Unfortunately, it had been pouring there as well and all the tents flooded (just cant escape it, lol). All the kids stuff is now soaking wet, sheets, towels, clothes, shoes, everything. So, there is only one area for shelter at this camp, as you will see on the photos, and it’s no bigger than a studio apartment. So, we moved all the kids’ stuff into this area, threw down a tarp and wrapped another one around the outside so no rain could enter. All 45 kids slept huddled together in this area. Guess who volunteered to sleep with them…..me! I had been sleeping terribly the whole time because I had been lying at this weird downward angle and blood would keep rushing to my head and I would wake up dizzy and numb, lol. In this gazebo thing, it was very level and smooth, still dirt, though. Another volunteer offered to take the bullet as well, unfortunately he happens to be 6’5” and took up all the rest of the free area on the tarp. I ended up sleeping on wet dirt wrapped in a single sheet like a burrito, did not fall asleep once, but I do remember having nightmares…very strange…maybe my nightmare and my reality somehow fused into one mega realtimare. Anyways, we woke up the next morning, packed up and left. Now I’m back in my site recuperating from the weekend. Starlins mom was actually very understanding about his arm. She said it could have happened anywhere and to not worry about it, which was a huge relief!
So, now I’m back to working on the water filters, and I may have to attend a medical mission in the next week because 6 people dropped out last minute. I may go there this weekend. I also have a meeting with the owner of an empty plot of land next to my house to have him donate a piece of it to our community garden project. My buddy Josiel is also meeting with the “vice-mayor” of Santiago to see if she would donate to our cause and he is also going to the nearby University of Agriculture to see if they would donate plants and stuff. A lot of stuff happening. Hitting the ground running. My small business class is finishing up soon as well.
Well, that’s about all for now. Love and miss you guys a lot. Hablamos!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Casi Alla
So, I just got back from the Dentist here in Santo Domingo. Nicer than the one in the states i go to! Weird right? And, with this awesome, everything is absolutely free, health insurance i have as a volunteer, i got a free filling :) Since there is no fluoride in the water here, you have to take special care of teeth, and as my mother knows, i wasn't to great to begin with. All kinds of plaque and nasty stuff. Anyways, i finished that up and am waiting in the Peace Corps office to have my physical done by our in-house Doctors. We have 2 doctors stationed at the Peace Corps office just in case someone gets...i dunno.....ameobic dysnetary, among many other things. They are great.
The usual "hotel" we volunteers stay at when we are in the capitol has been condemned due to an undisclosed "security incident", so now we get to stay at a hotel where i did not contract scabies and get it reimbursed! What a day!
Im going to the US tomorrow!! Quick update on stuff here. Classes are going well. Small business class will be finished by the end of June, we have 2 sessions left. Engineer club is going amazing as usual. My kids threw my a surprise birthday party! They made Spaghetti, and made decorations out of recycled material, just like i tried to teach them in class.
The HBD is Happy Birthday. All about saving materials, lol. Made me so happy that they thought to do this for me! I have the best job in the world.
We just completed a trash pick-up project in our community as well. We got the kids together and told them we were gonna pick up all the trash in the field next door. They were all bummed out until we told them they would each receive a pair of brand new(12 peso) rubber gloves! Then they got so excited to clean up, and were asking if they were allowed to keep the gloves, haha. I totally underestimated how much trash there actually was, though. Its just layer upon layer upon layer! Anyways, we did a lot of work and at the end, the kids planted the sign we created in class, it says Engineer Club asks you to please not throw paper in this area, thanks! These guys are the best!
The usual "hotel" we volunteers stay at when we are in the capitol has been condemned due to an undisclosed "security incident", so now we get to stay at a hotel where i did not contract scabies and get it reimbursed! What a day!
Im going to the US tomorrow!! Quick update on stuff here. Classes are going well. Small business class will be finished by the end of June, we have 2 sessions left. Engineer club is going amazing as usual. My kids threw my a surprise birthday party! They made Spaghetti, and made decorations out of recycled material, just like i tried to teach them in class.
The HBD is Happy Birthday. All about saving materials, lol. Made me so happy that they thought to do this for me! I have the best job in the world.
We just completed a trash pick-up project in our community as well. We got the kids together and told them we were gonna pick up all the trash in the field next door. They were all bummed out until we told them they would each receive a pair of brand new(12 peso) rubber gloves! Then they got so excited to clean up, and were asking if they were allowed to keep the gloves, haha. I totally underestimated how much trash there actually was, though. Its just layer upon layer upon layer! Anyways, we did a lot of work and at the end, the kids planted the sign we created in class, it says Engineer Club asks you to please not throw paper in this area, thanks! These guys are the best!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Ayy muchachos
Well, i cant remember the last time it didnt rain here. Seriously its been non-stop for weeks. Luckily, i managed to put my 2 cents together and purchase a tarp. Oh yea, i attached a massive blue tarp to my roof with bricks and nails and flung it over the side to cover my massive open window (photos coming soon). I secure said tarp with to pad locks around the base of my gallery window, and old gorcery store bags to tie it up at the top.
This is the window im talking about.
In other news. My fan, "Reginald", died a few nights ago. Finally bit the proverbial and literal dust after i snapped him in half over my knee in a blind sweaty furry trying to revive him. Needless to say, first thing next morning i went out and bought another one. His name is Steven, fans are obviously dudes, not my call.
My engineers club is going remarkably well. My only regret is that i didn't do this in my community from the start. I spent so much time trying to get projects going at the high school that i completely neglected the kids on my community. Now i have my small business class, and engineer club here, and people come!! Its great. Yesterday we did egg olympics, match stick rockets, and paper helicopters. Bet you didnt know that if you hold an egg in the palm of your hand, wrap your fingers around it, and squeeze as hard as you can, it wont break. (Unless you have a ring on, lol). These kids love it! They are learnging these projects here then going out and showing their friends. Last night 2 groups of kids came by to as for more materials to make helicopters and match stick rockets. It took a year, and many failed attempts, but i finally found what i am supposed to be doing, lol.
These are my kids! oh yea, we did the old menos in the coke trick. Man, they loved that. Chase, that ones for you buddy, ha!
Coming home in 6 days! woo hoo! Vacation!
This is the window im talking about.
In other news. My fan, "Reginald", died a few nights ago. Finally bit the proverbial and literal dust after i snapped him in half over my knee in a blind sweaty furry trying to revive him. Needless to say, first thing next morning i went out and bought another one. His name is Steven, fans are obviously dudes, not my call.
My engineers club is going remarkably well. My only regret is that i didn't do this in my community from the start. I spent so much time trying to get projects going at the high school that i completely neglected the kids on my community. Now i have my small business class, and engineer club here, and people come!! Its great. Yesterday we did egg olympics, match stick rockets, and paper helicopters. Bet you didnt know that if you hold an egg in the palm of your hand, wrap your fingers around it, and squeeze as hard as you can, it wont break. (Unless you have a ring on, lol). These kids love it! They are learnging these projects here then going out and showing their friends. Last night 2 groups of kids came by to as for more materials to make helicopters and match stick rockets. It took a year, and many failed attempts, but i finally found what i am supposed to be doing, lol.
These are my kids! oh yea, we did the old menos in the coke trick. Man, they loved that. Chase, that ones for you buddy, ha!
Coming home in 6 days! woo hoo! Vacation!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Hurricane season!
So Hurricane season is upon us! It is supposed to be an overactive one this year, which means i seriously have to do something about the huge gaping window in my apartment. Thinking about just tying a shower curtain to it when it rains. There is a tropical storm heading towards us right now actually so i better get on that, huh?
Anyways, short blog. Not much going on here. Started my engineers group to a raging success! 10 kids showed up on time, were excited the whole time, didnt want to leave, and couldnt wait till the next class! ITs such a refreshing attitude, as opposed to the way people have felt about my computer classes, which can be summed up in one photo....
Thats a picture of a boy smashing a computer monitor like it tried to molest him.
Other than that, weve been advancing through my small business class, and are halfway through with my 2 students, lol. They are getting a lot out of it, though, which is good.
Well, thats about it. Gotta go to the hardware store to pick up some waterproofing materials.
Here is a picture of my new engineer group!
Here is a photo of me and the group
Anyways, short blog. Not much going on here. Started my engineers group to a raging success! 10 kids showed up on time, were excited the whole time, didnt want to leave, and couldnt wait till the next class! ITs such a refreshing attitude, as opposed to the way people have felt about my computer classes, which can be summed up in one photo....
Thats a picture of a boy smashing a computer monitor like it tried to molest him.
Other than that, weve been advancing through my small business class, and are halfway through with my 2 students, lol. They are getting a lot out of it, though, which is good.
Well, thats about it. Gotta go to the hardware store to pick up some waterproofing materials.
Here is a picture of my new engineer group!
Here is a photo of me and the group
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