Beginning my work... slowly.

It seems the 'real' life has started here as I began work this week and will soon be much much busier than I was last week when some of my larger worries were which children I would play with. This week i will be assembling a bunch of information for a huge group of volunteers that come from Canada each year. This year they have chosen to focus their efforts here on agriculture, so we've got all sorts of things planned for them. Marijo and i now need to write up all the exact plans with costs etc for all the projects. Seeing as though I've never built/designed anything in my life and have no clue about irrigation it is hilarious to think I am taking all the measurements etc to plan those things. Hopefully I can do it all correctly :)

I'm just setting back in as I had this past weekend off and went to the beach with a few other volunteers for saturday and sunday. It was great to get away although it also made me realize how little money I have to get around the country. This island is way more expensive than I had thought it would be! There is a beach town that is pretty close to San Pedro and an italian woman who runs an indian themed hostel there and gives us a bit of a deal as she things we're doing good work here. It was nice to be reminded if my adventures earlier this summer.

I feel as though I'm getting through to many more of the kids in my house as i get to know them a bit better. There are still a few who stay pretty distant and will never initiate conversation, but time will likely solve those problems. The boys in my house are such a wonderful age as they still want to play silly hand slapping games, hug me, and the younger ones want to be held from time to time. But the older ones are boys that are quickly growing up a bit. My favorite is a little boy named Antony who just arrived a week or so before me. He is absolutely adorable, and that prefect age where he can be both like a toddler as well as acting a bit older at times. That said, he still has his share of problems. My first week, there were only a few days he didnt erupt into tears for an extended period of time after some seemingly meaningless thing happened. I'm curios to know what his life was like before coming to NPH with his little brother and sister (his brother is maybe even cuter than him and just so so sweet, but hes in one of the younger houses). There are also a few boys in my house who have some problems and can only say a few words. They can be a lot of fun as they have their own way of communicating with me, hand gestures and miscellaneous noises. One, Luis Alberto, has become quite fond of me and is always finding ways to try and communicate with me.

In general the children here are just so full of life. The dominican way is to play music so loud conversation cannot be had, and to dance like no other. Sometimes they will bring out the big speakers and play music on the concha (baseball court) and all the children will be dancing. To see pairs of little boys and girls dancing the bachata (a dominican style of music/dance) is just so wonderful. I've learned a little myself at the batey last week and am growing to love it... and the dance is so easy that a few songs in I was pretty comfortable with it. The joy of their only being one simple step!

I'll be off now, sorry for the crazily random update, but I was just writing it as it came to me :) Hope all is well with everyone at home!

My first week at NPH

Well, I've gotten the internet set up in my computer, but for now that really doesn't mean much. I'm using someone else's now that is a bit newer and gets a better signal. I think if I go to the office mine should work better though. we'll see

Ive made it through much of the first week here as I have this weekend off, meaning I also don't have to work on Friday (I think Ill go to the beach for just saturday and sunday)!! It is still going well and I haven't decided I need to go home yet, so that is good! And all said and done, things are really wonderful here. Im really seeing hoe much everyone here is like one big family and am starting to feel much more like a part of that family.

There are 2 other volunteers who got here recently too so we are doing a little orientation thing this week to help us get settled before starting work on Monday. Stangely enough, they are a married couple from Michigan! Imagine that! We typically have a bit of stuff in the morning and a bit in the afternoon with an hour and a half for lunch (as we all get here), but I spend most of that time with 'my kids' - the ones I eat with. Those little boys are winning over my heart pretty quickly! Soon I should be getting some information from the office about their stories before coming to NPH. Though it will be good to know so I can better understand why they act the way they do, it will also be really hard to know some of the horrible things that have happened to them in the past. Some of the storries I have heard already are so sad... but it makes it a lot easier knowing they are here now and have such an amazing, huge family and so many people who love them so much.

The whole orientation is sometimes a bit long/slow but overall great as it is helping me get to know how things work here (answer: slowwwwwly), where to go for help with different things, who does what, etc. Now I just need to learn the names of all 180 or so kids... I'll get back to you on that one in a month or 10!

I've also gotten to learn a bit more about what I'll be doing as my job when I'm not running around with the kids. It involves A LOT of different things including the following:
-running a program called The Growing Connection run by the UN in which the little kids will grow plants in these 'earth boxes' donated by the program and share about their experiences with other classes around the world. It's pretty interesting, look it up online!
-reviving a composting/recycling program that fell apart a few months ago
-teaching the kids/tias all about the program
-builing/arranging the building of a new area for composting (with WORMS) and reproduction of ornamental plants. And working there when its done
-arranging/planning/supervising agriculture based projects for a huge group of canadians that visit for 6 weeks in january/february
-planning fun activities for St Francis of Asissi day and Earth Day
-plenty of other things that will change all the time!

The woman I am working with, Marijo, is just SO wonderful. I think I will learn a lot from her over the year as she is just a wealth of knowledge. We're hoping to go on lots of adventures next week to places including a huge vermiculture project, a farm school, the botanical gardens, and many more I am forgetting. We shall learn all sorts of things and hopefully get some donations as well

Sorry for SUCH a long post, but a lot has happened this week and I've only included the littlest bit of it! Next time, I'll write a bit more about some of the kids :) Though, I must tell you guys, one of them looks EXACTLY like Obama!!! Almost everyone here refers to him as Obamito or El Presidente... I'll post a picture sometime, you'll be blown away!

miss you all much

so many kids!!!!

Right now I am in town (a short drive from the orphanage) and thought I would write really quickly. I haven't had the chance to set up my computer so it works with the internet at our place yet, but when it is all ready I will write more and put up some photos of my new home!

The orphanage, although a little hectic and stressful at times is really wonderful. I don't start work until next week, so I have this week to get settled, do some orientation things, and get to know the kids before they go back to school next week. I'll tell you a little about how things work there, and write more later in the week hopefully : )
At the property, there is quite a bit of space all enclosed with a wall. Outside there are a few small batays (pueblos where hatian refugees usually life) in the area and a training camp for some US baseball team (the rangers maybe?). The kids all live in seperate homes with about 15-20 kids in each along with 3 tias (they act like their mothers), 2 of which are always there. They eat with their homes, though we have a kitchen that cooks all their food. Each vounteer (and some of the employees) all have a house that they eat with. Mine is the new entrance boys. They are between the ages of 6 and 11, and can be quite a handful! Most of them haven't been at NPH for too long and still have their old habits. They aren't used to people caring for them and many have a history of abuse so they all act pretty tough. But they get soft a lot of the time and run to me for hugs :) Aside from eating meals with them, I also spend a lot of my free time there playing with them. We're supposed to spend about 2 hours with the kids every day after work. Despite their fighting sometimes, I am growing to love them all. and they are so darn CUTE!!!

All of us volunteers live in houses that are just like the kids, with a living room area, a kitchen, 2 big bedrooms, and dorm-style bathrooms. But there aren't as many of us in each house. We have 2, with 6ish in each. Though, right now they are building a new place for us to live that should be done in the next few months. We looked around inside and it is going to be like a palace compared to now!!!

Must run as others are waiting, When I get internet set up on my computer I'll write lots more and send some emails. I miss everyone!!

Rain Rain Rain!

As it is raining outside (like almost every other day), I just thought I would write a quick entry and hopefully it will have stopped by the time I finish so I can go explore!

I've been having a lot of fun thus far this week and can't believe it is almost over already! The other students at my spanish school and I have been getting out quite a bit. It is really interesting because we are all from so many different places! A few from the Unites States, and others from Amsterdam, Germany, and China. It is so fun to hear about everyone's lives and adventures! One night we went to a bar and drank rum and smoked dominican cigars (just like all the old dominican men, haha).

This is the coast in Santo Domingo, it isn't a beach and not even the Dominicans will swim in the water!

The Beach at Boca Chica

Yesterday we went to the beach at Boca Chica, which is the closest beach to Santo Domingo and where all the locals go! It was nice to go for a swim in the ocean, but there was quite a bit of trash on the beach and always people coming up to us and trying to sell us food and other things. Though at least there weren't many other tourists! After the beach, the three of us who went met up with most of the other students for dinner as it was one guy's last night in town!

Out to eat with the other students!

Tomorrow, I think I am going to go with a friend of one of the teachers at the school who is a taxi driver. He is going to take Ana ( the german girl) and I around the city to some of the places that you shouldn't go alone and where tourists never go. It should be very interesting to see! All said, I am very excited to get out of the city and settle into my new home :)

Hopefully Tropical Storm Ana continues to stear clear of the DR!

The adventure is here!

Hola Todos!

When I signed up with NPH, it seemed the time for my adventure in the DR would never come, it was like a distant dream, never to become reality. But now I can say that the 'dream' is here, and it IS reality. I live in the Dominican Republic... though right now it mostly seems like a vacation. For now, I am in the capital, Santo Domingo, taking an intensive spanish class to brush up on the bit of spanish I do know in hopes for easier learning when I arrive at the orphanage. Staying at a small Aparta-hotel (a hotel with apartment style rooms, so I have an absolutely tiny kitchen area, and some other things a hotel room wouldn't) and have quite a bit of free time!

I arrived yesterday, and just after landing the skies errupted in what I would consider torrential downpour (though someone today told me that was pretty normal for mid-August). My drive from the airrport to my hotel consisted mostly of the driver trying to avoid really deep areas and sticking to where there was only an inch or so of water on the roads!! Mucho Agua!!!! Notable moment of the drive was when we decided to stop for a beer (or 'una fria' as it is known here), and when I started to get ready to get out of the car into the downpour, he said in spanish "no no, you wait here." I was a little confused, but a few minutes later, he appeared with a pint-sized bottle of Presidente (the national beer, as I am told) already opened and 2 small cups. We shared the beer throughout the rest of the drive. Completely normal in the dominican he told me... though it sure seemed strange!

Today, I had classes all morning and for a little while in the afteroon. The school is pretty small, and all of the people there are super nice. As traveling alone is a little strange to me, it will be nice to see the same people every day there! There are only 3 students in my class and the teacher is wonderful, always telling us little side notes about dominican life and how the language is different here.

This afternoon I decided it would be best to do a little exploring on my own. It was wonderful to be able to move at my own pace and not feel rushed when I wanted to stop and play taking photos along the way! I walked to the Zona Colonial, the very first colonial settlement in the Americas (the DR is the very first place that Christopher Colombus stopped). All of the buildings were hundreds of years old, and the atmosphere very calm. I wandered around not knowing exactly what everything was for a while, but stopping at the national cathedral (the first cathedral in the americas), a few parks, and a fort! Before long, I stumbled upon the national 'cemetary.' It was inside of an old building that orriginally was a church, and here I found a nice man who led me around the rest of the places of interest in the colonial area, telling me about each place we went. Best of all, he did it all in slow, simple spanish giving me a great chance to practice! We saw lots of things such as the palace where Colombus's brother lived, the house of Hernando Cortez, the ruins of a monastary and a hospital, the oldest street in the Americas (photo above), and much much more! Not long after this, it started raining as I began my walk home. Knowing a little about the system of transportation here, I hitched a ride in a 'guagua' which is a taxi type car that drives up and down any given street, with the driver waving his hand out the window, honking, and slowing a bit for anyone on the side of the street who looks like they need a ride. you just hop in, tell him the street you want to get off at, and for only 50 centsish you get to where you need to go! It was so easy!

I walked a few blocks home as my street becomes one way just before my hotel, and bought a pineapple along the way from the back of a truck! The man selling them was sitting inside and had me stand with my umbrella covering him while he cut it up for my with a machete! it is so delicious and so cheap compared to at home.

life is good :) the people here are so nice, it feels very safe, and I cannot wait to get more off the beaten path and to the orphanage! More at the end of the week