Kelly - Dominican Republic - update #2

By the way, Christian is now my hero! He was able to get me connected to the internet tonight. SO, right now, I am sitting on the porch of the volunteer house with Christian, Elena and Bibiana and emailing you amidst mosquitoes, cockroaches, and other random bugs attracted to the light. I am TAN and it's only been 3 days. I wear sunscreen - but I sweat so much I don't think it lasts long. Oh well, it's all good.

Ok, here is email #2. You should be hearing from me more often now that I have my own computer with internet. Even though the power is off more than it's on and the internet is the same way. I"ll do my best.

So… you all know that I am not known as a patient person. In fact… many of you politely remind me to relax and wait. Well… someday I really should begin listening to you.

When I got here Sunday night, I was exhausted, but I couldn’t wipe this silly smile off my face because I was in the Dominican Republic. For some reason, Latin countries always feel like home to me. This time, yes, I am in the Caribbean and some things are different, but it still felt fantastically good to sweat like I only sweat here, see the green banana trees and hear Spanish.

(Quick side note, I think I’ll have to put my computer in my case whenever I am done with it, because right now, as I’m typing, cockroaches keep coming out of the keys!)

Anyway. I woke up on Monday morning with an idealistic view of NPH. By noon I was second guessing my trip and wondering exactly how long 2 months would be (and imagining what those year long volunteers must feel like!). In the afternoon I visited the Special needs house and it was very difficult. Talk about a fish out of water! Here I am stumbling with my Spanish, trying to understand what’s going on, meanwhile kids are screaming, one girl was grabbing my watch and scratching my arm and screaming, and one girl had just wet herself, and the tias – with their amazing patience – continued on with their day. I took one girl for a walk to the swing set, and she didn’t want to go back. So, I had to convince her it was a good idea, and holding her hand, we walked back to the house. The kids are VERY well taken care of, and the special needs house has some very patient tias (the women who live and care for them) it was just hard for me because I didn't totally understand what was going on, what was being said, and what I needd to do.

By now I was frustrated. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing, could only understand a fraction of what was being said to me and am still not understanding cultural norms.

For example, we eat our meals (lunch and dinner) in a house. I was assigned to Casa Santa Ana with 16 girls. I am served at a table usually with another adult, sometimes alone, and I get the feeling that talking is not allowed. So, it’s sort of an awkward silence while you look at your food and eat, or glance out the window. You don’t really talk to each other. I’ll have to find out more on the eating rules when I get a chance. **update... no talking while eating. But it is good. Makes you appreciate the food more. And the girls stand and say a prayer and then sing a song before eating. So, I wait too.

So – long story short, I was wondering if I’d made the right choice to come. YES – I know this is normal. YES – in all the volunteer paperwork it told me I’d feel this way. My rational brain was telling me to get over it, and my emotional side was saying, “I MISS MY FAMILY!”

Then, I was reading my Oprah magazine and the article was about a guy who wrote a book about living in the present. It really hit home. Right NOW I didn’t have any worries. Right NOW I am perfectly happy. If I think about the past, or worry about the future, my worries begin. If I just turn off my thoughts and live in the present, I am perfectly happy. So, that is what I’ve been doing today, (Damn, another beetle in my keyboard) I had THE BEST DAY!!!

I started out with the gardeners (as I said in my last email) then, had lunch with my family. After lunch I worked at the school with the teachers helping them prepare for kindergarten graduation. (I’ll be helping them all week I think). Then at 4 when the babies woke up, I went to their house to play with them. They are the damn cutest kids ever! SO SWEET! I love them all!

After that I came home and found my housemates with 3 of the older girls and they had just cleaned our house! It was magnificent! They were having a little party of Pringles and diet Coke when I showed up. So, I hung out with them until dinner. They are GREAT kids! The music was on, they were singing and dancing, it was great!

Then, I just went to dinner with my house. Before dinner started, one of the babies saw me go into the house (it’s right across the lawn and he RAN over and gave me a hug. Yes, he stops below my knees, but he gave me a big hug and then I told him I’d see him tomorrow. And he smiled real big and ran off.

Dinner was good, I’m not sure what any of it was so I’ll describe it. It was something that looked like a banana, but felt like an undercooked potato. ON top was some sort of fish, with some type of red sauce with things in it – not onions, but the same idea. So, I ate dinner and here I am typing.

Tomorrow I help in the kitchen, then the school, then the baby house, then I come home.

Everyone here is SO nice, they are SO happy to have us here, and they are SO patient with my lack of Dominican Spanish. The girls in my house want to learn English and I want to learn Spanish, so we’re going to trade off lessons I think – in the evenings. My house doesn’t have a tv, only next door…. So unless we want to go over there every night, we have to find some way to entertain ourselves.

I guess that's it for now.
Talk to you eventually,
Kelly