In addition to the people in the house now, there has been one other. Andy is in his late thirties and came down once before with his family in June. He is here for a week to help with the construction of the school building in Tamarindo, sadly his week is nearly at its end. Last night after the guys got back from the work site and we picked Kate up from the airport, we went out to eat instead of cooking at home. We went to a fun place right off the malecon (sea wall) that had tex mex, believe it or not. Andy had wanted to treat us all to dinner, it was such a thoughtful gesture. Jennie and Miguel joined the group, as well as Vlady, the boy that they have recently taken in to help raise. We all had a great time, and it was so nice to get out of the house in the evening and dress up a little.
After our dinner out on the town, today was another fun adventure. We had an orientation for the new staff and talked through a lot of the things for the vision of the school, which will be called Colegio Makarios. The catch is, we had all of our meeting at the beach in Cabarete! It was such a beautiful day. The water was the awesome sky blue and the sand was white and vast, an ideal backdrop when talking about the Dominican Republic! Cristina came to that meeting as well, which was fun.
Tomorrow morning we are headed to Santiago to visit a preschool and talk with the director to get some ideas for our program. We are staying the weekend, I will let y'all know all that happens as it comes.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
ya tenemos todo!
Yesterday afternoon we all went to pick Kate up for the airport. Our staff is now complete!! Woo-hoo!
Kate will be a teacher at the school house along with me and Cristina. The other staffers that are here for the year are Robin, who will be helping us out specifically because of her bilingual education experience and Weston, who will be teaching PE classes, among other things to the kids. And of course, there are Jennie and Miguel who live here. Cara and Elizabeth are two interns here for the fall to help out wherever.
We met Kate at the airport all wearing matching bright green hats, it was quite fun!
Kate will be a teacher at the school house along with me and Cristina. The other staffers that are here for the year are Robin, who will be helping us out specifically because of her bilingual education experience and Weston, who will be teaching PE classes, among other things to the kids. And of course, there are Jennie and Miguel who live here. Cara and Elizabeth are two interns here for the fall to help out wherever.
We met Kate at the airport all wearing matching bright green hats, it was quite fun!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
back in the DR
A few weeks in the states and now I am back here in the DR. Let me update you on what all has been going on.
Right before I left the country, Robin and I made a slide show of pictures of the kids throughout the year for Pancho Mateo and Chichigua. They LOVED it!! Even the parents were squealing as each new picture popped up! We made popcorn the morning of, so it was like their own little movie theater in the village.
After saying some goodbyes, I flew into
I arrived back in the Dominican Republic on Monday night and was met by Teresa White and Robin in Santiago. Robin and I did a lot of catching up, after several big hugs of course! Since we were staying at the Whites in
Robin and I headed back to the north coast on Tuesday and met up with Phillip and Kurt, who are here helping out until mid September, as well as Weston, who will be here working for the year. We went to Tamarindo and I was able to see the progress of the education center. I was also greeted by the kiddos and got a huge running jump hug from Diori, a sweet and helpful seven year old that lives there. Miriam found out I was back as well and we met up and gave each other a big hug. (Miriam is one of the women whose house flooded in Tamarindo).
We walked over to Pancho Mateo since it is just across the river to show Weston the area and to reunite with the people there. It was so great to see all the familiar faces as we walked up and down each pathway of the village.
The new school is planned to open mid September if construction is finished at that time, meanwhile we are starting to plan for meetings and registrations for our potential students.
Last night, after several power outages and lack of internet, Robin and I introduced the card game “Nertz” to Phillip and Kurt, and had a blast. Things have been a little low key today, which has been nice, especially for Robin who has been extremely busy these past several weeks. The two of us took Weston to the grocery store and the fruit market, while Phillip and Kurt worked at the land, and now we are just doing some planning for when we meet with parents this week.
I will keep everyone posted as things progress, as of now, I am happy to be back and excited for the year that lies ahead.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
evelyn and maria
Last night I found out that the husband of a dear friend in Chichigua passed away. The woman is named Evelyn, she shares her name with my sister. Evelyn is a mother of four; all of children come to my class in Chichigua.
She works in a salon in a tourist beach town nearby, and so is able to support her family. I had never met her husband because he was always working when I was there teaching. Evelyn also attends Alexia’s English class regularly and the two of them have established a great friendship.
We went to her house today to visit her. She was inside on her bed just sitting there. When she saw us, she said in English, “my husband is dead.” It broke my heart.
The last time I had gone to Chichigua prior to today was Sunday for church. A woman named Maria who I know pretty well pulled me aside to tell me that her husband let her. He packed up all his clothes and left, leaving her with nothing really because she does not have a job and therefore no money.
Maria is sometimes a little out of it and I don’t think enjoys her life very much. She has AIDS (but will not admit to it) and is always sick and weak. Please pray for these two women and the direction that life is taking them.
dancing tops
Several weeks ago I went to Tamarindo, where the guys are working at the land. I was watching the kids play with tops. Do you remember those tops that spin? They had these plastic tops with a piece of string wrapped up around it, then they would place the top on top of an empty water bottle, pull the string down and lift the bottle up. The top would jump out and spin around on the ground.
What I thought was interesting about it was that whenever someone was about to release the top, all the kids would shout out “make it dance! Make it dance!” I have never thought of a top dancing, just spinning, and so I smiled when I heard that expression for the top.
I called out to them to see who wanted to dance like the top, so when the little boy Reyni made the top “dance,” we all started dancing with it. There were about eight kids and then myself spinning around and around like the top, dancing. I loved it!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
dominic
On Tuesday of this past week, I spent the day in Pancho Mateo with Rebecca, Leticia, Alexia, Rose, and her kids. We didn't have class that day, so I was able to walk around and spend some time with the people that lived there. Jennie had mentioned a couple days before that there was an old Haitian man living in his own waste, deteriorating away, unable to do anything on his own. On Monday, Rebecca and Brad went with Jennie to his home and brought some pampers, protein powder to make drinks, and a foam cushion and bed frame because he had been sleeping on an old mattress on the floor. His name is Dominic, and he has a younger brother that lives near him but does nothing to help him.
I wanted to take advantage of the free day I had to go and meet him. Rebecca and I walked through a very narrow area in Pancho Mateo where he lives, walking between small houses made of pieces of tin that seemed to give off heat like nothing else. Rebbecca brought sheets for his bed and a set of clothes. We had to ask a child to show us where his house was because there was so much winding in and out of narrow pathways that it was hard to remember the way.
We arrived at his house, a tiny shack made of tin that made up one part of a long row of small tin houses. The door was open and I walked in. His house was split in half, you walk in to a small area and then immediately have to turn to go into the second room which was just big enough for a bed. The only light was coming from the front door, so the back room hardly gets light at all.
I walked in, and turned to look into the back room. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything, I thought that no one was there. Then I slowly started to see the outline of a small, dark figure hunched over at the foot of the bed. I was startled that there was in fact someone there. I walked in and saw an old man seated basically in fetal position, his body all contorted. He was just skin and bones and he had no clothes on.
The small room smelled awful and then I noticed that the newly delivered bed as well as the newly cleaned floor had large amounts of poop sitting in areas near Dominic. What the interns had cleaned only the day before was already back to how it was. Jennie had warned the interns what to expect before going on Monday, but when I went in that day I did not think that it could affect me in the way that it did.
We went and looked for his brother who Jennie had given the diapers and protein powder to. I then found a neighbor who helped translate because he spoke Creole much better than he did Spanish so it was hard to communicate. After much struggle, the brother and neighbor, along with myself and Rebecca, were able to put his diaper on. I gave him his protein drink that Rebecca had made and he drank it all down so quickly.
After we had done everything I stood there looking at him, wondering if he felt humiliated and hopeless because he was completely exposed as we all tried to put his diaper on, the whole time his brother yelling at him for not cooperating. My eyes filled with tears and I could not stop. His family and friends and neighbors were not doing anything for him, and he just sits day after day in his own filth.
I have been back twice since that day, and both times Dominic has been without a diaper, sitting on the floor in his own waste, and each time I have sought out a neighbor to help get him back onto the bed with a clean pamper on.
My heart breaks every time I see him and in his unchanging condition.
I wanted to take advantage of the free day I had to go and meet him. Rebecca and I walked through a very narrow area in Pancho Mateo where he lives, walking between small houses made of pieces of tin that seemed to give off heat like nothing else. Rebbecca brought sheets for his bed and a set of clothes. We had to ask a child to show us where his house was because there was so much winding in and out of narrow pathways that it was hard to remember the way.
We arrived at his house, a tiny shack made of tin that made up one part of a long row of small tin houses. The door was open and I walked in. His house was split in half, you walk in to a small area and then immediately have to turn to go into the second room which was just big enough for a bed. The only light was coming from the front door, so the back room hardly gets light at all.
I walked in, and turned to look into the back room. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything, I thought that no one was there. Then I slowly started to see the outline of a small, dark figure hunched over at the foot of the bed. I was startled that there was in fact someone there. I walked in and saw an old man seated basically in fetal position, his body all contorted. He was just skin and bones and he had no clothes on.
The small room smelled awful and then I noticed that the newly delivered bed as well as the newly cleaned floor had large amounts of poop sitting in areas near Dominic. What the interns had cleaned only the day before was already back to how it was. Jennie had warned the interns what to expect before going on Monday, but when I went in that day I did not think that it could affect me in the way that it did.
We went and looked for his brother who Jennie had given the diapers and protein powder to. I then found a neighbor who helped translate because he spoke Creole much better than he did Spanish so it was hard to communicate. After much struggle, the brother and neighbor, along with myself and Rebecca, were able to put his diaper on. I gave him his protein drink that Rebecca had made and he drank it all down so quickly.
After we had done everything I stood there looking at him, wondering if he felt humiliated and hopeless because he was completely exposed as we all tried to put his diaper on, the whole time his brother yelling at him for not cooperating. My eyes filled with tears and I could not stop. His family and friends and neighbors were not doing anything for him, and he just sits day after day in his own filth.
I have been back twice since that day, and both times Dominic has been without a diaper, sitting on the floor in his own waste, and each time I have sought out a neighbor to help get him back onto the bed with a clean pamper on.
My heart breaks every time I see him and in his unchanging condition.
summary of the past couple weeks
The week after my family came to visit, another group from the Austin Stone came. We divided them up into three smaller groups. One group worked at the land in Tamarindo, continuing making progress with the education center, another group did English camp with Alexia, and the final group was with me in the kids classes. Some of my really good friends came on this trip, so it was so good to see them here, and we were able to spend a little time catching up in the evenings which was great. There was so much progress made while they were here. Much work was done at the land, getting it one step closer to being ready by the fall, and many of the group members really connected with some of the kiddos.
The following week was a little more low key. Two teachers that worked with Makarios last year, Brian and Bethany, were in town for several weeks. We teamed together and taught classes in Pancho Mateo and Chichigua on Monday and Wednesday. Thursday Leticia and I did a lot of organizing and cleaning up in the house, and later I tried to sit down and figure out which kids would come in the fall to the classes at the education center (which is not an easy task). (Look for another blog soon to come about what happened Tuesday of this week.)
Thursday night Alexia, Leticia, and I went and met up with Rose and her kids at the beach and stayed the night with them there. It was great to relax some, as well as do some brainstorming for the next group that is coming.
On a sad note, three more of the interns have come and gone. Barrett, Drew, and Holly who have all been here for quite some time help. The picture below is one last group photo prior to their leaving.
The following week was a little more low key. Two teachers that worked with Makarios last year, Brian and Bethany, were in town for several weeks. We teamed together and taught classes in Pancho Mateo and Chichigua on Monday and Wednesday. Thursday Leticia and I did a lot of organizing and cleaning up in the house, and later I tried to sit down and figure out which kids would come in the fall to the classes at the education center (which is not an easy task). (Look for another blog soon to come about what happened Tuesday of this week.)
Thursday night Alexia, Leticia, and I went and met up with Rose and her kids at the beach and stayed the night with them there. It was great to relax some, as well as do some brainstorming for the next group that is coming.
On a sad note, three more of the interns have come and gone. Barrett, Drew, and Holly who have all been here for quite some time help. The picture below is one last group photo prior to their leaving.
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