More great photos!
1) how many people can you fit in a bus?
2) my route! the youth i am working with this summer : )
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Well friends, I don't know if I will be able to make myself leave... :)
This week was fantastic! I've been soakin up the caribbean sun, empowering some amazing dominican and US youth, eating mangoes and tamarindos, making friends, driving through beautiful countryside, dancing, and learning tons every day! This is really one of those key moments in my life and it will be so hard to leave it!
A highlight from this week would be the other day when I was sitting with one of my vols chatting on a terrace, overlooking the lush mountainside, when Nicole, an adorable little girl with braided hair and two front teeth missing, came up to me and said,
"Raquel, el es su hijo?" (Rachel is he your son?)
"No, pero el otro si." (No but the other boy is.--he's Chinese-American)
For the remainder of the day, she refered to Wayne as my son. So I tried to explain:
"Nicole, fue una broma. No es mi hijo." (Nicole, it was a joke. He's not my son.)
"Y porque dijo que es su hijo?" (then why did you say he was your son?)
So now, everyone thinks Wayne is my son...sarcasm does not work here, but I'm okay with Wayne being my son, he's pretty much wonderful.
A small accomplishment from this week would be a successful invention of spaghetti eggplant marinara. (Denise and make the dream team in the kitchen)
Hope you all are well and talk soon!
Rachel
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hello friends and family! I hope you all are doing well!
I am doing well here! I have been so busy I barely know where to begin in updating you…My staff and I have finally more or less set up a homey staff house. We are still working on getting some more furniture…However, we have a large shakira poster hanging on our wall which is much more of a necessity.
Just an overview of how AMIGOS works so I can better exlain what I’ve been doing:
1) Volunteers—Usually high school age kids who train over the year to spend 3 months in Central America with AMIGOS. Each country that has an AMIGOS project recieves around 50-70 volunteers. These volunteers arrive in country, receive a briefing from staff and are sent in partnerships of 2-3 to small, rural communities where they will lead youth camps covering public health topics and they will collaborate with the community to complete a small community project. In our project, we will also have Dominican vols! : )
2) Supervisors—Usually college age. These young people will be visiting 3-4 communities weekly in order to support the volunteers in whatever way they need and help them through the community project process. They will plan volunteer briefing, midterm and debriefing.
3) Senior staff—Usually college age or college graduates. There are three positions (Senior project supervisor-me, Asistant Project Director, and Project Director). As senior staff, we are the main contacts with partner agencies and we make all big decisions regarding the project. Also, we arrive a week early to set up the project logistics.
Sooo…this week Senior Staff and I planned supervisor briefing. Also, I went to the capital city to set up a briefing site. It was difficult to find, but I met a very friendly taxi driver who helped me a lot. Once I got there, I met with the nun who was about 4 feet tall and extremely kind. I hung out with her for awhile and she fed me (she was quite enthusastic about my willingness to eat anything). Then, I went to the airport to pick up the supervisors. Their plane was scheduled to come in at 740 so they arrived right on Dominican time (1230 am). We spent the night in the capital and left the next day at 5:30am to get a bus to San Juan. Anyhow, then we did briefing for the next 2 days for the supervisors and today I went to Azua to set up the medical contacts and the youth counterparts training site. It was all quite busy!
More interestingly, this place is beautiful! Every day, I look at the sharp green edges of these ancient, resting volcanoes and I am overcome with the desire to climb up into them. Everywhere I turn, there are large butterflies fluttering around gorgeous tropical flowers, celebrating color. Everywhere I walk, I see beautiful children, smiling at me with curiousity.
This is not to suggest that I am ignorant to the poverty which surrounds me as well. Some of those beautiful children beg for my pocket change.
Nevertheless, there is much beauty to be found.
I love you all and I will try to write more soon!
I am doing well here! I have been so busy I barely know where to begin in updating you…My staff and I have finally more or less set up a homey staff house. We are still working on getting some more furniture…However, we have a large shakira poster hanging on our wall which is much more of a necessity.
Just an overview of how AMIGOS works so I can better exlain what I’ve been doing:
1) Volunteers—Usually high school age kids who train over the year to spend 3 months in Central America with AMIGOS. Each country that has an AMIGOS project recieves around 50-70 volunteers. These volunteers arrive in country, receive a briefing from staff and are sent in partnerships of 2-3 to small, rural communities where they will lead youth camps covering public health topics and they will collaborate with the community to complete a small community project. In our project, we will also have Dominican vols! : )
2) Supervisors—Usually college age. These young people will be visiting 3-4 communities weekly in order to support the volunteers in whatever way they need and help them through the community project process. They will plan volunteer briefing, midterm and debriefing.
3) Senior staff—Usually college age or college graduates. There are three positions (Senior project supervisor-me, Asistant Project Director, and Project Director). As senior staff, we are the main contacts with partner agencies and we make all big decisions regarding the project. Also, we arrive a week early to set up the project logistics.
Sooo…this week Senior Staff and I planned supervisor briefing. Also, I went to the capital city to set up a briefing site. It was difficult to find, but I met a very friendly taxi driver who helped me a lot. Once I got there, I met with the nun who was about 4 feet tall and extremely kind. I hung out with her for awhile and she fed me (she was quite enthusastic about my willingness to eat anything). Then, I went to the airport to pick up the supervisors. Their plane was scheduled to come in at 740 so they arrived right on Dominican time (1230 am). We spent the night in the capital and left the next day at 5:30am to get a bus to San Juan. Anyhow, then we did briefing for the next 2 days for the supervisors and today I went to Azua to set up the medical contacts and the youth counterparts training site. It was all quite busy!
More interestingly, this place is beautiful! Every day, I look at the sharp green edges of these ancient, resting volcanoes and I am overcome with the desire to climb up into them. Everywhere I turn, there are large butterflies fluttering around gorgeous tropical flowers, celebrating color. Everywhere I walk, I see beautiful children, smiling at me with curiousity.
This is not to suggest that I am ignorant to the poverty which surrounds me as well. Some of those beautiful children beg for my pocket change.
Nevertheless, there is much beauty to be found.
I love you all and I will try to write more soon!
Monday, June 1, 2009
How many people can YOU fit on a motorcycle? In the DR, 3 is nothing...
Hello everyone!
I hope it is going well! I'm finally here! I just arrived on Wednesday and I've already helped lead a training session for our Dominican volunteers. It was amazing/busy/crazy. I learned a lot about leading groups, especially in a different language. Although it was very wearing to be leading activities for 3 days straight in Spanish, it was also very rewarding. The kids that I worked with are so dedicated in helping the communities around them to develop improvement projects. I feel that a lot of people here are really dedicated to working as a group and this alone is an amazing asset!
I'm excited to walk around and learn more about San Juan de la Managua (the city where I will be residing this summer). It's a beautiful place surrounded by two gorgeous mountain ranges which I hope I will be able to climb at some point. It is mango season which automatically makes my summer 10 times more amazing. It is very interesting watching the people here. Everyone has been very kind and helpful and friendly. There is a strong sense of curiousity in knowing others and a tendency to be open and friendly to all the people you meet. It seems to be strange to others that I enjoy spending quite time alone, but I already do so many strange things that they seem to accept it as no big deal. From what I've observed, silence is nonexistant. There are always people talking, or motorcycles roaring, or music blazing (usually a combination of all three). However, my house is in a small residential area that is more or less quiet. I do love the joy that seems to be brimming over on every corner. Whenever there is music, someone will begin to dance. Whenever you meet someone on the street, big, genuine smiles and hugs are exchanged. There is always laughter!
Take care and I will try to write again soon!
Love,
Rachel
I hope it is going well! I'm finally here! I just arrived on Wednesday and I've already helped lead a training session for our Dominican volunteers. It was amazing/busy/crazy. I learned a lot about leading groups, especially in a different language. Although it was very wearing to be leading activities for 3 days straight in Spanish, it was also very rewarding. The kids that I worked with are so dedicated in helping the communities around them to develop improvement projects. I feel that a lot of people here are really dedicated to working as a group and this alone is an amazing asset!
I'm excited to walk around and learn more about San Juan de la Managua (the city where I will be residing this summer). It's a beautiful place surrounded by two gorgeous mountain ranges which I hope I will be able to climb at some point. It is mango season which automatically makes my summer 10 times more amazing. It is very interesting watching the people here. Everyone has been very kind and helpful and friendly. There is a strong sense of curiousity in knowing others and a tendency to be open and friendly to all the people you meet. It seems to be strange to others that I enjoy spending quite time alone, but I already do so many strange things that they seem to accept it as no big deal. From what I've observed, silence is nonexistant. There are always people talking, or motorcycles roaring, or music blazing (usually a combination of all three). However, my house is in a small residential area that is more or less quiet. I do love the joy that seems to be brimming over on every corner. Whenever there is music, someone will begin to dance. Whenever you meet someone on the street, big, genuine smiles and hugs are exchanged. There is always laughter!
Take care and I will try to write again soon!
Love,
Rachel
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