Sunday, January 30, 2011

Island Paradise

Howdy (that's probably the first time many of you have heard me say that),

It's been an eventful and busy last week or so. So, what's happened. Well, it's nice that you should ask. Last week, I was not able to go to my service site on Monday. It was a national holiday (Juan Pablo Duarte Day, one of the Fathers of Dominican Independence), so there was no school. Instead, I went to another place called El Hospicio. It is a hospice where about 80 residents stay. My job was to walk around and talk to the people there. I knew it would be difficult, since my Spanish is sub-par at best, but I figured I would be alright. I was not prepared for what awaited me. I thought they would want to talk, to chat, even with someone who couldn't quite understand what they were saying. I know that's all my parents want, especially my mom. She usually just wants someone to talk to. (Love you mom!) I tried to go around and make conversation, but most of the people there didn't want to talk. The first man I approached would answer my questions briefly and then sit in silence until I pieced together another. He wouldn't elaborate or ask any questions of his own. After talking to me for about 5 minutes or so, he stood up and hobbled off without explanation. It was a tad disconcerting, but I just wandered about, looking for someone else with which to talk. I soon found another man who I talked to for a while. For the longest time, I thought that he was saying he was 108 years old, but he was actually trying to give me a history lecture about Duarte. So, that misunderstanding aside, it was a halfway decent conversation. Overall though, the place was fairly depressing. The majority of the residents did not want to talk, did not want to interact, did not want to move. It sapped my strength and made the time I was there much more difficult.

On Wednesday, I went back to the school. Despite the wise advice of one Justin McCarthy, I was not prepared. I went to the classroom I was actually supposed to go to last week. Well, to start off, recess was great. I destroyed 5 little kids in tug-of-war, even though I was walking up a steep hill. It was nice to be the biggest kid on the playground for once, even if that made every kid ask me to pick them up and toss them around. It was sobering to realize how small all of the kids are compared to those in the States, and it's mostly because of malnutrition. After recess, I made my way to my actual classroom. It was hard to tell the kids I had seen last week that, while I had said I would be back this week, I had been mistaken. Let's just say the rest of the time was a steep downhill slope. While the class last week was out of control, this class redefined that word. I stood in the middle of the classroom trying to mandate order, which, in retrospect, was pointless, because nothing I did had any impact. I was so frustrated I wasn't smiling. Trust me, that is not a common occurrence. Hopefully, next week will be better and I can have more fun with it.

This past weekend we went to the Capitol of Santo Domingo. We were only there for a day and a half, but it was sweet. We staying in the colonial area, which is fairly touristy. Went to some museums, got ripped off at a restaurant, but, overall, it was a great time. The hostel we stayed at was incredible, especially breakfast. Now, I have to work on the Spanish homework I have. Yay. toodles.

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