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.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Back by Popular Demand

So, it's been a few days since I've posted anything and I figured that everyone is waiting with baited breath to hear about my latest adventures. Well, I went into Santiago this past weekend to pick up a flashy going-out shirt (green, of course) and ended up getting some snazzy pants as well. Together, those two things cost under $30. Score.

I finally made it to my service site this past Wednesday. I'm going to the Cien Fuegos School, where I am helping out in one of the classrooms. The principle showed us around and told us to go into one of two classrooms. However, as I was walking out to recess, I was grabbed and forcibly pulled inside another classroom. Since I was already there and being mobbed by small children, I decided to help out there that day. When I finally did make it out to recess, I made the mistake of giving one kid a piggy-back ride. Instantly, there were 4 more kids crawling over me and fighting to use me as a human jungle-gym. I made it back to the classroom after struggling to get away. I stumbled my way through telling the teacher I was there to help. It was frustrating. The kids in the class didn't stop talking the whole time, even when the teacher would yell at them. Not only were pens and pencils flying across the room, several fights broke out during the two hours I was there. By the way the teacher acted, this was just business as usual. All I could say were the few stock phrases I knew, "sientate," "paga atencion," "silencio," and "pare."

Probably the hardest thing to see was that the few kids who were paying attention could hardly hear above the din of the classroom. By the way a few of them were taking notes (the rest weren't even trying), they didn't understand what the words on the board meant: they were copying the symbols without knowing what they represented. Near the end of the class, I tried to work with a few of the kids on their multiplication. Let's just say, it's incredibly hard to explain in Spanish. By the end though, I think I taught one of them how to multiply by 10's. I just hope it sticks with him and I don't have to reteach it next week.

Things around ILAC have been pretty slow the last few days because people are getting sick. I felt like a nurse, running around and checking up on those people who weren't feeling well. I spent a lot of time with one of the people who was sick, but I'll leave that there. I love helping people, so it was nice to lend a hand when it was needed. Hopefully, no more of us catch what seems to be going around. I'm not feeling too hot today, but I think I'm just tired from the weekend and running around the whole time.

Hasta luego,

Gris

Saturday, January 15, 2011

This past week...

This has been the busiest week of my life. It feels like it has been over a month, but tonight marks the 7 day mark. I'll share the two most important parts of my week: dancing and Cien Fuegos.

For those of you that know me, I'm a pretty lousy dancer. I somehow have fun at dances, but I never really looked forward to them. So, when I was informed that we would be having dancing lessons in Merengue and Bachata, I was worried. The classes were alright, and on Wednesday night, we had a little dance in the comedor (cafeteria) of the ILAC center. I absolutely loved it, and I didn't want to stop. I was able to have fun and actually put a pop in my hip movements. During these next few months, I'm looking forward to practicing and getting better. It's the most comfortable I've ever felt on a dance floor.

Cien Fuegos, which translates to "100 fires," is a town built next to a large trash dump. The city is straight out of a textbook describing third-world countries. To see those pictures is one thing, but to experience them is something entirely different. To see wild roosters, wild dogs, and malnourished children roaming the streets littered with debris nearly made my heart explode with pity. I was overwhelmed by the entire city, and, as we stood on a decaying basketball court, I could see the slum extended for miles. The rusted roofs glinted in the sunlight, and the school that we were visiting was comprised of 13 classrooms for over 800 kids. They weren't there that day, because yesterday was a holiday, and the kids usually don't want to go after a holiday. The dirt roads were pock-marked with holes and tainted by an air of desperation. The children were really the only ones smiling. That school will be my service site this next semester, and I hope those children can get me through it. I will need to focus on their joy and innocence to fight against the desolation that surrounds them.

Adios

Monday, January 10, 2011

Arrived at last

It's been a busy few days. It actually feels like a month has passed since we first got here. We've only been here two full days, and tonight is our third night. Too much has been jammed into those days. On our first day, we rode into Santiago via guagua (a van). There were 24 people in there at once, and I'm not sure I could even move when everyone was packed in. I can't say too much right now, but it's been more living in these past 2 days than I've ever had before.

Currently, I'm incredibly tired because a rooster outside my window doesn't know the meaning of dawn. He just crows away at 2 and 3 in the morning. This city never seems to sleep, which is a big shock coming from suburbia, where everything shuts down after 9 or 10 at night. I got to sleep to noise outside my window and I wake up to noise outside my window.


The most frustrating thing at the moment is my terrible Spanish. There's a lot more to communicating with people than the language being spoken, but it helps a great deal. I've managed to blurt out some awkwardly prounounced phrases, but not much more than that. I try to keep up with the conversation, but I end up latching onto the few basic words I can understand and can't go deeper.


I'm going to go journal now, but I thought I'd post an update. Vaya con dios

Gray

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Before I leave...

It's strange, there is so much to do before I head out on Saturday. I thought I was doing pretty well and crossing things off my lists in a timely fashion, but there still seems like a lot that needs to be done. I feel like this most of the time, but it is more noticeable now; I suppose leaving the country makes you more aware of those types of things. Honestly, I want to read more than anything else right now. I just finished the Alchemist, and, while it was fairly preachy near the end, it was a great book and applicable to my upcoming experience (thanks Elizabeth for suggesting it). Best of luck to those of you packing to head to the DR or to head back to Omaha. I'll write again from the other side of the Gulf.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Merry New Year to All, and to All a Good Afternoon

Last night, I chose to go to the New Year's celebration in Downtown Dallas. It was a lot of fun, but, mostly, it got me excited for this coming year. I can't guarantee how I'm going to change, what I'm going to see, or how I'm going to react, but I can guarantee that I will approach it with an open mind and an open heart. It's a strange feeling, standing at the edge of such a precipice as the four months in the Dominican Republic that await me. I cannot wait to leave, to get down there, but I want to stay. When I first got back, I felt frustrated and restless. I still feel that way because I'm ready to get off the sidelines and start actually making a difference. I can feel the weight of all my obligations here as I write letters for people next semester, which makes me hesitate. I'm sad to leave all those people behind, especially family, for such a long time.

However, yesterday morning, I awoke from a strange dream. I didn't know where I was, but, somehow, everyone I knew was in the same place. There were people from Carrollton, people from high school, people from Creighton, and my whole extended family. I went around, hugging people (of course) and saying goodbye before I left. When I started to reach the edge of the room, I started crying, because I realized everything I was leaving behind. I woke up with tears soaking into my pillow, but I woke up with a slightly different perspective. The only other time I had cried for that reason was on Freshman Retreat and on Encounter, when I started crying because I realized how lucky and fortunate I have been. It was the same sort of realization, of how blessed I have been with all the people I have met and befriended who have pushed me up to this point in my life. I couldn't have done it alone, and it would be an insult not to go through with this next semester and not realize my potential. So, I enter this New Year with a renewed determination to make the most of my time away from so many of those great people and with a rekindled desire to open myself fully to what lies ahead. As my Dad says, "I'm just waiting to hit my prime." I don't plan on peaking anytime soon, and this next semester will not be the pinnacle of my life, but a stepping stone to something bigger and something greater.

Gray