Sorry

I´m over blogging. So...if you want to, just talk to me when I get home. It will be soon, 2 weeks!

All is beyond well.
Jamie.

Time is Passing Quickly!!!

I don’t wanna leavvvveeee! I know I have to and I know that it will be fun when I’m home, but I’m pretty bummed about leaving my kids and the families for 2 whole months! Granted I still have a few weeks here and boy am I trying to make the most of them. But, let’s see, what happened this week. Ha a lot.

            First of all, one of the kids in our class has been out for 2 whole weeks with some kind of sickness. The exact cause is unknown, lost in translation. I hope he is okay, he is one of the smart ones. His mother is a teacher in El Estretcho where they live.  Thoughts for him.

            Secondly, let’s talk Halloween. Anna, Loryn and I, being the young fun women we are, slightly missed that we weren’t home to party for Halloween. They don’t celebrate Halloween here, or I should say most don’t because apparently there was a huge Halloween party that we didn’t get the memo about, so we brought Halloween to the Dominican. Using face paint that we had left over from carnivals with the kids and 700 pesos worth of candy Anna and I painted our faces and went around Pueblo Nuevo delivering candy in costume. I was a vampire; Anna was a butterfly. It was soooo fun. The kids and adults got a huge kick out of it and we looked like some crazy Americans that day! Not the best constructed costumes ever—didn’t have much to work with—but they got the point. J Too fun. Then to top off our Halloween, Chris, Anna and I drove into town for dinner at an American restaurant we sometimes go to (Steve’s) to deliver candy to the yachters there who wouldn’t need much explanation. Lots of looks, lots of fun.

            Thirdly, Wednesday was hands down one of my top five favorite nights here. Every Wednesday at this one bar they have Dominican karaoke so we set off to do that. It was me, Chris, Anna, the parents of one of the kids in my class (Yolanda y Boho) and the 18 year old kid that I tutor, Ney. Well I guess that Wednesday it was some holiday, day of the dead or something else I don’t know (so much for them not celebrating Halloween) so karaoke was not happening. So we drove into Luperon to find something to do—nothing. We drove into El Estretcho to find something to do—nothing. (We don’t get out much so we were a bit desperate.) We finally stopped at a supermarket in La Sabana to regroup and decide what we wanted to do. Well like every super market here, there was music, chairs and beer. So we stayed. In the Dominican Republic people gather at supermarkets as a social endevour, however, for a Wednesday night we were semi responsible for getting the party rolling. So between 3 boys and 3 girls, we danced the night away until they closed. I don’t know if I can go back to American dancing after living down here. My favorite style of dance is Merengue because it is easy for me to do, but Bachata is cool too. The Mambo and I are not friends because I look stupid doing it and can’t keep up with my partner’s lead.

            Fourthly, I just wanna say that I absolutely adore my afternoon class in Pueblo Nuevo with the preteens. Doing that class makes me know that I want to teach for the rest of my life--and not to preschoolers. Yesterday 4 of my students came over to my house after class to learn more English. Their desire to learn really made me feel good. I am so nervous about my students English for the two months we are all gone. If they don’t practice then we will have to start over…not completely over, but still take a leap back. We’ll see, only time will tell.

            Fifthly, I found out that dating is impossible here. The mindsets about it are too different.

Welp, that’s all. I have an awesome week ahead of me. More on that next week.

Happy Halloween!

We are officially landowners! The founder of the mission has made it a goal for the past ten years to own our own piece of property in the Dominican and after a LOT of trial and error the time has finally come and we own an absolutely gorgeous piece of land that’s all ours. I have no idea when we will begin to build shelters and the kitchen considering the land was the majority of our savings, but within the next year surely. How exciting! ¡Que Bueno! So now Bill can finally go home in peace knowing all the property stuff is settled. Now it is time to start fundraising like mad men. (And women J)

Anna came down this week and will be staying with us the next month. She’s a sweet girl from Connecticut who will be composing a booklet/brochure about the families of the kids in our school who people can sponsor. Hopefully this booklet will help us to gain sponsorships on an annual basis. Hopefully. Bill is seriously pushing for more consistent money flow for the program, which is necessary. But yeah Anna seems super energetic and my plan is to teach her how to ride the motorcycle and hopefully learn to ride the bike with her on the back of it. That would be beneficial for both of us.

I really feel like I have a place down here. More and more people are inviting me over for dinner, giving me fruits or other little gifts and shouting my name in the street as opposed to Loryn’s, which is great! I actually have my own presence and it is exciting. I am getting very sentimental about leaving, but I know I’ll be back. My latest internal dilemma has been whether or not I want to postpone graduate school to stay down here longer…and more permanently. It is so meaningful to be here. It makes your whole life make sense; it is hard to see myself returning home for good. I don’t know; I need to see how I feel when I go home. Suggestions on this topic would be magical, considering that no one has bothered to give me any feedback on my blog lately! J But I will keep writing because this stuff matters.

Oh and my leg is healing very nicely from my bike accident. Once the bruising is gone I don’t even think I will have scars from this one! Adios!

Take care, God Bless.

Jamie

“…Because I know it’s my destiny to leave more than a trace of myself in this place. I wanna do something that matters, say something different, something that sets the whole world on its ear. I wanna do something better with the time I’ve been given. I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life. And leave nothing less than something that says I was here…”                                    ---Lady Antebellum

Some More Stuff

This week has been pretty eventful as well; it was both fun and folly. But anyways, it was Loryn’s birthday this week. She turned 28 and down here the people act as if she’s an “old maid”. I always remind them that in the states that it is not as unusual as here to not have a spouse, boyfriend or children at that age. And occasionally I jokingly remind them that she is too busy doing God’s work to mingle with Dominicanos. So on her birthday we decorated the preschool with balloons (which is always a chaotic and special treat for the kids) and had a big pink cake, which read “Felicidades Prof Lorin”…pretty cute. And then we all went to Sandra’s house in El Canal that night for Birthday dinner and played cards. Slightly sad I won’t be celebrating my birthday down here because I will already be in the states Oh well.

So now that it’s the home stretch of my trip I’m filled with mixed emotions. When I think of going home it is the same feeling you get when you are anticipating a trip to Disney World. However, I keep thinking about everything I’m going to miss here and how two months is a long time to be gone from here. What about the kids English? What about my Spanish?..eek! But, knowing the Dominicans as I do, they will welcome me right back as if I never left. When groups of Americans come down for a week to build houses the families here talk about them and brag about them as if they had known them for years! Relationships are very important down here. And it is important, while you are here, to maintain them or they get fussy about it. “Why haven’t you visited?” etc etc. Unlike most of them I have a job that I am busy with so its difficult for them to understand that there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

However! I did visit Roseanna’s baby boy (the one I first met while he was still attached to his mother) and he looks big and healthy. I’m thrilled, although, they haven’t named him yet. Not positive, but in some cultures they wait to name the baby until they know it will survive. This may be her mindset because she had previously lost a baby shortly after birth however some people, when I’ve asked, just say she’s weird. Ha. Everyone has their reasons for the things we do.

Yesterday I went horseback riding with Chris and he showed me the most beautiful view that I’ve seen since I’ve been here. We were on top of a small hill/mountain on a farm overlooking the Luperon harbor. Ah! So pretty at that time of day too! Lovely. Also that day, in the morning, Bill, Chris, Loryn and I walked the property that we are buying for the Project. Finally after 10 years Bill’s mission project will have its own land to stand on. The problem is, however, that it eliminates most of our budget and everyone is on pins and needles right now. We. Need. Money. You wanna help? That’s how, write a check. Tithe 10% of your paycheck as the Bible says to and give it to us! ……Okay okay, yes that’s a little extreme for most. We are only a humble organization and need any and all help we can get. Only three people live in the Dominican right now, before me only two. That’s how small the organization in country is, but the work we do is substantial. If my blog followers ever get the chance they should check out the Village Mountain Mission website to get a better idea of what it is I’m doing here.

I’d like to dedicate this blog to the Northland HS Band Family of my generation, Andrew Brennen and the late Aaron Miller. You have been in my thoughts consistently within these last two weeks and you are in my prayers.

Ask and You Shall Receive!

Welp, be careful what you wish for! This week definitely made up for the “boring” week I had last week. It started on Sunday…or should I say about 3:45 AM Monday morning. I got a knock on my door…it was Elba, granddaughter of the woman I share a house with..and all I could comprehend half asleep (and in Spanish) was “necesitamos tu carro”….”Roseanna”….”bebe, ahora…”. And that was all I needed, a woman in my village, Roseanna (mother of Angel—my favorite preschooler) was having her baby and needed a ride to the hospital. Naturally I assumed she was in labor, but nope! As a group of men carried her to the car I quickly realized --after seeing the umbilical attached to a small blanket as well as her coo-cah—that she had already had her baby in her house, which she had done with all of her kids because she doesn’t like doctors. So I had a baby straight out the womb exposed in this BEYOND SUCIO (dirty) station wagon. I drove her to the hospital in Luperon without incident and Chris brought her and the baby home that afternoon. The baby is gorgeous…he is the 5^th child for Roseanna…4^th boy in a row. Poor Mamita (the oldest and only girl.) J

This is one of those times in my life where I feel like I was put in the right place at the right time. That baby was sent to us the week Loryn was in the states and I had her car in my village (we live in different villages) Any other time and there wouldn’t have been transportation available for who knows how long on account of how late it was and how we live in the boonies. Perfect timing God, rock on! J

So anyways, it was the second week without Loryn at the preschool and it did not go as smoothly as the first week. I will credit that to two things. 1.) I work better with Sujer and this was her week off, so it was Suni in her stead. And 2.) There was electricity Monday and Tuesday night, meaning the students most likely stayed up as long as the electricity was on, leaving them cranky. Oh and let’s not forget, the car is out of commission once again. This time it is transmission. Although I must say, I’m learning quite a bit about cars these days. It’s time for the mission to kick fundraising into high gear to get a new car down here. Maybe a safe one? Who knows, just a thought. And a muffler would be nice too! Throw in some seat belts and we will have struck gold! So as of now Chris is responsible for picking up all the kids for school in his truck. No one is happy about it.

Good-ish news: after the title/deal for the first property for the mission fell through we have since found a new property that Bill says would be perfect. The problem: our financial security is in jeopardy because down here it is a gamble to get a title. So you wanna put money down to secure that the property goes to you, but if the title falls through in the end you will lose what you put down and can get screwed. The reason it is so difficult is because here property remains “in the family” so more often than not the land is divided/owned by multiple family members who may or may not be available or willing to sign over a title. We’ll see. God willing it all works out.

A bunch of other stuff happened this week, but its Dominican gossip and personal stuff which would be difficult to explain and be boring for you so I’ll nix it. But believe you me, this week was eventful. I have a headache now. Ha… But seriously, I have a headache, so I’m gonna go. Love you all! Take care.

<3 James

I'm sorry Buckeyes

I really don't have much to report/don't feel like blogging today so I'll just sum up some things.
Loryn has been gone this past week and this coming week so I have been flying solo with the preschool class with the exception of Suni and Sujer who rotate helping at the school. No blood, same old same old. Except on Tuesday the car got two flat tires, but since then its been fine (knock on wood.) Also this week Bill (my boss) has been here and he pimped out the motorcycle so I'm excited to get back to driving that. He also got a chance to peek into my English class in the afternoons and said he was pretty excited about what I was doing with the older kids. He asks me to speak at the board meeting in December which I'm pretty excited about :)
Let's see...I am pretty upset when I think about how badly the buckeyes are doing back at home..ugh. But other than that my life is stellar. Sorry it was a pretty timid week so I don't have much to report...to me I'm getting into such a routine that nothing specific stands out to talk about like it did in the beginning. lol.
So hopefully I'll have more to report next week.
God Bless, Jamie.

Ït´s my life....and it´s now or never.

Ït is very difficult to only blog once a week, because so much happens here over the course of a week that in order to get it all in I have to half ass it. So when I get home, you can get details from me :) As an update for you...I have officially decided to sign on for the second half of the school year. I will be coming back January-May in 2012. (For those who don´t know I will be home in December and for about half of January.)
I must say that things have really turned around for me here. I feel a part of Pueblo Nuevo (the village I live in) and I would say I have a live here now. In the beginning I felt very frustrated and alone; the first few weeks were definitely an adapatation period for me. But now! Now I am speaking Spanish-- badly-- enough that I am able to hold conversations. I also spend less and less time by myself because I am developing new relationships everyday. (Here people are incredibly offended if you don´t visit and maintain relationships..this in itself is a job!) One woman, Carmen, scolded me for not coming to visit as often as I was...I was at her house three times that week.
I have three solid Dominican amigos who are all my age, Elba, Freddie and Josie...I play cards with them and hang out at night. Last night was especially fun, but I will save those stories for another day. I am very happy with my housing arrangements, it feels like the right place for me to be. I love my village although I do get the occasional sketch-ball trying to marry me.
Let´s see...the 29th I attended what would be similar to a big cookout at a woman´s house to celebrate Santo Miguel (Saint Michael). There was a lot of food, a lot of prayer. I was glad I was invited to be involved although I was late because I had to teach. Oh yeah! The teaching! I started teaching solo in the Pueblo Nuevo school in the afternoons Tuesday and Thursday. So far it has been lovely...the teacher isn´t even there when I am teaching. I think that reflects poorly on her, but it is not a big deal because I enjoy having my own authority in my classroom. I was super nervous the first day, but it came surprisingly natural to me. Tuesday was the day that I realized whole-heartedly that teaching is what I want to be doing with my life. It truly is the gateway to success in all aspects of life. Although, with the kids here it is disheartening to me that I can only give them a small piece of myself...and that after this year I will be gone. I wish there was more I could do, but I am so looking forward to eventually continuing my own education in the states. I also feel bad that I can only reach certain students (those who attend in the afternoons). Already I have had siblings of my students who attend in the morning ask why they can´t learn English too..heart breaking.
And sorry for getting emotional, but while we are talking about heart breaking issues...I discovered this week that my favorite student in the preschool may have HIV. We want conformation from our American doctor who works with us, but that will have to wait. I hope we are incorrect.
Anyways....I´m gonna get off here..we are going to the river later and I have a lot of stuff to do before then. Adios! Take care.

James

Dominican Schools

Exciting news!!! Starting this coming week on Tuesdays and Thursdays I will be teaching English to 6th and 7th graders actually in the Dominican School for one hours each day. This is in addition to the preschool class I teach with Loryn in the weekday mornings. I´m super excited. So now I teach preschool in the mornings, tutor English in the afternoons on Mondays and Wednesdays and teach in the school in Pueblo Nuevo on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Busy busy busy! But awesome. The class in the Dominican school is more of the age group I am interested in as opposed to preschoolers and although one hour may not sound like I lot of time in the states, here it is a ton! On Thursday I sat in on the class to get a feel for their school day and let me tell you, I was less than impressed and very very disheartened. I have never felt so blessed for the education I have.
For starters, than are not in school all day like we are at home. The day is broken up into two sessions...half the kids go in the morning and half the kids go in the afternoon. (Similar to some of our kindergartens, only it is for all ages!) This is partially due to poor standards of education and lack of space. Poverty...go figure. This is the day that I observed: (afternoon session)
2:00 pm- Students arrive to school. Teacher was late. However, they rely on taxis to get them everywhere so they are on Dominican time.
2:22 pm- School ¨began¨ 22 minutes ago, but the teacher ran off leaving the class unruly and unproductive. I didn´t interject.
2:29 pm- Teacher returns, still no instruction given for the day. Apparently the teacher´s job is to sit and grade the work that they children have copied from the board, but she doesn´t give any explanations.
2:34 pm- They are doing math problems that I find unnecessary. Examples: 5432 x 68, 7654 x 68, 9842 x 42, 8535 x 42. At first I thought, who needs to know their times tables up to 68? But, perhaps I was thinking limitedly, its not like they have household calculators or phones so if they don´t know how to multiply then they are screwed, however for the most part I found it to be busy work.
2:51 pm- Teacher finally addresses the class to hurry up so she can switch the problems on the board.
(My thought at this point: What are the kids supposed to be doing while the teacher spends all thisa time grading their work? Twindle their thumbs? Because that is what they were doing. What a waste of time...)
2:54 pm- Kids do more problems on the board.
3:37pm- Teacher rings a bell...guess it is time for snack and recess. I asked the teacher how long recess was...she said 20 mins. Teachers gab inside while kids play outside...there is no supervision at recess, these kids range from ages 5-13)
4:37 pm- Obviously longer than 20 mins.... no more recess and kids return to class.
4:51 pm- Kids copy homework problems from the board and line up to leave for the day.

Yeah...that is it. A Dominican Education. So my hour with them will go a long way.
As a side note, I noticed that the workbooks that they use have a ¨fill in the date¨portion on each page and it states ___ de _________ 19__. These school books haven´t been updated in at least 12 years! I suddenly have a whole new appreciation for OSU charging us an arm and a leg for new book editions every year.

Oh boy, there is so much work to be done. The preschool has been very successful in our eyes and it is my hope that working with the older kids will have a similar result.
Adios!

Loryn y Jamie solamente

Welp, I am running out of things to report really...hmm, Chris left on Thursday for the states...he will be gone for 10 days or so..so its just Loryn and I. Few tribulations these past few days but nothing major. The kids got me sick...duh. Thats what happens whn you give up childcare to work at a bar for a year or two, your immune system goes down...but anyways, I didn't go to school on Friday because I was bed ridden with fevers all day. Pretty boring, but I was able to read The Shack start to finish in one day so...there's that. Luckily the doctors gave me antibiotics before they left and by Sunday I was super bored and couldn't wait to get back to school today. Then today I broke my motorcycle again..sigh. When Bill gets down here in a few weeks and sees what I have done to his bike he is gonna kill me. But hey, that's what you get for sending a girl to a foreign country and after a 20 min lesson say, "okay here's your bike!" Specifically today I dropped the bike down a small hill..whoops...and the front-end brake and the gas handle were broken, but it was still driveable. Luckily, at lunch I mentioned to the kid I've been tutoring in English that my bike was broken and he fixed it. So the gas handle works now! Woohoo! As for the brakehandle, I can get that repaired for 150 pesos in town some Saturday (about $4 give or take). So yeah, I guess that's it. Loryn and I are busy getting ready for her departure for the states in October when I have to lead class for two weeks by myself. My biggest fear is that the parents won't want me because I don't speak as much Spanish as Loryn. My second biggest fear is driving her car on busy roads...eek! Dominicans are crazy drivers! We will see how it goes. We are arranging a parents meeting with us before she goes so hopefully noon will have a problem with me. For the most part the parents are super sweet and thrilled that we are there to help their kids, whether I speak good Spanish or not it is still helping their children.
Alrighty that's about it...gotta get on facebook and do stuff for school. Talk to you next week!
<3 James

Let the Good Times Roll

I´m sorry that I didn´t post on Saturday, but it has literally been soooo busy here. I feel very productive now a days. Let´s see, let´s start with last weekend. We took our friend Palermo out for pizza in Luperon last Saturday and it was to die for...well it wasnt rice and beans...and it was the first time I had actually had a night out of the village. Nothing was really going on, but it was nice to not fall asleep at 730pm out of boredom. Then on Sunday we went to the beach. Gorgeous, of course, and we packed 20 of us...not an exaggeration, I actually counted..into Chris´ truck to take to the beach. Ugh, but it was nice because these families don´t get the opportunity to go ever, even though they only live about 2-3 miles from the shore. So then we began our second week of class and it went a LOT smoother this time around and we actually had tables and chairs so it was less hectic and I think for the most part the kids are responding to the schedule. By the end of the week no one cried anymore at school..well at the beginning, which was a huge thing. When kids cry and scream at school, neighbors and parents come running over to the school, which just disturbs class even more. Hence why we have a security guard staying outside the school now for us...he also keeps other kids away. We are very excited because we have had several parents come to us, wanting to get their kids into our school. (Remember, preschools are very rare and unheard of usually here.) It sucks to have to say no, but we simply do not have the space for more children. In future years loryn hopes to expand the program to several classes.
These past few days have been very hectic. Friday--One of our kids had pink eye, poor Julio. I was super cautious and am fine so far, Loryn was not so lucky and came down with pink eye the next day. Sorry let me backtrack..there has been a group of doctors and nurses here from Ohio here since  Thursday afternoon working with our healers and I have been with them everyday since. That being said, in Loryn´s absense Saturday, I, yes ME!, I was the sole translator between the nurses and the healers...and let me just say that it worked! I get discouraged often down here because I don´t know as much Spanish as everyone else, but with the group down here I was able to realize how much Spanish I actually do know. And it was very liberating to not have Loryn by my side as a crutch, God love her. When I am the only one struggling with the language it is difficult for me to learn because people answer things and translate for me, probably just to save time. But after these past few days I must say, I´m thrilled. One of the doctors even mistook? me for being fluent. Love it.
The group has also opened my eyes to new opportunities for myself, to give me more of an identity in the program. It looks like I may be´put in charge of overseeing the healers and making sure they are satying up on their home visits and skills once the doctors and nurses leave on Friday. (Side note, they amputated a guys toes, it was awesome.) This responsibility would give me an opportunity to do something with my free afternoons. This past week I worked with Carmen´s son Ney and kind of with her daughters in English. That was Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about an hour in the aftrernoon. I really enjoy it, but it was heartbreaking to look at the girls´homework and realize that in their school system, they were being taught improper, almost unrecognizable English. Education down here is very upsetting unfortunately. Oh and today I went with the group to climb the waterfalls. It was glorious.
There is so much more that I wanna tell you guys right now, but I am running out of internet time. I will come back into town later this week so I´ll leave you with this final bulletin: I milked a horse.
I love you all. Quote of the week is: òne can only mature to the degree that one puts others ahead of one´s self´.

Thank Goodness It´s the Weekend!

First of all: Go Bucks! I´m totally wearing my jersey and everyone thinks I´m crazy, but whatever. I heart the buckeyes. So anyways, the first week of class with the little ones went very well. You have to remember that these kids have never been on any sort of schedule before and this experience is totally new to them. At home they are only disciplined by hitting and yelling or they have no discipline at all...so, as a result they hit, yell and unfortunately bite to get what they want. It´s trying, but worthwhile. By Friday I think everyone KNEW it was Friday and needed it. The concept of a weekend break from school will either be refreshing for the kids or we will have to start all over trying to introduce them to this schedule. We will see of Monday. Loryn and I joked about how much we wanted to do a teachers´happy hour yesterday afternoon. Oh well. I napped instead. Equally nice. There is a student named Angel (irony) and he is Satan´s child. He is consistently acting up, but Loryn says I do a good job of staying on top of him. I´m pretty good at disciplining kids, but there is nothing I can do to this kid as far as punishment that will make him listen. The worst part is that he is LITERALLY ALWAYS SMILING. Oh, gosh, that´s not the worst part, the worst part is that he is probably one of my favorites, he crack me up. It´s difficult to get a point across when he is making me laugh. I´ll work on that.
So my Spanish is getting better. I am making a point of sitting with the family for longer periods of time to try and pick up more. I´m not gonna learn sitting in my room. :) The thing is most of the Dominicans I know under 25 want to learn English from me. I´m like No people, I´m supposed to be the one learning your language. Ha! But, I´m sure we can work something out where we are learning from one another. Afterall, I did come down here to teach English. Outside of the classroom is no different.
Okay well, that´s all I have to report for now! I´ve noticed that no one has commented on my past few posts...if no one is gonna follow me, then I´m not gonna waste my time on the internet writing out these updates, or at least not as often. Let me know.

Love Jamie. Go Bucks!

Back to school, back to school

Welp, we opened our school on Monday! We only had 10 kids the first three days, but as of this afternoon we have filled all 15 slots. If you don´t already know, Loryn and I have a class of 3 and 4 years olds, which isn´t really my preference (seeing as my interests lie in secondary education) however it is very important that these students adopt practices now to become successful students later on. Basic skills such as sitting in chairs, remaining on a schedule and wearing shoes for an extended period of time are foreign to these children. Our main goal is to get them accustomed to a classroom setting and teach them basic listening skills. It is common practice here in the Dominican for parents or neighbors or siblings to give kids what they want when they throw a tantrum. To them it´s easier to give in than to discipline. (They mainly discipline by hitting.) To each their own, however, our program refuses to reward children when they act up in class. Loryn and I are both pretty good, due to our experiences in child care, at tuning out kids tantrums. It is when you acknowledge them that they continue to carry on.
So anyhow, the school is going as well as we expected and we are thrilled. With the exception of no bathroom, we are sitting pretty. However, this does leave my afternoons pretty open. Ive noticed that I get far more homesick when I have downtime. So, after talking with a teenager of the family we eat lunch with, I think I have decided to start some type on English language tutoring for teenagers, ones both in school and drop outs. Loryn doesn´t seem to have much interest in this, however, it is something I would love to do more on my own. I´d love to establish more of a personal identity in these villages.¨However, there are other opportunities in the villages for an afternoon adventure...a family asked for an English tutor for their children and the local school in Pueblo Nuevo wants Loryn and I to work with those kids afterschool...however, they are still younger than my personal interests lie. Who knows, but I have to start thinking about what I want to do. It´s exciting to think about and I think working with Dominicans without Loryn or Chris will help me with my spanish in a lot of ways.
Well that´s what´s going on for now. Still using the motorcycle as my main form of transportation. Next I wanna master a stick shift when I come home. (Someone tell my brother in law that I´m coming for him :) ) Oh, last night I wrote down in my diary a list of things I won´t be doing while I´m down here...here´s a few. 1.) Taking showers with running water. 2.) Wearing make up. 3.) Styling my hair. 4.) Drinking alcohol. 5.) Getting Frisk. 6.) Having deep conversations in Spanish (not this trip anyhow, I suck too much) 7.) Use the phone without worry that the connection will cut out. 8.) Wearing a seatbelt.  And there are more...but thats a taste. Okay well I love you all. It nice to know we are sleeping underneath the same big skyyyyyy.

Love James

DONATIONS

We need donations. Honestly we need monetary donations for the program. Money goes towards our school project (which I'm involved with), the construction project (building homes) and the medical/medical education project. If you have the means to donate or are interested in fundraising please comment on this post. I know at the school we are up to our necks with very appreciated supplies, but for our necessary expenses money through donation is necessary. For those of you who don't know, The Village Mountain Mission is completely funded by donations and people in the program giving out of pocket. We also have the tax information for tax write offs, which I can get to you at individual request.

Thanks so much everyone.
(And if you have the means to visit me :) I would love it!) But, think of the village first.

Love Jamie.

Hurricane Schmurricane

Okay first of all, the Hurricane was more annoying than exciting by far. It just consistantly rained for about 2 days and floaded the roads so we couldn´t get any work done. I played a lot of Uno and got cabin fever very easily. And of course, no electricity for those two days because it would be too great of a risk with power lines, yadda yadda yadda. So okay may I just say that the United States is known for the Jonas Brothers. I just have to shake my head at that one. (By the way sorry that this blog is gonna be all over the place, I only have 15 mins left on the computer--facebook monopolized my time, whoops). Okay, yesterday we piled into Chris´truck and drove to Santiago. It was great to get out of the city and enjoy the air conditioned stores!! However on the trip home, on the seemingly beautiful day, a storm came out of nowhere and it rained the entire hour and a half ride home....did i mention 5 of us, myself included were sitting in the back of his truck? Ah, mucho agua! Very refreshing and cold at the same time, a nice change actually. You know what else is a refreshing change is waking up between 6:30 and 8 every morning and going to bed between 8-10 every night. I feel like an old woman, especially since the elderly woman I share a house with is pretty much on the same schedule but I cant help it, I´m exhausted by the end of the day--being productive mixed with the sun. whoa. and ps, I have never sweat this much in my life...and I smell horrible most of the time. But so does everyone else so I don´t feel too terrible. I had an unwelcome visitor a few nights ago...my first tarantula. It was crawling up my mosquito net when I came home. Naturally I screamed like a child and Elba came running from her house...then Elba screamed like a child and eventually we got her cousin to kill it for us. I wish it didn´t have to meet that fate but...it was my bed. I wanna learn how to pick them up like some of the natives do but Chris advises against that. Anyways, I haven´t ridden the motorcycle all week because of the rain and floaded streets but Im excited to get back at it. My goal is to master it (i.e. dont stall everytime) by the time I leave. Oh and exciting news!!! Loryn has agreed to join me at an American bar in town on some Saturdays to watch the Buckeyes games!!!!!! woooohoooooooooo. Ha, Chris says I´m "so from Ohio State". I guess a lot of buckeye fans have been through the building project.
Well guys, school starts on Monday!!! Our "escuelita" (little school) is actually coming to life. We will have 15 kids from 3 surrounding villages, we will find out today actually which staudents will be joining us. We can only take the first 15 who register. These are exciting times. The school is for 3 and 4 year olds, which aren´t exactly my thing but we are hoping to start an afterschool program for the older kids as well, which is my thing :). In the DR they only go to school for half days...they thought it was outrageous when we told them that in the US we can be in school from 7 to 4, or longer. Weird.
Okay guys well, I´m still here. This week has been a lot better for me than the first, which was trying. I still get frustrated, but not nearly as much. The people are super sweet and take good care of me. I love you all. Till next time!!

With Love, James

My Schedule and Stuff

Welp, It is definitely harder to communicate with people in the States than previously anticipated because although I have a phone,it rarely gets service and I am busy most of the day. So for everyone that I told I would call, sorry internet is the way to go. I will attempt to use the internet every Saturday when I ride into town since I don't have school on the weekends.
Well on Thursday I learned a thing or two.
1.) I learned how to ride the motorcycle!! Yayyy, so I am finally mobile. However, I am not graceful at all and stall a lot. Yesterday I was supposed to meet Chris in Pueblo Nuevo but I couldn't get it started so my Dominican neighbors politely explained to me that if I were to take the bike out on the main road I'd probably die haha. I knew it was just a matter of getting it started because I had already been on the highway but none the less I walked to bike back to Chris' house and began walking. Today, I rode into Luperon all by myself to use the internet, but it stalled in town and as I started it back up (this is all about 20 mins ago) I launched forward, hit a curb and fell off. Only about 25 Dominicans saw, as if I didn't stand out enough being a gringa, but whatever, they helped me up and gave me a little lesson on how not to fall next time.
2.) I learned that kids are kids in every culture. They are simple. Although it is harder to discipline them when you don't know their language they normally get the picture from your tone. It should be interesting when school starts.
3.) DON'T WORRY EVERYONE, THERE ARE PLENTY OF NINOS TO PLAY WITH MY HAIR!! Because I have white people hair, the Dominicans--kids and adults-- cannot seem to resist touching it. To them it is extrodinary, which is nice to hear, since I have no brush or products with me. One thing I recently learned about myself is that I will absolutely risk lice and fleas for a good hair brushing. Those of you who know me best already assumed that I'm sure.
4.) In order for mosquito nets to work, you can't let mosquitos in. FYI.

That's about it for now~ I miss everyone, but I'm meeting new people everyday. I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, but don't forget to remember me...

First Day

Well I made it to the DR without incident. My first big accomplishment was understanding the customs agents who said I was "muy linda". Aside from my vanity I was super excited to have understood them. Chris picked me up and we met with a land surveyer in Santiago...for almost an hour. But hopefully Chris will get his land within 6 months. Then we went back to Loryn and Chris' house, where I will be staying the next few nights to get settled. First: I got to play with their new kittens. Second: I learned a house rule; 'If its pee let it be, if its brown flush it down'. Nice. :) Well I have to run, because we are going to dinner....Fish and Spagetti and Mushrooms I hear...OOOOHHH also its avacado season!!!

Talk to you all later!!! I''m really excited to begin my temporary life here.

Love Jamie

Last Days in Ohio

Hey.
I cannot decide if I'm more excited or nervous about my upcoming departure. I haven't really had much time to sit down and think about it. However, packing is stressing me out. For the few people who will probably read this blog, I'd like to say before I leave that I have no idea how often I will have access to a computer so my entries may be few and far between. But! Any comments from you will be very encouraging. Well I'm outta here, there's nothing exciting to talk about....YET!!!

James

Opportunity!!

Hello All!
If you are following this blog you probably already know I finally have a positive reason to write!
Two years ago in March 2009 during spring break of my sophomore year in college I traveled to Luperon, Dominican Republic with the Village Mountain Mission with three other wonderful people and the experience was life changing. As a group, alongside the community, we helped build a house for Buche and Wedi and their 3 young children. Although I was only there for 9 days, I knew that I would eventually want to return.

A few months ago I began looking into another trip through the same organization. At this time the founder Bill Benson informed me of the program's new outreach into expanding education. Semi-serious at the time, I immediately offered my services to volunteer. Bill seemed to shrug it off, or at least it appeared that way to me. UNTIL....about a week and a half ago I received a call from Bill and he offered me a position assisting the teacher currently living there. I immediately knew that I wanted it!! And jumped!!!

"A Leeeeeeaappp of Faithhhh."--(that's me singing, replicating a character from Rent)

Anyway, I am set to move to the village of Pueblo Nuevo August 16th. I have the summer to earn a little cash, prepare and tie up loose ends however I find myself becoming more and more excited and ready to go with every passing day!!! The coming posts will most likely concern my anxieties as a approach my take off day. My first trip to the D.R. was amazing! I can only look forward to how terrific this experience will be!