Every Good Thing Must Come to an End

I can't believe it-today is my last day in the Dominican Republic! This semester really flew by. Today is truly bittersweet, one minute I'm really excited to finally see my friends and family and be back in the States; but then the next minute I think about needing to leave all my friends and my life here and that's so sad! Well, here is a list of the main things that are contributing to my mixed emotions.

Reasons why I don't want to leave the DR:

1.) Leaving Spanish-I'm nervous that all quickly become out of practice with talking in Spanish! Plus, the challenge of speaking Spanish is kind of fun...especially when I succeed!
2.) The music-I love the music here! It's always loud and it's always everywhere. 
 3.) The dancing- The Dominicans really know what's up when it comes to dancing. Whether it's in a club, at an outdoor concert, or in the middle of the park Dominicans are dancing merengue, bachata, and dembow. I love the rythm that's constantly around me. 
4.) My friends here! I'm so sad to leave the other American students who I met here as well as all the Dominican friends I have here!
5.) The beaches!
6.) The culture-from brightly colored buildings to very friendly people, everything about Dominican culture is vibrant and alive.

 

 Favorite Dominican! Mine and Melanie's big brother who always had our backs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Holding a monkey on Juan Dolio Beach!!

 

 

 

 

 

 Operation Christmas Child distribution! Can that get any cuter??

 

 

 

 

 

Reasons why I'm excited to go home:

1.) To see my family and friends!
2.) ICED COFFEE FROM DUNKIN DONUTS OR STARBUCKS!
3.) Not smelling garbage everywhere I walk from large piles of rotting on the side of the road
4.) Driving and independence
5.) Not needing to explain to someone new everyday that I have a boyfriend in the States, and no I do not believe it's acceptable to have one boyfriend in the States and one boyfriend in the DR even though Dominican guys do that all the time!


See you all soon! 
 

Ayye mi madre, only a few weeks left!

Now that I have been here for 3 full months, sometimes I have to just stop and laugh at the things that have become a completely normal part of my life:
1. Three people on a motorbike, without helmets, usually with a baby somewhere on there. 
2. Dembow, reggaeton, merengue, and bachata EVERYWHERE! Constant music and constant dancing.
3. Presidential campaigns consist of trucks driving around with dancers and extremely loud reggaeton or dembow music.
4. Although the police intervene in a fight in a public park that involves gunshots, no arrests are made.
5. I'm more accustomed to being called "rubia bella" (beautiful white girl) than I am to being called Michelle.
6. Random men singing "pa manga mi visa" (a Dominican reggaeton song about wanting an American girl so they can get their visa) when I walk by them on the street. 
7. Some form of plantains with every single meal. 
8. Professors show up an hour and a half late to a 3 hour class. 
9. Public transportation=8 people in a compact car. 
10. Always being uncomfortably hot.
11. What's iced coffee? And for that matter, what's a cafe? I'll never adjust to this one.
12. Walking on the sidewalk is dangerous business- no such thing as man hole covers or warnings for wet cement, and motorcycles commonly use the sidewalk as their own personal extra lane of the road.
13. Driving while drinking out of a bottle of Presidente beer or Brugal rum is perfectly normal and acceptable-there are even drive-thru liquor stores that  sell already opened bottles for your convenience.
14. Even the worst beaches are a lot better than the majority of beaches that I've been to in the states-white sand, clear water, and Caribbean sea water that's warm enough to swim in are the norm. 

I'm sure there are a lot more that I'll of think of later that I could add to this list! Right now it's Semana Santa (Holy week) which means my spring break! Quite a few of the students are traveling to beach towns, but I decided to stay in Santo Domingo and try to do some things that I haven't had time for. So far I went to a nightclub that was inside of a real cave with stalactites and everything, dinner at Outback (haha I know a real cultural event, but the idea of fajitas and burgers sounded too good!), and spent a few hours last night at Parque Guibia. That park is just a few blocks from my house and is along the ocean. It's my favorite park in the city because it has volleyball nets, a food stand (I'm now friends with the entire staff, so me and my friend went inside the stand for a while and pretended to work there!) and generally has a good representation of Dominican life with loud music blaring from various car stereos and random dance battles. While we were at the park last night, I witnessed my first fight! A lot of people were running away from something and we could see two guys going at it punching each other. Fights get pretty serious here since there are less laws, so were grateful that we befriended the staff of the food stand so we could hide out inside there. Soon we heard two gunshots! The police were there but from what I could tell no one was hurt and no arrests were made. Hahaha ohhhh Santo Domingo, gotta love it! 

Well, here is a song that I hear every day but I love it! And if you watch it you can see some of Santo Domingo and a little bit of normal Dominican life. 


Other than that the power cord to my laptop has decided to stop working which is pretty annoying...fortunately one of the other American students has a Dell so I can use hers when we are together!


Love from the DR,


Michelle
 
    

Classes And Culture

"Studying" Abroad in the DR.....
I realized that I am on "study" abroad so blogging about the academic side of my experience would be a good idea.  
Well, the way my classes are structured here is that I take classes at three different universities. The majority of my classes are at CIEE the study center for the program that my study abroad is run through. Those classes are the most similar to the classes at American colleges. They have small class sizes and usually have powerpoint lectures and class discussions. Those classes are completely in Spanish so they are still a challenge for me!  
I also have one class at Bono. Bono is a Dominican university that is  very interesting because there are only about 100 students and the majority of them are studying to become priests. It's a really nice, small atmosphere to get to know the other students who are all really cool! That class is fairly challenging as I'm expected to keep up with the Dominican students when I struggle to just understand what the professor is saying! That class also requires me to take the guagua to go into a different part of the city which is always an interesting cultural experience!
The third university where I take a class is La UASD, this is the oldest (and I'm pretty sure the largest, although don't quote me on that...) university in all of the Americas! I wanted to take a class at La UASD because it is the public university in Santo Domingo so I felt that it would give me the best representation of a typical Dominican college education. And it has definitely been interesting! The class I take there is History of Dominican Art and it's supposed to meet once a week for three hours. However much like everything else in the DR, the meeting time seems to be more of a suggestion than a reality. Even though the class is scheduled to go from 2:00-5:00 it's very common for me to be sitting at my desk at 3:30 and the professor still hasn't arrived. It can be frustrating to not know if she will show up or not, but after looking around at the Dominican students I realized that they were not at all phased by the fact that the professor was more than an hour and a half late. Dominican culture values relationships over time. If someone is late, it's assumed that it's fine because they were spending time talking with friends or investing in relationships. My American tendencies wants for things to start and end at their scheduled times because I have developed an addiction to being scheduled. I rely on my planner and weekly routines just as many other Americans do. My class at La UASD is such a reflection of the laid-back, relationship based culture here in the Dominican Republic. It's not that they are lazy or poor workers, but that they place their values in relationships more than on their schedule. 
 

Almost Halfway Through...

"pray continually;"

These are the only two words in 1 Thesselonians 5:17. A verse that I would usually overlook and dismiss.

My lovely best friend Hope bought me a devotional for Christmas and it's amazing how relevant it has been to what I'm going through while I'm here. It's obvious to me that God knew what would happen each day during my time in Santo Domingo and he placed the right verses and words in the devotionals to match what would happen to me that day. Lately, the devotionals have been dealing with prayer, anxiety, and trust.
Probably by looking at this picture of the gorgeous beach in Samana, Dominican Republic, that I went to on Saturday, it's hard to believe that I have struggled with anxiety. However, this past week I've experienced one of the biggest downsides of studying abroad in a "developing country". Getting sick. I've been sick for a full week now, and as many of you probably know I HATE being sick. I'm such a baby when I'm sick. It didn't help that I needed to go to the emergency room and attempt to communicate with the doctor in Spanish. I've never been more frustrated by a language barrier than I was then. Although being in a Dominican emergency room with doctors I could barely understand was not my ideal, I remembered one of the verses I had read that morning. "Pray continually". Prayer is something that can be done at all hours of the day, it doesn't need to always be long and drawn-out but just a simple sentence offered to God.
It's looking like I should be coming onto the healing end soon which is a good thing because I'm almost at the halfway mark. Pretty hard to believe! I still have so much more of this country that I want to experience and enjoy in my remaining time! Sometimes I need to just stop and smile as I'm walking or taking the "guagua" (the Dominican version of a public bus) through Santo Domingo by myself and I feel comfortable and like I know where I'm going. It's a simple thing but it makes me realize how much more comfortable I've grown in this city and with myself. I know that in the remaining half of my semester abroad I will face hardships and homesickness; but I also know that I'll experience things that I'll never experience again in my life and that I need to savor all those small moments while I have them, because before I know it they'll be gone and I'll be back to my normal New England life! So, it's time for this sickness to go away so I can enjoy each adventure that comes my way!

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

"Jehová está en medio de ti, poderoso, él salvará; se gozará sobre ti con alegría, callará de amor, se regocijará sobre ti con cánticos."  Sofonías 3:17

Unexpected Blessings

A couple of weeks ago I went to a gorgeous beach called Juan Dolio with a couple of my friends. On our way there we were standing in a very busy, popular area of Santo Domingo while we waited for our “guagua” (bus) to come by. As we were standing there I noticed a little boy who was sitting on a street corner wearing tattered-looking clothing and two different shoes. He was all by himself and had tears rolling down his cheeks. I watched as everyone who walked by him, including the police, didn’t even take a second glance at him. Of course, my heart instantly went out to him and I felt obligated to approach him. I went over to him and asked if he wanted my Oreos (the only food I had on me at the time) or my bottle of water. He said no to both. I asked him what was wrong and unfortunately with the language barrier I wasn’t able to understand all of what he said, but what I did understand was that he was lost and he didn’t know where his parents were. I offered him some money for a taxi or guagua and he refused that as well.

            As I went to a gorgeous, Caribbean beach afterwards I couldn’t forget the sad look on his face and how frustrating it was to not be able to be of more help to him. I know that I can’t help everyone, but I kept regretting that I was at the beach while this helpless little boy was lost. Maybe I should have stayed with him to just give him company and show him love if nothing else. I’ll probably never see him again, but I pray that he is safe and off the streets.

            Before I encountered this child, I had been kicking around the idea of volunteering with Operation Christmas Child. I had the contact information that I needed to begin my involvement but I was still unsure if it was something that I really wanted to do. I knew that it would mean a sacrifice of time, an added responsibility to my already overwhelming list of new experiences and challenges. However, after that experience I knew that I needed to attempt making contact to see if they needed volunteers. I have a heart for children and there’s no way I can pass up an opportunity to bless some very adorable Dominican children with Christmas presents.

            So after a few very confusing calls that were mostly lost in translation, I found myself in a taxi by myself headed to an unknown destination. The director for Operation Christmas Child had called a taxi for me and told the driver the address. So I had no idea where I was going or why I was going there. After about a half hour the driver dropped me off on the other side of the city at a house. I quickly learned that an American missions team was here for the week to work with the director of OCC in the Dominican Republic, Fidel, and his son, John. Shortly after I was introduced to everyone I was told to climb into the back of a pickup truck with the American missions team. I still had no idea where we were going. To my surprise, we were headed to an orphanage that was for children who are deaf for a distribution of the OCC shoeboxes. As you can imagine, this was a very welcome surprise. The distribution was more challenging than the ones that I went to in Panama. Since the children were deaf, communication was impossible. We needed two different translators to go from English to Spanish to Sign Language! I found that smiles go a long way. Language was not necessary to see their excitement over the candy, toys, school supplies, and clothing. I wish I had my camera with me so that I could have captured their adorable faces for all of you!

            It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of the shoebox distribution and today I was able to be part of another distribution! I had so much fun playing with the children and watching their excitement and smiles over their gifts, as well as their attention and interest in our presentation of “The Greatest Gift”. I hope that everyone in America who has made an Operation Christmas Child gift is able to recognize the impact of their gift-not only on the child but also on the parents. Most of the children’s mothers attend the distributions and are able to hear the gospel message as well. They are so thankful to see their child’s happiness and excitement over the shoeboxes. I’ve been able to see this impact on person, but I hope that you can all have faith that your giving is truly rewarding someone else!

Today marks one month that I’ve been in Santo Domingo…it’s kind of hard to believe. It really has gone by fast. God has already moved in so many ways, both in my personal life and just in experiences that I’ve had since being here. I plan on beginning to blog more often about my experiences and stories. Vaya con Dios!

“Go forth seeking adventure. Open your eyes, your ears, your mind, you heart, your spirit and you’ll find adventure everywhere.” Wilfred A. Peterson

Santo Domingo: Week One

If I were to describe my first week in Santo Domingo in one word it would be-overwhelming. I feel like enough has been thrown at me these past few days to last me a lifetime. In one way it seems like my time here has been a quick blur, and then in another way it seems like I’ve been here for months. While the trip here and the week of orientation has kept me very busy, I have also been able to take time to observe this new city and culture and begin to understand and enjoy Santo Domingo for all that it is. Santo Domingo is a city that is very alive and vibrant. The short walk that I often take from my homestay to the program center, is filled with beautiful green palm trees, small lizards crawling across building walls, and street vendors selling fruit. Of course, there are a lot of noises. One thing that I’ve learned quickly about Santo Domingo is that there is NEVER silence; at all hours of the day there is merengue and reggaeton blaring from cars, roosters crowing, children laughing and playing, and “piropos”-which is a form of a catcall. “Rubia, “bonita”, “princesa”…these would all be very flattering if they weren’t coming from “tigueres”! I’m starting to get used to the fact that just because I hear a guy say “hola” to me as I walk down the street doesn’t mean that I should automatically turn to him to offer a friendly hello, but rather to ignore him.

One of the things that have really struck me about my time abroad so far is the contrast between the familiar and the new. So much about this experience is new. A new language, a new “family”, new friends, new culture, new foods, new rules-the list goes on and on. And even though I’m in a foreign country that I’ve never been to before; there’s so much about it that seems familiar. Granted that a major reason for that has to do with Western influence with restaurants such as Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Outback Steak House scattered around the city. However, there are moments where I feel like I’m not in a foreign country, but that I’m actually in a place very close to home that shares the same values, joys, and pains of home. The challenges of being in a place that at times seems completely foreign and new combined with the familiar elements creates a beautiful landscape for my coming semester.

With all of the new elements of the culture have come a lot of challenges. The majority of the time I have NO idea what anyone is saying, which can be frustrating when I’m trying to communicate with my host family, usually resulting in me just nodding my head and saying “sí” over and over. I had a lot of doubts when I first arrived, and I still struggle with them: “Why did I decide to go to a place where I don’t know ANYONE?” “I’ll never learn Spanish, this is so useless”, “Why did I even become a Spanish major to begin with? I could’ve chosen English and been able to stay at Gordon with my friends and boyfriend.” “Why did I go to a country where even the police shouldn’t be turned to in times of emergency, and robbery is extremely prevalent?” Having so many doubts can be difficult and cause me to fear, but they have also resulted in me clinging to God to provide me with the peace of His presence more than ever. My daily devotional time has become a priority in a way that it never was in the States.  I’m ashamed to say that it is the case, but it’s true. Being alone, helpless, nervous, out of my comfort zone and dependent upon God has resulted in desperation to spend time with Him unlike any other time in life and I know that if for no other reason, that is enough of a reason for me to be in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the next 4 months.

The Faith of a Child