A Moment of Clarity

What a week.

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling exhausted.  I wasn't feeling well and all I really wanted to do was get back in bed and sleep.  However, I got up and went to work anyway.  That morning, while I was teaching, I had a moment of clarity.  Twenty beautiful faces were staring back at me with huge, joyful smiles on their faces.  I was teaching them the different emotions (happy, sad, mad, excited).  Every single student was participating, which really showed me how motivated these children are to learn English.  In that moment, I was reminded again how greatly blessed I am.  I couldn't help but smile, just like all the children in front of me, and all my tiredness, worries, and pains went away.  I felt renewed and refreshed just by being with these children for 30 minutes.  I've learned over these past few months that no matter how I am feeling or what's on my mind, whenever I'm with children, my entire attitude changes and I can really appreciate all the blessings that I've been given.  Being with children can truly have a powerful impact in every person's life.

Although Tuesday morning was an enjoyable one, the rest of the day did not go so well.  That day my stomach sickness continued  (I had been having stomach problems for the previous 5 days).  So that night went to the emergency room.  I ended up staying in the hospital for 2 nights, stuck on an IV to rehydrate me and antibiotics to get rid of the bacterial infection that the doctor assumed I had.  I wouldn't say being in the hospital was enjoyable, but my time there really opened my eyes to how loved I am.  I had numerous visitors and several phone calls of people checking up on me.  On one of the mornings, my dear friend Isaura visited me at 6 in the morning before she went to work so she could bring me soup. It just made me feel so cared for.  Even though I'm living so far away from family, I have people here that look after me.  I couldn't be more grateful to the people that are in my life: both near and far.  I am home now and feeling a lot better.

Other than being sick, things around here have been going quite wonderful.  I have been working a lot.  Teaching at the school in the mornings and with adults in the afternoons.  I also began teaching a few of my friends English on a few evenings during the week.  It amazes me how many people here are motivated to learn English.  They really feel that knowing the language will provide them with better opportunities to succeed in life.  I definitely agree with them and I am so happy that I can help them through the process.

Last week there was a group doing construction at the school.  I love when people come to help out in this barrio.  God is truly at work here.  The second floor is underway, and in my opinion looking good.  I still have those moments when I can't believe that just a few years ago the school didn't even exist.  There was a man from the group who had experience teaching English abroad.  He did some activities with the kids and I learned so much just by watching him.  I love getting advice from other people because I really want to teach these children in the most effective way.

Life is good here.  I'm surrounded by beautiful people everyday: inside and out.  Everyone continues to be welcoming, and each day I'm able to find joy in what I do.  I've already grown so much as a person and I can't wait to see what is in store for me next.

Oh, and also, let the count down begin! 12 days until my church group gets here...and even better, I get to see my mom and sister!!! I couldn't be more excited!

Feeling Blessed

I have officially been living in the Dominican Republic for 2 months now.  Many people have told me that the two month mark is the point when it starts getting difficult being away from home.  I'm not going to lie, I definitely miss home, my family, and all the luxuries of living in the United States.  I had my first real shower yesterday.  For the past 2 months water had not been coming out of the shower head, so I used a cup and the water from the bath tub.  We really do take so many things for granted.  Being so far away from my family is something that will never be easy.  Some days I just want to walk over to my grandma's house and sing karaoke with my sister, or go to a movie with my parents and brother.  And  I could  really go for an In-n-out burger (my mouth is watering just thinking about it).  However, despite having my moments where I miss home, there is no place I'd rather be.

I am settling into my job well teaching English.  They have learned so much.  The last few weeks a lot of different American groups have stopped by the school, and of course I didn't hesitate to show off the English skills that the students have gained.  And you can tell how excited the kids are to share their knowledge with the Americans.  I came here to make an impacts in children's lives and I really feel like I'm doing that at in my English classes.  

Every week, I learn new things about the culture here and become more aware of how poor some of these children's lives are.  The other day a child came to school with a huge burn on his back.  It was a fresh burn and the skin was broken.  No one knows for sure how the burn got there.  The boy's mother may have done it to him as a form of punishment, or perhaps it was an accident with no parent around to take care of it.  Either way, it was a situation that was very hard to witness.  Moments like these, make it more clear to me how important this school and the teachers are.  This school can be a place where all children are cared for, where all children can feel the love that they may not get at home.  I have such a belief that this school can do amazing things, and I really think its on the way of doing that.  I just feel so blessed to be apart of it.