Week 2 Complete...WOW!

It is crazy to think I've been here only 2 weeks, it feels like much longer than that!

Yesterday was a nice relaxing day. In the morning we took a boat ride out in the ocean to the mangroves which are trees that grow in the salt water to protect wildlife such as baby fish, crabs, etc. We drove back into the mangroves and hung out at this little dock area. We sat around, swam in the water that was about shoulder deep on me and clear so you could see the bottom. It was very relaxing and nice to get some sun!

After leaving the mangroves we came back for lunch and then helped clean up the almacen, where all the supplies are stored. We had to put away donations from the team that came before I arrived so that we would have space to unload the donations the new team would bring. After cleaning we went to town and went to the grocery store to get snacks and went for ice cream! It was very yummy!

Afterwards we returned back to the orphanage and I took a nap because the sun wore me out from earlier and Sharon had done a workout with me that wore me out that morning. After my siesta I went and played with the kids and got to visit with two older boys that are from Monte Cristi that grew up hanging out here. They go to college now about 2 hours away so they were in visiting for the weekend and I got to catch up with them.

After dinner, I met with Coco to discuss the mission of the Health Corps program and lay out our goals for this coming spring. This led up until movie night in Coco's apartment. We watched Twilight and it was good, I enjoyed it! After the movie Coco and I finished up working on a slideshow presentation that I needed to do this afternoon. The team from Villanova arrived about 11:30 and we helped them unload and get settled. After that I headed to bed!

Today was a little different because we have a group here now and the dynamics always change a little. We had breakfast and then orientation. We played an ice breaker, get to know you game, followed by introductions and the Orphanage Outreach principles. The group is small, only 15 people so it is nice and they all seem friendly and like they are going to be fun to have around. After this, I met again with Coco to finish up what we had worked on last night and this lasted until lunchtime.

Tito, one of the 5 year old boys, apparently cut his foot outside yesterday playing without his shoes on. This is a big problem here, the kids constantly running around without shoes and getting cuts on their feet because of all the trash on the ground. One of the interns mentioned it to me so I took a look and he had a nice 1 inch gash on the bottom of his foot full of dirt and gravel. We asked Marta, Pastor Ramon's wife, if I could help by cleaning it out and I sat down, with some help of others to hold him still and we washed it out as best as I could. I then wrapped it up trying to keep it clean from his dirty shoes and the dust that flys around constantly. I felt bad because he was crying because it was so tender but maybe it will teach some of the kids to wear their shoes...probably not!

After "doctoring" his foot I went to finish a short picture slideshow that I made for a small group of girls that are going to be teaching Nutrition this week in one of the local schools. I then met with them and we discussed a little bit about health care in the DR, I showed them some pictures of the hospital and some clinic outreach we did in the spring and I gave them an outline for what they will be teaching this week.

After this I went to spend time with the kiddos because I didn't get to see them much at all on Saturday or this morning. I hung out with some of the town boys that were back visiting. They all speak English really well so it is nice to speak to them! I then went and saw the perrito. There is a little puppy here about 1-2 months old that the kids love playing with. Merry took me over to see the puppy for a little while. They are so mean to pets here so I have a hard time "playing" with the puppy!

Yanina is the oldest girl here, she is 19 years old but mentally handicapped so she has been allowed to stay to help out and take care of the younger kids. She understands a lot of English but told Coco she wants to learn more to be able to speak it. I worked with her some having her say the alphabet and count up to 40. She knows more than this I think but she is so shy she just laughs and won't talk. Yesterday I was saying one of the boys names, Mancho, and she started singing Macho Macho Man, I want to be a Macho Man. It was hilarious!

For the last 20-30 minutes before dinner some of the little girls were playing baseball, or just hitting the ball back and forth with Bryson. Joanni, a girl that is about 5-6 wanted to play so I pitched to her and she was hitting it pretty well. She would get so excited and yell, look how far I hit it! We played this for a while and it was fun although I got my exercise chasing after her hits!

After dinner I got ready for church and we went to church. This week Pastor Ramon was preaching so it was a lot more enjoyable.

Tomorrow I go to Rosa Semestre, one of the local schools, and help the Nutrition group out with anything they might need. I'm excited to see how this goes because this is the first health unit that I have worked on and I am interested to see how things go and what activities, ideas this group comes up with. They will teach for an hour in the morning and then have recess for 15 minutes. They will then do the same thing in the afternoon and then afterwards we'll go do some cultural activity in town with them before dinner. It should be fun hanging out and getting to know them better.

I'm still working on pictures and hope to get some up tonight!

And a late and apologetic shout out to LauraMarie who got married on Friday! Wow, that is crazy but I am so happy for you and wish you the best as you start your new adventure in NY. We'll miss you in KY but know you will do great and be so happy with your new husband! :)