Hola Todos,
Como estan? I'm officially back in the states. It's still weird to think of being surrounded by friends and family. I'm definitely going through quite a bit of reverse culture shock. It's weird for me to be surrounded by so many white people. that might sound weird, but true.
well i'm trying to process my experience. it's been helping me to buy some music online that reminds me of the Dominican Republic. I'm glad I feel better now because I got sick 3 days before leaving. But all is done and I'm pretty sure i got all A's done there. That's a first in college. Granted the classes were really easy though.
Gracias por todo que hicieron! (thanks for everything you guys did!)
Ciao! -Natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. transition
2. processing my trip and what God taught me
3. my heart is really discouraged. i miss the D.R. and my heart just feels really heavy in general
Sunday, April 27
Tuesday, April 22
The Roadtrip
Hola Todos,
How is everyone? This is probably my last blogging. I'm leaving in 3 days from this beautiful Island.
On Wednesday I have our last dinner with ISA program. That's going to be very hard saying goodbye to all my american friends here. I also have 3 more days to say bye to my dominican and haitian friends which seems even harder because i know that i won't see them anymore. Thursday is my last time to Sosua (one of the beaches).
This last weekend four of us girls went on a road trip to Punta Cana (6 hours away). we definitely concho styled it up with 4 people squished in the back the entire way there. we stopped in the capital to go out dancing saturday night which ended up a disaster. we went to this one club and it was sooooo packed in there and they were playing techno music which nobody in our group likes. so we moved onto the next place. it looked really cool inside and so we entered and i bought an energy drink. the energy drink costed $5!!! way too expensive! plus we asked the waitor and they ONLY played salsa music....too bad NONE of us know how to salsa, lol. plus dad this reminded me of creation fest because the base was so loud that you could feel the music in your body. way too loud! so we left there and went to a colmado which is basically a food place that everyone sits outside in plastic chairs and they play music. i officially danced one song.. woo hoo!! lol. Then we got back in the car and gave up on going out. we drove through the night....definitely know why people recommend you NOT to drive to the east during the night. there was definitely a tire in the middle of the highway, a dead horse in the middle of the road, and another horse randomly walking towards us. It was so weird to be driving on a highway going 70mph at times, and other times 25mph. ridiculous! plus there's potholes in the highway. VERY different than the freeways in the States. Well we dropped off Saleema at her new job and spent the entire Sunday at the beach. lol it was PACKED full of tourists and we definitely counted how many guys were wearing speedoes....i lost count at 18. sick!!! i was invited by some guys to play beach volleyball and i kicked their butt 3 times in a row~! i was the only girl. alot of the people thought i was from Spain when i talked. yay! what a compliment!
Coming home was easier and we got back at night. Through one of the towns there was flooding galore! we drove through a lot of water and at times i didn't think our taxi was going to make it. Plus i found out that there was a tornado in La Vega. scary! this island surprises me everyday!
Well that concludes that, thanks for all the support and prayers, ciao! -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. transition transition transition! --i know getting back to the states i will have forgot about some things that i got used to here
2. saying bye to people here (it's already bumming me out that i have to leave these people)
3. safe trip/flight. also that i don't miss my connecting flight. i have a 3 hour layover in New York but hopefully that'll be enough to make my next flight. I fly out at 11:45am my time (8:45am oregon time) on friday to JFK and from JFK to PDX.
How is everyone? This is probably my last blogging. I'm leaving in 3 days from this beautiful Island.
On Wednesday I have our last dinner with ISA program. That's going to be very hard saying goodbye to all my american friends here. I also have 3 more days to say bye to my dominican and haitian friends which seems even harder because i know that i won't see them anymore. Thursday is my last time to Sosua (one of the beaches).
This last weekend four of us girls went on a road trip to Punta Cana (6 hours away). we definitely concho styled it up with 4 people squished in the back the entire way there. we stopped in the capital to go out dancing saturday night which ended up a disaster. we went to this one club and it was sooooo packed in there and they were playing techno music which nobody in our group likes. so we moved onto the next place. it looked really cool inside and so we entered and i bought an energy drink. the energy drink costed $5!!! way too expensive! plus we asked the waitor and they ONLY played salsa music....too bad NONE of us know how to salsa, lol. plus dad this reminded me of creation fest because the base was so loud that you could feel the music in your body. way too loud! so we left there and went to a colmado which is basically a food place that everyone sits outside in plastic chairs and they play music. i officially danced one song.. woo hoo!! lol. Then we got back in the car and gave up on going out. we drove through the night....definitely know why people recommend you NOT to drive to the east during the night. there was definitely a tire in the middle of the highway, a dead horse in the middle of the road, and another horse randomly walking towards us. It was so weird to be driving on a highway going 70mph at times, and other times 25mph. ridiculous! plus there's potholes in the highway. VERY different than the freeways in the States. Well we dropped off Saleema at her new job and spent the entire Sunday at the beach. lol it was PACKED full of tourists and we definitely counted how many guys were wearing speedoes....i lost count at 18. sick!!! i was invited by some guys to play beach volleyball and i kicked their butt 3 times in a row~! i was the only girl. alot of the people thought i was from Spain when i talked. yay! what a compliment!
Coming home was easier and we got back at night. Through one of the towns there was flooding galore! we drove through a lot of water and at times i didn't think our taxi was going to make it. Plus i found out that there was a tornado in La Vega. scary! this island surprises me everyday!
Well that concludes that, thanks for all the support and prayers, ciao! -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. transition transition transition! --i know getting back to the states i will have forgot about some things that i got used to here
2. saying bye to people here (it's already bumming me out that i have to leave these people)
3. safe trip/flight. also that i don't miss my connecting flight. i have a 3 hour layover in New York but hopefully that'll be enough to make my next flight. I fly out at 11:45am my time (8:45am oregon time) on friday to JFK and from JFK to PDX.
Thursday, April 17
Some pix for yall
The first picture is at a random dominican birthday party. Notice the barbie hats...lol...PRICELESS! The second one is before Robin and I went dancing. The third is a picture at the Santo Domingo zoo with my HIPPOS!!! YAY i love hippos! and the last picture is with lil Haitian boys at Dajabon--the border of Haiti (which we got to cross!) and the Dom Republic.
My Last Weeks Here
Hola Todos,
How is everyone? I can't believe I'm about to come home. I fly in on the 25th, 8 days from now. Wow, time is flying. I'm excited to come home but sad because of the friends and things I've been able to experience here that don't exist in the States. But a cool thing happened. I prayed for God to transition me back to the states and he's done a really good job at that.
Last wednesday we had a huelga (a national strike). It's a little different than the ones in Europe like Talia tells me about. Here, the whole town shuts down basically. There were no conchos so some of our classes got canceled and I couldn't go to my orphanage because lack of conchos. We were told not to go out that night because these riots get pretty dangerous in the streets. But mostly just in the poorer neighborhoods so we were fine for the most part. There were some shootings in Naverrete which is 20 min away from Santiago. I saw footage on the news of Naverrete and it literally looked like Iraq with the vacant streets and the random groups of men shooting anywhere and everywhere. I figured Mom that i'd write you after the fact to let you know I'm alright and only got shot 2 in the leg but it's healed now....lol. Fast recovery, what can I say!?!
I went to Ensenada Beach with Angela--the lady who cleans and cooks for our house. Yisette came too. Lol, this was an interesting trip to the beach...to start off the story we got picked up at the gas station at 6:30am on a motorbike. The guy took us to Angela and the bus that was going. We definitely took a yellow school bus. Now...let's get this straight...school buses are supposed to hold around 100 people, 2 to a seat, right?! well we definitely crammed in 200 full grown people. And there were 3 people in my seat including me, with me on the end...yes....one butt cheek in the isle. COMFORTABLE! not...and then there was a lady's butt squished up against my face/side for like 1/2 hour. what was SUPPOSED to take 1 1/2 hours took 3 hours. This beach is REALLY dominican. By that, I mean that there were absolutely NO tourists. only gringa was me. yay! what fun...lol....just imagine the looks. "Whoa, a white girl! never seen one of those before!? I'm going to talk to HER". If I stood in one place for too long, i'd have too many "new lil friends" if you know what i mean. Well I ended up meeting a guy named Roberto that officially gave me my first dominican love letter. LOL! It was hilarious...apparently I'm the most beautiful flower in the garden lol.
Today was my last day of classes officially (ok i lied, i have one more on monday night for a little bit). YAY! I've finished over 1/2 of my final papers for my classes. I don't really have final exams, only one. But it's not that hard, school here for the "foreigners/exchange students" is kind of a joke.
We had our last day at the orphanage. It was really funny because I gave the kids some conversation hearts with the messages on them. Well they made me translate them into spanish but it's pretty hard to translate some phrases that DON'T EXIST in spanish like "Sweet Home". They gave me the oddest looks when I translated some of them. Well I did fine saying goodbye until I had to give a speech and I just lost it. Tears just started flowing. Omgosh that was SOO hard to say bye to those kids. Looking at Yoanni's face as I looked at her for the last time before shutting the gate was just as hard as when I had to say goodbye to my boys at the park last summer. Let's just say yesterday was a pretty hard day. Plus my host mom took me and Yisette over for a visit at her's friend's house. Well, I don't know if you know what I mean when i say when you can just tell two people talked about you before you get there? I just knew she told her that i can't speak good spanish (yes...this is the VERY sweet way my host mom introduces me to others...nice, right?!...not). Well she didn't talk to me whatsoever. She only talked to Yisette even though I understood everything she said. She even asked Yisette "where's she from?" talking about me when I was SITTING RIGHT THERE. It really hurt my feeling but of course my host mom wouldn't understand, nor Yisette because I'm sure she didn't notice that it happened.
I'm enjoying my last moments here. This is officially my last weekend in the DR and I think 4 of us girls are going to roadtrip to Punta Cana to move in a girl--Saleema who is working there for the summer. We'll see how this random road trip goes.
See you all really soon! -Ciao, Natalia
Prayer Requests/Praises:
1. Praise: Wrote a lot of my papers already
2. that God would continue to transition me from the DR and make it easier to leave here
3. that he would bind satan because satan has been attacking me recently in my self image and my spanish skills/confidence.
4. that'd i'd be able to say goodbye to all of those I want to
5. Praise: I was able to forgive a guy from our program who has really made me mad and doesn't deserve any apology. It felt so great afterwards not holding a grudge anymore.
How is everyone? I can't believe I'm about to come home. I fly in on the 25th, 8 days from now. Wow, time is flying. I'm excited to come home but sad because of the friends and things I've been able to experience here that don't exist in the States. But a cool thing happened. I prayed for God to transition me back to the states and he's done a really good job at that.
Last wednesday we had a huelga (a national strike). It's a little different than the ones in Europe like Talia tells me about. Here, the whole town shuts down basically. There were no conchos so some of our classes got canceled and I couldn't go to my orphanage because lack of conchos. We were told not to go out that night because these riots get pretty dangerous in the streets. But mostly just in the poorer neighborhoods so we were fine for the most part. There were some shootings in Naverrete which is 20 min away from Santiago. I saw footage on the news of Naverrete and it literally looked like Iraq with the vacant streets and the random groups of men shooting anywhere and everywhere. I figured Mom that i'd write you after the fact to let you know I'm alright and only got shot 2 in the leg but it's healed now....lol. Fast recovery, what can I say!?!
I went to Ensenada Beach with Angela--the lady who cleans and cooks for our house. Yisette came too. Lol, this was an interesting trip to the beach...to start off the story we got picked up at the gas station at 6:30am on a motorbike. The guy took us to Angela and the bus that was going. We definitely took a yellow school bus. Now...let's get this straight...school buses are supposed to hold around 100 people, 2 to a seat, right?! well we definitely crammed in 200 full grown people. And there were 3 people in my seat including me, with me on the end...yes....one butt cheek in the isle. COMFORTABLE! not...and then there was a lady's butt squished up against my face/side for like 1/2 hour. what was SUPPOSED to take 1 1/2 hours took 3 hours. This beach is REALLY dominican. By that, I mean that there were absolutely NO tourists. only gringa was me. yay! what fun...lol....just imagine the looks. "Whoa, a white girl! never seen one of those before!? I'm going to talk to HER". If I stood in one place for too long, i'd have too many "new lil friends" if you know what i mean. Well I ended up meeting a guy named Roberto that officially gave me my first dominican love letter. LOL! It was hilarious...apparently I'm the most beautiful flower in the garden lol.
Today was my last day of classes officially (ok i lied, i have one more on monday night for a little bit). YAY! I've finished over 1/2 of my final papers for my classes. I don't really have final exams, only one. But it's not that hard, school here for the "foreigners/exchange students" is kind of a joke.
We had our last day at the orphanage. It was really funny because I gave the kids some conversation hearts with the messages on them. Well they made me translate them into spanish but it's pretty hard to translate some phrases that DON'T EXIST in spanish like "Sweet Home". They gave me the oddest looks when I translated some of them. Well I did fine saying goodbye until I had to give a speech and I just lost it. Tears just started flowing. Omgosh that was SOO hard to say bye to those kids. Looking at Yoanni's face as I looked at her for the last time before shutting the gate was just as hard as when I had to say goodbye to my boys at the park last summer. Let's just say yesterday was a pretty hard day. Plus my host mom took me and Yisette over for a visit at her's friend's house. Well, I don't know if you know what I mean when i say when you can just tell two people talked about you before you get there? I just knew she told her that i can't speak good spanish (yes...this is the VERY sweet way my host mom introduces me to others...nice, right?!...not). Well she didn't talk to me whatsoever. She only talked to Yisette even though I understood everything she said. She even asked Yisette "where's she from?" talking about me when I was SITTING RIGHT THERE. It really hurt my feeling but of course my host mom wouldn't understand, nor Yisette because I'm sure she didn't notice that it happened.
I'm enjoying my last moments here. This is officially my last weekend in the DR and I think 4 of us girls are going to roadtrip to Punta Cana to move in a girl--Saleema who is working there for the summer. We'll see how this random road trip goes.
See you all really soon! -Ciao, Natalia
Prayer Requests/Praises:
1. Praise: Wrote a lot of my papers already
2. that God would continue to transition me from the DR and make it easier to leave here
3. that he would bind satan because satan has been attacking me recently in my self image and my spanish skills/confidence.
4. that'd i'd be able to say goodbye to all of those I want to
5. Praise: I was able to forgive a guy from our program who has really made me mad and doesn't deserve any apology. It felt so great afterwards not holding a grudge anymore.
Wednesday, April 2
Times Almost Up
Hola todos,
How are you guys? I'm good. I can't believe i'm coming home in 3 1/2 weeks. crazyness! I'm starting to get down to the wire on my classes and have quite a few 5 or 10 page spanish papers due. At least it's better than having finals, right?! amen to that! lol. Today, i was writing an email and another american girl was in the computer lab and i randomly decided to ask her if she goes to church around here and after our conversation i found out she's a christian! that's so comforting! we're excited to hang out this week.
This weekend our dominican-haitian relations class is going to the border of haiti. We get to go and experience what it's like. That's on friday. Then on Saturday thru Sunday ISA has an excursion to Santo Domingo where we're going to visit alot of museums and cool places.
Last friday a bunch of us celebrated a birthday of a girl in our program. we all went over to her apartment and ate mexican food. oh my gosh it tasted sooooo good! i haven't had mexican food since the states. after that, we went out dancing and i danced with a friend of mine. he has to be the best merengue dancer i've ever danced with and i had a ball. his name is Johansen. he told me that i really dance like a dominican. that might not mean anything to you guys, but that's the biggest compliment you can get with dancing is someone telling you you dance like a latina/dominicana.
lol so last night i was REALLY in the mood for french toast. i was hoping my host mom would randomly make it for me for dinner but i knew she wouldn't. nope, definitely not. she made me hot dogs and fries. so, i decided to wait until she went to sleep at 10pm and i went down to the kitchen and made myself french toast. that was the best darn french toast i've ever eaten! maybe i liked it because i haven't had in for 3 months. it was definitely the highlight of my day lol. pathetic, yes i know.
The orphanage is going great now. i get so excited to go and teach them now. i am now able to do educative games with them and they're learning. SLOWLY but they're learning none the less. natalie happened to take the wrong concho today. how are you supposed to expect an american to look at every concho car and see the small detail on the window that says either "K-villa" or "K"?! crazy dominicans lol.
well, i'm going to go now, love you all, ciao -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. that i don't get stressed with all the papers i need to be doing. plus for time management that i don't procrastinate until the last moment
2. still temptation with boys. i'm doing so much better now but i know that's a HUGE downfall of mine.
3. being a good witness to those i'm around
4. that i'm able to hook up with kristen (the Christian girl i met today in the comp lab)
How are you guys? I'm good. I can't believe i'm coming home in 3 1/2 weeks. crazyness! I'm starting to get down to the wire on my classes and have quite a few 5 or 10 page spanish papers due. At least it's better than having finals, right?! amen to that! lol. Today, i was writing an email and another american girl was in the computer lab and i randomly decided to ask her if she goes to church around here and after our conversation i found out she's a christian! that's so comforting! we're excited to hang out this week.
This weekend our dominican-haitian relations class is going to the border of haiti. We get to go and experience what it's like. That's on friday. Then on Saturday thru Sunday ISA has an excursion to Santo Domingo where we're going to visit alot of museums and cool places.
Last friday a bunch of us celebrated a birthday of a girl in our program. we all went over to her apartment and ate mexican food. oh my gosh it tasted sooooo good! i haven't had mexican food since the states. after that, we went out dancing and i danced with a friend of mine. he has to be the best merengue dancer i've ever danced with and i had a ball. his name is Johansen. he told me that i really dance like a dominican. that might not mean anything to you guys, but that's the biggest compliment you can get with dancing is someone telling you you dance like a latina/dominicana.
lol so last night i was REALLY in the mood for french toast. i was hoping my host mom would randomly make it for me for dinner but i knew she wouldn't. nope, definitely not. she made me hot dogs and fries. so, i decided to wait until she went to sleep at 10pm and i went down to the kitchen and made myself french toast. that was the best darn french toast i've ever eaten! maybe i liked it because i haven't had in for 3 months. it was definitely the highlight of my day lol. pathetic, yes i know.
The orphanage is going great now. i get so excited to go and teach them now. i am now able to do educative games with them and they're learning. SLOWLY but they're learning none the less. natalie happened to take the wrong concho today. how are you supposed to expect an american to look at every concho car and see the small detail on the window that says either "K-villa" or "K"?! crazy dominicans lol.
well, i'm going to go now, love you all, ciao -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. that i don't get stressed with all the papers i need to be doing. plus for time management that i don't procrastinate until the last moment
2. still temptation with boys. i'm doing so much better now but i know that's a HUGE downfall of mine.
3. being a good witness to those i'm around
4. that i'm able to hook up with kristen (the Christian girl i met today in the comp lab)
Tuesday, March 25
La Semana Santa
Hola Todos,
Como estan? Bien? Espero todo bien. Ok I'll stop with the spanish. One thing that is going to be very hard for me to do when i get back to the states is to only speak in english. i use spanglish constantly. Well, we had our spring break this past week, called Semana Santa (Holy week). I found out that the DR doesnt really celebrate Easter. People went to church and treated it like a normal day. But on the weekend everyone flocks to the beach--so we did the same. Me, Casey, and Robin spent the whole weekend together. In Cabarete we danced to reggaeton and hip hop. It was the COOLEST thing because they had a bubble machine. I definitely danced and got completely covered in soapy bubbles. Sorry I didn't have my camera with me or I would've taken a picture. It was amazing. In Sosua (another beach) I saw a little Haitian boy playing by himself and his mom was ignoring him. Well, I really felt like I was supposed to go play with him. But like satan usually is, all i could think about is the doubts i had "he prolly doesn't speak english or spanish, he's fine by himself." but i went anyways and he speaks spanish. His name is Antonio. He is 9 years old and the look on his face when i asked him if he wanted to build a sand castle with me was priceless. He light up SOOO much! Definintely a divine moment that I'll always remember. The highligh of my weekend , by far. We ended up making a sand turtle that he named "cookie" lol.
Since the kids at the orphanage didn't have any plans this weekend we decided to throw them a pool party on sunday. They were sooo estatic that we came. Claudia was out of town so it was only me, Robin, and another girl named Elsie that I haven't talked about before. We had a blast. The bad thing is a handful of them have pink eye now. I tried hard not to touch my eyes just in case but I think I'm good. GREAT NEWS: I showed up to teach english on monday and the kids were ALL ready to go and behaved SOOO well. It was a complete miracle. It got so bad that last wednesday we told them we weren't going to show up because they didn't deserve it. What a complete turn around! also, claudia and I made the hard decision to separate the class into those who couldn't continue and those who could. The ones who aren't, are going to work with claudia because many of them either have ADD or major psychological problems or are traumatized from past experiences--whether that was sexual abuse, neglect, etc.
Thank you for all your encouraging emails. That really helped me and continues to help me all the time.
Ciao, Natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. I might be tutoring/teaching a 15yr old dominican girl english. I haven't gotten ahold of her yet though. Guidance and patience with her specific learning style (Tal, I'm becoming a teacher like you now...lol)
2. the kids at the orphanage that seriously need psychological help and counseling
3. the kids at the orphanage get rid of their pink eye
4. Praise: i lost my 10 pg spanish paper that i had already written and PRAISE GOD i put my disk drive into another computer and it came up. i didn't have to write it again!!! what a miracle!
5. Praise: i'm doing a lot better with temptation with boys YAY FINALLY! but please still pray for self control and the desire for me to follow God instead of the world in this way.
Monday, March 17
Different Perspective
Hola Todas,
How are you guys? Things here have been interesting. I've received several encouraging emails from lots of you. I wasn't doing too hot earlier. I've been feeling really spiritually empty, and Praise God my mom called me in a perfect time right when I needed to talk to her.
The orphanage has been really frustrating. Claudia and I have been going and every time the kids aren't ready. You guys would be flabergasted by how unorganized the school system is down here. We came and the kids were moving around mattresses and then when we FINALLY started 30 min late, they wouldn't listen to me, pay attention, and were really disrespectful. So, as a result we've had enough and told the kids that this is NOT acceptable and we're not going to come on wednesday as a result so they can see what they're missing out on. Tomorrow we're talking to the mom (senora) of the house and telling her these problems. She's half the problem because she gives the kids chores to do when she knows we're coming then. They're not learning anything and not even learning how to respect people either.
I can't believe I only have 5 1/2 weeks left. How weird! I've realized that I really love this country and really hate it at the same time. I hate their systems of doing things (esp education) because they don't value it. But I absolutely adore the music, how much this country celebrates even the smallest of things, and the fact that the world moves a lot slower down here. It's relieving for once not to be soooo busy with too many committments. I still don't enjoy the glares and rude looks I get from Dominican girls though. I still don't really have any dominican girl friends. oh well. it sucks but I just have to deal with the fact.
The other day I was sitting reading my Bible and journaling and I noticed several Haitians walking around the corner. but to my knowledge, NOTHING existed around the corner, only a lot of plants and nature. Well...I was curious and went around the corner and there was a little nature trail. So I followed it and low and behold I saw something I couldn't believe. In the middle of nowhere, some haitians had constructed a house out of cardboard boxes, sheets, and sticks. It was the poorest house I'd ever seen. I can't believe it exists behind these beautiful apartment buildings. It was as if two worlds were existing in the same place. I wish you guys could've seen it. I just couldn't believe that they had to live there. I wonder what they do when it rains...
so, i'm guessing the haitians definitely ate our cat. sad day lol. he has been missing for 3 1/2 weeks. don't expect him back anytime soon. Last weekend we went to the beach--Sosua. It was beautiful as usual and me and my friend robin shared a virgin pina colada in a pineapple. there was actually chunks of pineapple in it. it was DELICIOSO! Qué rico la bebida! (the drink tasted amazing). well I don't have much to say this time.
Ciao, Natalia
Prayer Requests:
1. That our meeting goes well with Rosa (the mom at the orphanage) tomorrow at 9:30am (6:30am for you guys)
2. temptation with boys (but praise God it's been getting better)
3. the kids at the orphanage would learn something or there would be some progress
How are you guys? Things here have been interesting. I've received several encouraging emails from lots of you. I wasn't doing too hot earlier. I've been feeling really spiritually empty, and Praise God my mom called me in a perfect time right when I needed to talk to her.
The orphanage has been really frustrating. Claudia and I have been going and every time the kids aren't ready. You guys would be flabergasted by how unorganized the school system is down here. We came and the kids were moving around mattresses and then when we FINALLY started 30 min late, they wouldn't listen to me, pay attention, and were really disrespectful. So, as a result we've had enough and told the kids that this is NOT acceptable and we're not going to come on wednesday as a result so they can see what they're missing out on. Tomorrow we're talking to the mom (senora) of the house and telling her these problems. She's half the problem because she gives the kids chores to do when she knows we're coming then. They're not learning anything and not even learning how to respect people either.
I can't believe I only have 5 1/2 weeks left. How weird! I've realized that I really love this country and really hate it at the same time. I hate their systems of doing things (esp education) because they don't value it. But I absolutely adore the music, how much this country celebrates even the smallest of things, and the fact that the world moves a lot slower down here. It's relieving for once not to be soooo busy with too many committments. I still don't enjoy the glares and rude looks I get from Dominican girls though. I still don't really have any dominican girl friends. oh well. it sucks but I just have to deal with the fact.
The other day I was sitting reading my Bible and journaling and I noticed several Haitians walking around the corner. but to my knowledge, NOTHING existed around the corner, only a lot of plants and nature. Well...I was curious and went around the corner and there was a little nature trail. So I followed it and low and behold I saw something I couldn't believe. In the middle of nowhere, some haitians had constructed a house out of cardboard boxes, sheets, and sticks. It was the poorest house I'd ever seen. I can't believe it exists behind these beautiful apartment buildings. It was as if two worlds were existing in the same place. I wish you guys could've seen it. I just couldn't believe that they had to live there. I wonder what they do when it rains...
so, i'm guessing the haitians definitely ate our cat. sad day lol. he has been missing for 3 1/2 weeks. don't expect him back anytime soon. Last weekend we went to the beach--Sosua. It was beautiful as usual and me and my friend robin shared a virgin pina colada in a pineapple. there was actually chunks of pineapple in it. it was DELICIOSO! Qué rico la bebida! (the drink tasted amazing). well I don't have much to say this time.
Ciao, Natalia
Prayer Requests:
1. That our meeting goes well with Rosa (the mom at the orphanage) tomorrow at 9:30am (6:30am for you guys)
2. temptation with boys (but praise God it's been getting better)
3. the kids at the orphanage would learn something or there would be some progress
Friday, March 7
Lots to Say
Hola Todos,
I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to write. I've been extremely busy with writing papers, presentations, and traveling too. :) . Here's some pictures of my latest adventures. A while back I was able to go with a friend to 27 Charcos which means 27 Waterfalls. You pay for a guide, helmet, and life jacket. YOu hike thru rivers and literally swim and climb small waterfalls. it was AMAZING! our guide actually invited me back and he paid for me to go on all 27 Charcos with him. The first time I went with a friend of mine we only went on 7 out of the 27. I definitely took advantage of the chance to jump off on of them that was about 40 ft high. It was an amazing adrenaline rush.
So....my crazy cat is missing. We at first thought he found a girlfriend but he's been missing for 2 weeks now. Ok, this is sad but partly funny....but our mom said Haitians actually eat cats. There are a lot of haitians that live in my neighborhood. I'll let you put 2 and 2 together. pobrecito mimi fifi! it's not everyday your cat gets eaten by the neighbors...
I've gotten to go to a professional bball game. Yisette and I actually met one of the players outside of a dance club. I felt so privileged to be talking to a pro player. Guess how much tickets cost? $2 for general admission. $6 for the nice nice seats. that's freakin amazing! but the dominican republic is smart (i hope you can sense my sarcasm here...) by the fact they don't sell tickets by seat numbers. oh no....they just keep selling tickets, more tickets, until there is literally nowhere to stand and watch the game lol. good thinking, eh?! not....plus ashlie, i thought of you when watching them. you would've screamed at them so much they missed a lot of passes. our fox team could play these guys and prolly beat them if that tells you anything about the skill level. not exactly your typical NBA game but hey, at least i've been able to watch basketball in the DR since I'm missing it at fox. how are they doing, by the way?
Last weekend we went on an excursion to Samana. We stayed in a very very very nice hotel (it actually looked american and actually had a butt washer that me and yisette thought was a urinal). we hung out at the beach, went dancing that night, and then went whalewatching on a boat the next day. too bad half of our group got seasick on the boat. i don't know how i managed to miss out on the seasickness. almost all of our group even took dromamine (the med that helps with motion sickness). We also went on another horseback tour and swam at the waterfall in the picture. I actually got to swim under the waterfall and there was a cave under it too. I felt like I was in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Hey...I'm in a caribbean, aren't I?!
2 weeks ago Pedro, my host brother that actually lives in New York, came to visit. He's actually a really popular DJ here and spun at carnaval and at another dance club--tribeca. so he invited me and yisette to go and he played in a cueva/cave (that's what they're called the dance places in the street in carnaval). we got freakin VIP bracelets from him for free! everyone knows him. get this...his stage name is bling bling but is spelled blin blin lol. he's really nice, fun, friendly, and outgoing. i wished he lived here so we can all hang out but he doesn't. and just to clear things up before all the questions come, no he's not available. he's getting married next summer to a really cute dominican girl. He's the one in the picture above. The cueva is the picture above with all the people in it.
The orphanage has been very frustrating. None of the kids are doing their homework anymore, and half the time aren't even ready when I come. " i couldn't do my hw because i didn't have a pencil." they lose things all the time but this is the system that is VERY common down here. nobody cares about education. they kind of treat us like a joke. but Claudia are trying to keep hope and simply lower our expectations of what the kids absorb and learn with our time there. So far, I have seen a huge amount of progress with Yoanni whom I wrote the encouragement letter to. Praise God!!
I have officially rode on my first motorcycle and it happened to be in the dom republic!! it was amazing. my friend/guide anthony from the 27 charcos took me on his motorcycle.
That's all for now, ciao, Natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. hope for my orphanage and having them absorb something that Claudia and I are teaching them
2. still with self-control with dominican guys. it's my hardest battle down here.
3. christian fellowship--i have none
4. praise: i found a church awhile back that i go every wed and sun for. it's really awesome and the preacher speaks passionately from the Bible, not just "Christian topics" if you know what I mean.
5. a girl on our trip got Dengae fever and for her recooperation
Friday, February 15
Jarabacoa & Valentine's Day
Hola todos,
Como estan? Well I had the most amazing weekend. We went to Jarabacoa and rode horses. I actually got to gallop for the first time. It was the coolest thing I have EVER done before. It was so freeing. Each one of us had a little guy riding and guiding the horse that sat behind us. Ok...my "lil" guy was 16 but most of them were around 8 years old. At the end of the trail we came to a waterfall and got to swim in it. That was also another first. It was so powerful though, we couldn't stand directly under it without getting plastered with water and losing our swimsuit bottoms I'm sure. Not exactly on my list of things to try lol. Maybe next time, jk. lol.
Yesterday for valentine's day a group of 6 of us girls decided to surprise my kids at the orphanage and throw them a party. It was seriously my favorite valentine's day ever. The look on their faces when we were playing musical chairs, eating cake/candy/pop, and dancing merengue was priceless. Truly the face of Jesus himself it felt like. Funny story with the party though...as we were waiting to concho to the house it literally POURED. we were completely soaked when we arrived and after the party we were trying to catch a concho. Do you know how HARD it is to catch a concho at night when you can't see if it's a concho or not?! well....one of them stopped so we literally ran...all six gringa of us...and jumped in. we were so relieved to find one finally. the chofer was all like "ah ay ay girls! i'm not working right now." we felt pretty stupid lol. I have to say that was the first time getting kicked out of a concho. I guess there's a first for everything lol. After the party 8 other girls came over to my house and the 10 of us hung out and ate american junkfood for 3 hours talking. it was so much fun especially because it was with people I don't always hang out with. Good times.
Thank you grandma for your letter. That was sweet of you to send me a letter. The mail is SOOO slow here. I know other people have told me they've sent me some things via the mail but I haven't received them so far. I keep hoping every day it'll come but not yet. Oh well, I'll just learn to be patient.
Well, I met my host grandma this last week. She's such a sweetheart. She hugged me like twice and kept saying "tan bella!" which means how beautiful! lol. she lives in New York and is visiting for a little while. I asked her if she likes american food and she said not really lol. she always cooks dominican food. I have to say that I am way excited to cook dominican food this summer in the condo. I'm goin to have a friend or my host mom teach me how to make platanos maduros (my fav!), mangu, habichuelas, sancocho, and tostones. I know those words don't mean anything to you guys but you'll just have to try them. they're sooo delicious!!
Ciao! -natalia
Thanks for all your phone calls, letters, comments, and prayers! Dios les bendiga! (God bless you all!)
Prayer Requests/Praises:
1. I am so grateful that I've found a church I like going to. It's a pretty charasmatic church that has a wed night service which works perfect for my schedule.
2. I would not compromise my standards in guys just to date a guy down here.
3. I would get to hang out with dominican girls. yes, i have met one new one but we haven't hung out yet.
4. I would take the opportunities to speak spanish all the time. Because I have found that it's so much easier to understand and talk to my host parents when I'm in spanish mode all day long.
5. My little girl Joannie at the orphanage needs lots of love and attention. She's 10 and has a lot of anger and hurt bottled up. I felt led to write her a letter in spanish telling her what I and God see in her and to speak truth into her life. She really loved the letter. but keep praying for her
6. my friend Casey has decided to come back to God and needs support and guidance to hold strong in it esp in the carribean.
Tuesday, February 5
Carnaval
Hola Todos,
Well I had a blast this past weekend. Yisette and I went to "Carnaval" in La Vega on Sunday with our host parents. these are some pictures. There's guys that dress up in scary looking masks and go around the streets. Each group represents a different "Barrio" or pour neighborhood of the Dominican Republic. They'll take pictures with you and it's tradition for them to hit girls in the butt with their fabric-covered coconuts. I got hit 5 times! I even have a bruise now. Those things hurt! If you're not looking, they whap you in the butt. It was funny because I told my host mom to take a picture of me but she's really not technology savvy so it took 3 times to take a picture of me, but it was funny.
On Saturday I went to my friend Lentz's (lance) concert. It started at 9:30 SUPPOSIDLY. but naive lil natalie thought we were going by american time....no...we definitely waited there until it finally started at midnight! only 2 1/2 hours later...no biggie. lol. But it was fun. I definitely met his ex-girlfriend who doesn't really like me which made things really awkward. Oh well...awkward is life.
Claudia and I had our first real english teaching session with the kids at the orphanage. It was a little chaotic but I taught my first english lesson in spanish. Man, the skills I'm building now...we taught them "left" and "right". We are also teaching them about God and praying with them too. We're mixing catholicism and evangelic christianity.
Last night I told my host mom that my butt was kinda sore from the carnaval, and guess what she does!? she gets vapo-rub and brings it to my room. I'm all like, "Umm...I don't need that . Thanks though..." She was giving me butt cream!! lol! How the heck would vapo-rub help my butt feel better?! You tell me. Our lights went out last night 3 times in a row. They do that frequently but now my TV doesn't work. dang! i liked watching my latin music station. bummer!
Next weekend our group has it's next excursion to Jarabacoa and Carnaval. I'm really excited. there should be horses that we can ride. I hope I don't get hit in the butt again at Carnaval but probably will.
Ps-Judi, I would LOVE you to send me candy. i just found a place that sells starburst and had my first one here in the DR. but i miss skittles and swedish fish, and sour patch kids. i'm such a candy holic and they only have ONE place that sells only starburst.
ciao! -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. I still need prayer that I can shine for God in a place with so much temptation
2. Teaching the kids will go well
3. That I take my mom's advice and I find things other than dancing to do for fun
Thursday, January 31
More Pix
These are pics of my kids at the orphanage! The 2nd to last one is a picture of the orphanage and the last pic is of my neighborhood and the minimarket on the corner that I always go to.
The Orphanage
Hola Todas,
I hope you guys are doing well and not freezing to death in the States as I'm peeling from a sunburn lol. This week was packed full of stuff. The part I'm most excited for is my community service with the Orphanage. It's been a little tense because the system is way more relaxed down here but I like it. Claudia and I are going to be teaching 10 kids from ages 7-11 twice a week for 5 hours total. We met with the senora of the house and our profesor today and worked out a plan. It reminds me a lot of my park in Portland. But now I have the new struggle of learning spanish as the kids learn english. It's good though because that is my struggle whereas leading these activities is a comfort to me. But Claudia is the opposite. She's bilingual but struggles with leading the kids. I think we'll make a good pair. The house is freakin amazing!!! We actually get to teach them Bible lessons too!
Claudia and I are getting closer. We have 3 classes together and she's an amazing catholic girl. She really lives out her faith in such a real but different way then I'm used her. Her and I came up with the plan to have a weekly time with whomever wants to join to pray together, talk about our weeks, fellowship and eat together, and to pray together. We're going to take turns at different people's houses each time. I'm super excited! We start not tomorrow but the next Fri.
This weekend we're going to carnival with our host parents (sunday). I'm excited because we get to see where our host mom grew up and get to meet family. this should be interesting...lol.
You guys will all be happy to know I'm feeling more at home here. I'm getting more acustomed to the culture and I love it here. I still have some bad days--like are to be expected but the majority are good. It only took me a month...lol. One guy yelled at one of the girls in our program in english "Hey there pumpkin pie!" lol!!! Who says that?! I guess he's never been to the states to know that people don't say that. He was trying to mean it as a compliment but it was freakin hilarious. I've also become more comfortable with talking with Dominicans. Today I initiated conversation with a dom student that lives in my house, with a vendor, and other random people.
Ok, I know this is petty but I've been craving skittles or starburst or ANY fruity candy down here. NOBODY sells it. finally robin found a place that sells starburst and i must have looked all over the place but could not find it. I even walked 20 minutes to find it and no luck. sad day...pobrecita...Man, I'm pathetic.
So, God has been doing interesting stuff in my life recently. I'm finally able to see him start to work down here in me. He's been showing me a lot about my identity. I told you guys how hard it is to feel like I'll never fit in because of the color of my skin. Well, I learned in my class and as I was praying earlier that no matter where I am I will always be unique but that's ok. I need to be proud of where I come from because whether I like it or not, it's my heritage. God can use any culture to affect another in unique ways. I have also seen lots and lots of butterflies and if you know me really well you know why that's significant. Thanks steph for telling me that story about butterflies. I think about it everyday no joke.
One more thing. I'm not a baseball fan but omgosh this country LOVES their baseball! they're all fanatics! You should've seen how crazy they went in the streets until 4 or 5am after the Aguilas (santiago's home team) won the championship. wow! that's all I have to say...
Ciao! -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. Details work out to meet with group for Christian encouragement/fellowship
2. I will apply myself when studying when it's not that difficult down here
3. For the 12 kids we're going to be working with
4. More confidence with spanish and being ok with the fact I'm american
5. That I'd be able to talk to my roommate more about the hope I have in my life with Jesus and also with my friend Casey.
I hope you guys are doing well and not freezing to death in the States as I'm peeling from a sunburn lol. This week was packed full of stuff. The part I'm most excited for is my community service with the Orphanage. It's been a little tense because the system is way more relaxed down here but I like it. Claudia and I are going to be teaching 10 kids from ages 7-11 twice a week for 5 hours total. We met with the senora of the house and our profesor today and worked out a plan. It reminds me a lot of my park in Portland. But now I have the new struggle of learning spanish as the kids learn english. It's good though because that is my struggle whereas leading these activities is a comfort to me. But Claudia is the opposite. She's bilingual but struggles with leading the kids. I think we'll make a good pair. The house is freakin amazing!!! We actually get to teach them Bible lessons too!
Claudia and I are getting closer. We have 3 classes together and she's an amazing catholic girl. She really lives out her faith in such a real but different way then I'm used her. Her and I came up with the plan to have a weekly time with whomever wants to join to pray together, talk about our weeks, fellowship and eat together, and to pray together. We're going to take turns at different people's houses each time. I'm super excited! We start not tomorrow but the next Fri.
This weekend we're going to carnival with our host parents (sunday). I'm excited because we get to see where our host mom grew up and get to meet family. this should be interesting...lol.
You guys will all be happy to know I'm feeling more at home here. I'm getting more acustomed to the culture and I love it here. I still have some bad days--like are to be expected but the majority are good. It only took me a month...lol. One guy yelled at one of the girls in our program in english "Hey there pumpkin pie!" lol!!! Who says that?! I guess he's never been to the states to know that people don't say that. He was trying to mean it as a compliment but it was freakin hilarious. I've also become more comfortable with talking with Dominicans. Today I initiated conversation with a dom student that lives in my house, with a vendor, and other random people.
Ok, I know this is petty but I've been craving skittles or starburst or ANY fruity candy down here. NOBODY sells it. finally robin found a place that sells starburst and i must have looked all over the place but could not find it. I even walked 20 minutes to find it and no luck. sad day...pobrecita...Man, I'm pathetic.
So, God has been doing interesting stuff in my life recently. I'm finally able to see him start to work down here in me. He's been showing me a lot about my identity. I told you guys how hard it is to feel like I'll never fit in because of the color of my skin. Well, I learned in my class and as I was praying earlier that no matter where I am I will always be unique but that's ok. I need to be proud of where I come from because whether I like it or not, it's my heritage. God can use any culture to affect another in unique ways. I have also seen lots and lots of butterflies and if you know me really well you know why that's significant. Thanks steph for telling me that story about butterflies. I think about it everyday no joke.
One more thing. I'm not a baseball fan but omgosh this country LOVES their baseball! they're all fanatics! You should've seen how crazy they went in the streets until 4 or 5am after the Aguilas (santiago's home team) won the championship. wow! that's all I have to say...
Ciao! -natalie
Prayer Requests:
1. Details work out to meet with group for Christian encouragement/fellowship
2. I will apply myself when studying when it's not that difficult down here
3. For the 12 kids we're going to be working with
4. More confidence with spanish and being ok with the fact I'm american
5. That I'd be able to talk to my roommate more about the hope I have in my life with Jesus and also with my friend Casey.
Friday, January 25
Surviving
Hola Todos,
Well I've officially been here for 3 weeks. Some days I love it here, some days I hate it here. Last week, some girls and I went to Caberete to the beach for the weekend. It was fun. The bars and discotecs are right on the sand. I got to play beach volleyball and kicked butt actually! it was so much fun. I was playing with two argentinians, and 3 dominicans, and one italian I think. For all those who know what my favorite thing to do on the beach at night, i was able to do it: run while looking up and never looking down. It was so beautiful. How can someone not believe in a God that is so creative and beautiful when looking at such beautiful hand-crafted creation!?!
A friend and I were able to play basketball today. I feel pretty rusty from H.S. but it was fun none the less. I even beat him the first game...unfortunately I lost the next two. I think I'm going to go more often. Playing sports is such an outlet for me when I'm stressed or simply want to lose myself and not think about anything.
This same friend, Lentz (pronounced Lance) is an R & B singer and he's really good too. He gave me his lyrics today and he's going to give me my own autographed copy of a cd of his soon. I actually get to be his special guest on Feb 2nd at his performance. VIP baby!! it should be fun. and for all of you who are already thinking this, NO he's only a friend. lol.
Here's some of the differences between the States and the D.R.:
1. in the states at night it's quiet. here, there's no quiet rules and so music is BLASTED until 4am most nights.
2. you put toilet paper in the waste basket, not in the toilet. weird, huh?!
3. at the dinner table, people just get up and get what they want (at least at my house). they don't ever pass things around for everyone to take things
4. people can ride, stand, or even dance around in the back of a truck while people are driving. Heck, you can do whatever you want while driving. I've NEVER seen a car pulled over here. if there's nobody coming while you're sitting at a red light, you go. nobody cares.
5. one word: CONCHOS. they're taxis that fit 8 people in a 5 person car. They're sort of like public transportation. they only cost 12 pesos which equals about 30 cents. sometimes (usually) you're squished next to lots of people, even if you've never met them before.
6. pedestrians DO NOT have the right away. there's no such thing as cross walks here.
7. people never recycle, which drives me nuts! there is so much trash on the sides of the road and everywhere but people don't even double take it.
I'm starting to get a tan now. my sunburn finally went away. A couple of you have been telling me it's snowing in oregon. how weird!?! i wish i would've worn shorts today because it's about 85 degrees. it's starting to get warmer. you can always tell who is dominican. they're always wearing pants.
Good news! I went to visit the orphanage that I'll be volunteering at. The kids are so adorable! there's girls and boys from ages 4-12. It reminds me a lot of my park at Montavilla. I got to play basketball with them and we all did kart-wheels together. They're much better than I am. They also did a dance for us and sang a song. I'm going to have them teach it to me. So, I'll be going in with my friend Claudia (another girl from the program) every mon and wed from 10-12am to help them with homework, play with them, and do whatever. I've already memorized a couple of names (it's my first goal in order to get to know them better): Adriana, Joelie, Joannie, Katie, Estephanie (that was the first one i remembered...;) ) Jaime, and I don't remember the others. Hey, that's at least better than nothing.
Thanks for all your guys' comments. it's comforting to hear (read) comments from friends and family. it makes me think of home. thanks for calling me ash the other day. it helped hearing your voice :). thanks also for all the prayers. i can definitely see God working, even if it's hard sometimes.
Ciao! -nat
Prayer Requests:
1. boy drama. i would like God's wisdom to know how to act and what to say while i'm having to make some tough decisions.
2. i would continue to stand for what i believe and stay close to God when i feel surrounded in total darkness and pleasure island.
3. i would be able to pour into the lives of the orphans i'll be working with.
Well I've officially been here for 3 weeks. Some days I love it here, some days I hate it here. Last week, some girls and I went to Caberete to the beach for the weekend. It was fun. The bars and discotecs are right on the sand. I got to play beach volleyball and kicked butt actually! it was so much fun. I was playing with two argentinians, and 3 dominicans, and one italian I think. For all those who know what my favorite thing to do on the beach at night, i was able to do it: run while looking up and never looking down. It was so beautiful. How can someone not believe in a God that is so creative and beautiful when looking at such beautiful hand-crafted creation!?!
A friend and I were able to play basketball today. I feel pretty rusty from H.S. but it was fun none the less. I even beat him the first game...unfortunately I lost the next two. I think I'm going to go more often. Playing sports is such an outlet for me when I'm stressed or simply want to lose myself and not think about anything.
This same friend, Lentz (pronounced Lance) is an R & B singer and he's really good too. He gave me his lyrics today and he's going to give me my own autographed copy of a cd of his soon. I actually get to be his special guest on Feb 2nd at his performance. VIP baby!! it should be fun. and for all of you who are already thinking this, NO he's only a friend. lol.
Here's some of the differences between the States and the D.R.:
1. in the states at night it's quiet. here, there's no quiet rules and so music is BLASTED until 4am most nights.
2. you put toilet paper in the waste basket, not in the toilet. weird, huh?!
3. at the dinner table, people just get up and get what they want (at least at my house). they don't ever pass things around for everyone to take things
4. people can ride, stand, or even dance around in the back of a truck while people are driving. Heck, you can do whatever you want while driving. I've NEVER seen a car pulled over here. if there's nobody coming while you're sitting at a red light, you go. nobody cares.
5. one word: CONCHOS. they're taxis that fit 8 people in a 5 person car. They're sort of like public transportation. they only cost 12 pesos which equals about 30 cents. sometimes (usually) you're squished next to lots of people, even if you've never met them before.
6. pedestrians DO NOT have the right away. there's no such thing as cross walks here.
7. people never recycle, which drives me nuts! there is so much trash on the sides of the road and everywhere but people don't even double take it.
I'm starting to get a tan now. my sunburn finally went away. A couple of you have been telling me it's snowing in oregon. how weird!?! i wish i would've worn shorts today because it's about 85 degrees. it's starting to get warmer. you can always tell who is dominican. they're always wearing pants.
Good news! I went to visit the orphanage that I'll be volunteering at. The kids are so adorable! there's girls and boys from ages 4-12. It reminds me a lot of my park at Montavilla. I got to play basketball with them and we all did kart-wheels together. They're much better than I am. They also did a dance for us and sang a song. I'm going to have them teach it to me. So, I'll be going in with my friend Claudia (another girl from the program) every mon and wed from 10-12am to help them with homework, play with them, and do whatever. I've already memorized a couple of names (it's my first goal in order to get to know them better): Adriana, Joelie, Joannie, Katie, Estephanie (that was the first one i remembered...;) ) Jaime, and I don't remember the others. Hey, that's at least better than nothing.
Thanks for all your guys' comments. it's comforting to hear (read) comments from friends and family. it makes me think of home. thanks for calling me ash the other day. it helped hearing your voice :). thanks also for all the prayers. i can definitely see God working, even if it's hard sometimes.
Ciao! -nat
Prayer Requests:
1. boy drama. i would like God's wisdom to know how to act and what to say while i'm having to make some tough decisions.
2. i would continue to stand for what i believe and stay close to God when i feel surrounded in total darkness and pleasure island.
3. i would be able to pour into the lives of the orphans i'll be working with.
Friday, January 18
First Full week of classes--ah!
Hola,
I hope you guys are doing well. Everyday I feel a bit different. For some reason, everyday there's a new struggle down here to overcome. I'm still experiencing culture shock and I really miss just hanging out with my friends in the states speaking english. I really miss going to Fox with everyone. I miss chapel, I miss Potter's Hands, I miss hanging out with my roommates in my apt. I miss volleyball and my friends there too. I just really miss all that. I feel like a tourist everyday. The other day was really hard because God showed me a reality in a way that wasn't the easiest to learn. I realized yesterday that no matter what I do to try to fit in here, I will never be considered a Dominican or a local based on the color of my skin. I will always be seen as a white rich girl (because being white down here means you have $$) and a tourist. Even if I married a guy down here, I still wouldn't be accepted as a local. It just kind of hit hard and made me feel really lonely. It's as if everyday I have to wake up and start that struggle over again. It's only the 2nd week I'm here but it's still really hard. I REALLY miss American food. If you know me pretty well, you know that I love ethnic food but I've had ethnic food overload. I just want a PB & J sandwich. I just asked the asst director and he said that there is PB & J down here. yay!! i'm totally going to buy some!
Well, my classes went well for the first week. I'm going to drop Afro-carribean culture and I'm going to take a Film class instead. The culture class is really boring already and is basically the same information that I'm learning in my other classes. It's a weird system down here. Ok, normally in the States you'd get a list of books from your Prof of the class material and everyday you have to read for that class. Here, it's different. Sometimes they'll make you buy a book, but it's not usually a book. Usually it's a giant packet of articles or paper that you have to go buy from the Kiosk. They photocopy it for you and bind it. Weird, huh!? Plus, the library is way different. You can't check out any books really. All of them are basically the same as reference books. Plus, you can't grab the book yourself. You go up to the counter, tell the guy which one you want, and he gets it for you. Then, if you need to read it outside the library, you can photocopy it downstairs. but do they let you photocopy it yourself? oh no! you have to stand in line and they do it for you. I miss doing things myself. In a way it makes me feel more like a tourist which i'm hating right now. I just want tobe able to cook my own meals, check out my own books, and walk by myself at night but I can't do any of those. Also, (which is nice and convenient) ISA is providing taxis to all ISA Students (me) who have night classes at PUCMM so that we don't have to walk home at night. I figured that'd make some of you feel more at ease ;).
This weekend is a long weekend. We never have classes on Fridays and Mon is a holiday. I don't remember what it's called but a group of us girls are going to Caberete (the beach) tomorrow and spending one or two nights there. I'm really excited to be able to relax on a beach that's not a tourist beach. La Isla Saona was fun but was FULL of tourists, and only tourists. I'll be sure to take pictures. I would add more pictures, but for some reason my camera doesn't work at this computer so I'll add them next week from a different computer.
Ok, I have a funny story. I bought a cell phone down here from the company "Orange." Well, there was a worker there who understood english and so he helped me out in the buying process. Ok, well anyways, at the end, he told me in english I was free to go and that was it. But, for SOME reason it didn't quite process in my mind, so I kept waiting and waiting there for 15 minutes to be done thinking "Gosh this takes forever! hurry up!". I finally asked him again after 15 or 20 minutes and he said "I TOLD you you were done like an hour ago!>!!?" I think that funniest part about the whole thing is he told me in english and I still didn't get it. what a ditz! They probably thought "oh my gosh! what an american!" lol. ah...good times.
Prayer Requests:
1. details for this weekend would go good and we'd be safe
2. I would spend more quiet time with God because it's kind of been hard to get in a routine so far down here.
3. That I'd reach out and have confidence EVERYDAY
4. That I'd be able to see and fufill the needs of the orphans I'm going to be working with in my comm service (oops I forgot to tell you guys that. I'm going to be working with Orphan kids 4 hours a week for a class of mine! I'm super excited! It starts next week).
I hope you guys are doing well. Everyday I feel a bit different. For some reason, everyday there's a new struggle down here to overcome. I'm still experiencing culture shock and I really miss just hanging out with my friends in the states speaking english. I really miss going to Fox with everyone. I miss chapel, I miss Potter's Hands, I miss hanging out with my roommates in my apt. I miss volleyball and my friends there too. I just really miss all that. I feel like a tourist everyday. The other day was really hard because God showed me a reality in a way that wasn't the easiest to learn. I realized yesterday that no matter what I do to try to fit in here, I will never be considered a Dominican or a local based on the color of my skin. I will always be seen as a white rich girl (because being white down here means you have $$) and a tourist. Even if I married a guy down here, I still wouldn't be accepted as a local. It just kind of hit hard and made me feel really lonely. It's as if everyday I have to wake up and start that struggle over again. It's only the 2nd week I'm here but it's still really hard. I REALLY miss American food. If you know me pretty well, you know that I love ethnic food but I've had ethnic food overload. I just want a PB & J sandwich. I just asked the asst director and he said that there is PB & J down here. yay!! i'm totally going to buy some!
Well, my classes went well for the first week. I'm going to drop Afro-carribean culture and I'm going to take a Film class instead. The culture class is really boring already and is basically the same information that I'm learning in my other classes. It's a weird system down here. Ok, normally in the States you'd get a list of books from your Prof of the class material and everyday you have to read for that class. Here, it's different. Sometimes they'll make you buy a book, but it's not usually a book. Usually it's a giant packet of articles or paper that you have to go buy from the Kiosk. They photocopy it for you and bind it. Weird, huh!? Plus, the library is way different. You can't check out any books really. All of them are basically the same as reference books. Plus, you can't grab the book yourself. You go up to the counter, tell the guy which one you want, and he gets it for you. Then, if you need to read it outside the library, you can photocopy it downstairs. but do they let you photocopy it yourself? oh no! you have to stand in line and they do it for you. I miss doing things myself. In a way it makes me feel more like a tourist which i'm hating right now. I just want tobe able to cook my own meals, check out my own books, and walk by myself at night but I can't do any of those. Also, (which is nice and convenient) ISA is providing taxis to all ISA Students (me) who have night classes at PUCMM so that we don't have to walk home at night. I figured that'd make some of you feel more at ease ;).
This weekend is a long weekend. We never have classes on Fridays and Mon is a holiday. I don't remember what it's called but a group of us girls are going to Caberete (the beach) tomorrow and spending one or two nights there. I'm really excited to be able to relax on a beach that's not a tourist beach. La Isla Saona was fun but was FULL of tourists, and only tourists. I'll be sure to take pictures. I would add more pictures, but for some reason my camera doesn't work at this computer so I'll add them next week from a different computer.
Ok, I have a funny story. I bought a cell phone down here from the company "Orange." Well, there was a worker there who understood english and so he helped me out in the buying process. Ok, well anyways, at the end, he told me in english I was free to go and that was it. But, for SOME reason it didn't quite process in my mind, so I kept waiting and waiting there for 15 minutes to be done thinking "Gosh this takes forever! hurry up!". I finally asked him again after 15 or 20 minutes and he said "I TOLD you you were done like an hour ago!>!!?" I think that funniest part about the whole thing is he told me in english and I still didn't get it. what a ditz! They probably thought "oh my gosh! what an american!" lol. ah...good times.
Prayer Requests:
1. details for this weekend would go good and we'd be safe
2. I would spend more quiet time with God because it's kind of been hard to get in a routine so far down here.
3. That I'd reach out and have confidence EVERYDAY
4. That I'd be able to see and fufill the needs of the orphans I'm going to be working with in my comm service (oops I forgot to tell you guys that. I'm going to be working with Orphan kids 4 hours a week for a class of mine! I'm super excited! It starts next week).
Monday, January 14
La Isla Saona (Island Excursion)
Hola!
I had my first class this morn. It went pretty well. The prof is really nice and really funny too. I didn't know a spanish grammer class could be so fun, lol. He spoke really slowly which was a nice change.
This past weekend, our group (ISA) had our first excursion to the city La Romana and to the Island of Saona. I felt like I was on a movie. They had people there wanting to sell you massages, the sand was softer than ever, and the water was warm. It was my roommate (Yisette)'s first time swimming and so I got to teach her how to swim in the Carribean Sea!! We drank coke while swimming in the sea. They offered Rum n' Coke but I was a good girl and only had coke. Alcohol is EVERYWHERE here! Even on the boats! They call it "Cuba Libre" here for Rum n' Coke. Just in case you're all interested lol. While on the island, Robin, Katelyn, and I found the most exotic, big, and beautiful shells. Of course we picked them up and brought them home with us. They're my new decorations in my room.
For those of you who are Fox students, you'll appreciate this. Kaylie (I forgot her last name), but she's Ashley Sheller's old roommate is HERE in la Rep Dominicana!! I saw her this morn after my first class and I was all like, "Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?!?!" It automatically made me feel more at home. I'm excited to hang out with her. She's in another exchange program with PUCMM. (You pronounce my university like this: "pook-a-my-ma")
Well, I still am completely exhausted at times, for example last night. My whole body was fatigued, but praise God because the malaria pills haven't made me sick, and I haven't had any nightmares from them at all! what a miracle!
Wed, I'm going to buy a Dom cell phone and int'l minutes to call home. Sorry, since it's really expensive I can't call all of you. But once I get my cell phone #, I'll write it here and if you have an int'l phone card, you're welcome to call me if you want. Just remember, I'm 4 hours ahead of West Cost time. It's 10:45am right now, and 6:45am in Oregon.
Pues, tengo que irme (I have to go) ciao! -natalia
Prayer Requests:
1. My cell phone works and I'll FINALLY be able to call my parents
2. I can understand and not feel intimidated in my classes (confidence in asking Q's)
3. I'd be smart in who I hang out with (as far as dominican guys)
I had my first class this morn. It went pretty well. The prof is really nice and really funny too. I didn't know a spanish grammer class could be so fun, lol. He spoke really slowly which was a nice change.
This past weekend, our group (ISA) had our first excursion to the city La Romana and to the Island of Saona. I felt like I was on a movie. They had people there wanting to sell you massages, the sand was softer than ever, and the water was warm. It was my roommate (Yisette)'s first time swimming and so I got to teach her how to swim in the Carribean Sea!! We drank coke while swimming in the sea. They offered Rum n' Coke but I was a good girl and only had coke. Alcohol is EVERYWHERE here! Even on the boats! They call it "Cuba Libre" here for Rum n' Coke. Just in case you're all interested lol. While on the island, Robin, Katelyn, and I found the most exotic, big, and beautiful shells. Of course we picked them up and brought them home with us. They're my new decorations in my room.
For those of you who are Fox students, you'll appreciate this. Kaylie (I forgot her last name), but she's Ashley Sheller's old roommate is HERE in la Rep Dominicana!! I saw her this morn after my first class and I was all like, "Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?!?!" It automatically made me feel more at home. I'm excited to hang out with her. She's in another exchange program with PUCMM. (You pronounce my university like this: "pook-a-my-ma")
Well, I still am completely exhausted at times, for example last night. My whole body was fatigued, but praise God because the malaria pills haven't made me sick, and I haven't had any nightmares from them at all! what a miracle!
Wed, I'm going to buy a Dom cell phone and int'l minutes to call home. Sorry, since it's really expensive I can't call all of you. But once I get my cell phone #, I'll write it here and if you have an int'l phone card, you're welcome to call me if you want. Just remember, I'm 4 hours ahead of West Cost time. It's 10:45am right now, and 6:45am in Oregon.
Pues, tengo que irme (I have to go) ciao! -natalia
Prayer Requests:
1. My cell phone works and I'll FINALLY be able to call my parents
2. I can understand and not feel intimidated in my classes (confidence in asking Q's)
3. I'd be smart in who I hang out with (as far as dominican guys)
Thursday, January 10
first week here
hola todos! i'm surviving here...barely. two words: culture shock. i have had a hard time adjusting esp to the language but everyday i've been improving. today i finally met my first dominican GIRL. her name is perla. she's one of the many students that we have on campus who help us and support international students. Yisette and i have been going out the last 2 nights. one night to a billiards place and then a dance where i learned the dance "la bachata". then, last night we went to a restaurant/kareokee place named "el fogon". it was alot of fun. a group of us gringas sang summer nights by grease. i was surprised that they had english songs for kareokee.
we spent the last 2 days going around the city. we spent time at some museums. tomorrow, we have an excursion to la Romana. it has BEAUTIFUL beaches there. guess where i'm going to spend most of my time...? in the water. i'll have to buy a towel because i forgot to bring one from home.
it's been so nice reading your guys' replies and facebook messages/emails. it's been so difficult because i have to speak spanish 24/7. i really want to call to the US but i'm working out some technical difficulties with that.
Thanks for the prayers with my family. it's getting easier and easier to understand and connect with my host family here. but i literally have to tell myself EVERYDAY that i need to take one day at a time. the other morning i was really homesick for my family and friends and my own culture. but the directors here really support us and they want an update in one week. i'm also surprised how much i miss american music and english. i didn't realize what a comfort thing it was for me.
it's really fun talking to some of the dominican guys here because quite a few of them are fluent in english. but ALL of them have learned it by studying in NY in the states so they all sound like lil gangstas. lol. it's funny to listen to them because you'd swear they're from the states.
well, we start classes next mon. good news, i didn't quite pass the written part of the test, but i did pass my oral. and we're all able to take classes. i have a comm service class with orphan kids 4 hours per week. i also have a grammer class and some culture classes. even BETTER news,...i never have classes on fri!! yay! and i only have classes that start at 8am on mon and tues. the other days start at 10am or 11am but i do have some night classes. luckily, yisette has a similar schedule and she and i can walk home at night after our class together.
ciao! -nat
Prayer Requests:
1. that i step out of my comfort zone by meeting dominicans and talking to venders
2. i have a huge fear of talking or answering the phone here because i'm afraid i couldn't understand the person on the other line.
3. security: we have a lot of armed security on campus because a girl--esp an american girl (gringa) is NOT recommended to walk on the street at night alone. i have to take a taxi any time i want to go to a restaurant or dancing.
4. self-control because every person in my program drinks and i don't. not all of them get drunkbut they drink and it's around me all the time. plus self-control with dominican guys because if you give them the time of day, they'll be all over you. this request i'm being very vulnerable with because i have a hard time not flirting sometimes because it's fun and easy to. so, i'd appreciate prayer when interacting with dom guys.
praises:
1. i passed my test (more or less)
2. i'm getting better with my spanish little by little
3. i'm making more connections and getting used to the dom lifestyle/culture.
we spent the last 2 days going around the city. we spent time at some museums. tomorrow, we have an excursion to la Romana. it has BEAUTIFUL beaches there. guess where i'm going to spend most of my time...? in the water. i'll have to buy a towel because i forgot to bring one from home.
it's been so nice reading your guys' replies and facebook messages/emails. it's been so difficult because i have to speak spanish 24/7. i really want to call to the US but i'm working out some technical difficulties with that.
Thanks for the prayers with my family. it's getting easier and easier to understand and connect with my host family here. but i literally have to tell myself EVERYDAY that i need to take one day at a time. the other morning i was really homesick for my family and friends and my own culture. but the directors here really support us and they want an update in one week. i'm also surprised how much i miss american music and english. i didn't realize what a comfort thing it was for me.
it's really fun talking to some of the dominican guys here because quite a few of them are fluent in english. but ALL of them have learned it by studying in NY in the states so they all sound like lil gangstas. lol. it's funny to listen to them because you'd swear they're from the states.
well, we start classes next mon. good news, i didn't quite pass the written part of the test, but i did pass my oral. and we're all able to take classes. i have a comm service class with orphan kids 4 hours per week. i also have a grammer class and some culture classes. even BETTER news,...i never have classes on fri!! yay! and i only have classes that start at 8am on mon and tues. the other days start at 10am or 11am but i do have some night classes. luckily, yisette has a similar schedule and she and i can walk home at night after our class together.
ciao! -nat
Prayer Requests:
1. that i step out of my comfort zone by meeting dominicans and talking to venders
2. i have a huge fear of talking or answering the phone here because i'm afraid i couldn't understand the person on the other line.
3. security: we have a lot of armed security on campus because a girl--esp an american girl (gringa) is NOT recommended to walk on the street at night alone. i have to take a taxi any time i want to go to a restaurant or dancing.
4. self-control because every person in my program drinks and i don't. not all of them get drunkbut they drink and it's around me all the time. plus self-control with dominican guys because if you give them the time of day, they'll be all over you. this request i'm being very vulnerable with because i have a hard time not flirting sometimes because it's fun and easy to. so, i'd appreciate prayer when interacting with dom guys.
praises:
1. i passed my test (more or less)
2. i'm getting better with my spanish little by little
3. i'm making more connections and getting used to the dom lifestyle/culture.
pictures of my house
more pix. the first one is my host mom and me, the 2nd and 3rd are my room. the 4th is one of the 2 living rooms, and the last one is the dining room where we eat amazing dominican food. i adore the food here.
pictures
Sorry guys, this looks really messy but here are some pictures. the first one is my crazy cat Fifi Mimi. the 2nd one is me in NYC. the 3rd is the view of Santiago from a monument. the next is a pic of a dominican artist at one of the museums we went to. the last one is another view of the city with santiago's river in it that i still can't remember the name of...Monday, January 7
First Couple Days
hola todos!
I'm now in the D.R. and I'm experiencing culture shock. I have a lot of learning to do. I'm proud of myself because I've been speaking spanish (broken spanish mind you) all the time. I like my family and my roommate (Yisette) is a life saver. She is bilingual and helps me with my spanish. It's hard to understand my host mom but it takes time (or so I've heard...) There's actually 3 other students --not host brothers--that live in my host house but we haven't met them yet. They are Dominican students studying medicine at PUCMM (my university). Wow, I really want to be back home. It is SOOO difficult to understand the customs in another language. But my family and friends are flexible with me. And for all of you who are interested, Pedro (my host brother) is engaged, lol. He's off the market.
I took my placement exam today and I will find out the results this wed. Classes start next Mon for us but tomorrow for the Dominicans. Let me just say, I have the WEIRDEST cat at my house. He has two names: Fifi and Mimi and for some odd reason he thinks it's fun to suck on my shirts when I'm wearing them. He'll just attach to my side and try to eat my clothes. It's so strange! Also, his favorite game is to hide underneath the bed and jump and attack your feet. It scared Yisette and me a lot the other night. Stephanie, you'll appreciate this: in order to get him out from the bed, I dangled the toy stephanie in front of him and he likes to attack it. lol. It's the only thing that works to get him out from under the bed.
I love my house. It's really spacious. I love the food here too! It's weird because we have a maid named Angela that makes our food, cleans our laundry, and cleans the house. We don't have to do any chores. She even brought coffee and tea up to our rooms. It feels like we're famous or a celebrity! I even have a T.V. in my room--granted all the stations are in spanish. But, last night Yisette and me watched "Criminal Minds" in english with spanish subtitles.
It's weird for me to write in english because my mind is thinking in spanish right now. It's weird to think that I could be at Fox right now taking classes in my own language. It sounds a lot easier than here but I'm enjoying it. It's weird because it's raining here. Apparently it rains during Nov and Dec. It makes me feel at home.
I will post some pictures later. I'm in the biblioteca right now (the library).
Prayer Requests:
-confidence with speaking spanish. I need to stretch myself by initiating conversations which is VERY intimidating here, esp with other Dominican students.
-I need to ask the Verizon store (it's called "Claro" here) if I could buy a chip to use my phone here.
Gracias todos! Ciao! -Natalie (or Natalia here)
I'm now in the D.R. and I'm experiencing culture shock. I have a lot of learning to do. I'm proud of myself because I've been speaking spanish (broken spanish mind you) all the time. I like my family and my roommate (Yisette) is a life saver. She is bilingual and helps me with my spanish. It's hard to understand my host mom but it takes time (or so I've heard...) There's actually 3 other students --not host brothers--that live in my host house but we haven't met them yet. They are Dominican students studying medicine at PUCMM (my university). Wow, I really want to be back home. It is SOOO difficult to understand the customs in another language. But my family and friends are flexible with me. And for all of you who are interested, Pedro (my host brother) is engaged, lol. He's off the market.
I took my placement exam today and I will find out the results this wed. Classes start next Mon for us but tomorrow for the Dominicans. Let me just say, I have the WEIRDEST cat at my house. He has two names: Fifi and Mimi and for some odd reason he thinks it's fun to suck on my shirts when I'm wearing them. He'll just attach to my side and try to eat my clothes. It's so strange! Also, his favorite game is to hide underneath the bed and jump and attack your feet. It scared Yisette and me a lot the other night. Stephanie, you'll appreciate this: in order to get him out from the bed, I dangled the toy stephanie in front of him and he likes to attack it. lol. It's the only thing that works to get him out from under the bed.
I love my house. It's really spacious. I love the food here too! It's weird because we have a maid named Angela that makes our food, cleans our laundry, and cleans the house. We don't have to do any chores. She even brought coffee and tea up to our rooms. It feels like we're famous or a celebrity! I even have a T.V. in my room--granted all the stations are in spanish. But, last night Yisette and me watched "Criminal Minds" in english with spanish subtitles.
It's weird for me to write in english because my mind is thinking in spanish right now. It's weird to think that I could be at Fox right now taking classes in my own language. It sounds a lot easier than here but I'm enjoying it. It's weird because it's raining here. Apparently it rains during Nov and Dec. It makes me feel at home.
I will post some pictures later. I'm in the biblioteca right now (the library).
Prayer Requests:
-confidence with speaking spanish. I need to stretch myself by initiating conversations which is VERY intimidating here, esp with other Dominican students.
-I need to ask the Verizon store (it's called "Claro" here) if I could buy a chip to use my phone here.
Gracias todos! Ciao! -Natalie (or Natalia here)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
