Think Pink

In honor of October being awareness month for breast cancer, the students created pink ribbon pins to share with the community. After assembling the pins, we had a field trip to seven local institutions in Mao to distribute the ribbons the kids made. The students visited two health clinics, two district of education headquarters, government offices, a city hall and one rice factory. We accidentally crashed at least three important-looking meetings for photo shoots with officials, were serenaded in city hall, and pinned a pink ribbon onto just about every person in sight. All in all, a successful Thursday morning. Enjoy our photos!

Pink Ribbons during a meeting at a District of Education office

right before someone sang to us, and we had a sing-a-long with officials in Mao's government offices

Visiting the Rehabilitation Clinic

mural in the children's physical therapy center of the new rehabilitation clinic built by Banelino

cuidense!

XO

Movin' Out.

So on a personal note...I’m moving out and heading back to the campo! A few people in the neighborhood by the school built me a little house. And I’m going to live in it. So service in my site will be a mix of the best of both worlds - a year downtown in the “big city” or pueblo and now finishing where I started with a year in the rural campo ...and all without a site change. I guess Mao is just that great. Exemplified most recently by the campo house-building friends. :)

In lieu of posting a photo of the new house (because, at least for me, that’s creepy and this is still the internet), I’ll add some pictures from the first house. Looking back, I mentioned this place on here only a few times, mainly; when I first moved in, when I locked myself out, when the bees invaded, and when I lived in the dark (recurring theme). Good times. In addition to all that fun, this house has been super convenient and I have loved it. It is close to everything, with some really helpful and kind neighbors. As are most homes here, it is simple living for sure, but it is homey, or at least I have tried. 


Here are a couple pictures from inside the first house:

Took advantage that this is likely to be the only time in my life I can paint ridiculously on the walls without consequence. Landlords in the States probably don’t really go for this. (Do landlords here go for this? Vamos a ver) :) The script reads: “..there are three things that last forever; faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of them all is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Thank you to every single person who has mailed me something over the last 20 months! Getting mail is not only the best part about traveling the 4ish hours to the capital, but it has given me means to decorate an otherwise blank, super boring wall. This wall is across from my bed, so waking up to your kind words is always a nice reminder. 

Muchas gracias, friends.

Another thought, although It shouldn’t be - it’s tough to get a decent picture of a wall. 

Anyway, as much as I like this house, it is comfortable and I want to switch it up. Living in my first neighborhood is something I’ve wanted since I left it, so I know I’d regret it if I didn’t move back. 

...Currently though, due to details that would probably be boring to read, at least for this month I have both houses. This is now apparently Peace Corps: the monopoly edition, just renting properties left and right... (& still not breaking the PC living stipend either - feel like I should add that). Anyway, did not exactly plan it out this way, but whatever, I’m going with it. 

Sometimes you plan, sometimes you don’t, and when someone builds you a house - you live in it. 

These have been today’s thoughts, and now these are pictures of my dog. :D

Rock on, 

XO 

Encuentro de Dos Culturas

Columbus Day Weekend! Fall! The one part about Winter that I appreciate. (If it’s possible to have Fall without Winter, someone let me know. I will live wherever that is). Hope that you’re reading from somewhere where you can appreciate the best season of all, and that your weekend involved something classically Autumn-related; apple picking, football games, candy corn, pumpkin carving, parades, corn mazes, cider, fairs, chai tea lattes (no? just me?) :), haunted hay rides, flea markets (yes!). Hope that you were somewhere you could take in the trees, and that the sun was warm and that it was brisk not freezing. Autumn, si Dios quiere, see you next year. (It’s weird the things you miss). Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Here this day (October 12) is known as Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race) or Encuentro de Dos Culturas (Meeting of Two Cultures) or other name variations aside from Columbus Day. And as those names suggest, the day is more of a celebration of sharing, races and cultures than it is a remembrance of one individual’s actions. On this holiday, many Dominican schools put on a play of the meeting of Columbus, the Spaniards and the Tainos. 

Some pictures from our celebration last year are posted here. 

This year’s reenactment was even better! All the students participated playing the Tainos (people indigenous to the island), Columbus, the Spaniards, Ferdinand and Isabella. The younger students presented foods the Tainos used to eat and how they were prepared. The older students performed and danced in the play, retelling the early history of their country. ...And the American designed Taino clothes out of empty rice bags and Spanish sailor hats out of tissue paper. Fashion world, are you reading this? Chekealo. :)

Some photos from the day:

Baja Audicion class preparing Taino houses 

Basica 1ro y 2do as Taino natives

"Foods used by the Tainos and our country" by Maternal and Pre-Primaria classrooms

some of the Pre-Primaria class with the traditional food

Maternal class poses alongside the table

The Spaniards, King, Queen, & Columbus

Sailing on the Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria

Peace.

XO

Photo Update

Oh, blog. Get ready little one, you’re about to be flooded with photos.

Just a not-so-wordy, plenty-of-pictures post about what I’ve been up to the past few weeks. Namely: keeping busy working at school. 

A few of my favorite recent pics of the school, students, and teachers:

arts and crafts with recycled materials

concentrating on painting!

Pre-Primaria class making recycled crafts

Practicing buttons with the Montessori dressing stands

Peace.

Vida Practica class having an environment lesson in the garden...

...and having a good time, too!

Basica 1ro y 2do planting seeds in the garden

Basica 3ro y 4to exploring in the eggplant and tomato gardens

Parent's Night at IDENE in September

teachers (new & returning) for the 2011-2012 year! 

Teachers, Staff and I in Santiago to learn about ABA and TEACCH methodologies with Fundacion Luz y Esperanza Por el Autismo. Almost everyone from school attended!   

Cuidense! 

XO