27 Charcos

After much prayer and preparation, the first session summer interns arrived on May 24th. There are 4 of them, 2 gals and 2 guys, and they are great! Very fun and flexible and excited for what the summer is going to hold. They got settled in on Sunday, oriented around the villages and school on Monday, then had a team-building adventure trip to 27 Charcos (27 Waterfalls) on Tuesday. I had been wanting to go over the past few months but hadn't had the opportunity, so I was super excited that we were going to be taking the interns. None of us had driven to the waterfalls before, so after finally spotting the TINY washed-out sign, turning around, driving through a cane field, and guessing at the fork in the road, we discovered our destination! One of the best (coolest/well-kept) tourists spots I've seen thus far, we paid our pesos, requested our guide - La Machina (The Machine), got suited up in life vests, helmets, and for those without water-type shoes, classy Dominican water shoes (yes, they are rubber and look like 1980's patent loafers), and were off through the jungle of the DR!

We swam/hiked/climbed/were lifted up a series of pools, waterfalls, and hills in order to get to the "top", where we proceeded to jump/swim/climb/slide down. Our guide would go before us and somehow LIFT/THROW us up from the water to the next pool or hill, then tell us exactly how and where to jump or slide down into the next pool. The natural beauty of the area was amazing, and we had so much fun that I'm already planning on returning! We also were able to bond in the approx. 5 hours spent hiking, being magically lifted up the side of a mountain, and supporting each other as we jumped from up to 20 foot drops.

The Return

I'm baaaacckkk :)

Yes, I have returned to the DR for the summer to continue working with Makarios, and specifically with the summer interns. My mom returned with me and stayed for a week to see what my life looks like living in the DR, the people I work with, and to treat us to some vacation time on the beach. It was amazing to be able to "vacation" here, since I've really only just lived here for 3+ months (very different than vacationing, trust me).

My mom made a friend at the school, Toni Pierre, he is a sweet Haitian boy that almost never speaks, and when he does, his primary language is Creole and very little Spanish. Mom connected with Toni, though, and discovered he can write his name and play tic-tac-toe. Maybe it was their common lack of Spanish that brought them together! I think my mom now understands even more how it doesn't always take words to connect with the kids and people here.

We spent the last few days of her visit in Cabarete, lounging on the beach-beds, trying new restaurants, and even drove to a new (to me) beach, Playa Grande, for a day with Kate and Camille. We got a flat tire almost right away, but luckily it was across the street from a small store and pool hall and a handful of men just hanging out. In about 5 min flat, it was fixed...and we even had a marriage proposal for Camille in the process! I'm very much so looking forward to the summer and all the work that's going to be done.

This.Is.Republica.Dominicana

Please, please, please read my friend Camille's blog about T.I.R.D (This Is Republica Dominicana). I was with her when she took these photos and she captured it perfectly. It's hilarious, not to mention our daily life. Enjoy! T.I.R.D

My Mak Peeps

Makarios Staff - Spring 2008

This is a recent staff photo - family portrait style - of the Makarios Staff, with a few random props thrown in for good measure. These are the people I do life with day in and day out and absolutely love! Now when I mention them, you can have a visual...Front to Back, L to R,

First Row: Cara Welch (Tutor),
Second Row: Kate Moorhead (my roomie and Teacher), Anne Boon (Staff & Group Host Couple w/Garrett), Camille Crockett (Teacher), Robin Inks, (Director/Principal of School).
Third Row: Weston Woodward (Teacher), Kara Denholm (Short-termer & part-time nanny for los tweems), Jennie Morel (On-Site Admin & wife of Miguel - Construction Co-Lead), Me, David (Short-termer & Kate's beau), Garrett Boon (Staff & Group Host Couple w/Anne & Construction Co-Lead)

The Continuation...

An exciting opportunity has recently arisen for me to stay and work in the Dominican Republic for another 4 months! Makarios offers internships to college students during the summer months to assist with the work of the organization while pursuing their field of study. The interns will live in the DR for 2-4 months, fulfill a specialized job description based on their interests/field of study, as well as a project that they propose and carry out during their time with the organization. Makarios has offered to me a role for 4 months this summer to orient the students to life in the Dominican Republic and to assist them in managing their individual project proposals. This is a very exciting opportunity to me, as it fulfills so many personal interests and desires in living abroad, non-profit organizations, project management, and humanitarian initiatives.

Like any good non-profit worker, in order for there to be funds to provide a salary, these funds must be raised from private benefactors, which I will be doing for my work here this summer. I am raising $3500 for my expenses May through August and purchasing a round-trip ticket to/from the DR for the summer months, so if you would be interested/willing to donate airline miles it would be a huge support as well (30,000 miles for one-way ticket on American). Donations can be made via credit card at https://www.firstgiving.com/laurinrennell or by check directly to Makarios at 3267 Bee Caves Rd, Suite 107-71, Austin TX, 78746. I want to thank those whom are supporting me financially in my initial three months here in the Dominican Republic, as you have made so much of this experience and work possible.

I also want to thank those whom are supporting me through other means such as prayers, encouragement, etc. You have created a foundation of support that I have cherished. I will be back in TX & OK in mid-April for a few weeks and would love to meet and catch up with family and friends as much as possible, so please shoot me an email or call if you're around!

To Chew On

Some thoughts/observations that I've been chewing on lately:

1. It has been interesting to be in a place where my previous "profession" of consulting is not even present, not necessarily because it's needed and lacking, but because the country isn't even to a place where it's necessary. While the majority of professions are present in developing countries at a simpler level, what I've been doing the past few years isn't even here.

2. While the stigma of people that live in developing countries to be very different than us, they are actually SO very similar to everyone else. For whomever reads Us or People or any other celebrity gossip magazine's, you'll be familiar with the section of why celebrities are just like us - they grocery shop, they buy ice cream, they break their arms, they use the restroom, etc. Watch for a blog on why people in developing countries are, indeed, just like us as well :)
   

3. Every child in our school is a 'Special Needs' child. While in the States these children are considered semi-rare and can be given special attention, the children in the Makarios school (and I'm sure other schools with similar students in third-world countries), EVERY child is what we would consider 'Special Needs'. Every child comes from a rough background and would be "at-risk" or has a mental/emotional/learning disability. The teachers here are amazing and battle every day to get these children just a little bit further in their education and life in general. Imagine trying to teach a class of 10-20 'Special Needs' children! Wowzers.
   

A Day In The Life...Part II

• I finally got my cell phone switched over so it will work here in the DR, so I now have a working cell phone & Dominican phone number! Not sure the cost of calling it from the US, but it's free for me to receive calls, so if you would like it I would love to give it to you.

• As many of you know, I'm quite a foodie and one of my favorite things to do is find and try out new restaurants. Here it the DR it's not quite so easy or fun since everyone serves pretty much the same thing, and the others are touristy/expensive. But today Camille (one of the teachers on staff), introduced me to a new hole-in-the-wall in Puerto Plata! It doesn't have a name, but it's about the size of a small Subway and is located on the 27 de Febrero, down the street from the Topical Supermarcado, across the street from Bon Ice Cream, and above the Colmado. Take the stairway next to the ally and you'll see it! I've posted a pic of my lunch...definitely not healthy, but a fun experience...and very local..SCORE.

• Kate and I are thinking about obtaining puppies. There are some precious pups down the path from the school and are about 4-5 weeks old. The question is, do we get one or two? We have already chosen four, so we'll have to narrow it down considerably. One is a definite - Buffy (In Spanish = Boofie), she is cream colored and chubby. Perfecto.

• There is a Rancho (Bar) about 1/4 mile from our house and Karaoke in Spanish doesn't sound any better than in English. Dominicans love Madonna and Michael Jackson.

A Day In The Life...

To be honest, I've been avoiding writing an update on my blog because although I've lived here in the Dominican Republic for about a month & a half, I'm having trouble wrapping my head and heart around my daily life here. It's a struggle to want so much to connect with and stay in touch with and love on my family and friends back in the US, yet how to convey my life here as it is so different. For example, yesterday at school (where I spend the majority of my days), I was a tour-guide, nurse, lunch-lady, and dispenser of underwear.

In the very beginning of the morning, David, a 7-year old in Kate's class, showed me a sore on his foot that was hurting him, so I took him in to the "office" and cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide and intended to simply put neosporen and a band-aid on it, until I saw what was under the dirt and puss. It was obviously infected, and he had a second sore on the opposite side of his foot that was also infected. We have a group of High School Spanish students here this week working and teaching at the school, and one of the sponsors is a coach and works at a pharmacy so I called him in as he has the most medical experience of us all and he agreed that it was infected and said it needed to be lanced. If we were in the States, this would be something that is done at a doctor's office, but since we don't really have that luxury here, he had to use a foot-long knife that we usually use for chicken because we didn't have a scalpel. We covered David's face with a towel so he wouldn't see the knife and be scared. One of the wounds was cleaned, but the other was actually calloused over and was too hard to try to puncture so it had to be filed down and cleaned as best possible. David was such a great patient through all of this without anything to numb the pain! We saw him again today at his house to clean and change the bandages, and it seems to be getting better. He couldn't really explain how he had gotten the wounds, but they were most likely just scrapes or blisters that were on his foot, and since he lives where he does, he is always wearing sandals if any shoes at all, and living and playing in a toxic river and parasitic soil.

After nursing, I fed snacks to 48 morning children (hot chocolate, banana, bread, water & a vitamin), then lunch to 23 pre-schoolers (rice and beans, water/milk, & vitamin), and snack to 53 more afternoon children (hard-boiled egg, banana, bread, water & vitamin). Then during both the before and after school programs, Christina's classes received new (donated) underwear. And of course, throughout the day, played with and loved on some kiddos.

Then I go home to our nice house in our nice neighborhood and eat a nice dinner before I take a nice shower and sleep in my nice bed. My heart broke for the poverty when I was here last August, and now I have to reconcile this with living a daily life here...and I'm not quite sure how to as of yet. So this is why I have trouble answering the seemingly-simple question of "How's it going?" It's good. It's where I need to be and what I need to be doing now. I love the kids that we work with and wish I could do more. I love the staff and the community that we're becoming, and one of the things the Lord is teaching me about is prayer.

RIP Kicks

It is with a somewhat-saddened heart that I must convey that there was a pillaging of sneakers off the porch of our house last week, and alas, mine fell victim. The shoes in remembrance are pictured in a previous post with Bob, my "pet" spider, and while it was indeed an unfortunate occurrence for my jogging routine and aspirations, I send them off with the hope that they find their way to someone more needy than I.

Whale Tale

Recently, the Makarios Staff was able to go on a Staff Retreat to the Samana Peninsula on the NE part of the island and stay in Las Terrenas. Each January-March, 3-5 thousand humpback whales migrate to the waters off the Samana Peninsula to give birth and mate for the following year. We went on a whale-watching excursion and definitely had a great time, AND saw some whales! They weren't feeling too frisky (no Free Willy-style jumps), but we saw probably 8-10 whales swimming and then their tales when they dove. It was raining when our boat was speeding out to sea, but luckily it cleared up once we were out there.

Whale-watching (during Jan-March) and the Samana Peninsula is definitely a recommendation for anyone visiting the DR. Still somewhat undiscovered by all the tourists, it's a gorgeous area.