10 Memories

My Top Ten Peace Corps DR memories in blogposts 2010-2012:

10. My Dominican House and this.

9. Hard to choose, just going to link to all of 2010, 2011, and 2012. Now everything's my favorite. 

8. All of Summer 2011

7. Seeing the sights, by bola or otherwise.

6. Everyone who sent me mail - I love you, and you decorated my house - thanks!

5. My first visit to Mao. And Mao every time after, siempre. XO

4. 2011 Birthday & Minnie

3. Every teacher training event, Montessori project, travel teacher training work, and of course IDENE-related anything always. Bien chulo.

2. Christmastime 2011

1. Everyone from home who visited me in the lovely DR - Te Quiero Mucho :)

Me

Min

Que te vaya bien!

Thank you:)

XO

Mao to MA

I left the DR 3 months ago, and I’ll be going back in 3 months si dios quiere... but in any case, this post is long overdue! Attempting to conclude my last Peace Corps days (if that can even be done).

During the final weekend, I was in my community saying goodbye to people I had spent the last 2 years living and working with. At this point, I was selling (mostly giving away, because my beloved, old, yellow backpack from 6th grade knows no price point. ya tu sabes) the last of my belongings and trying to pack 2 years into just a few bags (again). It was a surreal few days. Families invited me over for last meals with them. I ate mangu and cried. I ate yucca and fried cheese and cried. I visited and said goodbye to as many people as I could. They cried. Even people I would not have expected. Leaving was not easy. But I left, telling friends I’d be back again after Christmas. 

The day I left was a whirlwind. I woke up early, cleaned the last few things out of my house and gave my neighbor (and landlady) the house keys. I went for my last visit at my host family’s house, and we sat there had coffee and hugged in the living room. Though I’d already said goodbye to IDENE at the despedida a few days before, I went again to say a final goodbye to everyone. I made my grand exit from the barrio and school via bola on the school bus and went downtown to another family’s home who took me to Santiago. The car was already mostly packed, I added my remaining bags, the family made me eat a tostada, and then we left. The mom, dad, sister and aunt drove me and Minnie into the airport in Santiago, and waited with us for our flight. After another sad goodbye and afternoon flight, my dog and I arrived to Boston. 

Less than four hours later - we had a very happy welcome home. My family met us at the airport, and then we drove home to a surprise welcome back party. It was oddly like 50 degrees that day, so we were freezing (good old, Mass), and my dog didn’t know what was happening but seemed to love the attention that she was receiving from everyone. It was an exciting evening, and surreal that in just 4 hours, and no time change it’s possible to hop from one extreme to another between my two favorite locations. It is a crazy world, but in a good way. 

Thank you again for the warm welcome and for sharing in my experience and reading throughout all this time here on this blog. 

Please enjoy the pictures!

one of the last nights with friends downtown in Mao

One of my favorite families made me a sopao for dinner my last night! To explain, a sopao is similar to a hearty soup with rice and meat. This family makes it all the time for family birthdays and events. I've spent a lot of time at these sopaos, but I felt pretty cool when they threw me my own soup party.

I took this picture while leaving Dona Dominga and Don Jose's house for the last time. My host dad built that gate, and painted the house himself. The moto on the left is the first I ever rode. And the pink flower vine entrance is from my host mom's garden. The plant started small (you can see it growing on the far left) and as it grew they wrapped it around a wire to eventually frame the doorway. The house and fence exactly match the pink flowers.

This is Min in her bag on the drive in to the Santiago airport. Poor thing doesn't even know she's going to America, but she seems happy despite being zipped up. :)

This family drove me in from Mao to the airport. We all ate snacks brought from home while we waited and then cried together when we said goodbye. 

landing at Logan.

thanks for the awesome welcome signs, Sara, Cam, Justin, and Danielle.

Thank you to my family for welcoming us at the airport! 

where are the Dominicanos?!

XO

Despedida

Hello there!

Since 2010, this blog has chronicled the work of myself and the community at school over the past 2 years and 4 months in Peace Corps. For now this will be my last post about my school community, IDENE, though I’m definitely not done telling their story. I plan to return to visit after Christmas, and currently keep in touch calling and emailing regularly during the past month and a half that I’ve been home in the States.

At the beginning of June, IDENE threw me a “despedida” or goodbye party. All the kids, teachers and staff gathered in an assembly in the main open room at school. The teachers and students spoke and gave me thank you cards and gifts. There were lots of hugs. And there were tears. After that last day at school, a few teachers and I went out to a group lunch downtown in my community and then to a scenic reservoir in Moncion, which is a neighboring town. You can see pictures below of my last day with IDENE and the trip we took on June 1st.

So a little about saying farewell to IDENE. (And please note that anything I write is nothing I haven’t said before at some point over the past 28 months). Simply put - working with this school has been a blessing. Each of the happinesses, friendships, and relationships I built here in my community, I owe to IDENE as they gave me a stable and supportive work environment and family the moment I walked through their door in 2010. I am thankful for all of the memories we shared together, and that I was lucky enough to be the one here with them everyday. There is no other way I would have wanted to spend the last two years, than working with the Dominicans whom I worked with. I will love my community and school always, and am a part of it. I’d like to think those who have visited IDENE understand when I say that it is a special place, and hopefully through what I’ve communicated on this blog readers understand that too. 

Thank you for your interest in IDENE and for more please visit their website or their Facebook pages. All in Spanish, but there are photos updates on Facebook which are fun.

Enjoy the last IDENE pictures! :)

Carmen, Andy, Marina, Mercedes, Victoria, Aniluz, Yngris, Orieta, Ruby, Yudelka, Dania, Kirsys

I gave each class a card, picture and usb memory stick with pictures of the classes from the past 2 years. The teachers do a lot of end of the year work with pictures, so they were able to use the photos for that.

listening to Kirsys and Pre-Primaria class

card from 3ro y 4to students & teachers Mercedes and Aniluz

Maria and Carmen

listening to Marina

Isa

showing me the photo album they made for me of pictures from the last two years!

Carmen, Marina, Viki, and Isa with a framed photo with message - a thank you gift from the school

Victoria, Maria & Alfredo

Victoria, Marina, Isa, Alex, Orieta, Maria, Alberto, Ruby

Marina, Maria & Orieta at Presa de Moncion

Presa de Moncion

Bear with me as I finish up a few more blog posts I have had in the works since being back in Mass. Fun, exciting, a little overwhelming, and although I do miss the DR everyday, it is simply nice to be back home for a bit. The blog has taken a backseat because there are so many things here! I will finish out this blog even if not in a timely fashion. 

Thank you for reading! 

XO

Pueblo Nuevo

Earlier this year in the 50th PCDR Anniversary conference post, I mentioned that I met a RPCV who served in Mao in the 1960’s. Mid-May I finally went out to visit Pueblo Nuevo, the nearby town where he built a school. We drove out knowing only the name of the school, figuring we’d ask around for directions and details once we got there. Although I had not yet personally visited the school, I was familiar with it because two teachers from my school work there during the afternoon school session. Conversations with the locals in town eventually led us to meet two individuals who helped build the school alongside the Peace Corps Volunteers over 50 years ago! I was amazed that our short visit there led us to these two who actually knew who and what events I was talking about from the 60’s. And in typical Dominican fashion, it just so happened that my friend who drove us there knew the family of these men we found. It seemed like such a great community, and I was glad to go out to Pueblo Nuevo and witness once again the personal connections people have to Peace Corps. 

Photos are of the new site (as of the 1990’s) of the JFK school, and the original school site that has been remodeled to a basketball court since its original construction.

New John F. Kennedy school built in the 90's, holding the original name of the school from the 60's.

Site of the original JFK school

Thanks for reading!

XO