I’ve been in the Dominican for 6 days and I
can confidentially say that I am right where I am supposed to be. The first few
days were all about getting to know the other GAP students. There are 12 of us
all together and we have honestly become so close already. Over the years I
have had the opportunity to work with groups of people in many different
settings (Basketball, work, Circle C) and I can honestly say that I have never
seen such a diverse group of people bond so quickly. Everyone on the team has such
a beautiful heart, and they really want to grow, and be used while down here in
the Dominican.
There are many things that I want
to blog about but for the sake of time, yours and mine, I will narrow it down
to a few. First off, let me just say that the moment I walked out of the Santo
Domingo airport, I felt completely blessed. Tears rolled down my face on the
drive to our apartments; finally I was back in the country that my heart was
yearning for. On one side I could see the ocean, and on the other a broken
culture, both beautiful in their own ways. I literally cannot thank everyone
that has supported me enough; it is hard for me to explain how much joy is my
heart.
Almost every night since I’ve been
here, I have either slept walked, or talked in my sleep. Luckily, my roommate is amazing and finds it
all to be pretty hilarious. The one night it was really bad and I slammed my
face into the top bunk, currently the bridge of my nose is pretty red and
swollen. I usually only talk and walk in my sleep when I am nervous about
something, but I think this time it is due to just being excited all the time.
Even though I am pretty darn tired as I write this, I still feel a large sense
of excitement to simply be living the life I am currently living.
Yesterday the team went to a
village called San Jose; this was the first village I visited last August. Our
first assignment when we got there was to go with a guide who spoke no English
into a family’s home and do our best to converse with them, while observing cultural
differences from American life. This was a tough task because we all have very
limited Spanish. The two women whose house we visited were very welcoming and
seemed happy to have us in their home.
Although there was a lot of awkward silence, it was a good experience
and showed me that I really need to take my Spanish classes seriously if I want
to make an impact while I’m here. This culture is so open to relationship and I
want to engage and love on these people.
Since our group did a good job
making observations of cultural differences, we got to eat some chicken throat
and feet, what a prize right?! The meat itself was good, but the feeling of the
neck bones in my hand was… well, let’s just say it was different! A few other
examples of things that are different here are that most bathrooms (If there
are any) are outside of the homes, there is no speed limit, rice is eaten at
almost every meal, and the spiders… they’re not spiders, but giant mutant
insects with 8 legs. My roommates and I faced one of these “spiders” in the
shower last night. It was an experience to say the least (You can catch a short
clip of it on my Facebook wall.).
Final thought: I want to be
different, and I want to make a difference. I could go these next 9 months and
live for myself, but in the end that does nothing for anyone. I want to be
pushed out of my comfort zone. I want to love until it hurts. I feel changes
happening in me and I feel like I’m becoming more and more aware of the needs
of the people around me. If you’re stateside, or in a third world country,
there are needs to be met. This may mean you need to let your walls come down
and be vulnerable; this may mean you need to do something that you never
thought you could do, but you must respond with a sense of urgency. The world
is in need of some difference makers. As each breath enters your lungs,
remember Who gave it to you, and use it to make a change.
