For the first time ever
I have celebrated my birthday in another country and what better way than to
celebrate my birthday with the kids in the Dominican Republic. On August
16th, my birthday, Father Wasson, the founder of the NPH program,
passed away. Therefore, there were many activities to celebrate his
legacy. The day started with Mass at 8 am where we recalled how our
program was founded and the wonderful contributions that Father Wasson made to
NPH. After that one of the older girls, who has recently graduated and
whom I took pictures with in my other blog entry, baked me a cake from scratch
when she found out it was my birthday. We went to her home in NPH and we
baked a cake in the shape of a moon with white and blue frosting, as pictured
above. She also designed the cake so that it read “Feliz Cumpleaños Maya”
or “Happy Birthday Maya.” It was so fun making the cake with her and it
was my first time baking a cake from scratch! After that I asked another
one of the older girls if she would braid the front of my hair for my birthday,
which she did. I was so happy that the older girls helped to make my
birthday really special.
Shortly after this the kids put on a talent show in Father Wasson’s honor.
First, they did a praise dance and had a fashion show; there were also
many arts and crafts projects on tables that the kids had made. Once this
was done my favorite part of the day was playing games with the kids. We
played an intense volleyball game for 2 hours! We only stopped playing
once it started raining but I was so dedicated that I even scraped my knee
trying to retrieve the ball at one point. I enjoyed playing with the kids
and have become addicted to the game of volleyball as I have become a pro at
serving the ball, if I must say so myself. Later we ate pizza, played a
trivia game about Father Wasson and the kids put on a play about his
life. Finally, the kids of my house informed me that a Dominican
tradition is to throw water on a person when it is there birthday. Since
it was mine I was anticipating this ritual the entire day. Right after we
ate I was the main target as my girls threw water on me from every direction,
as pictured above. It was really fun and they seemed really excited to
douse me in water and watch my reaction. After I was soaked to their
liking, they surprised me with a homemade card, which is now hanging in my
room. When the night was over and I returned to the volunteer house
satisfied that I had a wonderful birthday but there were still more surprises
to come that I didn’t even know it. The volunteers had made a card for me
as well as a cake! I ate so much birthday cake that day and it all was
made from scratch so it tasted very delicious. Later that night the
volunteers fulfilled my last request of going out dancing for my
birthday. We danced until it was the last hour of my birthday and I had a
wonderful time! It was definitely a birthday to remember.
One thing that I have not talked about is the food that we eat here. Rice
and beans is very popular in the Dominican so we eat them everyday for
lunch. The food is on a rotating schedule so we have the same meals
weekly but there are different meals served on each weekday. Normally, the rice
and beans, which we are served for lunch, are coupled with meat such as pork,
fish, chicken and beef. Sometimes we have bread, macaroni and spaghetti
with the rice and beans as well, one of the meals is pictured above.
I have also failed to mention the weather here. Currently, we are in the
rainy season so it rains a minimum of two times a week. It also rains
very sporadically due to the fact that at any given moment it could start
raining. The rain can last anywhere from two minutes to twenty.
Sometimes events have to be cancelled if it is raining too hard because we
don’t want the kids to get sick. On the other hand, it can be really hot
and humid some days. One day we had to stay in the shade for two hours
because it was too hot to play games or have activities for fear that someone
could have a heat stroke from being in the sun too long. However, I have
been told that the weather will change closer to September.
The older kids in our program range from ages 17-20. When I first came I
felt that it was a little difficult to get them to warm up to me.
Recently, I have started to notice that they are becoming a lot more
comfortable with me. It may have taken them a little longer than the younger
kids, to become accustomed to my presence, but I am glad that it is
happening. Just the fact that they made me a cake and they braided my
hair shows me that they are more accepting of me and makes me feel more apart
of the NPH program. I love it! I can tell that we are going to have
a really great time here as we continue to get to know one another in NPH.
Finally, talk about a shock, the kids has been so surprised to hear that I am
staying for an entire year. Everyday someone new asks me how long I am
staying and when I reply a year they often have a look of shock. I then
ask them if it is okay with them if I stay that long and the eagerly jump or
smile and say "yes yes of course." I am happy that we will be
with each other for such a long time and one of my girls has already told me
that she will cry when I leave. I told her not to even think about it
because I will not be leaving for a while. So for now we are just
enjoying the time that we have together and looking forward to every moment!
Above I have also posted some pictures from our trip to the beach. The
beaches here are breath taking and some of them have the most beautiful white
sand that I have ever laid eyes on. I hope to go back to the beach soon
because I have not been there in a while.
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