This is my host sister Ana Hilda Rosario.
This is my host sister Natali Rosario.Thursday, June 12, 2008
Trying to get some pics on here...
This is my host sister Ana Hilda Rosario. This is my host sister Natali Rosario.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Different Shades of My Site...
Written on 5/26/2008
Hi everyone...here are just a few details of my day to help you get a better picture of my world...
Every morning is spent doing some sort of chore like hand-washing some clothing, picking up some of the loads of trash that surround the house (due to the lack of proper solid waste management systems), bathing my puppy Vicki, washing the dishes, cleaning the house or getting a cooking lesson from my extremely knowledgeable host sisters.
Meals are like clock work…when I wake I always have a tiny cup of coffee just to help me fully gain consciousness and about an hour later I have breakfast. Anywhere from noon to one in the afternoon lunch is never MIA and typically it is the heaviest meal of the day…a nap usually follows shortly after. By 7pm dinner is ready and by ten the desire to sleep is tugging at my eye lids. I am planning to start a daily exercise routine soon either early in the morning or early in the evening. I typically spend a few hours during the afternoon in the office of COCOSAMA (Consejo Communitario de Salud y Medio Ambiente) which is the organization that solicited me to work in the community. Soon I will start my community diagnostic and give weekly English classes to youth and adults that are interested so that I can familiarize myself better with the residents of my town.
What I love…
My mosquito net that protects me from bugs all night long, having candle-light conversations at the dinner table in the middle of night when the electricity is out, the sound of rain on the zinc roof, spending some serious quality time with my puppy Vicki, saying hello and smiling at absolutely everyone I encounter in my community, drinking three tiny cups of coffee throughout the day, taking my daily nap after lunch, buying pop in a glass bottle that I later have to return (you know I like less waste), having to hang-dry my clothing, having two amazing sisters after a lifetime of being an only daughter.
What I could live without…
The need to unfailingly apply and reapply bug repellent, observing practically everyone litter without thinking twice about such a heinous habit, the colony of flying ants that live in the refrigerator door, searching for a decent phone signal for over a half an hour to make a 2 minute phone call, getting cat calls from men the age of my grandfather.
What I miss from home…
The drive home from work at midnight from O’Hare to Calumet City-while the streets are dark and the city lights are bright-when there is no traffic and I get to play and sing along to good music, visiting a nice restaurant with good company, television, my home’s comfy couches, can openers, microwaves, Mexican food, familiar snacks, and the list goes on and on!
Don’t misunderstand me either…I couldn’t be more pleased to be where I am right now.
Mucho Amor, Kimberly
Hi everyone...here are just a few details of my day to help you get a better picture of my world...
Every morning is spent doing some sort of chore like hand-washing some clothing, picking up some of the loads of trash that surround the house (due to the lack of proper solid waste management systems), bathing my puppy Vicki, washing the dishes, cleaning the house or getting a cooking lesson from my extremely knowledgeable host sisters.
Meals are like clock work…when I wake I always have a tiny cup of coffee just to help me fully gain consciousness and about an hour later I have breakfast. Anywhere from noon to one in the afternoon lunch is never MIA and typically it is the heaviest meal of the day…a nap usually follows shortly after. By 7pm dinner is ready and by ten the desire to sleep is tugging at my eye lids. I am planning to start a daily exercise routine soon either early in the morning or early in the evening. I typically spend a few hours during the afternoon in the office of COCOSAMA (Consejo Communitario de Salud y Medio Ambiente) which is the organization that solicited me to work in the community. Soon I will start my community diagnostic and give weekly English classes to youth and adults that are interested so that I can familiarize myself better with the residents of my town.
What I love…
My mosquito net that protects me from bugs all night long, having candle-light conversations at the dinner table in the middle of night when the electricity is out, the sound of rain on the zinc roof, spending some serious quality time with my puppy Vicki, saying hello and smiling at absolutely everyone I encounter in my community, drinking three tiny cups of coffee throughout the day, taking my daily nap after lunch, buying pop in a glass bottle that I later have to return (you know I like less waste), having to hang-dry my clothing, having two amazing sisters after a lifetime of being an only daughter.
What I could live without…
The need to unfailingly apply and reapply bug repellent, observing practically everyone litter without thinking twice about such a heinous habit, the colony of flying ants that live in the refrigerator door, searching for a decent phone signal for over a half an hour to make a 2 minute phone call, getting cat calls from men the age of my grandfather.
What I miss from home…
The drive home from work at midnight from O’Hare to Calumet City-while the streets are dark and the city lights are bright-when there is no traffic and I get to play and sing along to good music, visiting a nice restaurant with good company, television, my home’s comfy couches, can openers, microwaves, Mexican food, familiar snacks, and the list goes on and on!
Don’t misunderstand me either…I couldn’t be more pleased to be where I am right now.
Mucho Amor, Kimberly
Adjusting to My New-Permanent Home
Written on 5/14/2008
Hi everyone! I know it has been a long time (practically two months) since I last wrote and I apologize. Peace Corps DR has been keeping my respective group of volunteers extremely busy; also notable is the fact that my site in the “campo” (countryside) does not have internet or reliable electricity for that matter. Last time I wrote my group still had several weeks of CBT training left and now that point in time seems a distant memory. Basically, I am happy to report that I have since successfully completed my training and have been sworn-in as an official Peace Corps volunteer here in the Dominican Republic since May 8th 2008. At this point, I have spent almost an entire month at my permanent site and as of right now life is slow and tranquil.
To summarize my present state-of-being…I am safe, quite a few pounds lighter, intimidated by the responsibility I have willingly undertaken, head over heels for one of the most interesting men I have ever met, slowly integrating into the day to day lives of yet another Dominican host family & community, exercising my “maternal instinct” with my newly adopted, four-legged daughter Vicki (that is 4 months old), and I’m sincerely missing some of the smaller joys from back home like hot water, accessibility to food variety, cable TV shows, personal home computers, reliable electricity, and comfy home couches (amongst millions of other things). At this point in my life I cannot quite express an extreme since of “pride” that I was born & raised in the States, however, I most definitely grateful for the overwhelming privilege it has been. No matter what statements I have made in the past to acknowledge this very same truth, it has taken these past 3 months for me to truly appreciate the contrast of living and being that is possible depending on where you reside in the world. It is a reality I recognize I will come to familiarize myself with even more so during the next 2 years of my service. Honestly, I look forward to making this truth a permanent part of my consciousness that will follow me throughout my adult life.
Moving forward, as far as training was concerned, I cannot emphasize enough just how much practical knowledge I have gained that I plan to put into practice almost immediately. Fortunately, the benefits of training did not end with the things I learned but I also made friends with a large group of amazing people in the Cumbre community where CBT training took place. The community officially became my second home (second only to my new community where I will be working) and I could not stay away long as I have already been back to visit after having left only three weeks ago. A very important fact of the matter is that 2 weeks before leaving the community I met Isaac who would shortly after become my boyfriend. As of right now, the whole relationship is new, fresh and intriguing (as they always are at first) and I am actually hoping it will be my stable life-line for the next two years as I realize I will be in deep need of emotional stability. I have great hopes anyway!
Changing pace…my group’s swear-in was on Thursday, May 8th 2008, (shout-out to Miss Eboni Brown whose birthday was that day and whom I could not get in touch with) and it was simple yet appropriate. The U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic was present and actually swore-in my group of volunteers; other local & U.S. officials were present as well. During the past three months, I have come to grow extremely fond of some of the volunteers in my group and sadly I have not gotten to know others all that well. Nonetheless, many of us plan to either bond or keep up the current bonding as we all explore the country by visiting each other’s sites and homes during the next two years.
My site…
Aside from the week-long visit to my site several days before swearing-in, I have now been here since 5/12/2008. I have been assigned to work in a small countryside community called Rio Grande Abajo in Altamira, Puerto Plata located about an hour outside of Santiago (the second largest city on the island) on public transportation. I am replacing a previous volunteer named Margaret that just completed her service in March of this year. From what I have gathered, it appears that she focused her efforts on the building of more efficient wood-burning stoves and the instillation of sand bio-filters. During the next three months I will be conducting a community diagnostic to learn and evaluate what pressing environmental issues facing the community will be the focus of my primary and secondary projects. The diagnostic will also serve as my opportunity to get to know the people and resources in my community and will allow me the chance to earn their “confianza” (trust), which is tremendously important in any country where someone is planning to do development work on a local, grassroots level.
As of now, I recognize that Rio Grande Abajo is a community whose largest source of income is agriculture (with the most important crop appearing to be cacao). Also from my initial observations, there will also be a need for me to develop projects in solid was management & water sanitation. Of course, as a volunteer I must remain open to the fact that anything I plan is never set in stone…which is definitely a change in pace for me. Here’s to an exciting two years to come!!!!
Love you guys, will write as soon as I can.
Kimberly
Hi everyone! I know it has been a long time (practically two months) since I last wrote and I apologize. Peace Corps DR has been keeping my respective group of volunteers extremely busy; also notable is the fact that my site in the “campo” (countryside) does not have internet or reliable electricity for that matter. Last time I wrote my group still had several weeks of CBT training left and now that point in time seems a distant memory. Basically, I am happy to report that I have since successfully completed my training and have been sworn-in as an official Peace Corps volunteer here in the Dominican Republic since May 8th 2008. At this point, I have spent almost an entire month at my permanent site and as of right now life is slow and tranquil.
To summarize my present state-of-being…I am safe, quite a few pounds lighter, intimidated by the responsibility I have willingly undertaken, head over heels for one of the most interesting men I have ever met, slowly integrating into the day to day lives of yet another Dominican host family & community, exercising my “maternal instinct” with my newly adopted, four-legged daughter Vicki (that is 4 months old), and I’m sincerely missing some of the smaller joys from back home like hot water, accessibility to food variety, cable TV shows, personal home computers, reliable electricity, and comfy home couches (amongst millions of other things). At this point in my life I cannot quite express an extreme since of “pride” that I was born & raised in the States, however, I most definitely grateful for the overwhelming privilege it has been. No matter what statements I have made in the past to acknowledge this very same truth, it has taken these past 3 months for me to truly appreciate the contrast of living and being that is possible depending on where you reside in the world. It is a reality I recognize I will come to familiarize myself with even more so during the next 2 years of my service. Honestly, I look forward to making this truth a permanent part of my consciousness that will follow me throughout my adult life.
Moving forward, as far as training was concerned, I cannot emphasize enough just how much practical knowledge I have gained that I plan to put into practice almost immediately. Fortunately, the benefits of training did not end with the things I learned but I also made friends with a large group of amazing people in the Cumbre community where CBT training took place. The community officially became my second home (second only to my new community where I will be working) and I could not stay away long as I have already been back to visit after having left only three weeks ago. A very important fact of the matter is that 2 weeks before leaving the community I met Isaac who would shortly after become my boyfriend. As of right now, the whole relationship is new, fresh and intriguing (as they always are at first) and I am actually hoping it will be my stable life-line for the next two years as I realize I will be in deep need of emotional stability. I have great hopes anyway!
Changing pace…my group’s swear-in was on Thursday, May 8th 2008, (shout-out to Miss Eboni Brown whose birthday was that day and whom I could not get in touch with) and it was simple yet appropriate. The U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic was present and actually swore-in my group of volunteers; other local & U.S. officials were present as well. During the past three months, I have come to grow extremely fond of some of the volunteers in my group and sadly I have not gotten to know others all that well. Nonetheless, many of us plan to either bond or keep up the current bonding as we all explore the country by visiting each other’s sites and homes during the next two years.
My site…
Aside from the week-long visit to my site several days before swearing-in, I have now been here since 5/12/2008. I have been assigned to work in a small countryside community called Rio Grande Abajo in Altamira, Puerto Plata located about an hour outside of Santiago (the second largest city on the island) on public transportation. I am replacing a previous volunteer named Margaret that just completed her service in March of this year. From what I have gathered, it appears that she focused her efforts on the building of more efficient wood-burning stoves and the instillation of sand bio-filters. During the next three months I will be conducting a community diagnostic to learn and evaluate what pressing environmental issues facing the community will be the focus of my primary and secondary projects. The diagnostic will also serve as my opportunity to get to know the people and resources in my community and will allow me the chance to earn their “confianza” (trust), which is tremendously important in any country where someone is planning to do development work on a local, grassroots level.
As of now, I recognize that Rio Grande Abajo is a community whose largest source of income is agriculture (with the most important crop appearing to be cacao). Also from my initial observations, there will also be a need for me to develop projects in solid was management & water sanitation. Of course, as a volunteer I must remain open to the fact that anything I plan is never set in stone…which is definitely a change in pace for me. Here’s to an exciting two years to come!!!!
Love you guys, will write as soon as I can.
Kimberly
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