On the road again
Trip Start
Oct 11, 2008
1
9
Trip End
Dec 06, 2008
Rochester, New York, United States
Saturday, October 11, 2008
In the short week I've been home, I've also experienced the full scale of emotions about the trip to the Dominican Republic. As soon as I arrived home from London, this incredible feeling of dread came over me and I really just didn't want to go. For a couple of days, I was secretly hoping my trip would get cancelled due to the economy or I would break a leg or something terrible like that. I think it was a combination of not wanting to leave home again so soon and that I was really nervous about my Spanish skills and my ability to communicate when I got there. Sometime around Monday, something clicked and my entire attitude changed. I realized that I'm going to a beautiful country full of amazing people to do two things I have always wanted to do: volunteer internationally and become proficient in Spanish. It is most definitely going to be a challenge in a number of ways, but I'm viewing the challenge as something positive now instead of something to dread. I'm really excited to take on what's to come.
My volunteer program is facilitated by an organization called the Community Service Alliance (CSA) based in Santo Domingo. I chose CSA because I had two Ithaca College friends who had done the program and loved it, and CSA is a much smaller volunteer organization than some of the alternatives. The group was co-founded by an Ithaca College graduate and serves as a liaison between individuals and groups who are willing to volunteer and Dominican organizations that need volunteers. CSA is coordinating all of my in-country transportation, homestay logistics and Spanish lessons. I'll be living with a family in Santo Domingo and taking 60 hours of one-on-one Spanish lessons at CSA's office for the first two weeks. Then I will move to Neyba, a more rural area in the southwestern part of the country. CSA has placed me with World Vision, an international Christian organization dedicated to issues of poverty and injustice.
A big part of my pre-trip anxiety stemmed from my lack of knowledge about what to really expect in the Dominican Republic. I had received information in the past months in dribs and drabs, but until this week I hadn't really had a good grasp on what I'd be doing and who I would be living with. CSA was finally able to connect me with Marla, the intern (my volunteer position is considered an internship) who had been with World Vision in Neyba prior to me. Through several very informative email exchanges this week, I've learned a lot more about the family I'll be living with in Neyba and what kind of work I'll be doing. I'm staying with World Vision's technical field coordinator and her family. I'll be continuing Marla's work going into people's homes to conduct health surveys and host community-based education sessions on nutrition. I have absolutely no public health or nutritional background (other than growing up as a nurse's daughter and whatever they taught in 10th grade health class) so this will definitely be a huge learning experience for me! Marla has also warned of incessant mosquitoes, cat calls and marriage proposals, and extended power outages. Maybe the bottle of Off I brought will keep both the bugs and the boys away.
The reassuring news is that Marla loved the job enough that she brought a bunch of her college classmates back to Neyba for spring break to implement some of the programs her research suggested. She's also still in the country now teaching 3rd grade in Santo Domingo. If she decided to stick around after college, it must be an experience worth having! I'm hoping to meet up with her some time this week to learn some more about the project and what to expect.
I think you now know just about as much as I do about what I'm heading off to do. And so, let the adventure begin! Thanks for joining me for another trip. Farewell from the US and I'll talk to you again from the DR!
Amanda
Comments
Go Amanda!
Your openness in talking about your fears and anxieties reveals so much strenght and confidence and of itself says to me that you can handle anything that comes along. A healthy introsepection is so vital in coping with life's challenges. Love You Girl!!