Reconnecting...

So I have officially completed my first three months of service (last week was my 3-month In Service Training – IST), and I’ve been in country over five months.

I spent all of last week reconnecting with people from training group during IST. We went to summer camp type place in the middle of nowhere. We each brought our Dominican project partners and presented our results from our 3-month diagnostic. I used to be so nervous about public presentations; I would create note cards and practice, and then during the actual speech, my hands would shake and I would be so worried about losing my place. Well, not anymore! This time, I created the Power Point, shared it with my project partner, and then decided to “wing it” during the presentation. So yes, I gave a 15-minute presentation speaking spontaneous Spanish!

The next day, we worked on creating vision statements and annual plans for our projects (I will share my project proposals later in another blog post for those who are interested.). A lot of great ideas came out of this planning session. Many of my fellow Volunteers and their project partners have already started working on some great projects.

After the third day, the project partners went home and we had technical sessions in networking, Photoshop, web design, and a bunch more topics. Overall, the IST was really great, and I left feeling re-energized and inspired.

I spent the weekend after IST enjoying the company of my fellow Volunteers and we had many fun adventures.

Some highlights from IST week:

Live music festival – Every Sunday in the Colonial Zone, a 10-piece, live band plays meringue, bachata, salsa, some great American hits (by the likes of Frank Sinatra and MJ!). The event space is on the hill of 500-year-old church in ruins. Just really great atmosphere in general, and I even danced a few songs (though I still have a fear of dancing badly).

Reggae – A group of us also went to an awesome club that plays reggae… a great cultural experience and unusual for the DR.

Italian Food – We went to a real, classy restaurant! Maybe normal for you all, but very rare for us. The food, the ambience, and the company were fabulous.
IST “summer camp” – I loved sharing bunk beds with a bunch of my girls. I think we all grew much closer during this week of living and working together.

IST tech sessions – I now have so many fun, exciting ideas for my projects. The sessions on creative software (such as web design and print publishing) provided a starting point for my own exploration of various programs. Yes, I’m here to serve people, but at the same time, I have a chance to really build my technical knowledge base! What other job will allow me the time and freedom to play around on high-demand software suites?!

Lots and lots of eating – We were fed so well at IST, and the several cups of coffee and chocolate milk were so great and comforting!

Embassy swimming pool – Floating, splashing, laying out at the pool… really, I don’t need to say more.

HOT showers were just amazing. Never realized before how great they are.

Air conditioning (see the above comment)

Chocolate croissants, honey buns, Caesar salad, how I’ve missed thee!! (If you haven’t noticed, food is a running theme in this highlights section… We’ve all become intense food lovers since coming to this country. We just miss certain things, and food is really comforting.)

Fast and all-you-can take internet

And of course, having a lot of quality time with my pals.

So now that I’m back, I actually have to do some work. The “now what?” feeling is certainly lurking, but I’m trying to keep myself focused by breaking my objectives into manageable, small chunks.

Here's to getting to work and doing some good...