Becoming Asian

Over these past few two weeks, I have experienced a lot of "firsts". So here they are in no specific order of importance.

First #1: Swimming Pool

Because of a national holiday, the school decided we were going to take the kids to the swimming pool. At first, this sound like a relaxing activity. However, it was definitely an adventure. Trying to keep 20 kids from drowning all at the same time is exciting. It was funny too because before we left, we all joked about who would get Henny. It is hard for me to descibe the entire being of Henny. She is one strong girl. She is very strong and just runs around like a monster. Anyways, I volunteered to swim with her first because I wanted the challenge. About two minutes into it, Amy warned me, "Jess, make sure she doesn't drink too much water or she will puke." Sweet. Luckily, her teacher was playing with her when she hit that limit. My respect and admiration for her teacher went to an all time high when Henny started to puke. Rather than push Henny away (the natural instinct), she held her close and caught most of the puke in her hand. Daily, I am blown away by the commitment and patience that these teachers have for the students.

First #2: Becoming Asian

One of the schools that came with this past outreach was Boston University. Many of them were Asian and I had the priviledge of hanging out with them this past week. Anya and Allison were two of them that were at my physical therapy site. And through much practice and training, by the end of the week, they concluded that I had become 1/4 Chinese and 1/4 Korean. The BU group added so much excitedment to the week. This included intense ping pong games, the dart game inhanced with the moose roll, rock/paper/scissor competitions to determine dishes for the at least 6 people. (which i dominated YJ multiple times). I had a blast with these guys and they gave me the priviledge of taking an "Asian" picture with them at the end of the week.

First #3: Repelling

All eight of us interns went repelling. We hiked along the Jiminoa river. We repelled down two walls, (one about 80 feet the second 100 feet). The second one was intense because it was right beside of a waterfall. Fun day!

First #4: Dominican driving

Now that we have the other four interns here, we sometimes have to take two cars. In other words, when Tyler isn't here, someone else needs to drive. So, yesterday I had my first experience driving in the Dominican. Driving here is interesting. Red lights serve more as yield signs, unmarked one way streets, and motorcycles that pass on the left hand side of you when you are turning left. Needless to say, it's quite an adventure.

Here is another pic of one of the girls from thes school. I love her smile especially.