So if you didn't know, I am back in the DR. During the last week of my internship, a job was offered/thought up of starting a girls sports ministry site. This has been my dream ever since I went to Jamaica with the volleyball team my freshman year. So when this came up, I totally was all about it. Seriously, I cannot think of a better thing to do with my life. I am not going to get into the details about the job, but basically I would start a girls sports site, with a volleyball focus.
I felt today was one of the coolest days of my life... I know that sounds dramatic, but today was HUGE! Okay, so first I got to go to the sports site which always makes a good day. I feel like I am finally really getting to know the kids. Now that I can understand their Spanish better, I am discovering their individual personalities and how super funny a lot of them are. Secondly, I dominated at dominos twice in a row. I know this may not seem like a big deal, hopefully Dave doesn't read this. But anyway, he and Moreno (17 year old Dominican that we have become great friends with) are real good at dominos. Dominos are a big thing here and I feel like actually understanding the strategy of this game makes me a little bit more Dominican. So THEN... after siesta we played a game. The coolest part of the game was that a girl named Mira came toward the end. She played on our team and I got to talk with her a lot. She invited me to come to watch her softball game this next Sunday. Then, her softball team came to practice at 3 (the truck to take us back comes at 3:20). So she actually invited me to practice with her team. So of course I agreed and had SOOOO much fun. But then, the truck came. And this is where I felt things really changed for me.
I decided I wanted to stay because I knew Dave could come back and get me when we were going to play volleyball with some guys in Barrio Blanca (a nearby community that we play in every day from 4-6). Anyways, staying at the field was a really different feeling. I no longer had a site leader to fend for me, or even Dave to help fend of drunk Dominicans who decide they are in love with the Americana. (funny story if you want to hear it some time). Can you see what I mean now that my mind goes on random tangents. It drives me crazy! It's not like I am even coming up with these great insights on my observations, I just try to make sense of it all. Okay, back on track. So it felt weird when the truck pulled away. I felt like I was finally fulling stepping into the culture. I continued to practice with the team. We had batting practice and I tried to make sense of what the coach was trying to say to me. I mingled with with the other players. It's really hard for me to put words of how I felt. It was just a very different feeling being on my own. I did not have another intern to talk English with if I needed help saying something. I did not have Raul or Amy as my "boss" there. Its also a bit scarier when you are an American girl because its just inivatable that you will be starred at, hissed at or hit on. Although that it just something I have to not get so annoyed with because that is pretty typical here. But it anyways, it was really fun. I felt like it is actually becoming life. I actually have friends that I would hang out with, just like I would friends back at home. Moreno and Victor, who are friends from the baseball field stayed at the practice too. They helped facilitate the practice. I was fun having there to cheer me on as well as laugh at me when I messed up. Once practice finished, it just seemed really comfortable to just go play dominos with those guys as we waited for the truck to come get me. All I know... is I loved it! By the end of the practice, Mira invited me to play with her team next Sunday! And thankfully I can still play because church is in the afternoon here.
But just wait, the fantastic day did not end there. After practice, Dave and I went to Barrio Blanca to play volleyball. All of the best players were there along with our other friends Christian and Inoel (Inoel is like five foot nothing but can hit better than anyone I have ever seen... yes ever). So we just had a blast playing volleyball and even got to play some two-on-two at the end. I guess the others got tired or something... haha. I guess not everyone is as obsessed with volleyball as I am. So then, Dioni who we play volleyball with invited me to come back tomorrow and put on a practice for some girls in the community. Okay, I am going to try to sleep now. Thanks for listening!
