robin's dominican adventures

Horseback riding!

2009-11-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

Anne and I love horses! So we decided to go horseback riding before she left. There's a stable not far from the Mak house and the owner gave us a discount. So away we went! It was so much fun. Possibly the most fun I've had! The horses were well trained and because Anne and I are "experienced" riders, we got to do some running! Oh man, the feeling of running on a horse!! Of course, my legs were jello for the next few days because I haven't ridden a horse in a long time. Here are some pictures:

Anne with Simba. He has one blue eye and one black eye

This is my horse, Felipe.

Jungle riding! Just kidding, we were in the sugarcane fields.

We had a break and ate the most delicious fried plantains and fried sweet potato ever!! Oh my, it was so good.

Photo-op!

In conclusion, I'll leave you with this: Anne decided that I look like a ballerina when I ride (English training) and I decided that she looks like a cowboy (all those years at the rodeo, roping cattle!!). Thanks, Anne Laverty, for a wonderful afternoon!

Monday Night: See you later, Boons!

2009-11-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

Monday night we had our going away party for Anne and Garrett. There was DELICIOUS food, a slideshow of photos from their time here and a many questions asked (a funny memory, scripture about your time here, something you'll miss, something you won't miss, etc)! It was a wonderful night with laughter and tears. Here are some pictures:

It's true! We do love the Boons. And we miss them terribly!

Lots of friends were there to celebrate Garrett's and Anne's time with us! Sorry we didn't take a picture with the guys!
(L-R) Back Row: Holly, Lauren, Anne, Kendall, Emily, Ashley, Erika
Front Row: Robin, Kim, Cara

Big D, the chef himself! Oh my goodness, his food is amazing. He has a restaurant on the beach in Sosua (Big D's BBQ) and he also does catering. There is a picture of the salad below. What I didn't get pictures of was: the guacamole with homemade tortilla chips, the beer chicken, the ribs, the potato salad, sliders and a few other mouth-watering things!

Anne and Holly

Anne and Lauren

Ahh, yes, the salad! We had leftovers for a week!

We love you, Garrett and Anne!! A whole whole whole lot. And we miss you!!

Our Cute Kids!

2009-11-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

A few of our students:

I love how short Elijio looks between Memo and Anidelis

Antony and Leury put chalk on their faces

Marta la Loca

Alturo drawing

Wilson making a creation

Wildania and Yunairi

Leury eating his breakfast; he really enjoys it!

Antony showing Profe Lauren that he ate his vitamin!

To the PARK!!

2009-11-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Last week we piled (seriously!) all the kids into the Mak truck and took them to a park in MonteLlano. Here are a few (or a lot) of photos of the trip:

Piled in with Profe Lorena

In the back of the truck with Johan

Racing up the stairs to the slide!

Bienvenido sliding down

Marileidi, Gustavo and Davidson

Ambiolix

Profe Ashley and Anne spinning the kids around

The kids spinning themselves

Wili and David pushing Nicol Cristal and others

Profe Cristina

Ariela and Wilsenci

Such determination

Yuneci sliding

Again Wilsenci with a look of determination

Gustavo with Escarlet

Leury with the See-Saw

Bianca Nicol

Lisela

Antony

Carlos Alfredo

Ariela and Nicol Cristal

Ana Wendy

Yunairi

Ambiolix

They had such a great time that we're thinking about making it a regular event at Colegio Makarios!

Monday Morning

2009-11-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

Monday morning we all woke up very early (5:30, to be exact) in order to worship as the sun came up. The ideal plan was to drive up to the top of Mt. Isabela and sing from there. But God has a different plan and sent the rain to keep us inside. It was a lovely time of singing hymns and contemporary Christian songs. Here's a short video:

After praise and worship we watched the Lion King, ate pancakes (compliments of the guys)...

...and played a few rounds of Bananagrams. All before 10Am! It did make for a longer day, by the time evening came, but it was worth it!

Sunday

2009-11-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

Sunday was a wonderful day of rest and community. We went to church in the morning for Anne and Garrett's last Sunday at Templo Bíblico. Then out to Maimon to eat delicious fish. La Sirena for frozen yogurt. Played Bananagrams (soo fun!) and watched a few episodes of 24 Season 4! Such a great day! Here are the girls at La Sirena:

Anne, myself, Erika, Emily, Lauren, Kim

Saturday

2009-11-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the jazz festival in Cabarete. As many of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of the beach. But you might not know that I don't really love live music either. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't hate it by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't love/crave it either. Anyway, back to my story. So my roomies and my friend Crystal (we graduated together and she lives in Santiago) all spent the weekend listening to the music and laying on the beach. They begged enough. I went out there on Saturday just for the afternoon. It was so great to spend time with Crystal! We ate lunch at Lax and then went to José O'Shays.

Crystal and myself

Ashley watching....

the UT game!! We rarely get to watch games here, so it was so fun to be 4 Longhorns singing the fight song and yelling at the TV. We got some funny looks from the locals!

Wilne!

2009-11-12T05:32:00.000-08:00

I love little Wilne from Chichigua! A while ago I posted a picture of him taking a bath in a bucket. He doesn't like me, generally. Our conversations (in Creole and Spanish) go like this:
Me: HEY WILNE!!!
Wilne: I'm not your friend

And that's it. But recently he's decided that he likes me! And I have photographic proof:

love the outfit!

tickling him

i look like a crazy gringa forcing a Haitian baby to play with me!

Also, just after this photo was taken, he raised his hands for me to carry him! Ahh, I just love this boy!

This was the first day that he decided he liked me!

I was SO excited! It was a victory!!

Wilne's little life hasn't been the easiest. His mama died of TB when he was just a baby and a neighbor took him in. He's had head fungus and skin infections since all of his life. And a lot of the older kids pick on him. But to me, he is just precious. And he can tell me as many times as he wants that we're not friends because I know that deep down he loves me!!

This is what he looked like when I first met him:

Ahh! Presh

Medical Team!

2009-11-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

The medical team came back this week! They checked out our students for about a week, gave medicine and made quite a few people feel much better. We really appreciate all the care they give our families. This is their 3rd year to come down to our little school.

We also had a dentist and his assistant come down during the same time so that all the kids got their mouths cleans and the bodies checked. Hopefully Bud and Jeri will come back again and continue the great work of trying to saving our kids' dying teeth!

Here are some pictures (taken by Charlie M. Nettles) from their time here:

The Ohio Medical team

Bud and Jeri working on a kid

Jenna playing with the families outside

Tyler checking out Gustavo's family (his mama, Lourdes, and baby sister, Estayci)

Jody and Darren discussing something important

Kim translating for Ashley while talking to Wilsenci's and Wilton's family

Julia looking at Yuneci and her family

Jack listening to Andy's breathing

Kim translating for Julia for Andy's family

Marileidi and her newest friend Jenna

Tanda with Yunairi's little sister, Ana Luisa

Nurse Laura irrigating Ambiolix's ear; he was not pleased!

Marileidi hugging Kim

We cannot wait to see you guys next year!

Chichiguans at the Beach!

2009-11-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

Though we don't have any older kids coming to the school on Fridays we still want to keep up with them. So on Sunday the medical group that was here helped us take the kids from Chichigua to the beach. We talked about Job 38:8-11-
"Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; when I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and I placed the boundaries on it and set a bolt and door, and I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop'?"

And then we swam! And rolled in the sand! And played soccer! And ate! We brought peanut butter, jelly, bread, oranges, bottles of water, and Dino cookies! They had a lovely time. Here are some pictures:

Marquito and Emilio...

...so excited to get in the water...

...almost there....

...SPLASH!

YAHOO!

You can see Marquito and Emilio in the background splashing away

Ernesto and Ronal

The waves were huge that day (even though it looks like there weren't any in the picture)

JOY!

Into the water!

Sili tried to do a flip but tripped...

...and face-planted!

Emilio and Ronal take a little break

Ernesto playing soccer on the beach

Martin, Jessica, Emilio and a few others. I love Emilio's undies!

Jaquelin and Sili RUNNING for the water! Sili finally did his flip without tripping!

Ernesto

The whole group: (L-R) Holly, Sili, Ronal, Martin, Susan, Jessica, Sara, Jaquelin, Emilio, Ronal, Marquito, Ernesto, Kendall, Guivenson, and Felipe

A sunset moto ride through the cane fields

2009-11-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry the pictures are blury; we were on a moto, after all!

Welcome, Tasha Lee!

2009-11-04T05:25:00.000-08:00

The newest addition to the Makarios family was welcomed into the world last Friday! I don't know all of her measurements but I do know that she is presh! Here are a few photos of the little one:

Her papá and older brother, Diego, were so excited. Diego just kept clapping and saying, "Chichí" (what Dominicans call babies).

Sleeping in the arms of her mama. She has the same nose and mouth as Diego!

And look at that hair. She only opened her eyes once while Anne and I were there visiting. She was enjoying sleeping!

We are so excited to get to know you, Tasha Lee Morel!

Baseball: much more fun with fruit!

2009-10-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Recently we've taken to batting the fruit that comes off of the trees in the school's backyard. Don't worry, we're only batting stuff that is rotting or won't ripen. It all started when Ronni, Ernesto and Felipe shook the avocado tree to get the one that were ready down. Some of the smaller ones fell off at the same time. They wouldn't have ever ripened so we decided that the next best option was to pull out the baseball bat. Then we just started finding more and more stuff to bat. There are a lot of photos in this post...I hope you enjoy!

Ronni. He pitched most of the time for us but he's pretty good at the bat!

Ernesto!

Great hit, Lauren

Look at Felipe! In my untrained baseball-form eyes, he looks like a pro!

Love it! Can you see the avocado splattering all over! It's really quite fun to bat tiny avocados!

Clearly I'm not athletic! And it's so much worse because Ashley (above) and Kim (below) look excellent in their photos! Oh, well. This is not the first, nor the last, embarrassing picture that I will post of myself! Just to clarify, though, I did manage to hit the avocado!

Lovely form, Kim!

It's a hit!

This was quite funny as it actually splattered all over Miguel's face! Desafortunadamente, guanpan burns when it makes contact with your eyes. Who knew?!

The guanpan is dying...

dead!

Riley's the only one I don't have a picture of actually hitting anything. Not saying he didn't break open a few guanpan, my camera just didn't capture it. Sorry, Riles!

Ewww, guanpan after being batted!

I can't remember what Jody hit. But it went flying, that's for sure!

Chepe hit baby coconuts

These were our fans...Profe Kim's class! They were learning about how to appropriately use their hands that day and we were providing a perfect example!

I actually hit it! And it really hurt!

I won't not want to be the coconut that Miguel's about to hit! Do you see the look in his eyes?!

That's right; Miguel broke the coconut!!

The bat. It's not slightly broken and really dirty!

A MacGyver moment from Gare

2009-10-26T14:49:00.001-07:00

Garrett loves Odilsia's cooking (who doesn't? Honestly!). One day, after working all morning, Garrett had to go back to the Mak house in Puerto Plata but wanted some of Odilsia's delicious cooking before going. Desafortunadamente (my favorite Spanish word), the food was fresh out of the pot and super hot. So Garrett decided that he would make his plate para llevar (to go) and eat it when he got home. Ahh, yes, the beauty of ducktape! He just took two bowls, taped them together and tucked his precious food away in his backpack to enjoy later! Genius, really. And slightly Dominican. And very MacGyver!

Construction Update

2009-10-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

The wall in the back is up! They just need to add the columns

It looks great, doesn't it?

Along this side they are going to put a chain link fence with barbwire on top. The neighbors didn't want us to take away their breeze.

We had some problems with the pump so Miguel was fixing it

Aaaaaand the best part of the day for the workers: NAPTIME! Everyday after lunch everyone gets to take a lovely nap. Aaaahhh!

Some precious kids

2009-10-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Kids playing at recess with Erika

Walking up to school

Odilsia's twin boys with Eduardo (he used to come to our school but his family moved to Los Algodones, where Odilsia's lives, so he doesn't come)

Martin

Marileidi

Carlos Miguel

Miguel Angel

Ashley wishes he were this calm and pensive in class. But he's full of energy!

Burning Cane

2009-10-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Friday through Monday the cane fields were burning. People have been burning them in protest. I haven't quite figured out what they are protesting. Some say that they are protesting because they want the sugarcane factories to open back up again but the government won't. Others are saying that the government is considering open the sugarcane factories up again but the people don't want them opened again. I don't know much about it. What I do know is that there was a lot of ash covering the ground for a few days. Here are some pictures I took from the top of our apartment building of the cane fields burning:

Smoke covered the Puerto Plata area for days.

Burning fields toward Sosua

Billowing smoke. So gross!

La Pared

2009-10-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Here's what's been happening with the wall this week:

We're gringos...

...and we like to all come to work in the same shirt!! Thanks to T.J. Kendall all of the white construction workers can dress alike.

Pobre Miguelito, he wasn't invited to be a part of the "Elite" club

Miguel bending steel...

it's hard work, especially in the direct Dominican Summer sun!

This was one of the trenches on Tuesday. Also that's one of the dogs that had her puppies in our backyard. Also at the very end you can see Viejo (he's 72 years old) digging deeper.

Today, Friday, they are starting with the cement!

Chepe and the cement of the footings

It's going up quickly! More pictures next week.

They're baaaack....

2009-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

If whilst at the school you find...

some shovels and tubing....

some sacks of chalk and string....

a spool of barbwire....

and Viejo...

what does that mean??

Yep. You're right. The workers are back! Today started phase 2 (the last part) of building the wall around the entire school! We are so excited. No more mangy dogs having puppies in our backyard; no more neighbors drinking beer in our ranchito; no more marijuana grown in our backyard!! More photos to come as the wall goes up. They're starting to dig the trenches today.

Miguel measuring

The chalk-line for the trenches!

Some fun fotos

2009-10-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Elijio singing in the morning

Bernadeta, Memo's mom, is 8 months pregnant

Ernesto's hand. I don't know why but I like this photo

Ambiolix's nose! He's so presh.

Kendall with some of our crazy Chichiguan kids.

Ambiolix playing in Chichigua

Franchesca eating a guava

Bernito...looks like he's thinking but he's really looking at Kendall and Memo

Kendall tickling Memo.

Emilio's hand

Wilton

Alturo, he's so happy!

A little bit of Kim's class

2009-10-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Profe Kim's class learns about the creation story!

Later that day, Profe Kim was super tired!

She, and all the other teachers, are doing such an amazing job! They are working hard to discipline and love and possibly teach the crazy kids we have. And we can already see improvement! We have much less fighting, biting, hitting, screaming, crying, etc. And it's only week 3.

Learning to use our hands nicely

2009-10-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Our students are in need of learning to treat others nicely. It's hard to break them of what they have learned, though. When grown men here "settle" arguments with violence and when parents or siblings abuse each other, what else should we expect. We do, however, expect them to learn to make good decisions with their hands during their year with us. Our teachers have taken to making books about how to use hand (or feet, or teeth, etc). Today Ashley's class was talking about hands and what they are for (throwing the ball, eating, painting, hugging, etc). After Ashley read them the book she made (see video below), they each traced their own hand to hang up in the classroom to remind them what our hands should be used for. Here are some pictures from the day:

Jeson tracing his hand

Miguel Angel, Yery, and Gustavo trace theirs

Escarlet shows off her work

Miguel Angel got marker on his hand...and then proceeded to cover both hands with blue marker.

In the front of the classroom they now have a visual reminder of how we are supposed to use our hands. "We can use our hands for good thing!"

Ashley reading the "Hands" book to her class

Tuesday, much better!

2009-09-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's starting to look more like a school! Here are some pictures and a few videos:

Odilsia, a shining light in our school, handing out the pan to all of our kids. She walks around to each class every morning to make sure that the kids eat all their food and drink their cup of water!

Charlie helping to carry hot cups of avena (an oatmeal drink) to the classrooms

Cristina's class waits in a perfect line after singing

Kim's class stays in line as they walk to their classroom

Ashley's class is mostly made up of the students who were with us last year, with the exception of 3 students, and so they have learned how to line up. We frequently remind them that they are the examples for the rest of our students.

Profe Lorena's (Lauren) class acts like a train as they walk into their room

I managed to take a video of each class while they were mostly staying focused on what they were supposed to be doing. It's hard to believe that 5 school days ago the kids were going crazy! That's not to say that Ashley class doesn't have a fight break out every 10 minutes, or that Lauren's class doesn't burst out in tears every 5 minutes, or that all of Kim's class sits and plays well together, or that Cristina's class doesn't have their fair share of not wanting to share! It does mean that we're seeing improvement, and that's exciting. I can't wait to get to the end of the first 6 weeks and see how much more smoothly it will run! Here the videos that make life in Colegio Makarios look easy:

Ashley's class. Notice Rachel and Luis Fernando are sharing!

Cristina's class during recess.

Kim's class is playing with little blocks!

Lauren's class plays at their tables!

Day 4

2009-09-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

This was right after school. Exhaustion. The kids were pushing the limits today. Lauren had 2 criers/screamers that were sent home. She had 6 boys acting out all day. Ashley had multiple fights (once she was breaking up one and looked over and Kendall was breaking up another one) and had a biter. Cristina had 2 criers pretty much all day. Kim had a 2 criers and 2 choosing to not behave well.

Pray for us this week. It will be our first full week. The kids are starting to get to know the routines and are starting to push into the rules to see exactly where they lie.

Pray for good rest. Pray for perseverance. Pray for the love of Christ to come out even when we are at the end of our rope and that one kid keeps acting out. Pray that we would be filled from our own personal time with God that we might pour out to these kids, their parents, the community. It's not easy, but by the grace of God we will see that when we are weak He is strong.

Praise God that right now in MonteLlano a thunderstorm is passing over. There are few things so relaxing as falling asleep to the pouring rain and the rolling thunder!

Fotos from the last few weeks

2009-09-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the things that have happened over the last month:

Welcome home, Lauren!! I tried to get a picture of everyone as they came in but I forgot my camera after Kendall. Oh well, you get the point. We picked them up at the airport and probably yelled a lot!

We had movie night at the Mak house and watched The Sting with Robert Reford and Paul Newman. It was SO good. If you haven't seen it you should!

Cara modeling our fridge in true Dominican style. We had to buy a new one since we're 4 of us in the apartment now with Kendall and that tiny thing was barely holding our food. I don't have a picture of the new one but it's baby blue and from the 70s.

Kendall arrived!! Welcome home, new roomie!

Welcome home dinner for everyone coming back from MTI. We played the greatest game ever: Telephone Pictionary. If you haven't heard of it let me know and I will teach you. It's sooo funny!

Eating fish in Maimon. Apparently Ashley saw me taking the picture!

This was Anne's meal...it could talk. And, so says Anne, it was delicious.

Emilio and his popcicle-stained tongue

Ambiolix was looking to make sure that there wasn't any tiny piece of chocolate left in his ice cream

Ohh goofy Memo! This picture's for Kendall

Wilsenci!

Migue and his beautiful little sister Katy