We swear in tomorrow!
Hey there!
So, as of tomorrow, we are officially done with training! Yay!!! I’m so glad to be done with it and ready to get started in Guaymate – our community. We did a 4-day visit and we met our new host family (our 3rd host family) and they seem really nice, but it’s going to be crowded. Darryl and I will live with 5 girls, ages 12 to 19, and their grandmother…for a total of 8 people in a 3 bedroom house. I’m sure it’ll be…interesting!
The youth group I’ll be working with seems really great. They are an Evangelical Christian group who want to learn about health and teach other youth in their community about healthy decision making (i.e. lower teen pregnancy, drugs/alcohol, STD rates). They also want to have a Sala de Tarea to help kids in the area with homework. So they will keep me busy. Darryl and I are also thinking of team teaching a few English classes just to get to know some people in the community.
In other news, I have a cell phone 
Grab a calling card and my number is 809-723-9949. I don’t get charged for incoming calls so give me a ring!
PICTURES! Here’s the link…enjoy! http://childerspeacecorps.shutterfly.com/
Lastly, I’ve been pretty reflective lately and here is a poetic reflection I did after visiting the waterfall. I hope you like it because writers are sensitive
Una Reflexión October 15, 2008
Verdent mountains contrast against a clear blue sky.
Bamboo shoots and trees slowly sway en la brisa.
Cows graze on a hillside. Horses saddled with cloth and fabric
wait around behind the barbed-wire fence until it’s time for their work to begin.
The fields of crops patched in varying shades of brown seem endless
and I wonder about the farmers who pour their lives into the land.
Have they always lived here? Do they have a family? Are they happy?
The mountains keep standing, solid and strong.
They have been here long before I was born and they will be here long after I’m gone.
I can feel the immensity y el asombro del mundo and I imagine how Whitman must have felt.
Like a tiny speck in this vast world.
A spider keeps spinning its web on a branch at the bottom of a hill.
I feel the cool of the wind on my skin and warmth of the sun y estoy tranquila.
I look even further in the distance and the mountains siguen por siempre.
I am in the back of a camión bumping along a rocky road,
listening to the chatter of the other gringos
and some Dominican jovenes who caught a bola to get up the mountain.
It looks like there is no room on the road for that back tire as we grind our way up the calle.
But I’m distracted from my fear and captivated by the roll of the fog
as it casts a hazy glow between the sky and the peaks.
I imagine the sacred silence of nature untouched by human hands –
el sonido de paz.
The terrain changes from rocks to clay the color of burnt sienna.
I think of the Taino Indians lives surviving from the land and with the land.
Por fin, we arrive at the waterfall, Aguas Blancas, and I am in awe.
Studying the perfect beauty of creation and trying to watch every single droplet
as it cascades down the rocks kissed by the sunlight.
I feel the mist as it sprays my cheeks and I feel refreshed.
The soothing sound of the waterfall refills my searching spirit.
I feel renewed.
October 28th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
i’m no expert but i like your poem… i can see it a book of poetry– it’s very picturesque and i like how you wrote in spanish and english… even though i made up meaning for some of the words for the picture in my head lol
so…. that does sound hella crowded! do y’all have your own spot or a curtain or somethin? how u gonna do couple lovin’ with all those females watchin???
loved the update!
October 28th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
OMG! mrs. brooksire/childers!
its beth richardson.. ccds.. science last year. haha
i miss u so much!!!!!! i hope you having fun!!
CCds is so not the same without you.!
talk to ya later
miss ya!!!!
bethyboo!
November 13th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Dear Trenita,
Congrat’s on finishing your training and getting sworn in. Sounds like it will be … interesting.
What an exciting, life changing experience. Glad you and Darrryl are back together. The photos are nice way to share the experience with you. Loved your creative sharing of you poem. The mix of English with Spanish/local lingo has a nice feel. Nice to know the experience is bringing out the best of you.
Exciting times here. Jessica was an active supporter of Obama – canvassing, registering voters & debating with “unbelievers” at CCDS (her SS teacher said she “won” on facts
) We are and will continue to celebrate right up to her 1st chance to vote and reelect Obama. 
CCDS is good for her, and she is readying for 8th-grade health class LOL.
Glad I’m on your blog list. Nice to keep up with you in another part of the world. It is truly wonderful what you are doing and even more beautiful that you and Darryl are sharing this experience.
Sending hugs and wishes for a fantastic experience.
With joy,
Karen