Oh, man!  It’s been a while since I’ve updated “Books and Babies”….mostly because I’ve been busy with books and a baby!  This semester is coming to a close, and we made it!  Thanks to the support of family and friends, I think I did pretty well in my classes this semester, Darryl and I are sane, and Miles is a happy and healthy 3-month old :-) .  I turned in my statistics exam today and I have a paper due in a week that I’ll be working on, then I’ll be able to say we survived my first semester.

Over break I’ll be able to catch up on some reading I raced through and I can start thinking about possible research topics for next year as I look ahead toward fellowship applications…and maybe I’ll relax a little.  Here are some highlights of life with Miles:

• Yesterday he spit up in Darryl’s face – ha!
• I’ve taken him to 3 meetings at school so far and he slept through all three of them
• Quite a few “blowout” poopies under 2 months. Not so many now.  (“blowout” = poop comes out of the diaper up the back or down the leg)
• He’s sleeping for longer stretches at night (sometimes 5 hours!)
• Miles started daycare the week of Thanksgiving.  The first day, he was pretty good. Mom was a mess.  Both are recovering well.
• Smiles and giggles are contagious!
• Cousins and grandmas and aunts and parents can’t keep from kissin those cheeks!

(I decided to add quotes that I like to each post.)

“Never be afraid to try, remember…
Amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.”
Author Unknown

Merry Christmas everybody!

Well, I’ll keep you posted!  The next time I write, our little boy will be here!

I’m equal parts nervous and excited about all of the changes ahead of me…but if nothing else, we’ve learned flexibility and patience in the past year.  My mom is moving to NC to stay with us for a while as we adjust to life with a new baby, school, and work. (Hi mom!)  So now, all that’s left to do is unpack boxes and read books about sociological theory and statistics – yes!

“Time don’t stop for nobody.” – somebody’s grandma has said this, right?  I hope you all are well

You may have heard, but we are back in the US for good now.  All in all, the Peace Corps has been a life-changing experience and I do not regret  the year and a half we spent in the DR at all.  People say it’s like a roller coaster, and as cliche as it sounds, it really is!  There were days I hated that there was no electricity or running water, and there were days when I loved it and really felt connected to the work I was doing.  From the giant bugs to the broken foot, all of the tough times were worth the lessons learned and the growth I’ve experienced.  Thank you for your comments and your questions over the past year.  Your responses made me feel more connected and less homesick while we were in the Carribbean.

That being said, some people have wanted to keep in contact with me and our future lives, so I’ve decided to keep on blogging!  If you talk to me enough and are sick of hearing my thoughts, feel free to unsubscribe…I’ll never even know it.  I’ll use this as a journal for myself and just share what’s going on in my life.

So, as of now, Darryl and I have a lot more life changes ahead of us…as if we haven’t had enough!  Bring it on, world!  Books and Babies! I am starting the Sociology PhD program at Duke University (it’s a 5-6 year program).  That’s right folks, I’ll be a blue devil…with a baby!  We are having a little boy   School starts Aug.30 and the baby is due Sept. 4th.  (I’m 4 1/2 months along.) Yes, I know it sound stressful, but one of my new favorite quotes is “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt.  So, I think it sounds crazy, but I must do it.  Eleanor said so.  I have also accepted a summer job with Teach for America in Phoenix, AZ.  Temperatures get up to 115 degrees, and I will be 6-7 months pregnant but…I must do it! Hahaha!  You’ll probably hear how that’s going in a future blog

Anyway, I hope this entry finds you well.  I would love to hear how your lives are going too…comment, email (tbchilders@yahoo.com ) I just like feeling connected

Cuidense Mucho (Take Care!)  (You can click the pictures to make them bigger if you need to.)

The new group of youth and health volunteers are here and in training so Darryl and I are officially experienced volunteers!  We were invited to speak to the new group and answer questions about projects and about life in general, and it felt good to see how far we’ve come. 

So, what does it feel like to be at the half-way point, you might ask?  It is and was a mix of relief, anxiety, happiness, disappointment, inspiration, and feeling lost - usually all these emotions felt within the same week….or the same day!  Personally, I was trying to evaluate my first year of service, and figure out what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to change.  So, I’ve decided that my first year was marked by quantity and by doing projects where I was trying to keep busy and try everything to see what works and what doesn’t.  My second year’s goal is to develop 4 things to see the results of working with those 4 projects for an entire year.  Those 4 things are:  1) a little school that my host sister has started.  She needs support and training on teaching methods for reading and math, and overall organization.  2) I have applied for a grant to plan a teacher training in the public K-8 school in my community to focus on dealing with psychological issues students have and positive discipline strategies.  3) Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) – I attended the camp this past summer (THANK YOU if you donated to help make the camp possible!), and I have stepped into a leadership role planning the camp for next summer and developing the program into more than just a summer camp once a year.  4) Escojo Mi Vida – Youth group that we are working with and teaching them how to be community resources about HIV and health education.

Darryl is working hard on a latrine project (latrines are outhouses).  Many people in our community don’t have a place to poop/pee (sorry for the graphic-ness) so they go out in a field or use a latrine that is full.  This makes it easier to transmit parasites and amoebas that cause diarrhea…then you have to poop more…in a field or in a full latrine.  So Darryl is trying to facilitate the building of new latrines by fundraising and writing letters to people/organizations in the US who can donate.  If you know of health professionals or organizations that would be interested in contributing, PLEASE let me know! We have a formal solicitation letter we’ve been sending out.  One latrine is about $200 and he’s trying to build as many as possible (40+ latrines) and he currently only has $20 of the $4000 he needs…soooo…we’re doing some serious fundraising.

So that’s what next year will look like.  I have also decided to apply to graduate school for next fall (doctorate programs in sociology in the North Carolina area), so I’ll be filling out applications over the next few months.  Well, that’s my one-year check in…the last few blogs have only been pictures and it makes me feel more connected to you all when I share my thoughts as well…so keep sharing yours with me!

Here is the link with more pictures    http://childerspeacecorps.shutterfly.com/

Here is where you can donate to Darryl’s latrine project https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-317

Lots of love and Peace!

Trenita

PICTURES http://childerspeacecorps.shutterfly.com/

My Sala de Tarea is finished, and I think for good.  I like the kids, and they like me, but I still don’t know how I feel about teaching.  I think my educational skills could be better served helping plan a teacher training workshop, so I’m doing that instead.

We saw a bullfight…Dominican style!  How crazy!!!  The good thing is that they don’t kill the bull.  But at the end, a bunch of people jump in the ring and start chasing and running from this bull!  How loco!

We also had an “Escojo Mi Vida” conference.  Escojo Mi Vida means “I Choose My Life” and it’s a program that trains youth in sex education and teaches them to be multipliers of the info.  We’re getting ready to start our own Escojo group next week.  And we took a much-needed beach trip Ok, here are the pictures…make sure you click “See all 53″ mom .  And there is a video posted of me and another volunteer stepping at the Escojo conference.  I hope you are all doing well.  Abrazos!  Enjoy!

http://childerspeacecorps.shutterfly.com/

This post is to put some pictures up.  Things are really in full swing for us here in the DR.  The Sala de Tarea is going well and the English classes too.  Since my foot is better, I´ve re-started volleyball practice (the girls are between 10 and 13) and that´s going well too.  They seem to enjoy practice even though we don´t actually have a volleyball yet!  (The city hall keeps promising us a ball and a net but we´re still waiting…)  Anyway, we´re about to start the youth sex-ed/ values group soon and also a girls group to talk about gender and women´s roles and rights in the DR.  I´m really excited about both of those!  I´ll keep taking pictures and keep posting entries for you!  Here is the picture link http://childerspeacecorps.shutterfly.com/

Ciao!

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what a normal day looks like for me the PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer).  It has taken a long time for things to get into a “normal” rhythm, but finally after 7 months in-country, I could say there are a few days that are shaping up to be our new normal.  So from time to time, I’ve decided to blog “A Day in the Life” and I’m going to pick some average days to write about.  Here are two of them.  Enjoy!

A Day in the Life

Day A (a Tuesday in March)

8am – wake up, collect water for the day, get dressed for our 9ish “appointment” with the Sindico (mayor)

9am – arrive at project partner’s house (Sara) to pick her up. 

9-9:30am – realize she just woke up so wait for her to get dressed

9:30am- go to the Ayuntamiento (like a City Hall) to meet with the mayor

9:30-10:30am – wait…

10:30am– we decide he’s not coming in today and present our diagnostic and projects to the Visa Sindica (Vice Mayor)

11- 11:30am – meet with and present diagnostic and project ideas to the youth sports department of the Ayuntamiento

11:30am-1pm – back at home, I work on a solicitation letter to ask for money (latrine project) and sports equipment (volleyball and basketball teams) while Darryl makes lunch

1pm – eat lunch (carrots, chicken, and pasta)

1:30pm – prep for the Sala de Tarea (after school program) – read the chapter in the story for today and make a sample art project

2ish pm – head to the Sala, stopping and talking to people on the way, get to the school and send a muchacho to get the keys to our classroom

2:30-4pm – Sala de Tarea (reading and math activities)

4-4:30 – discuss how the class went, proof-read the letter to the Sindico with Sara

4:30 – Darryl goes to the internet center to check email and print the letter, I tutor Migue (a 15 year old neighbor).  We are working on reading, starting with learning the letters in the alphabet.

5:30-6pm – relax and sit and watch people outside

5:55pm – ¡Se fue la luz! (The electricity goes out.)

6:00-6:30pm – I take a bucket bath in a chair (broken foot) by sunlight.

6:30pm – dinner (honey nut “cheerio”-type cereal)

7-10pm – lay on the futon and listen to Darryl’s conversations with his parents and sister, and read a little bit by headlamp

10:10pm – ¡Llegó la luz! (The electricity comes back on.)

10:10-11pm – we talk, maybe read a little

11pm – bedtime

A Day in the Life

Day B (a Wednesday in March)

9-10ish am – wake up but stay in the bed to read while Darryl collects water for the day and kills a cockroach and shoos a lizard out the window

10:15am – ¡Llegó la luz!

10:30am – get myself going, brush teeth, drink a protein shake, decide to stay in my pajamas today

11am-1pm – listen to music, play Free Cell and Solitaire on the laptop, read (The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls)

1pm – make lunch

2pm  - eat lunch (Chili..mmm..)

2:30-3:30pm – take an afternoon nap

3:30-5:30pm – Darryl goes to teach his English class, I go next door to chit-chat and gossip with 2 neighbors and play with her one-month-old baby while being encouraged to pay attention for when I have my babies and while being told that I need to have them soon (still in my pajamas)

5:30-6pm – brainstorm Sala de Tarea ideas

6pm – dinner (leftover chili..mmm…) AND ¡Se fue la luz!

6:30-8pm – read by lamplight (A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving)

8-10:30 – watch a movie (“The Matrix”) on the laptop hoping the battery will last until 10ish when…drumroll please…¡Llegó la luz!

11ish – bedtime

People wonder (or maybe I wonder), why now? Why here? I’ve never broken a bone before in my 26 years of athletics and clumsiness, and there are a few theories about this broken foot – Number 1: I’ve lost about 25 pounds since coming to the DR and maybe I wasn’t used to my new body’s air time.  Number 2: I’ve had little to no calcium in the last 6 months.  Could that be enough to change my bone density? Not sure.  Number 3:  Maybe it’s a lesson in patience and letting go of control.  I was finally getting projects up and running (volleyball team, after school third/fourth grade program, English class) and now, all these things will have to start without me and I can’t stand it!  There was a fight between two girls at the first practice, and the teacher who’s supposed to help me with the after school program left Darryl to do it all alone .  I like to have my hands in a little bit of everything and now my hands can’t be anywhere because they’re busy crutching my foot around!

And so, I am frustrated…and learning patience, how to accept help, and learning to trust that other people can do the work and if they don’t, there’s always next week.

In other news, we got the apartment painted before I broke my foot.  This link has pictures from painting and my birthday and a new video of the painted apartment.  Check it out!

http://childerspeacecorps.shutterfly.com/