Sometimes siblings nag each other and it turns into a fight.
Sometimes parents don't always make the best decisions and their kids are left to suffer.
Sometimes men do wheelies on motorcycles and hurt themselves or someone else.
Sometimes teachers are tired and don't teach their best class.
Sometimes money is tight and hunger strikes.
Sometimes a child is left behind who doesn't know how to read.
Sometimes good people sleep when there's a world to change out there.
Now, answer me this. The above; the Dominican Republic? Or the United States?
Exactly.
You don't know for sure. Neither do I.
Problems exist everywhere. First world countries, third world countries, your neighbor's house, or yours. There is darkness, exhaustion, confusion, and complacency. I see flaws everyday here. But when I go online (my only portal back home), these flaws and others are seen too. Posted all down my newsfeed from friends and family back home. Some of the articles from home sicken me more than what I witness here.
So today I want to celebrate. Celebrate the beauty that lies within what seems to be darkness in the life of the DR. Things that make me proud, smile, laugh, and sing. Because there's so much of it. And I'll admit, I haven't done them justice. I challenge you as well, to read these and then make a list of your own from back home. Because some try and find the good, while others drown in the depths of the ugly.
Which will you choose?
Today, I witnessed a movement that is being spoken of from the top dogs in the Ministry of Education. Many movements such as these are shared but never executed. Here, in my little campo of Mariano Cestero, we executed one: Recreo es Divertido (Recess is Fun). Recess is a half an hour a day where the kids are free to run, play volleyball, jump rope, basketball, etc while the teachers grab little chairs and sit outside the school grounds in the shade. Fights often break out. Kids fall and cut themselves. Or ride bikes in the dangers of the street where motos whiz by.
Today we shut the doors. The director had his bank of games and the kids all got together to play WITH the teachers. There were competitions and games galore. Everyone was engaged. The teachers helped monitor, play, and teach. It was an absolute blast. I lost my voice from screaming so hard. And when I left, hearing the screams from the kids didn't make me cringe thinking about the fight that just broke out, it made me smile knowing some team had just found victory.
Beauty.
This week and last, I've been working with our new kindergarten teacher. I've seen so many that look at the content of this grade and pick and choose what they want to teach. Never changing the room to organize it how the manual says and often write a daily schedule and never follow it. But she is different. She approached me, admitted that she knew little of how to teach kindergarten, found all the materials and information and said, "Let's work together." As a team, we've started rearranging the room, making new signs and posters, organizing all the beautiful resources available that have gone untouched, and read what needs to be done and how. It's still a work in progress but she approaches me everyday with new things to do, new ideas, and new questions.
Beauty.
My English classes with 7th and 8th grade have gone on for three weeks now. We start every class with the song, "Happy" by Pharrel Williams and we sing and dance together. They genuinely know the word 'happy' and what it means and work hard every single Friday. They listen, write, practice, and lose their "vergüenza" in order to learn as much as possible. They're excited for class each week and always remind me on Thursdays that we have class the next day. I feel such pride and love for them and hunger for the hugs I'm given everyday. And hey, if all they know on the final exam is the word "happy," I will honestly still be just as excited.
Beauty.
My committee for our Biblioteca Tecnológica is a rock. A few members fall out occasionally for life reasons but we continue to push forward, always picking up the slack where it falls. When we get together, whether purposely to talk of the project or not, we are motivated and ready to continue the fight. The process is long, but my faith in us goes unbroken.
Beauty.
Viviana is my 25 year old mother who is working on reading. She has taken classes in the past and always given up. A few months back, she approached me and asked me to teach her. Every week since then, once or twice a week, we have class. Her motivation and passion is incredible. And shows in her progress. Her self confidence lacks at times but through various activities, I've been able to prove that she is improving and I now hear less and less "I forgot" from her. And in the weeks where I get crazy and am unable to have class, I see her reading her notebook outside on her patio or under the shade of a mango tree. Never giving up even when I falter.
Beauty.
Kilvio and I made a trip to Loma de Cabrera, Santiago de la Cruz, and DaJabon to hand in solicitation letters for help with our Biblioteca Tecnológica project. One stop was with an institution called "Save the Children." I met a woman, Anita, who works in various communities with many initiatives and ways to promote the rights of children-in all ways (education, health, discipline, etc). Her passion and drive for making a change in her own country was impossible to ignore and bursting from the seams. She's excited to team up with Peace Corps volunteers because our goals and purposes are the exactly same. And it's true. We were limited on time, but after exchanging numbers and promising to get together soon to share ideas and projects, I left her office exploding from the chest with love.
Beauty.
And there they are. Certainly not all but recently what's been making my heart beat faster and grow with pride and love for this country and these people. Tonight we won't have electricity, but I know all that is singing in my soul will be enough light to bring out the sunlight of tomorrow.
