Sharptop Cove, Week 3

So, it is now half-way through the session and everyone is really getting to know each other well. I'm having a great time with everyone and we are starting to know each other on a deeper level, not just things like, where are you from, whats your major, etc. I knew I would become close with people, but I didn't realize how close. In the third week I started to learn where people want to go in life and talked to them about what I want to accomplish. Everyone was saying that week three would be the hard week, but it wasn't for me. I think it was because week two was so tough and week three the camp was not too full, so we only had two morning rides scheduled. This gave me more time really think about why I was at camp and why I was serving.

This week was fun, especially because we had gotten good at our jobs and found that we had little more free time. Also, since we were used to the early morning schedule I decided to get up for and early morning mountain bike ride on Sunday, which is usually our sleep-in day. It was awesome. I had never been mountain biking and we decided to go on the hard trail. Going up was tough, but coming down was such a rush. You get to the point where you almost lose control as you come down the mountain. I also had a chance to go on the high ropes course. That was also a thrill, because you are about 5oft up in the air suspended on thin wires and walking across different obstacles. By the end of this week everyone was realizing that we were going to be there only one more week so we were all trying to cram in things we hadn't had a chance to do yet.
I'll leave you with some pictures of me at my job and the view from the tower:

This is my view of the camp from the top of the tower:
This is what it looks like when you are sitting on top looking down:
Here is me getting ready to come down after a long day:

Here is my tower team from left to right, Harris, Me, Mallory, and Blake:

My Life as an American Girl in the D.R.

Back in the U.S. ....

So because I am not so great with international technology, I kept a journal while I was in the Dominican Republic this summer. I will try to hit some highlights for each day. If one word could sum it all up though it might be: life-changing or humbling or awesome.... ok, so I need more words. You all will just have to read the whole thing. =)

Day 1

So far this trip has been AMAZING! I am working with a large group from Colorado and a small group from Indiana. I flew in to the DR by myself and took a cab to the hotel by myself. Let me tell you, I am so glad I am with a group now. I ordered a cheese burger and accidentally left a 70% tip. I haven't quite mastered the peso/U.S. dollar conversion yet. =(

Day 2

I feel as though I've been here much longer than one day. The D.R. is very beautiful. The guest house is nice too. Even though I feel like I am in a different country, I feel comfortable here. There is musica playing all night long outside, but I prefer it over the rooster. He brings in the morning at about 4 AM. =( Today was my first day at the clinic. I watched 3 surgeries and helped Dr. Valdez with consultations all morning. The first surgery was rough, but I recovered and the rest of the surgeries were fine. One of the patients was a young woman who was having a hysterectomy (they remove the ovaries). They don't put you under full anesthesia (the patient is awake, but can't feel anything) and she looked very scared at the beginning. I took her hand and just smiled at her reassuringly. I went to observe part of the procedure a few minutes into the surgery, but as I walked away I could feel her hand tighten. I took a quick look, but I stayed with her for the rest of the surgery. It was quite an empowering experience -knowing the language didn't matter. I feel as if, in a small way, I joined a small part of the Dominican community today. All I had to do was care.

Day 4

Everyday at the clinic is full of surprises! We had a busy day today. Most of our consultations were actually screening sessions for the U.S. surgical group coming next week. We saw some really interesting cases. It's so sad to see what these people have lived with: women with burns from men throwing acid on them, children with various deformities, men with missing limbs who must provide income for their families. Still, these people have such joy and gratitude. Instead of looking at me - someone so blessed, healthy, with shoes and clothing, etc- and thinking of me as a snobby American, they try to talk to me and kiss my cheeks. They thank me for my help as we tell them nothing can be done for them at this time. They thank God for the blessings in their life as they carry their pre-teen aged children out of the clinic because they can't walk and they can't afford a wheel chair. More than anything today, I feel humbled.

Sharptop Cover, Week 2, Tired Week

This was probably the hardest week for me all summer. The reason it was so difficult was because the camp was so full. This means that we had to schedule morning rides. Now, just to update you, the tower, the high ropes course, the quantum leap, and the mountain bikes are all scheduled rides. This means that cabins were assigned a slot of time to go on them. When the camp is really full we have to book morning rides at 7:00am. Now, in order for them to be set up and ready to go we had to get up at 5:45. This week was so booked that we had a morning ride every day. So, I would end up going to sleep around 12:30 or 1:00 and then get up at 5:40 for the entire week! It was crazy. I wish I could write some of the random things that happened that week, but honestly, it was such blur. By the end of the week if I sat down for more the 5 minutes I was asleep. This worried me because all the morning ride staff were getting pretty exhausted. It was inevitable, by the end of the week, we all got sick. It wasn't too bad, it was just an annoying cold, but lasted for the entire third week =/.

However, I did have and awesome experience with one of the kids this week that I can't forget. His name was Mitchell and he was having trouble getting up the rock wall, so we sent him up the pole on the side that we use. On this particular day I was on the repel side. When a person goes down the repel rope, they are also attached to a safety belay rope that I have control over, so if they go too fast or let go of the repel rope, I can stop them from falling. So, I am attached to the kid going down with the belay rope and a post behind me so it the camper weighs more than me, I'm not thrown up the wall. Some kids are to scared to control the repel rope and end up just being belayed down by me. Mitchel was one of these kids. It took him all of the courage he could muster and a lot of trust to step over the edge. Now, just keep in mind he was a lot heavier than me, and I'm a girl, so am not quite as strong as the guys working with me on the tower, but being attached to a post and harnessed in, and with the equipment we use it isn't a problem. So when he finally went down the wall, his whole cabin was standing there watching me belay him down the wall and me getting lifted up about 3 ft in the air. When he made it to the ground he was so happy and thanked me so much. He even took a picture with me =) It was awesome that I could work with him and help him get over his fears. Here is the picture:

Sharptop Cove, Week 1

Sharptop Cove

Alrighty, so I haven't had access to a computer throughout my SoS. So I'm going to sum up my month at Sharptop Cove in four posts. I know its a little crazy posting them one after the other, but these are just some experiences pulled out of my journal from each week I was there.
Week 1:The first week at camp flew by because everything was so new. It started out on Sunday June 20. We woke up at 7:30 to be trained on our assigned jobs. I knew I was on the ropes team, but I didn't know what ride I would be working all month. So, that morning the team met in the gym and were assigned to or jobs. I found out I would be working the Tower. The Tower is a 55ft. climbing wall on one side and a repel wall on the other side with a small platform on top to transfer from one wall to the next. For the next couple of hours I learned how to belay someone up the rock wall, transfer them at the top of the tower, and repel them down the repel wall. It was pretty scary knowing that just the next day I would be working the Tower and have high school kid's lives in my hands. So, the next day I worked the top of the Tower. That's right, 55ft up for 6hrs straight. Working the top is awesome because you get a lot of kids who are really afraid of heights and you get to help them face their fears. One girl came up and started to cry because she was so happy that she made it. I was so proud of her. I've never worked so hard and had so much fun doing it in my life. Here is a quick overview of my schedule for one week:

Sunday: breakfast at 8:30, Chores (for me was collecting frisbees from around camp and out of the lake with a canoe), camp sweep (getting ready for a new camp week), lunch, making water balloons for the night event, free time, dinner, camp tour (showing the kids what the camp has), then the night event, which for Monday night is the obstacle course. This is a picture of me on the dining hall roof, showcasing the ropes team. I'm the middle person. Monday: Breakfast, chores, devotional, lunch, and then working the Tower (transfers on top), dinner. Then, Monday night's event is the hoe down and we pass out ice cream sundaes to the campers.

Tuesday: Breakfast, chores, devotional, lunch, and then working the Tower (repel side), dinner. Then, we don't work the event on Tuesday nights so we have a little bit of free time.

Wednesday: This day is called "the day that never ends". I do all the regular stuff (work the belay side). Then after dinner we do and event called Tableau. This is where we dress up in old western attire and act out a particular scene. For example, I was in the wedding scene, so my job was to get married:

Now, when the campers first see us in our scenes we are frozen, then a gunshot brings the scenes to life and we act it out for about 20 seconds. Then, the gunshot goes off again and we have to freeze wherever we are. It just so happens that in my scene, my groom picks me up in his arms to "take a picture". Well, on the the last week we ended up being frozen in that position for a while.
Now, after the campers see us all dressed up, they are told to get western outfits on for dinner. While they are eating dinner, us summer staffers are setting up and entire carnival in the gym, complete with games and food. This is why it is the day the never ends, because carnival doesn't start till late, and we end up finally getting everything cleaned up at 1:00am.

Thursday: This is day is a little more relaxed for me, because, like Tuesday we don't run the night event. Oh and I work on top of the tower again.

Friday: The beginning of my days are always the same, as you have probably noticed. The event for this night is Banquet. All of the campers get dressed up and eat a fancy dinner. We also get dressed up, just to go along with the camp. Then, that night is Work Crew night. Work Crew is all of the high school kids that come and work at camp. They work at the dining hall, the laundry, and they clean. On work crew night they are assigned to a camper cabin and they go and tell their life story to that cabin. So, our job is just to show our support for them through out the night, so one thing we do is clean the dining hall for them and set up for the next meal.

Saturday: This day is hectic. Camp rides close early and the campers have to pack and clean their cabins. We do and all camp sweep in which we do our chores for a second time that day and also help the campers get checked out of their cabin. They eat dinner and then leave around 7. After they are gone, we help clean the dining hall and then we get to break for the night and have the whole camp to ourselves =)

The next day is Sunday and we do it all over again. So yes, I was married 4 times in 4 weeks.

Last weeks in Germany *tear*

So the last week or so have been full of goodbyes... and cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. It has been really weird these last few days. Sometimes I'll be doing something and it'll hit me that I'm leaving soon and going back to 'normality'. Of course, being here so long has sort of distorted what I consider normal but I'm sure I'll readjust.

At last Sunday's church service my congregation said goodbye and my bosses gifted me with a funny gift. A bear shaped backpack. The bear wearing, naturally, a sweatshirt with the USA flag embroidered on it. They said the reason it was a backpack was because I'm always travelling. Well they're right with that I guess.

I've recently found an Aupair family. In December, through April, I will be in Germany AGAIN to be an Aupair for a really nice family.

I don't think the idea of leaving has really sunk in yet. When it does, I'll write another blog about how it feels and about my reflections on the past 12 weeks.

Monday

This is my last week in New Jersey. I walked by Cornel West today in Princeton. Check it out:
http://northsoutheastcoast.blogspot.com/

Weeks 4 & 5 at Girls Inc.

These past couple of weeks have been both really fun and really tiring. The girls have been doing awesome. We have done a ton of interesting projects. A few examples: we made purses out of old blue jeans, we made different stuffed brown paper bag animals, we had a walk-a-thon, and we had a huge slumber party. One thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment here. These girls keep me on my toes all day everyday. Today we are having a luau here at Girls Inc and then the girls are going bowling. I think the best activity we have done in the past two week was the slumber party we had last Friday. The staff, the volunteers, and the girls wore their pajamas all day. We had different things going on in the different classrooms and the girls rotated among the rooms. In one room we had them making sleeping masks and decorating them, in another we were doing nails, they made tie pillows in another, and then in the gym they watched movies. The girls and the staff all had a great time. I'm not sure what all we have going on next week but I do know that the talent show is coming up. Girls have been practicing their singing and dance routines every chance they get. They try to go hide in classrooms and in corners of the gym so that nobody sees their "secret" routines. It's really cute to watch and I can't wait to see them all perform.