Today was the last day here in the DR. It has been such a wonderful experience here, I cannot believe the memories I have!
We gave out gifts to the Dominican families that we have eaten lunch with every day today. My "mom" Marjorie was so wonderful. She was kind, welcoming, and always made delicious food! We gave her some things that we had bought, oven mitts, serving dish, cups, chocolate (which was her daughters favorite), and some towels, and she was so grateful for it. It really was a joy to be in her home everyday. There would constantly be a stream of people coming into her home and grabbing some lunch with her too. She has such a heart of generosity and kindness. Giving her those gifts was not nearly enough to show her how grateful we are to her. I'm sure she does not even know the effect she has had on us. She helped us with our Spanish knowledge, or lack their of, and was always very eager to accommodate for us however she could. She took requests for lunch, made sure we ate first and never stopped eating for that matter. I really will look back at the time in her home as something very special. I bonded with my two new "sisters", Kem and Christina, the other Buff State students with me a lot too. Marjorie truly is a gem and I will miss her and her family very much!
We sang a good bye song for the children today too. As we sang, the kids were so focused and some of the buff state girls started crying. I got teary eyed because I know there's a better chance I will never see any of them again than me seeing them again. It's a bitter sweet thing. I'm glad we were at the school with the children, but leaving is always hard.
Never will I forget this experience and I'm so grateful for each day, even when things were tough I learned and grew as a person as a result. Now, when can we all come back??
We gave out gifts to the Dominican families that we have eaten lunch with every day today. My "mom" Marjorie was so wonderful. She was kind, welcoming, and always made delicious food! We gave her some things that we had bought, oven mitts, serving dish, cups, chocolate (which was her daughters favorite), and some towels, and she was so grateful for it. It really was a joy to be in her home everyday. There would constantly be a stream of people coming into her home and grabbing some lunch with her too. She has such a heart of generosity and kindness. Giving her those gifts was not nearly enough to show her how grateful we are to her. I'm sure she does not even know the effect she has had on us. She helped us with our Spanish knowledge, or lack their of, and was always very eager to accommodate for us however she could. She took requests for lunch, made sure we ate first and never stopped eating for that matter. I really will look back at the time in her home as something very special. I bonded with my two new "sisters", Kem and Christina, the other Buff State students with me a lot too. Marjorie truly is a gem and I will miss her and her family very much!
We sang a good bye song for the children today too. As we sang, the kids were so focused and some of the buff state girls started crying. I got teary eyed because I know there's a better chance I will never see any of them again than me seeing them again. It's a bitter sweet thing. I'm glad we were at the school with the children, but leaving is always hard.
Never will I forget this experience and I'm so grateful for each day, even when things were tough I learned and grew as a person as a result. Now, when can we all come back??