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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Día de Los Padrinos Celebration!!



As I mentioned in my last blog post, last week and this past weekend were all about prepping for el Día de los Padrinos or Godparents Day. In all of the NPH homes and offices, May is Godparents Month and in each home, there is a special day full of activities to thank the godparents for all of their support and to give the kids a little extra something from their sponsors! It was a celebration with 300 plus people and tons of activities this year so we needed all hands on board!
The whole crew...the multiusos was full!
Some of the boards Pili drew as decorations!
The stats of number of sponsors from each country!
On Saturday, the festivities began at 10:30am with a mass of gratitude for all of the godparents…meanwhile, a group of local sponsors living here in the DR came rolling in to spend the day with their godchildren. This was fun because there were godparents who had never been out to NPH before as well as kids who had never received a godparent visit before!
The International Women's Club in Santo Domingo sponsors 10 kids here!
Rance and his godmother from MSC!
Godparents and godkids signing their names!
After mass, we had a program in the multiusos. This included some dances by our dance-lines here, a flute melody, a song on guitar, a poem done by the new boys’ house, a number with drums, a couple testimonials from some of the older kids, etc. It was really quite a good show…I think everyone was entertained!
Mass with everyone in their colors!
The program led by Ricardo and Danilo!
Moises and his band!
Older kid dance line!
Following the program, we had a yummy lunch complete with Russian salad (i.e. potato salad with lots of veggies), roasted chicken, and yellow rice. Plus for dessert there was fruit salad…it was yummy, yummy, yummy! And the Santa Ana girls prepped all the fruit and served all the food to the visitors—they worked their butts off…I was quite proud!
The visitor table (or should I say tables!)
Sta. Teresa boys enjoying a special meal!
Following lunch, there were yet more activities…we had a guy come in with a karaoke machine and a bunch of the older kids really got into that as different salsa and merengue tunes blasted over the sound system in the multiusos. We also had 3 blow-up bouncy castles come over along with a cotton candy machine, which, of course, the kids went crazy over! Besides that, we got a good game of 4-way tug-‘o-war going and some volleyball in. Finally, we finished off the afternoon with ice cream for all made right here at NPH! It was a long, exhausting, fun day, so all of our hard work and planning really paid off in the end!
Karaoke really took off!
Bouncy castles for the younger kids!
Mr. Junior enjoying to the max!
Eridania says hello!
Tug-o-war...i.e. tira y jala!
In other news, we continue to be busy preparing with the Canada and US trip kids…this week in our training, we did a photo shoot in addition to working on English. Plus we have officially started to fill out the visa forms for the Canada boys…









And last but not least, Wes arrived last night!!! Wes was the volunteer English teacher for a full year here and he left this past July (nearly a year ago—wow, I’ve been here SO long!) We took one of his boys, Lionardo, to the airport to pick him up. Needless to say, it was QUITE the adventure…yep, escalators, elevators and STRAWS for the first time ever for Lionardo! We were laughing so hard we were crying :) Not to mention, it was awesome to see Wes after such a long time!
Yep, first time Lionardo ever used a straw...so naturally, Christian taught him how to use two...
...and then three...hehe...
Wes and Lionardo...two peas in a pod...
Up next: a visit from my uncle Rick and cousins Chrissy and Brianna on Thursday!! Also, piggie update...they're getting bigger...and I keep getting dragged over to the pigpen by kids anxious to see them!


Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Circle of Life: The Good, the Bad, and the Sad


Wow! I don’t even know where to begin to explain the last two weeks. There’s been a lot of good with a little bad and sad mixed in. We’ve also added 11 new baby piglets to the NPH family while having to say goodbye to one of our favorite employees who passed away. Like I’ve mentioned before, living here in the DR with 225 kids immersed in an entirely new culture has probably been one of the most emotional experiences of my life! Here are some highlights:

Dia del Trabajador
May 1st is Worker’s Day in the DR! So everyone got a day off from the office and school (which generally actually means a day of MORE work for the volunteers!) and it was fun to spend some extra time just hanging out with the kids! Then there was an employee party which is always interesting to say the least…
Workers who have been around for all 10 years!!
Day at the River
On our last weekend off a couple weeks ago, us americanas decided to take a Dominican adventure to the nearby river. It’s something we’ve always heard about as being popular with the Dominicans and Haitians we live amongst, so we though we’d try it out for ourselves. It was a blast!!
There's the rio! Aww yeah!
Las americanas!
Playa Nueva Romana Benefit
Playa Nueva Romana, an all-inclusive hotel chain in the DR, has made a connection with NPH, so they invited a few of us to come out to a benefit/press release they were having in the capital. It was quite the classy affair complete with a famous TV newscaster, a couple mimes and air conditioning that none of us are used to at this point!
The whole crew!
Some of the boys and Kieran! It was Melvin's bday!
Debora and I!
My twin and I dressed in the same colors, of course!
Talk about classy!
The kids were quite entertained by these 2!
Great smile, Carlos!
Our crew with the Playa Nueva Romana crew!
Baby Pigs!
Last weekend we were on and it was full of a lot of Farkle with the girls (like hours and hours of it…you’ve never seen 6 dice that have gotten more use!) and a lot of English lessons with some of the older kids. The most exciting even of the weekend though were some trips to the pig pen. On Thursday, 11 new piglets were born. So on Sunday, via 3 different trips, Avriel and I brought all of Santa Lucia, the baby house, to go see the animals. We spent hours watching the mama pig eat her rice and beans and the baby pigs nursing and sleeping. It was a blast!!

Mama and her babes! Let's hope she doesn't sit on any of them and kill them like last year!
Samuel, me, and Johan...they were afraid I would let them fall in...no way!
The crew from trip #2!
The Santa Lucia crew from trip #3!
Bebo
In some sad news, Bebo, the nicest/funnest/happiest night doorman passed away on Monday. He suffered a couple strokes about a month ago and has been in the hospital in the capital ever since. Finally, he slipped into a coma and passed away. He and his family lived in the nearby batey, so on Monday night, we walked over to the ‘wake’ that was held at their house once his body was transferred back here from the capital. Then Tuesday morning consisted of the funeral and burial…

It was really quite a loss…Avriel and I especially had developed quite the relationship with Bebo and his family. We would often bring him coffee at night when he started his shift and when we were leaving our kids’ houses and joke around for awhile. On the cultural end of things, this was my second funeral in the country. On the one hand, this was more of a country man’s funeral because the wake and funeral were held in his house (rather than the funeral home in San Pedro). Literally, there were 2 tents and a bunch of benches in front of the house where people just sat and cried and reminisced and laughed. Then you took your turn going through the house to see the body, say a prayer, and pass along condolences to the family. It made me realize again how the most important thing here in this country is your presence when big events happen. It’s never about flowers or gifts or money whether it be a holiday a funeral or a birth….it’s always about showing your support by being there for your neighbor, friend or family member. I really admire that…. It’s also hard because, once again, I’ve witnessed firsthand how someone dies much younger than they should have because of poor healthcare or lack thereof…grrr…

Looking ahead, there’s a lot going on! On Saturday, we celebrate Godparents Day here on site. We’ll be having a mass, program, lunch, karaoke, and games in the park complete with inflatable bouncy houses. It’s an event for 300 plus which means lots and lots of prep and planning! Also, next week, my uncle Rick and cousins Chrissy and Brianna will be in town…so I definitely plan to take off a day or two to get in some quality time with them…I can’t wait them to show them around here! Plus then maybe I’ll get a chance to slow down for a few minutes ;)
Milis and Wilson cooking together in San Matias!
Mr. Marino loving the camera and showing off his toy!
Another new addition to the family: a cat, Miche.
Katerin with Miche!
Johan discovering Miche!
Chilling on the sidewalk!
Johan was scared of it at first, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to it!
Best. sibling. pair. ever. Nuff said :)
One of our nurses little daughter. ADORABLE.
Such a cutie!
Some of the youngest little boys finding another use for the sand volleyball court!
Samuel and Johan! Besties!
Johan photo shoot! (Had to take advantage of the fact that he actually wanted his photo taken!)
Mr. Samuel!
Brotha from another motha!
Miche is super popular!!