So the first week in the Dominican Republic has gone pretty well. The church that we stayed at last weekend was amazing. It was basically like a hostel. It was awesome. Super comfy mattress and running water. Water that you couldn´t drink, but water nonetheless. We had a great adventure day to the beach. I think I got enough exercise for the week in that one day. I swam out to an island and back while we were there. And I even got stung my a jellyfish. That actually was kind of lame, but it´s pretty much better now. A few of my teammates got stung by some steroidal jellyfish or something because they got huge blisters. I got to use some nursing skills and drain the giant blisters for one of them. Don´t worry I used sterile technique. I also played soccer on the beach for like 2 hours. Sand soccer= exhausting. After our adventure day, we went to our respective locations for the month. Three teams went up to the mountains and four are in San Juan all in one house. (I do have a short video of the house that I will hopefully be able to post at some point). My team is in the house. Our ministry this month is working in a small village community about a 30 minute walk from our house. We are working with a pastor named Rafael, who is very kind. I´m trying to bust out the Spanish skills, but it is definitely a work in progress. We are doing a lot of work with the kids in the neighborhood. Some adults come to the church too, but it is mainly kids. Being around the kids is good, but not gonna lie it´s rather chaotic. The kids are very warm and welcoming, and by that I mean at least 3 kids are clinging to you at one time and running their fingers through your hair. This is cute for like 5 minutes and then I wish for personal space. It´s not like you can get mad when they tell you you´re like a princess and your hair is like a doll´s, but it´s just total sensory overload for me. I´m totally not touchy feely at all, so it can be a little overwhelming. Anyway, patience is a virtue, patience is a virture… Internet has been rather sketchy thus far, but now that I found an internet cafe, hopefully this can be posted more often, and I´ll actually be able to check my email, etc. Unfortunately that is all the time I have now, so hopefully I´ll be able to post again soon! Thanks for reading!
