Journal Entry 7: Saturday July 18th, 2009

Today is the day I had been dreading! My last day in Barahona, Dominican Republic. I am sad, but I know great things are to come! J The plans for today were the market in the morning and the beach in the afternoon! So a nice relaxed day was ahead. We headed to the market, which was an amazing experience. Tiny walkways, tons of people, and masses of fruit, vegetables and spices. The smell of the spices walking through the narrow undercover market tunnel was amazing. I managed to take a few shots, which I have posted. I did not buy anything from the market, but just being able to be within that cultural environment was enthralling. After the market we headed to the ice cream shop! I have had more ice cream this week than I ever do! Lol! But when it is so hot here, how can anyone resist. We returned home to the casa after our morning trip to enjoy lunch, more ice cream and then to sit and relax before heading to the beach.

            The beaches in and around the area of Barahona are mostly pebbles, so we headed to the best beach to swim in! It was beautiful, although my feet did not adapt well to the pebbles! Lol! We got to the beach at 3pm and I did not get out of the water until 5.30pm! Lol! Everyone had a short dip but I stayed in the water with Lauren, Tony, Renzo, and Jose. The water was cool and refreshing. There was a lot of coral out a certain way, which I swam out to, but kind of got freaked out by the spongy thing that sucked my feet! Ewww! Lol! I enjoyed watching Jose, our translator flip out when something grabbed his leg! I have never seen a man move so fast in the water, but laughing insanely at the same time! The people here have such a take on life. They are happy, content and loving. It’s amazing to be in their presence. We then returned home after a cold fountain shower out of a pipe on the beach. Everyone was soaked, but it was a beautiful drive home with the lush green hillside on one side and the water on the other!

            We said goodbye to the people we would not see again! It was sad, but I am so excited to return here and see them all again! J Tonight we had decided to attend church. Julio, an amazing individual, the construction manager for COTN, also a pastor, asked me to attend his church. We did and it was amazing. They sang gloriously, we clapped and sang along as best possible to the Spanish songs! During the service I was thinking about how truly blessed I am to have met Julio and had the numerous opportunities to talk with him this week! He is one amazing man and I know he will be my right hand man and my construction consultant for the next year throughout the design process and next year when the project hopefully comes to life. He introduced our group to the church, and then he went on to explain in great detail the project I have offered to the people of Barahona. He did not tell the church as to what it was as he said it is still a dream, but he will pray for me everyday so that I have guidance throughout the next year, and to return to make this dream come true. I realize for the first time, this is not only my dream; it’s their dream too. I feel honored by the people here, but yet they are making my dreams come true. They see me as making their dreams come true, what a beautiful combination.

            What an amazing trip, an amazing experience, and an opportunity of a lifetime. I can only hope that time moves fast between now and thanksgiving. I have many things I need to place in order along with the beginning of my thesis, now I know of my concrete design. I can only hope and pray that along with me on my next trip I will be blessed with a team of special people that are willing to come here to teach the children what I have been taught the last 4 years of my life at Savannah College of Art and Design. A simple drawing class will bring light and inspiration into the hearts of the children and also amazing adults such as Julio. He is my inspiration, I know I can do this, with the belief of a man such as he this project will become more than just a dream for the children and people of Barahona.

            Thank You to everyone who has been following my journey here, I feel blessed to have the support I have received. Thank you to my family for always believing in the person I was born to be, and the ways in which you support me in becoming that woman. I have found my road to walk upon as an architect, I have found my purpose, and love. It is here with the people of Barahona and the Children of the Nations.

Thank you again to everyone,

Katie x x

Journal Entry 7: Saturday July 18th, 2009

Journal Entry 6: Friday July 17th, 2009

Today was solo hot!!! The day was full of trips to the Batey's and so I was very excited to begin the day! First we went to Don Bosco, here I had to collect my cameras from the six children that I had given them to a few days ago. Some of them managed to use all the pictures in the camera and write descriptions for the pictures they has chosen to take. I am excited to return home and have the pictures developed; it will be very interesting to look through the eyes of the children into their world and their interpretation of architecture. I still find it amazing that these children haven’t even seen the pyramids or the famous buildings that we take inspiration from. Manuel Emilio is someone that I believe will make himself an architect. He is determined and passionate, and determined to help the people in his community by becoming an engineer. This is the older boy that I have previously spoken about. I am going to try and return here after Thanksgiving and upon that return I hope to bring some architecture supplies he would utilize to his greatest ability.

During the week I left activities for the children and teens to complete, and to my surprise as soon as I arrive in the Batey's where I had left the paper and pencils they came to find me to hand me their designs they had been working on. I have not had time to sit and look through everything I have received but I know I will have plenty of time when I get home and I am very excited!!! J During our trip to the Batey called Los Robles where I had conducted my surveys with the older teens, we decided to do house visit. My visit was with a 4 year old boy names Henry. He was beautiful. If I could manage to steal these children, I would bring them all home with me. They are so affectionate and all they want is love, which works out amazingly for me because all I want to do is love them back! I pulled out my sunglasses for the first time today and they lasted approximately 10 minutes in the hands of a little girl in Los Robles. So they have now found a new home in the Dominican Republic! I’m sure she will enjoy them even though they are broken!! Lol! So we decided to play a game Carolyn had brought with her to Henry’s house. It was a card game where you match the pictures. We sat and played about 4 games, and I decided to join the children on the floor. I loved interacting with them on their level, I felt the need to make myself at home in Henrys home. The floor was concrete but far from clean, but this was the last thing on my mind! J Henry sat on my lap the entire time and a one point he sat with his head on my chest and we rocked back and fourth together. I do not think he wanted me to leave because when it was time to go, I got up to leave and he wanted me to pick him up. So I did to hug him and give him a big kiss!! J He is adorable. I cannot wait to return and see all the amazing children I have met in the Batey's, I will miss them all very much. L I feel very at home here, I feel the need to be here, and I believe that my future heavily involves being here to help the people. The culture is alive; the people open their hearts to allow you to see who they truly are. It is truly amazing to be involved with what COTN is doing here; I feel the presence of Faith, love and hope around every individual here. I keep saying it’s amazing but it really is.

            When we visited Altagrassia, my favorite place besides Los Robles a church missionary group was in the Batey handing out candy and toys. Although we may think this is amazing it sometimes causes more problems. I do not know what is the best way to hand out items such as these in the Batey’s, but because it was something that is a rarity, everyone was going crazy! The parents seemed to be more pushy than the children, some children were collecting their toys and candy then running home to change their clothes and come back for a second round! One pregnant woman was asking for toys and candy for the baby still in her belly!!!! In situations like these you see another side of people because their survival mode kicks in. The good thing although was that when we did arrive there were hundreds of children sat inside the school! I walked right into the middle and began making my way around each and every one of them sitting on the side to take their picture! As you all know by now, the children love pictures!!! I manage to steal two beautiful baby girls to hold for a while. They felt so soft and squishy! They were beautiful; I believe I posted a picture of them both! J So overall today again was amazing. How is it that I can spend a day just visiting children to talk, play and take pictures, and it becomes one of the best days of my life.

            So I began this journal entry before dinner as we had a fiesta tonight! The party was a goodbye party for our group. I cried from beginning to end. Never in my life have I felt so appreciated by any group of people. The littlest that I have given them this week has been influential and inspiring not only to the people of Barahona, but to COTN also. There were a few speeches, and each one was touching. Because I came here to venture on a new journey by myself, I was addressed by the speakers, which truly touched my heart. Julio the construction director is the reasoning behind my tears that started way tooooo early! He explained how much he has learnt from me, and that he is emotional of my presence here and my return to teach him AutoCAD! This truly touched me; I did not think that I came here this week to receive the thanks and praise for what I have proposed to do. I feel blessed, truly blessed, and this is the first time in my life that I feel this way. It feels amazing, but at the same time I am upset because I am over whelmed by the emotions that I have received from these people. The director of the COTN board attended the fiesta as well and also spoke. He thanked me for making a dream possible for COTN and the children of the Dominican Republic. Every single person that is involved within COTN, or the volunteers, the interns, the drivers, the translators; their heart and soul is within this amazing organization. I cannot begin to put into words. After the speeches we watched a slideshow presented by Kathy. The pictures she has been taking without us knowing for this fiesta! They were amazing; they captured the moment in every situation, every communication, and every interaction between us all and the children and the people here. It was touching to see what we had been able to do whilst we were here. I did not think that I would come here to teach the children, I did not think I would come here to teach the adults, and I did not think that my coming here would be appreciated the way it has been. The people of the Dominican Republic believe I was sent here by God as a blessing. The director of the board also said that whilst I am away they will be working on finding me a Dominican boyfriend so I may stay here forever, everyone thought this was very funny. I feel very loved and honored to be in the people of COTN’s presence. Without the help and dedication of Kathy I do not think this would be possible, she is an amazing woman and I am so thankful for everything she has done in order to bring me into COTN and to the Dominican Republic. On my way to the main house to finish my blog estefani, who has alberto’s sister and has been in the casa with us all week, told me goodbye. I asked her if I would see her tomorrow and she no. She is a beautiful and kind young and I have enjoyed my time with her greatly. She has sat with me every night as I have written this journal and we have watched movies together, as well as being taught Spanish by her! After she told me she would not see me tomorrow, she began to cry. This upset me as I saw how my interaction with her has meant something and I was sad to not see her again. I told her I would see her soon, and then said goodbye. As I said and as I hope you see, the people here are amazing and the children are individually one of a kind. They are gifts from heaven, and I cannot wait to return here and maintain my promises that I will keep. The next year is going to be amazing I can hardly wait. I am excited to see what the future has in store for me, and the people here in the Dominican Republic. 

Journal Entry 6: Friday July 17th, 2009

Journal Entry 5: Thursday July 16th, 2009

            Today began visiting the proposed site for the design to be proposed for COTN. The piece of land we visited was approx. 38 acres. It was huge! We spent 2 ½ hours walking around the site in the blistering heat! I got a little sun burnt! L It was very interesting to look at the piece of land that the COTN staff has informed me of the day I arrived. If COTN were to purchase the land then they would choose a section of the entire parcel, as it is very big and we do not need the entire parcel to complete the design. I am still in disbelief of the price of the land. It is $100 per sq. meter. Which if calculated for the amount we need, is very expensive. After visiting the land we returned to the casa for lunch and ice cream!! It was so hot today, so this was a nice treat. I had to prepare for the big meeting in the afternoon, so I returned to the office at 2pm. This meeting was with the board of directors to talk about the plans for a camp. A camp, as they explained is something that COTN needs. It would operate as a way to bring in revenue to COTN, a place to teach classes, play baseball for the baseball program through COTN, and to house many other things. We talked about the needs for a large communal space that would hold up to 600 people, two swimming pools, a library, classrooms, basketball court, volleyball court, baseball field, and dormitories to house 600 people. This is going to be a large thesis project, but I am confident in what I can produce over the next year. It has become clear to me that my next trip here needs to be the day after school ends for Christmas break! Lol! I plan to return to teach, research my thesis, and to help the board of directors figure out some construction and design problems at the casa and the clinic. It seems as though I may have found my place for quite a while! So I am returning to the USA, with my thesis project changed, but for the better I believe. I have been researching modular design and I believe this is very important for the people here in Barahona and also COTN. They need to be able to learn from this project and the design outcome, and everything decision I make needs to be a realistic design choice in order to begin construction next June. I was also asked to return next year when building begins, which I have absolutely no problem doing!! Lol! In fact I told Kathy she may have to force me on the airplane on Sunday. I feel quite at home here, I do not want to leave as I feel there is so much I can do here to help.

            Tonight we had the most amazing meal, thanks to Manuela!! It was the best lasagna I have ever had!! After dinner I had my hair braided by Yohana, which I love! J Then we had the first church service here at the house! Here in church they play the drums and other musical instruments, along with their amazing singing voices! I loved it; it was inspiring to see how others praise God. Me and the children here at the house tried to watch Harry Potter, but were only successful for about 45 minutes! Lol! Now they have gone to bed. I am practicing my Spanish and Alberto teaches me how to spell out and pronounce the words correctly! Apparently last night I was talking in my sleep! And in Spanish! I find this hilarious and would love to know if I speak better Spanish whilst asleep than awake. Interesting!

            Sorry but today’s journal is kind of short, I am very tired and ready for my bed! And also excited for the amazing day tomorrow!! We are traveling to all the Bateys for the entire day, and not only do I get to spend my time with the amazing children, but I get to go collect my cameras and drawings from the children and teens I interviewed earlier this week. I am very excited. Thank you to Melissa and Cayla for handing out my surveys to teachers today in their classroom, I believe this will be an excellent resource for information I need. My surveys have proved to be very beneficial, as everything the board told me they wanted in the camp, the children and I had already discussed previously. I believe everyone is extremely excited and I just hope God will lead us in the right direction and send us all the help we need in order to make this project successful. I know I will be doing everything in my power to raise the money and get an amazing design completed for next summer. And I know I have the support of many people behind me. Until tomorrow!!! I can’t believe this week has gone by so fast! I do not want to leave. L

Adios!!!

Journal Entry 5: Thursday July 16th, 2009

Journal Entry 4: Wednesday July 15th, 2009

Today began in the Batey called Los Robles. I have yet to visit this village, and I believe it to my second favorite! No Batey I have visited yet can compare to Altagrassia. I could easily spend all day everyday just visiting the children to play and talk with them. I believe my Spanish is improving! I am trying my best to speak in Spanish whenever I can! The reasoning behind our visit to Los Robles this morning was to conduct surveys with the children. It was the first Batey where I met older teenagers, which was excellent for my surveys because they drew a great comparison between the children in Don Bosco, whom I surveyed the day before. I just have to say that right now our house kitten is making herself a bed on my belly! It kind of hurts but she is so adorable and I believe her to be the first cat that actually likes me! I love her! Her name is Bebe, and she is very small! Anyways back to my journaling. We handed out the surveys and we went through them as a group. I spoke most of the questions in English, as I had my translator Vanessa with me, who is amazing!! J She is 19 years old and she speaks excellent English. The teens were very excited and enthusiastic about the surveys, which excited me. Many people came and gathered at the windows to listen. It took us quite a while to go through the surveys but the information that they provided me was excellent. On some questions we would talk about the details and I would ask of their opinion. It seems that children here either go to school in the morning or in the afternoon, because there are so little schools and so many children. One very interesting fact that I received from the older teens was that they did not feel safe in school, which was the complete opposite to the answers of the younger children from Don Bosco the day prior. I don’t know whether this has anything to do with it being a different Batey or whether it is because they have a better understanding of the world around them and the dangers being that much older. At the end of the survey I collected them and talked to them about my work with COTN. They were very interested in what I do, and I showed them some of my work. It seems that wherever I have visited the children, being older or younger are very interested to see my work. I hope it gives them some inspiration for wanting to push their careers forward wherever that may be. I left with these teens though an activity that I asked if they would do for me and I would collect upon my return. This was to draw site plans of what they would want a camp to hold and look like, and where they would want it to be. We will see if I succeeded in my explanation when I return on Friday! Running low on time before our lunch break, but we moved quickly to Altagrassia, where my most favorite future engineer lives! His name is Manuel Emilio! He is passionate and is learning his English very well. I had a task for him, and also I had a gift for him. It strikes me as difficult to understand that the children here have no books to read about whatever they may choose. As I wrote yesterday, I asked future engineers and architects who were their inspirations and they did not know. I know that on my next trip here, architecture books will be an absolute necessity. Even simple picture books of famous buildings that give us inspiration would be amazing for these kids. So my task for Manuel was the Camera activity as I explained yesterday, but I expect he will do a much more detailed analysis of his Batey and home. Also I gave him a box of crayons and a pack of paper, to organize the children around to draw pictures of their houses. I think it is amazing to see how they draw their houses and it interests me greatly. I will be back to collect those from Manuel on Friday also. As for my gift to him, I had brought with me two great articles on sustainable architecture and sustainable building materials. I thought they would be interesting for Manuel being as this is something entirely new to the people of Barahona, and I thought they would be an excellent teaching tool for him to learn English and to also to learn about architecture. I will see if he has enjoyed what he will have read by Friday, it will be a working process for him, but I hope I have left him something he can learn a lot from.

            My afternoon was spent at the office, I had promised the construction manager to teach him about our programs we use for architectural drawings. But I also wanted him to show me how he draws now without these programs. For all my architecture people who are reading this you will be amazed. He draws everything, being elevations and plans in the simple program we all know “paint”. It is amazing to me how he draws what he does in this program and all the floor plans for the office of COTN are in this program. No measurements necessary because Julio has them all in his head!! He told me some of his drawings esta loco (crazy!), but he loves to draw on the computer. I have added one of Julio's drawings in my pictures for today’s journal entry. They do not have AutoCAD, so upon my return on my next trip I am determined to bring AutoCAD with me and to teach Julio how to use this. It would also cut out the cost of using a separate person just to draw up blueprints, which they do now. He is very excited to learn and enjoyed my short introduction lesson into CAD and Revit! J yay! Whilst we were in the office, I saw a roll of paper. It is very hard sometimes to communicate what I need to, as how they operate in the architecture world is very different from our operating ways. Everything I say had to be translated and sometimes important information gets lost. So as I opened the paper, I saw that I had finally found a set of drawings for some classrooms! Yay! I was very excited as this was something I needed, because I wanted to be able to see how the communicate in their architectural drawings. So coming home with me is a very nice set of plans, which I am very excited about.

            Well that’s about all for today, except I just finished watching a movie with Estefani and Alberto. The movie was Tarzan, but in Spanish! It was very fun to watch! Alberto found the gorillas quite funny, even though he has watched it ten times. Oh and before that we went swimming and held competitions in the pool! The pool that had tadpoles in it! Haha! I am the last to bed tonight so I better hurry along!

Until tomorrow! Hasta Luego!