Living the Dominican Lifestyle

It has been a busy few weeks, and I cannot believe that so much time has gone by since I got here. I have been here for 5 weeks now, and it seems like just last week I was packing to come. So much has been going on. My Dad came to visit at the beginning of June, and I was so happy to be able to show him what I have been up to down here all this time.
We have had lots of volunteers, made some great new friends I have been loving every minute of it. Being the field director for DOVE is the perfect job for me. We created a new centre schedule, open five days a week. Jenny and Jencen are here from Canada for one month, and have taken the English program to the next level. They have been having English class four times per week, some days for the kids with advanced English knowledge. The kids are so eager to learn because they know that English is so important for their future. If they want to get a job in the tourism industry, they must know English. The girls are also learning how to make coffee bean necklaces, which are so beautiful and time consuming to make - but they are so talented at it. There is so much going on in the centre right now - I think the kids are having an amazing summer.
We have also been doing some dance, sports and yoga, but those classes dont usually last as long due to the extreme heat. Once 10AM hits, the heat begins to climb into full force, and by 2PM it is the hottest time of the day.
I am enjoying living in the Dominican more and more every day. The country is absolutely beautiful, and so are the people. I love the kids so much, I feel like I have become their big sister. Especially the girls. They love to sit and just talk girly talk, about who each other likes, whos dating, the normal girly stuff. I love being with them all every day.

I also want to talk about a big accomplishment for me. Being field director, I have had to drive quite a bit. Well the DOVE vehicle is a stick shift, and since I drive automatic in Canada, I was not very well practiced in a stick. I have driven sticks in Canada, but it has never gone so well for me, mainly due to the fact I never had much practice. So the first time I went out, I went with James so that he could give me a refresher on driving standard. It was a disaster; the car broke down, I was nervous, and it was soooo hot. So the next time I went out was 2 weeks later, and I went on my own. I knew what to do, but was really nervous on my own. And PS - driving here is nutso...so learning standard here is much harder. Finally, after a few days of driving volunteers around, several moments of being honked at in rush hour because of stalling, and one incident of me actually opening my car door and yelling "MOMENTIGO" at some truck driver who would not let up on his horn, I can do it. I have learned - in the Dominican Republic - to drive a stick shift.
On another note, another quick little story, we went to the beach yesterday...since Sunday's are family days where everything shuts down, the only thing to do is go to the beach. Well it was windy, and I was floating around on my air mattress when all of a sudden, this GIANT wave caught me, and I was liturelly under this huge wave. When I made it up for air, I was sitting on the beach, covered in sand. The wave had actually washed me up on the beach.
So, between the amazing kids, great new great friends, the beautiful sunsets, the honking truck drivers, and the forceful waves I must say I am very much enjoying my Dominican lifestyle.