January ‘24

Back to Work

In the beginning of January I flew back to the Dominican Republic- and I have been having the best time.

To bullet point some highlights:

I missed my students a ton over break- so seeing them again was so exciting, they dove right back into things
I became vegan, and my physical, mental, and emotional health has thrived
I was voted “Crew Member of the Week” by my students
I went hiking for a few days
Made it back to the beach
I got my students to start singing more science songs
My upperclassmen learned a crazy hard physics concept really fast & had a fun time doing so
I brought back heart shaped glasses as prizes for my student - and they HEAVILY compete for them
God has been answering a ton of prayers for me& my friends!!
Got to skateboard some more with students
Had a handful of meaningful conversations with the kiddos, and with that have been able to guide them through hard things

Genuinely I just loved being at work, and being able to hang out with my amazing friends.

Ebano Verde

Like the 10th grade trip to Pico Duarte, 7th grade has an outdoor education trip to Ebano Verde. 3 days and a 23km hike later- we had the best time.

Most of these kids haven’t hiked quite that distance before, as this trip is the start to the more intense outdoor ed trips at Doulos, but all of our kids pushed themselves and did it! & we are super proud of them.

Now I get that these trips aren’t the most conventional field trips as we quite literally climb up big mountains, shower in creeks, jump off rocks into rivers, and receive an absurd amount of blisters- but it is awesome to see these kids do so well despite being so far out of their comfort zones. They persevere.

I also loved seeing the kids who struggle in the classroom- who can’t sit still- can’t focus enough to take notes & pass a test..etc- ABSOLUTELY THRIVE here. It was incredible.

Some kids crave movement. They need the freedom to run up and down the mountain. The freedom to climb trees and grab toronjas. The freedom to carry other peoples bags and give every person they see a high five.

Now, the classroom doesn’t always showcase the best part of every kid, so it’s good to shift your perspective from time to time. To be reminded that we shouldn’t “judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree.” The best parts of some people are seen elsewhere- and that is okay.

Kindness

On our outdoor education trip we do devotions each day. So I was asked to give one and I want to share what I said…mas o menos.

Something that I love about the 7th grade at Doulos is that, for whatever reason, since I started they have overwhelmed me with love and excitement. Like these kids go nuts when they hear that I am subbing for them, they run up to me with hugs, and randomly stop by my classroom to say hey...etc. & its really crazy to me how fast they have just brought me in as one of their own. Like sometimes it’s hard to break through that “new person'“ barrier with teens. & it is especially hard when they have the deep loyalty to refer to one another as “family” (granted they mostly say that to get out of trouble- I digress.)

So when I prayed about my devotional time with them, I just kept thinking about their kindness toward me- and I felt like God was telling me to thank them for that. & within that I was reminded of how hard middle school can be, and how unkind kids can be to one another- and really how unkind humans can be toward one another. So with the principal of Matthew 7:12 guiding us on how to treat others- we talked about who we want others to remember us as.

Because lets be honest, we tend to remember how people make us feel- so how did they want others to remember them on this trip?

From there, what was super cool, is we transitioned into a time where the kids all encouraged one another by sharing the positive characteristics that they saw within each other.

They chose genuine kindness.