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Until next time DR

As I sit on the bus back to the airport, a million things are going through my mind.

 

•All the smiles of every student I met over the past three weeks •How amazing Mecho’s juice tasted after a morning of teaching and a hot walk back to the Outreach facility •The support I felt from my team throughout the past three weeks when it came to lesson planning. A lot of times we had to completely change our lessons due to behaviour in the classroom and the support and continued positivity kept us all going strong •How overwhelmed I felt at times while in the classroom but when asked how the class went, I would just say “the students were so excited!” (because genuinely, they were) instead of saying that they were misbehaving because I knew if I didn’t stay positive, I wouldn't come into class the next day with the same excitment •The students laughter when we were playing a game and I would get hit with the ball or not know how to play and look like a fool •The feeling in my heart when learning that some students can no longer attend school because they have to take care of young family members or work to help the family •How amazing it was to play baseball with the local Dominican boys •How grateful the family at the banana farm was for life and how inspiring their work was •The way Andrew hugged •The way my heart would break when a teacher in the public school would punish a student •The sound of the students yelling “Teacher! Teacher!” every time we played a game in class because they wanted to be picked to participate so bad regardless of the number of times we told them not to yell or call out •The sound of the students (and teacher Mallorie) laughing at me when I slipped and fell in class on the first day because I got too excited •How loud the rain was •How accepting Outreach360 was to invite my team and I to dive deeper into working with the organization •How nice it felt to put sandals on after a hot morning of teaching •Laughing trying to trip each other while walking down the street while also being cautious not to trip ourselves •The excitement that came from the students who were invited to join the O360 learning centre this coming year •The feeling of love when my squad at Francisco Javier would come find me every recess and then saw me again at the park and hugged me with such love •How stressful it was planning so many lessons in such a short time •How annoyed I was when the students would get up and start playing catch instead of doing work but how grateful I am for those students and those moments •The way Mecho would always welcome us “AHHH MIS AMORES” •The sound of bikes, animals, people, music and fire works at night •Taco night •Dance night •Seeing Yasmine again •The anxiousness coupled with comfort that was felt at the Dajabon market •How itchy I was every night from sweating so much during the day •How refreshing BON ice cream was •How my heart broke when the Haitian children on the streets would ask for pesos •How Oliver made us sing "na na na na, na na na na, na na na na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye" when we left •How Angel looked back whole crossing the road and asked “teacher, are you coming back next year?”

•How he smiled when I promised I would ~ •The way the EF team loved every student in a way that had nothing to do with teaching expertise. The way that they spoke to the students hearts instead of their ears

•The sound of Luis translating Spanish to English for us to understand more deeply (and the sound him messing up the translation on purpose to get a laugh out of us) •The sound of Caleb turning any sentence into a song and then continuing to sing until someone stopped him •The way Kennedy smiled with her whole body •The way Ana repeated “teacher, I love you. You are beautiful” every 20 minutes •The way Nadya picked us up every morning with her positive words and kind heart •The way Nilsan made us feel safe. Like a second mother •The way Glenys came in every day with an upbeat spirit, reminding us why we do what we do •The way Mallorie loved every student so deeply •The way Alex was constantly making us laugh •The amount of passion that Megan has for teaching •The way McKenna took every moment and spun it into something positive •The way that Trevor loved this community so deeply ~ •The way the students sang “Feliz Navidad” on our last day •The way the students wiped my tears on the last day saying “it’s not goodbye teacher, it’s see you soon”. Remembering this moment still brings me to tears. •Most of all, the love felt within Monte Cristi. It’s hard to explain the way love moves here. It’s hard to find the words to explain the way I’m feeling right now. I On this bus, I write this with a sad heart but a full heart. I have felt what true love is. They say that home is where your heart is and a piece of my heart is left in Monte Cristi.

These are my people. This is my home.

Many people search their whole life for a kind of love that awakens the soul. Let me tell you this... the soul is not awakened by lust. It is not awakened by money. It is not awakened by a good job or a stable life. The soul is awakened when you find your passion in life. When you stop worrying about yourself and begin to put others before you. When you can look at a situation and be thankful that it happened because it brought you to where you are now.

My heart physically aches for these children. To be back surrounded by this kind of love that these students radiate.

My love for this life is an indescribable kind of love and this experience reassured me that I was made for so much more. Life was not given to us to walk in a straight line along others but to run and jump and explore and to improve the lives of others. Everyday, you have the ability to impact someones life in a way that you may never understand or even be aware of.

What I've learned this trip:

Smile with your whole body. Laugh until you cry. Live with the intention making other peoples lives better. Learn from the moments that have already passed. Love with the intensity that awakens your soul.

This video is just a glimpse of my life over the past three weeks:

Thank you again to everyone who helped make this trip possible. I truly could not have had this experience without you <3

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