Here it is! La Trinitaria! Close to the end, just finishing up the final touches! Our last main challenges are:

-getting the education district to transfer my project partner, Pedro's salary to the library so he can work full-time and get paid! He has worked as a volunteer on this project, just like me for over 1 year and truly loves this library. That, I can bet my life on :)

-organizing/catalogging over 1,000 books (mostly NEW)

-finding 4 ceiling fan donations

-finding 4 bateries to run the generator (electricity)

-installing iron gates outside of every window and door

-finding 1 or 2 more computer donations

-finding 1 printer donation

-throwing a BIG party to celebrate this loooong project!

Thanks to everyone who has been supporting this project and following along! My apologies for falling behind in the blogging! Will be in touch!

God bless,

Shilpa

Here are some photos showing the base coat that my project partner Pedro painted. Additionally, you can see the beginning steps to make a flower bed area which will later prove to be quite a site for sore eyes! Also, you can see my best friend Jenie, also a Peace Corps volunteer, visiting my site with her parents!

Back in March I believe, we installed these beautiful tile floors which are a BIG deal to show quality in a building/home. Since my community does not have a public area that is truly of high quality, we felt it imperative to have tile floors that would not only help illuminate the library, but also to provide a quality resource for this forgotten community on the other side of the highway-isolated from the rest of the pueblo.

Here are pictures of the LONG process of finishing the walls. In spanish it is called empanate, in English, I believe it is stucco. One step closer to the completion of the construction of this library!

Happy New Year!

Here are pictures of the installation of the electricity in the floor and walls :)

Here we have contractors finishing the cement roof. As you can see they brought their machinery to help move the process along quickly so the cement dries evenly. They were in and out in a few hours!

Here are photos of the wood that we had to rent in preparation of completing the cement roof. It is quite a process and requires A LOT of wood. After setting the wood in place, we had a ray-bar specialist place the ray bars above the wood in order to support what will eventually be the floor of the 2nd floor. We also had an electrician place the tubing and wiring for the ceiling lights. I will soon upload the pictures of the men pouring the cement on the roof. Although it is a 7 meter by 10 meter square room, it is a lot more involved than I originally thought! But little by little, we'll get there!

Here we are preparing the columns. This is done by first nailing the wood in place and later filling it with a mixture of cement and rocky sand. The columns are officially complete. Now we are putting construction on pause until our BIG donation from Fundacion Falcoondo comes through (the local mining company's community outreach foundation).

Here are pictures of the workers putting up the cement blocks! It took about a week to get the walls up! We're pretty much finished with the walls and will be working on the roof and finishing the columns in the upcoming weeks!

On October 3rd, 2009 we broke ground! Here is Pedro, the President of our Library Committee, a talented elementary school teacher, and is currently studying to become a lawyer, standing in front of our sign next to our construction site that reads, "Help us construct our Library".

Here is a picture of the construction site after breaking ground and digging a few feet deep!

Here is a picture of the construction site at night! Que Linda! How beautiful!

Here are Santo and Pablo working on the foundation-perhaps the most difficult part of construction.

Here is the BIG day where we had 10 guys come and finish the foundation! They began at 7:30am and finished around 1pm! I made a traditional Dominican breakfast for all the workers which included Yucca and scrambled eggs with veggies!

Here is a view of the foundation. Where the column meets the ground.

Here the guys are installing the columns and working on the columns! We have to dig a very deep foundation because we envision having a second floor dedicated to an Internet center in the future! We have 9 columns inside the building and will be adding an additional 3 more to support the roof hanging over a front porch area.

One day I decided to join the guys to help dig the foundation. Perhaps the most back breaking work I've ever participated in...I was sore for about 3 days after that endeavor...

Thank you to everyone who helped support this library project! It has finally begun! On Friday, the maestro de constructor, or the engineer in charge of the project came in the late afternoon to "marcar" or mark the area where we will be constructing with wood and this white powder. It was very exciting to see it all marked and outlined.

Saturday, we begun "hoyar" or digging a big hole in the shape of a square outlining the building. I will be sure to upload those photos as soon as I upload them on the computer.

Here are some of the youth of my community working together from a visiting American youth group planting trees near the River Yuna in efforts to reforest the drying rivers in the Dominican Republic.

The Environmental Youth Group, Brigada Verde is shown here picking up trash throughout the community and singing their song...

"Nosotros somos, Brigada Verde, Y Protegemos, El Medio Ambiente!"

"We are, the Green Army, and We Protect, the Environment!"

In the spring of 2009, I led 5 girls' clubs with approximately 10 girls in each club. Every week we would meet for an hour and a half to talk about important topics such as self-esteem, inner beauty, acceptance and tolerance, etc. Additionally, we would begin each class with coloring a strong woman or an intelligent woman and end each class with a arts and crafts. Through this club these girls learned how to make friendship bracelets and tissue flowers.

Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a summer camp sponsored by Peace Corps where volunteers can bring girls from their sites that are participating in their girl's clubs. In the spring of 2009, I led 5 girls clubs, 3 clubs at the girl's home and 2 clubs for the community.

The camp consisted of 61 youth, run by approxiately 20 Peace Corps volunteers. For 5 days the girls participated in a variety of educational sessions ranging in topics such as sexual health, conflict resolution, definition of beauty, etc. There were also many recreational activities such as swimming, sports, belly dancing, aerobics, arts & crafts, and more!

Here are Maria de los Angeles, Noemi, Solanyi, and Zobeida at Camp GLOW on the final day proudly receiving certificates.

Colmados are little shops located throughout all the bigger cities and the small towns. They are like mini-7-11s where you can buy everything from rice to shampoo. In this picture are 3 children standing in front of the colmado on the way to the river.

Brigada Verde is my environmental youth group. There are about 8 youth who participate regularly while our activities can have up to 45 youth participating. Here we are getting ready to plant trees in order to help reforest the DR!

My Brigada Verde group is active in fundraising for the library project through peajes, jewerly making, and BINGO.

This is one of my favorite youth, 11-year old Roalvi. Roalvi is one of the many kids who comes by the house to check out a book-I am using my house as a mini-library until our library is built.

This is a peaje-a popular way of fundraising in the Dominican Republic where a group or organization gets permission to stand on a busy small road with a rope-stopping cars to collect a "toll" or donations.

My youth group fundraised approximately $75 after approximately 5 hours.

Hola! My name is Shilpa Jhobalia and I am currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small community called Las Delicias, located near the pueblo of Bonao in the beautiful island of the Dominican Republic.

When I first arrived to this country, I was shocked at how few library resources there are available to children. I reflected on my home town´s library and recalled all the wonderful resources available to me...books, movies, cds, summer reading programs, storytime, computers, newspapers, magazines, etc.

Las Delicias is a small town with about 700 people. The children are amazingly resilient and enthusiastic. Toys are practically nonexistent, bicycles are few, and there is no open space for children to play, no parks, no baseball fields, nothing for a healthy free time activity.

With limited land (as most of the land is privately owned by a wealthy man in town), there is a small piece of land located near the Club, an open building type of community center, sufficient to construct a library.

I have received funding from USAID $5,000, am fundraising with my library committee and youth groups, and received donations from the States of over $1500 to help make this library project a reality.

My hopes are to provide a safe space for children to do homework, have access to one or 2 computers, and have lots of books to read for fun and books for reference and education. I was recently made aware that many children do not have textbooks and so we will try to have textbooks in the reference section for children to do homework as well.

Pedro, the President of the Library Committee, is a wonderful teacher at the elementary school He has expressed interest in becoming the director of the library, which makes me feel like this library project is sustainable and will be left in good hands.

If you or any one you know might be interested in helping donate money or books to my library project, I would be eternally grateful. I am looking for leisure books in Spanish for children, adolescents, and adults.

You can mail book donations to:

Shilpa Jhobalia, PCV

Cuerpo de Paz

Avenida Bolivar 451, Gazcue

Apartado 1412

Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

All monetary donations can be mailed to my mother, Dina Jhobalia, who will be sending the money to me in November with a few friends that are coming to visit me and bring 4 50lbs. boxes of books!

Dina Jhobalia

6717 Cherry Tree Ave.

Woodridge, IL 60517

Although I have not updated it recently, I will try to update my blog with progress on our library project with photos and brief entries. We break ground this Friday September 25th as our community works together to build the foundation of the building.

Thank you for reading this and for helping broaden the horizons of the adorable children of Las Delicias.

Shilpa Jhobalia

Peace Corps Volunteer

Youth, Family, Community Development Program

japlihs@hotmail.com

809 723 6561

Hola! So many people have so graciously offered to help me and the projects I will be working on in these next 2 years as a Youth, Family, and Community Development Volunteer! Well, tomorrow I officially get sworn-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Time to get moving!

As I describe some projects that are on my mind, I have 2 ways that I could really use YOUR HELP. The first way is to send supplies and the other way is to help me research. Of course, I've only spent 5 days at my community so I have a lot to learn but a few things are clear as to the needs of the community...so I'd rather start earlier than later in gathering supplies and finding organizations to help donate money/supplies. Also, please know that I'm sure I'll be working on all sorts of projects, so if for any reason you can't help out now, no worries...I'll hit you up later ;)

Teaching Materials for English Classes

My community is SO excited about learning English. I will be beginning teaching English classes soon and could use teaching materials like flashcards, workbooks, learning games, and maybe even some basic books to read to the children in English. Pretty much anything you think would help make teaching more interesting, creative, and interactive.

Art Supplies...for Noches Creativas

I have a starter set of art supplies but could definately use more scissors, markers, glue, card stock, chalk, pastels, tissue paper/pipe cleaners to make flowers, oragami paper etc. Another volunteer started Noches Creativas where the kids would meet once a week to work on an art project and I think that would be a neat thing to do with the youth in my community.

RESEARCH!

Although we cannot complete grant requests until we finish our community diagnostic (3-month period), I want to find international organizations/companies that could help fund/support some of the projects I will be working on. So if you could surf the net for me and send me some leads/resources, that would be GREAT!

-Books! Spanish and English children's and adolescent's books. With no library in town, I would love to start one up, even if it begins out of my living room!

-Computers: Although the Hogar de Ninas has 3 computers, the community has none. If I can get some computers donated, perhaps we can build onto the "Club" and create a small computer lab space. I could definately begin teaching some basic computer/typing classes.

-Sports Equipment: Any type of sports equipment would be a great way to get some sports going.

-Funding for Recreational Center/Sports Playing Field: Since we do not have land/the facility for sports, if we could find some funding for purchasing land and constructing a rec center/field/court, that would be GREAT!

-Funding for a pedestrian bridge: Since our community is split by a highway, the children have to cross this HUGE highway everyday to get to school. This is so dangerous and a simple pedestrian bridge could do so much!

-School Supplies/Teaching supplies

-Shoes/Clothing donations

-Seeds! The community is talking about beginning a community garden. Also, perhaps introducing the community to some new vegetables may enrich their diets! I know I can't wait to grow some basil!

-Funding for HIV/AIDS prevention: ESCOJO Mi Vida (I choose my life) is a great program through the Peace Corps that educates youth about sexual health. These youth then become muliplicadores and teach their peers about these important issues.

That's all I have now! So feel free to email me at japlihs@hotmail.com any resources you find or any questions or comments.

~Shilpa

Saludos! I finally made it to my site and spent the last 5 days in Las Delicias. And everything is going SO well! Let's see if I can describe what's been going on...

First, Mechi, one of my project partners/psychologists at the Hogar de Ninas (girl's home) came and picked me up from the capital. We lugged my 2 HUGE suitcases, mosquitero net, and backpack onto a taxi, bus, and then Mechi's car. An hour an a half later, I arrived to my new home! My family consists of Dona Ramona and Don Jesus, 6 grandchildren, and Ramona's son and wife. Dona Ramona is a grandmother with more energy than me! She runs 2 households and is the life of the house...well houses. There are actually two homes next door to one another and everyone is in and out of the two houses. Don Jesus is a quieter man who is really hard working and humble. I really admire their marriage and the way they flow with another. They are so welcoming and nice and really appreciate what I am there to do. It's really quite motivating! Oh how could I forget...we have a lot of animals (chicks, chickens, dogs, cats, doves, birds) and trees (platano, mango, oranges, aloe). We also have a small yuca farm behind the house...it's quite a site!

I have my own room and the house has running water and electricity several times throughout the day. Like most of the country, the water and luz (light) go out frequently, but everyone manages. I guess you learn to store water in buckets and have lots of velas (candles) around. We also have two indoor bathrooms!

My community is a campo, small town that is split by a major highway, Duarte 1. Perhaps one of the most pressing issues in the community is that one side of the community, the side I live on and the side of the Hogar de Ninas (girls' home), does not have a school. This means that all the children of the community have to walk across this highway each day to go to school. And it is SO dangerous. They have already had one child die in an accident and one child hospitalized for 3 months due to an accident. The nuns and the Junta de Vecinos (neighborhood committee) have tried to get the government to build a pedestrian bridge... to no avail.

The community does have a "Club", a community center type building, which is an open cement building. The Club is mainly used for the weekly Junta de Vecinos' meetings. There are no canchas (sports courts/fields) which is somewhat of a disappointment. The community is really excited about starting up sports and activities for the children but there is no facility/available space. There are some grassy areas fenced in that are privately owned...I guess we'll have to see about that.

The community is so nice and friendly and I feel they really respect me and appreciate me. It's an awesome feeling. I went to one of the elementary schools and was introduced by my project partner Hipolito, the President of the Junta de Vecinos. He gave such a warm introduction, acknowledging that I have left my home, family, and friends to join their community. He said I was the community's daughter and sister and it is the community's responsibility to take care of me. I also introduced myself to the classrooms and even got an applause from some very cute children.

I was also able to get introduced/introduce myself at the Junta de Vecinos meeting where approximatley 50 community members arrived. I really enjoyed the format of their meeting and the important topics they would talk about such as how to prevent mosquito larvae in order to prevent Dengue. Towards the end of the meeting, it was an open forum for anyone in the community to share any concerns or issues. This was my favorite part :)

On Saturday I played some games with a group of children and we had a lot of fun. We played steal the bacon, red rover-red rover, and musical chairs. I haven't played those games since I was a kid! Later, I officially introduced myself to the girls at the girls' home and played Taboo and Memory. It was a really good day!

I'm really excited to get to know people in my community and start brainstorming ideas. I already have a long list of possibilities going which is motivating and exciting!

For the longest time, I couldn't visualize myself in my community and I feared it was a bad sign. But now that I've been there and met the people, I can see myself living and working there and for the first time here in the DR, I'm starting to feel settled :)

I will definately keep everyone updated as my goals/projects develop! Thanks for all the support!

~Shilpa

€Today I found out the BIG news of my site for the next 2 years. I will be living in a small campo called Las Delicias, which is directly off the highway and very close to the pueblo, Bonao. It is located pretty much in the dead center of the country. It will be hot but I will have the beautiful view of mountains all around. There are less than 1000 people in my community, approximately 200 houses. I will be about an hour and a half bus ride from the capital and Peace Corps office and about 2 and a half hours bus ride from Puerto Plata, which is where my friend Sarah will be living. I am only about an hour away from a large city called La Vega which means I will have access to large grocery stores and will be able to buy all sorts of foods including fruits, soy, and vegetarian food.

Perhaps most exciting about this news is my work. I am so honored to have the opportunity to work with a girl's home/orphanage with 33 girls ranging from young girls to adolescents. I will be working alongside a Psychologist and a Social Worker along with 5 nuns. I feel as though they couldn't have picked a better site for me as it is so applicable to my career. Also, most of you know I have always wanted to adopt children and working with these girls will be such a great experience that may well prepare me for parenthood one day! And the older I get and the more I am surrounded by children and families, it is definitely on my mind.

I will be working with an NGO that works with extreme needs called Hogan Maria Madre. Additionally, I will be working with a Junta de Vecinas, a neighborhood organization run by very energetic community leaders.

I feel so blessed to have gotten such a great site! I am feeling very relieved and very excited about my new home!

Cannot wait for everyone to come visit me! Hopefully by February/March, I will have my own home :)

Saludos! I have been dying to write about my weekend trip to Jarabocoa, another mountaineous area in the DR, approximately 50 kilometers/5 hour trip/2 camionetas-trucks, 2 guaguas-buses, and a long walk uphill, away from Constanza.

Since our previously planned volunteer visits were cancelled due to the hurricanes, PC finally was able to arrange a visit for all the trainees this past weekend. I was fortunate enough to visit a married couple volunteers who live near Jarabocoa in a small campo called Mantiguo. What I experienced completely reenergized me and inspired me beyond belief...

I have been having a couple of rough weeks, adjusting to a new area, getting gripe (cold/flu), and just getting through training. So this visit could not have come at a better time!

Another youth volunteer and I traveled on our own to reach Mantiguo. It was quite a journey! First, we had to take a camioneta, truck about an hour down, to get off the mountain that Constanza is built on. Then we took 2 guaguas, one to La Vega, and another one to Jarabocoa. Finally, we had to wait about an hour or so for a truck to take us up the mountain to reach Mantiguo. Finally, we walked uphill and saw the red gate that the volunteers told us would be their home.

Claudette and Ben are perhaps the ultimate Peace Corps couple! They are so nice, hospitable, intelligent, kind, and zen. They are called the Green couple by a lot of volunteers because of their environmental friendly lifestyle.

I was not expecting how beautiful their home would be. They live in a cabana/vacation home that an American volunteer built 6 or 7 years ago when he volunteered in the area. It is very spacious, beautifully painted and decorated, and just so comfortable. This made me realize the importance of making my home, whereever it will be, comfortable, as best I can.

Shortly after we arrived, I decided to join Ben in his computer class that he and his wife teach twice a day, 6 days a week. I was blown away by his class! It is open to anyone who is interested and can read. He had children as young as 8 years old and adults as old as 30. It was a small computer lab with about 8 computers. He started the class with a typing program for the first 15 minutes. Then, he went on to teach them animation! No joke, he downloaded a program called Scratch and was teaching them how to animate! It was so cool! He was a great teacher, kind and very accomodating. Since there were varying levels of computer knowledge, it was amazing to watch him assist everyone and remain upbeat and patient. You could really see the proud looks on everyone's face as they completed the first part of the Crayola animation. It was fantastic.

Ben also showed me my first coffee plant and explained to me the entire process of making a coffee bean. It is quite a process! Just made me think about all the things that we eat/drink/consume and where it all comes from.

Later, I joined Claudette and observed her first ESCOJO girls meeting. These young girls were so excited to be part of this group. I think it's great that even though Claudette is a business volunteer, she is beginning a youth group because of the great need for sex education. In addition to sexual health, she is also teaching the girls how to knit and crochet. She had requested and received yarn and needle donations from an American yarn company. She also requests and receives Spanish children's books from American libraries. It all takes time, but her efforts really paid off.

Perhaps the most important part of the visit was just talking with them. They talked about how difficult the Peace Corps is and how some days fly by and others crawl by. They validated my doubts, fears, and the question that crosses my mind at least 5 times a day, "Does this really matter? Will anything I do here really make a difference?"

And I think the answer is yes. It will matter to the community I will live with for 2 years who may or may not have ever had a volunteer to help them. Lately, I've been thinking about my counseling career and realized that if I can truly learn the Spanish language, I could work as a bilingual therapist for the rest of my life. And the Latino community needs more Spanish-speaking counselors. I realized this during my internship in Barrington/Carpentersville area when only one person in our entire staff spoke Spanish. I mean, Ruben can only do so much!

We talked a lot about politics and this upcoming election. And Ben said something so simple yet so meaningful. He said, the Peace Corps is perhaps America's best foreign aid policy, ever. I see the truth in this when I hear Dominicans talk about a Peace Corps volunteer that impacted their life somehow. Or when I see that look of delight on a Dominican's face when I tell them, soy una voluntaria con El Cuerpo de Paz.

There are going to be tough days. And there are going to be great days. Ben and Claudette reminded me that each day I am here, I make the decision to serve here and at any moment, if the length of bad days outnumber the length of good days, I can always leave. But so far, I've been here 6 weeks, and have had 2 rough weeks. Not a bad ratio.

I cannot capture exactly what was so special about this weekend. Maybe it was making a trip to another part of the country on my own. Maybe it was the breathtaking scenery outside their windows on top of this enormous moutain. Maybe it was doing yoga Sunday morning with the power couple. Maybe it was just hanging out with a healthy couple with common goals and value. Maybe it was the fact that I finally got to read a current Newsweek article and finally get the scoop on this Sarah Palin character. Maybe it was finally seeing what Peace Corps volunteers do and where they live. Maybe it was taking a shower for the second time in 6 weeks, not a bucket bath. Maybe it was simply a change of scenery.

Whatever it was, it worked. I'm back to business. All my fellow youth volunteers applauded when I reported back on Monday morning telling them that I'm out of my bad mood/mal humor and I'm inspired.

So I thank Ben and Claudette for the inspiration and they said, pay it forward next year when that struggling trainee shows up at your house looking for some inspiration.

Buenas Dias! I am officially writing from one of the most beautiful places in the DR, a mountaineous region where most of the country's agriculture is grown, Constanza. I live in a small community called Chavon. My host family is very very nice. Instantly, they have taken me in as their daughter/sister/cousin/niece. I live with my host mother, her 2 daughters Gale and Perla, and her neice, Pamela. She has a lot of family in the surrounding areas as well so I'm constantly meeting Godmothers, cousins, aunts, etc. I have my own room and a TV with cable! I didn't even have cable in the States! Most of it is in Spanish although I did watch half an episode of Jerry McGuire in English and was in HEAVEN!

I love small communities...everyone is so nice and supportive and neighborly. I watched as my Dona (host mom) lent her washing machine to a neighbor or how her best friend brought over a variety of tea bags because she heard I like tea a lot. So many people stop by the house everyday to say hi or to drop their little kids off to play or to get help on their homework. It was quite interesting explaining subtraction and addition in Spanish. I am really eager to begin a Salas de Tarea in my community to supplement struggling students' education.

I've been here officially for over one week now. Besides lots of training and Spanish classes, I've spent a lot of time hiking in the moutains with my fellow volunteers and neighborhood children. I've also been working with the ESCOJO youth group and they are just amazing! So energetic, so enthusiastic, and fun! We were saying the other day what amazing presenters they are! So confident and supportive of one another.

So while there are inspiring, moving, and amazing moments of learning about a whole other type of "community" that I've never seen/experienced before, there is another side to it. I visited my first school, K-8, in a local community called El Chorro. What I saw was heart-breaking and talking with the director of the school and the teachers was even worse. For starters, there is trash everywhere. This is something I've seen all over the country. And so the American in me, wants to bag it up and have garbage cans everywhere. BUT there's no garbage pick-up in many parts of the country. So fine, I can get passed it-just walk over the trash. Then I step into the school and it's actually a decent facility. There are tiny chairs and desks and small amounts of decorations made out of construction paper-letters of the alphabet, days of the week, numbers. But it's still nothing compared to our American classrooms filled with resources and decorations that change with every holiday/season.

As we talk with the Director, he really levels with us. He tells us that their school with 4 or 5 classrooms supports 400 children. 200 in the morning (3 hours) and 200 in the afternoon. He says the main problem is that the children have trouble concentrating. They don't have as many behavioral problems as they have children that are simply starving or shaking from not having enough blankets/jackets/coats to get through the cold nights here in the moutains. So how can a kid learn, when he's hungry or she's cold. And the teachers try their best, but with their low salaries and practically NO money for resources, it's a daily struggle.

Every week we visit schools, NGO's, and other community resources. I was amazed by the Foundation agains Hunger and all they have done for the community. 3 people work for this foundation and have helped communities learn how to prepare food so their children do not get sick, have built homes for impoverished communities, built latrines, and just so much more.

I am out of time but wanted to share my experiences thus far. I get officially sworn in as a volunteer on October 29th. Wish me luck!

Love and miss you all!

~Shilpa

Hello everyone! Wow, it's been a couple weeks since I last posted. So here goes. Things are going well...just been busy with an extremely dense training on Spanish, culture, development, NGO's (non-govermental organizations) and CBOs (country-based orgs), non-verbal communication, and just basic practical things like how to bargain at a store, how to navigate and travel throughout the country, how to go grocery shopping, and how to maintain good health while being a vegetarian! It's been a lot of information to take in, but I'm getting there. This Monday, I take my first competency exam which is both written and in Spanish. So some of us volunteers will be studying tonight. I'm learning a lot about how Haitians are perceived and treated in this country. In some communities they are accepted more than others...but there is a lot of oppression towards Haitians-it breaks my heart. So just learning the history and culture and soaking it all in.

Hurricanes are everywhere! And they are interrupting our schedule. I was unable to go on my first trip which was to La Vega to visit a current PC Youth volunteer due to weather conditions. Hopefully, I will go on Tuesday. I leave next Friday for Constanza, which is a campo in the mountains for 5.5 weeks. I will be going with all the Youth volunteers and trainers. I will be living with another host family and will be practicing a diagnostic. Basically, when I get to my actual site, the one I will live in for 2 years, I will have to spend 3 months doing a diagnostic of the communities resources, assets, weaknesses, opportunities, etc. And it is a lot of taking the initiative of going into people's homes, drinking coffee and talking. It is NOT recommended to take paper and pen/a formal approach. A more informal approach is better received. So I am definately excited an looking forward to these next 6 weeks or so. A lot of travel and a lot to do!

I am definately one of the older volunteers here. Fortunately, I have made a good friend named Sara. She is very easy-going, open-minded, and just a wonderful person. She will most likely go to med-school and become a doctor post-Corps. She is in the only woman in the water-sanitation program. And she's my neighbor! We live across the street. So it's definately nice to have a good friend here-I have a lot of confianza/trust with her!

Okay, a lot of people have asked, what will I be doing in the PC. Here is the list of the top 10 activities that Youth Volunteers work on:

1) ESCOJO training-HIV/AIDS education/training youth leaders

2) Youth group strengthening: strengthening youth groups that may already exist but need leadership/resources

3) English classes (everyone wants to learn English!)

4) Reading groups (possibly starting up a small library for a community)

5) Sala de tarea-afterschool homework program (students are only in school for an average of 2.4 hours a day!)

6) Sports activities and tournaments: Sports are BIG here! I may work on starting up some girls' sports

7) Leadership training

8) Summer camps

9) Art activities and murals

10) Service learning projects/registration campaigns

I personally want to be involved in registration campaigns. For many reasons, a lot of people do not have proper identification/documentation. Mainly birth certificates. Without this, children cannot go to school past 8th grade and cannot get many other benefits. It is a lot of efforts/tracking down hospitals/money to help a person get documented. But it can open up a lot of doors. So I hope to focus in on this area.

Also, I want to team up with some of the health volunteers and work on educating people on proper nutrition and sanitation. I learned that the #1 prevention method in the 20th century was washing hands frequently. So hopefully, I can help with that as well. I love the children here. I already started some informal dialogue with the kids on nutrition and try to organize some games with rules and what not. It's a good start I think.

I guess a lot of this depends on the needs of my community and so I will have to wait and see.

Okay, I'm running out of time. So far, it's been good. I haven't gotten sick so that is good. I miss you all a lot and appreciate the emails and updates. I love hearing about what's going on.

Take care/ten cuidado!

~Shilpa (Cheel-pa, what everyone calls me here :))

Hola! Buenas Dias! So nice to finally be at an internet cafe! I am missing you guys a lot! things are good here. i moved in with my host family in a barrio in santo domingo. i live with a mom, daughter 22, and a son, 14. they are very nice. i will live here for 3 weeks then I will go to the mountaineous area for my 5 week service in a campo or town. then i will come back, and get sworn in as a peace corps volunteer. i will get my cell phone from them in november. i do have electricity and water. so that is good. i am able to shower every day with a bucket shower. also, it is hot here so we take 2 showers a day. i really like my host family. i am learning a lot of spanish as well! since i am still learning, i do nto want to go out alone. The daughter i live with escorted me today. i guess i will have to take my time. Dominican Republic is very similar to India. The culture is so fun and open and everyone is so nice! Every night, everyone just hangs out on their porches on rocking chairs and talks. Also, dominoes is big here! My host mother lives on the same street as her 2 sisters! So there are always cousins and kids running in an out. So family oriented! It´s pretty neat. I have the day off tomorrow so my host mom said I could sleep in. I was like, SWEET!

It´s still a lot to get used to but I´ll get there. Slowly but surely. Can´t wait til 6 months pass by and I improve my Spanish and can navigate the area by myself.

Take care! Adios!

Shilpa Jhobalia, PCV

Cuerpo de Paz

Avenida Bolivar 451, Gazcue

Apartado 1412

Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

In case you want to write me! Please no large packages in boxes as they are frequently stolen and heavily taxed (like $35!) However, you can send me smaller things in padded envelopes. Also, postcards need to be in envelopes (so the entire DR post office isn't reading it ;))

Hello everyone! Just finishing up last minute stuff before the BIG departure...although with the hurricane coming through, I'm not sure if I will make it to Miami for the orientation :(

Anywho, many thanks to all the emails, letters, and thoughtful presents before my trip!

I will miss everyone greatly!

Okay, back to finishing everything up!

Stay tuned for my posts when I actually arrive at the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!!

Adios!

Trying to find the best site to blog on...let's see this one.

So much to do so little time...