hey long time no post. still here in the d.r. doing the volunteer thing. some pretty big updates.
things have happened and because of this i am moving sites. this is not a normal volunteer thing, a volunteer always expects to come in country and live in the same site for thier 2 years of service; however, this is not a completely abnormal thing. if there is every a situation where the saftey or security of a volunteer is in question p.c. will take care of you. you are first priority. thats what happened with me.
this is slightly ironic that this is happening to me. when i first moved to my site one of my site neighbors (volunteer in a nearby community) had just had a site change. she would call me at times to talk about the adjusting process and such and i remember telling her (and everyone else) that i couldnt do this all over again. settling in to my community is hands down the hardest thing ive ever done in my life, i always thought if i were forced to change sites i'd probably just early terminate, and many volunteers who have to change sites (as the one i was just talking about did) do. i've seen those volunteers in the midst of site changes in the office. they always seem slightly broken. understandably so. your so far along in your service. you knew your community. you had your project. you had your home. now you have none of that. you can no longer relate to your volunteer friends that do. you have to start all over again.
despite all that im feeling optimistic about this site change. scared, of course, but optimistic also.
Thank god for the sector i'm in. Thank god for my boss and pcvl who have walked me through this process in baby steps. keeping me informed through the whole process, calling randomly to make sure im alright, allowing me to visit my new site possiblities and even choose where i end up in the end. Thank god for the volunteers who've changed sites before me. a month ago, when i knew that changing sites was probably going to happen to me but before it was official, i started talking to a volunteer in between stages of site changing. Now shes a month in to her site. shes offering me her support and being honest with me about settling in for a second time. i apprieciate that.
so my new site and why im excited:
La Guazera, in the loma near Barahona.
what is a loma you ask- well loma literally translates to crazy beautiful little mountian town where people grow coffee, avacados, bananas, and other delicious items along with beautiful flowers. where people enjoy the crisp mountian air, amazing views, and find peace within themselves.
unfortuantley loma also translates to: town with little to no cell phone reception. so im changing cell phones again. will have a new number and be very hard to reach, as im moving up in the world and this "higher" position means im important and hard to get a hold of.
My new site is actually the old site of one of my good training friends who early terminated not long ago. luckily she did tons of prep work for me and started some pretty amazing projects in her short time there- along with getting people legally declared! Im still in contact with her and she sent me a lot of her paper work. It will be interesting having her support and help through my time there also (as i've told her she has to remain involved in this site- they are OUR projects now, not only mine).
official move date: june 5, day after i turn 23
