My life has changed completely since I arrived (in the best way)! Everything is still brand new. My friends, community, home, food preferences, language, images of beauty…I’m in a state of exploration and wonder. It’s good to be in the Dominican Republic!
I spent years dreaming of an experience like this, of the ability to serve and to learn a new language. I wanted to work with women and girls, to be a part of a team committed to justice and change. How is it possible that some courage and a plane ticket could flip my entire world upside down? What!? I’m so lucky to be here!
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Let me tell you about how my last day in Tennessee transformed into the first day of my brand-new life here in the DR.
On June 26, my entire life lay scattered on the floor: a few books, some college t-shirts, handwritten letters, and small, gifted watercolor paints. One of my best friends, Kaylee, came over and helped me pack. We sang some of our favorite songs and talked well into the midnight arrival of June 27, my departure day.
I walked her to the car, and the finality of her driving away hit me: college was over, the lease of my Nashville home was up, and I thought about all the rooms I called my own and how they all belonged to someone else now. In a few hours, I would have another new room.
At 6am, my mom dropped me off at the Nashville Airport. We did not talk much on that drive, but it was good quiet. I felt really loved by her and so grateful for her ability to listen and recognize that this new stage of my life is exactly where I need to be. We hugged warmly and said, “see you soon.”
No going back.
Coincidentally, the President and Founder of New Hope Girls (my boss) was in Nashville for the Thistle Farms Revolutionary Love Conference (which I got to attend with her earlier that week!). She and I decided to fly together. The uninterrupted time together allowed us to brainstorm additional projects we could work on together for the next nine months (I want to revamp their garden!), discuss day-to-day rhythms, and get to know each other. We also debriefed moments from the Conference.
Thistle Farms is an amazing organization in Nashville with a similar anti-human trafficking mission as New Hope Girls. It was so cool to be in the main conference room just a few days before. I was surrounded by many role models and strong women. It hit me that I had probably never been in a room with that many female leaders in my life. What an excellent room to be invited into.
I felt a similar way when I arrived in the Dominican Republic.
I arrived in Santiago, Dominican Republic, on June 27 at midnight. What was the first thing I did in this new country that I now kind of call home, you may ask? I ate a Subway sandwich (turkey club, to be exact) with my boss’s family, including her two youngest kids, and I felt immediately welcomed. It was awesome-random.
That morning, they treated me to a nice cafe outing to discuss the day’s plans, and I grew more nervous-excited by the minute (I ordered a cortado, but the Spanish word is “cortadito” and isn’t that so cute and fun to say?). After that, it was time to move into my new room.
When we arrived in La Vega, we explored the barrio, and I was introduced to the amazing girls leading the Ministerio de Luz (“Ministry of Light”), New Hope’s outreach program. This was my first few hours in this new place and I tried to slow down my brain and take in the bright Caribbean colors and the crazy high danceability of Latin music. I also wanted to remember everyone’s names and their faces. I wanted to remember these first few moments.
We left the barrio and toured the workshop and the three safe homes. I was getting the full La Vega tour experience, and I was loving it. The final stop on the tour was the safe home for teenagers, where I will move into my new room.
I entered the room and entered my first moment alone in days. I put my bags down gently and looked around, slowing down.
My new sheets are my older sister’s favorite color. The space above the nightstand is a perfect space for handwritten letters and watercolor paintings. The closet is spacious, and my college t-shirts are folded in a stack. There is a large plantain tree outside my window—I did not think I had ever eaten fresh plantain before. My window faces the north; Nashville is north, and my hometown in Illinois is north. All my people who helped me grow up are north.
The sun is pink and orange now, and I will be more than okay.
Me and my new intern friends!
Mashed plantains “mangu,” from the tree outside my window. Also, very common Dominican meal! Chinola juice, fried salami, and mangu.
weekend dinner at an empanada restaurant! We love Chinola juice.
chalk wall at the little girls safe house 🙂