After Thanksgiving, I went to a DR baseball game, and my roommates invited me to their Lazemiento. It is an event that “announces” their graduating class by performing a dance routine, complete with a full stage production with music, videos,…
The past two weeks have been so relaxed. It feels like I have so few things to report besides books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen, but that isn’t entirely true. Usually, I live in the middle of the country,…
Running along the Estadio track in La Vega with an audiobook playing through my headphones, I almost stopped mid-lap. The narrator said, “I confused a lack of effort with a lack of ability…” This small line contextualized an important conversation…
I’m writing this from January 2025, but I want to take a look back at November. At this moment, I’ve crossed into my sixth month here (going on 7!), which officially marks my time here as over halfway complete. Looking…
I am back in the DR, and tomorrow, we welcome a team of twenty students from Liberty University. Having spent about two weeks in Virginia this past month, I feel more connected to where they are coming from, and I…
I’m at the Miami International Airport on my way to Nashville, coincidentally for work. For the next two weeks, my job is to help share the story behind the bags and sell them at conferences along the eastern coast. I…
I recently celebrated my first two months here. The summer staff has left, and the needs and priorities are shifting here. My boss and I are beginning to prioritize drafting and revising her manuscript (more on that later!!). I am…
There have been two major events since I arrived on the island: intern retreat and campamento! I must have perfectly timed my arrival because not even two weeks in, I, my boss’s daughter, and the other two interns were making…
The Dominican Republic is starting to feel more comfortable to me. I have settled into my room, which adds permanence to my position here. After about a month here, the novelty has worn off, kind of like breaking in a…
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…