Returning to Jarabocoa (And the Start of GB 2)

Posted by Maddy September 02, 2024

Returning to Jarabocoa (And the Start of GB 2)

Hi!

I’m not exactly sure how to describe my first two weeks back in the Dominican Republic to you guys. It’s so familiar and so foreign at the same time. I’m back in the DR, I went through the same customs and the same baggage check line in the Santiago airport that I did a year ago, and this time I’m walking in with so much joy in my heart. Flying over Santiago and seeing the city lights on the 19th was something so surreal. The Dominican Republic has become so much more than a country for me over the past year. It’s a place of community, a place of growth, a place of peace, and a place where I have seen God and His never-ending faithfulness.

I’m living halfway up a mountain in Jarabocoa this year, an hour and a half away from the Santiago base. Because of the time that I spent here in February (see this post) I was familiar with the layout of the base and the house that I’m living in. There are six of us girls in the intern house this semester, four of us returning from Global Bridge 1 (myself, Faith, Lizzie, and Noel), and two interns (Kalysa, who graduated from GB2 last semester, and Chloe, who’s come to Jarabocoa on a few separate occasions on short-term mission trips). Also important to mention are Hector and Suz, the two student life coordinators. Hector grew up with SI, and has been working with/for them in some capacity for nearly a decade. Suz just joined as part of the full-time staff this summer.

Like I said, everything has been a little familiar and a little foreign these past two weeks. I’m in the Dominican Republic, speaking Spanish, living with some of the girls from last year, working at sites (more on that in a minute!), and going on excursions to places I’ve been before. All of these are things that I’m familiar with. But I’m at a new base with different rules, I have a new roommate, my site leaders are new to me, and there are so many more people on staff here!

So far, when it comes to enjoying the natural beauty, I’ve been to two places. The first was Costambar, a beach about an hour away from Santiago. We drove to Santiago on Friday afternoon, stayed the night, and headed to the beach the next morning. It was so wonderful to see Natalie (our intern from last year), Courtney, and Dustin, as well as meet all the new Global Bridge students. I will say, that there was something so strange about being on the other side of that situation, remember what I felt when I was in the GB1 students’ shoes and looking up at the previous GB2ers with wonder because they’d loved the DR so much that they’d chosen to return.

On Friday, August 23rd, I was able to see one of the boys from the tutoring site last year, and we talked. He’s going to school now. (This is such good news! It’s the goal for all the students who attend the tutoring site!!) We sang some of the songs that we’d learned together in music class and had quite a lengthy conversation about the difference between what sounds animals make in Spanish/Haitian Creole versus English. His younger brother also joined us at one point to show me his magic trick (he made a stone disappear by dropping it on the ground behind him). My heart swelled and I was nearly brought to tears when he called me profe. That title is something that I can’t even describe how much it means to me.

The second place that I’ve gone to enjoy the natural beauty of the DR is a waterfall called Baiguate. We went on Sunday (Sept. 1st) after church. It was a short hike, and Kalysa, Lizzie, Noel, and I entertained ourselves for a while by playing around in the water. I found a cool rock that I kept, it’s made from quartz and something green, I’m not really sure what it is but I like it.

One huge difference between this year and last year is the process of choosing a site. I knew that I would be working at the tutoring site here in Jarabocoa since I got accepted into GB2 last year. This means that instead of having a week to try out sites, I got started working right away. I have two site leaders this year, both Dominican. Their names are Carolina and Merolin (pronounced Marilyn). The tutoring site is located in a small community named El Callejón (The Alleyway’). Caronlina has worked there for fourteen years, and Merolin started just under a year ago. They are both so warm and welcoming.

Once they’d got me settled in on the first day (Aug. 28th) they began to tell me about the projects and programs they are hoping to implement this school year. One of the main things is a way to get the kids excited about reading. They asked for my opinions and ideas and I, a bit shocked that they were doing so because I’m so new, set to work.

One thing that I learned last year (and quickly) is that the kids here love to win. It was apparent in how they pushed each other in their schooling (“Hey! I’m further along in the reading book than you!”) or in their interactions during our uno games. With this in mind, we came up with a system that works like a competition, where students are able to track what books they’ve read, and whoever reads the most can earn a prize. Carolina and Merolin loved the idea and so we’re working to implement it before the students start coming on September 10th.

I’m definitely going to be growing a lot in my Spanish this year because neither Carolina nor Merolin speak English. This is really exciting for me because it forces me out of my comfort zone not only to communicate basic needs but to build relationships as well. Just down the road from the tutoring site is a social work site, where Chloe is working (yay!) and so I think that we’ll be able to eat lunch together quite a bit and practice Spanish together.

One of the things that I missed so much this summer was living in a constant community. These past two weeks have been full of Christ-centered conversation, laughter around Dutch Blitz games, discussion over Spanish vocabulary, and reminiscing back on the memories that we made together last year. It’s so strange to refer to GB1 as last year. I was only away from the DR for 3 months. I’m full of excitement and anticipation for this upcoming year. I know God will continue to draw me closer to Himself through the people around me and through the work that I’m doing here. I’m so grateful that He called me back to the Dominican Republic, and so grateful that He’s provided the means to do so through faithful supporters.

The things that I have to look forward to this semester involve a full month of homestays (!!!), teams, Spanish class twice a week, kids returning to my site for the beginning of the school year, more mountain hikes, camping, ice cream runs with my housemates, and so much more. Thanks so much for reading and keeping up with the ministry that God has called me to here in Jarabocoa.

A quick note: The next post will be on Sept. 9th for a variety of reasons, but the foremost of which being the fact that we start homestays on that day. I want to do a better job this year of keeping “events” together. That being said, I’ll see you all in a week! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me, remember to check out the prayer requests page for an updated list!

Dios te bendiga,

Maddy <3