Joys and Pictures of 6/17

Well.. I went and played volleyball today and on my way home I looked over to my left to the sea and saw a HUGE SUN that was on it way to "cool off" (as I tell the little ones) into the sea. At that moment I knew it was going to be a BEAUTIFUL sun set over the bay in town (where I was heading). I thought I might miss my bus, but the picture would have been worth it. (A note to my mother- I did not miss my bus do not worry- there was THREE waiting just for ME) See pictures below of the beauty God created just for me tonight!







Joys
1. Playing Volleyball!
2. Getting a lot done for the summer camp my work site is putting on this summer
3. Finding out I might go camping for the 4th of July! (It won't be the same but it will keep my mind busy)
4. This sweet Angel, who gave me a HUGE smile when she saw me at the bay front
5. Another sweet Angel, who kept me company while we were waiting for the bus to leave
6. TWO FREE Rides Today!! (Those ALWAYS make me smile)
7. A Recipe! (THANK YOU MOM)
8. The Power of Coffee and a Good Chic Movie!
9. The NEW Dave Matthews Band CD!

Book Drive!

Hello Everyone!

By now most of you know what I am doing in the Peace Corps, but for those who may not, I will give you a little overview.I am currently working at the National Youth Council of Dominica, which works with all of the Youth throughout the island. This Council focuses on various topics but one of the major areas is literacy.

In collaboration with Keira's Book Club, this is a book club that has been organized by a young girl, Keira. She collected books in the United States and sent the books to Dominica to help rebuild school libraries and engage children in reading and in the arts.

I am calling on ALL of you, all of my nearest and dearest, to assist in engaging children in literacy and creativity by offering the youth books to read, it is as simple as that. The way we can all participate in this worthwhile cause inexpensively is to possibly take advantage of Garage Sale Season in the States and pick up some books that target children between the ages of 3 and 18.

If you are able to assist in the book drive, all you would have to do is drop the books off at my parents house and they will ship them off to me in Dominica. Please e-mail me and I will be happy to give you directions. I do not want to put their information out there for the world to see. My Parents would need the books by the beginning of August, so the children could have them by the beginning of the School Year.

From the BOTTOM of my HEART, I THANK YOU for not only supporting me but most importantly supporting the Children of Dominica that may not otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed to books if it was not for your giving hearts.

Forgot My Greatest Joy of 6/14

I cannot believe I forgot my Greatest Joy!

As I was sitting in church next to two beautiful little girls, it was time for the "Peace be with you" part of Church to happen. As I went to shake the little ones hand, that is about two years old. Right before she went to shake my hand, she totally picked her nose! HaHa! She was too cute for words and I did not even mind. It brought a smile to my face because she did not even care that she picked her nose and then shook my hand and either did I!

One more joy! I am collecting bottle caps off of glass bottles, (The you need a bottle openner to open the drink) because they are great to use with the kids for counting and I am going to try to do some sort of craft project with them. The shoppe owners usually throw them away but I have been having them keep them for me, and I just got two BAGS full of Bottle Caps! YaY!

Joys and Pictures 6/14

Joys!
1. The simpliness of Sundays in Dominica
2. A lovely Walk
3. Seeing all the children of my village dressed in their First Communion Outfits
4. Cleaning my apt
5. Having a Laundry partner to keep me company
6. POST SECRET SUNDAY! (See my fav. secret above)
7. Having my butt handed to me in Pool by a man old enough to be my GRANDFATHER!!
8. Suprise Skype with my Grandparents! (What a GREAT Suprise)
9. NAP Time!

Joys and Picture of 6/12

Joys!
1. Going shopping with my PCVs in Town
2. Soft serve Ice Cream from the Ice Cream Truck- "Mr. Whippy"
3. Heading to the Southeast for a meeting with my Worksite
4. Going to my first 'Football Game' at the Savannah
5. Seeing this little boy dancing in front of the speaker outside of a restaurant
6. Watching 'Maid of Honor'
7. Randomly seeing Shirley in town
8. Finding out my buses run later- what a stress reliever
-Bird's Eye View of the Savannah and Football Game-

Joys and Picture 6/12

Joys
1. Hanging out with my PCVs ALL afternoon- The little things of hanging out with them
2. A wonderful Lunch!
3. My 'No Bake' cookies going over well
4. Great Food at "Fort Young Hotel" with the other PCVs
5. Sleep over Party!
6. Getting my Nalgene back that I left at the Shoppe
7. AMAZING Chai Tea!

-This one was kind of food based- not sure how I feel about that-

*The Picture is of Myself and the other VAC from Grenada that I trained with- I Miss Her*

Pictures and Joys of 6/11

Joys
1. Visiting my Old Village
2. Pealing Coffee Beans and Learning how to make Coffee
3. Knowing I will be able to buy FRESH Dominica born Coffee early next week
4. A MAILBOX Filled with CARDS!
5. Even though I am 2,500 miles away I have never felt so close- THANK YOU FAMILY!
6. An AMAZING Best Friend!
7. No Bake Cookies that turned out Almost Perfect! (I need to work on them a little)
8. Sitting on the steps of my School Attachment with my hands full of books and ten kids all around me eagerly wanting to listen to the stories
9. Successful "Big Readers, Little Listener" Program at a NEW Pre-School

*The Picture above is my favorite flower in Dominica*