Thank You!

I saw this Post Secret today and it made me think of my Childhood but in a different way then the Secret states. I was that "Future Child" the Secret is speaking of. My parents and my extended family where at every basketball game, volleyball game, sitting outside of rain or shine at every Track Meet. Being my personal taxi with little Thank Yous and More Attitude. They are my Best Friends, my biggest support and fans! They are two amazing individuals who have satifisied more then I will ever know to make my life just a little easier and fill all of my needs. They did more then "fill my needs" they shaped me into the amazing individual I am, they were there to set me straight when I was going a little off track, and there were always there in moments of anxiety and stress to tell me "It will be OK." To my parents I owe the World to, I owe who I am as an individual to them. I hope when I grow up and raise my own little ones I can pass on the skills and the memories to my little ones!

To My Parents that I never Thank Enough! Thank You for letting me take on the world, for telling me know it is OK if I fail when I try something new because we will be there for me! Thank You for celebrating EVERY joy with me, allowing me to ramble about nothing, for eating ice cream with me when I needed it the most, THANK YOU for KNOWING ME, Thank You for knowing my faces, for the HUGS, for the KISSES, for the Valentines Day Gifts when I did not have a Valentine, and for Celebrating LIFE with me! You rolled with all of my different dreams knowing and probably praying that one day I find my way and my little corner of the world! Well, I have, and I am rocking it out the only way I know- with an open heart and a smile on my face!

THANK YOU!

Joys of 8/9

Joys of August 9, 2009

1. This precious little one (about 3 months old) smile and wave at me during church
2. Seeing my bigger little ones at Church
3. Walking my Sweet Mema to the car and her home
4. A Successful Birthday Party!
5. New Birthday Party Goings and Two Parents that hung out!
6. Enough Food and Drinks for ALL at the Birthday Party
7. A smooth and productive meeting that will get the Children involved during Heritage Day
8. Taking a NAP!
9. A solid dinner and lunch tomorrow!
10. Watching Drumline!

Feeling Alive (Part 2 of 2)

Another opportunity I was giving was the ability to get Scuba Diving Certificated. By being Scuba Certification, it is a life long Certification and I will be able to dive with a “Master Diver” anywhere in the world. My dear Alicia (other PCV) and myself, sign up for Scuba Diving. She is amazing person to do it with, because we are both a little unsure about the whole thing, have a little or a lot of anxiety, and best of all we both have no problem experiencing our concerns to each other. She is a psychology major and I am a Social Work major, it just works well.

Anyways, one looks extremely strange and awkward when they have all of their gear on to die. Flippers, scuba mask, and a MASSIVE tank on your back, there is nothing attractive about the outfit. It is just the two of us in the class and our instructor is amazing. He is a really chill, laid, a little sassy, man from Dominica. There was moments during our 8 hour training today (we have 3 more days) that I wanted to cry or scream out of frustrating of not knowing how to do silly, simply task. Or when I swallowed a half gallon of sea water or the time was I was drifting away because the current was taking me. Or the moments when I would smile out of nervousness and it would mess with either my snorkel or my breathing respirator. Through all of that, Alicia was right there with me with her own little troubles. Through the moments of frustration and anxiety was a moment when it was all worth it and once again, “I came alive!” After our almost full day of training, he tells us we are going to go on a little dive, not to deep, just something simple. At this moment, I will not pretend to be more brave then I am, my heart dropped, and my anxiety rose. After some issues of not breathing correctly (if you do not exhale then you do not sink). We were our way to the deep blue sea.
It was AMAZING, my face light up like a Christmas tree, when I say my first school of fish and eel. The moment I will not forget is when the instructor, Alicia and I were finished swimming around, and still underwater, the instructor came over to me (A person can tell how quickly you are breathing because you start to raise to the surface and the air bubbles)! As the instructor came over to me, I got nervous and I started breathing a lot quicker then I was suppose, he so calming sticks his hand in my face like stop sign, and I calm back down. Both Alicia and I were struggling with clearing our mask when water fills up. That was what I was suppose to do, and I did it! Not once but twice. I got a little water up my nose, in my mouth, and in my eyes, but instead of rushing to the surface, I calmed my breathing and got everything under control again. After I completed, he put his hand out, HIS face light up and he gave me a HUG high five for a job well done. That moment of accomplishment over rode all moments of frustrations, stress, and feeling like a failure.

Feeling Alive (Part 1 of 2)

As I sit in front of my laptop, hearing my next door neighbors TV, a man somewhere in the general area of outside, and two lovely women laughing as they pass on the street. I sit in calmness with a tummy full of mashed potatoes and corn and a mind full of thoughts.
There are numerous moments in life that simply make you feel alive again. It is a direct moment that recharges your batteries and make taking on the world just one last time a little easier. These moments come in different shapes and sizes. At times they are life uttering moments and other times it is a simple smile from a stranger that makes an individual think, “Yes, I can make it through the day.” In whatever way these moments appear to an individual they should take them and run to seize every last moment out of it.
I have been in a slight slump for about a week. Nothing to big or nothing I cannot get myself out with no sweat. Different elements put me in a little, slump of a mood until I had TWO of those feel a live moments and event. The moment made me recharge my batteries and again I was ready to take on the world, or my amazing journey one more time.
After long awaiting process, I was giving the opportunity to play volleyball. As previous mentioned, I have the ability to play three days a week for about 2 hours. It is always a race against the sunset since it is an outdoor “sport court” with no lights. On Wednesday, I was giving the opportunity to with the team I practice with to play against the Women’s National Team. I was the setter for my team. The first game like normal, it was me and the boys. I simply like playing volleyball with Men, I am not sure if it because they make my sets look extra good because they have a strong and power hits or if it is because they get a little more fired up when something good happens. In recent days, I have enjoyed playing volleyball with boys or my GVSU girls! But since my GVSU girls are all around the state or in a different state I will have to settle with the boys.
It was Game Time! The game was extremely official, we had a referee, sang the Dominica National Anthem, and lined up to shake hands. The minute I stepped back onto the court my spirit came alive and I had this feeling that I was unstoppable. Everything was coming together, the boys were hitting well, and for a minute my troubles, my thoughts, my stressors, and my slump had disappeared. It was just me and the volleyball court, similar to old times. It had the same feeling for me when I would step onto the Court with my GVSU girls as we were about the Beat Down on U of M (there were BIG rivals of ours my junior and senior year). I was at peace with myself during those moments. The feeling did not disappear the minute I stepped off the court but rather it continued through my days, my batteries had been recharged, again I was ready to “Take on this Journey!” There was no big crowd, the crowd consisted of about 7 boys all under the age of 12. There was nothing for sale expect some ice pops and no admission fee. It was just my teammates and the court. The moment was not about winning or losing (even though we ended up winning in three games), it was about the feeling and the up lift of my soul. I was once again a live and ready. It is amazing, how a simply game that if you think about makes absolutely no sense what so ever but it makes all the sense in the world to be. For the time, I connected with these individuals are a greater level then friendship, for a moment we were teammates, for a moment we six strangers all trusted each other. I was a live once again!

Joys of 8/6

JOYS of August 6, 2009
1. Being in the SEA all day long!
2. Mashed Potatoes and Corn for Dinner
3. Getting my laundry done (Even though I had to do some of it in the Dark)
4. A Conservation I had with a 3 year old that was something like this
Michelle: Peeling a Banana
Little One: I Like Banana
Michelle: Would you like some?
Little One: Yes Please
Michelle: Handing the little one a piece of Banana
Little One: Handing Banana back to Michelle stating “I do not eat such large Bananas”
Michelle: Breaking it half and asking if she wants more
Little One: Her sweet eyes look at me and say “No!
5. Having a lone time to collect and write my thoughts
6. Running into two campers from my Summer Camp in Town
7. The Grocery Store not having a line
8. Having someone to chat with when I was waiting for the bus
9. Finding out the PCV that went Home because her service was done (She came two years ago, made it home safely and got moved up to FIRST class)
10. Getting a simple taste of the AMAZING underwater world
11. Ice Cream Treat with Alicia

Clay, Giggles, and Mangos!

The above title sums up my Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday was the FIRST day of "Michelle's Art Program!" In a nutshell, it is a two hour Arts Session that takes place every Tuesday just for the young cats (6-12) years old. We are going to make clay, tie-dye, make a pinata, and some other crafts.

The first week there was three boys there, all around the ages of 6 and 8. We were making homemade clay which is super simply, just flour, salt, water, and a little oil. Needless to say the boys had more fun making little messes and playing with the clay like play dough instead of making a design so they could paint it after I bake it. With many breaks for the two boys to running around we finished making the clay.

As we were coming out to wash our hands at the pipe, Mr. Giggles came a long. Mr. Giggles is a seven year boy, with locks down to his shoulders (He is part of a Rasta family, the locks are part of his culture). He wanted to make something out of the clay, so the extra clay I had I gave him only for him to create a Baby with a Pamper on (Diaper). He is just over there Giggling his life away about I am not sure what but he sure brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. Then we all played follow the leader, a newly created game of running around until Michelle says "FREEZE!" and some Simon Says. The we sat down to do a word search which turned into Steal the Crayons and Giggle About it. The Word search did not keep these active boys attention for very long.

With little heads up, Mr. Giggles announces he is going to "Pick Mangoes" He brought me a very ripe, fresh, and clean off Mango to snack on. The afternoon ended with Monkeys in the tree eating Delicious fresh Mangoes.

Joys of 08/09

- These Two Pictures are from the Internet, I "Googled- Emotion: Joy" and this is what I found -
Joys!

1. Seeing Boo Bear Austin on Skype
2. Talking to my Mom and Jennifer
3. Being able to eat Dinner, one last time with one of my Dear PCVs who has just finished her 2 Years!
4. An AMAZING weekend full of Live Music, Good Food, and LOTS of Liming (Mom Can Define the Word for all of you) with FANTASTIC People
5. Finding out I can Text Sprint People online for FREE!! They cannot text me, but still! THANK YOU Jennifer!!
6. Getting TWO Packages- Those Kids are going to LOVE all of the color pencils and books! I cannot wait for school to start so I can give the students the books!
7. A Card from the Family- THANK YOU!
8. Getting things together to get Scuba Diving Certificated NEXT WEEK!
9. Talking about Denny's this morning with a friend of friend- it remind me of my Bestest!
10. Island Life!
11. Watching Free Willy!