Buddy Bonding

Hey! This blog is also going to be on the Hero Holiday website within the next few days (absolute.org) and describes the five days that the interns shared between the two groups!

Thursday morning (July 15) was a strikingly heartfelt day as we watched our friends from first week drive off in the rain towards the airport. Some heading back to the west coast, others to the east. Although we were sad to say good-bye each intern left behind knew that it was the beginning to new and lasting friendships. All eighteen interns and a few team leaders spent the next four to five days bonding as a Dominican family! On one of our days off we were to go to the different communities such as La Union and Agua Negra to drop off some extra donations such as clothes or shoes. This night turned in to so much more than just putting smiles on a hundred little faces.

We were all on our way to Agua Negra, which translates to black water, where we are currently building a home for a family. This time was a little different- as it was pouring rain and the streets and homes were flooding. I had always heard about how bad this community gets when it rains but to experience it first hand was unbelievable. It was difficult to process the thoughts and feelings that I experienced that night as I walked through the streets with black water up to my ankles. I remember being able to come back to the hotel to rinse off my feet from the dirt and debris it was exposed to while considering those families who go through this weekly. We complain about rain and how it ruins our hair, not thinking about how it can ruin someone’s home. The people in Agua Negra, some of the kindest people I have ever met, are forced to deal with these unfortunate circumstances everyday. Many of them spend hours trying to remove the water from their homes with a broom or a small pale while others place buckets on the ground to catch the drops leaking in from the roof. Although this night was hard to grasp, it was also opened my eyes as to what I am doing here. We toured the village and ended up standing in front of a home that we built last year with Hero Holiday. The grandmother and her grandson who were currently living in this home were completely dry and safe from any flooding roads or leaking ceilings. It was amazing to see how all of our hard work last summer really helps those who need it the most.

Early Saturday morning all of the interns loaded up on the bus and headed out to the ranch! we spent the day horseback riding through the town. Our final destination was along a gorgeous beach where you could hear the waves from a mile away. We stopped at a restaurant by the beach to get some refreshments and then headed back out! This was our first day together and it was great to finally bond as interns. Although we had already spent the week together with our teams, it was a totally different experience getting to know one another more personally. There are so many amazing people out there and this excursion gave us the chance to realize that. I learned more about each individual and our Dominican family became stronger as we prepared for the next group. Nothing will be able to break the bond between us as we went through the month of July experiencing mixed emotions and tough times together.

Saturday night was something extraordinary for every intern. We packed up a white sheet, laptop, and a projector and headed off to La Union. With those three items we created a movie theatre for approximately seventy-five people. We set up “Finding Nemo” on the computer and hung the sheet from the railing of a balcony. I sat with Jessie during the entire movie and couldn’t help but to constantly look around at every single smiling person there. Not only the kids, but the parents as well were all gathered around gazing at the movie. You think about back home when we go to the movies all the time or see the premiere of movies at midnight and all the excitement builds up- it was like that, only it had a different excitement for me. I was excited to see the kids’ reactions, hear them laugh, and share this memory with them. This experience was fun and uplifting and allowed for us to create relationships with the locals. So far this has been my favourite Hero Holiday memory as I spent the night with Jessie on my lap never letting go of my hand. It’s a feeling difficult to describe but one that I assure you will stay close to my heart forever.

Sunday evening was an interesting night to say the least. Some of the interns were interested in going to experience the cultural aspect of Dominican church. My friend, Megan and I were discussing church and how there is something unusual but amazing about it- it’s universal. Everybody there believed in a God and that he was there to guide each individual in their path as they struggle with their circumstances. As we walked into the church we heard the band playing and all of the locals singing and chanting along with them. This service was special because a couple of our translators that we work alongside were taking part in it. One of them was in the band while the other was being welcomed back from a retreat. After being at church for a little while I started to feel very warm and happy. I couldn’t help but to smile as I saw each individual in the crowd praising the Lord and having such strong faith. As I was sitting there I remembered a lady I interviewed last year who continued to tell me that she believes her life and her family will have a wonderful life because of God. I couldn’t help but to think that each person there was thinking the same way and how this one belief can bring so much joy and happiness to people who barely have food for dinner. It was amazing to see how different their mass was compared to back home. It was upbeat and informal but was an incredible experience that we all enjoyed and hope to do again sometime.

Our five days in between the trips was awesome. I learned more about each individual and our Dominican family became stronger as we prepared for the next group. Nothing will be able to break the bond between us as we went through the month of July experiencing mixed emotions and tough times together. We will always have each other to lean on and discuss the struggles we may have once we go back home. Overall, we have met faces we will never forget, created friendships that will last a lifetime, and have a summer that will forever be engraved on our hearts.

Love & Miss you all,
Bianca

Familia

On Wednesday we went to La Union for the community party. Here we do a pig roast and handed out donation bags. This day wasn't just like any other community party. I spent the day alongside a very special friend and family. I spent the day with my dominican friend, Rou, and Chloe, who was holding Rou's sister Stephanie.


I held Rou's hand and listened to her never-ending laugh as we had our tickle fights throughout the day. She was different than most girls I had met in the sense that she had a family that she was close with. She was easy to relate to and understand. Once we got our food and donations you knew exactly where she was headed- to see her mother. She always wanted to make sure her mom had food and was doing okay. Once she received her donation bag she would go show her mom everything that she got in it. She was extraordinary and precious as she appreciated the good things in life- friends and family.

Chloe:


When I first saw Stephanie she was shyly walking and holding hands with her sister. As her sister grabbed Bianca's hand, she grabbed mine. She didnt talk much or make eye contact with me, but she was constantly looking around, seeming to be interested in everything. After awhile I picked her up and she held on very tightly which I was suprised by because she had seemed to shy. Soon enough she began to becom more comfortable with me and started to dance and bounce around in my arms, which is a lot more of a work out than you might think it is. I loved watching her slowly begin to trust me, and watching her smile grow bigger and bigger. When she got her donation bag, she went through all the things inside appriciating everything she'd gotten instead of complaining if she didnt like what she got. Watching Stephanie interact with her family made me happy because there was no anger or fighting, only love.

Chloe and I both agree that this day will stay in our hearts forever. We can't seem to forget the family dynamics present that day between Rou, Stephanie, and their mother. Each member of the family showed dignity and respect towards one another- something you don't see often in the Dominican Republic. It was amazing to see each family member given the love and care that every family should receive.

We are hoping to go back there within the next two weeks to spend more time with the whole family... we'll keep you updated!!

Love & Miss you all,
Bianca and Chloe!

Rain Rain Go Away

Rain rain go away, come again another day.

In Canada, when I think of rain I get cranky and think about how it will affect my hair. Now when I think of rain my whole world is changed. It's been raining all day and all I can think about is Agua Negra and what that village looks like now. I was informed this morning that they are atleast in four feet of water. Who would've thought that rain could make such a big impact? It's just rain. I was also told a very heartfelt story this morning: one of the houses in Agua Negra ended up colapsing due to the rain and killed a young child. How has it gone so far as to kill a human being- it's rain. It's supposed to be something you play in or dance in, not something that tears villages apart or physically and emotionally damages a family. Once again, I find it difficult to grasp this concept so I ask you to just think twice before complaining about the weather.

Love & Miss you all,
Bianca

Pizza & Banana Mamas

For three out of the five work days we take packed lunches in styrofoam containers. We either get one of the two delicious choices of pizza or chicken and potatoes- not like the usual steak or roast beef back home. When we get back from a work day we tend to have cravings for the fruitiest drink known to mankind. This is where the Banana Mama comes in served in a plastic cup. I'd say on average I have four to five a day, I just can't get enough. Yesterday, that entire perspective changed.

We went to the dump yesterday and worked alongside Haitian refugees who remain stateless. As I was working alongside my friend Megan and a little boy I kept hearing the same constant crunching underneath my feet. I looked down only to find the exact same styrofoam container that I used just a day ago. I couldn't grasp the fact that I was contributing to what I was fighting against. It was confusing and frustrating and I just the combination of mixed emotions is difficult to put into words. I walked away from the container only to find my cup. The same cup that gave me a Banana Mama the other night. How was this happening? It finally hit me how hard life is to comprehend and how injust things really are. I'm here to help the people to build sustainable housing, make a little bit more money than the last day... and yet I feel like there is just so much to do in so little time and I can't help but to question how things got this far?

The dump is by far the most moving experience of my life. I couldn't hold me feeling inside as I walked through the my own garbage and tried to understand that people do this on a daily basis for less than a dollar a day. I immediately broke down and went for a big bear hug from one of my team members, Andrea. She simply just held me and comforted me. Later on we went for a walk to a waterfall which showed me how easily it was to escape from that morning. Although it was relaxing it also broke my heart to know how easily I can fall back into the swing of things and forget that people are digging through garbage- my garbage- as I type this blog. Its difficult to grasp and I find it hard to find the words to describe what I am going through right now.

I hope that one day each and every one of you will be able to go through an experience like I did and that it will open your eyes and change the way you live your everyday life. It has truly encouraged me to think twice about everyday things like what I eat and how much of it I eat. It's difficult to move forward in life knowing that others are at a standstill for days, months, years, even decades. Thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you.

Love & Miss you all,
Bianca

Andrea

Her name was Andrea and she had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in my entire life. She wore a plaid skirt with a matching tank top and her hair pulled back with a flowered pin. She was constantly smiling and giggling. But I ask myself- where will that take her?

Yesterday we went to Agua Negra which means black water. It is one of the worst parts of Dominican where 14 000 people live. I spent the morning playing with Andrea and her little sister. We played games like stella elle oh-la, soccer, hot potato, and piggy back races. She was beautiful and would constantly run up to me looking for a hug. Although I loved having her beside me- it was hard. I couldn't help but to look into her eyes and think about her future. Where will she be ten years from now- no next year- no tomorrow. Will she make it through each day with no water and barely any food. My eyes started watering as I thought about all that she has to offer to this world but she is so easily stripped of the opportunity. She has so much potential to do something great in life but will most likely never get the chance to.

It breaks my heart to look into each and every one of these kids eyes and know that each day is a struggle to survive and that many of them choose not to have hopes and dreams for the future because they don't know what's in store for them.

It is because of kids like Andrea that I am here right now, building homes and providing schools for those who need it the most. I will continue to do this for as long as I possibly can to provide hope for her and to let her know that although she may be stateless*, I notice her and I believe in her.

Love & Miss you all,
Bianca

*Stateless means that there is no legal record of one's existence. No birth certificate, no hospital records, nothing.. they don't belong to anyone or any place and cannot seek any aid because they are considered to be "inexistant

Wants vs. Needs

Hey! So yesterday we did another housebuild for a mother and her son. This day was similar to the previous as we moved buckets of cement down a human chain... boy was it tirind. My arms, shoulders, back, and wrists all hurt!!! The fun part about yesterday was making cement. When we think of cement, we picture a truck coming in, dumping it, end of story. Well that's not so much the case down here in the DR. Cement means mixing dirt, gravel, water, and a lot of shoveling around... it was tiring but interesting to use different resources to get the same work done!

Debriefing last night was really fun and different. We discussed the differences between our wants and our needs. To start things off we were asked what our three basic needs were... We decided to cheat a little and group shelter, food and water into one leaving emotional support (love, respect) and health . We decided that our basic wants were any materialistic items, education (knowledge), peace of mind and to be wanted! It was difficult to differentiate between our wants and our needs coming from a society that has so much to offer. However, when we look at the dominicans or the haitians that we work alongside of, their is no question. They know what they need to survive and they use it wisely, their wants don't come very often and are considered gifts or even miracles.

Later on in the debriefing we had a list of items and had to check off the boxes that applied to us. Some included having an allowance/regular income, finishing highschool, or taking a hot shower on a regular basis. We compared our answers with those who live in one of the poorest villages: Auga Negra, meaning black water where we are currently doing a housebuild. We, as a team checked off 17 our of 18 boxes where those in Agua Negra had maybe one or two of them. It just goes to show how much we take for granted and all that we are able to accomplish because of where we were born.

The last part of the debriefing was based on one question: beyond any material or luxury lifestyle opportunity that we may have, what is the most valuable thing we have that we need to stratigically evaluate and spend wisely? The answer to this question is time. We then answered a series of questions based on the amount of time we spend fulfilling our own wants and needs and those of others. We decided that we spend little time fulfilling our needs compared to our wants. However this is very dependent on the individual. For example, a mother will spend plenty of time fulfilling the needs of their children rather than their wants. Many of us need to prioritize our needs rather than our wants and realize that we don't need 15 pairs of shoes and we don't need to get our nails done on a daily basis. Although we have the luxury to do so, it doesn't mean we should take it for granted and abuse the privilege.

So in conclusion, I ask you to take time to think about your three biggest needs versus your wants and consider how much effort you put into the two separate categories. I also ask you to consider the word "time" and the value that comes with it. Our leader, Bill, one of the most inspirational men I know told us to read a poem based on time known as "the dash". It's called this because it talks about the dash between the year you were born until the year you die and the dash represents all that you do in between and that is what really counts. So i ask you to reflect on your wants, needs, and time that you get to share with those you love in a safe country with plenty of resources available

Love & Miss you
Bianca

Just google "the dash poem" and click on the second link :)

Value of Life

Today was difficult. I don't mean physically- although my arms feel like they could fall off any second now... but emotionally. By far my hardest day yet.

We were working at the housebuild all day swinging cinder blocks and buckets of dirt up and down a hill. but that's beside the point...

That night we went to Caberete, a town with gorgeous restaurants along the beach. We held our debriefing there which brought about many questions in life. We were asked to talk about what we're most passionate about. This was not easy to answer as so many things mean a lot to me. I immediately said friends and family since yes, you guys mean the most to me. However, it also got me thinking about life and how we should be passionate about it. This immediately struck memories of last year when I interviewed a woman who had a shack and her family. She was the happiest person I met and she said it was because of God and her family. It just got me thinking about how we take so much for granted. I have a huge roof over my head and plenty of food and clothes and electronics and a car but how much of it is really needed or worth it to make life all that it can be? The people here have so little yet they are always so content and so appreciative... I just feel like they know who they are and thats something that I, myself struggle with everyday.

Another thing that really interested me is everybody's different intake on passion. One of the students in my group mentioned learning and how you can go to school for years and still not learn half the stuff he's learnt in the past couple of days. He is so right. We take school for granted and complain about getting up early or the teachers who apparently "hate" us... most of the kids here don't even have an opportunity to go to school. That is why we are down here doing what we do best, building schools and helping children to become educated in any way possible so that someday they can live the life that we take for granted... the only difference is- they'll know the true value of life.

At debriefing tonight we were told a story by one of our leaders based on Haiti. The earhquake occurred in Haiti and with no doubt- he was there in a flash. However he was offered a ride home, food, water, accomodations... all because he had a Canadian passport. His passport was the difference between life and death. These kids, these families don't even know what a passport is. Many of them don't even have birth certificates- they remain stateless. It's things like that that keep me coming back for more. When I get these images of children with their big beady eyes glaring up at me and I feel so helpess- I know I'm here for a reason and that is to learn to value my life. Many of us don't even think twice about how lucky we are to be Canadian or the fact that we have a piece of paper with our name written on it. We know our age, our background, our family... but the little things like that don't only define us.

The people here are full of inspiration and talent. They have the potential to be whoever they want, its just a matter of support. I see these kids and can't help but to think about their future, and truth is some of them won't even be around in ten years- that's just the reality of it. I just want to be able to live life the way they do- they know exactly who they are and I envy that... they know what morals they are and their sincerity is remarkable... I can't even begin t explain it. They know what is real and they value the most significant things in life. The people here are my friends, my family, they're my heroes and I will never forget the impact they have on my heart.

Love & Miss you!

Bianca

PS, Salsa timeeeee! I will write you all tomorrow :) xoxo

Arroyo Seco

Arroyo Seco was our first working day and boy was it tough! Arroyo Seco is a school and church that was built a few years back by hero holiday participants. It began with Pastor Garcia praying to the Lord that some day there will be a church and school and now we're just adding on to it!

Our job for that day was to start building a basketball court behind the school. This entire day consisted of.... pick ax, shovels, and wheelbarrows. Lucky us- we got blessed with the pooring rain the night before and therefore the "sand" we were moving was a little heavier than expected. I was overly impressed with the way the team worked. Many do not expect the amount of labor put into it but they never wanted to stop. It was time to go and everybody was saying how they can do "just one more wheelbarrow". The enthusiasm and positivity throughout the team is amazing and helps us to run smoothly and effectively.

The debriefing that night was moving as every word each student said was passionate and realistic. It was incredible to see how the students change in just one day and how they are all so independent and see things differently. Many mentioned that not being able to give the locals water was difficult but the way our team worked so well together was outstanding. Overall this day was a great start for our next projects throughout the week and I can't wait to hear how its all affecting them differently.

Just a "warning" in advance... this years trip does not have as many emotional strain a lot of it is physical. Most blogs will be about the work we did that day... however on the fifth day it will be move moving as its the day we work alongside a friend in the dump!!

Love & Miss you alll!

B <3

HOLA!

I apologize for being so late! The first couple days have been busy and the internet... well its slower than a turtle in a snowstorm :)

Anyways! Lets begin... the first few days in Toronto felt long as we were impatiently waiting for everybody to arrive. We had our orientation with everbody and everything was going great. We were making friends fast and looking forward to meeting the rest of the gang from BC. We met them in JFK after they waited countless hours for us to arrive from Buffalo.

We arrived at Sosua by the Sea around 430 and everybody was exhausted! Many people hit the showers, their beds, or the BEACH. It wasn't until two days ago that things started to pick up. We finally met our teams and headed off to the awareness tour. My team is a school from BC, many students just graduated while others are heading into grade 12.

The awareness tour took us to old sites that we worked on as well as ones we will be starting this week. The most interesting was seeing a house build that we started last year. And by started I mean we tore it down. The finish product looks amazing and got me excited for this week as we are doing three new housebuilds!

My favourite part was seeing my friends from last year... both the Canadians and the Dominicans! All my big-brown eyed friends returning with huge smiles across their faces is the best feeling I could ask for.

My next couple blogs will be a little more "intense" with detail based on the workdays.. hurray!!!

Love & Miss you all...
and thank you for the supporttt

Bianca

Welcome!

Hey!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

As you know I am off to the Dominican Republic for the second year in a row to do some humanitarian work with the organization Absolute (Hero Holiday). I absolutely loved it last year and am even more excited for this year!
I will try to post as much as possible to keep you all updated on what I am doing! Any questions or anything you can always e-mail me or send me a message on facebook.
I will try to post once a day, probably late at night, and let you know what went on that day the plans for the next day!
So I hope you enjoy it,
love always

Bianca

for more information or pictures of this years trip visit: http://heroholiday.absolute.org/

or if you're on facebook feel free to go to this site for updates throughout the trip: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=560660662#!/absolute.org?ref=ts