In retrospect....

Back in the states...It's crazy that ten weeks have already passed. I'm thrilled to be home. Right now...I don't really miss the DR. I definitely am missing my friends and the people there, but I'm loving being back with my family and fiancee.

People often ask how my trip went. My response is always, "Oh it went well, thanks." Every time I say that, I think, there is so much more to tell than just that simple statement but where do you start? How do I even begin to describe my visit there? I'm so glad that I have kept a blog to let people get an idea of my week to week lifestyle. Obviously, if anyone has any specific questions about what I did there or wants to hear more, feel free to ask. I'd love to share.

As we interns walked into the Miami airport, we jokingly began a conversation where each sentence started with:
You know you've been in the DR awhile when...

Here are the endings to a few of the sentences we came up with:

You know you've been in the DR awhile when...
- you get excited about the idea of using sink water straight out of the tap to brush your teeth.
- you search for a trash can to throw your toilet paper into.
- you wonder if you will remember how to drive and can't wait to find out.
- you realize that Spanish is not the most common language anymore and have to quit mentally responding in espanol.
- you notice that you are no longer a part of the Greengo parade. (total inside joke...Dominicans call Americans Greengo's. When walking down the street, they all seem to stare at the Greengo's. We dubbed this the Greengo parade.)
- you have cell phone service without needing to hunt down call cards
- you see construction that includes piles of rock and immediately wonder how long it will take to hand mix that much rock into concrete...
- a purse is available!!! goodbye fanny packs!!!
- it's really ok to leave a cake on the counter without supervision and no ants will find it.

One huge difference that I was aware of before, but has really impacted me since returning to the states has been the pace of the culture. Everything is go, go, go here. I find that it's a lot more difficult to make time to spend with Jesus and in His word. This is definitely an area in which I am going to focus on growing.

In closing, I would like to thank once again all of those who have invested in this trip and in my going on this trip. When I say that, I mean those who contributed financially, through prayer, and through encouragement. I know that I know that I know this summer was meant to be spent serving in the Dominican Republic. I learned a lot. God took me out of my comfort zone. I grew in my faith. I had fun. I am so thankful God allowed me to have such an amazing experience.

Thank you for making it possible!

(I will be uploading a lot of trip pictures onto facebook. I will try to make those open so that as many people can see them as would like to see them.)