Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Math Question

Ok this question was argued to death with a few members in the group that I was with in Haiti. If there is anyone smart out there that actually reads my blog please comment and let me know!

 Ok so when you divide 1 by 1/2 you get 2, and the smaller the fraction you divide by the larger the answer. I.e. 1 / 1/4 = 4 ; 1 / 1/8 = 8 ; etc. So as you approach zero with the fraction the number gets infinitely larger. But what happens when you actually divide by zero?

The group was generally divided into 2 thoughts
1. My thought is that since you multiply by the reciprocal of the fraction 0 / 0 then you get zero.
2. The other argument is that it doesn't make sense that as you approach zero the number is getting infinitely bigger, but then all of a sudden when you reach zero it goes all the way back to zero?

It is confusing to try and type it out but hopefully somebody out there understands and can help me out!

Picture Day!

Today I started an adventure of taking pictures of each child and class. This is for 2 purposes: 1. Is to have options of pictures to put in the kids progress reports that we send out to their sponsors June 1 (yeah right...hopefully july 1!) and 2. I am trying to put together a database of each child's name and picture that I can leave with the next missionaries.

Not a ton to say I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Remember all of these kids are in our ministry and if you want to sponsor one for $35 a month please let me know! 










Feria del Libros (Book Fair)


Here are some pictures from a trip to the Capital that I was able to take the 6-8th grade class. The "international book fair" lasts about 2 weeks and is PACKED with students and kids. It is essentially a cultural park, multiple museums, and tons of books to read and buy all wrapped into one. The big natural history museum was probably my favorite part. 
The kids don't get to leave Constanza very often, let alone go to the Capital, so I was so happy to be able to help make this happen. Today I have also been printing off photos to give to the kids to help them remember the fun day! 


This class is interesting to me because they are extremely close. They really enjoy being together and it is fun to see, and it was fun to spend the whole day with them. 


One thing I have loved during my time here is driving kids around/to their house. I do it way more often when I am in Jarabacoa but it is so fun for me to help out that way, especially when the alternative is a kid walking 5 miles home. One of my favorite things is when every single kid is belting out the same song at the top of their lungs! I thought I had a good video of it from this trip but it didn't work.


 On the way home, we had some extra "treat fund" money and we were able to have a nice Pica Pollo lunch, which was definitely a treat for them. In the capital there is a huge mall type place with great food places and a huge grocery store...I wish it was in Constanza!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Haiti



With a pretty open month of May, one of the things I was able to do was help with our site in Haiti. Jeff Vandermolen and Brian Veen have been doing the majority of work with team hosting and site planning. We had back to back teams where Brian was already in Haiti so I was able to help out by hosting the team in Jarabacoa for a night and then taking them over on a big Caribe Tours bus the next day. I then stayed on for a few days and worked with them and got to know some of the kids. I only had time to load 3 pictures, but there are a few more on my facebook page. Our site is really moving a long there! We have 90 kids living in homes in the community and it will be exciting when they are all moved onto our residential site! We helped pour the foundation for the 2nd house. The kids that were mulling around were awesome and really really not used to seeing Americans. This little girl was my favorite (even though there was one point where she got behind a pile of dirt and just took a little bathroom break about 20 feet away from everyone!). I was a bit caught off guard that these kids literally had the same clothes on all week. It was definitely different than the poverty I'm "used to" here in the DR.

Bahia de las Aguilas

One of the cool things about my job/role here in the DR is the ability to get up and travel without being stuck in one place all the time. I love living in Constanza, but for some reason after the Rowley's left in November I have been on the move a lot. Sometimes it is to help host teams in other cities, and sometimes I just need to get up and go!


 This was a last minute opportunity where Chucho (Gym teacher/sports guy in Jarabacoa) and his wife Alida asked me if I would want to help (drive) the College group for Kids Alive. I didn't really know what I was getting into, I thought it was a 4-5 hour drive but it ended up being more like 8-9! It has been great to get to know Chucho, Alida and their daughter Ali, I always spend a ton of time with them when I am in Jarabacoa and their daughter is like my little dominican niece! It was a beautiful trip.


Me and Ali (she was learning to swim!)


 Me, Chucho, Alida and Ali on the beach


 The nights were filled with lots of worship and hanging out. They turned the lights out on us so we moved to the only light at the campsite!



Ali sat up front with me and "helped me drive," she especially loved changing gears.