Adirondacks At My Back

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived"

Henry David Thoreau, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For

Named after the Algonquian work for tree eater the Adirondacks are worthy of any tree-esk name you give them. Although Adirondack was originally introduced as a derogatory term describing the indigenous of the area, it is quite fitting for the land where wild eatables line the trails and captivate the children's curiosity.  I have been consistently learning about the new ecosystems and local plants all round me, as well as a little taste of the history of the area. Despite all this new learning, the breath-taking beauty of fall's variety of COLORS that the foliage offers takes the cake for my upstate New York experience. I found myself on a daily basis picking up leaves or vibrant colors-trying to find the one that I could call my favorite. What my students learned to recognize in the searches I sent them on for my favorite leaf is that all the colors are AMAZING and their is beauty in every shade, even if they struggled to find my absolute favorite.

To give you a little insight, I picked the site on the shores of Lake George with the Adirondacks in my backdoor not only for the fall colors, but also to get some slope back in my life and a chance to explore the hills with kids at my heels. What has been best about my experience here is the look of the kids' faces when you mange to rangle them 1,000 or so feet above the lake for an expansive view. Nothing has worked better to brighten a kid's impression of and outdoor experiences and hiking. Nothing. With little restrictions and boundaries all adventure was possible and the little ones took that chance and ran with it-quite literally. More than any other season I found the kids' enthusiasm and energy rejuvenating and keeping me coming back for more.

Beyond my experience with the kids getting active in life outdoors I have been able to explore the area a bit. One of our first weekends we spent on a whitewater raft adventure on the Hudson. Being by the water as the leaves were starting to reach peak was so refreshing and needless to say BEAUTIFUL! Another weekend was spent hiking to a "high" peak in the Adirondacks for a "360" view when we really got a nice jaunt into the rain clouds. It seems that every time I hike for a view I find the clouds... it was still great and quite an adventure. The rest of my weekends and free time very fairly nomadic visiting the Nature's Classroom homesite, friends around the North East, Maryland, and North Carolina (I know that doesn't fit), and just getting to know the overall vibe that New England has to offer.My last adventure in the Adirondacks was spent staying a few nights in a yurt and summiting Buck Mountain-located on the other side of the lake- where I got to see one of the best views of the expansive range and why there is some sort of magic here that brings in some good people.

I have also found that I still crave a stable community. There are eleven of my coworkers here and on a weekly basis we may have as few as six to as many as 18 coming and going from other sites. A few really great and inspiring people, but here was no consistency of homes to visit or dinners to be made. Lucky for me, it allowed me to visit the people in the Echo Hill community that now call the north country home. I found in my last weeks in the great North I was traveling a few hours to visit some lifelong Hillian friends to go wander around farm, trick o' treating, thrift store shopping, or a good ol' Rockfish fest. My nomadic fall may not reflect where I am in my life's adventures. Interestingly enough, a friend keeps telling me that every time he sees me I am getting closer and closer to settling and not living my life on three month contracts... I have a few adventures and things to check off my bucket list before I get ahead of myself on that one. But as I do live by my bucket list, my fall in the North East can now be checked off.
It is important to reflect that I feel intensely satisfied. After this fall I can easily say that I am living my life, and living it how I want to be. No matter how obnoxious it can be constantly on the prowl for new opportunities or how much I may stress out my family, I couldn't ask for much more. I wear a smile on my face daily from the amazing experiences I have had, inspirational people I have met and call friends, and the drop dead gorgeous places I not only see-but work and live.

The soul of Santo Domingo

"Happiness, when it comes, is stronger than all the jerk girls in Santo Domingo combined."
-- Junot Diaz The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao

I can't say I experienced any of those "jerk girls" while in Santo Domingo, but I can defiantly see them easy to come by with the attitude Dominicans carry about them. What I can tell you is that I experienced can be defined as strong feeling known as  happiness. I had moments in the last few months of my life in which I felt so utterly me a sense of "bliss" was unavoidable.  There is something about the Dominican culture and the people that make it up that give me a natural high and a sense of home. That is not to say that I didn't get overwhelmed in moments or in near locura because our local friends had taken over our house. I just felt completely content with just being. Realistically with music everywhere, smiles abundant, coconuts on every corner, and crystal blue water to dive into a sense of happiness seems unavoidable, but I am a bit biast.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of visiting outside the white sand beaches of the Dominican Republic it is hard to put into words the energy the place has. For those of you who have some of these words may ring a bell: interesting, loving, alive, incredible, inspiring, lively, grateful, fun, vibrant, welcoming, animated, electrifying  and HOME. These are all words posted by our participants from this summer and I couldn't agree more with every single word stated. There is a trust and a pace that is very much its own.Something about the Dominican Republic brings a new life to you- even if it is the exact opposite of the life I lead in the states.

With that said it was also quite fascinating returning to the same program for another year. I feel like I got a whole new take on it all. Having left the Dominican well versed in the social life as well as culture with and without VISIONS I had a running start going back. I not only got big welcoming hug from all the friends and family of our neighborhoods: Elio Franco and San Luis, but I also got to see a whole new side of Santo Domingo. Upon leaving last year I made a friend at the airport who taught a bilingual school in the capital. I reached out to him when I got there and spent a lot of my days off touring la cuidad with him. He was born in Santo Domingo, but was a part of a different class than I had been previously exposed to. We spent Friday nights at jazz concerts, rooftop gatherings, and museum led telescope star watching . These things would be unheard of and considered very strange to my other Dominicans counterparts. No all night discoteca gatherings with gelled hair and shiny shoes? WHAT? Not only that, no-one would be whipping out iPhones in mass quantities on Elio Franco- some motorist would be trying to make profit off of that as soon as possible. It was truly eyeopening to be a part of all the sides of the social coin that is Santo Domingo. I have to say I'll take our little bario over the city slicker any day. The colorful half-constructed buildings with laundry hanging outside and shoeless kids in the street to the tune of Romeo Santos warm my soul no matter how nice an hour in airconditioning might feel.

I think the biggest thing that kept my fire burning this summer was the family and community that I got to go back to. The friends and quite honestly family i went back to couldn't have taken care of me better. They know my love for coconut, dancing, and Dominican cuisine quite well. I smile looking back on: daily hugs and greetings from Santos, heated debates over vocabulary with Daniel, cultural lessons and guidance from Alberto, guagua tours from Santiago to get me to finally hike a mountain out there, my own coconut tree climber in San Luis, sunrise runs through the market with participants, street vocab lessons from all the neighborhood "kids", our cook guarding me a good portion of concon and rice for dinner, making homemade dishes and mango juice with Yissel, dancing and rum with Deivi and Daniel in the discoteca or the kitchen (it really doesn't matter which), learning how to make coconut oil on my last night... the list could go on....

Cheers to another great summer in the DR and all those who made it an unforgettable experience (again). A big salute to the VISIONS participants who taught me so much, to Alberto who pushed my abilities and continues to teach me daily, to my coworkers for making up a quirky team, and to the Dominican's for letting another mass of gringos into their lives. It made a difference to this one...

I once was Bay-Bound

Looking back it has been quite a while since my last blog. I could say it is because things have been so busy- definitely true, I could say because things are in a boring norm- that just makes me laugh to think about what normal and boring may be, but I think the reason my love for what I have been doing and my constant aspiration for more.
Let’s flashback….

I came back to the states with a drained bank account and quickly made my way up the East Coast from a deluxe southern style thanksgiving in North Carolina, to my car and friends in Maryland, before taking off for a winter in Montana. Some things sure were in the cards for me- a well paying job cleaning houses for the top 1% at a private ski resort in Big Sky landed on my lap. Despite my moral conflicts with the amount of waste and over consumerism- it was quite a blessing. Not only that, but I was able to have a winter in my happy place; full of family visits, microbrews, delicious “family” dinners, cross country skiing adventures, cabin outings, dips in the boiling river and a whole lot of snowy wonderland.

Yet, with a mundane job I was more than anxious to head back to Echo Hill as Spring Break approached. My family and I visited my grandparents in Vegas and explored some of the areas natural beauty (Hoover Dam, the red rocks, and Lake Meade) while being quickly deterred by the crowds and party that attract many people to that area. It was quite entertaining to see how much we were alike in our instant claustrophobia in the madness of the downtown area.

Needless to say, touching ground on the Eastern Shore was just what the doctor ordered. I had my good friend AB visiting for the week and EHOS launched into yet another Spring season. Since that week everything has gone by in a flash. It is easy to say that this season has been the most stretching of any season at EHOS. From bugs taking over our dorms…to being understaffed…and hosting overly rebellious, kids… we have had quite the ride. I can’t even begin to touch on the dedication and determination that our core staff has showed to pull off quite a season. To put it simply: All of us now have the tools and experience to answer any interview question or curveball thrown at us.  Believe me I know this from experience. I have really enjoyed it despite the craziness. I got to (as they say) wear a lot of new hats, expand my ability to problems solve, and really hone in on my teaching style. Mostly, I enjoyed and fed off the energy of the kids.  What we do is quite magical-that is evident on the smiles, enthusiasm, and mud on the kids as the come and go.

Beyond the job I have been able to explore the Maryland area more and more. Some of us have done our best to get out and about while also enjoying some local shenanigans. Highlights:

-A double birthday bash with transportation provided by the school minibus.
-Including Kale in nearly everything prepared.
-A day in Baltimore exploring the pier and finding a random pirate festival.
-Training our directors’ dog in bird hunting a.k.a. drinking beer in the field.
-Fish fries and potlucks.
-Kayaking men literally washing ashore our beach.

-Surprise storms causing flying tents on Assateague- the Atlantic island with wild ponies.
-30 miles biking broken up by a ten-mile race and giving historical tours or Chestertown and it’s tea party festivities, ending with a dip in the bay...our own triathlon of sorts.
-A bucket of tatter tots and meeting up with people from my summer with MyFight and my first closest friends from my first seasons at EHOS in the DC area.
-A ridiculously cheap fruit market in the middle of PA.
-Girls weekend to Philly with a localhome-base,  international food tastings, recycled mosaic art museums, home cooked meals, and friends from all stages of our lives.
-First Canoe trip of the Summer season on the Chester River with a member of my original EHOS crew...Complete with violent overnight thunder storms that made for an amazing and intimidating light show in my tent (sound effects and all), mulberry trees, early morning swims, and sunset canoes.

With all the madness and adventures, I have also come to realize that despite my love for the Bay area and the lush forests and swamps, the mid-Atlantic isn’t a place for my to be stagnant. After a number of applications and interviews I have decided to head up to New England for another seasonal position this fall. Something about the colors of the leaves, the Appalachian route, and maple syrup is calling me. I am not sure which state I will be exactly- but I will still be hanging out with kids outside, getting muddy and learning lots!
Regardless, I owe a big salute to the bay and all that it has ignited within me:

I'm bay-bound, where the rivers meet the sea

Bay-bound, mixing the salt and sweet

Bay-bound, I was only gonna dip my feet
But then I landed in the Chesapeake

By: Merit Shalom (EHOS staff) listen to the link!!

https://myspace.com/merityasmin/music/song/bay-bound-95763352-106703942?play=1





As for now,  I am rejuvenated and ready to head back to the Dominican…. I can already hear them calling: COCONAAAAAAA!