A typical day in the life of Molly.....

Hola! So I have decided to start a blog. Well actually I started one before I left for Peace Corps but I never kept up with it, and I forgot my password and everything, so I have started a new one for a fresh start. I have been here in the DR about 7 months now, but the first 2 months were training so I am only 5 months into the 2 years of service meaning I have 19 more months of service....si Dios quiere. Anyways, I thought I would fill everyone in on what a normal day is like for me living in the girls' home, so this is what my average day looks like:

6:30-6:45 am: get up and go work out with Angie and Mercy, two American missionairy women who are here with their families. We do a different workout every day from jumping rope, sprint intervals to exercise videos.

7:45am- The girls pray and then go to school. Almost all the girls go to school in the morning from 8-12:30. We send them to a school about 20 minutes away because the quality of the education is so much better there. However, we do not have a bus to send them in so we have to pack 19 girls into a tiny van.

Photo: the clown car goes to school

8:00 am- Return from working out to find my coffee waiting for me, thank you Katy :) Fill buckets and trashcans with water so we have water later on. Take a bucket bath and wash clothes in a bucket by hand.

Photo: hand-washing my clothes in a bucket


9:00-12:00pm: The majority of the girls are in school from 8-12:30.Depends from day-to-day, usually I work in the office on PR stuff, calling people to become sponsors for the home, responding to emails, etc. I also often visit the girls' school, go to parent-teacher conferences, help Maria Elena go shopping for food/supplies and I tutor Carolina, 9 years old, and Reini, 4 years old, who go to school in the afternoon.

12:45pm: The girls return from school. They change out of their school uniforms and eat lunch. I eat lunch lunch too and then take a nap/relax for an hour in my room.

Photo: la Comida

2:00-3:15 pm: I get ready for "Sala de Tarea". Sala de Tarea is a kind of tutoring/home-schooling program. The girls only get about 3 to 4 hours of school a day, which is obviously not enough (not to mention that although the school we send the girls to is better than most, it is still lacking in many ways). We use Sala de Tarea as a time to do their homework (usually only the older ones have homework) and to supplement their education, especially in reading and writing. I teach the younger girls first, the 5-9 year-olds. We are working on basic things, such as the alphabet, writing, and addition/subtraction. Some of the girls are really behind. (Photo: teaching the Sala de Tarea)

3:30-4:30 pm: I get the younger girls ready to go and we head over to La Solanita to play in their yard. The home we are currently in has no yard or space to play. I try to get the girls to run aroud as much as possible and play games; it helps them to sleep better at night if they get some physical activity.
Photos: La Solanita, where we take the girls to play, and where we hope to move to later this year!
5:00-6:00 pm- We return to the home. The girls have some free time and I take a little break.

Photo: me in my room

6:00-7:00pm- The girls eat dinner

Photo: the girls playing in the sala6:30-7:30pm- The girls get some tv time.

Photo: Ana Deisi and Carolina



7:30-8:00pm: I read to the little girls.
Photo: the girls' bunkbeds

8:00-9:00: I hang out with the older girls and help with homework.
Photo: Jessican chats on the phone
9:00pm: I retire to my room, write emails, chat, read and I am usually pretty exhausted! Photo: Me in the pantry!