{"id":138,"date":"2023-03-10T18:08:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T23:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/?p=138"},"modified":"2023-03-10T18:08:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T23:08:14","slug":"conexiones-y-familiaridad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/2023\/03\/10\/conexiones-y-familiaridad\/","title":{"rendered":"Conexiones y Familiaridad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I am more than half way through my internship. I have officially been here long enough that it feels like home. I no longer wake up and wonder to myself why it’s so warm outside! (Not excited to get back to the cold). After reflecting on my time here so far, I realized how much I have changed in just eight weeks. People will tell you that getting your MSW is the hardest thing they have ever done and while I don’t disagree, this experience is coming for that top spot. However, the most difficult times bring the best rewards, and I am most certainly feeling that now. Throughout this experience, I have become more confident in my abilities and learned to be more kind to myself. Taking a leap like this has reminded me that in order to grow, we must overcome the fear of unfamiliarity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The meeting with Fe y Alegria and Therapy Adventures<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This experience has forced me to face my fears and insecurities head on, and each time I am stronger. For example, a member of the non-profit organization Therapy Adventures visited the Dominican Republic to see about expanding their organization. The non-profit organization brings therapy and other services to communities and schools in Belize, Panama, Jamaica, Ecuador, Guatemala and hopefully the Dominican Republic. I was asked to accompany Rigil, Luz, Cesar and Arnold, the vice president, operations at AHI Travel, to a different Fe y Alegria school in the community that would benefit from Therapy Adventures and Community Service Alliance’s services. We sat down with the psychology department and gave a “pitch” about the services that could be provided. The school was very interested, and the meeting went great. I was really nervous to go, and I didn’t have much confidence in my language ability. However, I was a productive member of the conversation and the knowledge and training that UB School of Social Work has given me put me in a great position. After the meeting I felt more confident with my language skills, more confident in my ideas and training as a social worker. On top of that, I now have connections to another organization that is passionate about the well-being of children and their families and has connections all around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These past couple weeks have been about connection and familiarity (The title of this blog). I have created so many new connections here professionally and personally. There is a gym in Los Alcarrizos that’s a 7 minute walk from my house, that I go to about 4 times a week. The family that owns the gym have been very welcoming, they even invited me to go on a beach day trip! We went to Playa Ban\u00ed, a beach just about an hour West from Los Alcarrizos. It was beautiful and on the way there we took so many pictures, I really felt like I was a part of the family. The teachers in the school have also welcomed me with open arms and I am forming more personal relationships with each of them, day by day. This week we celebrated D\u00eda Internacional de la Mujers (International women’s day), I am so proud to be a woman and to be surrounded by all of the hardworking, kind and patient women at Santo Ni\u00f1o Jes\u00fas Fe y Alegria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Playa Ban\u00ed <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The amazing women that work at the school<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I also wanted to give a little snapshot of what my typical week looks like. Monday-Friday is similar, I wake up around 6:30am and am ready with coffee in my system by 7:00am to head to the school with Luz and my housemate Paloma. Once at the school the students arrive at 7:45 and we sing the national anthem and the school pledge. I love the music that goes with the school pledge, I wish everyone could hear how amazing it sounds with the students singing over it! Then depending on the day, I will assist the school psychologist, work on my Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum or assist the teachers in the classroom. Wednesdays and Fridays I work with two girls for one hour to teach them English. My internship hours vary week to week, but I work about 30-40 hours a week. Once I am finished with work, I will ride with the other teachers home in a gawgaw, it’s similar to a taxi but it is a small van. Or I will go back home with Luz and Paloma. Once a week I cook dinner for everyone in the house, which usually takes up my free time before I head to bed. Other days I relax on the roof, go to the gym, catch up on my favorite shows, read or hang out with my housemates. The weekends are completely different each week, I tend to stay within the community, relaxing, going for walks but I have also traveled numerous times on the weekends. You can really make this place fit your lifestyle, to make it feel like home, to make it feel familiar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of my English students (With permission from the school)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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View from the roof of the house<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I am more than half way through my internship. I have officially been here long enough that it feels like home. I no longer wake up and wonder to myself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":528,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/528"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/ejayahar2022abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}