Parallels between DC and Honduras...

So you may read the title of this blog and wonder how DC could remind me of Honduras, which is what I will share with you. It is kinda crazy and I really want to go back to Honduras. Over the summer I just have noticed little things here in DC that make me miss Honduras. First of all, all house/buildings in Honduras have bars covering the windows, the same is true for the neighborhood I live in. Next, there are crazy drivers here, impatient as well, likewise in Honduras ha. The shopping center where the grocery store and home depot are, there are many Hispanics hanging out in groups just waiting for work. (I avoid this area by myself) Also, at the bank they have security officers standing outside, at least they don't have huge guns like they do in Honduras. Last, we had a summer camp here this summer and it reminded me of those kids in Honduras. Realizing that most of the kids don't come from the best backgrounds, 95 percent are supported through scholarships for the camp and that they need as much love as those kids in Honduras do. The thing I love here at Dance Place is the community and family feel. I have found the staff very supportive and willing to help people out in any circumstance. They really do their best to provide quality and affordable programs to the DC community. I just wish that the Lord had a place here. It is hard to explain how there is so much love given here but realizing that the Lord is not being glorified. These kids are learning great life skills, discipline, respect, receiving care and love but ultimately, eternally they are not learning what true love from the Lord can be. I have found that hard to deal with this summer working here and knowing the Spirit of the Lord isn't here. Thankfully, I have found a wonderful church here that has taught me so much and gave me refreshment and renewing every Sunday. I really will miss it. Luckily, they always put the videos of their sermons online :) You can check it out www.theaterchurch.com Also, the lead pastor has written a few books, once of which I got for free and I highly recommend. It is one of my favorite books I have ever read. It is called In a Pit with a Lion On a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.

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Approaching my last week..

So my time here in D.C. is coming to a close, which I am excited to get back south and see my family and friends. I haven't been as homesick these past couple weeks so that has been good and I have been enjoying myself. I really have met and worked with some great people here this summer and I have enjoyed getting to know the other interns and hanging out with them as well. This past week has really flown by, I haven't been able to keep track of my days. Last weekend I helped working with tech last minute for a company that performed this weekend here in which I really enjoyed their show. So I was busy this weekend doing that, I worked Monday in the office all day. Tuesday I went to the National Gallery of Art which was huge and I got some artwork as well! (just a print) I got a ballet scene from Edgar Degas, it was on sale too! So I only spent about 3 bucks :) Wednesday I was able to go to the Holocaust Museum which I thought was done very well. It was very real and it is hard to believe something like that could have happened. I think the three things that made it so real to me were being able to walk into an actual wagon they shoved the victims into, it wasn't too big and it said they put 100 people in it, I can't imagine. Also, there was a room of all their shoes, it didn't smell that great either..Towards the end they had a video playing of survivors of the Holocaust talking about what they saw, how they were separated from their families, how they were treated, rescue stories, etc. It was very touching and moving. Thursday I worked in the office again all day and then went to see the end of summer camp show which was good. I loved seeing the kids having fun and dancing. This weekend I am going to my first Nationals baseball game so I am excited for that. I am going to tour the Pentagon this coming week and I plan to visit the zoo and National Cathedral as well. So that's what is new here..only 8 days until Nashville :)

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A busy fun filled week!

So this past week has been full of activities and happenings so it has gone by really fast! I will start with last friday, I went on a tour to the White House and then I was able to go to the Capitol and sit in on the House of Representatives discussing a bill and in the Senate Gallery, not much was going on in there. I was there for maybe 5 minutes until they announced the court was adjourned until Monday ha. On Saturday, I had to studio manage in the morning and in the afternoon I head over to the National Mall for National Dance Day! Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton presented it to Nigel Lythgoe (judge and executive producer on so you think you can dance) and they had various dance performances throughout the day. There was also a flashmob for the dance Nappytabs created for dance day and fox was there filming it! So I got some pics of Nigel and with season 6 winner of So you think you can dance, Russell. I will try to put those up on facebook soon. On Sunday, I went to church which was great as usual. That night I went to a performance at Dance Place, it was a new and upcoming choreographer show featuring different works. Monday I had to work in the office. Tuesday I finally took class for the 1st time since my back injury, I was careful and didn't do any jumps and it went pretty well :) I hate that I still feel a little restricted because I am afraid to go all out and risk injuring it again. Then we had our intern meeting and that afternoon I went down to look at the Museum of Natural History again. I had only seen the 1st floor before, the 2nd floor is really big, there is so much in there! But I really enjoy it! It is definitely one of my favorite museums here. Wednesday I went to the grocery store and then to the National Archives to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence! It was cool to see the originals, although the Declaration of Ind. is really rough looking, you can't really see what was wrote and who signed it. On Wednesday night, one of roomies, Maddie and I had preview tickets for Step Up 3d which we got for free through work :) It was a predictable movie but the dancing was really good (lots of it too compared to the other 2) and it was a fun movie to see. Thursday I worked in the office all day and helped focus some lights. Today (Friday) I went with the summer camp to Six Flags! I'm pretty sure I rode every roller coaster they have, which I love but somehow I don't think I do as much anymore because my body is actually feelings the effects ha. They gave me a headache from banging my head around, the wooden ones were fun but they were really rough to ride ha! So all in all, a great week. I only have 2 weeks left here! I have more stuff on my list to do before I leave so I will report those when I start my adventures again.

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back problems, tornados, heat, no power.

So these past couple weeks have been really crazy. So to recap, I had went to the doctor for my back, got muscle relaxers and pain medicine, does me no good. I find a chiropractor to go to, got xrays, they showed that my hips were unleveled, my sacrum and spine are out of alignment, leaning more to the left than center. also my right leg is longer than my left. All these are previous problems I have had this year, I just haven't been to get an adjustment in almost 3 months I would say. Also, the facets (muscles and nerves surrounding veterbrae) are inflammed. So I get one adjustment, but they tell me I need to come 3 times a week, which it is much more expensive here, like everything else, really not feasible. So my directors here at work recommended me to a physical therapist that works with dancers. They offered to help me cover the costs because it is very expensive. So I finally went to the physical therapist yesterday, I was there for 2 hours. It was very relaxing and she was able to release some of the tension and pain I was having. So far, my body has felt much better and I finally feel more relaxed and comfortable. Today I finally got to move, I went to a 3 mile run/walk on a bike trail that follows the metro, I am only like 2 miles from the Capitol, which I could see on the trail. so that is the short version, it has been a very frustrating and overwhelming process.

Now, this weekend I had a show to dance in. The concept was situations and things you would see at a club/concert so the audience stood around us, like an actual club. It was really fun, unfortunately, our show on Sunday got canceled because of the storm that came through. or tornado really..I was at my house and I walk outside and see the sky is dark and cloudy, so it will rain..no big deal. I walk across the street to Dance Place and about 5 min. later there is tons of rain, wind, and things flying everywhere. It didn't last very long at all, but afterwards, there were tons of trees down, powerline down, trash cans flew everywhere, fences down, and so sunday night we had no power and it was really hot...over 200,000 people lost power so we had heard we may not get power back until the end of the week but luckily the next day we got it back, our food was saved, and we had ac again! Last night I went to eat at Chipotle with some of my roommates and staff, got a massive burrito which was so good then we got frozenyo! (frozen yogurt but like soft serve ice cream, tastes the same really, just fat free) which is really amazing, I love that you can pick as many flavors as you want and put what toppings you want. your cost just depends on how much it weighs, and the hot fudge is free. I highly recommend it. so that is the latest update, I only have 3 and half weeks left which is exciting, I am also touring the White House Friday ;)

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Address

So I have been asked by a couple people for my address here so I shall give it you! If you feel led to write or send something. It is 3220 8th St. NE Washington, DC 20017 (this address is for letters only) If you want to send a package, the address is 3225 8th st NE Washington, DC 20017.

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Halfway point.

So I feel like a lot has happened since I last wrote. I will start with 4th of July weekend. My mom and grandma got to come visit and see me which was a lot of fun. We spent as much time as we could in 3 days to see all the sights in DC. It was really tiring and exhausting, but we did a lot. I experienced my first Independence day parade and DC fireworks, which actually we thought we kinda disappointing and thought Nashville is actually better. I am still working on getting all those pics up on facebook. Since then I have been just doing my intern hours mainly and hanging around at home. This week has been the hardest week to say the least. I have reached the point where I hate being in the city, I am desperate for a change of scenery, ready to see some land and animals and not just buildings! I haven't had sweet tea since I've been here, the one time I did have "sweet tea" I could barely drink it was so bad. All the mexican places here are tex mex, which is okay but I miss the mexican back home. Gotta have my queso dip! I really miss being home in the south. Things were getting better on Monday when 2 of my roommates and I went to take a hip-hop class at a dance studio across town. It was really fun and we just had a good time. I discovered some classes I would like to take and even some free ones this upcoming week that would be free. However, yesterday I unfortunately I hurt my lower back really bad in dance class. It is frustrating, I was warm and we had been dancing for an hour and 15 min. We were doing improv and I went to bend over, then I felt a sudden charge of sharp pain everywhere in my lower back. It was a displacing feeling, I had never felt so much pain to the point I was crying it hurt so bad. I laid on the floor the rest of class, managed to get back across to my house after class, took advil and called my chiropractor from home. I basically strained my back really bad, I have been resting and icing it and feeling miserable. I hate being stuck inside laying around and it has made doing things very difficult. I can't really bend at all so it is frustrating. I am hoping it heals quickly, I am supposed to be dancing in a show next weekend even though my chiropractor told me not to dance for awhile..it is a frustrating time but all I can do at this point is seek the Lord.

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2 and 1/2 weeks down

So not a whole has been going on since I wrote last, pretty much just been working in the office Mondays and Thursday and on Saturdays I studio manage. This past weekend I went to the Freer Gallery which has some artwork and stuff on Buddhism, Egypt, Japan, and culture stuff like that. Then I went to the Air and Space museum which was totally awesome. It had so much information in it that it was a little much to take in. It is 2 stories and it took about 2 and 1/2 hours to go through, probably could have stayed longer but my brain had all it could handle. It was really hot outside and of course lots of walking so I was really tired once I got back to my house. I ushered for a performance that night as well. Word dance theater was in town and did work based off Isadora Duncan's life which was pretty good and interesting. Sundays are quickly becoming my favorite days, they are so refreshing and God continually reminds me of the reasons I am here and that He is faithful. I went to church, this time I didn't have to walk 7 blocks out of the way! The sermon was exactly what I needed to hear and it was really encouraging. After service, they had a connection cafe for newcomers and provided us with pizza, fruit, salad, and cookies which were very good! I also met some people in the church as well as some of the staff. The best way to get to know people is through small groups and ironically enough, there is small group for dance and they will be doing some outreach to kids at a dance studio on National Dance Day so hopefully I will be able to do that. I also took a visit to the postal museum that day which was nice.
Last night, I went with some of the staff and interns to Georgetown cupcake, I had a salted caramel cupcake, man it was good :) TLC is actually about to premiere a show about them, called DC Cupcakes. I am excited for this weekend, mom and grandma will be arriving tomorrow night and we have plans to see a bunch of sights of course! I actually got us in for a tour at the Capitol so excited about that. I can't wait to see the fireworks either :) Good times ahead!

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A fun and slightly tiring weekend

Well a lot has been going on since I last wrote. I've been staying busy and enjoying life in this city. I'll start with Thursday night since that is where I left off. My director offered the interns a chance to go to a dance concert, Dance: Yes we can!, at the Landsburgh theatre which is a part of the Shakespeare theatre company. One of my room mates, Maddie and I decided to go. The show was really good and featured dance companies and ensembles from the D.C. area. It was a mix of comtemporary, modern, hip-hop, step, ballet, and other cultural dances such as african. I really enjoyed the performance and I also got to experience some of Chinatown. Before the show, Maddie and I got sushi and some ice cream to eat which was really good.

On Friday I got to sleep in and make some money! One of our staff here at Dance Place, has his own dance theatre company with his wife and needed someone to pick some people up from the metro to take them to the theatre because they had a show this weekend. So I made some money and saw the show for free! So I was most definitely happy about that.
I had to get up early Saturday to start my first day of studio managing. I came to discover there are a ton of things you have to do before the studio opens for the day. Lots of cleaning and setting things up before people arrive for dance classes in the morning/afternoon. Once things are all open and set up then people will come in for class and I learned how to sign them in for class and such. It was a lot to take in at first but I certainly like it a lot better than doing office hours. So I went in at 8:30 and got off around 12:30, had lunch, and walked down the street to the organic market close by and picked up a few things. I then got ready for the night. One of my other roommates, Courtney and I had planned to go see the crime and punishment museum and see some of the monuments at night with her sister who lives close by. The museum had a lot of interesting facts about criminals, crimes, serial killers, etc. It had some interactive parts to it as well, I think my favorite was probably scanning my fingerprints and then it printed them out on a card and told you why you were being "arrested". It told me I committed battery. haha anyways, after that we grabbed a bite to eat at Chipotle then headed down a few blocks to see the monuments. We saw the Washington monument, WWII memorial, and Lincoln Memorial. My feet were hurting pretty bad from all the walking! Then, after that Courtney and I decided to go meet up with 2 of the other interns in Adams Morgan which is the place to be. It is definitely the more party scene but we didn't stay long, hung out until they finished their dinner and listened to some karaoke then headed home because we were all really tired.

Finally Sunday! I decided to go to National Community Church that I discovered through googling. It has 5 locations and the one closest to me was union station, which is 2 metro stops away from me. So I got off at union station, had my map and directions in hand, when I looked it up online it looked really easy to find. Well, I had arrived at union station a little after 11:30 to make the 12pm service. I started walking and I got really confused as where to go, the walking directions didn't make sense to me and the map I had wasn't specific on the little side streets I was finding. I finally found some streets on the map I came to, finally realized that I had walked 7 blocks past the church :( of course it was quite hot today so I was sweating and my feet were hurting again. I finally found the right road and then the church which actually meets at a coffee shop. Luckily, I was only 10 min. late. The first floor is the coffee shop and then you walk downstairs to where service is. It isn't too big of a space which is probably one of the reasons why they have 4 services here. I really enjoyed the music and message. It was really contemporary and Christine Caine from Hillsong (church in Australia and a bunch of places in the world/popular worship band) spoke which was really good. Most of the sermons are from video since the church has 5 locations in D.C. I had filled out a connection card and when I got home I saw where they had already emailed me! So I thought that was pretty cool to have a response that fast. After church, I found out that the church is literally right next to union station...at least now I know! I also discovered a 3 story mall full of shops and food at union station! They have a tons of stores like Ann Taylor, Express, Barnes and Noble, starbucks, victoria's secret, chicos, white house black market, and a bunch more others. So I decided to look around for a bit and I need a part time job to make money for food and extra things to do so I thought this would be a good place. I was talking to a lady who worked in White House Black Market about why I was in D.C. who I later discovered was the manager. She was really nice and it came to find out she had taken some classes at Dance Place before a couple years ago. Soo before I left I wanted to see if they were hiring and so I got an application and I have an interview on Friday so hopefully that will work out! Well that is the most recent things going on, kinda long so I am proud if you have made it to the end of this entry haha.

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New things and frustrations

So the past two days I have actually started learning more about my job here. Yesterday I was able to take 3 dance classes, modern, jamican folk dance, and repertory/performance class. Needless to say, today my back is killin me and my legs and neck are sore as well. Oh the joys of not dancing in a month..I have to say, the jamican class was a workout! I haven't sweated like that in a dance class in awhile..it was pretty intense but fun all the same. For the repertory/performance class we are setting a piece based on the concept of a nightclub, it is really fun so far. I will get to perform in this towards the end of July which is exciting. Today was my first day to work in the office, I am quickly discovering that sitting all day staring at a computer screen and answering the phone is not where I would like to be. It got really boring entering stuff into the database but hopefully I will be able to do other random things that are more entertaining. tonight I am going to see a dance concert downtown at the shakespeare theatre so I am looking forward to that! tomorrow I have a free day and maybe I can figure out why my computer hasn't been working with our wireless in the house. this is my frustration haha and my computer is just doing psycho things oh well, ciao!

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I have arrived in D.C.!

So I finally arrived here in D.C. yesterday afternoon! When I got here I first went to the place I am interning at, Dance Place. I got to see the space and met some of the staff. Then, I went to the house I am living this summer which I luckily found out that I was not living in the house at Maryland which I was originally assigned to. I got to move to the house right across the street from Dance Place so that was very exciting since I do not have a car here. The house is like a townhouse, it has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I live downstairs while my other 3 roommates live upstairs. Some of the other interns were going downtown to the pride festival and invited me to come so I decided to tag along because I wanted to see some of the city and get used to getting around. Saw some interesting things at the festival but also saw where some museums were and places around town that I would like to visit. Then we went and got some italian ice at a place called Rita's then I ordered some chinese take out for dinner at a place down the street. So at the end of the day, I was exhausted from traveling and going around town. Today I slept in and then went to our staff meeting at noon to meet all the staff and try to learn what is happening around here. After that, I was able to take one of the staff's car to the grocery store to get some food, I had a map and it wasn't too far away so it was pretty easy to find. Tonight I went and took a modern class from our director which was fun, I haven't taken a modern class in forever so it was nice. I will probably be sore tomorrow because I haven't danced in a month soo we will see! tomorrow I have an intern meeting and I will probably take another dance class which will probably be another modern and salsa class! So that is all I have for now! ciao

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Summer 2010

As some of you may know, I will be in Washington D.C. this summer interning at a place called Dance Place. I will work 20 hours a week doing business/administrative/studio management then the rest of the time I will be dancing there. I am excited about what life in the city will bring but also a little nervous as well. I won't know anyone and I certainly don't know where anything is so it will be an adventure! I will be leaving June 13th and returning August 21st. It is a long time to be gone but I figure it will be over before I know it since I expect to be pretty busy. I am also excited to explore D.C. and visit since I have never been there or that far up north! I have no idea what challenges or obstacles will be put before me but I know this is where I am supposed to go this summer. I will be giving updates when I can!

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Honduras!!

The whole group!


Hello All! I writing this to tell you a little about my trip to Honduras that I just got back from. I went with a group of 16 from WKU's BCM. We left January 6th and returned the 13th. I want to thank you all for your support, encouragement, and prayers. This is the best trip I've ever been on and now I have a different perspective on how I see things. To be honest, I did not want to leave, we do not realize just how blessed we are here in the U.S. Life in Honduras is very simple compared to life in America and the people seem so happy and loving towards each other. It was quite refreshing to get away from so much technology and worry about what time of the day it is and what needs to be done. Our group went to serve and love on the kids at an orphanage in Comayagua, Honduras.

A couple of different things to know about Honduras is that their driving is crazy! They are very impatient when it comes to driving and do not like to wait. A crazy law is that if you are turning left, you must get over on the side of the road to wait for any cars behind you to pass before you can turn! Also, you will see bulls, horses, donkeys, etc. on the side of the road grazing at grass or they may be just walking and hanging in the middle of the road. You cannot flush toilet paper and you have to drink water from bags because their water isn't clean enough to drink. I also have never seen so many guns in my life. There was always a man outside of a business, gas station, restaurant, etc. standing with a huge gun. Another culture difference to note is that you always see people outside, talking, kids playing everywhere in the streets, walking, it really had a community feel. Here in the U.S. you don't really see that many people out all the time and we usually keep to ourselves.

Our group stayed at the transition house which is where the kids can choose to live when they are old enough but they must be in school full-time or work and go to school part-time. The girls live at the Hogar de Ninos Nazareth while the boys live at the Farm. The three places are all separate from each other so we got in a bus everyday to commute between the 3. A typical day for me was to go to the Hogar at 8am, help teach English to the younger children then we would teach the younger girls (ages 7-12) a dance called Alegria which means Joy. Then I would go to the Farm for lunch and then back to the Hogar in the afternoon to teach the older girls (ages 13-18) their dance (shackles) and also just play with them on the playground. Then we would go back to the transition house and get ready for dinner, a couple of nights we went out to get Honduran food (which is really good) or made our own. After dinner, our activities varied every night. We played the boys in futbol (soccer) one night, which we got creamed at :( but we had fun playing with them. Then we got to play the girls another night, unfortunately we still lost but at least we scored this time! At the end of each day, we had a group devotion and reflected on our challenges and experiences that day.

During the first couple days we were there I had this verse in my head "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" Matthew 25:40. This was actually one of our devo verses I came to later find out. It made me think about how often we take so many things for granted and do not think about the least of these. I know most people often think you need to go somewhere to serve the least of these but I do not think people realize that a need is probably right in your own neighborhood at home, school, or work. It made me realize that I probably act much differently when I am serving on a trip to strangers versus my everyday life. To these people in Honduras, I am considered very rich while according to America's standards I am not. A good job for people in Honduras is working at a restaurant being a server or working at Wendy's. Most people do not even own cars and either walk, bike, or ride a horse for transportation.

On our last day, we got to visit a daycare right outside of Comayagua in a very poor part of town which is actually called Canada. My expectation was that these kids were better off because they had families, right? wrong! On the way there we passed many little shacks and tents people were living in. Hector, who started this daycare told us the story about how the daycare came to be and why he wanted to start one in this area. It was a really cool story and basically he said he saw a need and God kept providing. He called a couple of the kids over and told us their story which made it more powerful when you put a story with a face. Most of the kids at this daycare lived with their Grandma because one of their parents were dead and the other was in jail. The surrounding neighborhood did not have clean water and the only meal these kids usually ate was the one meal they received at the daycare. Hector told us they were able to put in a well to provide clean water for them although they are hoping to put in another to reach a nearby community that does not have clean water. A well costs 6,000 to put in to provide water for these people.

Some of the heartbreaking things to experience were the that they were tons of dogs running around, most of which looked like they were starving and holding on for life. However, throughout the week I came close to 3 girls at the Hogar. Their names are Mirna, Carolina, and Danya. These girls just constantly wanted to be around me, holding my hand, hugging me, taking pictures with me, and wearing my backpack. The kids at the orphanage just love it when you just love on them because they do not have parents to provide that for them. It's really sad to think that they do not have anyone to tuck them in at night, hold them, or sing them to sleep. The night we had to say goodbye, it was very hard because you get so attached in a small amount of time. I received a letter from Carolina and Mirna and a bracelet. In the letters some of the things they wrote me were things about themselves, they thanked me for visiting Honduras, hoped I was doing well with my family, told me that loved me very much, to please write them and send them pictures, and that they wanted me to be their very best friend. I have not gone a day without thinking of these precious girls and I hope to return and see them again in the near future.

Danya
Mirna and I

Carolina and I.

My challenge to you is to really think about what is important in your life? what are your priorities? I have felt such a discomfort about life here in the U.S. since being back because I feel so selfish because I do have so much and I cannot stop thinking about those kids in Honduras. While in Honduras, we saw the tragedy happen in Haiti on the tv and I could not even watch it. Now that I have actually seen people just trying to live simple with food, water, and shelter, it makes my heart break and makes it much more real to me. I have felt very frustrated since being back home because people here make silly things that aren't that big of a deal so important. The people in Honduras do not complain, they are very joyful and full of life. They do not need "stuff" to make them happy. So next time when you are thinking how bad you think your life is, I want you to ask yourself if it really is? I can guarantee you it's not and that it could be much worse.

I am attaching a video to help you see the kids and some of the things we did throughout the week.

I don't think the video is working on here anymore so here is a link to youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWqd9aUb4t8

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