I feel the same way Neil does. For the first time, waking up in my own bed seemed strange to me and I did not like it. This week has been so intense, we were busy every second and it flew by at the speed of light. But I enjoyed every minute of it and tried to hold on to it as long as possible. Overall my week was a more moving, sentimental, humbling, life changing, and joyful (except for when I got sick for a morning) than anything I have ever experienced in my whole life. A combination of bonding with school mates who I have become family with, experiencing poverty (a reality well hidden by the shelter of the East Side), being able to use my Spanish for the first time in an authentic environment, and pouring my heart into helping those in dire need to care made this week an unforgettable one. In La Romana and at the hospital we experienced a compassion from everyone and patience from our sometimes sub-par Spanish speaking. The thing I will miss the most are the smiles. Knowing I have made a serious impact on someone’s life in a positive way is such a nice feeling. It is not everyday that you can literally give someone the gift of sight. I was also so happy with how smoothly everything ran, even on “Dominican Time”. We got to do all the awesome things that were planned. This week was the ultimate combination of vacation and service work. “Perfect” is the only way I can describe it. I would do anything to go back for one more day. This Sunday has been really hard for me to adjust back to my normal life after such an awe inspiring trip. I don’t know how I am going to make it through the year when all I can think about is getting back to the Dominican Republic (and maybe even being legally there this time).
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