Making the world a better place

May 16, 2010:  This is a map of students at the Clinton School of Public Service and their international internship assignments. If you look at the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea, you'll see a picture of my little sister Valerie. She'll spend ten weeks in Roseau, the capital city, working with a public service agency to improve gender equality and opportunities for oppressed women.

I am SO PROUD of Valerie! She is about to embark on a huge adventure! But that's what we've come to expect from her. While in college, she spent a semester studying in Italy. After graduating, she campaigned with our Governor, then moved to Washington D.C. and worked for Congress. Now she's going to a grad school known around the world for training the next generation of public servants and is about to spend two months doing her internship on a Caribbean Island!

But I'm not just proud of Valerie for dreaming big, I'm proud of her for dreaming bigger than herself. Her goal is to help people in desperate need, even though reaching that goal involves spending the summer far from home in a strange place.

Curious about the island where my sister will be living, I researched Dominica. WOW! It is really a place of beauty and geographical wonders. It's called " Nature Isle of the Caribbean" with lush rain forests, waterfalls, volcanoes and many species of rare birds, plants and animals.  

It is also home of the world's 2nd largest "boiling lake."

photo courtesy of http://www.avirtualdominica.com/hotwater.cfm

Now, as a mom who is always scoping out potential hazards, I think this one pretty much takes the cake! I can just imagine a mother calling out to her child, "Honey, now don't get too close to the BOILING LAKE!"  Thankfully, it's off in the middle of nowhere, about a three hour muddy, treacherous hike from the nearest town and has no roads leading to it. I guess there's little chance of someone's toddler wandering off into it!

When Valerie is not hard at work, hopefully she'll gets a chance to go whale watching, swim with sea turtles or soak in one of the island's "hot spots."  Here, in this natural hot tub, hot water bubbles up from the sand into the cool sea. Ahhhhh.

photo courtesy of http://www.avirtualdominica.com/hotwater.cfm

Or be entertained by the music and dance of the locals. . .

photo courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominica

And go snorkeling in the bubbly waters off Champagne Beach . . .

photo courtesy of: http://www.dominica-weekly.com/reviews/champagne-beautiful-underwater-tiny-crystal-bubbles/

Actually, the more I learn about Dominica, I'm beginning to think she will definitely need a chaperone! : )  Seriously, Valerie, I really am proud of you. Enjoy this great journey into the unknown.Work hard and play hard! We'll be praying for safe travels and that you accomplish your goals.