Back to the Beach!

Wednesday night all of the teachers gathered for a progressive dinner with some of the apartments that are nearby. It was a blast! It was a nice break in the week and a good time of fellowship.

School is still going great! My students have been too full of energy lately that they lost their "Friday Fun" this week. I still love 'em like crazy!

It will be good to have a weekend to rest, relax and regain my sanity. After a long week of rain, I took a much needed trip to the beach with some people I have met here. It was a lot of fun. We left in the morning (it's about an hour drive) and spent the day on the hot, beautiful beach of Sosua. The water was a sparkling clear shade of blue. I went snorkling and fed the fish some bananas. We ate lunch at a little resturant on the beach and went to some shops nearby.

Around 5 pm we were worn out from the sun and we made our drive back. I don't know if "drive" is a fitting name. It's more like a rollercoaster ride. The roads are torn up and full of pot holes, it's one bumpy ride.

Tomorrow I am going to try out a new church with another teacher from school. It's a church that a few of our students attend. I'm not quite sure what to expect, but I know it will be great.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Rain..Rain..Rain

We are expierencing an overabundance of rain here in the DR. It's funny to watch the way Dominican's react to rain. They are scared of it and it makes me laugh. For generations they have believed and been taught that rain will make you sick, so they fear rain. They will alter their daily activites and sometimes not even go to work. In fact, it is common for schools to have "rain" school cancellations. When it rains you don't see anyone outside. It puts a different aspect on my teaching too, since our school is an outside school, when it rains, we can not get from classroom to classroom easily. My students were stuck at lunch for a half hour extra yesterday!

Teaching is still going great. I'm enjoying it. I had a chance to borrow my roomates camera today, so I took a picture of my class so I could post it..there will be plenty more to come! My class was pretty thrilled that I was going to be showing them off on the internet :)

Yesterday I started coaching volleyball after school. I enjoyed this. Sports here are not at all like the states. Much less intensity and dedication, because of this there is a lack of skill as well. It's definatley a different kind of coaching and I am going to have to tame down and embrace what I have to work with, but I know I'm going to love it. It will be a great opportunity to teach the kids the sport and love 'em.

I just got back tonight from going out to a cute resturant with the Young Life leader here in the DR who I happened to go to college with and is friends with my sister. It was the best food I've had since I left the states and it was nice to sit down with someone I knew! She also gave me a short tour of some places I have not seen yet. Tomorrow we are having a progressive dinner with many of the teachers that live in apartments nearby.

Well, I'm back to grading papers...enjoy the week.

I Survived!

Well, I survived the first week of school! It was great, but I was worn out by the end of the week. I was able to relax a little this weekend but most of my time has been spent working on lesson plans that I have to turn in to my principal.

Friday night while I was working I watched a movie with some teachers at an apartment that has a TV. Then, Saturday I decided I was sick of being stuck in my apartment and working on lesson plans all day, especially since we don't have electricity (nothing new..starting to get used to it). So, I went for a run in the city. It may not have been the safest idea (don't worry I already informed my parents) but it was nice to get out and catch a fresh breath of air. I got caught in a downpour and enjoyed running in the rain. Last night I ate dinner with the neighbors near me that always let me use their internet, phone, and electricty since mine is fairly unreliable. It was nice to finally sit around a table and eat a family style meal. Then we had a bunch of people over to play echure.

This morning I was picked up by motorcycle to go to a house church. It was a different expierence, but I enjoyed it. It's held at a place where Peace Corp workers go to relax on the weekends. We had a lunch and then I walked to a grocery store with someone to get some food and I took a taxi back to my apartment.

I'm starting to learn how to adjust better to the life and how to get what I need. I'm still trying to accept the transportation situation here (it's driving me crazy not having a car) but it's definately teaching me patience!

I have an evening full of lesson planning and I am thrilled about it (NOT). This week will be busy. I just took the position as the assistant high school volleyball coach. We start after school on Monday. I'm excited, but I know it will be taking up a lot of my time.

I'm sad to miss the church baptism and celebration today. Congrats to those of you who are getting baptized. Enjoy your day and have a great week. I'm still waiting for my camera to come, so here is a picture from the beach last week - it's beautiful!
It's been great hearing from many of you!
I love and miss you all :)

School is in Session...

Yesterday was the first day of school and it went great. I was exhuasted by the end of the day, and the heels of my feet were torn up from the shoes I wore, but other than that it was awesome. I love my class! It's going to be a great year. Although the students all speak English well, I've learned I have to watch the vocabulary I use. I told the students we had an assembly and they asked me what that was, so I had to explain. Then, I told them to be extra good so I could earn brownie points with our new principal. They did not understand the concept of brownie points, so I tried to explain it to them. Later in the day when we were sitting in class one of the students asked me if they were good if they could earn brownie points..I told him maybe. Then a student raised his hand and asked me if they ever get to win milk points. I was trying hard not to laugh because he was serious. The students are great and a bundle of joy :) They are full of love and extremely respectful. The parents have given me a warm welcome too.

Last night I did not get much sleep, but unlike most typical teachers it's not because the school work or stress. No, instead because I was stuck in my kitchen..ducking and squatting from a dodging bat. We are two for two nights in a row with a bat in our apartment. After hiding for a while my roomates and I decided to attack. We were running around with brooms and a bucket slamming doors and screaming really late last night. I guarenteee we looked hilarious, it wasn't funny at the moment, but now we can laugh about it!

Pray for us as we continue to battle the heat here in the DR. Yesterday the heat index was 117 degrees and today it was 107. It's hot especailly with no a/c in our school or apartment.

I posted another picture from my weekend at the beach. My camera broke, so I am waiting for mom and dad to ship me a new one, but I hope to be able to use my roomates to get some pictures of my class until my camera gets here :)

Enjoy the rest of your week! Miss you all :)

A day at the Beach :)

This weekend our director took all of the teachers to the beach for a spiritual retreat. It was relaxing and a great way to prepare our hearts for the new school year. Although the weekend started with lots of rain, it ended with 95 degrees and a hot sun!

One night I had dinner with some of the girls on the beach and a few of us also went horseback riding! It was awesome and my mom was super jealous(sorry). Sunday morning we attended a missonary church near the beach and our group ended up leading the worship service. God is doing some great things here.

Today was the last day of peace and quiet at school. The staff and teachers open every morning with devotions and it's a great start to the day. Tomorrow all the students come and the classrooms will be full of chatting and laughter. I'm excited and anxious, but I know this is going to be a great year.

Please pray for me as I go back to school this year. This time I won't return as a student, but instead as a teacher. Also, pray for my sister, Steph, as she begins school Wednesday and many others students and teachers who are preparing for the new school year.

Finally, I just want you all to know that I am happy you sleep soundly at night...the last two nights I have been playing tag with a gecko. No joke! I'm learning that here in the DR you just are going to have a lot of visitors no matter what!

You Can Stop Dancin'!

Ask and you shall recieve..you can all stop doing the rain dance now! After the drought in the DR and being without water, we are now expierencing an overabundance of water and flooding.

Tomorrow morning I leave for our teacher's weekend spiritual retreat at the beach, but we may not have much beach action because Tropical storm Fay which is coming our way. I'm excited to go to the beach, hopefully we see a little sun. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Here is a picture of my classroom. It's still a work in progress, school starts Tuesday, so it's crunch time!

Pray for Rain

Yesterday I finally was able to spend some time in my classroom. I'm a little overwhelmed because a lot of work has to be done, but I'm excited for what the school year has ahead! I decided that I am going to use a baseball theme for my classroom. I figured it would be appropriate for the Dominican Republic. I am realizing that learning how to teach in a third world country is teaching me how to be creative. Our resources are limited so it's really stretching me.

After school I discovered I've made some friends with several wasps who decided they have an open invite in my room. Then I noticed they have made a huge empire outside of not only my window, but also my roomates. So, I've called the exterminator hoping they will come fix it.

Last night was exciting because I purchased the first piece of furniture for our apartment. I met somone who was moving and selling a big red couch for a decent price. So, we now have a big red couch..yeah. If you come visit you will have a place to sit :)

Finally, today at school we discovered and were informed that we no longer have running water. Due to the lack of rain in the DR we are expierencing a drought. As a result the water has been turned off. Our administrator assured us he would make sure to provide us drinking water and not to worry. He also advised us to go back to our apartments and get all the buckets, trash cans, etc. and fill them with as much water as we can. They told us no one knows when we will have water again, but it definately will not be until it rains...so do a rain dance for me! When we got to our apt. we still had running water. We are close to the airport so we will get shut off last so I decided to get one last shower in!

I've encountered many challenges during my time here that take me out of my comfort zone, but it is GOOD. I'm growing and learning so much because of it. Let this be a reminder to take a moment today to be thankful for what you have. Some things we take for granted such as running water. Reality is I still have it great here, there are Dominicans I work with who don't even have a roof on their house, it could be worse. Be thankful, we are blessed :)

Dinner DR Style...

Yesterday my host family came and picked me up early in the morning and took me to church. The Spanish service lasted about 4 hours then they took me to their house. It was a small two room concrete slab. They made a typical Dominican meal of rice, beans, avacados, chicken, and fried platanos. It was delicious. After dinner we went out for "ice cream". It was nice and the company was good! On my way to the apt. they took me on tour of the city. When I walked in my apartment I was greeted by a phone call notifying me that my luggage was here!! In the evening we hung out with some other teachers and tried to get some sleep.

This morning began at 5am because we left to go to the Capital, Santa Domingo, to get our residency. It's about a 2-3 hour drive on a bus. We got there and our laywer made us give our passports to someone we did not know(my dad told me not to let it out of my sight so I was freaking out!) then we had to wait, wait, and wait. The system of anything and everything here is unorganized and inefficient. We had to get a medical exam, except the whole exam was in Spanish. I did my best to answer all the doctors questions, but it was comical watching him act out the questions I could not comprehend. Then....the part I was dreading. We had to get our blood drawn. I was bothered because this was not real sanitary and I know mom would not approve! I have a history of passing out when I get blood drawn, I told the nurse..but she didn't seem to believe me. Sure enough, I passed out and they had to get people to come get me and take me to a bed. They were all speaking spanish and it was an expierence. After a few minutes I was fine and back on the bus. Then we drove to another place to get x-rays. Finally, we drove back to Santiago. We got back to our apartmnet around 5 pm tonight. It was a long day, but if I pass all the tests, I will be legal in the DR :)

I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for all your love, support and prayers. I'm so thankful for you. Miss ya!

Safe in the Dominican Republic

Last night I arrived safe in the DR. I was fortunate, but my luggage did not recieve the luck I did. Hopefully it will find it's way here soon :) I got to my apartment with my roomates around 10:30 pm and since we had been traveling since 6am we were dead! We were be blessed to be greeted by two of the male teachers at the school who made us cookies and brought us water. They were also generous and took us to their place and let us hang out. I was so excited because I had a chance to watch some of the olympics..something I did not expect. They also gave us sheets, towels and pillows so we could sleep.

Our apartment is nice considering we are not living in the U.S. I have my own room and bathroom (I got lucky with that one!) Apparently we are living large because we have ceiling fans (there is no A/C). I will have to get used to no hot water as well, it was a little different in my shower today.

I fell fast asleep last night despite learning the new sounds of my surroundings (the chickens and roosters senerade me all hours). This morning we recieved a tour of the school and met our host families. Our families will be taking us to church tomorrow and then to their house for a homecooked Dominican meal. We also went to the "Wal-mart" of the DR to shop for way too long..but we bought a lot (I want to start shopping like they do too - lots of them rollerblade in the stores). The apartment came empty, all we have are matresses, a fridge and stove. We are working on trying to find some furniture, tables, dishes, silverware, cooking utensils, shelves, etc. Most of all, we really have to invest in a washing machine. After the long day some Young Life staff, and a friend of my sister's from Hope College took us out to a cute Hamburger place to eat. The company was great. We just got back. I'm so tired and I smell because I still don't have any clothes!

The picture above is of one of the girls I live with, Corrie, and the big back to school pencil that was walking around the store for the back to school sale!

Things are going great and I am loving it. The people are awesome and I'm happy. God is Good.
Thanks for all your support and prayers :0

I'm a Master's Student!

I have been in the states this week training for cross cultural teaching with some of the teachers I will travel with. During this time I was given a great opportunity to begin my masters with all the expenses paid. I'm a Master's student now!! In fact, I've already written two papers. It's a 18 month program and I will have my Master's degree through Indiana Wesylan University. I'm learning a lot and meeting lots of great people (there is a picture of a few of us taking a break from class). We leave early tomorrow morning to fly to the DR. Please pray for our safe travels and for my health (I've had a cold all week). Take care :)

Party Time!!

Tonight my parents hosted a going away party at my house for all my friends and family. It was great to see everyone and take a break from packing to eat, smile and laugh. It's been a great day and it is encouraging to have so many people supporting me. I can't believe tonight is going to be my last night in my house and my nice cozy bed. I'm excited for what God has ahead. Please pray for me as I finish packing tonight (especially that I can zip both bags and the scale reads under 50lbs, this could be difficult) I enter a lot of the unknown tomorrow and I have tons of mixed emotions. Please pray for me to have peace as I begin this adventure! Be Blessed...