Give Thanks

What a thankful week I’ve had!

Our students had a half day at school on Wednesday, it was busy but good. The two sixth grade classes combined to have a tradition Thanksgiving feast, or at least as close as we can get in the Dominican Republic.

I assigned each student to bring in a different item and hoped we would have food to eat! There was an abundance of food and rice and beans has been added to the Thanksgiving menu!

The meal was a huge success and the students were all stuffed afterwards. After the mean I had my students go around and share what they were thankful for. My favorite part of the school day was having the opportunity to let the whole staff come to my room to eat because we had extra food. The faces of the staff filling a plate with corn, mashed potatoes, turkey, and other delicious dishes warmed my heart. Some of the school maids and janitors live off a VERY low income so this was quite the treat. Then, once everyone was done, I still had an abundance of food and the students didn’t want to carry it home, so I started putting it on plates and giving it away to the workers. They were ecstatic to receive this food. It is unbelievable to recognize and remember how blessed we are. To me it was only a plate of leftover food I was simply trying to get rid of, but to them it was so much more.

Glad to let the crazy kiddos out of school after our half day I went back to my apartment and got my bags packed then took a taxi to the airport to pick up mom and dad! Another reason to be thankful is that I have a loving and supportive family. It was awesome to be able to run and give them a hug after five months! I’m excited to have them here!

When my parents got here we went straight to the beach and have shared some fun adventures. It was odd spending Thanksgiving in a country where they do not celebrate, we had rice and beans for lunch and pasta for dinner – but it’s not the food, instead the people that count!!

Yesterday we went horseback riding in the mountains, through rivers and to the waterfalls where we could go swimming. It was a cool experience with beautiful views – we used a waterproof camera, so no pictures yet.

Well – I time to get back to the sun  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for all your love, support, and encouragement!