And we’re off! After a few days of training and preparing, we began school (for 8th grade and under anyways) last Wednesday. I was not nearly as stressed out as I was this time last year, which is fantastic. My room is generally set up, though it still needs a little work… I figure keep it simple for now, then add to it as the year continues. Last week went really well – the kids seem fantastic! I really miss my kids from last year still, and it’s funny to see them in someone else’s classroom, but I am quite excited about the new group that has come up. Only 13 of my 18+ kids were there, so hopefully those that were there will remember the general procedures over the weekend and help the other newer students this week and everything will stay smooth! Here’s to hoping, anyways…
This week I will start with my high school English class. I am very excited about teaching high school this year – I really want to challenge and stretch them to their limits and help them to be successful.
Life at home has been great as well. I love the family that I live with, and am attempting the whole Spanish speaking thing… not going so well grammatically anyways, but hopefully it will get better over the year. I’m trying to create a balance between working on school stuff and more relaxing and fun stuff, so I hope that that balance will not tip during the school year. I think that I have been able to see most of my friends here, as well as make a few new ones, which has been fantastic! Lots of food and laughter, which I hope to keep up during the year as well.
Thanks you for your prayers and messages!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Here we go again!
*Disclaimer: Ok, so right off the bat I am going to say that my goal (yet again) is to keep up with the happenings throughout the year via this blog. If you don’t see an update after like a month, please bug me about it. In a nice way, of course.
So starting off for those who don’t know, last year I got a job at O y M Hostos School in the Dominican Republic to teach preschool and 10th grade English. Well I went down thinking I was teaching 4th grade, but got moved around a bit. I’m sure you can read through the entries from last year or just what has been said in my facebook conversations, but it was an extremely challenging and amazing year. After much thinking and praying I decided that I wanted to come back for another year, so I am doing just that. I am currently sitting at the airport waiting for the pilot to arrive so that I can finish the journey back to the DR. I am at that point of being sad to leave my life here, but so excited about seeing the wonderful people that I have met there and getting started on my second year of teaching. There is something about having a general idea of what I am getting into that is exciting. Saying that, something is probably going to change all of that… oh well. I will do my best to keep you updated on the adventures of teaching as well as the outdoorsy adventures that tend to take place. Thanks for all of the prayers and support you guys have given me as I head out on this journey, again… someday I’ll settle down back in the states, but for now I’m all about this adventure and foreign country business.
So starting off for those who don’t know, last year I got a job at O y M Hostos School in the Dominican Republic to teach preschool and 10th grade English. Well I went down thinking I was teaching 4th grade, but got moved around a bit. I’m sure you can read through the entries from last year or just what has been said in my facebook conversations, but it was an extremely challenging and amazing year. After much thinking and praying I decided that I wanted to come back for another year, so I am doing just that. I am currently sitting at the airport waiting for the pilot to arrive so that I can finish the journey back to the DR. I am at that point of being sad to leave my life here, but so excited about seeing the wonderful people that I have met there and getting started on my second year of teaching. There is something about having a general idea of what I am getting into that is exciting. Saying that, something is probably going to change all of that… oh well. I will do my best to keep you updated on the adventures of teaching as well as the outdoorsy adventures that tend to take place. Thanks for all of the prayers and support you guys have given me as I head out on this journey, again… someday I’ll settle down back in the states, but for now I’m all about this adventure and foreign country business.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Field Trip Fun!
So because I haven’t gotten a real chance to explore the island as of yet, Mr. Diaz asked me if I would help chaperone the trip for the 10th -12th graders to Santa Domingo. Of course I said yes, so on Friday the 7th we packed into a bus and headed on our way. The bus claimed to hold 35, but after getting 30 students inside, there obviously wasn’t going to be enough room for more students or any teachers, so Mr. Diaz ended up taking his car with me and 3 students. I liked this better, because for a 2.5 hour drive, I would much rather be in a car then a bus for car sickness and knee movement purposes…
We got down to a hotel in Santa Domingo and spent about an hour and a half in one of their halls where colleges from around the island and a few from the states and Europe had displays and people to talk to about what their school had to offer. It was a smaller college fair that I’m used to, but they set ups were really nice. It was fun to walk around and ask the students what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go. Quite a few wanted to do certain things because they would get paid a lot… that bummed me out a bit. I did find a few that seemed not to care about becoming a millionaire and just doing something because they wanted to… They got to walk through the booths for about an hour then had a presentation given by several of the colleges represented.
After that we headed to one of the big malls. Everybody ate at the food court then had a chance just to walk around and shop. I got to go shopping alone, which was fantastic. I forgot how much I like to walk around and shop by myself! I got a fun necklace and found some super fun paints! I got in a little Christmas shopping as well! I went back to the food court and hung out with some of the kids while we waited for everyone. It was fun to sit and talk to them outside the classroom. Overall the day was really fun and I’m glad I got the chance to see more of the island.
That next Tuesday one of the K-5 moms brought tickets to the school that she had bought for all of the preschool students to go see “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” the next day. In the states that would have been a huge hassle and we probably wouldn’t have been able to go with such short notice, but that day all parents were called and a bus showed up the next morning to take us to the theater. I admit, I was a little nervous about taking my kids off campus because they had a tendency to go a bit crazy, but they were so good! We fit somewhere between 45 and 55 kids plus 4 teachers in a bus – that in itself was amazing. The kids really liked the bus ride itself. They were laughing and just having a good time driving around. We got to the theater and got our seats pretty easily. The show was a children’s production in Spanish, so that was really neat to see. It reminded me of Sarah and all the shows that she was in! The kids were really into the show and behaved so well during the entire thing! The kids had a great time and it was so fun just to go somewhere different outside of school!
We got down to a hotel in Santa Domingo and spent about an hour and a half in one of their halls where colleges from around the island and a few from the states and Europe had displays and people to talk to about what their school had to offer. It was a smaller college fair that I’m used to, but they set ups were really nice. It was fun to walk around and ask the students what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go. Quite a few wanted to do certain things because they would get paid a lot… that bummed me out a bit. I did find a few that seemed not to care about becoming a millionaire and just doing something because they wanted to… They got to walk through the booths for about an hour then had a presentation given by several of the colleges represented.
After that we headed to one of the big malls. Everybody ate at the food court then had a chance just to walk around and shop. I got to go shopping alone, which was fantastic. I forgot how much I like to walk around and shop by myself! I got a fun necklace and found some super fun paints! I got in a little Christmas shopping as well! I went back to the food court and hung out with some of the kids while we waited for everyone. It was fun to sit and talk to them outside the classroom. Overall the day was really fun and I’m glad I got the chance to see more of the island.
That next Tuesday one of the K-5 moms brought tickets to the school that she had bought for all of the preschool students to go see “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” the next day. In the states that would have been a huge hassle and we probably wouldn’t have been able to go with such short notice, but that day all parents were called and a bus showed up the next morning to take us to the theater. I admit, I was a little nervous about taking my kids off campus because they had a tendency to go a bit crazy, but they were so good! We fit somewhere between 45 and 55 kids plus 4 teachers in a bus – that in itself was amazing. The kids really liked the bus ride itself. They were laughing and just having a good time driving around. We got to the theater and got our seats pretty easily. The show was a children’s production in Spanish, so that was really neat to see. It reminded me of Sarah and all the shows that she was in! The kids were really into the show and behaved so well during the entire thing! The kids had a great time and it was so fun just to go somewhere different outside of school!
My Birthday!
So I wasn’t really sure what to expect on my birthday… but they do birthdays up big here!
At breakfast Mary gave me a big hug and handed me a little box – which had a really pretty bracelet in it! I headed off to school and got lots of “Happy Birthdays” when I got there. My 4 year olds sang to me several times in both English and Spanish. They drew me pictures, and every time they handed me a new one they told me to close my eyes then surprised me with it. They asked several times where my birthday cake was and when the party was going to start. For most of their birthdays thus far the parents have brought the party to the class – so of course they expected a party for my birthday.
Before lunch some of Rachel’s 6th graders came by my class and wished me Happy Birthday. I didn’t think about it being strange at the time, but some of them walked me to lunch while others stayed around the room. I ate lunch, then while I was sitting and talking some of Rachel’s kids told me to come with them. They led me to my room… where they had set up a surprise party! It was a birthday party for me and a welcome back party for Rachel, who had just returned that day from the States (where she got engaged :-D) Yea for my first surprise party! They went all out – balloons, cake, cokes… it was fantastic!
Then when I got up to my 10th graders, they were all crazy – we were supposed to take a test, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. They sang to me several times, then we just had a quasi-free period, which was fun.
After school, I got a surprise from Katie and Fritz – they knew that I had never been on a motorcycle before so they asked on the of the maintenance guys that had a moto if he would drive me around the parking lot a few times. I’ll admit, I was nervous… but it was really fun! I’m glad that it was only around the parking lot – I don’t think I could handle driving out on the road on a moto yet…
After school we just went home and had a relaxing night. I got to talk to a few people on the phone and online which was nice. Mary made little cupcakes for dinner which were super good! I think I even went to bed early, which is a change as well. Overall it was a fantastic day! I could not have asked for a better birthday!
At breakfast Mary gave me a big hug and handed me a little box – which had a really pretty bracelet in it! I headed off to school and got lots of “Happy Birthdays” when I got there. My 4 year olds sang to me several times in both English and Spanish. They drew me pictures, and every time they handed me a new one they told me to close my eyes then surprised me with it. They asked several times where my birthday cake was and when the party was going to start. For most of their birthdays thus far the parents have brought the party to the class – so of course they expected a party for my birthday.
Before lunch some of Rachel’s 6th graders came by my class and wished me Happy Birthday. I didn’t think about it being strange at the time, but some of them walked me to lunch while others stayed around the room. I ate lunch, then while I was sitting and talking some of Rachel’s kids told me to come with them. They led me to my room… where they had set up a surprise party! It was a birthday party for me and a welcome back party for Rachel, who had just returned that day from the States (where she got engaged :-D) Yea for my first surprise party! They went all out – balloons, cake, cokes… it was fantastic!
Then when I got up to my 10th graders, they were all crazy – we were supposed to take a test, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. They sang to me several times, then we just had a quasi-free period, which was fun.
After school, I got a surprise from Katie and Fritz – they knew that I had never been on a motorcycle before so they asked on the of the maintenance guys that had a moto if he would drive me around the parking lot a few times. I’ll admit, I was nervous… but it was really fun! I’m glad that it was only around the parking lot – I don’t think I could handle driving out on the road on a moto yet…
After school we just went home and had a relaxing night. I got to talk to a few people on the phone and online which was nice. Mary made little cupcakes for dinner which were super good! I think I even went to bed early, which is a change as well. Overall it was a fantastic day! I could not have asked for a better birthday!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Pretty much a story about our weekends... I promise that I came here to work...
So since the last posting, things have continued to go pretty well. School is rolling along. Friday was Halloween. The preschool kids were allowed to dress up, so I had a class full of witches, princesses, baseball players, and even a ninja and a cowboy (complete with sideburns!) The kids were adorable! The rest of the school just got a “color day” where they could wear jeans and a t-shirt instead of their uniform. The morning with my 4 year olds was pretty fun. We had a fashion show, took some pictures, went to a haunted house, went trick-or-treating around to different classrooms, then came back to color and eat some of the candy. My afternoon was spent at the karaoke competition with the 6-12 graders. I got there after it started so I missed some of the acts, but it was so fun! The kids were so into it. Lots of people sang along or just got up and danced. I really hope that we are able to do it again.
After school Rachel and I went to Berlitz for Spanish class, as normal. On the way home we were trying to cross the street, which was insanely busy, and just thinking to ourselves how we are probably going to be standing on the sidewalk forever trying to get across when all of a sudden a car slows down and rolls down their windows and says “Texas Tech?” I look and it’s the Senator from Santiago that I met when he came to Tech! He gave us a ride home and we got to talk to him a bit about life here. It was so good to see him! I was wondering when we would get the chance to meet up with him, and he just so happened to come when we needed him! Now that he knows where we live hopefully we will get to see him more often. His mom is good friends and neighbors with our house mom, so hopefully that will happen!
Oh, please be praying for Abuelo. In case you have forgotten, one of our housemates is Mary’s father who is 102. He fell on Saturday morning in the bathroom and hit his head on the side of the tub. He had to go get stitches. He seems fine right now – a little shaken up after it happened, but who wouldn’t be? He’s been talking and acting normal, so I’m not too worried about him. I just worries me whenever I see him moving around. He fell twice a few weekends ago, so this was not his first time. Just pray that he heals and hopefully doesn’t fall any more. With that, also pray for Mary.
One good thing about being here is I am getting to see some of the movies that I didn’t get a chance to see this summer because it takes them a few months to get here. Last night I went with Katie to see Mama Mia. I thought it was fantastic – not to mention Meryl Streep is like my new favorite actress. She really played it up! I know there were multiple times that I wanted to stand up and start singing and dancing along with the movie, but I restrained myself. But if anyone is up for watching it soon and having a sing and dance along party, I’m totally game! Not to mention that after the movie I got to come back and watch part of the Tech game! I’ll be honest, I spent most of the day watching ESPN while “being productive”. It made me miss Lubbock so much! Oh, but the game was fantastic! I am so glad that we have ABC, not to mention 3 English ESPN channels and one or two Spanish ESPN channels! I just wish that I could have watched and cheered along with someone else. Though technically I guess I did, considering that I got to be the sports commentator for Lauren all the way out there in Australia!
Hmm… in other news we got to go to the beach again last weekend. It was our first time to venture off on our own out of the city. Getting there was a bit difficult. We started at the wrong bus stop but was guided the right direction by a nice guy who spoke English. Then got our tix and had to wait 2 hours for our bus time. Then took 2.5 hours to get to the beach. Once we got there it was fantastic! There were huge waves that were super fun to play in! It felt really nice and didn’t rain until we were packing up our things to leave. Not to mention I didn’t burn! I didn’t tan either, but not burning is still a huge deal. The ride back was nice and relaxing. Overall the day was fantastic! I’m still excited that we made it there and back all by ourselves.
The weekend before we went to Calle del Sol. This is a main street downtown with lots of fun stores – most of which sell cheap crap basically, but it’s still fun. I got a super fun dress, now I just need an excuse to wear it. We practiced our Spanish by asking how much things cost and directions to a certain store. I was pretty proud of our skills. I know we are far from fluent, but shopping is a great way to practice!
Well, I think that catches you up. Minus the pictures, I know. They’re coming. I promise.
After school Rachel and I went to Berlitz for Spanish class, as normal. On the way home we were trying to cross the street, which was insanely busy, and just thinking to ourselves how we are probably going to be standing on the sidewalk forever trying to get across when all of a sudden a car slows down and rolls down their windows and says “Texas Tech?” I look and it’s the Senator from Santiago that I met when he came to Tech! He gave us a ride home and we got to talk to him a bit about life here. It was so good to see him! I was wondering when we would get the chance to meet up with him, and he just so happened to come when we needed him! Now that he knows where we live hopefully we will get to see him more often. His mom is good friends and neighbors with our house mom, so hopefully that will happen!
Oh, please be praying for Abuelo. In case you have forgotten, one of our housemates is Mary’s father who is 102. He fell on Saturday morning in the bathroom and hit his head on the side of the tub. He had to go get stitches. He seems fine right now – a little shaken up after it happened, but who wouldn’t be? He’s been talking and acting normal, so I’m not too worried about him. I just worries me whenever I see him moving around. He fell twice a few weekends ago, so this was not his first time. Just pray that he heals and hopefully doesn’t fall any more. With that, also pray for Mary.
One good thing about being here is I am getting to see some of the movies that I didn’t get a chance to see this summer because it takes them a few months to get here. Last night I went with Katie to see Mama Mia. I thought it was fantastic – not to mention Meryl Streep is like my new favorite actress. She really played it up! I know there were multiple times that I wanted to stand up and start singing and dancing along with the movie, but I restrained myself. But if anyone is up for watching it soon and having a sing and dance along party, I’m totally game! Not to mention that after the movie I got to come back and watch part of the Tech game! I’ll be honest, I spent most of the day watching ESPN while “being productive”. It made me miss Lubbock so much! Oh, but the game was fantastic! I am so glad that we have ABC, not to mention 3 English ESPN channels and one or two Spanish ESPN channels! I just wish that I could have watched and cheered along with someone else. Though technically I guess I did, considering that I got to be the sports commentator for Lauren all the way out there in Australia!
Hmm… in other news we got to go to the beach again last weekend. It was our first time to venture off on our own out of the city. Getting there was a bit difficult. We started at the wrong bus stop but was guided the right direction by a nice guy who spoke English. Then got our tix and had to wait 2 hours for our bus time. Then took 2.5 hours to get to the beach. Once we got there it was fantastic! There were huge waves that were super fun to play in! It felt really nice and didn’t rain until we were packing up our things to leave. Not to mention I didn’t burn! I didn’t tan either, but not burning is still a huge deal. The ride back was nice and relaxing. Overall the day was fantastic! I’m still excited that we made it there and back all by ourselves.
The weekend before we went to Calle del Sol. This is a main street downtown with lots of fun stores – most of which sell cheap crap basically, but it’s still fun. I got a super fun dress, now I just need an excuse to wear it. We practiced our Spanish by asking how much things cost and directions to a certain store. I was pretty proud of our skills. I know we are far from fluent, but shopping is a great way to practice!
Well, I think that catches you up. Minus the pictures, I know. They’re coming. I promise.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Hola norteamericanos!
Wow! So I hadn’t really realized how long it has been since I had last updated! Let’s see if I can catch you up to speed:
Well school has been a bit crazy, but seems to be settling down a bit. As for my 4 year olds, they seem to be picking up pretty quickly on the things that we have been learning. We have been working with different letters and letter recognitions, counting and learning numbers, working on shapes, and learning the names to the different parts of our bodies. Most of them have been participating and following along well, and even starting to use more English! There are a few I am still working on. But overall, I have already seen them grow so much!
We began taking Spanish classes two weeks ago. We really like our teacher and are moving right on schedule with the curriculum. I know that it has made me more confident when I try to speak Spanish and that I can definitely recognize and say more than I used to be able to. We are also having help from others as we learn Spanish. Some of the teachers at school are helping us and helping us practice what we know as well as introducing us to new vocabulary. One person that comes by and visits our house mom a few nights a week helps us learn Spanish while we teach him English. It has been fun trying to figure each other out – with the help of a dictionary and sometimes an online translator we are able to communicate pretty well I’d like to say.
We did finally happen to make it to the beach! We went to Sosua, which is about an hour away. Last Sunday we got to go with Katie, Fritz, and their little girl. It was a beautiful drive! Lots of mountains and green all over! We got to the beach and it was raining. We sat under a big umbrella and ate lunch and waited out the rain for a bit. It stopped but was still cloudy most of the day. We went in the water a few times – it was pretty clear as far as we went out. The beach itself is beautiful. There were lots of trees around and mountains in the background. No worries, pictures will be up soon.
So that’s pretty much it from around here! I’ll put up some pictures hopefully sometime this week! Just know things are going well! Hope all is well out there! Have a great day!
Well school has been a bit crazy, but seems to be settling down a bit. As for my 4 year olds, they seem to be picking up pretty quickly on the things that we have been learning. We have been working with different letters and letter recognitions, counting and learning numbers, working on shapes, and learning the names to the different parts of our bodies. Most of them have been participating and following along well, and even starting to use more English! There are a few I am still working on. But overall, I have already seen them grow so much!
We began taking Spanish classes two weeks ago. We really like our teacher and are moving right on schedule with the curriculum. I know that it has made me more confident when I try to speak Spanish and that I can definitely recognize and say more than I used to be able to. We are also having help from others as we learn Spanish. Some of the teachers at school are helping us and helping us practice what we know as well as introducing us to new vocabulary. One person that comes by and visits our house mom a few nights a week helps us learn Spanish while we teach him English. It has been fun trying to figure each other out – with the help of a dictionary and sometimes an online translator we are able to communicate pretty well I’d like to say.
We did finally happen to make it to the beach! We went to Sosua, which is about an hour away. Last Sunday we got to go with Katie, Fritz, and their little girl. It was a beautiful drive! Lots of mountains and green all over! We got to the beach and it was raining. We sat under a big umbrella and ate lunch and waited out the rain for a bit. It stopped but was still cloudy most of the day. We went in the water a few times – it was pretty clear as far as we went out. The beach itself is beautiful. There were lots of trees around and mountains in the background. No worries, pictures will be up soon.
So that’s pretty much it from around here! I’ll put up some pictures hopefully sometime this week! Just know things are going well! Hope all is well out there! Have a great day!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The first batch of pictures...
Sorry for the wait! No worries, this is just the beginning - there are more coming your way soon!
So the picture adventures begin with this, a picture of Rachel and me after a day of flight settling into the hotel in Puerto Rico. It was pretty fantastic - if you go to San Juan, let me know and I can give you their number.
Next, I'm going to take you on a walk down Avenue Texas - the wonderfully named street that we walk to school on everyday.
After this we make our turn and cross the street to the school. It is wonderful that the walk takes all of like 5 minutes. The front of the campus is the O & Y college campus. Our school is just behind. Both buildings are currently under construction and we're not sure quite yet when they are going to be finished.
Here are some photos of the college:
And finally I'll end with some shots of the outside of the school:
So the picture adventures begin with this, a picture of Rachel and me after a day of flight settling into the hotel in Puerto Rico. It was pretty fantastic - if you go to San Juan, let me know and I can give you their number.
Next, I'm going to take you on a walk down Avenue Texas - the wonderfully named street that we walk to school on everyday.
After this we make our turn and cross the street to the school. It is wonderful that the walk takes all of like 5 minutes. The front of the campus is the O & Y college campus. Our school is just behind. Both buildings are currently under construction and we're not sure quite yet when they are going to be finished.
Here are some photos of the college:
And finally I'll end with some shots of the outside of the school:
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