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!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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:
Friday, September 19, 2008
The One Month Update...
So it has officially been a month since we have left the country! Sometimes it feels like longer, while other times it feels like we just got here…
We have also completed our first full two weeks of school! I’ll admit, the first week was really hard for me. Waking up at 630 really isn’t my favorite thing to do… that I know I will have to get used to. There were a few times that week where I went to bed at like 8 because I just wasn’t getting anything done because I was so exhausted. I hope that my body adjusts to the whole waking up early thing – the sooner the better! Anyways, trying to get 20 4 year olds to do anything was really difficult the first few days. We spent so much time going over procedures that I felt bad but I know that doing them now it will help in the long run. I think a lot of it is just my body still adjusting to all the new things that are going on. During the week things got better. I really love my kids! For the most part they understand English from what I can tell. We are working on speaking English… it’s going to be a long work in progress but they have already learned a few phrases. We usually start the day with play-doh so we practice saying colors and “I want”. They also learned to say “I want water”. We are working on saying objects around the classroom like pencil, marker, eraser, door, chair, etc. It’s fun to see what they know and how quickly some of them catch it and begin using it.
Last week ended well – we went up to the mall and saw “Journey to the Center of the Earth” with Katie, our new friend from the states that lives here who we work with. It was so good to just hang out at the mall and do something normal like seeing a movie. I felt so much better afterwards!
We spent last weekend with Miriam and her family in Bornao, which is a city in the middle of the island where she has another house. We went to her aunt’s birthday party which was a lot of fun. They had different foods like chips and salsa, which I haven’t had in like a month and it was delicious! It was in the backyard of her aunt and uncles house which was gorgeous! They had like huge banana trees (or were they plantains… I’m not sure…) and lots of green grass! We had cake and champagne later – and sang happy birthday like 4 times in English and Spanish… and were out till after midnight! Talk about a birthday party – and she was 72!
This week went a lot better than the first. The kids are getting used to the routines, which makes life so much easier. We have started talking about letter recognition and numbers and counting. It’s pretty fun, they are catching on a lot quicker than I was expecting. They get really excited about random things like counting out loud or singing “If you’re happy and you know it”. I just need more energy throughout they day so I can keep up with all of them!
I teach the pre-k kids from 7:45-12:15 (with no breaks… it may not seem like long but they wear me out!) then have lunch and a planning period from 12:15-1:20, then teach 10th grade from 1:20-2 (or 1:55, whenever they ring the bell that day…). It is really hard to adjust from 4 to 14 year olds. We’ve had some fun, they are a really great group of kids, but it is still weird to teach them because I have no experience in teaching high school. I am excited because I get to teach Night and To Kill A Mockingbird so I am excited about those! Katie teaches some of the other high school English classes so we are going to try to do some of the same things and work together.
Other than school, we are almost ready to start teaching English at Berlitz. We have training until next Wednesday and will start soon after. We are also going to start taking Spanish classes the week after next – which will help a lot! I can’t wait to start learning the language better and communicate with everybody. I’m sure I would pick it up quicker if I didn’t teach in English.
Anyways, that’s the update for now. Things are getting better, hopefully the adjustment period is coming to a close and I will start to feel more like I live here rather than just a long term visitor. Love you all, keep me updated on your lives!
We have also completed our first full two weeks of school! I’ll admit, the first week was really hard for me. Waking up at 630 really isn’t my favorite thing to do… that I know I will have to get used to. There were a few times that week where I went to bed at like 8 because I just wasn’t getting anything done because I was so exhausted. I hope that my body adjusts to the whole waking up early thing – the sooner the better! Anyways, trying to get 20 4 year olds to do anything was really difficult the first few days. We spent so much time going over procedures that I felt bad but I know that doing them now it will help in the long run. I think a lot of it is just my body still adjusting to all the new things that are going on. During the week things got better. I really love my kids! For the most part they understand English from what I can tell. We are working on speaking English… it’s going to be a long work in progress but they have already learned a few phrases. We usually start the day with play-doh so we practice saying colors and “I want”. They also learned to say “I want water”. We are working on saying objects around the classroom like pencil, marker, eraser, door, chair, etc. It’s fun to see what they know and how quickly some of them catch it and begin using it.
Last week ended well – we went up to the mall and saw “Journey to the Center of the Earth” with Katie, our new friend from the states that lives here who we work with. It was so good to just hang out at the mall and do something normal like seeing a movie. I felt so much better afterwards!
We spent last weekend with Miriam and her family in Bornao, which is a city in the middle of the island where she has another house. We went to her aunt’s birthday party which was a lot of fun. They had different foods like chips and salsa, which I haven’t had in like a month and it was delicious! It was in the backyard of her aunt and uncles house which was gorgeous! They had like huge banana trees (or were they plantains… I’m not sure…) and lots of green grass! We had cake and champagne later – and sang happy birthday like 4 times in English and Spanish… and were out till after midnight! Talk about a birthday party – and she was 72!
This week went a lot better than the first. The kids are getting used to the routines, which makes life so much easier. We have started talking about letter recognition and numbers and counting. It’s pretty fun, they are catching on a lot quicker than I was expecting. They get really excited about random things like counting out loud or singing “If you’re happy and you know it”. I just need more energy throughout they day so I can keep up with all of them!
I teach the pre-k kids from 7:45-12:15 (with no breaks… it may not seem like long but they wear me out!) then have lunch and a planning period from 12:15-1:20, then teach 10th grade from 1:20-2 (or 1:55, whenever they ring the bell that day…). It is really hard to adjust from 4 to 14 year olds. We’ve had some fun, they are a really great group of kids, but it is still weird to teach them because I have no experience in teaching high school. I am excited because I get to teach Night and To Kill A Mockingbird so I am excited about those! Katie teaches some of the other high school English classes so we are going to try to do some of the same things and work together.
Other than school, we are almost ready to start teaching English at Berlitz. We have training until next Wednesday and will start soon after. We are also going to start taking Spanish classes the week after next – which will help a lot! I can’t wait to start learning the language better and communicate with everybody. I’m sure I would pick it up quicker if I didn’t teach in English.
Anyways, that’s the update for now. Things are getting better, hopefully the adjustment period is coming to a close and I will start to feel more like I live here rather than just a long term visitor. Love you all, keep me updated on your lives!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sorry about the wait...
So we have lacked internet access at the house for about a week now, so that is the reason you have not yet been updated about the first official week of school. Just know it was... interesting... to say the least. Anyways, an actual update will be coming soon, and hopefully pictures along with it! Hope all is well!
Friday, September 5, 2008
School and then some...
All right, so things have definitely been looking up since last week. I don’t know what my break down was all about, but this week I have been feeling a lot better about why I am here and what I am here to do. Thank you for the prayers – spending time in the Lord has been a huge help!
This has been an interesting week. Monday I finally got my classroom, so I only had 2 days to clean it out and decorate it. I think I did a pretty good job with the materials that I had access to. The directors have been a great help – whenever I felt that I needed something they would either go find it or an equivalent to it, or add it to their shopping list. We have enough pencils, crayons, modeling clay, and paint to last us quite awhile! So that could make for some fun art projects. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to control 20 4 year olds for 4 hours a day while teaching them new things… I just need to work on my planning, I’m sure that will make everything better!
School was supposed to start on Wednesday, but the secretary of education called school off because of the hurricane (Hannah). This was great because I had another day to fix up my room. I felt much better and much more organized when I left that day. Then Thursday was our first day. It was nice because there were only 5 kids that came – because school was supposed to be canceled again but we opened anyways. At the beginning, none of them would speak any English to me except for “hi” and “fine”. I have an assistant who speaks Spanish, and some English, which really helped me understand what they were trying to say. I feel that by the end of this, I should pick up a lot of Spanish just by listening to my students! Anyways, my assistant asked if anyone could understand English, and all but one said they could. I knew they could somewhat because when I asked them to do certain things or if I said certain things they would do them or at least not look at me like I was crazy, which was a step. It went pretty well over all. We played with play doh, went over the rules, practiced some procedures, read some stories, then colored. Some could write some of the letters of their names while others just drew different shapes and such. We talked about the colors and I found out that most knew how to count to at least 5 in English! That was pretty exciting! Anyways, things went pretty well.
Then we got information that we weren’t going to have school Friday because hurricane Ike was on its way. So today Rachel and I slept in and went back up to school because our pay checks finally came in! We celebrated by going to the mall and buying phone cards – exciting, I know. I bought some bracelets and Rachel bought some fun earrings, each only coming to like only $1 each! I love cheap jewelry…
In upcoming news, hurricane Ike is supposed to hit tomorrow night – not so much hit us with the center of the storm but we are expected to have a lot of rain and wind. This will be the closest to being in a hurricane that I’ve ever been. Apparently we have to cover parts of the windows in masking tape and leave all of the doors open so the wind can go through. We have to move everything off the floor because it’s supposed to flood a little within the house – I guess this is another reason why there is no carpet in the Dominican… so keep praying that the damage isn’t that bad!
Sorry these updates are so long! I will post pictures soon of our room, house, classrooms, and school. Please continue to pray for us, our students, and our house family. Love you guys!
This has been an interesting week. Monday I finally got my classroom, so I only had 2 days to clean it out and decorate it. I think I did a pretty good job with the materials that I had access to. The directors have been a great help – whenever I felt that I needed something they would either go find it or an equivalent to it, or add it to their shopping list. We have enough pencils, crayons, modeling clay, and paint to last us quite awhile! So that could make for some fun art projects. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to control 20 4 year olds for 4 hours a day while teaching them new things… I just need to work on my planning, I’m sure that will make everything better!
School was supposed to start on Wednesday, but the secretary of education called school off because of the hurricane (Hannah). This was great because I had another day to fix up my room. I felt much better and much more organized when I left that day. Then Thursday was our first day. It was nice because there were only 5 kids that came – because school was supposed to be canceled again but we opened anyways. At the beginning, none of them would speak any English to me except for “hi” and “fine”. I have an assistant who speaks Spanish, and some English, which really helped me understand what they were trying to say. I feel that by the end of this, I should pick up a lot of Spanish just by listening to my students! Anyways, my assistant asked if anyone could understand English, and all but one said they could. I knew they could somewhat because when I asked them to do certain things or if I said certain things they would do them or at least not look at me like I was crazy, which was a step. It went pretty well over all. We played with play doh, went over the rules, practiced some procedures, read some stories, then colored. Some could write some of the letters of their names while others just drew different shapes and such. We talked about the colors and I found out that most knew how to count to at least 5 in English! That was pretty exciting! Anyways, things went pretty well.
Then we got information that we weren’t going to have school Friday because hurricane Ike was on its way. So today Rachel and I slept in and went back up to school because our pay checks finally came in! We celebrated by going to the mall and buying phone cards – exciting, I know. I bought some bracelets and Rachel bought some fun earrings, each only coming to like only $1 each! I love cheap jewelry…
In upcoming news, hurricane Ike is supposed to hit tomorrow night – not so much hit us with the center of the storm but we are expected to have a lot of rain and wind. This will be the closest to being in a hurricane that I’ve ever been. Apparently we have to cover parts of the windows in masking tape and leave all of the doors open so the wind can go through. We have to move everything off the floor because it’s supposed to flood a little within the house – I guess this is another reason why there is no carpet in the Dominican… so keep praying that the damage isn’t that bad!
Sorry these updates are so long! I will post pictures soon of our room, house, classrooms, and school. Please continue to pray for us, our students, and our house family. Love you guys!
Monday, September 1, 2008
2 Weeks in...
We’ve now been in the country for almost two weeks. We’re still learning new things everyday as we become more acclimated to the culture.
Life at home is pretty good. I am excited that as time goes on we have more and more things to do and prepare for. I don’t handle down time very well, which may be something that God is trying to teach me. I struggled a bit this weekend with being homesick. It’s hard to think of everything I’m missing by not being back in Texas. I just have to keep remembering that I feel that God led me here for a purpose and that I have things to learn from being here. I know it will get better as school begins and my time is filled with thoughts about teaching kids and learning Spanish once we begin at Berlitz.
I finally got my school assignment today and am teaching K-4. It’s been hard because they still don’t know how many kids are in each class because parents keep registering students daily. They were waiting to see if they needed me as a 2nd grade teacher, but not all the students from last year are coming back so they are using me in pre-school where they had an opening. I walked into the room and saw that everything was still up from last year. I had to take down everything from last year then begin to build things up as I wanted them. I had to think way back to when I worked at the CDRC (Child Development Research Center) and remember what it was like to work with 4 year olds. I used the shelving that I had to create centers and started putting a few things on the wall. I did not come prepared to work with 4 year olds, so we’ll see how this all goes. I’ll really have to work on being creative to fill the time and teach the standards.
These past weeks I’ve also realized how much of a control freak I am. Right now I feel like hardly anything is in my control and it’s driving me crazy! I know that I am a very independent person, but didn’t think it would affect what happened down here. Apparently, I really like to have control of everything and that’s one reason why the adapting process is taking longer than I would have liked. I feel that this is another thing that God wants to teach me. I could be learning a lot more than I planned on this year…
Overall things are going pretty well. As life gets a little busier it should be better. School starts on Wednesday so things should definitely pick up. We also begin training at Berlitz this weekend so that we can begin teaching English. I am looking forward to teaching as well as taking a Spanish class. I am ready to break the language barrier and finally fully understand what’s going on. I know life will get a lot easier once we understand the language and more about the culture.
Life at home is pretty good. I am excited that as time goes on we have more and more things to do and prepare for. I don’t handle down time very well, which may be something that God is trying to teach me. I struggled a bit this weekend with being homesick. It’s hard to think of everything I’m missing by not being back in Texas. I just have to keep remembering that I feel that God led me here for a purpose and that I have things to learn from being here. I know it will get better as school begins and my time is filled with thoughts about teaching kids and learning Spanish once we begin at Berlitz.
I finally got my school assignment today and am teaching K-4. It’s been hard because they still don’t know how many kids are in each class because parents keep registering students daily. They were waiting to see if they needed me as a 2nd grade teacher, but not all the students from last year are coming back so they are using me in pre-school where they had an opening. I walked into the room and saw that everything was still up from last year. I had to take down everything from last year then begin to build things up as I wanted them. I had to think way back to when I worked at the CDRC (Child Development Research Center) and remember what it was like to work with 4 year olds. I used the shelving that I had to create centers and started putting a few things on the wall. I did not come prepared to work with 4 year olds, so we’ll see how this all goes. I’ll really have to work on being creative to fill the time and teach the standards.
These past weeks I’ve also realized how much of a control freak I am. Right now I feel like hardly anything is in my control and it’s driving me crazy! I know that I am a very independent person, but didn’t think it would affect what happened down here. Apparently, I really like to have control of everything and that’s one reason why the adapting process is taking longer than I would have liked. I feel that this is another thing that God wants to teach me. I could be learning a lot more than I planned on this year…
Overall things are going pretty well. As life gets a little busier it should be better. School starts on Wednesday so things should definitely pick up. We also begin training at Berlitz this weekend so that we can begin teaching English. I am looking forward to teaching as well as taking a Spanish class. I am ready to break the language barrier and finally fully understand what’s going on. I know life will get a lot easier once we understand the language and more about the culture.
Monday, August 25, 2008
More about the school...
All right, so believe it or not the reason we came down here is to teach, not just hang out and go to the beach whenever we want… We began teacher training last Thursday. There are 1 or 2 teachers for each grade level from 3 year olds all the way through 12th grade. The staff is pretty close, seeing as there are not very many of them, and everyone relies on everyone. We were told right off the bat that we are a family and can go to anyone and anytime. That really set things off on the right foot! I love the atmosphere in working with the other teachers. Everyone is really nice and helpful. All we have really done so far is classroom management, which has been great. Because I will either be in 1st or 2nd grade, I worked with the 1st-3rd grade teachers to develop procedures so they would be the same across the board. It’s been really great because then I can get a better feeling about how the school works and what they students are used to. We went from everything from morning ceremony to walking the hallways to sharpening pencils.
The school itself is 4 stories tall with all doors facing the outside. Each classroom has an open space at the front with a dry-erase board, then has stairs going back, each large enough to fit a row of desks 3 across. This will make more sense when you see pictures, which I will take of the classroom once I figure out which classroom is mine. They also just put a bulletin board in each classroom, which is great.
We have done classroom management and have started on lesson planning and differentiated learning strategies. Everything I have learned, especially in the last two years has all come back as we have gone over it these past few days. They even use parts from the book by Harry Wong about the first days of school. We have also talked about Piaget and Gardner (Multiple Intelligences). So for right now, it’s all been a great review. I can’t wait to get the students here and start teaching!
I will be teaching either 1st or 2nd grade, whichever one needs a teacher more, as well as 10th grade language arts. It’s a little different, so if you have any suggestions about teaching 10th graders, please let me know! Rachel is teaching 6th grade and also 11th grade science (Biology). We have training through the 2nd and start September 3rd!
The school itself is 4 stories tall with all doors facing the outside. Each classroom has an open space at the front with a dry-erase board, then has stairs going back, each large enough to fit a row of desks 3 across. This will make more sense when you see pictures, which I will take of the classroom once I figure out which classroom is mine. They also just put a bulletin board in each classroom, which is great.
We have done classroom management and have started on lesson planning and differentiated learning strategies. Everything I have learned, especially in the last two years has all come back as we have gone over it these past few days. They even use parts from the book by Harry Wong about the first days of school. We have also talked about Piaget and Gardner (Multiple Intelligences). So for right now, it’s all been a great review. I can’t wait to get the students here and start teaching!
I will be teaching either 1st or 2nd grade, whichever one needs a teacher more, as well as 10th grade language arts. It’s a little different, so if you have any suggestions about teaching 10th graders, please let me know! Rachel is teaching 6th grade and also 11th grade science (Biology). We have training through the 2nd and start September 3rd!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Let's get rolling!
Hola from the DR! Sorry, this post is going to be lengthy! So let’s just get started!
Wednesday: And we’re off! We finally get to the airport around 11:30. After switching stuff around in suitcases because one is too heavy (only by like 5 pounds) we try going through security. (Just so you know, not all of the weight was clothing, it was mostly children’s books and school supplies) Rachel didn’t have her boarding pass (only the recipt that looks mighty like the boarding pass) so we got out of line and then back in again after she got it. Security went quickly and we went to the gate only to find out that they moved it from the D concourse to the C concourse – with only 20 minutes before we board! We ran over and found that they flight had been delayed a few minutes so we grabbed some Wendy’s and got on the plane. The flight was 4:45 hours long but went by pretty quickly. We landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico around 7 p. It was hilarious trying to get all of our luggage out from the baggage claim to the taxi stand. After lots of falling bags and laughter we made it out. We made it to the hotel and got upgraded to a suite that was quite nice! We had dinner at a restaurant around the corner and went to the 24 hour super Mercado to walk around a bit. We got back around 10 and watched the Olympics and went to bed.
Thursday: After an early wake up and quick breakfast we went back to the airport. We got to the check in desk only to find out that because we didn’t have an official work visa or return ticket yet we weren’t allowed to go. We had to buy a return ticket there because you cannot stay in the country for more than 30 days without a visa. We’ll get the ticket changed soon, as soon as our official contract is drawn up. (Don’t worry we have an agreement that we’ve signed with the school, just not an official piece of paper to show anyone yet.) The flight was fun because it was a small plane where you got to walk up the stairs to the plane, which is always fun! The flight was an hour and a half – not bad! Then we touched down to the Santiago airport, which was smaller than the Lubbock airport (which I didn’t think was possible!) We got through customs really easily and made our way out the airport. We figured Mr. D would find us pretty easily because we were American’s with huge bags, which was true! He found us before we got out of the walkway and then brought the SUV up (thank goodness so we could fit all our bags) and loaded our bags inside. He took us to lunch and we had sandwiches that were quite tasty! Then we got to see they school! It looks great! It is 4 stories high, but only the first 2 are used for our school – the others are used for the college on campus. Each has a door facing the outside and tiers for the desks and an open area in the front. They are so different from American schools! Everybody we met was so nice! I couldn’t wait to get started! After this we went to the Berlitz School where we met D, who is 72 and if from the US living in Santiago and has some great stories from her 10 years here. Then we met M who was the whole reason we got to be here! She orientated us on different things and about the family. We even got offered a job to teach English at night! Super fun! Then we finally got to go to the house.
We live with Mama (said with a Spanish accent) and Abuelo (who is 102). They are both super sweet. The house is a good size and Rachel and I share a room. It took awhile to get everything in our room organized- we 2 beds 18 inches apart, a tall set of 5 drawers, a small set of 2 drawers, and a closet. Everything fits! (Believe it or not!). We also got to go to the Super Mercado with Mama and M – it was huge! They had groceries on the bottom, and everything else on the top floor like clothes, shoes, bags, school supplies, house wares, and who knows what else! It was fun to just walk around. When we got back we got to have a traditional Dominican meal. It had cheese, salami, rice, concon (the ultra done rice that we usually throw away), passion fruit juice, and hot chocolate. Delicious! We had dinner with the whole family – Mama, 2 of her daughters, 2 of her granddaughters, and E who is distantly related but is at the house all the time. After this it was time to sleep. But no worries, we have cable TV with like 20 American channels so we can wind down at night with a good episode of Friends or the Olympics! No worries, we are not deprived!
Everything is great so far! We are settling in – it feel like we’ve been here for more than 3 days! I’ll update later about teacher training and the such! Spanish is coming along, more slowly for me than Rachel because I seem to still be trying to translate things into German first rather than right into Spanish… after a few days this should get better I hope. Being around Spanish speakers really does help!
Wednesday: And we’re off! We finally get to the airport around 11:30. After switching stuff around in suitcases because one is too heavy (only by like 5 pounds) we try going through security. (Just so you know, not all of the weight was clothing, it was mostly children’s books and school supplies) Rachel didn’t have her boarding pass (only the recipt that looks mighty like the boarding pass) so we got out of line and then back in again after she got it. Security went quickly and we went to the gate only to find out that they moved it from the D concourse to the C concourse – with only 20 minutes before we board! We ran over and found that they flight had been delayed a few minutes so we grabbed some Wendy’s and got on the plane. The flight was 4:45 hours long but went by pretty quickly. We landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico around 7 p. It was hilarious trying to get all of our luggage out from the baggage claim to the taxi stand. After lots of falling bags and laughter we made it out. We made it to the hotel and got upgraded to a suite that was quite nice! We had dinner at a restaurant around the corner and went to the 24 hour super Mercado to walk around a bit. We got back around 10 and watched the Olympics and went to bed.
Thursday: After an early wake up and quick breakfast we went back to the airport. We got to the check in desk only to find out that because we didn’t have an official work visa or return ticket yet we weren’t allowed to go. We had to buy a return ticket there because you cannot stay in the country for more than 30 days without a visa. We’ll get the ticket changed soon, as soon as our official contract is drawn up. (Don’t worry we have an agreement that we’ve signed with the school, just not an official piece of paper to show anyone yet.) The flight was fun because it was a small plane where you got to walk up the stairs to the plane, which is always fun! The flight was an hour and a half – not bad! Then we touched down to the Santiago airport, which was smaller than the Lubbock airport (which I didn’t think was possible!) We got through customs really easily and made our way out the airport. We figured Mr. D would find us pretty easily because we were American’s with huge bags, which was true! He found us before we got out of the walkway and then brought the SUV up (thank goodness so we could fit all our bags) and loaded our bags inside. He took us to lunch and we had sandwiches that were quite tasty! Then we got to see they school! It looks great! It is 4 stories high, but only the first 2 are used for our school – the others are used for the college on campus. Each has a door facing the outside and tiers for the desks and an open area in the front. They are so different from American schools! Everybody we met was so nice! I couldn’t wait to get started! After this we went to the Berlitz School where we met D, who is 72 and if from the US living in Santiago and has some great stories from her 10 years here. Then we met M who was the whole reason we got to be here! She orientated us on different things and about the family. We even got offered a job to teach English at night! Super fun! Then we finally got to go to the house.
We live with Mama (said with a Spanish accent) and Abuelo (who is 102). They are both super sweet. The house is a good size and Rachel and I share a room. It took awhile to get everything in our room organized- we 2 beds 18 inches apart, a tall set of 5 drawers, a small set of 2 drawers, and a closet. Everything fits! (Believe it or not!). We also got to go to the Super Mercado with Mama and M – it was huge! They had groceries on the bottom, and everything else on the top floor like clothes, shoes, bags, school supplies, house wares, and who knows what else! It was fun to just walk around. When we got back we got to have a traditional Dominican meal. It had cheese, salami, rice, concon (the ultra done rice that we usually throw away), passion fruit juice, and hot chocolate. Delicious! We had dinner with the whole family – Mama, 2 of her daughters, 2 of her granddaughters, and E who is distantly related but is at the house all the time. After this it was time to sleep. But no worries, we have cable TV with like 20 American channels so we can wind down at night with a good episode of Friends or the Olympics! No worries, we are not deprived!
Everything is great so far! We are settling in – it feel like we’ve been here for more than 3 days! I’ll update later about teacher training and the such! Spanish is coming along, more slowly for me than Rachel because I seem to still be trying to translate things into German first rather than right into Spanish… after a few days this should get better I hope. Being around Spanish speakers really does help!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
We made it!
Just so you know, we made it saftely accross the Gulf and near a hurricane (or tropical storm, I'm not really sure) to our destination! The full stories are coming soon, no worries!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Just so you know...
So due to the whole hurricane deal, we have a change in flight pattern. Instead of flying through Orlando, the original plan, we are flying right to Pureto Rico then on to Dominican Republic. So really, it's kind of a blessing in disguise so we don't have to worry about another airport an plan change and such. So for those that were freaking out a bit as we were with the onset of the hurricane coming towards Florida, looks like were avoiding that and spending a little more time in PR. No worries, hurricanes won't stop us! (oh, and where we will be in the DR the huricane that came through only seemed like a storm, so no real damage... hope that puts your mind at ease as well!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Here we go!
Hi! So here's the deal - upon asking the Dean of the College of Education about international opportunities for teachers, she mentioned the Dominican Republic. After this I called my friend Rachel who I knew has been to Haiti and wanted to go back at some point and who is always in for a good adventure to see if she was interested in accompanying me in this adventure. After emailing back and forth with the director of a school down there, we are now employed as teachers for a school year! This blog is to serve as a source of communication so we can keep you informed of the adventures that will be had and pictures for your viewing pleasure!
We are leaving on August 19th, so please pray for safe travels and for the people that we are going to be living and working with for the next several months!
Here's to the next big adventure! We'll keep you updated... :-D
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