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!
Monday, August 25, 2008
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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