School Starts

This past week has been super busy! On Saturday, our seventh (that's right, seventh) roommate got here. Jessie is going to be student teaching first semester and is living with us. Fortunately, she's really cool and fun, so that's good. We were worried.... Haha :) So, Jackie and I took Jessie around a little last Saturday when she got here, showed her The Monument and Calle del Sol.

On Sunday, Kaitlyn and I went to church in Moca. I absolutely love it there. Pastor Alex is really nice and gives really good sermons. They are in Spanish obviously, but he speaks very clearly and is easy to understand. His family is really nice too. They are in the process of moving, but he told us once they get settled in, they will have us all over for dinner. For the most part, Moca is going to be our "home" church when we are here.

Then on Monday, we had an open house during which students and parents could come in and meet the teachers. Since I don't have a classroom, I kind of wandered around and met as many of the high schoolers as I could. Then, the rest of the week, the students were at school for half days for "Orientation Week." It was kind of a nice way to get to meet the kids, play some getting to know you and team building games with them, and start getting into the school routine without having to teach. I think I am going to have some really good days and some really challenging ones. The students seem like typical high schoolers. The ninth graders are super excited to be in high school but still very squirley and loud. (And there are about 25 of them!) The tenth graders think they are super cool, way too cool to participate voluntarily in stuff, but decent kids. The eleventh and twelfth graders seem like they will be the most fun to teach. They are old enough that they don't have to prove their coolness anymore, have their friendships established, and and also a good bunch of kids. A lot of the kids don't really have typical family situations, so that will be interesting to work with. A lot of them have parents that live in the States and are living down here with grandparents or aunts and uncles, stuff like that. So, it will be interesting to see how the year all pans out. I start real teaching on Monday with ALL six classes so say some prayers it goes well and wish me luck!

Last night, Jackie, Danielle, Jessie, and I went out with Keith, Rosanna, Lissette and her husband, and Gleyvis to a dance club. I really enjoy dancing merengue and bachata, probably because they are pretty easy yet fun to do! It was a good time. Now, I'm off to Selina and Nalia's house. I know them from when I was here in high school and they invited me over for the day and to spend the night. So, hopefully I'll get some good food, some Spanish practice, and hopefully get it set up to volunteer at a hospital here because Selina works at one! I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Oh, for those of you who don't know yet, I got offered a med school interview at the University of Minnesota - Duluth, which is one of my top choices in schools so I will be flying home the end of September or the beginning of October for that! Say some prayers that it goes well and that I get accepted! Miss you all tons!

Chicken Ambush

The Dominican never ceases to unveil new surprises. On Sunday, we went to church in Moca. Moca is about twenty minutes or so outside of Santiago and there is a WELS church there with a national pastor Alex. The service was awesome. I loved it there! I think that is probably where we will end up going. The church is an old house that’s been converted into a church building and is located on the main road through town. Alex is very easy to understand and gave a great sermon. However, right in the middle of the sermon, a car drove by blaring “apple bottom jeans and the boots with the fur.” Not quite what you expect to hear in church!

Today, walking home from school, a man turned the corner in front of us on his motorcycle. Now, this is a pretty normal site. Tons of people drive around crazily on motorcycles. Except this man, was holding something with one arm while steering with the other. And that something, happened to be a washing machine. Then, after going running, Kaitlyn and I were walking to the colmado (A colmado is basically the equivalence of a convenience store doesn’t have the gas station part. Most are very small, but this one has pretty much what you need for daily grocery runs.) The walk there and back was pretty uneventful for the most part, the usual catcalls, garbage all over the streets, making sure you don’t get hit by one of the crazy drivers since pedestrians have no right of way, until we walked by a garbage can and out jumped a chicken which royally scared us. The chickens run all over here and cluck loudly. But that’s ok, it was pretty hilarious to get ambushed by a chicken.

So, things never cease to surprise you here. We have the rest of this week to plan, and then next week is orientation week. The kids have half days of school and then we get to plan for the afternoon. Then, a week from Monday, real school starts. Say some prayers that everything goes well! Also, please keep the mission in your prayers. The Santiago church was broken into on Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning for the fourth time even though they added extra security to the building on Friday. This was the fourth break in a relatively short amount of time. So, please keep the members and everyone here in your prayers. Miss you all!

Which side of the donkey do you pick?!?

Every day here seems to present new challenges, experiences, and adventures. I really like it here, although it’s kind of hard sometimes too. Here is a brief re-cap of my week.

On Monday, we were rearranging desks in the classrooms. (I still don’t have classrooms yet although they are coming along much better! We will be in make-shift classrooms like the lab, the teachers’ lounge, and the library until they are done.) So, we were carrying desks up to the second floor, and I was wearing a skirt and really slippery flip flops. So, I’m carrying two desks up the stairs, and Manuel, the Spanish phy ed teacher was behind me. And me, being incredibly coordinated as I am, totally wiped out and started falling down the stairs holding two desks. It was pretty smooth…. After he made sure I was ok and carried all the desks to the top of the stairs, he laughed at me really hard. It was ok though because I wasn’t actually very hurt, just a little scraped up, and it was pretty funny. Monday was also laundry day… In case you missed it, see the previous post.

Yesterday, was quite an eventful day. Walking to school, the road is fairly narrow and there is no sidewalk. So, answer this question for me… When there are cars coming and also a donkey, which side of the donkey do you walk on? If you walk on the ditch side, you could fall in and risk injury… If you walk on the street side, you might get run over by a motoconcho (one of the motorcycles that tear around and are very dangerous)… So, it’s kind of a toss up. Kaitlyn and I picked the road side which turned out to be a fine decision that time around. Then later, Rosanna, the Spanish math and science teacher, and I were cleaning and organizing the science lab. I opened up a box full of magnifying glasses and got a little more than I bargained for. Out of the box came TONS of cockroaches that ran all over the lab. We had to run all over the room stomping on them. It was pretty gross. Fortunately, we’ve only found a few in our apartment. Just so you know, no matter how clean you keep things here, cockroaches and ants seem to find a way in. But, it’s all part of the experience I guess J Keith, one of the American teachers who is an aerobics teacher at a gym here too had a kickboxing class for us after school. It was actually pretty fun! I was pretty proud of all us Americans. We made it through the whole kickboxing “class” just fine and the PE teacher, Manuel, had to quit about half way through. Now I guess I have something I can laugh at him about! After dinner, two of my roommates and I went over to fellow American teachers Micah and Kaitlin’s apartment and watched the Olympics, had snacks, and played cards. So, it was nice to be able to get out a little bit!

Today, we were walking to school with our paraguas. That is one of my favorite Spanish words by the way because it just makes so much sense. “Para” in this case means “for” and “agua” means water. So, it’s a “for water” aka an umbrella. So, Kaitlyn and I were walking to school with our paraguas and ended up talking to these two cute ladies. One was really old and was wearing house slippers and was shuffling down the road. The other I believe was her daughter. They were very friendly and didn’t try hitting on us once! PS: We get cat-called at all the time. Some interesting things we’ve heard are “I love your mommy!” “Mi amor” “Que bonitas americanas”, etc. Its ok though, we are getting used to it. At school, one of the Spanish teacher’s brothers-in-law came in. He is the principle of a high school in New York City and teachers in a master’s in education program in a college there too. He gave the American teachers a presentation on giving lessons. For me, it was pretty interesting since that wasn’t what I went to college for. After that, he gave a presentation to the Spanish teachers about critical thinking. Keith and I stayed for that one too which was good practice for my Spanish. I was pretty proud that I understood the whole thing!

Tonight, we are going to one of the missionary’s houses for pizza and a welcome to the DR get-together. So, that should be pretty fun!

Laundry

So, doing laundry here is pretty much the greatest. It's so easy and convenient. Once you've read my description of how our washing machine works, I'm sure you will all be insanely jealous and wish you had one just the same.

So, to get started, you pour your laundry detergent into the left side of the washer and add your clothes and water. To add the water, there is a hose that comes out of our wall. You stick it in the washing machine and hold it in there. If you don't hold it, it can come spraying out all over. That would not be good. Then, you shut the washing machine and set the timer for 15 minutes. There is a spinner in the bottom that spins the clothes for about ten seconds then lets them sit for about ten seconds. This continues for about 15 minutes. Then, you switch a little dial on the front to drain and take another hose that is on the side of the washer into a five gallon pail and allow the water to drain out. There is no drain for it, so we have to drain it by hand. Then, you take the bucket that is full of filthy water and dump it into the tub. You have to take out about three bucketfulls until it is empty. The last one, you have to tip the bucket sideways because otherwise the water won't drain. If you forget this, you might end up bailing out the washing machine with cups. That's what happened to my roommate Kaitlyn when she was doing laundry last week. Anyways, so after you drain the water, you have to turn the know back. If you forget this, water leaks all over the floor, and you have to mop it up. So, you have to fill the washing machine back up with water from the hose coming out of the wall and let it "wash" for another 15 minutes so you get your clothes unsoapy. After this, you follow the same procedure to drain the washing machine. Then, you take your sopping wet clothes out of the left side of the washer and transfer them to this spinner thing on the right side. You pack them in tightly and hope the weight is balanced. Then, you close it up and let it spin super fast for 5 minutes. This gets most of the water out of your clothes. After this, you need to drain the machine again because of the water that game out of your clothes. After this, you are done with the washing machine and just have to go hang your clothes on the porch area on the lines we have out there so it will dry. It's pretty much fun and amazing to get to do laundry!

Are you all super jealous of me know? I hope so :)

School, Facutly Party, and the Beach

Well, this week has sure been busy! At school all week, we've just been having meetings and planning for our year. My classroom is starting to get some more walls, which is a good thing. The high school is an addition to the cafeteria/ kitchen and is not yet done, so I'm not quite sure where I will be teaching in two weeks because I don't know that it will be done.... So, it could be interesting when school starts!

School from the front

The new addition part.... The second floor where there aren't finished walls yet? That's where I'll be teaching.

Where my classes will be

The science lab

The science lab again

On Friday night, we had a faculty party at Eva's (one of the preschool teachers) house. It was really fun. We sat around and visited, drank some Presidente, and danced. I know how to dance merengue some, but I also learned the basic step to the bachata as well. Some of the teachers are amazing dancers! It was really a fun night!

Me, Natalie (a fourth grader at school and Alexandra's daughter), Danielle, Kaitlyn, Alexandra, Dahianna, and Noemy (in front) at our faculty party.

Dancing with fellow American teaching Keith.

Today, we went to the beach in Sosua. It was absolutely gorgeous and really relaxing. We hung out, swam, drank pina coladas, and swam some more all day long. It was about a two hour bus ride from Santiago, so we were able to spend basically the whole day at the beach, which was pretty amazing.

The beautiful beach at Sosua.

The beautiful Atlantic Ocean

The Americans on the beach :)

Me and Danielle, one of my roommates

I hope things are going well with everyone back home! E-mail me at KLSoccer57@aol.com if you have any questions. Or even, just let me know what you are up to! I love hearing from people.

The Adventure Continues

Well, my third day in the Dominican Republic was just as eventful as the first two. We only had one set of keys for all six of us, and you can't leave without keys because you have to unlock a padlock on the gate to get out. So, Danielle, Jackie, and I were leaving and unlocked the gate and Jackie went to throw the keys back up to Kaitlyn... Except Jackie had a very bad aim and threw them into the neighbors' porch below us... Whoops! Especially since the neighbors didn't answer when we knocked on their door. So, we decided all we could do was go to work and deal with it later. After an initial meeting, we had a "math and science meeting" with me, Jennie (our boss), Micah (the 6th grade and physics teacher), and Keith (the middle school math and science teacher). I was supposed to teach high school chemistry (three levels), algebra 1, and geometry. But when I got down here, she informed me that they didn't have anyone to teach the rest of high school math and biology, so we had to work stuff out. We did a lot of figuring out and this fall I will be teaching 9th and 11th grade biology, 10th grade geometry, 12th grade chemistry, 11th grade algebra 2, and 12th grade pre-calculus. In the spring I will teach, 9th grade chemistry, 11th grade chemistry, 9th and 10th grade geometry, 11th grade algebra 2, and 12thpre-calculus. Keith is taking 10th grade biology, and Micah is taking 9th grade algebra 1. So, instead of what I planned, I'm now teaching chemistry, biology, algebra 2, geometry, and pre-calc. So it will be a busy year! During our lunch hour, Jennie (boss lady) ran to our apartment since she and Raul have a spare set of keys and got ours back from our neighbor and then copied them so we each have our own set. This afternoon we went to Centro Leon which is supposedly one of the best museums in the country. We went to the Dominican Anthropology exhibit and the Dominican art exhibit and then saw cigar rollers. It was pretty interesting. We got back to our apartment and found out we don't have running water at the moment. So, that is slightly annoying.... But it's all part of the adventure!

Our Apartment Building

My bedroom

Our First Living Room

Patio off the first living room

On the patio

View out our window

Another view out our window

Our dining room table

Our kitchen


Our second living room

Our washing machine... Apparently it's a beast to use...

So, today was officially my first day of "work". We essentially have three weeks of planning and orientation before we actually start teaching. The school is about a five to ten minute walk from our apartment. So, it's really not bad at all. We started off the morning just hanging around and talking to the Dominican staff. They seem really nice and friendly, so it should be a fun group to work with. Rosanna is who I will probably be working with the most as she teaches high school math and science in Spanish, and I will be the English math and science teacher. I kind of have to say it like that now... Originally, I was going to teach three grades of chemistry, algebra 1, and geometry. But now, apparently they don't have a pre-calc teacher or a biology teacher. So guess who is probably going to get some more classes? So, until further meetings are held, I don't really know what I'll be teaching. Hopefully I'll find out more tomorrow!

The school seems nice, although very different from an American school. The hallways basically open up into the outside in places, and the rooms are all cement block and concrete. I'll have to figure out a fun way to decorate my room.... but that will probably have to wait until I know what I'm teaching!

After school, we went to the grocery store and then stopped at a cute little bar by our apartment for a Presidente Lite, the Dominican beer everyone drinks here. Then tonight, we just hung out. I made friends with my roommate Kaitlyn. That sounds super nerdy, but we hadn't talked much really before tonight, but I think we are going to end up being really good friends and doing stuff together lots! I'm pretty pumped. All my roommates are really cool, so I think it should be a fun year!

If you want to see pictures of my apartment and first day in Santiago, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007835&l=58b30&id=88400178

Start of the Adventure

So, I never seem to have a nice, normal, uneventful flying experience and going to the Dominican was no exception. To begin with, my name was spelled wrong on the ticket they bought me, so I was a little bit worried about that, but I called Northwest several times and was told it would be fine. So, we get to the airport, and Mom comes in with me just in case there are any problems.... Well.... The flight I was supposed to be on to JFK in New York was canceled because of bad weather. So, they told us that they re-booked my ticket on a flight going out Sunday night (the original flight was for Saturday). This was a problem because I was flying a different airline from New York to Santiago. So, the lady trying to explain this can't really speak English and keeps saying she can't help us, so she directs us to "purchasing" where we find this lady who seems really crabby. But, Mom starts joking around with her and she re-books me on a flight into LaGuardia instead of JFK that was supposed to get in with five hours to spare between flights... That is until that flight got delayed two hours... Well, anyways, the ticket lady I believe thought I was about 15 and Mom told her I was leaving for a year, so she gave her a "Mom Pass", so she could come through security with me and sit until the flight left. So, we got some lunch and then visited until the flight left. During this time, we realized that she had booked me in first class! So, that was pretty sweet :) We got food and drinks and everything, so that was pretty snazzy too! Well, I had very little time between flights by the time I finally get in, but I make it on a shuttle, get to JFK, get checked in right before they closed the check in, got through security, and got to the gate just as the plane was starting to board. So, pretty crazy! And then I go sit down and someone starts calling my name... So, I look around, and one of the guys that is teaching at my school was sitting across the aisle from me, so that was pretty neat. So, we got into Santiago at like 2 in the morning, did all the immigration/ customs stuff, and got picked up by Jennie and Raul who are the directors of our school.

So, today was my first "real" day in the DR. I got up and got to see our apartment which is soooo big! It is way, way nicer than I was expecting. I'll put up pictures soon. There are three bedrooms and six of us that are living here. So, I have five roommates who all seem super cool. I'm pretty pumped for the year! We went exploring today. We walked a really, really long time to get to the monument, hung out there for a while, tried to find the grocery store and got helped by a creepy man, and finally came back to our apartment and relaxed a little. Keith came over about 4:30 and we headed out for 5:30 church at the WELS mission in Santiago. The service was all in Spanish, but I understood it all! So, that was pretty cool. I also got to use my Spanish tons today when we were slightly lost trying to find the monument and then our way back to our apartment. So, all in all, it was a busy first day!

I'll put up pictures soon, and please send me e-mails letting me know what you are all up to! I miss everyone lots!

PS: If you want to come visit a warm, beautiful Caribbean country sometime when it is nasty and cold at home.......