Though I'd love to tell you about all of adventures...I will give you a top five and hopefully you can surmise the rest.
1. The hardest part of this week was actually sleeping. I don't know why, but I was so awake the first four days and got maybe 1-3 hours of sleep each night. My mind just wouldn't turn off. I didn't feel sleepy, but it got pretty boring by the 5th hour of being up. Though we are thousands of miles away, my dad even read to me over Skype to try to help me fall asleep! There were times I even thought I forgot how to sleep. Anyways, I finally slept through the night on Thursday! Who knew that sleep could be such an accomplishment when babies are so good at it.
2. I've joined a gym and have gone to it several days for classes such as spinning and Zumba. Now, let me tell you...I didn't know it was possible to sweat that much. I think my face was actually starting to melt. The spinning class was ridiculous...the sweat was dribbling into my eyes and the only thing that kept me going was watching the bigger ladies who were just going to town. Who wants to bow out when older and fatter people are still working? That's just plain old embarrassing. So, of course when I got off the bike my legs could barely support my weight and as soon as I got home I fell asleep.
3. There is a cat that desires to be a house cat...or more particularly our house cat and learns how to be a little more sneaky everyday. This cat will wait by the door and when you go to unlock the gate to leave the house or when you go to bring in groceries..it is extremely difficult to keep the cat out and get yourself in. Yesterday,,,I tried to outsmart a cat. Instead of going out the front...I believed that it would be easier to leave through the back and then walk around. So...I left through the back door and locked it behind me before discovering that there was no real way from the back to the front and I didn't have the key to the back door. So I ended up walking through a jungle of trees and hopping a wall to get back to the porch. One for the cat...zero for me.
4. The city is a lot nicer than expected. As I'm beginning to learn how to make my way around the city, I 'm beginning to appreciate the country and culture and realize that the people here and the daily life isn't that different from the United States. You can go to the gym...meet friends at a restaurant and go shopping. Air conditioning is not common, though it is available in some restaurants. The scenery is definitely different than Hillsdale with the palm trees and mountains. I like that everywhere you go there are people walking and going about their business and that Dominicans are very used to Americans, they won't give you a second look except to ask if you need/want a ride to your location.
5. Finally, I've learned that attempting to speak Spanish is a lot like the cat trying to get into the house. Each attempt is a little better, but still not quite making it through the door. I don't understand everything that is said and often when I speak Spanish I need to repeat it or say it a different way, but hey mistakes are all part of the learning process. Poco a poco, I will learn.
Well I guess that caps off my first week and I'm so thankful for so many things. I'm thankful for wifi and a wonderful place to stay, I'm thankful that I can skype with my friends and family and they don't feel so far away. I'm thankful for the new friends I'm making here. But most of all I'm thankful for a god who never gives up on me. I've felt God's presence in so many ways down here and it is such a comfort to know that even 1,776 miles from home, God is just as much here as He is there.
"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed n the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." -Psalm 139: 7-10
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