First Day of First Grade

So Friday was my very first day teaching first grade. At first, I bemoaned the fact about starting on a Friday, but after coming home exhausted and barely able to keep my eyes open, I'm very thankful that I have a weekend to gain some of the energy back from the day.


I will have 14 little ones this year, 7 girls and 7 boys, but only 10 came on Friday. I guess some parents wanted to extend the summer a couple more days.  The students arrived, a little shy, but eager to see their classmates forgotten over the summer. I was very surprised how many of the students and parents spoke English flawlessly.  I hope my students will learn from me this year, but I believe that I will learn more from them this year. I will share a couple of things that I learned my first day of school.

1. 6-year-olds have a very short attention span-  I mean I guess I already knew this, but calling on a student as I'm in the middle of explaining directions and having them say "I'm hungry, or I'm thirsty." is not always the response you expect.

2. Directions aren't always as clear as you think- I was trying to explain to a little boy how to sit properly and I patted my legs and I said sit like this. He got up and sat on my lap...well that wasn't exactly what I was going for.

3. Unprepared for moments are much more common- The scariest moment of the first day was when a girl who was eating chips suddenly stood up w and started to hold her hands in the choking position and her face was getting redder and redder. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I was actually behind her, getting ready to attempt the Heimlich when she started speaking and crying. Hearing her speak was a relief since I knew she was getting air, so I let her know she wasn't choking and got her water, but still a scary moment.

4. Eating a super early lunch makes the day seem longer- our lunch is at 9:40! Can I repeat that again 9:40! So by the time 12 rolls around, it feels like the middle of the afternoon. I ended up buying snacks for my students the last period. You may think it's because I'm nice, but honestly it was just for self-protection against 14 little hangry 6 year olds.

5.  My assistant is amazing- I honestly don't know what I would do without her and it is only the first couple of days. She came up with many of the ideas for the classroom and did all of the artistic displays and stepped in many times to help out when I was feeling a little overwhelmed. She officially gets her teaching certificate in the spring and I know she will make one fantastic teacher!

A Tale of Two Cities: From Jarabacoa to Santo Domingo

A week ago I officially moved to Santo Domingo, well at least for the upcoming year. I always tell everyone who moves anywhere, that the hardest part is that first week, getting used to the newness, so my first week is behind me and proud to say none the worse for the wear. It has been a busy week and there is so much to tell, so I'll just give the brief highlights.

1. I am so very thankful for my welcoming committee, aka my roommate who made sure that we had power in our apartment for when I arrived and who has been introducing me to the 21st century aka things like Uber and Shazam..  She even convinced me that there is a possibility that I might need to have a smartphone. I've been holding out as long as I can, but there comes a point when directionally challenged people like me realize there is a benefit to having things with built in GPS. Also, it is near impossible to go anywhere without providing a phone number these days, but alas it's probably time to come out of my rock and join the real world. 

2. My apartment has also been a real blessing. It came to us furnished. We have a pretty large living area and my room itself has air conditioning, so that has definitely been a step up from Jarabacoa. I also live very close to the malls and nearby grocery stores, which is very beneficial as you lug home all your groceries. Speaking as a completely third party objectively with absolutely no personal interest in the matter.... full bags of groceries including two bags of flour get to feeling pretty heavy after a block, so that is a BIG PLUS!

3. I had the chance to go to my very first crossfit gym. We went to the training course, so supposedly not that difficult and it really wasn't...until two days later when going down the stairs in IKEA felt akin to Chinese water torture, who knew that 12 minutes of exercise would cause all the grunts and groans for 48 hours afterwards. Sadly, everyone at IKEA soon did.

4. For my first weekend back I got the opportunity to return to Jarabacoa. After spending time at my local cafe, it felt a little odd not walking back to my old house and I was feeling a little "nomad"ish, but I am definitely glad to have the opportunity to see people I knew, walk the familiar streets and feel a little bit more at home. 

5. We have just started teacher training meetings and I am definitely feeling a little overwhelmed about everything that will need to be accomplished before next Friday when the students come. I will be teaching first grade, for the first time and so the newness of that as well as trying to figure out how to decorate my classroom is a lot to do and be working on. My classroom is bigger than ones that I have taught in before, which is a benefit and a disadvantage, as now I need to figure out how to fill all the space. Anyways, I am feeling a mite bit stressed about the vastness of this project, so if you are a praying sort, please just pray for a little bit of peace and clarity as I prepare to teach these little ones.

6. Last and certainly not least, my very favorite part of living in Santo Domingo is being closer to this boy. He is still taking classes at INTEC but it's nice to know that he is only a couple of subway stops away versus 2 hours. My apartment might be a tad more extravagant than his, so I'm sure it's a more beneficial studying point as well. Anyways, I'm very grateful for having him close and being able to see him more than a couple of weekends a month.

7. I must end by giving the glory to where it belongs. I think that moving to a new place, makes you discover more about yourself and the thing that I discover every time I move is how lost I am without God. He is the great provider and the great caretaker and no matter how far we go, as long as we keep our eyes on Him, we will always be home.

"The Lord is near to all who call on him." -Psalm 145:18