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
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