My Top Five Ways to Learn a New Language.

So I have been in the Dominican Republic for 3 and a half years. Some people such as my mom might lie to you and tell you that I am fluent in Spanish, but a true Spanish speaker would know better. Now, I believe my Spanish has improved from being here and today I'm going to share the best ways to learn a language.

The very best way to learn a language is to date or marry a person who speaks that language as their first language. An added bonus would be if they don't speak any English. Dominicans date Americans to get a visa, we date them for the language. Win-win right? No this is not an engagement announcement, I chose to go the harder/more conventional/slower route, but for those of you who want to learn fast.... ;)

1. Uber Drivers- So, if you know me, you know that I have fallen in love with UBER. Hey, I actually bought my very first smartphone (last year) because of UBER.  Anyways, UBER trips are the very best way to practice your Spanish. #1 if you mess up, you will never see them again so it is okay to embarrass yourself. It is a one-on-one conversation, so there won't be a lot of added noise or conversation. Also, drivers are paid to be nice. Riders rate them at the end of the trip, so basically they have to converse with you  and not say anything bad about your Spanish. Use the advantage! Finally there is so much tapon (traffic), that conversing is better than sitting awkwardly in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour. I've had many interesting conversations from types of music, to Dominican driving to favorite cities in the D.R.

2. Order Pizza on the phone- So when I arrived, my conversational skills were definitely at their lowest. I struggled understanding people and had to see their lips. My biggest challenge was phone calls. I couldn't understand anything anyone said because I couldn't see them. I decided that in order to overcome that challenge I would practice by ordering pizza by the phone. It was the easiest way to start because I could see the menu and knew the basic questions that they might ask such as toppings or my address. My first phone call was definitely a little rocky and it took them a long time to find my house after my shaky directions, but an hour later a pepperoni pizza arrived at my door. Success!
Now, I feel much more confident on the phone and have even branched out to phone calls to the bank as well as scheduling doctor's appointments. Calling medical facilities are definitely most challenging as the medical Spanish terms is a whole different type of Spanish. I had someone recently give me the phone to ask questions for them and after completing the transaction I told them that they should order a pizza sometime ;)

3. One-on-one conversations- Recently, I was up on a mountain overlooking Jarabacoa and had the opportunity to sit for an hour and talk to a Dominican as we watched the sunset. My phone had died, but being "untethered" was sorta beautiful. We watched the sun set behind the mountains turning them purple. We also got to watch planes take off from the airport some 45 minutes away. He pointed out the different lights and explained the different towns that we could see. When I got to the bottom of the mountain, I was asked if I was angry it had taken so long for them to send a vehicle up the mountain for us, but really I could have stayed up there another hour. It felt so majestic and was such a great time to learn Spanish. I didn't have any distractions and time to really submerge into the environment around me.

4. Church -I went to an English church in the spring that I loved, but I felt like I was missing so much of my Spanish learning. Church is the place that I grow the most in my Spanish. Since I was raised in the church I am familiar with the Bible and its passages and so through listening to Spanish sermons I gain new vocabulary. Also, I love worshipping in Spanish because it reminds me that God is not limited to one language.

5. Always be willing to be made a fool- I think the hardest part about learning a new language is that you are so incredibly vulnerable. I dislike being made to look a fool so I don't like talking to people who are fluent in both English and Spanish. I think though, just like in all things in order to improve at something we have to try, we have to fail and we have to get back up.

Sticky Hands, Dirty Knees, Full Hearts

Our school uniforms are white..or at least they used to be. I have approximately 7 uniform shirts and not a single one is completely white anymore. Though, looking at my shirts hanging in my closet, I think they give a better representation of my life as a first grade teacher better than any diary.

They range from paint stains to playdough stains, to dry erase markers that erroneously marked my shirt rather than the board. I have pen ink stains.  I have dirt marks from students giving me hugs during recess or  just using my shirt as a napkin. I have blood stains from carrying students to the nurse and tear stains that have long since dried, but still leave a salty residue.  There is also the sweat stains in each one of my shirts, from chasing students around at recess, from exercises every morning to count to 100 days of school and challenging any student who dares to a tricycle race. Yes, this is the life of a teacher. 

I had a parent once tell me that being a teacher was super easy. All you had to do was print a worksheet off a computer and voila you are a teacher. I felt like laughing in response. Yes, it is easy to find materials on the internet to use and most people could do that, but that is such a small part of our role. We are not only instructors, but planners, advocates, nurses, lawyers, polices and surrogate parents. During the 8 hours the students are in the classroom, they are OURS. 

Today/tonight we had our annual Christmas concert. After weeks and weeks of practice our students were finally ready. Sitting in the midst of my students, I felt pride for all they had accomplished. Concert days are rough because our students have to sit in a chair for hours on end without getting up and roaming and it is very difficult for their little bodies to handle. Sitting with them though in this non academic time I got to appreciate how much impact we have as teachers and it was humbling. 

I had the opportunity to sit with one of my more active boys this evening, mainly to make sure he stayed in his seat. At the beginning of the night, I was sort of dreading this assignment knowing his antsiness would make my job near impossible, but it actually was a great growing experience for me and I realized how much I love the little dude.  It was about the time that he curled into my lap to hide his eyes in my hair from the strobe lights, that I became "fierce mama bear." Realizing he had little control over his behavior and that he was doing his best to sit still, but was having difficulty because of the techno and length of the evening, I decided to help him out the best I could. We told jokes, danced together in our seats and ate peppermint kisses out of my purse. 

I'm not an artist. I'm not a dancer. I cannot sing. I do not have any sort of fashion sense. I'm awful with directions. But I can teach and for me I've realized that's enough. 

A season of firsts for this "Dominicana"

So November is here and for most of you in the states that means snow and cold weather, but for us here in the Dominican Republic, our air conditioning and fans are still running strong. I'm very thankful we don't have snow and ice here though because with the terrible way Dominicans drive, I don't think anyone would still be alive if you added ice to the mix. The infamous Michigan left turns have nothing on the Dominican "stops" I'll tell you that much. 

FIRST DOCTOR APPOINTMENT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 

So anyways, recently, well since February, I've developed nighttime allergies here. They are the weirdest thing, right around nighttime, basically as soon as the sun goes down, BAM! I start coughing and sneezing and sniffling. Then in the morning, I'm fine again. At first, I thought it was just seasonal allergies, but since there is only one season here, they never went away and just got worse and worse. So, I decided to FINALLY go to the doctor. This by the way is/was the very first time ever going to a doctor here in the Dominican Republic. I got a name from my health insurance rep and scheduled an appointment for 10:30, this is important later. 

Anyways, the day that I'm supposed to go to the appointment shows up. I get a substitute for my 11:30 class, just in case my appointment ran long and went to the doctor. It takes a while to find the office, but I finally do and get there at 10:20.  and the receptionist takes my seguro (health insurance), personal information and tells me to sit down. Over the next half hour, more and more people show up, but still the doctor hasn't appeared. Come to find out, she is NOT EVEN THERE! An hour passes, still waiting. Finally at 11:45, the doctor waits through the door, just arriving for the day. At this time, I've already told the school that it doesn't look like I'll make any of my classes that afternoon. She takes an older man first who is in a wheel chair. He comes back out approx. 5 minutes later. 

She calls me in her office around 12:00. I sit down in this little chair in front of her desk. I tell her I have allergies and want to figure out what I am allergic to and possibly any medications. She  then takes me back to her "clinic. She does about a 1 minute examination, listens to my pulse, blood pressure and breathing, doesn't even take my temperature and returns to her desk with me and starts typing while I'm sitting in front of her. About 3 minutes after I'm there she has handed me a prescription for multiple medicines and a long lists of tests I should take though she lets me know that they probably aren't necessary.  Needless to say, I was underwhelmed by my experience and even ended up calling my dad who is a chemist to make sure the medicine she recommended was okay to take. It was a very different experience from the states. Surprisingly, the medicine she recommended did the trick and I haven't had allergies since, so maybe she deserves the benefit of the doubt, though now that my medicine has run out, I hope I don't need to schedule  another appointment to get a refill on my prescription. 

FIRST SALSA CLASS

This Wednesday, I went to my very first Salsa dance class here. Now, if you know me, you know that I am a terrible dancer. In my college jazz class I was the example student...the example of how not to do the moves. So, I was a little nervous about the class, but my roommates talked me into it, because you've got to try new things, so I went. It wasn't all bad, though the instructor did work with me one-on-one after he noticed my two left flippers. A couple days later, we did up practicing our dance moves and my poor dance partner actually had to say "left, right" to me so apparently I think I hit a new low. Oh well, every once in a while we've got to do something that we aren't good at. I did find a partner who was equally as bad, so I didn't feel as bad partnering as him. He moved my arm like trying to land a plane and I couldn't move my feet so together we were quite something to watch. If you didn't know, the Dominican Republic is a country full of AMAZING dancers so finding a Dominican who can't dance is finding a needle in a haystack ;) 

First Time in La Romana

 So, I visited the city of La Romana for the first time. It wasn't my favorite city, as it felt more "sketch" than most Dominican cities with its lack of Americans, street lights and stop signs, but we met a lot of amazing people there who went the extra mile to make sure we were taken care of. Also, I tasted my very first dolmades which is basically stuffed grape leaves. It is a traditional middle eastern dish and since I love grapes, I figured what could go wrong. I actually highly recommend them as they were quite delicious. So a win for La Romana. I also discovered a Plaza Kara Marie. I'm clearly just touching my name, not covering an i, no matter what people say. ;) 

This Thanksgiving so this week, my roommates and I are going to the last place on my bucket list, BAHIA DE LAS AGUILAS! I'm finally going to make it to the  "most beautiful beach in the country." I'm super excited about this upcoming adventure. We originally thought about renting a car and glamping on the beach, but discovered that the beach is super remote and the roads are close to impassible as no public transportation is allowed.  We decided it was best not to risk it . We don't want to add any unnecessary, unplanned firsts to our list... so we opted instead to take a bus to the nearest station and then joined a tour that will be boating to this island. We are playing it safe, you're welcome mom. Look forward to a future post about this exciting first. 

From Newbie to Veteran....year 4!

1,179 days...that's how many days it has been since I arrived in the Dominican Republic. 1,179 days or in other words year 4 of being in this country. When did  I go from being a newbie to being a veteran? I think I felt most like a veteran this past weekend when I took my roommates and another friend to my "old" stomping grounds of Jarabacoa. I gave them their "first taste" of the campo and showed them the ways of the motoconcho, which is the only way to travel in Jarabacoa. Now they have officially been baptized in the Dominican Republic culture. Trust me, you aren't truly Dominican until you have taken a moto ride. I of course insisted that they ride the motos to the "salto or waterfall...thus trial by fire as it is a 20 minute moto ride. (didn't tell them any of this before hand or that it was up a mountain)... But it is/was a beautiful view and once you realize that a moto is basically a glorified bike with a motor (and doesn't go that much faster) you discover that it is the only way to travel, at least in the campo.

 My favorite part about Jarabacoa is its small town feel and that every time I visit, it feels like coming home. I ran into at least 10 people I knew (only 2 of which were on purpose) Some of those rendezvous(es?) came in handy as it was a friend driving by in a car. Sadly, I am convinced that all of my bible study friends have a story of me chasing after them for a ride, and now with this adventure, the saga continues. (Yes, Joyce, Amanda, Renee and Mallory, Suzanne has officially joined the "Has been chased down by Kara" club) 

It is also really fun to show people around who have never been to a place. You get it to see it all over again with fresh eyes and are less likely to stay inside and make a "butt print on the couch." I got to show my friends the best salto (waterfall) of Jarabacoa where the beginning of Jurassic Park was filmed and take them to my favorite restaurants. Also, I got to show them some of my favorite nature points such as the Confluencia where three rivers meet . 

The more difficult part of knowing a place is that you are expected to know how to get around and have connections, which I do...but comically too many. Anyways, getting ahead of myself.  While at the hostel I was looking for a moto concho driver in my contacts. Again, it has been years since I put numbers in, so I was hoping I would have a name instead of walking all the way into town to the station. In my phone was the name Anthony and Anthony is the name of the moto concho driver. So, I messaged him asking for a moto ride for me and my friends to the salto. I also went ahead and called him and spoke with him on the phone. I asked him for a ride to the salto and to bring another moto for my friends. He said he was on his way up the mountain to fly, but would come and get us in about half an hour. I found that statement odd, but didn't look into it. Half hour passed an hour passed. I was scrolling through my phone and found past conversations with Anthony in Whatsapp. Long story short I found the below picture

The Anthony I called was the Anthony I had gone para gliding with. He apparently must have thought I was asking for him to pick my friends up to go paragliding. EEKS!! I quickly tried to get ahold of him again to explain my error. It took several long conversations to get him to understand that NO we weren't planning on going paragliding, I had simply made a mistake. Oops. That would've been a surprise for my roommates, if a moto ride isn't scary enough, let's jump off the mountain.

All that to say it's year 4 and I'm beginning to feel more of a "veteran" than a newbie. Kind of like my senior year of college verses when I arrived as a scared little freshman 3 years ago. I have grown a lot, I don't see it in the day to day routine, but here is a list of things I can do now that I really hadn't ever done and would have scared me when I came 3 years ago. 

1. Can now speak on the phone in Spanish and not just to order pizza 

2. Conquered riding a moto

3. Checked paragliding, canyoning and white water rafting off my to do list here in the D.R.

4. Can pay electricity and internet bills (adulting I know)

5. Can get around the country using the bus system as well as the metro system. (getting on and off the bus by myself used to scare me, but now instead of riding one bus directly to Jarabacoa and back, I ride a guagua, a bus and take the metro because I've discovered it is "simpler" and well I like it better.

6. Can make food that is edible (not just bake cookies)

7. Can and love using Uber (I bought my first smart phone last year just because of Uber ) 

8. Have Whatsapp, and Instragram (officially entering the technological era, a couple years late)

9. Can arrive late to an event ( the fact that everyone in the country arrives late to every event used to frustrate me, now I guess, if you can't beat 'em...join 'em)

10. Can Trust God Completely- This one has been my favorite lesson and one I'm continuing to learn. 1,179 days ago to the day I was on the floor of my room, literally on my knees not knowing how  I was going to make it away from my family and everything I knew for a week, let alone a year. But then something incredible happened, God showed up. He showed up in incredible inexplicable ways reminding me that even when I'm weak, He is strong and will always be there. This is my testimony. I am a hopeless homebody and that has not changed. I am and was that one kid who always cried at summer camp, college and even on any trip that felt foreign. I'm in year 4, the 1,179th day of living abroad and I'm not homesick. Why? Because God is here, and He's taught me that where He is, I'm home.

Being Grateful for the Little Things

This week has been teaching us how to be grateful for the little things. Our appliances all decided to go on strike this week. To sum up, we have lost power for a night, had our refrigerator stop working, had a gas leak in our stove and not had running water. Our refrigerator hasn't been working right the past couple of weeks and we finally got someone in today to fix it. To celebrate the success, I believe I went out and emptied our local store of all of it's fresh fruits, cheeses, meats and yogurt.  Produce is a beautiful thing after eating crackers and water or ordering out the past couple of nights. Also, during the power outage last night, I was in the middle of doing laundry and so the washer actually held my clothes prisoner inside of it. The lid locked when the power was out, so all of my school shirts were locked inside of the washer. It would make a good excuse for not wearing my uniform, right? I'm sorry, my washer is currently holding them all hostage.

Anyways, welcome to October. My theory is that September and February are the slowest months of the year, even though neither one of them has more than 30 days. I know calling February long sounds almost ironic, but trust me on this.  They both are too far removed from the previous break and a far off distance from the next one. Flipping my calendar to October felt wonderful!  I love October, not just because it is a long awaited relief from September, but it is also the beginning of fall. October is the beginning of the trees painting the skies with colors of red, orange, and brown. It is also the season of pumpkins, sweaters, late night football games and hot coco. I know I don't actually experience any of those things here, but being able to live vicariously is still pretty wonderful and yes sometimes I crank up the a/c, pull out a blanket and drink hot chocolate in the D.R. just because I can.

School is going great.I adore my 13 little ones and their excitement to come to school every day. This year for calendar we are counting to 100 days of school by exercising. Every day we add a new exercise to do.. For example today we did 10 squats, 10 lunges, 10 pushups and 3 jumping jacks because it was the 33rd day of school.  I am convinced my students are trying to see me get winded because they always insist on pushups. We all take a minute after calendar to get a drink of water, because some of us, mainly me, desperately need one. We'll see how we do as we get closer and closer to 100.

I love teaching because I love learning from the kids. They teach me something new each and every day. I think one of my favorite and most important lessons has been be quick to forget and forgive and always commit 100%. My little first graders hold no grudges. You can call one of them out on something in front of all his peers and the next second he is giving you a hug or a picture that he drew as if the confrontation never happened. There is no grudge, they live in the moment and when the moment passes, they still love you. Also, my students have showed me to commit 100%, do everything like you mean it.  We should all attack our days like a kid trying to get a teacher's attention. Sitting on the very edge of his seat, waving his hand like a maniac, shouting, "I know, I know" and refusing to be ignored. I had one kid literally fall out of his chair trying to answer a simple math question. May we all show that much tenacity in our work and in our days.

A month into year 4 here in the Dominican Republic

"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord OUR God is near us whenever we pray to him." -Deuteronomy 4:7

One of my goals for this year is to read the Bible from cover to cover. I haven't ever succeeded in this task before as I usually get stuck in the laws of Leviticus and Numbers, but this year from being more disciplined and finally deciding to read all the way through the Torah, I have discovered there are a lot of great verses and insights that I have never found before in the Bible. The above verse is one of my new favorites and my verse of the week. I love how Moses says that God is near us whenever we pray to him. I definitely don't utilize the power of prayer as much as I should as it basically in today's layman terms is a phone call, whatsapp message, or text directly to our Heavenly Father.

Speaking of prayer, this school year has started off with a bang. I have 13 very energetic kids who prefer to be doing anything except sitting down. Trying to give instructions with students making floor angels on the ground can be a little distracting. Many of my students came from play preschools and have never been in a structured school setting before, so it is a lot of habit building, or habit breaking whichever way you look at it. One of my students accidently even took me out because when I was backing up to write on the board, he had his leg sticking out. Luckily we were learning about words that start with T during that lesson, so I got to add trip and tumble to the list after I brushed myself off and put all the stuff back on the board I had taken off during my wild tumble to the ground.
 On the bright side, to help me corral this bunch, I have been very blessed to have an amazing assistant who is so good with the students and jumping in whenever possible and an awesome teaching partner, so I think despite the busyness, we are off to a good start. 

I also started my Master's degree for reading. Taking one class a semester, I thought would be a fairly easy load, but  unfortunately I was in for a surprise. Besides the discussion board, readings and responses we need to write every week, the class assigns a full blow research driven project each and every week. So usually every week I have one night when I am up to 1 or 2 a.m. completing research or  working  on a project. The one bright side is that it is only a 7 week course and I just finished week 3, so despite the fact that the projects are demanding more and more time each week, the end of the tunnel is in sight. On a bright note, I have been able to use some of the things I have learned from my research into my teaching. For example, I was able to create a narrated presentation for the first time and send it to my parents to demonstrate how to use one of our websites. I did the narration in Spanish so of course I don't know if narrating it was a good thing or a bad thing as now all the parents know how I can butcher Spanish. To quote Abraham Lincoln sometimes it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I feel like I have finally "re" gotten back into the rhythm of life in Santo Domingo after my hiatus in the states. I love being in the Dominican Republic, but one thing that continues to break my heart about being here is the amount of men, women and children you see on the streets each and every day begging for food, for money for hope. The hardest part is not knowing how to help since there aren't any government organizations within the country such as soup kitchens, or homeless shelters as there are in the states.  I definitely haven't figured out how to be "Jesus" to the least of them. I have made it a point not to give money to people who harrass me inside of stores or inside of restaurants because I don't want to encourage them that it is okay to bother people when they shopping or eating, but then again how we can become judges  when we have never been in their positions? Anyways this issue has been a burden on my heart for some time so if anyone has any insight into this delicate society problem, I would love to hear it.

I want to end by thanking you for your prayers for me. It doesn't make sense, but I know there are people praying for me because I constantly feel a sense of peace around me despite the busy schedule and the big decisions I have had to make. So thank you, for the prayers that have brought a peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray the same thing for you that I pray for myself, that God would not provide a perfect year per say, but a year filled with His strength and peace so that whatever obstacle you come across, you can conquer in His name. Vaya con Dios (Go with God)

Teach, Eat,Plan, Sleep Repeat (Eat and Sleep Optional)

Teach, Eat, Plan, Sleep, Repeat

I forgot how much the first couple of days of school puts teachers in survival mode.  We forget to eat lunch, voices are kaput, barely able to keep eyes open and of course that heart attack when a parent shows up 30 minutes after dismissal to ask where her kid is. Yikes! 


Besides teaching, during a simple school day we as teachers need to take inventory and organize school supplies, field parent questions and emails, label workbooks and textbooks, prepare for the professional development meetings, tie the shoes, wipe the tears, clean up the room, make copies, sharpen the pencils,  settle arguments, notice good behavior, notice bad behavior, decide whether a student is really sick, keep everyone on task, explain why it is not time for lunch at 8 in the morning and ensure that everyone is safe, happy and healthy from 7 am until 4 pm. We go home, adjust plans for the next day, go to sleep as early as possible and then repeat.

The pay is awful and the stress is high. Standards and expectations are constantly changing, best practice one year or even one month is completely different than the next. With the influx of technology the speed of change in the education realm is astronomical. Once you finally get used to one program, it is scraped for the newest and greatest fad that expires before the ink is even dry. Also, we are now teaching and instructing little ones who are used to being entertained by multiple screens at one time. Students who struggle sitting through any activity that lasts longer than 5 minutes.

Then why teach? Because there comes those moments for every teacher, in between the corralling and the planning, the tear wiping and shoe tying, when a light bulb goes off and a student finally understands or gets something and NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. You would walk through hoops, jump through fire, stay up all night every night for that one little moment, the one glimpse of understanding, self-awareness and achievement. The moment when the student realizes that he is important, that he capable of learning and that has done something that was impossible for him before. Then you realize there is no where else you'd want to be. So bring on the new programs, the long nights, and the never ending to do lists ....we have students to teach.

A Michigan Summer

   Culture Shock is very much like the childhood experience of hoping from a hot tub to a pool and back again. It takes a while to acclimate to the new environment and then once your body has adjusted, the place you just came from be it the hot tub or the pool suddenly seems unbearably hot or unbearably cold respectively. After a year filled with noises, Spanish and congested areas, coming home for the summer to wide open roads, quiet and English is just like dipping your toes into the hot tub. Then of course once you adjust to the States, going back to the Dominican Republic seems once again like a foreign experience.

This summer has been a summer of firsts. My favorite first was meeting my little niece who has born the day after my birthday. I held her every chance I got. Alisha has a beautiful family and being with my little nieces and nephew are the best part of my summers and the hardest part about leaving.




My second big first was getting a Dominican visa. After being almost deported in January for not having the right documentation, I am determined to do this year right, better late than never, right?  It has been (and still is) a very long process. In order to get the visa, I needed to get a new passport, an apostilled FBI background check, apostilled birth certificate, medical check and many, many documents from the school to say the least. Getting documents from the government such as the FBI background check and apostille was a long tedious process, though I think I'm finally past the tough work as I sent in my documents to the consulate offices over 2 weeks ago. Now, I  just wait to get my passport returned so I can fly out. I'm in an interesting position this year as I have no idea when I will head back. I cannot fly without a passport, so even though training starts today, I still have no plane ticket to return. You would think I would be very nervous and concerned, but I feel very at peace with the process. The sooner I get my passport, the sooner I can get started on my classroom, but also prolonging the summer and getting to spend more time with my nieces and nephew is not something that I dread neither. So don't feel too sorry for me, the longer the process takes the more cuddles I can get in with my nieces and nephew.

My third big first is starting my master's. My Michigan teaching license is set to expire in 2020 and in order to renew my license I need to take graduate level classes. I decided to take a couple of classes online this fall through Spring Arbor and am looking forward to being on the other side of the teacher's desk. It's been a while since I was a student (almost 6 years eeks) and I am excited to learn in a classroom setting and discover new teaching methods that have come up in the past years. It is amazing how quickly things change in today's technological era.

In between all these firsts, I have had the chance to enjoy the nature of Michigan and visit friends. I had the opportunity to go kayaking, biking, making silly faces with my nieces and enjoying the beautiful world that God has created.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the Earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. -Psalm 96: 11-12 

A Highlight Reel from the Past Year

So in two days, I will officially close out my fifth year as a teacher and my third year living abroad in the Dominican Republic. I can hardly believe I'm old enough for those statistics...but it's true..As is tradition... I would like to give the highlights of this past year...the good...the great and the awkward.

1. This was my first year teaching first grade and I loved it!  I was very very worried about teaching first grade and tried many times to work up the courage to ask to switch to a higher grade that I was more comfortable with. Now at the end of the year, I'm so glad I stayed with first grade. I fell in love with my students and their enthusiasm for learning. In first grade everything is new and exciting and it was so fun to spend time with them. All of them are English language learners and so watching them grow in confidence in reading and writing was an experience all to itself. I'm going to miss each and every one of them, but I'm glad they will be right across the hall in second grade. 

2. I joined a new church.  - I started out the year attending a megachurch here in Santo Domingo. I loved the music and sermon, but I realize that the advantage of slipping in and out unnoticed was also a very big disadvantage. I really wanted to build a community around me and find a place where I could get involved. I knew myself and I also wanted to find a church where I wouldn't go unnoticed and would have to communicate and talk to the other members. Well, God heard my prayer tenfold. I found a church in East Santo Domingo that was very involved in the community with hospital visits, community English classes, medical outreaches and mission trips to other cities. Also, it was impossible to go unnoticed. The church has about 50 people on a regular basis and if you are there, there is a very high probability you will make in on the program. (See if you can find me in the picture above) For the offering prayer and closing prayer, you are never asked to do it, your name will simply appear in the program. The second week I was there, my name was in the program to close the service in prayer. I guess the pastor knew I was coming back. I also have the opportunity to teach English classes every Sunday at the church before the service and have really enjoyed the opportunity. Rovian joins me every Sunday he can, and his knack at learning languages helps him as a teacher as well. I will go on and on trying to explain something and then he will say one or two words and they get it instantaneously. So of course whenever he has to go back to Jarabacoa, the students miss him.

3. I have had 5 roommates and 3 cat roommates this year.-This year has been adapting to a lot of different scenarios. For the first half of the year, up until January, I had one roommate, Amy who is pictured to the right. She had a cat named Buttercup who sadly died during Thanksgiving break. It was pretty quiet aroundthe apartment without Buttercup, so right before Christmas, Amy got two new kittens named Carly and Rovi respectively. So you can tell which is which, Rovi is with Rovian, surprise, surprise. Anyways due to unforeseen circumstances, Amy had to go back to the States and unfortunately, I couldn't keep the cats, though I did ask to keep little Rovi who was the perfect mixture of cat and dog mixed. He came when called, loved to play, and cuddle in laps but didn't have to go outside to the bathroom or bark.  I didn't like the idea of living in the apartment by myself, but again my prayers were answered in tenfold. In about a week or two after Amy left some other American teachers who lost their housing for different reasons, moved in and finally we had a couple more temporary stays such as a student teacher to bring our total up to five people living in the apartment. It was a little cramped as we had two people sleeping on the couch, but it was so fun to make dinners, swap stories and watch movies together. 

4. I got to cross off many amazing new places. One of the best parts of this year was traveling. Santo Domingo is much more centralized than Jarabacoa and since it is a big city, there is a much bigger need to "escape" to other places. I traveled more this year than the other years combined and I absolutely loved it. One of my favorite adventures was going to Puerta Plata where I FINALLY got to cross off 27 CHARCOS on my bucket list.This is where you hike for about an hour to the top and then jump, slide, cannonball, down 27 waterfalls. We stayed in a apartment hotel where we made our own meals, watched movies and got to walk down to the beach. On this trip, we also took a teleferico or cable car, up to a nature reserve park with a variety of trees, and flowers to visit. We enjoyed the trip so much during Thanksgiving break, that we went to the exact same place during Spring break with more people and it was just as much fun.

5. Speaking of bucket lists, I went paragliding for the first time. It was super fun, very much like swinging in the sky. Also, I'm so proud of both Sondra and Janice who went with me on a moment's notice. After wanting to go for over a year, I showed up in Jarabacoa saying I was going and if they wanted to come they could, but I was going one way or another and so thankful they are such great sports and joined in on the adventure! It definitely wouldn't have been the same without them.




6. Courtney FINALLY came to visit me!!  After two years of trying to convince her to come, she finally decided to brave traveling alone to come and see me on my island. It was so so much fun to be able to show her the places I've described in our countless skype talks and have our own Dominican adventures. We got to stay in a resort in Barahona (Southern DR) l that I had won in the Christmas raffle for our school. We went to the beach, zip lined and even went on a LONG sweaty, adventurous bike ride to see a waterfall. Merecia la pena :D



7.  I celebrated my Golden Birthday.  I turned 27 on the 27th and  my friends made sure it was a golden day. First, my students and my assistant brought me balloons and a beautiful cake to celebrate my birthday in class. I felt very much like Carl Fredricksen from UP, walking back with my balloons ready to float away at any second. Then my roommates made me a fruit pie pizza.. It was as delicious as it was beautiful.

My birthday was on a Friday, and the next day one of  my friends from Jarabacoa was getting married so, I traveled down to Jarabacoa. My Jarabacoa friends aka Sondra and Janice made me the most delicious chocolate cake. I think, no I'm sure I ate the whole thing in that weekend and for not eating a lot of sweets, that is a big compliment. Then my friends surprised me on Sunday by doing my hair, giving me clothes to wear and taking me to a very fancy restaurant that I had never been to called Jamaca de Dios *God's Hammock* where there is a lookout over the entire city of Jarabacoa. Suffice it to say, I had high expectations for my 27th birthday, but my friends delivered and I'm so thankful and so humbled by the love they showed me on that special day.






8. Christmas Vacation
I know Christmas vacation seems out of place here, but it felt out of place in my year too, so I figured it was perfect. It was very difficult to adjust from having warm sunshine one day, to stepping out of a plane into an icy blizzard. . My dad had a sabbatical in Colorado, so I got to have my Christmas vacation in Fort Collins instead of Hillsdale. I love being outdoors and being with family, so despite the cold I had a lot of fun hiking up mountains and skiing down them

9. Finally, so thankful for this boy. I'm so glad I got another year with Rovian. He is working hard in his second year of med school, but still makes time to come and see me and try to best me at Sporcle or geography games or UNO though we all know he cheats. Rovian has been very supportive and his steadiness allows me to lean on him when there is drama everywhere else. I'm so thankful for his heart of service and that despite his busy schedule he is always around when I need him






10. God showed up. I feel so humbled and blessed by the love that God showed to me this year. It confounds me how the God of this universe could love and desire someone as flawed and as vulnerable as me. There were moments when He gave me so much more than I needed before I even asked and tears  would flow down my cheeks, because just like Noah's rainbow, I knew that it was a sign from the Almighty, It was a sign that I wasn't alone and that even my unspoken requests and needs that were too small to bring before the king were heard.


To end this long, long highlight reel I would love to leave you with this song that I recently came across, but I listen now to about 3-5 times a day. It reminds us that we are fiercely loved with an "overwhelming, never ending reckless love of God. There's no shadow He won't light up, mountain He won't climb up coming after us." It gives me chills to imagine God's love finding me no matter where I am.
Reckless Love Song

Making Choices is Simply About Making One Choice

"You split the sea so I could walk right through it, my fears were drowned in perfect love...." if you want a great mantra for the day/week I highly recommend  No Longer Slaves...it is fantastic and quite catchy.

Like many people, I struggle making decisions, especially when those decisions will affect not only the upcoming days and weeks, but also years. Who doesn't worry about making a wrong choice that they will have to live with?  Especially living abroad, I struggle with the choices of when is it time to come home...when is it time to get the permanence...my year to year life has been lacking. I long to be home close to my family again, but then of course like the natural born planner, I think forward to what that would look like. I would be close to family, but living alone in an empty apartment and having to shoulder the burden of rent. car insurance, loneliness and the stress of American life seems like an impossible task as well. Will I regret leaving?....will I regret staying?.... I'm sure most of us have been given the impossible task of choosing between cross roads that each hold a piece of your heart, but lack what the other cross road possesses.

I've come to the following conclusion and I think this alone will save me and perhaps many of you have come to this same realization. There is only one choice and that is to stay in God's will. I've realized that a lot of my dreams...to be near my family, to be married, have children, make an impact, be a good teacher....cannot hold the key to my happiness. If I chase after one of them, I will discover, it is simply a mirage because the things of this world are simply that. a smokescreen that can never satisfy us.

I've discovered that the times when I have felt complete and whole is when I felt that I am where God wants me to be.  I don't want to be married, I don't want to go home and I don't want to have children if those dreams aren't part of God's will. I kind of understand a little bit more of Jesus's words when he said "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters and yes even their own life cannot be my disciple." -Luke 14:26  It's not a hate of those beautiful things, but a realization that the best life has to offer will never satisfy if it isn't part of God's will and you "hate" those things because you realize if you choose them over God, your life will be filled with regret.

One of my biggest pet peeves and I've said this on several occasions, so bear with me, is when people say "what a sacrifice you're making living abroad." Let me tell you, I am not sacrificing anything. I am super selfish being here. I am here, because I know if I were anywhere else right now I would be sacrificing because I would be unsatisfied and restless. 3 years ago, I didn't want to leave my comfortable life, but I began to feel restless and as if there was an itch I couldn't scratch. Only, when I decided to come did I find peace. Here in the Dominican Republic, I have had that peace, not because life has always been easy or that I haven't longed to be home, but because I know for whatever reason God has, here is where I'm supposed to be, so I will selfishly stay for now, so that I can live a life where I feel complete.

"I'm no longer a slave of fear...I am a child of God..." I love these lyrics, because I'm learning to trust God. I don't have to be afraid if I trust that He will lead me. I hope someday to "earn" or to "gain" some of those dreams listed above...it's my plan of course that those things happen, but I do realize that God's plan is bigger than my own and the difference between mine and His is that His alone can fulfill my life. My prayer for all of you on this lovely Tuesday evening is that "God's will be done (in your life)  on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Southern Belles

So I'm writing this from my ghost town: Santo Domingo. Walking down the streets and actually being able to see the streets is a new experience Usually the streets are packed with cars with horns blaring, but today, the streets echo with silence. Even the banks are closed as the whole country has packed up and high-tailed it to the beach or to visit their families in the campo leaving the city stripped of the chaos  making it almost peaceful.

As most of you, I'm sure are very well aware, this weekend is Easter, making this week Spring Break, Semana Santa, Holy Week, Holiday, you name it as long as it means a week with no school which is definitely a much needed sanity check at this stage of the school year. Lucky for me, I got a mini break right before Spring break when my friend Courtney decided to brave the adventure of flying solo to visit me for the first time.  We decided to visit the south coastal city of Barahona. I had never been there before, but won a free two-night stay at a tropical lodge so could not pass up that opportunity.

We ended up staying in a river suite which we think might have been the honeymoon suite as the whole bathroom was made of glass. It was so beautiful though and it was ironic that the lodge greatly resembled beach front property as it had palm trees, an infinity pool and overlooked the ocean that stretched for miles. Our suite on the other hand resembled a forest area and the trees were very different from the lodge only a couple minutes' walk away.  To the right you see the view from the back of our lodge. (the river and trees) To the left is the view from the main lodge area.

It was so much fun relaxing and enjoying the Dominican breakfasts  that we found out were complimentary, what a fun surprise!! The Dominicans don't do waffles, pancakes or the traditional breakfast, but what they do, they do well. The mangu, salami and fried cheese are heavenly. I would eat them all day every day...if I knew how to actually make it.

I think the most fun of the trip was adventuring once more with Courtney. There is something so special about seeing familiar faces. Seeing someone you love that you haven't seen in a very long time is much like releasing a breath you never knew you were holding.




 We had the chance to go on several excursions through the hotel. Some I would definitely recommend such as ziplining and the beach trip to the local pebble beach which were very hot stones, but it was nice not having to worry about getting sand everywhere. I probably would not recommend the bike/hike to the waterfall, since that ended up being more of an adventure than either of us had bargained for. The hike was hard to its own as we had to scramble over slippery rocks, but the hardest part ended up being the bike ride. We found out along the way that the path started out as dirt, but after a couple of meters, turned into solely loose irregular shaped rocks and the way included many steep inclines and dissents. For anyone who is a biker you should know that riding uphill on loose rock, it is near impossible to get traction and riding downhill on loose rocks, you better hold on tight because braking or turning are pretty much out of the question. I did blow a bike tire for the first time ever after careening down one such hill. Luckily and I have no idea how we managed, neither one of us fell down, though after my tire blowout, we did begin walking up and down most hills so the predicted 2 hour hike turned into 3.5 hours.

I love exploring this country and finding more and more things to love about it. So often we get trapped into our little bubbles that we don't take the time to lift our eyes and see the world that God has created for us. I love seeing God's power and strength in water, his peace in the wind, his steadfastness in mountains.

Psalm 8:3-4 says it best, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

May you remember especially in this Easter season that Jesus wasn't simply a good man who died on the cross and whom God chose to raise to life again. May we remember the absurdity, yet truth that God, the most powerful being who created everything we can see, taste, touch, smell and hear, chose to humble himself to be like one of his own creation, as handicapped and powerless as we are, to save us. When we consider the work of God's hands and witness everything He has created and how powerful and glorified he truly is, how outrageously ridiculous is it that He would care for the likes of us?!?

Common Sense...a Rare Sight in First Grade

I love my little coworkers..but .it's hard keeping up with 14 little people who are proving day in and day out that common sense truly isn't that common. I want to share some little anecdotes  of things you'd be shocked I've had to actually explain to the students.


1. Hitting someone in the head with a ball hurts them- I had one kid just today...whip a big exercise ball at another kid's head and when the kid started to cry seemed...genuinely confused. I had to explain that hitting someone in the head with a ball is actually only fun for the one person...and that if you want friends..it's not a game that you want to play repeatedly.

2. Play-doh, Kleenexes and paper are not a food group.  I've had to explain this concept to several of my students. Paper found on the ground or name tags taped to the table are not actually free food laying around. Also...putting play-doh in tissues and chewing on it isn't a good substitute for chewing gum. Surprise surprise.

3. Hiding a toy in your pocket does not make it invisible-One of my personal favorites. When I ask a student to put a toy away because it is distracting... and so I watch him walk it to his backpack...stuff it in his pocket and then walk back with a guilty look on his face....with his hand stuffed in his pocket. Oh my little children...I see you..

4. The teacher only has two hands- I have about 10 students begging my attention at one time and sometimes I will say...could you count my hands... They will say two and I will ask if they both are busy... I tell them I would love to help them...but right now I physically can't, so if they find something that they can do without help and wait until I am free to come to them...I will

5. It really doesn't matter if you are first in line- I would think being first in line to go from recess back to the classroom would be the worst position, but they fight over it like crazy. Pushing and shoving to make sure they stay the first ones back to the classroom.

6. If you fall down, it doesn't necessarily mean you are hurt- I have kids who are running and fall down and start screaming and crying and then after a little while..you help them up and brush them off and they realize that they really weren't injured at all. There is not a scrape on them. Falling down...doesn't necessarily equate injury.

7. Hiding Under a Table or Rolling Yourself into the Carpet as a Burrito Does Not Make You Invisible-Believe it or not...the carpet lump is in fact noticable.

8. If you don't use words,  no one can understand you- I have many kids who can cry on cue for dramatic effect. I have to explain to them that though it gets our attention, we have no idea what they want or what happened unless they actually use words, so until they are ready to do that...no matter how hard I want to, I cannot help.

9. A story about one time your grandpa took you fishing...is not the correct response when asked if you have any questions- So many times if I ask students if they have any questions...I get these long stories about something that has nothing to do with the matter at hand...thank you for letting me know your mom likes the color red...but that has little to do with our craft of making a santa claus.

10. If you want to get away with forgery, don't forge the teacher's name and then give it to said teacher. - My favorite all time common sense lesson was when a child wrote my name in crayon on a signature line and then turned in the paper. HMMMM...

So there you have it 10 little common sense lessons...that my students are learning.or have learned so far this year...

A bumpy start to 2018.

It has been a very long while since I last wrote...someone could jokingly say a year ago..I guess it's just that so much has gone on...it's hard sometimes to manipulate emotions and events into neat little letters and words and paragraphs.

January was a month full of these messy events that are hard to dictate and even harder to put pen (or hand to keyboard) I think though sometimes it is important to share the good, the bad and the ugly because then we get to see how the different puzzle pieces of life fit together. The bright colors of joyful times and the darker hues of times that challenged us and made us stronger.

January was definitely a character building month. I'm not saying anything drastic happened, but there were events that were emotionally and physically overwhelming. First off, I nearly got deported out of the Dominican Republic. Because I didn't have the right forms handy, I was told I wouldn't be able to enter the country and was physically walked out to where the plane was supposed to be to ship me back to the states. Oh the irony of being an American kicked out of a 3rd world country...trust me I know.

The only reason I'm still in the country is the plane I was "supposed" to take had already left and there wouldn't be another one until the following day. Since, they had no where to put me, they let me  in on the arrangement I would show them the proper forms the next time I traveled through. Of course, when I reached luggage claim, mybaggage had already come and gone and there was literally no one from my airline on site. Apparently they had all gone home since the last flight in (mine) had left hours ago.

So, with no luggage and feeling very fragile and vulnerable, I had to walk the gauntlet of greeters eager to welcome their friends and families. So you can probably imagine, I looked quite out of place...walking by myself  through balloons, welcome banners and smiling faces, with tears streaming down my cheeks. You could've heard a pin drop.

That day, definitely would not rate among my highest here, but luckily it is the past. I'm hoping that some day, not yet, it will make a great story or perhaps give me street cred. I also am happy to report that when I went back to the airport the next day to get my luggage, they did not deport me as my paranoia hypothesized. I did bring my body guard, aka Rovian, though I'm not sure he knew that's why I begged him along. Surprise!

A week later in January, my roommate decided that leaving Santo Domingo and returning to the States was the right move for her. I'm not going to get into the details, but it was definitely an overwhelming experience for all involved as we tried to adjust to the "new normal" Having to say goodbye to someone who was a big part of my life here in Santo Domingo and adjusting to being the sole occupant of the apartment was difficult. No more prophetic words were spoken than "It is not good for man to live alone," oh man is it hard.

I also had to say goodbye to my very favorite furry friend who was my cuddle buddy, he was even named after Rovian himself and shared in the same goofy personality. Little Rovi, was one of Amy's kittens that I had been hoping to keep after she left, but the school told me that since I would probably have a new roommate who may or may not have the same affinity for cats, they wouldn't allow him to stay. So, I worked with Amy to find him and his "sister" a forever home that would be just as worthy as the home we had here at the apartment.

So there you have January all summed up in a messy smeary storm cloud painting. The silver linings in the clouds are there as well. I see the life savers God threw me shining through the events, so that I was never drowning, but always knew I had something to hold onto. God was there in the airport on that emotional high day. He was there in the security guard who was trying his very best to comfort a blubbering little confused gringa.

He was there in helping to carry the load and burden on my shoulders of the emotions that came with saying goodbye to my roommate. He was there in the love and kindness of Rovian, who washed dishes, played games and who sat and listened to every story, every problem, every prayer throughout the entire experience.

As a new month starts, I want to say that I do not fear Januarys anymore or months like that. I know that there will be terrible, heart wrenching pain ahead that is far worse than I've faced, but I also know that we serve a God who is greater than the world, who is greater than those problems and will send peace, so that in those moments we will not fear. I pray for you right now, wherever you are, that you will be reminded that God loved you so much that He died a horrible death rather than let you go and though your sorrows may reign in the darkness..mercy, grace and hope will come with the dawning of the sun.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:28-30