Normalcy of the Dominican Republic

Spring Break has started out with a bang and a lot of puddles. The rain has definitely made itself present this week, and with the rain came the citywide blackouts. I went to a birthday party lit only by candles and well-placed headlamps and yet it was a success. Not having power, can definitely be an inconvenience, but it also can be a  blessing. No internet, forces people to be present. We were all there together eating food and enjoying company without feeling the need to check facebook messages or get online and there is something so freeing in that. 

Today is one of the first times we don't have running water, which is kind of ironic with the torrential rains we've had the past couple of days. Feels like we get to experience life as it were a hundred years with last night lit by candle light and today filling buckets of water to use to wash dishes.Not complaining, it just makes things like running water and light bulbs seem even more impressive.

My roommate has her family in town this week and with that comes the realization of things I've normalized over the past two years that really aren't normal for the United States standards. Here are a list 

1. Noisy Streets- I remember the first nights I came here and not being able to sleep because of the roosters, dogs and motos that were constantly driving up and down the street outside my window. I even had to play music on my headphones to try and block out the noise. Now, I no longer am aware of the constant noise until someone new comes and complains about not being able to sleep because of all the ruckus outside. It's amazing what you get used to.

2.  Dish Soap- Here in Jarabacoa, we use Axion as our dish soap and we wash our dishes in cold water. I forget how odd that is until someone comes and points it out.

3. Washer and Dryer-  A Dominican Washer and Dyer is definitely something that took some time to get used to. The old fashioned centrifuge definitely takes some balancing, but you always feel a little more successful when the motor finally kicks into gear. I forget that in America, you just have to click a button.

4. Traveling the streets by moto- It's weird to remember a world where the majority of people drive around in cars,where here there are probably at least three to four motos to every car you see. 

5. Dominican Pesos- Dominican Pesos have become more normal to me than U.S. dollars and after handling the heavy pesos coins, U.S. currency feels fake because it is so small and light. 

Future Plans

As I feel my time in Jarabacoa is drawing to a close, I've really been praying and struggling over future decisions. Where will I be in 5 months from now? As a born planner and a teacher to boot, it's been hard to not know where the future is heading as it looms closer and closer. I've loved my time here in Jarabacoa, but I've really felt that it's time to move on and continue moving forward. My options have been Santo Domingo or Michigan. where there are more opportunities to grow as a teacher and of course being closer to people I care about. 

International schools hire much sooner than Michigan schools, so I had to start applying for schools in November. I think the best advice I got was that interviews puts the process in God's hands and allow him to open and close doors where needed. I started out interviewing at one school and I was discouraged after my second interview after talking with some of the teachers about the curriculum. I just felt I wouldn't be a good fit there. 

I had an interview with another school and I liked it though there seemed to be few American teachers and I was curious if I would stand out. I really loved the area the school was located in, as it was in the "heart" of downtown and the area where many embassies, restaurants and malls were within walking distance. It was also considered one of the safest parts of the city. 

I stumbled across another school by chance while googling schools in Santo Domingo. I had never heard of it before, but it was a Christian School located in the capital. I sent them an email asking for more information. They invited me for a Skype interview and a week later I visited their campus to discover that it was in the same safe area as the other school. A week after the Skype interview, they offered me a one year contract as a first grade teacher as well as providing housing close enough to the school to walk. 

With the offer on the table, it definitely put time lines down and put a little pressure on the decision making. With one week to make a decision, God provided people in my life to offer great advice and prayer  including my bible study girls and my parents. I am so grateful for everyone behind the scenes. I really don't deserve the people God has put in my life to back me up, but I realized those blessings are the pure definition of His grace and love. 

 I decided to accept the position. Though, I'm apprehensive about moving to the big city and teaching first grade for the first time in my life. I really feel peace with this decision and that God has a hand in it. I'm so thankful for all the people who have been praying with me through this decision. Please continue to pray as I prepare for this new exciting chapter.

Sometimes I wish I could just have an advanced copy of my life book

It's hard to believe that it is February already and I've officially called Jarabacoa my home for over a year and half. Time really does fly. Growing up, I was always such a homebody and  I rarely went to summer camps because I'd always get terribly homesick. I just share this because being away from home has always been hard for me, but it really hasn't been here. I remember the first week I arrived and there were days where I felt like I was breaking and barely holding myself together and there was one afternoon back in August 2015, I remember hitting the floor and saying "God, you brought me here and I need you because I have nothing else. And God answered by bringing me more than I ever needed. He brought lifelong friendships, He brought me joy and most of all, He brought me peace and He made Jarabacoa a home.

Now a year and a half later, I look to the future. I'm beginning to feel its time to move on, but not in a bad way, sort of the way a butterfly feels when he's ready to break out of his cocoon. "For everything there is a season and a time to every purpose  under the heavens." -Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2  I feel like I've almost come full circle. A year and a half ago, I felt the itch to try something new and different and that it was time and now I feel the same momentum carrying my onward.

The hard part is definitely not knowing where I will be six months from now. I've been working on understanding God's will, but I think what I really want is a postcard or even a text message from God telling me what I should do. I feel like the child who wants the parent to tell them what school they should go to, what major they should follow, who they should marry, or where they should live, but I'm beginning to see that God doesn't work like that. He gives us guidelines and despite really wanting Him to sit down and give me an advanced copy of my life book, I think He does give us freedom in multiple right choices. If you're as interested in this topic as me, the following video has some great insights....Jefferson Bethke Talk

"The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord let his face shine upon you and give you Peace." -Numbers 6:24

A different perspective

Sometimes we get so caught up with the routines of life that it takes someone else to notice the beauty around us. This past week we got a new roommate and showing her around the city made me appreciate it all over again.  I loved seeing the mountains, the waterfalls and the safety of the city through her eyes and realizing just how lucky I am to be here. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the small negative things and they bleed into the blessings, so for this blog, I just want to share some of my favorite things about being here.

1. The views- I can never get over the views from Jarabacoa. Standing and overlooking the city and seeing the rivers far below and the purple mountains in the background always takes my breath away. There are few places more beautiful than this little mountain town.

2. The temperature- After a freezing couple of weeks in Michigan, it is nice to get back to the 60 and 70 degree days. The city of eternal spring is definitely living up to its name. I love that its chilly enough in the nights for a blanket, but not necessary to wear a sweatshirt, mittens and socks to bed to stay warm.

3. The church-  I'm so thankful to have found and be involved in a church that I really love The people are kind and I appreciate the messages are applicable to my daily lives. I especially like the chance to worship in both English and Spanish and seeing that God is far above my little world of one language. I realize it is sometimes difficult to find a church you really love, especially one in another country and I am so glad for that.

4. The large group of Americans- I do appreciate that I am not the "solo gringa" in the whole city and that I don't stand out like a sore thumb. I am so thankful for the community of Americans to meet and greet and have a little piece of home far away. I love hear English on the streets and being able to relate with so many different people who are here for all different reasons.

5 Being able to learn more Spanish- On the flip side, I am also grateful to get to practice and learn more Spanish. It's difficult and there are definitely days when I'm doing really well and days when I'm doing not so well, but I love the patience of the Dominicans and the fact that I'm a lot farther than I used to be.

6. My Bible Study-I started a bible study this fall and I love love love the chance to go out on a weekday and have dinner and just do life with other American girls in the city. I love the chance to discuss God and have a group of people who you can cry and laugh with.

7.  Skype and Internet- I am so thankful for internet and skype and the ability to keep in contact with my family. I keep thinking how awful it must have been for the people who traveled west in the earlier days and the only way to communicate was by letters and there was little chance of ever seeing your family again. I'm so grateful to be able to see my family and my little niece and nephew in one click of a button

8. Running Buddies- One of my favorite things about Jarabacoa is exploring the city on foot with two of the best running buddies. I appreciate we all share a passion for exploration and have probably trekked over 500 miles together all in the wee hours of the morning.

9. My School Community-I'm so thankful for my school family. I see those teachers every day and I'm so glad we get to meet for dinners and plan lessons together and just do life together.

10. My Students-Even though they drive me nuts a large portion of the time, I'm grateful for the chance to be with them and watch them progress this year. Students who refused to do work are now excited about their work and it makes me so proud as their teacher.

11. My boyfriend- I'm not going to get mushy, but I'm so thankful for him and the fact that he's been there for me in so many occasions and someone I completely trust and rely on. I think I would be a lot more stressed and overwhelmed if he wasn't in my life.

12. The opportunities to try new recipes and cook- I love trying and experimenting with food and at home I don't get much of a chance since my mom is a great cook and doesn't relinquish the kitchen without a fight, so it's nice to get to try new recipes and experiment a little in the kitchen.

13. School Breaks- I'm grateful for the days off we do get. The fact we get weekends to rejuvenate and refuel so that we can come back to school on Monday, refreshed and ready to go.

14. Relationship with God- These past two years have been so exciting and so big in a lot of ways for me and there have been a lot of firsts. I don't know how I could manage it without knowing that I wasn't alone and that no matter what God was in control and that I can turn to him no matter what. There's freedom in being able to fall at the throne of God. I have no idea where I would be today, but I couldn't be the person I am without the confidence that God is with me.

Goodbye to Snowy Michigan

There's many different ways this blog could have gone and many beginnings that were created depending on the day. For example, had I written this blog on my first day of travel, I would have spoken about the delayed and cancelled flights from Santiago to New York and the kind teachers who let us stay the night with them and gave us a ride to the airport the following morning. Had I written this blog when I arrived in Michigan, I would have talked about the joys of seeing my family again including my niece and nephew and the joy of seeing their smiling faces and their pleads to play with them or chase them around the house, or even sled down the hills with them. Had I written this blog throughout Christmas break, I could have written about visiting my grandparents in Illinois, or the excitement of Christmas day with my family or even the freezing cold snow that I was blissfully unaware of in the Dominican Republic. A las, I write this blog on the eve of my departure, so my thoughts are more focused on goodbyes, the happy goodbyes such as to the cold weather and the sadder goodbyes to my family and friends.

It has been a great Christmas break and I am very much looking forward getting back to warm Jarabacoa and seeing friends there again, but to get there you have to travel the road of goodbyes and sometimes the hardest goodbyes are the ones you don't see coming. It strikes me as odd, but a hard goodbye for me this winter break is saying goodbye to my students, not my current students, but my ones I had two to three years ago. It's amazing how all it takes is one year for students to imprint themselves on your heart forever.

One of the hardest parts of coming to JCS in the beginning was leaving my students behind and even though it's been two years, I'm still humbled by how much we still mean to each other. I enter the school and I hear my name being echoed down the hallways first in whispers and then louder and louder almost as a chant. Then come the hugs because even though we've grown in so many ways, we're still a family as well. Even though they've grown taller and their voices have dropped and they now know how to tie their shoes, to me they're still mine.


 I understand now why students have the same reaction to seeing their teacher year after year even though they are no longer the children they once were. During our year together they changed me, I changed them and together we became a family.

So, to all the teachers out there, wherever you are . Thank you, you are making a difference and your work means something because there are students who perhaps are now adults themselves who still think of you fondly for how you changed a little piece of their life forever.

I blame this post on an evening coffee

Drinking coffee in the evening is not a good idea, take it from someone who is writing a blog at 3 am.

Anyways, since I am wide awake and there is no one to talk to...funny how everyone else had the nerve to sleep...I decided to write my blog.

First off we have entered the time when the Christmas break countdown is no longer depressing. I mean when you say we have 37 days until Christmas vacation , it is hard to be excited, but a week and a half...now that is definitely doable....even on a lack of sleep.

School has been busy as we enter review and finals week. Even my fourth graders have finals, though unlike their high school counterparts, they try to avoid their homework by throwing their pencils out the window and dragging each other around the classroom by the foot. Also, the water bottle challenge is running rampant. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a pile of water bottles outside from teachers throwing them out windows. If you haven't been introduced to the water bottle challenge then you haven't been around a kid in the past 4 months. Sometimes I think my students think that learning is just the commercials between their competitions, but I have the last laugh by disposing of their bottles, so many of them only get one flip in class before Miss Nussbaum swoops.

Even though they drive me absolutely crazy some days, my students have wormed, scooted and danced their ways into my heart. It's hard not to love people who greet you every morning with a hug and a smile....insist on writing your name in hearts on the board and are determined to impress you during breaks. I had even one student demonstrate how she could bite a leaf...after which we had a discussion on things you should eat and things you shouldn't.

I'm also excited about our Christmas show and my students are super excited about dancing to Justin Bieber. Not a real Christmas classic, but it is extremely difficult to come up with dance moves to a famous carol. Hopefully all goes well.

Speaking of carols, there really aren't that many sung here in the Dominican Republic. On the radio at cafes, I usually only hear Justin Bieber on repeat. I guess songs such as "Let it Snow," "Baby it's cold outside" and "frosty the snowman" are hard to relate to on a tropical island. There is a plethera of Christmas lights though and since there are no resident Christmas trees, people have gotten creative by stringing lights on tree trunks and bushes. There is also a blow up snowman outside a store downtown dressed in cheerleader gear with writing on it that says "Let's Sno" It doesn't work in so many ways which makes it that more hilarious.

Well I wish you all a good night/ good day as we prepare for our sixth day of December. For anyone who is feeling stressed out, only 19 days until Christmas...now you can't be sad about that!

A Weekend to Remember

Today was the big day!  It was the day of the half marathon in Santo Domingo.  Last year the race was held at 5 in the afternoon, which is an awful time since you spend the whole day with butterflies in your stomach worried about what to eat and drinking so much water, you have to run to the bathroom every half hour. Also, it is very difficult to work up the energy to run when the day is more than half over. So, suffice it to say, I was very grateful, that the organizers realized their flaw and changed the time to be 6:20 in the morning.

Anyways, a 6:20 race time means that it is near impossible to drive up the day of, so we decided to head down Saturday afternoon and make a weekend of it. First off, I have to give all driving and navigating props to the amazing Allison. She not only maneuvered the labyrinth of the Santo Domingo streets with an incredible calm, but also worked her horn like a pro. I would compare Santo Domingo to any big city in the United States, except the difference is that traffic laws are taken merely as suggestions. Three lane highways are conveniently assumed to fit four or five cars across and no turn left signs are only for amateurs as people are turning left at these intersections from the farthest right lane.  

We arrived in Santo Domingo late afternoon and had a chance to meet up with Rovian at the botanical gardens. It was much too difficult to try to find his apartment without Siri or any other GPS to guide us. We then headed to the first mall (of the day) to pick up our racing packets. After taking our photo with the mannequins who have much more balance standing on one foot than we do, we headed to the second mall to walk around.

Visiting the malls in Santo Domingo, felt like stepping into the future from Jarabacoa. I mean, they had actual elevators there! The mall was decorated with angels and elves and even false promises of "let it snow."  After a very unusual rendition of the Nutcracker performed by employees at a makeup store, we headed to Bath and Body Works, where we might have gotten a little carried away with the "try me" bottles. I felt a little like Alice in Wonderland and by the time I left the store I smelled like an entire garden. It took about an hour before I began to smell like a normal human being again.

We ate at the food court and even had the time to watch a movie in a theater which is something I haven't done for at least a year. The movie screen is much bigger than my computer screen, believe it or not. After the movie, we took Rovian back to his apartment and headed to our hotel which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip

We stayed at one of the fanciest hotels in the city, and even had a room on the executive floor which you had to have a specific room key to access.

 Our room was quite extravagant with a great view of the city and even a full bathtub with pocket doors. Also there was a television in our bathroom mirror!










I definitely felt like we were living the high life, especially after enjoying the complimentary executive breakfast after the race. There were at least 7 different types of cheese, a whole assortment of meat including salmon and even watermelon juice. Now, you know some place is really fancy when they start making new fruit drinks that few have heard of.

Our race began at 6:20, so we headed to the park at 5:30 to make sure we arrived on time. The city of Santo Domingo was so very different in the morning and the roads were much easier to traverse when they were not jampacked with cars and motos and people. We arrived at the park with plenty of time to get ready for the race. After putting on our bibs and lacing up our shoes, we headed to the starting line and started the race before the sun had even woken up for the day.

The half marathon course was definitely not designed by a runner. You make two loops. One loop involves seeing the streets of Santo Domingo and running by many buildings in the business district before heading back. That loop is pretty nice, because you are distracted by the changing scenery and it is very much like a running tour of the city. The second loop is like a never ending treadmill. You cross the start line with 7.5 miles to go, and run one flat street that goes on and on and on. You run on this street with nothing to distract you, but kilometer signs and the discouraging thought that you are getting further and further away from the finish line and you'll have to turn around and run back every step you run out. Needless to say by the time you make the turn and start heading back, you're mentally broke and it takes everything that is in you to refuse to lay down on the street and make tar angels.

My goal for the race was to run no mile over 9 minutes and with my last mile of 8:59, I succeeded my goal with one second to spare. I was even able to beat my previous half by six minutes, so the race was a success over all. After returning to the hotel and taking much needed showers, we packed up our tired selves and headed back to Jarabacoa.

I'm so grateful for this weekend and the chance to break up the normal routine. Weekends like this, also make me aware of how blessed I am to surrounded by so many amazing people. I think I will end with the following quote by C.S. Lewis. I'm so thankful for the friends who give so much value to my life.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy and art. It has no survival value. rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." -C.S. Lewis