To be a teacher

Compared to my previous three years as an upper elementary teacher, there was definitely something very different about this year. You'd think with 9 students, life would be a breeze, but surprisingly this year challenged me more than any of my others. With my small group of students, I often felt more of a mother than a teacher. Pencils and homework were thrown out windows, and they picked on each other in ways that only siblings could, knowing exactly what to say to get on the each other's nerves.

The first week was very exhausting and I think I went to bed before 8 most of the nights, dead on my feet and wondering how I would ever get through the year. Well, as the year is beginning to come to a close, I'm beginning to wonder how I'll say goodbye to these kids. 

I had a dream that it was June 18 and I was already home for the summer at my house in Michigan. It was relaxing and rejuvenating and yet I felt uncomfortable with the fact that I couldn't remember how the year ended. I didn't remember how finals went or how the final goodbyes were said and it made me sad that I couldn't remember the end of the year. When I woke up in my own bed in Jarabacoa, the first thing I felt was relief. Relief that I had the chance to finish the last three weeks with these students and send them off into the big world of fifth graders.

As teachers, there are so many hoops we need to jump through. So many grades to note, lessons to plan and behavior to manage. It's so easy to caught up in the daily struggles and grind of the school week and not realize that the things that take up the most time, are not really the most important things. With the influx technology, the passing on of knowledge and giving grades is becoming more and more arbitrary and it is no longer the most important thing teachers can do. I think the most important job  is to be able to look at a student and say, "I see you...I see your potential, now let's help you become all that you can be." 

It is our jobs are teachers, not to be the flame for the students, not to teach them to rely on us, but to ignite the flame for themselves. I had a parent once tell me that anyone could be a teacher, you just have to find worksheets online, print them out and pass them out. But he as well as other people are completely missing the point. Learning isn't about memorizing a teacher's words or phrases and spitting them back out on a worksheet. Anyone can do that, that's easy, but that's not teaching. Teaching is about truly seeing your students for who they are and teaching them the value of hard work, creating their own perspectives and inspiring a love of knowledge within them.  Teaching them how to get along with others, practicing how to respond when they're feeling overwhelmed or anxious, and learning how to be proud of a job well done. I have given a worksheet on occasion to just supplement a lesson taught or a skill learned, but a worksheet passer outer would be a sorry excuse for what it truly means to be a teacher.

Adventures of a Month's Time

April was definitely filled with many overwhelming and beautiful adventures.I'll stick to the main three for time's sake: climbing Pico Duarte, birthday adventures and a half marathon to cap off the month.

Climbing Pico Duarte

 During spring break we took on the highest mountain in the Caribbean (Pico Duarte) which is about 10,164 feet tall. There was a group of about 13 of us and we all carried a backpack with a sleeping bag, clothes as well as some of the food for the 3 day journey. We also traveled with 3 guides on mules and there was one mule to carry pots and pans for cooking at camp and also an "emergency mule" if anything were to happen. Day 1 was definitely the hardest, the trail winds up and up through mud and rocks without much respite for the first 5 hours of hiking.
There were times when it took all the mental power inside of you to put one foot in front of the other as you looked up and saw a path seeming to lead to the sky.  We stopped every hour to rest and make sure everyone was caught up and of course snag a few handfuls of trail mix. At about hour 6, the path started leveling out.

We got to the camp La Comportacion which is about 2 miles from the summit at around 4 in the afternoon. We threw on our sweatshirts, sweatpants and sat around a fire. At La Comportacion there was running water and a large cabin to sleep in, but no electricity. Without books, ipads or phones to entertain us, we sat around the fire and just talked. There is something very freeing about not having technology and just being present with those around us. It was nice to be able to talk without any distractions and enjoy the view. The downside of being up so high was the biting cold.  Even the sleeping bag didn't provide enough warmth and the hardest debate was between wearing my sweatshirt while in my sleeping bag, or using it as a pillow.

On Day 2, we summited Pico Duarte and had lunch at the top overlooking the valleys below. When you're up so high the surrounding nature of pine trees looks more like something you'd find in upper Michigan and not on a tropical island. There is a bust of Pablo Duarte at the top and a statue of him laying broken  a couple feet over the cliff. Some say the statue fell, others say he was pushed. It didn't take nearly as long to climb to the top and back down, so we spent the rest of the day at La Comportacion.

On Day 3, we headed down the mountain.. this time there were no breaks, just full steam ahead. I think after being in the wilderness for 3 days, everyone was looking forward to showers and beds and the Dominicans were looking forward to "no more gringa food." After eating peanut butter, trail mix and spaghetti for three days, they were ready for their pica pollo, rice and beans After leaving camp, I never saw the Dominicans the rest of the trip.  It was very nice to get back to level ground again and take off the layer of mud and dirt that had been caked on.

It was probably the first and last time that I climb Pico Duarte. It was an amazing experience with amazing views and I got to get to know people on a whole new level, but it's hard to erase those first five hours of that hike....perhaps next time I'd ride a mule.


Birthday Adventures

My 26th birthday also occurred during this month on April 27. I didn't know if I should plan something or if Rovian was going to plan something for me, so I asked my friend to figure it out. She told me sneakily to not make plans for Friday and so I didn't. On Wednesday is our traditional bible study night where we all meet to make dinner, share about our week and learn more about God, so I was confident nothing was happening on Wednesday. I was told that Suzanne, the host of Bible study that night, had already gotten all the ingredients for dinner and all I would need to bring would be 50 pesos.

Rovian came over after school and told me he could  take me to bible study since it was a little too far to walk. He said he was first going to get something to eat, I could come with or stay at my house. I decided to go with him and also that I needed to go to the supermarket. After eating a pastelito at my favorite restaurant, we drove over to Suzanne's house to discover the door locked. I decided to skip Bible study then and head on home.

Lo and Behold upon coming in to find everyone from bible study as well as people from school standing around my living room underneath birthday banners and decorations and a table lined with delicious breakfast foods. I was speechless for words since I never saw it coming. Everyone had played it very cool. Looking around the room...I just felt very blessed to see my friends who had become my family away from home.
In the pictures on the left are members of my bible study and on the right are the two sneaky party planners. 

 



Final Chapter of April: Adventure Half Marathon

So we found out there was going to be a half marathon in Jarabacoa, so all of my running buddies and I signed up for it way back in March. I never read the details, just thought a leisurely run through the roads of Jarabacoa would be super fun and beautiful, also we wouldn't have to travel anywhere for the race.

During one run, we decided that we'd run the course and see how it was. It was a trail run and at the very beginning there was a hill that wound up and up and up,very similar to Pico Duarte and after that the trail was an adventure trail that involved many steep hills and even river crossings. After about 3 miles of the trail, we actually couldn't figure out which way it could possibly go and ended up turning back. This "practice run" on the course definitely made me very apprehensive about the race. I had thought it would be a road race when it turned out to be a route similar to Pico Duarte.

On the night of the race we went together to get our race packets and we even made shirts to show that we were united with our names on the back. We were the "team traditionally built" coined by  "The Number one Ladies' Detective Agency books, but the Dominicans still called us the gringa team. We had pasta together and played games and of course took pictures in our new shirts.

The race administrators told us that the marathon started at 7:00 and the half marathon started at 7:30.  We ended up getting to the course around 6:55, a little earlier than expected and we were dallying around as the administrators called for the 3 minute warning, 2 minute warning for the race at 7:00. Allison went up to someone and asked if the marathon was started soon and the guy said, it wasn't just the marathon, but the half as well. With 30 seconds left we started trying to find our whole group of five and hurry to the starting line. We got a little extra running, because we basically got there as the person shouting "3, 2, 1...Go!"

The course was as imagined, though the first half was more downhill than I expected. Unfortunately that meant that the second half was going to be an uphill battle, literally. There were a few small hills, but majority of the hills were too steep and rocky to run up and so most of the hills were speed walking or in the second half, slowly walking. There was even a river crossing where you came down  a hill...splashed through the water which reached your lower calf and then started climbing the next hill.

One of the natural obstacles of the race was a group of bulls that emerged in front of us on the path. The drivers of the bull told us to keep back and it was too narrow to pass, so we ended up literally walking behind the bulls for a good mile as the drivers tried to urge the bulls forward. Only in the Dominican, would your race be interrupted by a group of bulls. Eventually though, they did take another way.

At the halfway mark, I unfortunately lost the other girls as I got stuck behind someone else on a very narrow part where it was impossible to see the path due to the weeds. The last 6.5 miles were torturous...there were hills that went up and up and even walking was painful. At mile 11, I ended up even walking the straight parts and only running the down hills. Finally after 2 hours and 45 minutes of running, almost an hour longer than my previous half, I made it to the end. I've never been more happy to see a finish line before in my life.

That was definitely one of the most physically exhausting things I've ever done in my life, but I'm proud of us and our accomplishments. If you never push forward and try new things, you'll never know what you're capable of. I'm very thankful for this strong,fierce ladies, who took on a mountain and are the very best running buddies.

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.