This week has been much better than last week. I am starting to sleep better, and I am not feeling as sick. It has been sunny and hot, instead of cool and rainy. Thursday was a holiday and Monday is a holiday, so I am in the middle of a long weekend, which has been great.
On Thursday, the praise team came over for the day. They started with a meeting, then we had a very traditional Dominican lunch, and then we played Wii for a little while before they left to go practice. Most of the people on the praise team also work at the school, so they are the people that I see the most and have started to build relationships with. It is when I am with them that I really wish that I spoke Spanish and could communicate with them without a translator.
Shelley's friend Tammi works with "Hands of Grace" and has lived down here for a few years. She had a girl, Kelly, staying with her for a few weeks. Tammi had to leave yesterday morning to go to the states but Kelly wasn't leaving util today, so yesterday I went to Tammi's and hung out with her and stayed over there so that she wouldn't be by herself for two days. It was the first person that I met that spoke English, so I was pretty excited just because I could actually communicate with her. Last night we walked over to Allison's apartment. She graduated from Illiana with me and works as a teacher at Santiago Christian School (SCS). We went to have a burger and fries down the street with her and a couple other people that live in her building. It was pretty good, and it was nice to get to meet a few other Americans that live down here and also work at a mision school.
Today, we were bringing Kelly to the airport and the van overheated and broke down. Luckily, we were at a stoplight at an intersection where there were several guys selling different things on the road, so they pushed us to the side and were trying to help us until Guille got there. That is when I received my first marriage proposal. Because I don't speak any Spanish, Shelley was trying to communicate to him that I was more focused on doing God's work and that I wasn't looking for a husband, but it didn't really work, because he kept coming over to me and asking me for my phone number and bringing me pieces of candy and water. When Guille arrived, Shelley took the truck to bring Kelly to the airport and I stayed with the van and Guille because there was not extra room in the truck. That is when I recieved my second marriage proposal. He mimed it to me. He would point to himself and then to me and then point to his ring finger and then point up to the sky. When that didn't work he started talking to Guille about it. Guille didnt tell me everything he said, just that he wanted to marry me. At that point, I hid in the van, even though it was really hot. I had to have the window open so several guys came up to me several times to talk to me through the window. Guille thought it was hilarious. He said that this is how they always get around Americans. When they see an American they lose their mind a little and don't know what to do.
We are at home now and I am going to be staying here with the kids tonight and relax a little and maybe do some planning. Tomorrow we have church and then I am going to Allison's again to hang out for the rest of the day. I'm hoping to get to meet some of the other SCS teachers that live in her building as well.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday Morning Singing
Every Monday morning, all of the children have a time of singing when they get to school before going to their classrooms. This is a video of them singing one of the their favorite songs.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sunday Afternoon
So I made it through my first week of teaching. It is definitely an experience. Most of the children don't get that I can't understand them. They keep talking to me and then they're confused that I am not answering them. :) I love teaching them, it's been a lot of fun but the language barrier is definitely an obstacle. Trying to make them understand how to play the game or do the activity without being able to tell them has been interesting. I love being able to interact with so many different classes and to be able to get to know so many of the children. They are so open to me. I already have a few who always want to sit by me or hold my hand or follow me around. They are so cute, they get so excited about telling me the english they know or saying 'good morning Ms. Carrie' when they see me. By the way, no one can say my name. I guess they don't have the sound 'ar' in the spanish language, event the adults struggle with it.
On Thursday, I was walking from the church down the road to the unfinished house where some of the grades have class. As I was walking I passed a stray dog and hoped he didn't attack me and then heard loud Dominican music blaring out of a house and followed three cows down the second road to get to the house. Through all of this I had one of those moments when you are suddenly aware of where you are and what you are doing, when it hits you in a way that it hadn't before. I realized that I'm here. This is where I live and this is what I am doing and it seems so crazy that its almost hard to believe.
I know that everyone is wondering about the earthquake and how everything is going. We are not seeing any of the effects of the earthquake here. I don't think I have any more information about the earthquake than you do. Everthing that I know is from CNN. I think the difference is that since we are so physically close to everything that is happening, it all feels much more real to us. We felt the earthquake, we see the sorrow in the faces around us, we know Haitians who go to our church and work at our school. My heart breaks for the people of Haiti and I am thinking about them all the time. When it starts pouring I am aware of all the people living on the street, when it gets dark I am aware of all the children lost and scared. I saw on the news today about a woman who had been trapped for two days when she was rescued. I think about the hundreds or thousands of people are also trapped and waiting for help and it may never come. Our school is collecting bottled water and other supplies to bring over to Haiti, but from everthing that I have heard, the best thing for Americans to do is to donate money to the Red Cross or another legitimate organization. Down the road there will be opportunities to help in other ways.
On Thursday, I was walking from the church down the road to the unfinished house where some of the grades have class. As I was walking I passed a stray dog and hoped he didn't attack me and then heard loud Dominican music blaring out of a house and followed three cows down the second road to get to the house. Through all of this I had one of those moments when you are suddenly aware of where you are and what you are doing, when it hits you in a way that it hadn't before. I realized that I'm here. This is where I live and this is what I am doing and it seems so crazy that its almost hard to believe.
I know that everyone is wondering about the earthquake and how everything is going. We are not seeing any of the effects of the earthquake here. I don't think I have any more information about the earthquake than you do. Everthing that I know is from CNN. I think the difference is that since we are so physically close to everything that is happening, it all feels much more real to us. We felt the earthquake, we see the sorrow in the faces around us, we know Haitians who go to our church and work at our school. My heart breaks for the people of Haiti and I am thinking about them all the time. When it starts pouring I am aware of all the people living on the street, when it gets dark I am aware of all the children lost and scared. I saw on the news today about a woman who had been trapped for two days when she was rescued. I think about the hundreds or thousands of people are also trapped and waiting for help and it may never come. Our school is collecting bottled water and other supplies to bring over to Haiti, but from everthing that I have heard, the best thing for Americans to do is to donate money to the Red Cross or another legitimate organization. Down the road there will be opportunities to help in other ways.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Everything in Perspective
Today was a day when everything seemed to go wrong. Dead cell phone, van that won't start, arranging and rearranging my English schedule, driving out into the country, getting lost on the way home, locked out of the house, and the list goes on.
However, at about 6 o'clock, there was an earthquake. I was warned that they do have earthquakes and that they have been expecting THE BIG ONE for years. We were outside in the street (locked out of the house) when it happened. It was not fun. I hated it. To feel the earth moving under you really makes you feel small and completely out of control. Cell phones lost service and we also have no water, but around here I don't think that there is any major destruction or problems.
When we finally got into the house I turned on CNN and saw how bad the earthquake really was. 7.0! Haiti is the poorest and most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere and their buildings are poorly constructed. Buildings, houses, hospitals all collapsed. Shortly after the earthquake it got dark. The emergency response there is already very poor and in the dark it is dangerous and much more difficult. I heard someone in Haiti being interviewed and he said that all he could hear was screaming and wailing as people were searching for missing family members under the rubble.
Suddenly my day doesn't seem so bad. I feel guilty for even complaining about everything that was going wrong. Everything in perspective.
We have several people that go to our church and work at the school who are from Haiti. (The DR shares an island with Haiti) I don't if they have family still there but I am sure that this is going to hit them hard. I don't know where we will go from here but I hope that we can help in some way.
Please keep the people in Haiti and their families in your prayers.
However, at about 6 o'clock, there was an earthquake. I was warned that they do have earthquakes and that they have been expecting THE BIG ONE for years. We were outside in the street (locked out of the house) when it happened. It was not fun. I hated it. To feel the earth moving under you really makes you feel small and completely out of control. Cell phones lost service and we also have no water, but around here I don't think that there is any major destruction or problems.
When we finally got into the house I turned on CNN and saw how bad the earthquake really was. 7.0! Haiti is the poorest and most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere and their buildings are poorly constructed. Buildings, houses, hospitals all collapsed. Shortly after the earthquake it got dark. The emergency response there is already very poor and in the dark it is dangerous and much more difficult. I heard someone in Haiti being interviewed and he said that all he could hear was screaming and wailing as people were searching for missing family members under the rubble.
Suddenly my day doesn't seem so bad. I feel guilty for even complaining about everything that was going wrong. Everything in perspective.
We have several people that go to our church and work at the school who are from Haiti. (The DR shares an island with Haiti) I don't if they have family still there but I am sure that this is going to hit them hard. I don't know where we will go from here but I hope that we can help in some way.
Please keep the people in Haiti and their families in your prayers.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Last night we had the staff Christmas party and it was a lot of fun. It was nice to get to meet all of the other teachers and aides that I will be working with. Some of the highlights included them surprising me with another birthday cake and singing happy birthday to me and then i recieved my first frosting face smear. It is a Dominican tradition for people to smear the frosting in the face of the person whose birthday it is. Dominican frosting is very sticky, so it is pretty much like having chewed gum smeared on your face and in your hair. It was awesome. Another highlight was watching some of them play Wii bowling for the first time. I have never heard anyone cheer as loud as they did when someone got the first strike.
Today I participated in adult Sunday School before church. Thankfully, I was asked to do nursery during the sermon of the service, so I got a break from the Spanish for a little while. I also tasted my first Dominican Chinese food for lunch. It's a mix of Dominican food with some Chinese mixed in. I was a little nervous about but it was pretty good.
Tomorrow is the kid's first day back at school after a three week break. Things are going to be a little crazy but I am really excited about teaching English. I really liked my job over the last few months but I do miss teaching and I am looking forward to getting back to it.
I should probably get to bed since I have to get up at 6am tomorrow morning. I will definitely be taking pictures this week of the school and the students and try to post them by the end of the week.
Today I participated in adult Sunday School before church. Thankfully, I was asked to do nursery during the sermon of the service, so I got a break from the Spanish for a little while. I also tasted my first Dominican Chinese food for lunch. It's a mix of Dominican food with some Chinese mixed in. I was a little nervous about but it was pretty good.
Tomorrow is the kid's first day back at school after a three week break. Things are going to be a little crazy but I am really excited about teaching English. I really liked my job over the last few months but I do miss teaching and I am looking forward to getting back to it.
I should probably get to bed since I have to get up at 6am tomorrow morning. I will definitely be taking pictures this week of the school and the students and try to post them by the end of the week.
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