La Playa

So it's been a few weeks since I've updated, but it was for a valid reason...I finally went to the beach! We headed to Cabarete after school last Friday and spent the weekend laying on the beach, windsurfing, and eating amazing food. The beach has such a cool culture; a mix of surfers, hippies, Dominicans and Europeans. It was such a refreshing weekend, I didn't want to leave! But once we were back, it was good to be home. Here's a picture of the beach, and one of us eating dinner at Casanova (Roy, Laura, Joey, Sara, me, and Melanie).

The past few weeks at school have been progressively better. I've really been struggling with patience as my kids are learning English. They pretty much have the routines down which helps a lot, but man, explaining new things to them in English is SO hard! I also have a few boys in my class with some major behavior issues...please especially pray for a boy in my class named Nickyan.

My friends April and Juanpy (who I stayed with my first few weeks here) finally had their baby girl Amelia Leilani. Steph and I got to visit them in the hospital in Santiago the day after she was born, here's a few pics of us and the baby...SO cute!!!

Well, for the next fun plans, I am way excited for this coming Friday because my parents are coming to visit :), yay!!! We'll spend Fri-Wed. in Jarabacoa...I'll be showing them the cool sites, and what my life is like here, meeting my friends, hanging out in my classroom, etc. Then we'll head to the beach for the rest of the time (Thurs-Sun)...back to Cabarete and maybe a few day trips to Sosua and Puerto Plata. If you want to see the hotel where we were last week and where I'll stay with the 'rents, check out www.kaoba.com. Please pray for a safe trip for my parents, and that they'll feel as "at-home" here as I do :). I can't wait to see them and show them this place that I've been talking about for years!!!

Saltando

Jumping off by a waterfall in Jarabacoa

Paraiso

Some of you had been asking for this...here's a clip of me jumping off near a waterfall in Jarabacoa :).

Who would have thought that I'd be so far away from "home," yet feel so at home? This country is like Paradise in so many ways. I love eating mangos, getting my hands and face all sticky like a little girl, but not worrying, just enjoying each bite, it gets stuck in my teeth, and I keep going, not wanting it to end. I love talking to people, I love greeting people with a kiss on the cheek. I love the sunshine, the waterfalls, the green, green, green of this piece of Paradise. I love all the fruit, all the people that invite me into their house. They are proud of the small houses where they live, want to welcome me into their home, into their lives. I love time to have real conversations here, to sit and invite people to be real with themselves and with God. Doors are always open...you don't realize how people are so disconnected in the States, until you experience a different life where everyone is so connected.

This all sounds beautiful, but there is so much reality in my life here in this Paradise. Each day has a new challenge, and most mornings I wake up, not knowing how I'm going to get through it. It is not easy...I miss my family and friends every day and crave time with people that I don't have to "start from scratch" with. I miss the most simplest things from my life in MI...I miss cheese, I miss steak, I miss couches, carpet, fireplaces, dryers, Dr. Pepper, Oberon, air conditioning, the cottage, and selfishley, I miss getting what I want when I want it :). I have learned SO much, and have had to depend on God and other people in ways that I didn't have to where I was comfortable and "safe."

So, for some "less serious" thoughts, here's a picture of our dog, Lucy. I think she just learned how to bark last night, cause she didn't stop for over an hour!!!

Here's a pic of Katie and I making "sushi" :)...actually California rolls with avocado and cucumber...SO yummy, thanks Mom for the idea!

One last story...this week I was walking home and I was talking to this Dominican guy who was trying to get me to support this group that helps kids with drug problems. For the first time in my life...he didn't know that I was American. He asked me if I was Dominican...just from talking to me! He said, I looked "Gringa", but sounded Dominican. Haha, I felt pretty sweet :).

Okay yall, have a great week...I'm finally going to the beach next weekend, so you can think of me enjoying more of this piece of Paradise :).

Nuestra casa

Okay, I made it through another week...it was a HOT one, and I was feeling it, especially with my ADD kids in the afternoons :). Please pray that my management continues to improve...the kids can be crazy! Their English already seems to be coming along so that's been awesome to see, I love thinking how far they could potentially go in a whole school year.

I've had some requests for a picture of my house, so here you go. It's a very Dominican house...both the look and feel of it, we always have people visiting! I love the time sitting on our back porch, drinking some fresh-squeezed Chinola (passion fruit) juice from our yard, talking to people; sharing stories of our journeys.


I also feel so blessed to be living with 2 awesome women...here's a picture of us playing Scrabble. We play in Spanish so Maria Jose can play, but Grace always wins and I always come in second...kind of funny beating a Dominican in a game in her native tongue :).

One thing that comes with a Dominican house is an abundance of cockroaches. I've been pretty brave killing these dirty, disgusting creatures with my shoe lately, but I found one in our kitchen the other day that was too big to kill with my shoe. I tried to spray it with some stuff to kill it, they're SO fast though that he got away. I told Maria Jose about how big the cucaracha was and she said they call them gua gua's...which is what we call big vans or trucks here. So funny :), there was a gua gua in our kitchen!

So, there's a small taste of what my life in the Dominican Republic looks like. I'm off to another waterfall just outside of town right now, and am so excited to swim...I've been sweating ALL day :)!