Ch-ch-ch-changes

I AM BACK!

It's weird to think I am down here again and about to start another year of teaching and changing lives! ;)

So much is the same here, and yet so much is different too! I have new roommates, I am teaching new subjects, I am living in a new apartment, and I am working with a lot of new people. But I am super excited to see what the year brings

As soon as I got here the DR didn't waste any time throwing me right back into the routine. A really sweet apartment, but not so much when there are no lights and the water is nothing more than a drip out of the faucet. A broken shower, uninstalled phone line, no mirr

ors to be found anywhere... We've been patiently pushing the school staff to help us get these things taken care of, so fingers crossed I'll soon be able wash up and clean off all this sweat-an uncomfortable effect of the August heat. In other words, welcome back to me! ;)

Another thing I missed? The unpunctuality of everything. Ahhh how I've missed that (only slight sarcasm, since I'm not a very punctual person myself). Last night we went to a reggaeton concert and the tickets said 8:00pm. So of course we get there at 1am. And we still had to wait another hour for the group to come out! And that was just the opener!! The main act came on at 4am. So even though the DR is on the same time zone, it's still a lot of jet lag because it's been a while since my nights have looked like that.

I did manage to get here at just the right time though-MARC ANTHONY IS COMING! The tickets are way out of my price range, but apparently they broadcast all the concerts so I'll still get my fix. I'm holding my breath for a J.Lo surprise appearance... ;)

I was also lucky enough to be able to go to a Michael Jackson video concert the other night at the museum here, but I was completely unimpressed by the Dominicans response to

the King of Pop. Not a single person got out the cell phone to wave it around during the "Will You Be There" Free Willy song. Not a single person even got up to try their hand at the moonwalk!

All in all though, it feels really good being here :) I'm looking forward to another great year. This place is really growing on me, and more and more I'm starting to see it as my home away from home. So I raise up my Presidente and cheers the DR and Santiago and another year full of growth and fun adventures! Salud!