I REALLY love 5 day weekends

Yes, the title says it all!

Last weekend we had not 1, not 2, but 3 extra days off! Thursday and Monday were both national holidays, and the school being smart decided to give us Friday off as well, knowing that everyone would be taking it off anyways :)

I had never visited the southern part of the island before because it's just so far away, so I decided to take advantage of this

opportunity and hit the road! To get literally anywhere in the South from Santiago, you have to first go to the capital (2 1/2 hrs) and then taken another bus (4 hrs) until you hit any semblance of civilization.

Which really isn't saying much because the South is mainly a ghost town. It's so much poorer, dustier, sparser, rural, and undeveloped than the rest of the country. Their biggest city in the South, Barahona, doesn't even have a real supermarket. It's also where all the b

ateyes are located, which are where (mainly) Haitian sugar workers live.

Our final destination was Bahoruco, where we were planning on roughing it for a few nights with a Peace Corps Volunteer who kindly offered us his...shack. It was so interesting and eye-opening to see and live a different style of life than I've ever seen before here (even if it was only for a few days). His house had 3 rooms, no sink, no hot water, infrequent bursts of electricity, 2 candles, and plenty of household mice pets. Roof made out of aluminum siding, doors shut with bike locks. A far cry from my Santiago mansion :P

We crammed as much as possible into our time there. We took a day trip to "nearby" Lago Enriquillo, the largest salt water lake and lowest point in the Caribbean. One o

f the few saltwater lakes with crocodiles. When we got there we saw hordes of iguanas just milling about. We were able to get a boat to take us out to the island in the middle of the lake where there is all sorts of desert wildlife- cactus, scorpions, wild donkeys, etc. However this "nearby" lake that was supposed to be only 2 hours away ended up being 4 1/2. What a fun (and bumpy!) bus ride...

Our PCV friend works with the men who mine larimar (a blue stone found only in the DR) and make it into beautiful jewelry. We were able to get a behind the scenes look and actually make our own jewelry! We got to experience the process from start to finish! Choosing our stone, designing a shape, watching them cut it, shaving it down and buffing it up. Now I can truly say I have a one of a kind necklace :)

(A PS: When we went to Lago Enriquillo we didn't realize that we were literally less than 1 hour from the Haitian border. We didn't see much activity, but we did see a rescue ambulance from Puerto Rico driving through one of the small towns we were passing through. )

Yet another trip to reinforce my opinion that this country is beauuuuutifuuuuul! :D

New beginnings

The school year is off!

And surprisingly it's been pretty easy getting back into the swing of things. I think it's because I love my kids a little more each day.

I organized a Reading Day to get the kids excited about books, so they were all allowed to bring in pillows and blankets and stuffed animals and their favorite books (in English!). We spread out all over the floor, took off our shoes, and just enjoyed reading. It made me want to cry hearing some of my lower level students yelling "Now read this one! Read this one!". Mind you these are the students that kick and scream and throw tantrums every time I get out a book for us to discuss. And then all of a sudden they can't get enough of it!

One boy asked me to lay down beside him and read with him, and after I had read maybe 2 pages he stopped me and said, "Teacher teacher, wait wait. After you finish the book, can we do this?". He then snuggled closer, put his head on my chest and his arms around me in a big hug.

(I told him of course we could)

It's those kind of warm stories that make me excited all over again that I'm a teacher :)

El terremoto

It would be impossible to not know this by now, what with all the media coverage blowing up the television right now, but there was an earthquake in Haiti last Tuesday.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON: Haiti and the Dominican Republic are on the same island!

With an earthquake of that magnitude, it was definitely felt over here. I was outside at the time goofing around with one of the neighborhood kids and all of a sudden her parents started screaming at her from across the street and motioning for her to run, so naturally I freaked out. I had no idea what was going on, nothing they were saying was intelligible. Luckily one of the fathers outside calmed down enough to explain to me that it was an earthquake. He asked, "Don't you feel it?" but by that time I was shaking so bad from not knowing what was going on that I couldn't really tell the difference between my knocking knees and the rocking ground.

A few minutes later I saw my roommates leaving the apartment building with boxer shorts hastily thrown on, big huge eyes, and computer cords trailing (at least they saved the important stuff?!). We were all a little shaken up, if only because we had never lived through an earthquake before and none of us knew the protocol-when to go back into the building, where was safe, etc etc. And then the news finally started arriving about what had really happened.

Port au Prince, Haiti- absolutely destroyed.

Nothing here was damaged in the DR, but it's a completely different story for our brothers and sisters on the other side of the island. It's just terrible. And then to think over 1 week later and they're still experiencing aftershocks. A humanitarian disaster, and relief can't come quick enough.

This is from an email I sent out after it all happened:

From my point of view in the Dominican Republic, I am already encouraged by the efforts I have seen taking place. Relations between here and Haiti have historically been strained for years upon years. Haitians face tough racist attitudes from Dominicans but all of a sudden they are no longer seeing each other along such strict racial lines. These are not Dominicans and Haitians, but brothers and sisters. I came to school today and there were piles and piles of dry and canned goods. Sometimes it's hard to think that the little amount you give will make a difference. You may think it doesn't seem like a lot, but to that one person who gets to eat dinner, it does make a difference.

Give, donate, pray, and hope. Haiti needs us. Let us unite for them and show them that together, we will get through this.

Not again!

I got mugged for the second time today. Which makes the 3rd time all my stuff has been stolen. I am just not having much luck in this country! I'm starting to think that the DR doesn't like me...

But I am safe, gracias a Dios :)

The Wrap Up

So obviously I didn't post at all during the month of December. As I'm sure you can imagine things were hectic around school, preparing for our Christmas show, making Christmas cards, watching Christmas movies...and of course preparing myself for my imminent return home! :)

Our school put on a Christmas musical called "Jingle in our Hearts" and my kids practiced their hearts out fo

r weeks leading up to the big day. They had one song to sing ("Shine") and it required a

very specific, tailor-made costume. The boys were dressed as toy soldiers and the girls as little dolls. Half of the girls actually left school early the day of the show to go to the salon and get their hair did! But it all paid off because they looked GORGEOUS! And th

e boys looked so handsome too!

Especially the ones whose hats were too big for their heads (or heads were too small for their hats?). And when they performed I actually teared up I was so proud of them!

Then afterwards we went backstage and had a confetti fight. I guess sometimes you just need some type of stress release?!

The next big thing of the month was my DANCE RECITAL! This was my time to show off my moves and prove once and for all that there is NO gringa in me (at least when it comes to the dance floor). Our teacher never once explained exactly how this was going to

work-there was no talk of spacing, of rehearsals, of routines, of music. I was pretty nervous because this was not shaping up to be like any other dance recital I had ever had in the past. I brought along 2 of my roommates for moral support, wore my best dance outfit, and mentally prepared myself for...something?? But what that something was I couldn't be sure. As things always do, it turned out fine. Wait, that's a lie. It turned out GREAT! It wasn't so much a recital as a chance to showcase all the dance moves that we'd learned over the 2 months together. It was free for all so the guys just came up and asked you to dance-no designated partners or anything. And there were some REALLY good dancers in my class! So yes, I busted a move :) And my diploma proves I can do it legally! ;)

After Angelitos de Navidad (Secret Santa), artisan fair Christmas shopping (for myse-I mean others!), and an office party once again catered by Brugal (rum), it was back home for a real Christmas with sweaters, numb toes, and all.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as well! Happy 2010!