The past few months have seemed to fly past since the Slye family came to visit us (and most recently my dad). We have been incredibly busy over the last few months with a number of new opportunities presenting themselves to us. One of the most exciting has been a class that Laura and I have started for teachers on JCS’ staff who want to learn the English language. This has been an amazing opportunity so far, not just for helping others learn the English language, but also to forge friendships with the other teachers and staff at the school. It has also challenged us a great deal in our Spanish speaking abilities, as the classes have to be taught mostly in Spanish for the hour and a half that we meet. Please continue to pray that this would continue to be a time where relationships are made and languages learned.
Laura and I have also begun teaching sports at the school once again. She will be continuing coaching the 3rd through 6th graders in soccer, while I will be coaching American football to the high school boys. It has been a blast to teach the kids football, as many of them do not know even the basics of football (the first week was simply making sure that they didn't keeping throwing the ball down the field every time they had it thrown to them!). Coaching sports has given Laura and I each the opportunity to connect with our students outside of a formal classroom setting.
I have recently been able to connect with a group of American guys who are serving in ministries throughout our area. It has been a huge answer to prayer to begin to foster these relationships with other guys, because it was one of the things that I most missed about being home. There are only two men on staff at the school, so I knew that I would have to branch out in order to find other men to spend time with and lately I have been loving the relationships that I have been creating.
Laura recently spent several days at a women's retreat hosted in our area, but including women serving in Christian ministries throughout the country (It was actually the first time we had been apart over night since we have been here...) She had a great time and was able to connect with several other ladies on the trip. The trip offered her a great deal of quiet time and spiritual reflection, which she had been desiring.
At this point in our Dominican Republic journey, Laura and I are feeling God leading us back to serve at least one more year. There have been struggles with living here, but we feel as though God has faithfully brought us through those difficulties and has given us the desire and passion to return for another year. We would ask that you would all be in prayer regarding whether we should return for this next school year. We would also ask that you would be in prayer that God would bring teachers who are committed and equipped to teach at JCS for this next school year. JCS needs teachers who are willing to commit themselves to the education and development of the kids that we serve.
Thank you all for your continued love and support, we look forward to seeing all of you in June and July when we return home for a few weeks...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
It's been too long...
... since I last gave some sort of blog update. Life here in the D.R. has been great over the last few weeks. I went through a couple of really rough weeks where culture shock set in, largely due to the accident that I saw with the motorcycle and the dog, as wierd as that may sound (see past post if you don't know about "the accident..."). I didn't want to leave our house at night after school and I would literally run if we were going into town and I saw a street dog anywhere near the road. It was bad for a few weeks... Over the last few weeks I have truly felt at peace about being here, which I think Laura has been incredibly thankful for. She was a bit concerned with my lack of drive during the culture shock period. We continue to settle into our life here by decorating around our house and actually making it feel like a house instead of a temporary shelter. We have also been able to cultivate a number of new friendships over the past few months, which has made life adjustments far easier. Studying Spanish has also become a priority once again, since we have finally been able to find a replacement teacher, and we have had a greater drive to communicate with those around us who solely speak Spanish. Laura continues to be far better at Spanish than I do, but I consider myself having come far since we got here. It still feels like we have a long way to go (which we do!), but we have made amazing progress over the past few months.
We have also added another member to our family with the recent addition of a puppy. Laura found her at the school and within an hour she was in our home and adjusting to life in our house instead of the streets. Her name is Holly and she has been a joy to have around. She is quite the cuddler and loves to sit on our laps as we do school work or other things at the computer. It is amazing how much joy an animal can bring into your life. Her name is Holly because she came to us during the holiday season, so we figured it was a fitting name.
Work has been far more enjoyable lately. The constant frustrations with not having a printer, copier, or paper at times, is something that I have gotten use to. I have come to realize the limitations that the school has and I feel more comfortable with not having everything I "need" all the time. I have appreciated the relationships that I have developed with the kids over the last few months. I feel as though the kids see me as a person that they should respect as a teacher and person, but also as someone who they can talk to outside of class. I still do wish that I had more time to spend with students outside of a classroom setting, but I am content with what I am able to do at this point in the school year.
We have been blessed recently by the generosity of a few individuals and groups. Toth Sports, and specifically Rusty Knight (a friend from college), donated a dozen new soccer balls, coaching supplies, and two children's soccer goals. The teams that Laura and I coach have loved the new supplies, as we were done to only two soccer balls for as many as 20 kids. Our home church, Waite Park Wesleyan, has also shown great generosity in including us JCS in their annual Christmas offering. They will be donating money to several projects at the school, including replacing light fixtures and buying a new printer for the usage of the staff at the school. Thank you to all who have given to us financially and who continue to support us through your prayers...
We have a shortened school week this upcoming week, with two half days, and then we officially begin our Christmas break. Laura's family will be arriving on December 21st and we are excited to see people from home once again. We miss many of you and look forward to seeing you again. My dad will also be visiting next month for over a week, which we are really looking forward to.
Drop us a note or feel free to call...
We have also added another member to our family with the recent addition of a puppy. Laura found her at the school and within an hour she was in our home and adjusting to life in our house instead of the streets. Her name is Holly and she has been a joy to have around. She is quite the cuddler and loves to sit on our laps as we do school work or other things at the computer. It is amazing how much joy an animal can bring into your life. Her name is Holly because she came to us during the holiday season, so we figured it was a fitting name.
Work has been far more enjoyable lately. The constant frustrations with not having a printer, copier, or paper at times, is something that I have gotten use to. I have come to realize the limitations that the school has and I feel more comfortable with not having everything I "need" all the time. I have appreciated the relationships that I have developed with the kids over the last few months. I feel as though the kids see me as a person that they should respect as a teacher and person, but also as someone who they can talk to outside of class. I still do wish that I had more time to spend with students outside of a classroom setting, but I am content with what I am able to do at this point in the school year.
We have been blessed recently by the generosity of a few individuals and groups. Toth Sports, and specifically Rusty Knight (a friend from college), donated a dozen new soccer balls, coaching supplies, and two children's soccer goals. The teams that Laura and I coach have loved the new supplies, as we were done to only two soccer balls for as many as 20 kids. Our home church, Waite Park Wesleyan, has also shown great generosity in including us JCS in their annual Christmas offering. They will be donating money to several projects at the school, including replacing light fixtures and buying a new printer for the usage of the staff at the school. Thank you to all who have given to us financially and who continue to support us through your prayers...
We have a shortened school week this upcoming week, with two half days, and then we officially begin our Christmas break. Laura's family will be arriving on December 21st and we are excited to see people from home once again. We miss many of you and look forward to seeing you again. My dad will also be visiting next month for over a week, which we are really looking forward to.
Drop us a note or feel free to call...
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Adventures to the City...
The last few weeks have been full of action and adventure. Two weeks ago Laura and I travelled with some friends (Christina, her 3-year old daughter Julia, and Greibys) who work at the other Christian school in town. Christina decided that it would be fun to go to Playa Dorada, a sort of resort town on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, where she also had a friend who worked in a resort there. It was another beautiful beach, with palm trees lining the landscape, clear water, and a blue sky throughout the day. It was incredibly relaxing and a great break from the "small-town" life in Jarabacoa. I did manage to finish a book I had been working on over the weeks proceeding the trip (Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller), so the day was a fairly productive one :) We even got a sneak peak into one of the all-inclusive resorts from a friend of Christina's who is an assistant manager at the resort. It was some of the most glamorous decoration that I have seen since being here in the D.R., which definitely told me that it was mostly for foreigners. It was a relaxing day to spend with friends and a great way to get to know some people better here in the D.R.
The next day we travelled to Santo Domingo as a sort of "birthday trip," for my birthday, with Robert and Alida. They took us all around Santo Domingo for the day and we were able to see many of the famous sights throughout the city. Santo Domingo is actually the oldest city in the New World, as it was the first place where Columbus ("Colon") landed in the New World. We visited the Colonial District, which contains buildings that are around 500 years old, including the oldest Cathedral and fort in the New World. I was amazed at how underdeveloped many of these sights were. In the U.S. we would have thrown fake guards and people in re-enactment clothing all around this area but we saw none of this the whole day. We paid around $1 U.S. to a guy in a Nike t-shirt to go into the oldest fort in the New World. The whole thing just struck me as odd... but anyways... We also went to the sight where Columbus is believed to have been buried, which is now an enormous rock structure that was commissioned by a former president. The building is quite impressive, but wear is starting to show only a quarter of century after it was built largely because of a lack of funding. We also went to the Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, which were quite impressive considering they are right in the middle of a booming city area. The Japanese garden section was the most impressive of all the areas. There are plenty of pictures of this area at our Picasa picture website so check them out. We ended our day by traveling to Tres Ojos, which is a series of underwater lakes in Santo Domingo. The water of these lakes was some of the clearest water that I had ever seen and it was teeming with fish and turtles. Laura especially found a liking to all the turtles in the water. The day was a great way to see the many important and talked about sights in the Dominican Republic. Many Dominicans that live here have not seen as much as we saw in a day... What an experience...
The next day we travelled to Santo Domingo as a sort of "birthday trip," for my birthday, with Robert and Alida. They took us all around Santo Domingo for the day and we were able to see many of the famous sights throughout the city. Santo Domingo is actually the oldest city in the New World, as it was the first place where Columbus ("Colon") landed in the New World. We visited the Colonial District, which contains buildings that are around 500 years old, including the oldest Cathedral and fort in the New World. I was amazed at how underdeveloped many of these sights were. In the U.S. we would have thrown fake guards and people in re-enactment clothing all around this area but we saw none of this the whole day. We paid around $1 U.S. to a guy in a Nike t-shirt to go into the oldest fort in the New World. The whole thing just struck me as odd... but anyways... We also went to the sight where Columbus is believed to have been buried, which is now an enormous rock structure that was commissioned by a former president. The building is quite impressive, but wear is starting to show only a quarter of century after it was built largely because of a lack of funding. We also went to the Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, which were quite impressive considering they are right in the middle of a booming city area. The Japanese garden section was the most impressive of all the areas. There are plenty of pictures of this area at our Picasa picture website so check them out. We ended our day by traveling to Tres Ojos, which is a series of underwater lakes in Santo Domingo. The water of these lakes was some of the clearest water that I had ever seen and it was teeming with fish and turtles. Laura especially found a liking to all the turtles in the water. The day was a great way to see the many important and talked about sights in the Dominican Republic. Many Dominicans that live here have not seen as much as we saw in a day... What an experience...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Continuing to develop relationships...
This past Monday was officially the last day of the first quarter of school. It is still hard to believe that the time has gone past so quickly. Our grades were officially due by Saturday but I was able to complete and submit all of my grades by Monday, which made this week a lot easier for me! Laura was able to finish most of her grades early, so neither one of us had to fight any other teachers on Friday for computers (which there are only three of in the school for teacher usage). Report cards are officially handed out this week, so pray that kids who performed well would be encouraged and that those who didn't perform well would be optimistic about what they can do throughout the next quarter. We will also be having parent-teacher conferences throughout this week, so pray that we would be able to properly communicate with parents and students.
We were able to spend a great deal of time with a number of people throughout this week. Since we have move here to the D.R. we have had dinner on almost every Tuesday night with Daniel and Teresa Peterson (the director of JCS and his wife), along with their little boy Jeremiah. This week we had another couple join us and it was great! Jake and Kyla, who I spoke of a few weeks ago, joined us for our Tuesday night dinner and it was great to have several young married couples together for dinner. We even got to play some "nerdy" board games after dinner because Jake is a huge fan of many of the games we brought down here from the states. Jake and Kyla also shared with us that they are expecting a little one in the near future, which they are incredibly excited about!
On Thursday we spent dinner with the couple, Juana and Ramon, who we are currently renting our apartment from. They have been an absolute blessing to us since we have moved here and we always love getting together with them because they only speak Spanish which forces us to have to use our Spanish. Ramon is quite a master with chicken and for dinner he spent 4 hours slow cooking several whole chickens for us (necks, feet, and all!).
I had my first roasted chicken neck, which wasn't bad but the spinal cord is something I am not use to eating around! They make us a ton of fooding including "Dominican potato salad" which has beets, and potatoes in it, and also boiled yuca, which is a type of root that tastes very similar to a boiled potato in the U.S. Below is a picture of Juana and Ramon...
The chicken was so good! We were also able to spend some time with another middle aged couple that is currently living with Juana and Ramon, whose names are Milagros and Augustine. We may actually start working with Augustine on our Spanish and we may be teaching him English as well (a clean swap, which we need because we lost our Spanish teacher this past week... she is simply too busy with two young kids, which we completely understand).
We also had Robert and Alida over for dinner on Friday night. We have spent a great deal of time at their house watching sports the past few weeks, so we figured that it would be nice to invite them over to our house. I cooked tostadas for them, which is becoming the meal that we cook for new dinner guests. We spent some time getting to know how they came to know one another and they have a sweet story about how they developed there relationship over the years with one living in the U.S. and one of them living here in the D.R. At the end of our dinner date with Robert and Alida, I was invited to go golfing with him in the morning (Who knew there was a golf course here!).
We'll just say that it has been a while since I last golfed, and you could tell! It was a beautiful day, in the upper 80s with a slight breeze, so it was perfect for walking 9 holes. I managed to shoot par on the 9th hole which is about all I will admit to scoring on any of the holes throughout the day. It was a blast to simply be out on such a peaceful course where we saw only 3 other golfers in the 3 hours that we spent there. You can check out the pictures on our picasa website...
We were able to spend a great deal of time with a number of people throughout this week. Since we have move here to the D.R. we have had dinner on almost every Tuesday night with Daniel and Teresa Peterson (the director of JCS and his wife), along with their little boy Jeremiah. This week we had another couple join us and it was great! Jake and Kyla, who I spoke of a few weeks ago, joined us for our Tuesday night dinner and it was great to have several young married couples together for dinner. We even got to play some "nerdy" board games after dinner because Jake is a huge fan of many of the games we brought down here from the states. Jake and Kyla also shared with us that they are expecting a little one in the near future, which they are incredibly excited about!
On Thursday we spent dinner with the couple, Juana and Ramon, who we are currently renting our apartment from. They have been an absolute blessing to us since we have moved here and we always love getting together with them because they only speak Spanish which forces us to have to use our Spanish. Ramon is quite a master with chicken and for dinner he spent 4 hours slow cooking several whole chickens for us (necks, feet, and all!).
I had my first roasted chicken neck, which wasn't bad but the spinal cord is something I am not use to eating around! They make us a ton of fooding including "Dominican potato salad" which has beets, and potatoes in it, and also boiled yuca, which is a type of root that tastes very similar to a boiled potato in the U.S. Below is a picture of Juana and Ramon...
The chicken was so good! We were also able to spend some time with another middle aged couple that is currently living with Juana and Ramon, whose names are Milagros and Augustine. We may actually start working with Augustine on our Spanish and we may be teaching him English as well (a clean swap, which we need because we lost our Spanish teacher this past week... she is simply too busy with two young kids, which we completely understand).
We also had Robert and Alida over for dinner on Friday night. We have spent a great deal of time at their house watching sports the past few weeks, so we figured that it would be nice to invite them over to our house. I cooked tostadas for them, which is becoming the meal that we cook for new dinner guests. We spent some time getting to know how they came to know one another and they have a sweet story about how they developed there relationship over the years with one living in the U.S. and one of them living here in the D.R. At the end of our dinner date with Robert and Alida, I was invited to go golfing with him in the morning (Who knew there was a golf course here!).
We'll just say that it has been a while since I last golfed, and you could tell! It was a beautiful day, in the upper 80s with a slight breeze, so it was perfect for walking 9 holes. I managed to shoot par on the 9th hole which is about all I will admit to scoring on any of the holes throughout the day. It was a blast to simply be out on such a peaceful course where we saw only 3 other golfers in the 3 hours that we spent there. You can check out the pictures on our picasa website...
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The end of the first quarter
It is hard to believe that we have been teaching at the school for 10 weeks now (not counting teacher training). Laura and I have been reflecting on how we have grown as teachers and people over the last quarter and we are excited for a "new start" with the new quarter. Laura has been noticing over the last few weeks that as a fifth grade teacher she is in charge of teaching content, but possibly the most important part of her job is teaching the kids life skills that they will take with them throughout their lives. This week will be full of preparing final grades and even a day of teacher training, so it should fly past. Thank you to all who have been praying for us, your prayers have definitely been effective...
We have had another great weekend with friends here in the D.R. We had several of the other American teachers over for dinner on Friday night and shared a great deal about the things we have been thankful for over the last quarter of school. I shared that I have been thankful for the 6th graders, for their continual obedience, hard work, and respect throughout the first quarter, they are a class that I look forward to being with each day. I also shared how thankful I have been for the younger kids at the school. Since beginning to coach soccer for the 1st through 3rd graders, I have been able to interact with a number of the kids who I don't teach throughout the day. During break I have been regularly receiving hugs from the kids that I coach, and though I don't need constant recognition to keep going throughout the day, each little hug and display of affection is encouraging to me. Laura was reflecting on her thankfulness for a new start with the coming of the new semester, as she has been able to change the classroom around and implement some new ideas in her classroom, which has all been afforded to her because of the upcoming semester. Laura was also able to share with the group how much Brooke, a fellow teacher, has challenged Laura to become a better teacher through new strategies and insights that Brooke has offered to her. Many of you know that it is easy to talk about the negatives of the workplace when you get together with colleagues, but we were able to focus mostly on the things that we have been blessed and positively challenged by throughout the first quarter.
We have also made new friends with our neighbors across the street from us. A few weeks ago Laura and I were invited to the unveiling of a new business venture in Jarabacoa and we decided to go to simply meet some new people. At this "unveiling" we were able to meet Robert and Alida, the couple who are starting this new motorcycle tourism business. Over the past few weeks we have spent a great deal of time with Robert and Alida. Robert has an international football package and a video projector, so we have been able to watch some football at their house (which I will be doing this afternoon!), which has been a good dose of home for even Laura. Last night we watched the Red Sox pulled even in their series with the Rays, which was great to see! Robert has been coming to the D.R. for a number of years (he is 56 years old), and his wife was born and raised here in the D.R., so they are a fun couple who come from very different cultural backgrounds and they have only been married for around 6 months (which is how long they have been living in Jarabacoa). We went to Santiago (40 minute drive north) with them last Saturday and had our first big Dominican family meal since we have been here. Worth noting also is the fact that they have two awesome dogs, with the one being a 6-month old great dane (makes me want a great dane some day!).
I think that the most exciting news of the week is that Laura took part in her first art exhibition this weekend (you can see the pictures on our Picasa website). It is actually a "benefit" exhibit for the local eco-tourism organization in Jarabacoa, and the theme was "mountain birds." Last night was the unveiling of the exhibit that will be open for the next few weeks, and half of the proceeds . It was an incredibly fun social event and allowed us to see a number of Dominicans that we have been able to meet since being down here. Jarabacoa is a fairly small town (around 20,000 people), so there were a number of people who we recognized from our travels around town. Americans "stick out like sore thumbs" here in Jarabacoa so it has been good for us to go to the social events of the town, because it shows people that we really care about the town and that we aren't afraid to meet others even though language is a barrier at times. One of Laura's paintings was even placed at the top of the stairs leading to the exhibit, so it was the first painting that people saw as they walked in! It is experiences like this that have been making Jarabacoa feel more like home every week that we have been living here.
In addition to grading this week we are looking forward to having the 5th graders over on Thursday night, and we will be having dinner with another American family that we met a few weeks ago while visiting the restaurant that they own. And by the way, GO BILLS AND RED SOX!
We have had another great weekend with friends here in the D.R. We had several of the other American teachers over for dinner on Friday night and shared a great deal about the things we have been thankful for over the last quarter of school. I shared that I have been thankful for the 6th graders, for their continual obedience, hard work, and respect throughout the first quarter, they are a class that I look forward to being with each day. I also shared how thankful I have been for the younger kids at the school. Since beginning to coach soccer for the 1st through 3rd graders, I have been able to interact with a number of the kids who I don't teach throughout the day. During break I have been regularly receiving hugs from the kids that I coach, and though I don't need constant recognition to keep going throughout the day, each little hug and display of affection is encouraging to me. Laura was reflecting on her thankfulness for a new start with the coming of the new semester, as she has been able to change the classroom around and implement some new ideas in her classroom, which has all been afforded to her because of the upcoming semester. Laura was also able to share with the group how much Brooke, a fellow teacher, has challenged Laura to become a better teacher through new strategies and insights that Brooke has offered to her. Many of you know that it is easy to talk about the negatives of the workplace when you get together with colleagues, but we were able to focus mostly on the things that we have been blessed and positively challenged by throughout the first quarter.
We have also made new friends with our neighbors across the street from us. A few weeks ago Laura and I were invited to the unveiling of a new business venture in Jarabacoa and we decided to go to simply meet some new people. At this "unveiling" we were able to meet Robert and Alida, the couple who are starting this new motorcycle tourism business. Over the past few weeks we have spent a great deal of time with Robert and Alida. Robert has an international football package and a video projector, so we have been able to watch some football at their house (which I will be doing this afternoon!), which has been a good dose of home for even Laura. Last night we watched the Red Sox pulled even in their series with the Rays, which was great to see! Robert has been coming to the D.R. for a number of years (he is 56 years old), and his wife was born and raised here in the D.R., so they are a fun couple who come from very different cultural backgrounds and they have only been married for around 6 months (which is how long they have been living in Jarabacoa). We went to Santiago (40 minute drive north) with them last Saturday and had our first big Dominican family meal since we have been here. Worth noting also is the fact that they have two awesome dogs, with the one being a 6-month old great dane (makes me want a great dane some day!).
I think that the most exciting news of the week is that Laura took part in her first art exhibition this weekend (you can see the pictures on our Picasa website). It is actually a "benefit" exhibit for the local eco-tourism organization in Jarabacoa, and the theme was "mountain birds." Last night was the unveiling of the exhibit that will be open for the next few weeks, and half of the proceeds . It was an incredibly fun social event and allowed us to see a number of Dominicans that we have been able to meet since being down here. Jarabacoa is a fairly small town (around 20,000 people), so there were a number of people who we recognized from our travels around town. Americans "stick out like sore thumbs" here in Jarabacoa so it has been good for us to go to the social events of the town, because it shows people that we really care about the town and that we aren't afraid to meet others even though language is a barrier at times. One of Laura's paintings was even placed at the top of the stairs leading to the exhibit, so it was the first painting that people saw as they walked in! It is experiences like this that have been making Jarabacoa feel more like home every week that we have been living here.
In addition to grading this week we are looking forward to having the 5th graders over on Thursday night, and we will be having dinner with another American family that we met a few weeks ago while visiting the restaurant that they own. And by the way, GO BILLS AND RED SOX!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
An eventful 24 hours...
Every Friday I coach a team of around 20 kids ranging from 1st to 3rd grade without any assistants and this has been quite an adventure to say the least. I have found that the older kids want to just play "bunch-ball soccer," while the rest just want to do something active. The biggest problems comes with the kids actually listening (I can't blame them though! They are little kids!) to me when I try to tell them what we are going to do next, I have a blast with them but have lately been feeling that the older kids are growing impatient with having to deal with all of the little kids. Keep this situation in prayer, that God would provide someone to help me with the kids and that the kids would have fun no matter what happens in practice.
After ending practice and getting home around 4:30, Laura and I got ready for the 6th graders to invade our house for most of the night. We ended up having a blast with them (as you can see from the pics on our Picasa website)! I found a bunch of silly games for us to do throughout the night and they loved them! The biggest hit happened to be the "Cucumber Slide" where you cut a cucumber into slices and you race someone to see who can move the slice of cucumber down to the opposite side of the table first. The catch is that you can only use your nose to move the cucumber down the table! The kids got a big laugh out of the game, especially when Laura and I raced one another (and I won!). These parties have been amazing for connecting with students. This is the third class that we have had over to our house, as we have hosted the 7th graders and the 12th graders at other previous times. I especially enjoy it as a Bible teacher because these kids get a chance to see me in and out of class, hopefully being challenged by the way that Laura and I treat each other with Godly love and respect at home.
So now comes the not so bright and happy story about the last 24 hours, I have to admit at this time that those of you who have a hard time hearing about cruelty to animals should probably not read the following section.
Before I get into this story I have to provide a bit of background. People simply do not treat animals with the same about of love and care as they do in the states. Whether they are cats or dogs, they are often seen as more of an annoyance than they are seen as beautiful animals. People often toss rocks at animals, throw them in the river to drown (especially females puppies because they are more expensive to care for), or simply beat them constantly. It is a sad reality here in the D.R., but I can regularly hear people beating their animals throughout the day. With this said, animals do often cause serious issues here in the D.R.. With such a strong number of strays, they are regularly causing accidents (with many of them causing the death of the animal and the driver) and they eat other people's sources of food (chickens, etc.). It is nothing like the animals that simply run around in the states, you can count on seeing stray animals most everywhere you go.
With that said... I had the duty of proctoring Saturday school this morning, which is for students who have had two or more late homework assignments throughout the course of the week. Once I had gathered my supplies for the day (my teaching manuals and papers to grade), I quickly ran out of the door and headed toward school, and as I stepped out of the door, I witnessed my first animal/ motorcycle accident since being here in the D.R.. We live at the corner of an intersection that has a number of "blind" spots, as there are a number of high walls around most of the corners. A dog (a rare one with tags around his neck, which immediately showed that this was no stray) strutted out into the intersection when all of a sudden a guy on a motorcycle came flying threw the intersection, hitting the dog and flying off of his bike. The dog was alive but in a great deal of pain (definitely something was broken) and the guy was actually able to get up (it looked like a broken arm) and pick his motorcycle off of the ground. This is where the story turns as has left a terrible image in my mind throughout the day. The motorcycle rider, who was obviously going too fast in the first place, grabbed the PVC pipe from a young boy who was headed to work and decided to see in everything was alright, and the motorcycle rider began to beat the dog with the pipe, not killing it but further injuring a dog that was in far worse shape than the motorcycle rider had been. I have to admit that I have ever experienced such cruelty to animals in my very short life, but the images from this morning have been racing through my mind throughout the day. The hatred that the man had in his eyes toward that dog is like no other hatred I have ever seen a person have against a defense-less animal. After beating the dog several times the motorcycle rider simply grab his bike, with his one hand, and began to walk up the street, leaving the dog to struggle half way down the street eventually laying on a grassy part of the curb right off of the road. Some of you may be thinking, "Why didn't you do anything?" and I can only answer that I was honestly scared, scared for the life of the dog and the motorcycle rider but most of all scared by the hatred of this man who beat a severely injured dog. The story doesn't end with the dog simply dying, but actually with co-worker noticing the dog and contacting the owner who rushed the dog to the local vet. I am not sure what happened to the dog, but it was a messed up situation, and one that I hope I won't have to witness being done to a human or a dog. It was one of few moments in my life where I have seen true anger flowing from the depths of a person... Sin is not pretty...
After ending practice and getting home around 4:30, Laura and I got ready for the 6th graders to invade our house for most of the night. We ended up having a blast with them (as you can see from the pics on our Picasa website)! I found a bunch of silly games for us to do throughout the night and they loved them! The biggest hit happened to be the "Cucumber Slide" where you cut a cucumber into slices and you race someone to see who can move the slice of cucumber down to the opposite side of the table first. The catch is that you can only use your nose to move the cucumber down the table! The kids got a big laugh out of the game, especially when Laura and I raced one another (and I won!). These parties have been amazing for connecting with students. This is the third class that we have had over to our house, as we have hosted the 7th graders and the 12th graders at other previous times. I especially enjoy it as a Bible teacher because these kids get a chance to see me in and out of class, hopefully being challenged by the way that Laura and I treat each other with Godly love and respect at home.
So now comes the not so bright and happy story about the last 24 hours, I have to admit at this time that those of you who have a hard time hearing about cruelty to animals should probably not read the following section.
Before I get into this story I have to provide a bit of background. People simply do not treat animals with the same about of love and care as they do in the states. Whether they are cats or dogs, they are often seen as more of an annoyance than they are seen as beautiful animals. People often toss rocks at animals, throw them in the river to drown (especially females puppies because they are more expensive to care for), or simply beat them constantly. It is a sad reality here in the D.R., but I can regularly hear people beating their animals throughout the day. With this said, animals do often cause serious issues here in the D.R.. With such a strong number of strays, they are regularly causing accidents (with many of them causing the death of the animal and the driver) and they eat other people's sources of food (chickens, etc.). It is nothing like the animals that simply run around in the states, you can count on seeing stray animals most everywhere you go.
With that said... I had the duty of proctoring Saturday school this morning, which is for students who have had two or more late homework assignments throughout the course of the week. Once I had gathered my supplies for the day (my teaching manuals and papers to grade), I quickly ran out of the door and headed toward school, and as I stepped out of the door, I witnessed my first animal/ motorcycle accident since being here in the D.R.. We live at the corner of an intersection that has a number of "blind" spots, as there are a number of high walls around most of the corners. A dog (a rare one with tags around his neck, which immediately showed that this was no stray) strutted out into the intersection when all of a sudden a guy on a motorcycle came flying threw the intersection, hitting the dog and flying off of his bike. The dog was alive but in a great deal of pain (definitely something was broken) and the guy was actually able to get up (it looked like a broken arm) and pick his motorcycle off of the ground. This is where the story turns as has left a terrible image in my mind throughout the day. The motorcycle rider, who was obviously going too fast in the first place, grabbed the PVC pipe from a young boy who was headed to work and decided to see in everything was alright, and the motorcycle rider began to beat the dog with the pipe, not killing it but further injuring a dog that was in far worse shape than the motorcycle rider had been. I have to admit that I have ever experienced such cruelty to animals in my very short life, but the images from this morning have been racing through my mind throughout the day. The hatred that the man had in his eyes toward that dog is like no other hatred I have ever seen a person have against a defense-less animal. After beating the dog several times the motorcycle rider simply grab his bike, with his one hand, and began to walk up the street, leaving the dog to struggle half way down the street eventually laying on a grassy part of the curb right off of the road. Some of you may be thinking, "Why didn't you do anything?" and I can only answer that I was honestly scared, scared for the life of the dog and the motorcycle rider but most of all scared by the hatred of this man who beat a severely injured dog. The story doesn't end with the dog simply dying, but actually with co-worker noticing the dog and contacting the owner who rushed the dog to the local vet. I am not sure what happened to the dog, but it was a messed up situation, and one that I hope I won't have to witness being done to a human or a dog. It was one of few moments in my life where I have seen true anger flowing from the depths of a person... Sin is not pretty...
6th Grade Party Pics
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