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!