Time for a break.

Given the fact that this time next week I will be in Kansas City, this will be my last post until I return to the Dominican Republic after Christmas.  I am excited about my last week before Christmas here and I am excited about heading back to KC, I'm really happy that I am not at a place that really wants either one more than the other.
This past week was a good one.  We concluded our Expeditions on Thursday night with Expedition night, it was a fun chance for all of the different grades to showcase what they had been working on.  My juniors had been explore the world of through cultural conflicts and made a video about it that I hope to post soon.  The downside to the video is that it is in Spanish.  Its good to be done with Expedition, but it was good to be doing it as well.
This weekend was spent at Christmas parties and an Aguilas game.  Las Aguilas are the local LIDOM team and have the likes of Manny Ramirez, Bartolo Colon, Miguel Tejada, and others playing for them.  The atmosphere is quite a bit different than in the states and it is a lot of fun.  If you ever have the chance to visit the DR during beisbol season you should head to a game.  Myself a student of mine and his older brother went and outside of the fact that we left following the seventh inning when we were down 7-0, we had a great time.  The funny thing is that after we left las aguilas scored 7 in the 8th but lost it in the 9th.  Oh well.
This week will be spent finishing strong and in a flurry of fun.  Tuesday night YL party, Friday night another Aguilas game, fake ice skating, and cigar factory tour, along with other random events in the evening here.
Hasta Pronto!

TIgre!

A Tigre is a hard thing to describe.  In my poor understanding it is someone who is always trying to work a situation to benefit themselves the most, always wheeling and dealing.  They don't work, but they always are trying to put of the appearance of having a lot of money.  They spend a lot of time in the river and eat a lot of fish also.  They also like to have their BlackBerrys out playing music even if there are two other Tigres playing music right next to them.  They are rather hard to describe so here is a picture of what one looks like.

  

Expedition week!

One of main strategies of learning at Doulos is Expeditionary Learning.  With that in mind, it is finally Expedition week!  Expedition night is on Thursday and that is culmination of what many of our classes have been working towards for a couple months.  There are many different things that go into an Expedition, but part of it is having the students create a product that shows what they have learned and to also have them present that product to a valid audience.  For my junior class we have been working on a video that shows what they have learned regarding culture and cultural conflicts.  Besides the video some of the students are also working on an art project to compliment the video and show some of their personal reflections on culture or express themselves in the culture they live.  Hopefully I can upload the video and have some photos of the art for my blog next week.  All in all this will hopefully be a fun week and something that the students can look back on with pride.

Outside of my school life things have been more or less normal.  Last week I took on the adventure of going to the dentist here and I followed it up by going back for round two; which was them drilling and filling 3 cavities.  If you go to my dentist, forget about numbing the pain.  

This weekend somehow became a weekend of performances, with Friday night being the semi-finals of Festival De La Voz and Saturday night being a Doulos talent show.  Both very fun and a good chance for us to support our students in what they love.  

I also went for a run for the first time in a couple months and it was fun although my heart rate is so much higher than it was and now I very slow again.  Their are a few loops around my house that are a mixture of fun surfaces and places.  The one I did this weekend headed down my street onto a trail to the river and then back up to a big pretty road that is not used much but connects back with my street.  On the big road I was running and came across a smashed tarantula, I always knew they were here but that is the only one I have seen.  I also discovered rhino beetles which are huge, there was one at a friend house the other day so I let it crawl on my arm, it was weird. 

Pray for Expedition week!

For Fun

After school today, myself and another teacher took 3 of our students on a hike up a waterfall... here are some pics and a pic of a cool bug I saw at my house.

Monastery where the trail to the river starts.

Jumping off the rocks is fun.

Climbing the rocks is fun.

They tried to convince me you can go under the waterfall and still breathe.

There are so many weird bugs here.

Thanksgiving!

This weekend was probably the most unique Thanksgiving of my life.  Instead of a normal T-day with a gluttonous amount of food and lots of family around my day was spent teaching, driving, grocery shopping, and eating at a pizza place on a Caribbean beach.
Even here in the DR we only had a half day for Thanksgiving and had Friday off altogether so a group of friends and I headed to Cabarete for the weekend.  Last time I went to the beach we stayed at a hostel that was home to more mosquitoes than anywhere on earth and was also one of the hottest places on earth.  There was no way that was happening again, so we spent a little more money and stayed at a nice beach rental with our own pool and even air conditioning.  Anyone looking for a good place in Cabarete should check out Olas de Oro, its a little pricey but with multiple people in them they are reasonable.
The weather was perfect this weekend with some of the time being sunny and some of the time being cloudy and cool.  We had a fun little pool in our backyard and when we first got to the house I went straight upstairs to check out the balcony/roof jumping capability and instead of opening the completely clear glass door I walked right into it.  The other calamitous event of the weekend is when we were cooking dinner and someone went to lite the oven and it blew up, most of my leg hairs were singed and most of my body was engulfed in in flame for about half of a second.  These are things that make vacationing in a country like this a little more fun.
In the end we spent most of our time at the beach, playing monopoly or rummy, and eating.  Great times were had by all.

Young Life Camp!

So this weekend myself a couple a few other adults and a bunch of students hopped into some vans and headed to Pico Escondido.  Pico is the YL camp that serves the needs of the Dominican Republics  Vida Joven and Young Life needs.  The camp is at the base of a mountain, so the scenery there is quite remarkable.  I have had the opportunity of being at the camp multiple times before, mainly when friends and I were climbing the mountain it is on.  The opportunity to go with a group of 9 guys was one I was not going to pass up.  I have never been part of a weekend YL camp and I had never been a leader of any kids that I didn't completely share a language with, but through all of it I learned a lot and I hope the students did too.  Four of the students that came with us go to Doulos and I see them almost everyday, its exciting to connect with them on a deeper spiritual level one that we can continue exploring.  The other 5 students were from different schools around here, the only reason I knew them was from playing soccer with them.  I am excited to get to know these guys better and when I am with a couple of them I am sure to learn more Spanish, just from the fact that they don't speak English.
Obviously this week is Thanksgiving and I am definitely ready to have a little time off.  We have a half day on Thursday and no school on Friday, so a group of us have decided to spend a long weekend at the beach.  Its definitely nice to have the Caribbean only a couple hours away (it's okay, you can be jealous).   
I feel like every time I am writing here I think about friends and family back home which makes me think about how long until I am back in the States.  4 weeks from now I will be sweatshirts and enjoying cold weather!

Beginning of a New Season

So after so many hot days I feel that it is finally starting to cool down a little bit here in Jarabacoa.  We had a good amount of rain this weekend and I hope that it has finally drove the temperature down to a place that it will remain for some time.  This weekend was maybe the first time a hoodie was reasonable attire for here.
Besides the weather some other things going on things have been rather low key for the most part.  On Friday night some of our students were involved in vocal competition called Festival de la Voz.  The competition has three first round nights, a semi-final, and a final.  The next 2 weekends are a continuation of the opening round and then the semis and final will be on back to back weekends.  Overall it was a very unique experience to attend, but fun as well.
Next weekend is Young Life camp, so after school on Friday through Sunday afternoon will be rather crazy.  Hopefully things go well and the kids learn a lot about Jesus and have a lot of fun as well.
I looked at my calendar just before writing this and realized that I have just over a month before heading back to KC for Christmas.  Time is flying!