Today...After work I was sitting with a friend at this restuarant that we have become regulars at for our afternoon jugo de Mango (mango juice..which is VERY yummy), it all of a sudden hit me..I AM living in another country. I don't know if it is because we are starting our first day of teaching a little tomorrow or what...but it just hit me! I mean..I have done it before but it was under a much more structured schedule... here ...that is NOT the case!
Things have been just a mess for the last few days..We still don't really know when we are going to Boca De Yuma to move into our apartments and begin our real teaching assignments... We are still living with our host families (which I love--but I am ready to be settled and have a routine of my own. Yesterday my host mother was out with her family all day...I went to bed at 8:30 and she still was not home yet...a little bit later I heard her open my door and check to be sure that I was home...she is the sweetest lady...Today there was a rain storm and her phone is no longer working at her house so she found an old cell phone...let me tell you..it is hard enough to explain electronics to older people in general...but in another langauge.... WHAT A CHALLENGE! I am still not sure she understands but I did my best!
This weekend flew by..I did nothing exciting except walked around the city to see new things and find my way around a little better...I have to say that I am getting around quite well learning the streets of the city, using my maps, and my not so great sense of direction...Although they told me that the sea is to the South so that makes it a bit easier... I love the feeling of independence that I gain when I am abroad...It is a feeling that I cannot explain. It is a great freedom... and also a freedom from my car, and from technology as a whole for the most part (as I sit on my computer :) ).
As I said earlier...it rained today and the streets flooded big time! I saw the craziest things... a man driving on a motorcycle, holding a fan with one hand while driving with the other (to cool himself off), motoconchos (motorcycle taxis) with 4 people on them at one time...I also experienced rush hour at its best..which I hope to never experience again... I am still appauled as to how there are no accidents here. These people drive like they are out of their minds...A road which is techincally 3 lanes can magically turn into 6 if you can fit through! Crazy!!
Today we went and obsereved more classes...and I am both amazed and appauled at the same time...These students started their English classes in January (7 or 8 months ago) knowing zero English... they have been immersed through this free program that they are offered and now they are able to talk about things like politics, pollution, religion...everything! It is AMAZING!!! I am so impressed by these students. They know SO much... and at that I am appauled by the eduation system that I know... I am ashamed to say that I have been studying Spanish for..what? 8 years now? And my Spanish is almost nowhere near the level of these students' English who have only been immersed for 7 months! The program here is 100% amazing... I can't even put it into words!
Tomorrow we are each teaching for half an hour... I am teaching about extinct birds..something I don't know a lot about but I guess we will see how it goes! I am nervous but the students are all so nice and so accepting that I don't care! They are so excited to talk to native speakers becuase their teachers are Dominican...The students think that if I can understand them (being native) that they truely are learning and they are soo excited about that!
I am off to bed for now ...I will let you know how it goes after tomorrow!
Hasta Luego!
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