Hello!
This is really just a quick note about how God gave me a great birthday gift today! Our pastor has been in the US since this summer and I haven't heard him preach until today. I was excited to hear him because I'd heard SO MUCH good stuff about him and how he was easy to understand in Spanish. I was a bit skeptical seeing that I couldn't understand the other two pastors that we've heard the past few Sundays. Our pastor had sent a little video update a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised to actually be able to understand him...in Spanish! So, I was definitely looking forward to hearing him speak.
So, today, I walked in and turned down the offer of translation. I was a bit skeptical....I know so little Spanish!
Anyway, today marks the first time I've listened to a sermon entirely in Spanish and understood all the main points. I even reviewed the sermon afterwards with some Spanish speaking friends to make sure I wasn't making up my own sermon and it turns out that I followed along pretty well! I was surprised how much concentration it took, and how tired I was afterwards, but it was still fun to listen in a different language and be able to understand what the pastor said! Thanks God for that wonderful gift!
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Life in the DR
Hola Amigos!
So, I just started my 4th week of teaching in the DR. There are still times where I find it hard to believe that I'm here, here in the DR, teaching alongside some wonderful people, loving on students who seem to forget my last name (many students call you "Miss" instead of using your last name), soaking in the beautiful weather (it's been cooler than usual... :) ) and in general being a teacher in an international school. My heart floods with gratitude to my generous God who knows what makes my heart swell and sing with joy even before I do! With that being said, would you like to hear a few snippets from life here in the DR? You do? Well, read on, friend!
Story 1: The other day I was at a restaurant and the waiter asked for our names for our orders. Thinking that I'd make it easy on the waiter and not try to make him pronounce a gringo's name (clearly I wasn't thinking too well since they actually have my name here....), I used my nickname of Jo. The waiter looked at me strangely and repeated Jo back to me with a questioning look. I repeated the name and he asked for it to be repeated again. After a few insistent repeats of my name from me, he shook his head in bewilderment and wrote it down. My friends who were with me and have been in the DR for a while, asked why I used my nickname instead of my full name. I muttered something and made a mental note not to use my nickname again...at this restaurant anyway! I thought this was the end of this little cultural difference. However, a few days later, I realized why the waiter had been so confused. See, in Dominican Republic Spanish the letter y is pronounced more like a j. And you might remember from your high school Spanish class that the word "yo" means I. So, I realized I was telling the waiter to call me I instead of Jo...and my friends didn't even tell me! Terrible! ;)
Story 2: After chapel last week, I came away with a Spanish song stuck in my head! First time that's happened and I absolutely LOVE IT! And then on Sunday, we sang the Spanish version of one of my absolutely favorite songs. I need to get the lyrics and practice, b/c it was super fast, but I'll be singing that one when I get back home and I'm going to teach it to people! Get ready!
Story 3: I took a big step in my independence here in the DR this past Saturday. I called for a taxi (in Spanish), took the taxi alone, did my shopping, and then found a waiting taxi and told him directions to get back to my house. I did this all in Spanish, Spanish with a bad accent, but Spanish nonetheless! The first taxi tried to ask me a few questions and have a conversation with me, but I could only understand a few words and so that conversation didn't last very long. In fact, I'm pretty sure my part of the conversation consisted solely of Si or Que! But, seriously, it was a very freeing experience! :)
So, I hope those stories, while some of my every day stuff, might give you a glimpse into my current world. Sure, I have days where I miss my familiar Orlando world and there's just too much "new" for me to soak in. In those times though, I ask myself, "Do I want to be on a plane headed back to the States?" and my answer is a resounding NO! I want to be here and I am so glad that God saw fit to bring me to the beautiful DR.
Until next time...
So, I just started my 4th week of teaching in the DR. There are still times where I find it hard to believe that I'm here, here in the DR, teaching alongside some wonderful people, loving on students who seem to forget my last name (many students call you "Miss" instead of using your last name), soaking in the beautiful weather (it's been cooler than usual... :) ) and in general being a teacher in an international school. My heart floods with gratitude to my generous God who knows what makes my heart swell and sing with joy even before I do! With that being said, would you like to hear a few snippets from life here in the DR? You do? Well, read on, friend!
Story 1: The other day I was at a restaurant and the waiter asked for our names for our orders. Thinking that I'd make it easy on the waiter and not try to make him pronounce a gringo's name (clearly I wasn't thinking too well since they actually have my name here....), I used my nickname of Jo. The waiter looked at me strangely and repeated Jo back to me with a questioning look. I repeated the name and he asked for it to be repeated again. After a few insistent repeats of my name from me, he shook his head in bewilderment and wrote it down. My friends who were with me and have been in the DR for a while, asked why I used my nickname instead of my full name. I muttered something and made a mental note not to use my nickname again...at this restaurant anyway! I thought this was the end of this little cultural difference. However, a few days later, I realized why the waiter had been so confused. See, in Dominican Republic Spanish the letter y is pronounced more like a j. And you might remember from your high school Spanish class that the word "yo" means I. So, I realized I was telling the waiter to call me I instead of Jo...and my friends didn't even tell me! Terrible! ;)
Story 2: After chapel last week, I came away with a Spanish song stuck in my head! First time that's happened and I absolutely LOVE IT! And then on Sunday, we sang the Spanish version of one of my absolutely favorite songs. I need to get the lyrics and practice, b/c it was super fast, but I'll be singing that one when I get back home and I'm going to teach it to people! Get ready!
Story 3: I took a big step in my independence here in the DR this past Saturday. I called for a taxi (in Spanish), took the taxi alone, did my shopping, and then found a waiting taxi and told him directions to get back to my house. I did this all in Spanish, Spanish with a bad accent, but Spanish nonetheless! The first taxi tried to ask me a few questions and have a conversation with me, but I could only understand a few words and so that conversation didn't last very long. In fact, I'm pretty sure my part of the conversation consisted solely of Si or Que! But, seriously, it was a very freeing experience! :)
So, I hope those stories, while some of my every day stuff, might give you a glimpse into my current world. Sure, I have days where I miss my familiar Orlando world and there's just too much "new" for me to soak in. In those times though, I ask myself, "Do I want to be on a plane headed back to the States?" and my answer is a resounding NO! I want to be here and I am so glad that God saw fit to bring me to the beautiful DR.
Until next time...
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