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...