Day 3- Blog still down
Today we took an adventure to find coco plants with our tour guides Tony and Freddy, two of the men that own and help run the Cabarete Coffee Company. We started our venture down the main road, the only high traffic road that run through the city. Driving is an experience in and of itself. There are no traffic lights, no speed limits and you can switch lanes and turn whenever you want. Being a passenger is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Sometimes it's best to just close your eyes and not look at all the motorcycles and people zipping through the streets, acting as though the cars and vans are nonexistent. Once we got off the main road, we turned onto a dirt road that was very bumpy and muddy. A few times I thought we were going to have to get out and dig the guaguas out of the mud, but we made it to our destination. However we were accompanied by on and off bouts of rain making it much more difficult to walk on the already difficult terrain. The view was amazing. We were surrounded by trees that seemed to be miles high and rolling hills that displayed what seemed like every possible shade of green. We saw many different types of trees, many that bared delicious fruit such as bread fruit, passion fruit, sapotes, plantains and coco. We got to taste and smell all of these and passion fruit ended up being my favorite, it was the perfect mix between sweet and sour. Then we ate a traditional Dominican meal consisting of chicken, rice and beans. Dominicans make you feel very comfortable and welcome in their homes. Two older women made us lunch and hot chocolate. At times I have felt a little over whelmed with the language barrier and have reverted back to using English because that is the language I feel most comfortable using. In the next few days my goal is to start to try and use Spanish as much as possible, because I want to be able to speak to the family I eat lunch with in Spanish.
Day 4- Today was out first day at the school. We observed for the entire day, which honestly for me was difficult. I can't wait to start working with the children and engaging them educationally. Having spent a great deal of time in a Montessori classroom, I was surprised to see the similarities and differences between Bennett Park in Buffalo and 3 Mariposas Montessori. I noticed that the children at 3 Mariposas do not use work cards, and their work choices are completely their own. I also noticed that work is kept of the edge of the shelf, just like at Bennett Park. There was also a designated place for rugs and all furniture was made from wood or wood like materials. Peace is a universal theme that is used in all Montessori classrooms across the world and you could tell that 3 Mariposas does a good job at teaching their student peaceful values and ideals. In terms of how I feel as an educator, I feel blessed to be apart of a profession that I can do anywhere in the world. Teaching in the United States is rewarding, however I feel as though teaching here in the Dominican Republic will be a whole different type of rewarding. I am excited to see the ways in which I grow and change as an educator from this experience. I love the family that I am with for lunch. Clarissa has 5 beautiful children that are so sweet and loving. I felt uncomfortable only because of the language barrier, Clarissa made me feel very welcome and wanted in her home. We taught the children English and in return they helped us with our Spanish. I feel like I am gaining so much for eating lunch with Clarissa and her family. It's so nice to see how other people live and how they interact with each other.
Day 5-I am in love with el nedo. Honestly, I learned so much from the teachers and volunteers about caring for and loving children. These children truly love Jenny and her staff and it's apparent. They know the children very well and catered to their needs so that the children feel safe and comfortable in their environment. It's so amazing that these children can speak both English and Spanish. Today I learned that children are children no matter where they live or come from. The children in el nedo are still in the it's all about me stage and haven't yet begun to understand the dynamics of others and sharing. Due to this, the children needed some guidance when it came to playing and working with others, but for the most part, you could tell they all share a common bond and friendship with each other. The outside environment is so perfect of this age group of children. It allows the children to explore their environment as well as learn. The children can really use and develop both their fine motor and gross motor skills. Jumping, running and swinging all help the children learn balance and spacial relationships while playing in the sand, picking up leaves and watering flowers all help develop those ever important fine motor skills. The social environment that is created from this environment is also so good for the children. They are constantly socializing and interacting with their peers and adults in both English and Spanish. I learned a lot today and I hope I get another chance to work in el nedo while I am here!