Yesterday we arrived in the Dominican Republic; wow! Arriving was amazing. My condo is more than beautiful, we are 50yds from the beach, and e weather is in the 80s...what more could a girl from Buffalo ask for!
Today was our first full day, and boy was it full! We started the day off by grabbing some coffee at the corner coffe store near our condo. We went to 3 Mariposa, which translates to 3 butterflies- it is the Montessori school we are working with, and were warmly welcomed by the staff and super cute kids! Hearing about the school, seeing the progress made from Sarah the director and many volunteers was amazing. It was so exciting to hear how Sarah got involved and started this school in the DR; it was encouraging me to got me thinking about teaching abroad again (who knows what will happen with that).
After a quick lunch of chicken and rice we went to the Spanish Institute. We were welcomed by the teachers only speaking Spanish, and when they called our name we followed off into separate groups. I am with 2 other wonderful girls from the buff State team, nd I discovered quickly that this was not going to be a high school Spanish class. Our teacher explained to us, in Spanish, that no English was to be spoken during the class. We went over basic statements and questions she felt we may need during class. Wow, it was overwhelming for sure but I can only imagine how beneficial it will be after 2 weeks of 3 hour classes every day. It is not going to be easy, but well worth it I'm sure...we even have homework. We were not expecting that, but as an entire group we are practicing our Spanish together and it's encouraging to have each other to practice with.
Today was our first full day, and boy was it full! We started the day off by grabbing some coffee at the corner coffe store near our condo. We went to 3 Mariposa, which translates to 3 butterflies- it is the Montessori school we are working with, and were warmly welcomed by the staff and super cute kids! Hearing about the school, seeing the progress made from Sarah the director and many volunteers was amazing. It was so exciting to hear how Sarah got involved and started this school in the DR; it was encouraging me to got me thinking about teaching abroad again (who knows what will happen with that).
After a quick lunch of chicken and rice we went to the Spanish Institute. We were welcomed by the teachers only speaking Spanish, and when they called our name we followed off into separate groups. I am with 2 other wonderful girls from the buff State team, nd I discovered quickly that this was not going to be a high school Spanish class. Our teacher explained to us, in Spanish, that no English was to be spoken during the class. We went over basic statements and questions she felt we may need during class. Wow, it was overwhelming for sure but I can only imagine how beneficial it will be after 2 weeks of 3 hour classes every day. It is not going to be easy, but well worth it I'm sure...we even have homework. We were not expecting that, but as an entire group we are practicing our Spanish together and it's encouraging to have each other to practice with.
At this point in the day, we went to the beach. That is right, in January we went to the beach. The sun was shining (ose of you who know me, no worries I put on sunscreen), the sand was so warm in between my toes as we walked along the beach for a bit, and the water was warm and beautiful. So many people were kite surfing too, which was insanely cool to watch.
We went to dinner where some ppl were a little shocked by the food and the bathroom situations. It reminded me a lot of my experience in Mexico City, especially the bathrooms. I am really enjoying my experience here, but a lot of things make me think back to Mexico City and I do miss it quite a bit. Being in a similar culture there are lots of things that take my mind to last summer when I was there. I'm so thankful to have mother opportunity like this to be in another country and learning tons through my experience. I think it is safe to say, this will be an experience