Part 2….

I decided to make this a separate blog… because it’s kinda a big deal!!!

I DID IT! I DID IT! We have a pre-school up and running.  This past year of immersing myself into the culture, pushing through more personal barriers then I thought possible, and challenging myself to have a school up and running in a year has more than paid off.  J

I have to send out a huge thank you to the group who came down to help fix up the building.  Also, here’s another huge thank you to all the groups and people who came down with suitcases of supplies.  And finally the biggest THANK YOU goes out to all of the people at home supporting me with their thoughts, prayers, emails, facebook messages, and notes.  I wouldn’t be where I am today without you guys! J   

So here’s what my days look like now.  I leave before 7am to pick up kids in El Estrecho Abajo by 7.  On my way back I pick up a few more kids who live on the main road.  I drop off those kids at the school and leave them with Jamie, a girl from Ohio who is here helping out with the school.  I then drive through Pueblo Nuevo to Sandra’s in El Canal and pick up breakfast for the kids.  On my way back through Pueblo Nuevo I pick up either Sujer or Suni, my 2 Dominican helpers along with 3 kids. (Angel, son of Rosanna and Jorge, Kelvin, son of Yolanda and Boho, and Isaura, daughter of Nani)  I am back at the school around 8am where we begin our day with outside play. 

We built a sand box, and thanks to Teresa we have sand box toys.  The first day I opened the sandbox and put out the toys and they just stood there not really knowing what to do.  After I showing them how to how to dig, rake, sift, and pile up sand, the kids didn’t want to go inside. There are a few that like to sit inside looking at board books.  They enthusiastically flip through pages pointing out every animal and object they know.  In a culture where the only books people pick up and read are school books and the bible, getting kids excited about looking at books and reading for fun is a huge deal.

After outside play, we wash up for breakfast.  We wanted to make sure to include in our program a hearty, nutritious breakfast for the kids.  Many of the households don’t have a family table to eat on, let alone money to feed their family a nutritious diet.  We have put together a menu which includes oatmeal, eggs, fresh fruit and yogurt.

Following breakfast we sit for circle time.  This is where we sing songs, read stories, talk about the calendar month, days, and numbers.  I also will try to do an activity around the theme for the week. 

From circle time we divide into centers with the project being one of them.  The kids have been playing with matchbox cars, play dough, pattern blocks, and drawing on small chalk boards.  They are having a ball other then the fact that they all want everything for themselves.  We are working hard on learning to share. Haha They are 3 and 4. 

After centers, we come back together to either sing or dance some more, or read some books on CD.  Once 11:30 rolls around, the parents from La Sabana (the village where the school is located and where I live) come and pick up their kids.  I then load up the El Estrecho Abajo crew and drive them all home while Jamie says with the Pueblo Nuevo crew.  After driving everyone home, I sit down for lunch with a family and breathe again.  Haha

This is a class photo but it was taken the second day.  We had 3 more kids join the next day.  Hopefully we get another class photo taken soon with everyone!

My afternoons have been filled with running around grabbing something for Sandra to cook, running to the yogurt factory and picking up fresh (the best ever) yogurt, cleaning the school, prepping for the next day, and when I can, sitting and keeping up with emails, and writing this blog. J

I feel like I had a whirl wind of a first week of school, but I am just so thrilled that it all came together.  I haven’t quite figured out why, but after this summer, making many more acquaintances and a couple of good friends, and running my own classroom, I finally feel like I’m at home and I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.  It was a long, stressful, challenging journey, but here I am running a pre-school in a 3^rd world country. 

Woohoo!!! J

Part 1....

I hate starting with this again… but I do apologize for not writing for quite a while. 

~An overview of my camp this summer…

I was in 4 different villages running 2 camps per village, one for 3-6 year olds, and the other for 7-10 year olds.  Camp ran for 2 months and overall we averaged about 150 with all four villages combined.  Overall I’d say it was a huge success.  The kids were thrilled to be able to sing songs in English for and with the participants.  Kids are still asking when the next camp day is.  I also had several parents tell me how happy they were with the program.  I had one mother tell me her 2 daughters make her sing some of our songs every night before they go to bed.  Another mother said to me, “My daughter loved your camp and so did I because before camp she walked around shy and timid, but after going to your camp every week she was bouncing around the house happy and singing all you songs!” And then she thanked me with a hug.  Even though I already know of things I will be changing for our next year, we had a fabulous summer! :)

My mom was here for 2 weeks in August.  We had a fabulous time.  Her first week, we worked with Ben and his family on a roof for Maria.  She is one of the many Maria’s in Pueblo Nuevo.  She is the sister of Oneydo who has helped out and worked with the mission for a number of years.  The VMM had built her a block house in 2005 but that was before we included a zinc roof.  Here is a couple of photos of us working on the roof.

After a very sad day of saying good bye to Ben, his family, and Anna, my mother and I spent a few days visiting with different families.  Everyone was VERY excited my mom was coming to visit, and everyone wanted to meet her.  We ate dulce with a couple of different families.

One family I have become very close to this summer is a family in El Canal, Sandra and Obie, and their three children, Diana (11), Odil (9), and Israel (7).  As a gift for the family, my mom and I took Sandra and her kids shopping for new school uniforms.  We all had a fabulous afternoon which ended with my buying everyone ice cream and eating it in the town square.  It was a great afternoon.

In the middle of the second week, my mom and I spent 2 days and nights relaxing by the pool and enjoying walks along the beach.  The resort is going under so there weren’t many people around.  But we had some nice relaxing time.

After my mom’s 2 week visit I was sad to see her leave but anxious to get everything set for school to start.