Last weekend in Santiago...bring on the travels!

The past few days were spent finishing things up here in Santiago and getting ready to see other parts of the country.

Here are some more pictures from Friday, the last day of campamento:

Sharon, myself and Ramonita enjoying some paletas (popsicles).

This is a picture of the fine looking camp staff---guess which ones are from the states!!

PALETAS!!!! (posicles)

Although it looks like the dance to Thriller, it is really the "Kung Fu Dance" (in honor of the week we spent learning about China. :)

Saturday, Sharon and I took another trip to the beach. This time, we went to a quiet beach which was super relaxing. Then, we picked up my friend Ashley from the airport. She came all the way from Costa Rica to travel around the DR with me for the next week and a half!

Sunday we went to church for the last time in Santiago--it was Father's Day here in the Dominican Republic!

Today was spent finishing up errands here in Santiago, making sure we have everything we need for traveling and saying "adios" to many friends I have made while I was here. Ashley and I even took our fave taxi driver out for ice cream!

Tomorrow we will head to a beach called Puerto Plata for a few days. 

After that, we will take a bus down to the southwest part of the country to a town called Bani to visit a friend. Then, on to La Romana in the southeast to visit another friend for a few days. Finally, we will come back to Santiago at the end of next week to catch our plane back to USA. :)

I know there are a lot of things I will miss about the DR, but there are a lot of things I am looking forward to when I come home. I think the biggest thing that I will miss here (besides the delicious frozen yogurt) is the simplicity of every day life. Each day, my only real responsibility was to make sure I had everything prepared for camp, so it was great to have time to just enjoy life!

I should mention that my internet will be hit or miss (probably mostly miss) the next week and half, so don't worry if I don't post for a bit!

Last day of campamento...and finally pictures!!

Today was the last day of camp. It was a little bittersweet---sad to see the kids and teachers go after spending so much time with them, but all good things must come to an end.

It can be hard to compliment people on things here (like their shoes or earrings) because they want to give it to you. This one teacher tried to give Sharon and I her earrings today (one for each of us!). It was very touching, but we convinced her that they were best on her.

The kids got to have popsicles today as their final treat. Unfortunately, right before the popsicles were handed out, the camp director said to make sure the kids say goodbye to sharon and I. I got a lot of sticky hugs and a big wet popsicle kiss on my cheek--grape I think. haha

One of my greatest friends from my days at Eastern, who also lives in York has been having her own adventures in Costa Rica all summer. She will be flying here to Santiago, DR to hang out with my until the end of my time here. I am super excited, and also her spanish is better than mine, so I will let her do the talking and my brain gets a rest :)

These first three pictures show us painting the wall. The girl beside me is Sharon, who lives with me here. The other girl is Kerrenda and she came down to help with camp for 2 weeks.

Now, on to the pictures of cute kids having a blast at camp!

These two are from the youngest class--pre-primario. CUTENESS!

Here the kids are showing off their kangaroo puppets that they made.

The kids are (sort of) patiently waiting for the water games to begin. :)

At YCST it's "Miss! Miss! Miss!" here at Caminito de Jesus it's "Profe Valeria, Profe Valeria!!" Which is pretty much the same thing :)

The two guys in the front are from the oldest class--the 5th graders.

Too cool for words :)

The kiddos praying to start the day at camp.

Alejandro with a water balloon---DANGEROUS :)

 Watch out for the Lions!!

Though the kids hated getting sand in their hair, they LOVED the game! They had to pour water from their cup to their neighbors cup without getting up. Of course, everyone got wet and that was pretty much the whole point!

The Final Countdown: week 4 @ camp: CHINA

Fun Friday @ camp was "water day" and the kids loved it! It was hilarious to watch them participate in the water relays we planned for them (all designed to get them soaked). 

There is one boy, Alex, who lives in New York, but is visiting his aunt and uncle for the summer. He requires a lot of attention and patience to say the least. I was his partner for the water games because of uneven numbers. The game was about to start, and I was super grateful because he was hanging on my arm and it was about 100 degrees). He looked at me and laughed and said "Tu estas jodida (you are screwed)!"He speaks some English, so I asked him, "Did you just say what I think you said?" He nodded, and I had to laugh---hilarious (competitive) kid. He was also talking like Donald Duck, so that adds to the ambience of the day  :)

Friday after camp, the missionary kids had their birthday party at the school because both of their birthdays are in July. A bunch of kids from the school and neighborhood were invited for an afternoon of cake and ice cream, silly games and "water wars." After filling a bunch of water balloons for the party, Sharon and I filled up our own stash and hid them because we knew we would need them when the water games started--and we were definitely right! It's been a while since I've been to a kid's party with games and such, and it was a lot of fun!

This past weekend was very relaxing--Megan, Sharon and I went to the movies Saturday night. Despite the price going up, it was still pretty cheap--about $4! Girl time is always a plus :)

Today we began the final week of camp and the kiddos are learning about China! Their favorite part is always learning a few words in the country's language. So, today they were all bowing and running around saying Ni Hao---pretty cute :)

Saturday night my good friend Ashley arrives after her summer in Costa Rica!

I am super excited to have her here in the DR with me for the last few weeks of my time here.

Espana: Week 3 of Camp and a Silly Story

Funny Story First:

Last week, the woman we are staying with (Darlene) was out of town for a few days. Sharon and I decided to order some subs from a place not too far away and have them delivered to the apartment. The owners are really nice and mutual friends, so we like to give them our business a lot. While waiting on the second floor balcony for the sub guy, with money and FRONT DOOR KEYS in my hand, I see Sharon come out to join me WITHOUT THE BALCONY KEY in her hand.

I realize that the key is just inside the door as it clicks shut, and we are both on the balcony. The issue is that there is no door knob on the outside of the door, just a hole for the key...We both realize the dilemna at the same time, and stare at each other in shock...

We call down to some other apartment owners who are outside for help...The one man climbs up to our balcony (proving my theory that we are in fact no really that secure on the second floor if this very old man can just shimmy up here in no time.) He confirms that yes, we are locked out and no windows are open either (again, making me feel not very secure that he could check all that out so fast....)

My brain kicks into gear and I ask one of the men to go unlock the front door and I toss the front door keys to him. I hear him come up the stairs and hold my breath as I hear the lock jiggle. We had forgot one thing.....the stupid deadbolt. It turns out that all this security in this awesome apartment had totally backfired and we could not get in!!!

About this time, the sub delivery guy arrives, and sees our predicament with interest (I think his interest was mostly in the fact that he would get his money, but who could blame him...). I threw his money down to him and he tossed the subs up to us on the balcony and walked away laughing. I think I'll be embarrassed to eat there again, but hey, I'm leaving in a few weeks and at least he has a funny story to tell his friends about the idiot american girls who locked themselves on the balcony! I mean, really he should be thanking me---a huge tip AND a funny story :).

By this time, the old guy who has joined us on the balcony confirms it: we have to cut through the screen door to reach the keys. He does this and we are inside in a minute. Sharon told Darlene the story (which I insist is hilarious, but Sharon doesn't think it is as funny as I do...) and Darlene said for future reference, there is a spare key hidden out there if it happens again....GO FIGURE :)

Now, we only put the deadbolt on at night and are super careful when we go out on the balcony and always leave generous tips at the sub shop :)

Here is the link to the sub shop, but I have a feeling that they won't deliver to the US...

YAWAY SUBS--better than subway :)

Now, down to other business:
Last week at camp ended with a special treat for the kiddos: ice cream!!! They enjoyed it a lot and the rest of the Friday activities as well.

After camp Friday the other girls and I relaxed, because we had a beach trip planned for Saturday to a beach called Sosua, about 2 hours away by bus.

Traveling by bus (like a private greyhound bus) is really easy and cheap here. We showed up at the bus stop about an hour early, bought a ticket to Sosua and were on the beach by noon! Here, you can pay some a few dollars to set up a lounge chair and umbrella for you right in front of the surf. It probably helped that my friend's Dominican husband did the talking. If I were bargaining, it would have been a terrible deal for all of us :) Also, when you want to eat lunch, they bring a little table and everything right to you on the beach!! The water was crystal clear and you could see your feet!  All said and done, a wonderful day at the beach for about $20.

I went to a different church on Sunday with my friend who teaches here and then Sharon and I made tacos for lunch (well, she made tacos and prepared everything and I just grated the cheese lol).

On Monday, "Senorita Espana" made her first appearance at camp. That's really just me wearing the flag of Spain like a cape and a pair of sunglasses. She is my twin who was raised in Spain and came to camp this week just to teach the kids about Spain (at least that is what I told the kids).

Then, I came down with a gross cold Monday also, and another girl had to be "senorita espana's cousin" today because I was home in bed. The great thing about the pharamcy's here is that there is one every few blocks and medicine is pretty easily accessible. I just told them how I felt and they gave me a decongestant---and was back home within 15 minutes!

After a nice day of rest..."Senorita Espana" will be back at camp tomorrow, hopefully not too stuffed up :).

Second Week of Campamento--the adventure continues!

Last week, Sharon, the other American here from Chicago (who teaches Spanish) moved into the house where I am staying. I think our host (who is sincerely the sweetest woman ever!) really enjoys the company. She is always making plans for us to do different things and see the city. It usually involves stopping for ice cream, so I am totally ok with it. Who am I to deny this sweet lady her ice cream :)

Saturday a bunch of the teachers and myself met at the school to begin painting a mural on one of the walls. We got about halfway done before the heat forced us to be done for the day. I think that it was great for those teachers to volunteer on a Saturday to help out at school like that. For working all summer at the camp they earn about $100. We'll finish the mural on Thursday after camp---it's already looking great! Because it is so hot, the school doesn't really have any decorations because nothing will stick on the walls, so there really isn't much to look at in the classrooms. The painting on Saturday kind of reminded me of Tech and the way the teachers all pitch in and help each other out.

This past weekend, we went to the historical monument in Santiago, DR. There are plaques and visuals that tell the history of the DR and how they got their independence, from Spain and Haiti. I got some awesome pics of the city from the top. See note below about pictures :(

At the monument there was an insistent man selling puppies. We also were approached by a man selling puppies. They were the most adorable puppies in the world and I ALMOST bought 5. I know 5 puppies seems like a lot, but I really wanted ALL of them that the guy had :). Man, did that guy know how to sell them---he let me hold them and everything!!!

Yesterday (Monday) the super sweet lady that I am staying with took myself, Sharon and Kerrenda (another American girl from Texas visiting for 2 weeks) to the tourist market so we could look at cheap Dominican souvenirs to take home.

This week the kids are learning about Australia. Most of the kids that come to this camp are behind their peers in academic skills, so they have an hour with their teacher reviewing reading, writing, math (basically whatever they need) and then twice a week they have a lesson about the country of the week with me. I taught them how Australians greet each other, "hello, mate!" :) I also taught them a super annoying song (annoying to their parents I'm sure) about the animals in Australia. You should see their faces when you tell them about some animals they never heard of---it's like they can't even believe it!

Tonight is 2 for 1 at the pizza shops around here, so we are declaring a pizza and game night (you know, because of all the laborious and dreadful work with the kiddos every morning lol).

**I cannot get my pictures from my "smart" phone to my computer. I will keep working on it...**

First Day of Campamento!

Today was the first day of camp! Camp goes from 9-12 every day, and the kids are going to have a lot of fun.

I was with the 4th, 5th and 6th graders today, as their main teacher was absent. The kids were a lot of fun--one of the boys was actually from New York and visiting family here in the DR for the month. 

The day started at the church down the street with singing and registering kids who didn't sign up. A lot of kids were missing the first day---which makes me a bit nervous that they will all show up tomorrow, because I thought the group sizes were perfect today.  :)

First, the kids spend some time doing schoolwork and catching up in areas that they were weak in last school year. The kids have a chance to eat something if they brought anything and have recess. Then, they have either bible class or a culture class. 

The other girl from the states is Sharon, a Spanish teacher from the Chicago area. She helped to plan the whole camp and teaches the bible lessons. Since she teaches high school at home, we have funny stories to share... 

I teach the culture lesson--the theme of the camp is "around the world" and this week they are learning about Kenya. I'm sure to the other teachers' dismay I taught the kiddos to say hello in Swahili, "jambo" which they continued to repeat all day.  :)  I also googled some pictures of Kenya and even the teachers were surprised at the clothes of some of the tribes.

I still promise there will be pictures at some point...

On this link you can see the church where each day of camp begins.

Colegio Caminito de Jesus de Sabaneta

Santiago, DR

I arrived in Santiago, Dominican Republic on Friday, June 29 after spending a few days in Phoenix, AZ with my cousin.

I know a lot of you are probably wondering what I am doing here...
Here are the basic connections: I have a lot of students from the DR, I have never been here and I have a friend who I taught with 5 years ago that moved here and has been teaching here ever since.

On Monday I will start helping out a camp for local kids--they do some learning, games, bibles lessons, etc...and I do...whatever they tell me! :) The camp is in the mornings Monday-Friday. On Sundays, I have the opportunity to go to a town about 20 minutes from Santiago, called La Vega to help out at a home for girls. I'll be working with those 2 organizations until the beginning of August when a friend from college will join me to hang out the rest of the time.

I got hooked up with a place to stay---this super nice missionary lady who has lived here forever opened her home to me. I have my own bathroom AND hot water---this is going to be AWESOME! I also have a fan in my room, for which I am eternally grateful because I am pretty much sweating the moment I get out of the shower (in case any of you were wondering about the weather)

I am super excited for whatever is in store for me this summer...pictures to follo. I attached a map so you can see where I am.