words words words

so...funny story.
the other day on the news (and by news, i mean website with news...) i saw a conglomeration of the words the used at one of the primaries. Basically what it does is count the number of times a word (or all the words) is said and then arranges them in a pattern, with the word(s) that occur the most often the largest...

so i decided to do it for my own blog.
i'm fairly glad the largest words are:
"just" and "laughing"
i'm kind of unhappy that the word "school" is so large...my life should not revolve around school. yet it does.

so here it is! (click on it to make it bigger...)




p.s. we found a tarantula at school today.
(more on that story later. i'm really tired tonight...)
check out the pictures on my picasa site:
picasaweb.google.com/dominicanatalie

waves of mercy. waves of grace. :)

I feel like I am always writing about the wonderful activities and adventures that I'm happening...but I want you to know that it's not always easy living in the Dominican Republic. I love living here, and I think it's definitely where God wants me to be and where I want to be.

1. Our support money is lost. Well, supposedly New Horizons sent it in the mail over 2 weeks ago, and we didn't receive it on our last MFI (mail!) day. We don't know why, it apparently never made it to the MFI headquarters in Florida. Jarabacoa Christian School has about $6,000 worth of support in that check that is supposed to go to our new computer lab...so they're frantically trying to find it. We're thankful that they're frantically searching because our support money is very important and essential to our lifestyles as well. We've not received our support money in about a month and a half, so it's time as most of us are running thin...Pray that it gets found. and sent to us. ASAP.

2. Karyn's computer. We're still praying that God will convict whomever tookKaryn's computer to return it. It's so hard to live without a computer--without things for school, without pictures, without an easy way to stay in touch with people, without music--suddenly you realize how much your world revolves around technology. Maybe that's good or bad, but having your link to home suddenly taken definitely makes things difficult.

3. Lost and Found. Today was a gentle reminder that God is definitely in control. As Kelsey and I were sitting at the other girls' house, one of the girl's misplaced her bank card. As we were frantically searching through everything, screaming silent prayers to God to just help us FIND it, I was reminded that God seriously has everything under control. He won't give us more than we can handle. God knew that we couldn't handle another thing being lost, so he granted us our request and allowed us to find the missing bank card. I was so thankful. so thankful. so thankful.

4. Shoe Shine Boys. Today we went into town and walked. It hit me. We live in the Dominican Republic. We live in a 3rd world country. It seems like so often I forget that I live in a country riddled with poverty. I only see our plush houses and our schools and our students who live good lives. But today was a good reminder for me to pray. We were sitting in a little sandwich shop and I just watched these little boys with their little shoe shine kits staring at us...waiting for us to leave. Then we went to Bon, an ice cream shop, and there were more little boys waiting for people to shine their shoes. I saw more little boys today waiting to shine shoes than I've seen while I've been down here. I'm thankful for what I have. I'm praying for these small children that make their living shining shoes. or giving their money to people who make them shine shoes. What a sacrifice for them. Pray for those little boys. that they will be loved. and that they will find Jesus soon.

God's love and grace is so amazing to me. Sometimes I just get struck by it in a new way. I want you to know that everything here is going really well. God's faithfulness is so apparent every day. My cup is overflowing with His love. and it helps me to love others. I'm thankful He grants me mercy every morning! :)

When I am weak, you make me strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

back-to-back!

HOORAY is what you're probably thinking right now, as you have gotten not one but two life updates in the last 24 hours!

Today was a good day. LOTS of laughter. Good, quality crossword time. quality learning. jeez. I was so happy because my friend Estheisy was back today after being gone for 2 days. It was so good to hug her and talk to her again! Today after school I just held her and carried her around until her grandpa came to pick her up. Can I bring her home with me?? Seriously!

1.bomit
Gooooooooood morrrrrningggggg Missssterrrrr Peeeeterrrrsonnnnnnn.
Every morning every class gets in line as we say the Pledge to the Bible, Dominican National Anthem, and Mr. Peterson says announcements and prays for our day. WELL. well, all of a sudden I see Miss Elmer hurry this little girl off to the office. I notice she had some mud on her pants. NOPE. not mud. definitely VOMIT. some little kid had vomited all over and splattered like 5 other kids. Man, as sad as it was, I was dying laughing. The splash factor and seeing all of the kids FREAK out was just so funny. shame on me! But man. poor kids. how do you recover from vomiting on many of your classmates? is it possible? probably not. but a good story for the future!

2. a super-secret, special project...
Kelsey and I finally revealed our super-secret, special project to the girls in the other house. The day that Karyn's computer was stolen we figured they needed a pick-me-up. Little did we know that would turn into a 3 hour long stint including washing dishes, finishing up dinner, house sitting, and eating dinner! All we wanted to do was cheer them up with our awesomeness. BUT alas. since all of those things happened, we were not able to share with them our super-secret, special project. THEREFORE we have to wait again. It's been about a month and counting. I cannot wait to reveal the finished product to one and all. ANTICIPATION. get excited.

3. badminton.
yep. Taylor taught me well. Not only did they make sure I am a "caring, competent, and reflective teacher prepared for world service" (Dr. Tyner, you should be proud!) BUT they also gave me the knowledge in the highly competitive sport of badminton. This weekend Kristen and I were challenged to a game by the one and only Christy "Birdie Killer" Elmer. Basically Kristen and I had to defend Taylor and Dr. Winterholter's honor. Although Christie put up a strong front, Kristen and I ultimately had the fundamentals to put Christy and Brooke in their place.

4. the nicest note I've ever received.
staff comrarderie? high. let me show you how well I am received at JCS...here's a note I received. After I had sent this sweet, sappy "I think you're the best. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you. etc. etc." note.
this is what it said:

(Emmanuel Garcia helped me translate this sweet note.)

Eres loca. Te falta dos
dientes. Tienes sicote
y grajo. Tienes pelos en
los sobacos. Necesitas
un bano urgente. No me
agradas. No te quiero.
Que tengas mal dia. Miss Staats ♥

English translation:
You are crazy. You are missing two teeth. You have bad body odor and your feet stink. You have hair in your armpits. You need to shower right now. You do not appeal to me. I don't want you. Have a bad day. Miss Staats ♥

As I struggled to translate and had to ask the secretaries at our school for help, and judging by the amount of laughter that was rolling through the office, we were all loving it. Yusenia (one of our secretaries) made all of the people who came in the office read it. At first, I am not sure people realized that it was just a joke, but my laughter, along with the laughter of Yuesnia and Rosaline (the other secretary) tipped them off that Karyn was just kidding. The cleaning ladies, Kenya and Clarisa, just kept looking at me and laughing, laughing, laughing. I'll probably keep this note forever and ever. I have never felt more encouraged in my entire life.

5. basketball practice.
yesterday we had basketball practice! unfortunately for us at about 3:45 it started pouring raining. POURING! so Christie gave the girls the option to either suck it up and play or leave. Some of the girls (oh-my-gosh-i-went-to-the-salon!!) opted to leave, but the ones of us who stayed loved our lives as we sloshed through the puddle-ridden court, attempted to stay on our feet as we ran down the court, and just laughed and cheered so loud when we managed to get the ball in the hoop! I came home SOAKED (that is an understatement...) and was ringing out my t-shirt and shorts, which are still hanging wet in our bathroom--over 24 hours later...yeah, things don't exactly dry quickly here! :)

MIDNIGHT(ish) update!

today.
small victories.
laughter. MFI (aka mail day). sliding in the puddles. wet hugs.

1. FIRST BASKETBALL GAME!
last Friday was our first basketball game. If I could use one word to describe it, I would steal my word from a dear friend down here and say "BOOTLEG!" I REALLY need to take a picture of our basketball court. It is about the size of an elementary school's basketball gym (aka not regulation size) not to mention that one of the hoops is definitely lower than the other as well as severely tilting down. good news: only 1 fight. better news: the game got rained out! best news: I had to ref. YES. I reffed my first official high school girls' basketball game. in a skirt. and flip flops. where did the other ref go? who knows...he just up and left. so that left us to cover for him! (we may be going to La Vega Christian School to finish our game on Friday. pray we don't get slaughtered!)

2. WEEKEND EXCITEMENT
Kristen came up this weekend! If you don't know, Kristen is a good friend from Taylor that I have known since my freshman year here. She is now working at Santiago Christian School, and I felt so blessed that she would make the trip up here to see me! We had fun relaxing, watching The Office, eating awesome food, and going to Salto Baiguate. It was so fun to play and talk and just be able to share a bit of my life happenings with someone that is so near and dear to me.

3. DIA DE LA RAZA!
Dia de la Raza (Day of the Races) is a celebration of Latin America and Spanish speaking countries. This program lasted from 10:30am until 12. There were some Pre-Kinder students that sang songs or did poems, elementary and middle school students that recited poems about Christopher Columbus and brotherhood and RAZA, there was a beautiful traditional Dominican dance, a processional of students dressed up in attire from different Spanish-speaking countries, and a wonderful feast provided by the parents that featured foods from the various countries! Check out my AWESOME pics on my Picasa site!

4. STAATZIE.
One of the other teachers here, Karyn Staats (whom I affectionately call Staatzie) and I were gabbing after school yesterday until about 5:30. Shortly after I got home, I got a call. "Ummmmm...you guys didn't prank me and take my computer did you?"
"Arrrrrrr...no?" (my response. no I'm not a pirate.) :)
Come to find out, her computer had been stolen from her house. Nothing else was taken. Not her two other roommates' computers. Not their Vonage box. Not anything. Just Staatzie's laptop and 100 pesos (about $3). Last night Kels and I went down to try and cheer them up, ended up house sitting while they went to the Police Station to file a police report, and ate dinner with them. Basically what they think happened is that someone got the key to their back gate, and got in through the back door and went directly to Karyn's room (who knows why she specifically was the target...) and took her stuff. No idea why no one else's stuff was stolen. But that's such an answer to prayer. I can't imagine if all their stuff had gotten stolen. BUT still hard that someone now has to deal with the added stress of going to the police station, being fearful that anyone could enter their house at any time, not having a lifeline home, etc. etc. Please pray that things get solved. We're praying that Staatzie's laptop is found, given back to her, and everything is still on it. Today they met with a guy who they think may have had something to do with it, but apparently he denied it (of course...) So now we play the waiting game. and the praying game. and knowing that God is sovereign and will take care of her. and of her laptop.

HIGHLIGHT of my week:
today one of the 1st graders told her mom that I was her favorite teacher. yep. I'm the fun aunt to all of the wonderful first and second graders. every day after school they hug me, tackle me, jump on me, love me. makes me feel so loved. makes me feel like I'm doing SOMETHING right when my students are so disrespectful and uncontrollable.


FUNNY of the week.
MFI. Today Kelsey received a box from home. As soon as I saw it, I immediately started laughing. It was kind of hard to control myself (you know how that goes!) as I read on the side of the box said, "We Get Cows Pregnant." Holy cow. YES. I died laughing. You know that now we have the side of that box hanging on the door of our bedroom. :)


Things to look forward to in my next blog:
1. a student vomiting during our morning pledge.
2. a super-secret, special project...
3. badminton.
4. the nicest note I've ever received.
5. basketball practice in the rain.

spicy anecdotal update

1. hand-eye coordination
as you may (or may not) know, there are a MILLION mosquitoes here. Kelsey and I have the privilege of having our bedroom right next to the front door, which, if left open, lets said mosquitoes into our house. Kelsey oftentimes sit on our beds, and try to see which of us can kill the most mosquitoes with the fewest tries. Kelsey usually beats me, but I'm practicing my poor hand-eye coordination by watching the mosquitoes' paths and then all of the sudden: STRIKE. mosquitoes beware.

2. me lub you long tim
as I've already blogged about: Karyn and I have become crossword buddies. Daily in the teachers' lounge, you can find us hashing out another day's worth of English brain fuel. on Sunday we were googling the answers to our missing clues, and on the "freedictionary.com" website, there is DEFINITELY an icon where a creepy person who says the word out loud for you. Karyn and I immediately started searching for our own names, the names of Karyn's roommates, and then we decided to get clever. If you are an Office fan, you know there is an episode where Michael's doing the very same thing with his computer. Karyn opened up 5 different windows, put each of the words in a different window and then played them back to back. Needless to say, Karyn and I were dying laughing. Here's a picture (you know I captured that moment!) of what it looked like:



3. The Robot
My students have a test tomorrow in Reading. We've been reading an enthralling Basal story called On The Mayflower so there is some "ship" vocabulary. One of the words was hatch. I was trying to give them visual clues to go along with the words to help them understand what a hatch was so I put both of my arms one on top of the other and then brought one up so it looked like I was opening a hatch. One of my students, Josue, definitely started laughing. I was so confused until he told me that he "understood what I was trying to do." and promptly got up and started doing the Robot. Clearly at this point I lost it, so I was just trying to figure out how we go from talking about the Mayflower and digress as far as all of my students standing up attempting to do the Robot dance.

4. Smell the Flowers!
Tonight Karyn and I went on a walk around Jarabacoa. She took me to the hot spots and showed me all the good Jarabacoa nightlife joints. (not really.) but we did take a nice jaunt in which she allowed me to talk 98% of the time and the other 2% she was pointing out where various students live. Basically it was just awesome blossom to enjoy the night air and a good friend. During morning meeting this morning, we were challenged to find our childlike faith in order to be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. What a great challenge when we get to spend our day around children who give us a glimpse of what it means to follow Him with a fresh, wondering, and adoring spirit. Pretty awesome. As Karyn and I were walking, we some some flowers. I decided to pick one. I'm not gentle. I crushed it. It was a laugh. THEN we saw these BEAUTIFUL flowers in a tree. I was convinced I wanted to get one. I jumped up in the tree and crushed the flower again. ay-yi-yi. So my quest for a beautiful flower was unfulfilled, but at least I did get to smell the flowers. and adore God's creation. and revel in God's providence.

Building a Classroom Library

Hello blog readers,

I have a specific request for this blog. If anyone would be interested in supporting me by either sending me books or sending a gift card to amazon.com or half.com or anywhere where I could buy books, that would be great. I'm looking to buy a classroom set of books that my students can read, so we don't have to:
a. share our Basals (we only have 6...for a class of 12)
b. have me read a story to them and then do work with the book. (which is difficult because I don't think I'm giving them a good visual as to what I'm reading...)

We have a classroom set of Charlotte's Web and Mr. Popper's Penguins, but they are definitely too hard for my students at this point.


if you are interested,
Here are some specific books that I would love to buy (and possibly have multiple copies of) for our classroom library:
How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don't Change Diapers (Melinda Long and David Shannon)
Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Fly (Doreen Cronin)
The Pigeon Books Series: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too!, Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!, and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy (Mo Willems)
Captain Underpants Series (for the boys!) (Dav Pilkey)
Magic Tree House Series (Mary Pope Osbourne)
any books by the authors David Shannon, David Wiesner, or Mo Willems
The BONE Series (Jeff Smith)
Eats Shoots and Leaves (Lynne Truss)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Jeff Kinney)
Chris Van Allsburg books (specifically The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Jumanji, The Stranger, The Wretched Stone, and any others!)
Seymour Simon books about SCIENCE SUBJECTS
if you have ANY other ideas, I would greatly appreciate them too!

my students would appreciate the books so much. it's hard to work with what we have (or don't have...) and I want to make reading fun because it is what they dislike the most...I want them to be able to read quality books. I want to be able to use quality books for solid lessons..and good read aloud books.


thanks in advance. :)

crosswords and Vonage!

hello amigos!

ay-yi-yi. what a week it has been! i feel like every day here drags on but then the weeks seems like it passed so quickly!

this was such a good week for me! :)

the past week highlights:

HORSE PARADE...(see pictures on Picasa) sitting for an hour and a half waiting for it to begin, seeing amazing things on the back of motor scooters. and then watching a 2 minute parade of a ton of horses galloping down the hill. not too shabby. :)

DOUBLE DATE to the river and to eat pizza with Karyn and Christy. what a breath of fresh air. we sat in the river. Christy and I fought. I got majorly sunburned. the usual. LOVED my life. (...pictures on Picasa)

MFI! I got a package from my sister that had American candy and The Office Season 4 in it. WOW! It seriously defintiely made my week. I chowed down on the Gummy Lifesavers, and those were gone in a day. I also got some cards from some friends. Always makes you feel good when you know people are thinking about you to send you snail mail! :)

CROSSWORD: I've once again become obsessed with doing crosswords on a daily basis. Every day I print off the 2 daily crosswords and do as many as I can before asking Karyn (resident English teacher/walking dictionary/Googling machine) for much needed help. I'm convinced my brain is going to last longer because I'm exercising it.

JOVIAN ECLIPSE: last night (Thursday) there was a rumored eclipse of Jupiter (which is SUPER bright right now) so we decided to climb up on top of our roof to go and watch it! It was so neat to see it disappear...although before it could come back, it was covered with clouds. It was good to just be peaceful (kinda.) on the roof with friends. I'm definitely looking forward to many more nights spent up there talking...

PAID. yes. hallelujah. we got paid. all $230 dollars of it. Yep. I worked for a month. and received $230 dollars. Kinda crazy, huh? That's why people's support is SO important to all of us that are working down here. And why we appreciate it so much. Because honestly, even $20 goes SO far...it would literally feed me for lunch for 10 days! 2 weeks worth of lunch paid for by $20. Clearly we're not down here for the money. but sometimes money is nice to have too. especially if we want to go out for dinner. or go to a waterfall. or random adventures. (which most of you know I LOVE!)


other random absurdities.
.:VONAGE:.
yes folks.
we received our Vonage phone this week! that means we have an American phone number and that we can call America. what a beautiful connection that is such a blessing! I don't particulary want to put the number out here in cyber space, but if you want to call me (which you should.) you can definitely email me and ask for the number!



I'm going to try and update with a more humorous update about life here in the DR soon, but right now not too much is coming to mind. Therefore I'm going to sign off right now...but no worries. I shall return pronto.