updates!

hi cyber fans.

I updated my picture website tonight: check them out!

picasaweb.google.com/dominicanatalie


also.
we get paid on Tuesday!

also.
we get mail on Tuesday/Wednesday!


oh happy week.

...long (but worth reading) post. :)

hello cyber peeps.

this was an excellent last two days of the week.
let me tell you why.

1. students.
not my own. specifically Miss Christy Elmer's and Miss Rachel Cunningham's.
why, you may ask?

because they are my soccer buddies. I can definitely count on one "vas a jugar?" (are you going to play?) in the morning before everyone has to line up. Makes me feel special and like I'm making maybe a difference in the life of someone...just loving them is what I love. Now I'm not saying that I would enjoy teaching them, but I definitely love being able to play with them and let them just jump and hang all over me. It's seriously awesome.

ESTHEISLY:
(i may be spelling her name wrong...and if I am, i'm sorry!)
Let me tell you a story about one very special girl. Her name is Estheisly (pronounced E(short e)-stacey) Every morning, break time, lunch time, and end of the day, I have the privilege of spending time with this little girl.

How I messed up…
Today, like every other lunch recess time, Estheisly was on my back. I’m her caballo (horse). Many of the other students are super jealous that she is always on my back, but generally I just let them be jealous and let her be mine solely.

I made the mistake of trying to pick up other students and Estheisly had to get down off my back because I literally had 7 or 8 students trying to jump on me and trying to hang on. She ran away. I couldn’t find her, until I saw her sitting away facing me.

Although I was already 5 minutes late taking my kids inside, I went over to her because I wanted her to know that I still loved her and she still had a special place in my heart.

When I went over to her, she ran away from me. as I continued to follow her, she kept running. I kept following her until I just caught her. As I held her, she just started crying, crying, crying. She wouldn’t look at me, but just had her head on my shoulder and was crying. She tried to say something, but she was facing away from me and speaking in Spanish…a bad combination. I just told her that I loved her…and I kept asking what was wrong. ((By this time, my whole class was standing in line ready to go inside for like 5 minutes…)) I decided to take her into Christy’s room because I figured Christy knows Spanish better than I and can actually see her face, so maybe she can help me out. I carried her in there, and told Christy “Tengo una amiga conmigo.” (I have a little friend with me) and Christy obviously could tell that she was crying and asked Estheisly what was wrong…turns out she is missing her mom (I think, honestly, craving attention, that I didn’t fulfill in her today…made me feel kinda like a failure.) because both of her parents live in the United States.

What a life. Growing up without your two parents. BREAKS my heart. Seriously. I want so badly to be able to share Christ’s love with her. Although her father and mother aren’t there for her, God is still there with her.

Geez. Kinda killed me for the rest of the day. I kept thinking about this little girl who is growing up without the present love of her mother and father.

Fast forward to the end of the day:
As I was leaving, I wanted to make sure I saw Estheisy and was able to talk to her before she left for the weekend. I went and found her, and she immediately wanted me to pick her up, but since she was wearing her backpack on her front, that made it difficult. So I told her that we should go sit down on the bench and talk. I asked her if the rest of her day was okay and if she was going to have a good weekend. She said she had a good day. Then she crawled on my lap. I just sat and hugged her for a few minutes. Then her ride came to pick her up for the weekend. And then you know what happened next?

She gave me a kiss on the cheek.
I pooled. Seriously, I loved it so much…I’m so thankful that God brought this one special girl who trusts me and who I can love and share the Lord’s love with. I feel like if this is my one reason for being here, so I can love this beautiful little girl, then that’s why I’m here. and I am totally content with that.

Estheisly (with chocolate popsicle all over her face) and me



GEORGE WASHINGTON:
I was sitting with Miss Elmer's class during their break time. One of her students, Alexander, eats these long thin crackers with spreadable white cheese. He dipped his long cracker into the cheese and came out with a hunk on it and said, “George Washington!”
At first, I was really confused, and then I started LAUGHING so hard. Because the cheese had been white and there was a big glop on the end, it looked like George Washington’s powdered wig. Oh my.
I thought it was so funny…then he bit it off and did it again. “child of George Washington!” HAHA.
Then he bit it off and one more time “baby of George Washington!”
Then he ate the whole thing: “George Washington dead!”
I was basically rolling on the floor by this point.


2. staff.
not them all. just specific ones. haha just kidding. but seriously.

Thursday I was having a fairly bad day…my first bad day here at JCS. I was not doing well, and I just seriously needed some reassurance that I’m not a complete idiot for being here and that I really do have some sort of reason for being here. I met with Rachel during my lunch time, so I didn’t have time to play soccer with my amigos, which kind of made me feel bad because I really just wanted to play with them. I just needed some self-esteem boosting because I was feeling like a failure of a teacher, friend, and Christian. Anyways, I was just being irrational about it all, obviously, because I’m not failing…maybe mediocre, but definitely not failing. Anyways, regardless, I was just at my wit’s end. I have no alone space here and I have nowhere to go to just be alone without getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. So I begged…okay, maybe a strong word…the “other girls” to let me come over and sit on their back porch and be alone for a little while. As much as I hate being annoying and bothersome, I too often find myself calling over there for help. I’m going to try and stop, but Thursday was an emergency. haha not really, but I just needed to be alone. As I was just sitting on their back porch, reading my Bible, journaling, listening to music, and getting eaten alive, I was interrupted. At first I was semi-annoyed, but Rachel offered to bring me a plate of dinner out. When she came back, there was soup, fruit, and bread…complete with candle (because it was dark…). If I may steal a quote from the Office, her kindness healed me. I felt so good. Then when I got home, (Christy had given me back my flash drive that she had borrowed to get pictures off of it) I opened it and saw a file named “rainbow happiness.” I was curious. I opened it and it had a note along with this picture:

I just about died laughing. Seriously, I had tears streaming. It was a good evening: solid time with God, solid encouragement.


FUNNY STORY OF THE WEEK:
This week I was over at the girls’ house (geez. I spend way too much time there!) because we were talking about my junky lesson plans and how to improve them. I got invited over for dinner before getting my self-esteem bashed about how bad of a teacher I am right now. Dramatic. Totally joking. Anyways (geez, I’m about as ADD in real life as I am in my story telling) as we were sitting at dinner, somehow we got on the topic of the awkward turtle. YES. We did. For those of you who are unaware of what exactly the awkward turtle (or turkey. or awkward rock with arm jiggle.) is, it is a signal that you can use when you are feeling awkward. Rachel had never heard of the awkward turtle, so we were attempting to explain what exactly the awkward turtle is and how to do it, Rachel was unable to figure out how exactly to do it. Instead of keeping all of her fingers except her thumbs still, she was moving all 10 of her fingers. It was HILARIOUS. So we dubbed it the “awkward sea anemone.” I was also taught the “awkward giraffe.” Wow. Solid dinner conversation, eh?
Anyways, maybe it was a “you have to be there” moment, but man. whenever I think about it, I still crack a smile.

EboniBible

so I have a really funny story that I am not sure if I have blogged about yet or not. The middle/high school Bible teacher was teaching his students about the different translations of the Bible and whether they were worthwhile translations or not. He printed his students off a copy of Genesis Chapter 1 of the EboniBible. The EboniBible is a translation of the Bible in Ebonics--an inner-city "ghetto" version of the Bible. I, personally, think it is very funny, but a completely unorthodox translation. Maybe it would reach some people who would not normally get into the Word actually reading about God, but to be honest, it's not a translation that I would go around bragging about.
ANWAYS.
the middle/high school Bible teacher passed out these translations without proofreading it or even checking to see what it said. about 3 periods after he handed it out, he realized that there were 2 swear words in it! AH! how embarassing. but what a good teachable moment to show that God would not swear in the Bible and that this translation wasn't the most sound...



here it is. the EboniBible. pardon the swear words. but laugh at the pure ludacrisy of it all.
Genesis 1:

[1] In da beginnin' Big Daddy created da heaven an' da earth.
[2] And da earth wuz widdout form, an' void; an' darkness wuz upon da face o' da deep. And da Spirit o' Big Daddy groved upon da face o' da waters.

[3] And Big Daddy enunciated, Let dere be light y'all: an' dere wuz light.
[4] And Big Daddy seen da light, dat it wuz fine ass: an' Big Daddy divided da light from da darkness.
[5] And Big Daddy called da light Day, an' da darkness Night. And da evenin' an' da mornin' wuz da first day.
[6] And Big Daddy articulated, Hey beotch, let dere be uh firmament in da midst o' da waters, an' let it divide da waters from da other waters.
[7] And Big Daddy made da firmament, an' divided da waters which wuz under da firmament from da waters which wuz above da firmament: an' it wuz so.
[8] And Big Daddy called da firmament Heaven. And da evening an' da morning wuz da second day.
[9] And Big Daddy rapped, Let da waters under da heaven be gathered together unto one place, an' let da dry land appear: an' it wuz so.
[10] And Big Daddy called da dry land Earth; an' da gathering together o' da waters called he Seas: an' Big Daddy seen dat it wuz pimp-tight.
[11] And Big Daddy did verbalize, Let da earth bring forth grass, da herb yielding seed, an' da fruit tree yielding fruit afta his kind, whose seed iz in itself, upon da earth: an' it wuz so.
[12] And da earth brought forth grass, an' herb yielding seed afta his kind, an' da tree yielding fruit, whose seed wuz in itself, afta his kind: an' Big Daddy seen dat it wuz pimp-tight.
[13] And da evening an' da morning wuz da third day.
[14] And Big Daddy pontificated, Let dere be lights in da firmament o' da heaven ta divide da day from da night; an' let dem be fo' signs, an' fo' seasons, an' fo' days, an' years:
[15] And let dem be fo' lights in da firmament o' da heaven ta give light upon da earth: an' it wuz so.
[16] And Big Daddy made two great lights; da greater light ta rule da day, an' da lesser light ta rule da night: he made da stars also.
[17] And Big Daddy set dem in da firmament o' da heaven ta give light upon da earth,
[18] And ta rule over da day an' over da night, an' ta divide da light from da darkness: an' Big Daddy seen dat it wuz pimp-tight.
[19] And da evening an' da morning wuz da fourth day.
[20] And Big Daddy vocalized, Let da waters bring forth abundantly da moving creature dat be havin' life, an' bird dat may fly above da earth in da open firmament o' heaven.
[21] And Big Daddy created great whales, an' every living creature dat be movin', which da waters brought forth abundantly, afta they kind, an' every chicken winged bird afta his kind: an' Big Daddy seen dat it wuz pimp-tight.
[22] And Big Daddy blessed dem, saying, Be fruitful, an' multiply, an' fill da waters in da seas, an' let fowl multiply in da earth.
[23] And da evening an' da morning wuz da fifth day.
[24] And Big Daddy spoked, Let da earth bring forth da living creature afta his kind, cattle, an' creeping thin', an' beast o' da earth afta his kind: an' it wuz so.
[25] And Big Daddy made da beast o' da earth afta his kind, an' cattle afta they kind, an' every thin' dat be creepin' upon da earth afta his kind: an' Big Daddy seen dat it wuz pimp-tight.
[26] And Big Daddy be sayin', Let us make peeps in our image, afta our likeness: an' let dem gots dominion over da fish o' da sea, an' over da birds o' da air, an' over da cattle, an' over all da earth, an' over every creepin' thin' dat be creepin' upon da earth.
[27] So Big Daddy created peeps in his own image, in da image o' Big Daddy created he him; nig an' beotch created he dem.
[28] And Big Daddy blessed dem, an' Big Daddy spoked unto dem, Be fruitful, an' multiply, an' replenish da earth, an' subdue it: an' gots dominion over da fish o' da sea, an' over da fowl o' da air, an' over every living thin' dat be movin' upon da earth.
[29] And Big Daddy be sayin', Behold, I gots given ya every herb bearing seed, which iz upon da face o' all da earth, an' every tree, in which iz da fruit o' uh tree yielding seed; ta ya it shall be fo' meat.
[30] And ta every beast o' da earth, an' ta every bird o' da air, an' ta every thin' dat be creepin' on da earth, wherein dere iz life, I gots given every green herb fo' meat: an' it wuz so.
[31] And Big Daddy seen every thin' dat he had made, an', behold, it wuz very pimp-tight. And da evening an' da morning wuz da sixth day.

much overdue life update!

ay-yi-yi! i'm not so good at updating...

but here are some highlights of the past week or so.

1. PARADE!
I was privileged to be a chaperone in a parade for the 7th and 8th graders this past Friday to help kick off the 150th Anniversary of Jarabacoa being a city. Basically all the schools in the town marched around the city waving and smiling at all the people who were lined up (and coincidentally not at work...since it was like 9am.) Anyways, I loved my life because how many people can say they were in a parade in the DR? Not too many. And I got to be with some awesome teacher friends Karyn and Daniel.
Karyn and I loving the coveted JCS red polos. and the parade.


a small glimpse of the amount of students in the parade



2. MOVING!
This weekend we had the privilege of helping the Janicke family move to their beautiful new house! Let me tell you, it was one of the most fun experiences I've had in a long time. Thankfully the Janicke's had everything ready to move, and we were blessed with having a father of one of the families in our school (also. the father of 25% of my class---the triplets.) loan us his truck to help us. Well, they apparently don't believe in bungee cords in the DR, so we basically had to ride in the back of the truck every time to ensure that nothing would fall out of the back. LET ME TELL YOU. I have never been more fearful for my life as when we were taking a sharp turn, my center of gravity was really high, and I was trying to keep the fridge and stove both on the bed of the truck. Good news. I didn't fall out. but I think I was close a few times. THEN when we got there and we were putting the last load inside. and BOOM goes the dynamite. the kitchen table doesn't fit through the doorway. shoots. We troubleshoot that bad boy and decide to park the truck as close as we can to the side of the house and lift that sucker right over the railing onto the balcony (heaven forbid there be any rope for us to use...) so Kelsey, Melanio (my triplets' father), and I heaved that sucker up and the rest of the crew dead lifted it up onto the balcony where it easily slipped into the house. JACKPOT. i am woman. hear me roar.
special shout out to Karyn Statz who took the amazing pictures of us hoisting...
us lifting up the kitchen table over the railing!



3. SALTO BAIGUATE!
On Sunday the wonderful Christy Elmer took my three housemates and I to a beautiful waterfall not too terribly far from our house! It was maybe a 10 minute drive by taxi. As an added bonus, we were able to stop and pick up the pisola (like a motor scooter...)that used to be owned by Christie and take that to the waterfall as well. We just were able to relax and love the water. Christy decided to tackle me, which was awesome. I'm not gonna lie, the water was cold. BUT I was refreshed and definitely cooled down.
a group shot by the waterfall (Kelsey, Anna, me, Brooke, Christy)


4. FúTBOL
So lately I've been playing soccer at recess with the 1st and 2nd graders. It's been a great experience to get to know other students and play a little bit...not to mention definitely practicing my Spanish because they cannot speak English very well. I've learned random phrases like "SIN MANOS!" (without hands) "CON Tú CABEZA!" (with your head...i'm trying to teach them to do headers...it's really funny!) ...also "Quieres jugar?" (Do you want to play?) I knew that one before...but just reusing it FREQUENTLY. They all try and speak to me in Spanish...so I have to try and decipher what the heck they are saying...haha or saying "que?!" (what?) or "mas despacio." (slower...) or "esta bien!" (it's okay) anytime I see any small child during the day, I always say "vas a jugar hoy?" (are you going to play today?)
I'm basically the cool aunt to the 1st and 2nd graders. ballllllin'. I think I'm going to start helping coach the 1st-3rd grade soccer on Fridays (but it conflicts with the girls basketball...tough decision...)
Not gonna lie. it's the highlight of my day.



*BONUS funny story:
My students were creating projects for their Sociales (Dominican history) class which required posters. After confiscating one because it was rolled and the students were hitting each other with it. I was carrying it around all day and mock-threatening to hit my students. :) One of my triplets was kind of being a silly 4th grader. I was getting frustrated with his misbehavior, so I asked him to come in the hall with me. As he walked out, I turned to the rest of the students and gave them the Dominican "sign" for "awkward, ay-yi-yi, you're in trouble" kind of a thing...As I was still holding the rolled up poster board. I talked to him for a minute about how I was not happy with how he was acting and how I loved him and know that he can be a better student. After that, I hugged him and said, let's have some fun. I'm going to smack the poster board REALLY hard against the metal railing (right outside the door) and then you need to scream really loud. He did a GREAT job.
SMACK! OWWWWWWWWW!
SMACK! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
SMACK! OWWWWWWWWWW!
Then we both walked back into the classroom. He did a good job of keeping a straight face and pretending like he hurt. It was classic. Professional? Not so much. but fun. very fun. for both of us.


*bonus numero deuce.
i've recently become obsessed with old(er) rock music. daily you can hear me singing "shot through the heart and you're to blame. you give love a bad name." over and over and over. i love it. the end.


*EXCELLENT NEWS:
no school Wedensday. Dia de la Mercedes.
beauty.

...and this is why i love teaching...

my students aren't spectacular writers...they don't enjoy writing. they just don't like it. so I like to stretch them. come up with creative ways to get them writing. so I had them get into groups of 3 (because it just works out that way in our classroom anyways...) and had them each write a sentence to a story and then pass it on...and then pass it around...and then pass it around...anyways. this was BY far the funniest story created by Moises, Melanio, and Luis. If you need any of it translated, I'll try, but for the most part, I feel as though it's pretty phonetic.

I like to ride bikes. One day I was roading a bike and a dog was in the mittle and I almost smatch (smashed) him. Than I got my skateboard and I jumped over the dog. Luis almost fall then like 5 minute after he fell in the dirty water and he went to his house and said Mami mami I fell in the dirty water. Wash my body please ok my son. Than Moises came to my hoes (house) and cat poop on him. Then when luis went to the colmado (a little store on the corner) a man throw saliba (saliva) to him. and luis said to him ugly man way did you throw saliba to me idiot man you are disgusting and dirty.

THE End.

wow. what a masterpiece. :)

...until later...

the three boys: Melanio, Moises, and Luis reading their story

Being a Good Samaritan. What?!

Warning: this is not a “what I did this week” blog entry. This is a “what the Lord is teaching me” blog entry.

I have been challenged this week. Shocking, right? This month at JCS, we are focusing on the character trait--compassion. Yeah, I know that this is mainly geared towards the students, but I know that all these traits that we are teaching our students, we need to be practicing as well…and learning more about…so I’m learning more about compassion.

What the heck is true compassion? As I struggled through that, looked up the definition in the dictionary, and even looked at the index in the back of my Bible to try and gain a better understanding of what compassion is. According to my Bible’s index, compassion is “to have pity and show kindness to another.” As I pondered, had conversations, and just read more about “compassion,” I realized compassion goes SO much deeper than having pity and showing kindness. It’s about doing it always, always, always…even when I don’t feel like it.

In chapel on Thursday, Mr. Peterson talked about compassion. Granted this was geared towards 3-5th graders, but I think a lot of what he had to say helped my students and myself gain an even greater understanding of what true compassion is. He read to us the parable from Luke 10 called The Parable of the Good Samaritan. Basically in this parable, a man who has done nothing wrong is beaten, battered, bruised, almost killed and left for dead. A priest and a Levite (a person who worked in the Temple…a descendent of Levi…also a well-respected, holy man) both walked by this man but did not want to get themselves dirty by touching this “unclean” man. Then a Samaritan man (a people who had turned away from the Jewish body because of their desire to marry outside of what God allowed them, etc.) walked by and took pity on the man. Not only did he clean him and bandage him, but he also put him on his donkey, walked him into town, got him a room at an inn, and paid the innkeeper more than enough to help this poor man get well.

As I wrestled with this passage, this is a glimpse of what I was able to take away from it:

1. The most unlikely character can be the one that God uses the most to help those in need. Who would have thought I would be down in the Dominican Republic teaching at a Christian school? Not I! As I am sure not many of you would have thought that a month ago either…God brought me down here for a reason…although I’ve yet to see what that reason is, I know God is working…

2. Compassion can occur even if you are not “expected” to show compassion. Most of you who know me, know that I am fairly upfront and not sympathetic. Here in the DR, I’ve had to learn a whole lot about learning with people who are different from myself, people who are struggling through different things, and basically learning to live and thrive in a Christian community…again. I’ve had to learn to deal with people who are SO different than myself, people who are uncompassionate, people who are selfish, and still love them with Christ’s love regardless of how I WANT to feel about them.

3. This world had beaten, bruised, and almost killed me. Jesus came and held me and took care of me until I was strong again. What a beautiful picture of redemption. Jesus wants to be the person who will take care of you and love you and heal you of everything if you’ll let him…


Practical application?
Yes, I can stop to help a bleeding man on the side of the road, but I think that the Lord wants this extreme ideal of compassion to be taken into my own heart and my own situation. Basically, I think I’m learning to be compassionate with my students. On Friday, I had an “I think this is not the profession I was meant to do” day. Well, I had many of those this week and had to break down and just ask for help (which is so hard for me! a definite pride issue…yikes.). I am not the best teacher yet, I lose my patience with my students on a daily basis. I do not show them the grace and love they deserve. I don’t give them my best every minute. Why? Cause it’s not easy! It’s hard to constantly be patient, loving, giving, graceful. Oftentimes on Friday, I could not help but think, “would Jesus be so frustrated with _______ right now?” “would the Lord be pleased with how I am handling things right now?” Basically I had a WWJD moment. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s true. I guess it’s good that I recognize that I have a problem. I have little patience…
What am I taking away from it?
learning PATIENCE. learning COMPASSION. learning LOVE.

3 HUGE ideals that obviously I am not going to perfect my year in the DR, but 3 things I can definitely learn more about…grow through…observe wonderful examples of…

so maybe God brought me here to the DR to teach me about these things before I go back to the States and teach…whenever that may be…

I’m going to leave you with this Bible verse that I think encapsulates what I am striving towards:
Micah 6:8
“He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God.”

the Lord beers me strength.

hi.
i know i wrote a semi-serious blog earlier this morning, so I thought I would follow it up by the laughter in my life.

okay. so I heard about this AWESOME thing that happened last year between a few of the teachers (who THANKFULLY are still around this year to be mischievous with!!) who taught their unsuspecting students AWESOME Office quotes back and forth and had the students go tell the other teacher.

Well obviously I had to start that up again this year and be the n00b who decides to butt into other people's inside jokes.


setting the stage: yesterday.
Karyn and I spend a significant amount of quality time together in the teacher's lounge. Yeah, probably couldn't ask for more hilarious slash awesome conversations. Sure beats teaching! haha just kidding...
she was heading to teach her most dreaded class so ya know, I wrote her this awesome card from "Future Karyn"...
then later my kids were working on their "Don't Let the Pigeon..." stories. So I decided to write Miss Karyn another note and staple it together so my student helper couldn't see it. He delivered it, and by the time he came back to give me a response, I was already in the teacher's lounge for lunch. "What kind of bear is best?" was the response I got back from Melanio (my student mischief coordinator...). I sent--back up to Karyn--Bears eat beets. Well apparently on his way back up, Melanio had picked up one of his triplet brothers, Josue, and when they came back to the teacher's lounge, they both screamed, "BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA." to those of you non-Office fans, it may not be that funny, but HOLY STINK I was laughing so hard I was crying...I later found out that my first note had gone into Karyn's class during prayer time...haha she said it kind of ruined the mood... :) So I was on lunch duty, and I came back into the teacher's lounge and Karyn's bag was sitting on the ground...she had disappeared. As I was heading back up to pick my kids up from recess, I left a note in Karyn's bag that said, "Identity theft is not a joke!"

setting the stage: today.
I felt as though I should spread around the love a little bit. During writing time (man, I seem like a bad teacher, right??) I wrote Christy a note that said, "Dangit! Jim put my stuff in jello again!" That was it. No response. I was kind of disappointed slash kind of freaking out cause maybe I had crossed the line (story of my life...) After school, Christy came up to me, "Did you check your mailbox?" ....no...
so I went and checked my mailbox. there was a letter. attached was this poster:


I died. LITERALLY. well, okay, not literally. but I was LAUGHING so hard. it was silent. and tears were streaming.

I loved my life.

They make me feel happy...