Welcome to Ms. Bowman’s Third Grade Class!

Here are a few pictures of my classroom both before and after decorating.  I have 25 students.  Although the 2 fans constantly blow all papers away, they help decrease the temperature a little bit.  I’m afraid I’m going to show favoritism to the students that sit near the fan and want to help them more because it is really hot in the parts of the room where the fans don’t reach… poor kids that get those seats...lol

BEFORE

This is it!  (except 8 more desks still have to be added)

By the looks of the ceiling you can tell I have a serious problem with leaks.

The best part about my room is that the walls are Carolina blue!!!!

AFTER

We will be using the word wall a lot.  All of my students are learning English as their second language.

All of the walls are cement (because of earthquakes) so everything must be attached to the walls using packaging tape.  I'll be okay if I don't see packaging tape and cement for quite awhile :)

I'm thankful to have the projector.  Now, if I could just get AC I'd be set :)

The trash can catches a lot of water, especially during the current rainy season.

The school "fixed" the leak by painting the ceiling white. lol  Needless to say, I'll still be emptying the trash can daily.

 I'm ready to meet the kids and get to know them!  It's going to be an interesting year, but I'm excited!

Santo Domingo weekend activities

 Food-As you could expect, food will be a reoccurring theme among my blogs J I had my first freshly squeezed juice, and it was delicious!  Definitely one of the best things I have had since I’ve been here.  Little shacks and colmados sell cups of juice that they make from local pineapple, papaya, mango, lime, etc.  I had mango, and it was delicious!  Plus, it only costs 50 cents.

Church-I went to church this Sunday at the closest Christian church on the map.  This was the second time I had been to the church but the first time I had been able to stay for the entire service.  As it turns out, the service lasts for 2.5 hours!!!!  It is a great church, but I’m going to have to get used to the 2 ½ hr part…

Authentic Dominican meal-My friends and I went to a really neat restaurant called Adrian Tropical.  We ate outside overlooking the Caribbean Sea!  The restaurant serves traditional Dominican food.  I had mofongo.  Mofongo is mashed plantains with meat (I had chicken) and spices (like garlic).  Dominican food is known for being flavorful but not spicy.  The mofongo comes with a little bowl of chicken broth to eat with the mofongo since it is kind of dry.  The closest American food I can relate mofongo to is really thick mashed potatoes with shredded chicken.  As an appetizer the restaurant brought sancocho.  Sancocho is a local stew-like dish that always has at least 3-7 different types of meat in a brown broth.  I actually liked it, but this version didn’t have any bones in it.

Sancocho (It looks green here, but it was actually brown in real life)

My attempt to capture the water from our table

Mofongo is served in a mortar and pestle.  I'm not sure why it's shaped like troll hair...

 Pedicure-I had heard pedicures were cheap, so I decided it was time to try one out.  I just picked a random salon in a nearby neighborhood.  The ladies were nice but clearly not used to gringas coming in. J  The pedicure cost about seven dollars.  (For those of you men that don’t get pedicures regularly, this is less than half of the price in the US)  As long as I don’t get an infection, I’ll consider it a success!

Cabarete

What a weekend!  I went to Cabarete, which is a beach town on the north coast of the island.  My friends (other American teachers at the school) and I took the 7am bus to Cabarete Saturday morning.  We were told it was a 2 ½ hour drive.  Five hours laters, we finally arrive in Cabarete.  The bus had to make stops, we had to switch types of buses because there isn’t a nice bus that goes all the way to Cabarete and everyone operates on relaxed island time.  By the time we finally arrived in Cabarete, I was convinced the beach could not be worth the travel time.  However, my mind quickly changed that afternoon.

very nice bus-DR version of Greyhound

We checked into our hotel (2 queen beds, air conditioning unit that was supposed to work), ate lunch, and headed to the beach.  Cabarete is known as one of the top 10 windsurfing and kiteboarding beaches in the world.  Previously, I couldn’t have told you the differences in the two water sports.  The main difference I learned is that your initial kiteboading lesson is 8 hrs and several hundred dollars. Windsurfing is much more affordable, so I took a lesson.  It was really fun, and I was able to get the basics.  I’m not a pro, but I learned enough to really enjoy my time on the water.

pre-lesson

windsurfing beach

Sunday morning we took a van to another beach in Cabarete called Encuentro.  This beach is best for surfing.  I decided I might as well take advantage of the chance to learn.  So, I took another lesson and practiced surfing during the morning.  While I’m a long way from mastering the sport, I was able to surf lots with the instructor's help and a few times by myself.  Surfing is more difficult than windsurfing, but I like both. 

professional surfer...jk

Encuentro beach

Notice that there aren't any pictures of me actually surfing lol

surf board rental hut

For Saturday lunch I had a delicious vegetarian sandwich with fresh avocados, lettuce, cabbage, and cucumber on wheat bread.  Saturday night we had dinner at a restaurant at the beach.  I had fresh fish tacos.  Yummy!  Sunday morning I had the best breakfast yet—freshly cut mango!  (and it costs 75 cents!) 

One more “first”—I rode my first publico.  This is a cross between a taxi and a public bus.  It is always an old, four door car.  The publicos run a certain route like a public bus.  You just stand anywhere on the route and stick your hand out.  The price is always 25 pesos (68 American cents) for anywhere on the route.  You just tell the driver where to stop.  The catch is that they pack as many people possible into the car.  I was literally riding in a car about the size of a Toyota corolla with 7 people and all their stuff.  J

Mi barrio

There’s a nice little area of green grass and trees between my bedroom window and the next apartment.  There are birds that LOVE these trees and have been waking me up early most mornings.  I was beginning to get a little annoyed with these loud birds until I talked to another teacher at the school and found out they are actually pretty, green parrots!  I didn’t really believe her at first, but I went outside and looked up in the trees.  Sure enough I saw hundreds of green parrots with bright red under their wings.  They are so camouflaged with the green leaves that it’s easy to not see them.  According to my friend from the school, these parrots will repeat what you say.  It’s illegal to take one of these parrots and make it your pet.  They are supposedly endangered but there appears to be plenty outside my window.  I took a video from my bedroom window.  The sound isn’t great but you can hear the parrots.  What sounds like static is actually lots and lots of the birds at once.  I find the parrots much more interesting and beautiful at 6pm than 6am. J

I had my first traditional Dominican lunch this week.  Dominicans traditionally eat a big lunch and a smaller dinner.  There is a little restaurant called Buen Comer beside the school.  For 105 pesos (less than 3 dollars) I got a HUGE plate of rice, beans, meat and salad.  It was very filling! This plate is often called La Bandera (the flag) because it is a traditional meal in the DR.

La Playa

I went to the beach for the first time on Sunday.  Unfortunately, there are no beaches in the city of Santo Domingo.  You can see the water, but it appears to only be an industrial area.  However, the beach is only a short drive away.  I went to Juan Dolio (about a 45 minute drive).  The beach was nice and not very crowded.  The water was warm but full of sticks, seaweed, etc because of the recent tropical storm Emily.  It was awesome to go to the beach!

the view from my towel

la playa de Juan Dolio

After the beach, friends took me to eat Dominican sushi.  I have to admit I was a little weary of Dominican sushi. I’m not a huge sushi eater, but I was told the Dominican sushi is a must-try.  Two things make the Dominican sushi special: locally grown avocados and plantains.  It was good!

Dominican sushi

Mi Vida

Well, I’ve been here almost one week and it’s been filled with lots of firsts.  By February I’m sure this will all feel like normal errands but right now it’s new and exciting.  I set up my bank account for direct deposit and should get debit card next week (this makes me feel much less like a tourist…eek!) .  I also went to the equivalent Wal-Mart called Plaza Lama.  I bought shampoo, conditioner, and hangers.

 I’m also very fortunate the only big, public park is located just 2 blocks from my apartment!  I’ve gone running there twice, and it is great to have somewhere to run.  The park is the DR’s version of Central Park yet the men cutting the grass today were using machetes and some parts of the park are a lot cleaner than others.

Other firsts: I ordered from my first colmado.  A colmado is like a corner store that carries anything and everything.  The unique part is that they deliver anything and everything free of charge.  You can order one egg or an entire dinner.  Since the water isn’t safe to drink due to the cholera break out, we buy the big jugs of water.  I called the colmado and ordered the jug of water and delivered it right to my door. J  While this might sound like it promotes laziness, it is quite nice not to have to carry that huge jug of water down the street. 

I washed clothes in the washing machine here in the apartment and dried them on the clothes line.  The Dominican sun dries the clothes very quickly.

I turned on the stove!  You have to turn on the gas in a separate room and then use a match.  Scary at first but I think I’ve got the hang of it now.

I also went to the pool for most of Saturday.  The fancy hotel across the street has a pool on the top floor.  You don’t have to stay at the hotel to use the pool as long as you buy something to eat or drink.  The funniest part about the pool is that on Saturdays and Sundays there is a DJ that blares music beside the pool. This is the pool (picture borrowed from expedia).

Well, that’s all of my exciting life for now!    Love and miss you all!

LIfe in Santo Domingo

I've now been in the Dominican Republic for about 3 days.  Life is good, and I'm beginning to get a few things figured out.  Today, I got a cell phone, exchanged money at the bank, and bought groceries!  The basic errands of life feel more adventurous. Below are a few pictures of my apartment.  

 my bedroom

my bathroom

living room and dining room

kitchen

door with four locks so I'm very, very safe :)

the fan and one light bulb in my room...the fan is one of my favorite inventions of all time

You can press my apt button and I can talk to you ...and  maybe let you in.

apt building

Welcome to the Dominican Republic!

Hi!  This will be my blog for the upcoming year as I teach 3rd grade in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  I had a great first day in the country and am looking forward to learning and doing so much in the DR. I'll keep you updated!