When I think about the past couple weeks, the word "rough" comes into my head. I know it is just one of those exhausting times when I need to remind myself of the reasons why I love being here instead of focusing on the negative, so that is what I will do...
*I love my lil baby Weeson. It is my absolute favorite thing when I pull up to Chichigua, and Weeson comes running out of nowhere and straight into my arms. He has the cutest giggle and sometimes just loves to be held.
*I love Wednesdays in Kim's class when I get to sit by Memo and joke around with him. Memo is probably one of the strangest kids I know but at the same time so hilarious in my opinion. The other day we brought him, Ambiolix, and Bernito over for some popcorn, juice, and a Michael Jackson dance partay. Afterward, we stuffed them in the back of Negrita, and took a cute pic.
*I love Dido. Dido is the mom of one of our students, and she is by far the coolest mom in the DR. Robin and I like to sit and chat with her at least once every other week. She likes to paint our nails so this week mine are purple.
*I love the friends the Lord has blessed me with while I have been here. My roomies are incredible. I could not have asked for a better living situation (no worries Katy, I still miss you!). Also, I have a hermanito named Johan...he is pretty cool I guess :).
*I love the neighborhood I live in. Everyone knows everyone, and I feel so safe. In addition, I live not too far from the beach. I have always been a beach girl growing up so it is nice to know that on the weekends, when I need to get away and rest, it is super close.
*I love playing basketball in Pancho Mateo with Sili and Cacito or in the multiuso...who said girls can't keep up :). Every Saturday morning, I walk to the multiuso where a bunch of boys are playing basketball, and I just hop right in. I usually get the "oh man, who is this girl", and when I make my first shot, I love the looks on their faces...ok not gonna lie, a lot of the time I play horribly.
*I love Nelissa. She is one of our new students who lives in Pancho Mateo with her grandma. I do not know what her grandma is doing right, but Nelissa is one of the funniest and sweetest little girls I have been around in this country. She has the softest hands that Kim and I like to hold while she is at school.
...and there you go! I could go on about the many things the Lord has blessed me with here, but those are some of the things I thought of first.
The same week I found out Weeson and Marleini left, I found out that one of our teachers, Cristina, who is Dominican, was moving at the end of the week to Santo Domingo and would be no longer working with us. I have been working with Cristina for the past year, and she is amazing. Despite the fact that we do not speak the same language, we still built a relationship and worked so well together. Somehow she just got me, and I understood her. It was sad to see her leave, but I know the Lord has amazing plans for her. She is one of the strongest women who is more passionate about the Lord than any other person I know. I cannot wait to hear what the Lord has planned for her next...on that note, because she left, my job has changed. Obviously we had to fill her spot as a teacher so her kids could keep coming to school. The teaching staff got together, and in the end, we decided that Johan would take her place as the new teacher, and I would co-teach with him. We sat in Cristina's class together on the last day to watch her style of teaching but really just had a day o' fun. I mean come on now it was Valentine's party day. So there you go! I get to co-teach with mi hermanito. So far it has been nice, and I haven't killed Johan yet...well at least not yet :). The picture above is a picture of me, Cristina, and Johan, and below is her class we are taking over.
As a side note, one of my favorite things about working at the school is when you have breakthroughs with kids. Some kids you can tell need space and time to warm up to you so you give them that space, and then one day they all of a sudden smile at you, say your name, and give you a hug...or a Valentine in my case (or maybe four). Not only do I love the breakthroughs, I also love building on my other relationships like with one of my favs Memo. He called me his hermanita, which means his little sister. Let's just say it made my day for sure. Love that boy.
