New Experiences in the DR...

Hello all!

I've had some new experiences recently, and I just thought I'd share them with you.

New Experience #1: Having Someone Visit
The first full week in April was my Spring Break, and my friend Katie came to visit me!! It was so much fun having her here and just getting to have someone from "home" come and see my "home." It was so good to spend time with her and to do a lot of things that I don't get to do very often. We went to a resort, to the beach, visited the girl she sponsors through Compassion International, went to Jarabacoa and saw one of the waterfalls, went to a restaurant called Camp David that is up on the mountain with a beautiful view...it was just such a good week! A lot of these things Katie and I did by ourselves, which meant that the responsibility of getting where we were going fell solely on me. I'm not used to that, and I was really nervous at first. But it turned out great, we did not have any major problems, and from this I learned that I can be independent. The feeling this gives me is priceless! I have always felt like I have to rely on others and that I have to go places with others, but now I know that I can do things myself. (Don't worry, Mom, I'm not planning on going everywhere by myself now, it's just a great feeling to know that I can.) :)

New Experience #2: Dominican Basketball Game
On Friday night we went to a basketball game. It was a lot of fun even though I don't love basketball. Everyone else who was there did love basketball, so it made it a fun place to be with all the excitement and cheering. When you enter the stadium, you are given a little packet of "Bam Bams." What are Bam Bams, you might be asking, well, I'll tell you. They are little sticks that you blow up and hit together and they make a very loud noice. In other words, they BAM! :) Those were fun! My team won too!! I chose my team because their initials were GUG, which when you say it in Spanish sounds like "hey ooo hey" and I thought that was funny. I also chose them because they wore purple. Haha! Can you tell that I'm not a sports person?! I had fun though, and I'm glad I was able to go.


New Experience #3: Guitar Class at Church
I have been trying for a very long time to go to guitar class at my church on Saturday mornings. (For anyone who doesn't already know, I'm learning to play guitar. I've been teaching myself and I'm sort of "stuck" and I need someone to help me now.) I have been really busy on Saturdays recently for many different reasons and I haven't been able to go. The two Saturdays that I have been able to go, I went and it was cancelled for some reason. No one had called me, because I had never gone to class before. Not their fault. Well, this morning I went to class and it wasn't cancelled! I had a lot of fun! There were probably about 15 people there. I learned a lot of new things, so I have a lot to work on. It's exciting to learn new things, because I have been getting bored with what I already know. Oh, the class was mostly in Spanish, which made it interesting, but even more fun. :)

New Experience #4: Understanding When People Speak in Spanish
I'm learning Spanish slowly but surely. Sometimes I feel like it is very slow and it's a little frustrating. Recently though, I've been understanding a lot more than I used to! I still don't understand a lot, but a lot more than before! It's like all of a sudden a switch was flipped in my head and now I can understand more. I love it! I still can't say a whole lot in response to whatever people say, but I'm even getting better at that. I have to think a long time before I say anything, but I'm getting better. It's so exciting! I'm loving the process of learning Spanish. This is a picture of Luis, he's "our" taxi driver. We always call him whenever we need to go anywhere. He's such a blessing to us, especially to me. He knows I can't speak Spanish, and he's so patient with me. He has helped us so much with learning about the culture, and he has helped me so much with learning Spanish. He always tries to talk to me, and he just chuckles when I can't understand. He encourages me when I try to speak, even though I usually butcher it. He's great!


New Experience #5: Teaching English to Girls
There is a girls' home near where I live called Hogar Ninas de Dios. There are about 15 girls who live there. Most of them are in their teens, but there are three little ones living there too. I've been going with two teachers from school and my roommate Mindy every Thursday night. It has been SO good! We are trying to teach them English. The older ones want to learn adn are usually excited about the activities we have planned for the evening. The younger ones (two are 6 or 7 and one is 3) are sometimes interested in the English, but mostly just want to be around us. They want hugs and attention and love. Good thing I can give them those things even though I can't speak Spanish! Going to see them is definitely motivation to learn Spanish because I want to be able to talk to these precious girls. Right now, all I can really do is hug them and smile at them. Sometimes those things can speak louder than words though, and I am thankful for that. I have been blessed in a huge way by my times with these girls. They are precious! This is a picture of the 3-year-old girl in a rare moment of stillness reading a book with me. :)


I think that's enough for now. This has gotten rather long. Hopefully I will post again soon with some more pictures and more stories of life here.