Day 2

We started out the day with going to Vida Nueva church at the 10 am service. Sheila,  the MS principal, picked us up, along with the new Chaplin (from Kentucky), and it was about a 5-10 min drive there. The service is in Spanish, but we can get headphones to listen to the sermon in English.  Many of the teachers go there, along with several other English speakers, which was nice. The pastor and his wife are from, I think Kentucky.  There was also a few other of the new teachers as well. For lunch we went to Sheila and Dan ' s house for lunch with the other teachers. Lunch was taco salad with fresh mango (from their mango tree outside their house!!! ) and pineapple - both very sweet and do good! They have a maid Mariella, and her friend that also helped out. Marcelle is going to do maid service for us about once a week. She is also a university student, and walks very far to go to their house.  (Ours is very close to her house as well.) We played games  (a group of us played pictionary) and talked and got to know each other. I also tried my first Dominican coffee called Santo Domingo. It was good, but very strong and had to add quite a bit of sugar and steamed milk.

After that Sheila took us to LA Sirena to get a fee more things. I needed another small fan for my room, plus I got a few groceries-- cucumbers-- which I love- had one for supper, and it didn't taste like a store kind!

A few more things:
- We carry water where ever we go. It's important to stay hydrated as it is easy to get dehydrated.
-There are lots of car alarms, and they go off quite frequently (including this mornings)
- my address, if you want to send me mail---
Address
8400 N.W. 25th St. Suite 100
BMW #2-30555
Doral, FL 33122
- the weather is very hot and humid. You sweat a lot, and appreciate air conditioning (in the cars) and stores.
- I've been loading my pics on my Flickr acvount, which I have a link on this page.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thess 5:18

Day 1

After a full day of travel Friday, we arrived at our apartment at about 10:30 p.m. I actually met my roommate Sarah at the Miami airport, as well as another teacher, and the High School principal, and we all traveled together to Santiago. It was nice to have other people to navigate customs and the airport.
Saturday morning, Paul, who does Academic Services at our school picked Sarah and I up to get supplies and look at grocery stores. The first grocery store he took us to was Bravo. This is the store that is the best place to get produce. We looked at prices, and compared them to American dollars-- The dollar is equal to about 45 peso's. (The calculator on my phone is going to be my friend! LOL) A lot of the foods were the same as in the U.S., but there was a lot less processed food-- that is shipped in, and it's very expensive. We noticed that there is half an aisle of chips and snack food, and half an aisle of pop, compared to several aisles in the states. The 2nd store was Nacional, which was very comparable to Bravo-- both relatively close (though not walking distance) from our apt.

 

We ate lunch at a sandwich shop called Yaway-- which is owned by one of the teacher's at school. I noticed that they played American Christian music, which was a nice comfort!! They had Lays chips, but I went went with the Platanos, which is comparable to a banana chip, but not sweet-- more salty. This was my first experience at ordering something, with the people being Spanish speaking. There were several times where Paul had to step in and interpret!

After lunch, Paul drove us around to a few teachers places-- it all kind of blends together, and it's going to take awhile to remember everything. I most likely will not be using Google maps, and will have to remember/find places through a regular map. 

We went to another store-- I can't remember the name of it-- Paul's daughter Robin, who is 10, was with us, and told this story about a mermaid about the store-- It has an S in it's name, and neither Sarah or I can remember the name, other than it's the Mermaid S store! LOL This store is very comparable to a Wal-Mart, where you can buy pretty much anything. This is where we bought our supplies for the apartment (we have groceries at the moment, so that'll be another trip-- lots of fans, hangers, baskets, coffee maker (!!! -- both Sarah and I drink coffee, so that was a necessity. I brought 4 packages of Omaha Hill of Beans coffee with me, so I haven't ventured to Dominican coffee, but I've been told it's really good.), a few plastic assemble shelves for my room and the bathroom. I think we're also going to buy a microwave, but that will wait. We get to go to Ikea sometime next week to buy more household supplies.  By the time we got home it was about 3:00 p.m, and I was completely exhausted!!

I unpacked both of my suitcases-- We are lucky to have huge closets, but I will have to buy some baskets to put some of my clothes in, as they are very deep. Shortly after, our 3rd roommate Kyla, who is going to be teaching K-12 Music (from Portland, Oregon) arrived.

A few other things I've found out,,..

• Women are not to wear shorts in public (Which I brought a whole bunch of, so I guess I'll be doing some shopping... )
• You can wear sleeveless, but there are certain places where you have to have your shoulders covered (church being one of them.) We can wear sleeveless to school. 
• No shirts with writing on them in public
• Fans are our friends-- we're going to be putting a ceiling fan in our living room, hopefully soon.
• We're able to have maid services-- about $15 -- and they come once a week. Paul knows a nice lady that works for some other teachers, that hopefully we will be able to use. The majority of the teachers have these services.
• We have a neighbor downstairs from us that is an American Missionary from Pennsylvania that has been here for 39 years. Her name is Darlene Reimer. She has taken us in, and has helped us already. She knew the previous teachers that lived in our apartment as well. She has a Wii, and said we can use it any time.
• I knew that you have to put the toilet paper down in a trashcan, but I think it's going to take some getting used to. -- Hopefully if when I get up in the middle of the night, I don't accidentally put it in the toilet! 
• We have a key to our gate, a key to the outside door, and 2 locks on our door. 
• We can get water delivery services (the water is not drinkable)-- We have 3 big bottles, and then rotate them.
• We have a switch we turn on about 15 minutes beforehand if we want hot water. It lasts about 5 minutes. Last night however I didn't use it-- I was hot enough that it felt really good! 
• I'm going to have to learn how the peso's work, as I'm sure I'm going to be teaching money with my kids!
• It is a bit nervewracking not knowing Spanish, and there is some fear for me with not knowing-- Paul said to not get upset if they get upset with you for not knowing what they're saying. It happens a lot. Neither Sarah or I know Spanish, so we'll be learning together. Kyla knows some, but not sure how much. 

Church this morning, and then lunch at the Middle School principal's house. I think Sarah and I are going to venture out and go back to the Mermaid store to get a few more things after lunch. It's within walking distance-- 4 tenths of a mile. 

Bags Packed and Ready to Go!

The last minute items have been "stuffed" into my suitcase-- two large suitcases, one backpack carry-on, and one purse carry-on. It's still hard to believe that all of my belongings I'll be using fit in just two suitcases, yet I had a whole truckload of belongings that I brought back from Kansas!

Yesterday I got an email from my school with details about what I need to do once I get there. After going through customs at Santiago, there will be someone there to pick me up-- along with four others who will be on the same flight as me (one of my roommates included, who I've just emailed a few times). We will have wi-fi that will be set up for us as soon as we get there (Yay!!), along with some groceries for us.  Saturday, there will be someone that will take myself and two others grocery shopping (My other roommate doesn't get in until Saturday afternoon). Sunday, a car will come for us to take us to church Sunday, along with lunch at one of the people from my school. Monday, we start orientation at 8:00 a.m with a car coming to get us, and we will be taken around the city with a tour.

My parents, along with my nephew Dylan (who has been with us since Saturday), are going to my brother's this afternoon, and then my brother is taking me to the airport tomorrow morning. He said we don't have to leave his house till 3 a.m., so I can sleep in a few minutes! LOL

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day..."
 Ps. 91:4-5 

 

Packing, Packing, and Business Affairs

After getting to my parent's a little over a  week ago, I have spent the majority of the time:

Moving my stuff from the garage to the spare room

Learning the knack of rolling clothes/packing a suitcase

Deciding what I can and can't live without in my two suitcases 

 (plus my carry-on and purse-- all to my name)

I don't have pictures of everything I was trying to decide if I needed it or not!

That and I also need to be able to carry/lift my suitcases, and try not to go over the 50 lb weight limit (You'd be surprised how easy it is, especially when this is all that I'm taking).

All I have left is the last few items, and then to try and decide what to put in my carry-on... 

I had planned on shipping three small totes of school stuff over, but my principal encouraged me not to-- she said that they were going to have everything I needed. Still it does make me nervous, b/c I'm so used to having resources to fall back on. 

There's also been a bit of "Reading."

(and in between, Mary Higgins Clark's The Cinderella Murder-- a really good book I'd recommend )

Along with the packing, there's been the usual business affairs when you move....

And then the not so common -- researching Power of Attorney's so your parent's can title your vehicle, b/c the state of Kansas takes a really long time to transfer titles, and it may not be here before I leave next Thursday (Wow, Thursday? That's hard to believe...) -- This after calling the Douglas County Court House in Kansas, who gave me the number to the Kansas State Dept to see how long it would take for my Title form to be processed... 

Having to open a checking account with my mother (that's setting me back a few years!), so she can deposit the refunds I'm getting from my accounts.

Getting car insurance with my dad (again, feeling like I'm in high school! LOL), because they're going to take over driving my car when I leave.

There's a part of me that wants the next week to go really fast, so I can just get the waiting over with, and start the journey, but that also means that I'll be leaving my "familiarity." My nephew Dylan, who is 8 is coming to spend Saturday through Thursday with us, so that will definitely keep me busy. Another reason why I'm trying to get everything done before he gets here. I do feel a bit in limbo, as I felt like Kansas has been my home for the last 10 years, and though I grew up in Nebraska, my independent years have been in Kansas. 

I haven't flown since 2008, and it was before 9-11 since I flew internationally. My flight from Omaha leaves at 6 a.m., and I'm not looking forward to having to be there at 3 a.m.! (Good thing I have a wonderful brother willing to take me to the airport at 2ish a.m.!)  I think in the near future finding my gates and making my flights on time is what I'm most nervous about. I don't mind flying once I'm in my seat! 

A Day In the Life of Santiago Christian School

https://vimeo.com/santiagochristianschool/scsallinaday

SCS TOUR 12-- My Future School in approximately 1 month!!

The Long List of "To-Do's..."

Last week I sent off the applications for the birth certificate with Apostille and the background check with Apostille. I had already had my passport application in prior, so I was at a point of just waiting to get everything back. The day before I left to go out of town I had sent an email to my school, checking to see if there was anything else I needed to do. Evidently I missed when I got the email, b/c I just discovered this morning that they had sent an email the same day (5 days ago)!
This would be the overall list of what I need to do:
 A- Confirm you have the following documents from step 1:

1)     Birth certificate with apostille

2)     Marriage certificate with apostille

3)     Federal Criminal background check with apostille 

4)     Letter for a Doctor that states “you are in good health and do not have any contagious disease”, signed, stamped and in stationary paper.

B- In addition you will need the following:

1)     Passport with at least 6 months before expiration

2)     Two pictures 2X2 of each family member

3)     Application form (attached)-one for each family member

4)     Overnight paid return Fedex envelope for the consulate to return passport and documents

5)     Application letter in Spanish (we will send you this by email to be printed and signed)-please reply to this email with the address and phone number in US you need to use for receiving back these documents. Put this same address in the application form.

Documents listed in A & B need to be sent through Fedex to the Dominican Consulate in NY.

It makes me extremely nervous to try and figure everything out, b/c I don't want to miss doing anything that I need to do. Also in the email, I found out that I'm going to have a roommate from the midwest, who is (or will be) a 3rd grade teacher at my school. I was told to send my principal a list of what I wanted to bring and how much the shipping would be. I brought home 17 boxes of school stuff. I'm guessing that I'm not going to be able to bring quite that much with me! It's going to be hard to decide what to bring with me. 

Saturday I had my physical, which included a tetanus shot -- I haven't had one since I was a teenager, and oh my goodness I didn't realize that it was going to hurt so much after the fact. It's still 5 days from when I got the shot, and my arm still is sore! 

I am still hoping that I can find someone to take Addie and Sadie the 2 years while I'm in the DR. I did actually consider taking them with me, but I found out that Sadie is a type of breed which is not allowed in there, b/c they're more susceptible to a certain type of disease. It makes me sad to think that I'm not going to have them with me--- I have gotten used to them coming to sleep with me every night-- and they have their certain routines of how and when they come to "visit." It's a love/hate relationship, b/c there are moments where they certainly do annoy me. It's hard for me to imagine not having them around, but I guess I'm going to have to! 

As soon as I get back on Saturday, the process of packing and going through/pitching stuff begins! I'm going to be having a garage sale June 13th with a friend in Wellsville for their City-Wide garage sale. Hopefully I will be able to sell a lot of my stuff! I have sold my dresser and full-size bed, but I still have my treadmill, couch, chairs, night stand, queen-size bed (2 1/2 yrs old with netting on the bottom of the box springs torn from my cats), washer/dryer (3 yrs old).