October 18, 2011

My cooking group of girls came over to give empenadas another try (see Oct 11).  This time we bought the dough premade from a vendor in Barahona and they turned out MUCH better.  We had chicken, pepper, and onion empenadas, salami, ham, and cheese empenadas, egg empenadas, and taco seasoned ground beef empenadas.  We didn’t think to seperate them as we cooked, and the girls remarked it was like opening a Christmas present to find out what types they received!

October 14, 2011

At the Friday assembly in La Hoya, a group of boys and girls did a dance to the song “Mi amor es por Dios” (My love is for God).  It was great to see the boys getting invloved in the dance, as they are usually resistant to dancing at asemblies.  I think they were persuaded once they learned they could wear their sunglasses, and act cool.  At the end of the dance they dipped their dance partner, and I had them reenact the dip for a picture.

October 13, 2011

Can you find the hidden boy?  Two boys from La Hoya came to our house requesting we share the rulo, a type of plantain, that grows in abundance in our yard.  After so many months of having it stolen out from under our noses, we were thrilled that they asked permision instead of waiting for us to leave and sneaking in.  They brought their own machetes, and before Patrick could get his shoes on to help, the boys had already scaled the tree and were busy chopping.  They ended up cutting so much they had to work together to carry their harvest. 

October 11, 2011

One evening Patrick and I had some of the kids from church at our house to make empenadas.  One of the girls always brings her little brother, and he and Patrick had some male bonding time hunting the mosquitos that seemed to be covering the walls that night. The hunt went well, but the empenadas turned out to be a disaster! 

October 9, 2011

On a weekend trip to the capital, Patrick and I explored more in depth the colonial zone.  In this area you can turn down almost any street and find churches built in the 1500’s, the residence of Christopher Columbus, and ruins of palaces and government buildings.  I promised myself I would remember the name of this building and when it was built, but of course I forgot.  It was beautiful though, and we were able to go inside and explore a little, once we got past the flock of guard pigeons!

Ocotber 7, 2011

One house in Barahona proudly displays their support for the movement to contribute 4% of taxes towards education. 

October 5, 2011

We decided a sunset trip to the beach was the perfect activity for one particularly hot evening.  We just missed the sun setting, but when we arrived we were greeted by a pretty pastel sky.  The water was nice and cool, the perfect refuge from the heat.

October 3, 2011

We worked really hard to teach this willing little girl, Liz Missel, number 1097, to smile, but she just couldn’t quite get there!  She just didn’t know how to smile on command, but she watched our mouths as we showed her, and felt her lips as she tried, it was just adorable to see.  I’m sure she will have it own by the time we take pictures next year!

October 1, 2011

Of all the critters I have seen and posted on this blog, this is the first wall frog I have experienced.  It is amazing how he can jump from place to place on a smooth wall and still stick to it. 

September 29, 2011

Patrick and Ruber get some work done in the comedor outside the office in La Hoya. 

September 27, 2011

Jose, number 1049, was not shy in front of the camera.  I just love his gap tooth grin, which he uses on anybody he can to get himself out of trouble.  Admitedly, it works quite often.  Luckily his mischief is innocent, and he does really well in school.

September 25, 2011

Olivia took the PT girls on a trip to the capital this weekend.  The girls were very excited to get out of their villages and have a night on the town; they deserve it after this first month of hard work!  

September 23, 2011

At another Friday assembly, a 1^st grader led the group in prayer.  It is a humbling experience to see such a small girl lead kids, teens, and adults with enthusiasm and confidence.

September 21, 2011

September 21^st was the international day of peace.  Katherine and Emma made a beautiful mural for the day, and all the students and staff wore white.  These third graders were more than happy to pose for a picture, although I did have to teach them to make the peace sign! 

September 19, 2011

These two boys are quite the trouble makers once they get into their regular srteet clothes, but somehow the school uniform works to trnsform them into the sweet smiley boys you see below.  In echange for taking this picture, I requested that they stop dumping over the school trash cans for fun.  The arrangement did not last for long, as I caught them at it again just yesterday.

September 17, 2011

Back in the reception class, we were unable to convince Sherlyn, number 1090, to smile in front of the camera.  She smiled on her way from the desk to the camera, and started smiling as soon as she sat back down at her desk, but absolutely refused to smile for the camera. 

September 15, 2011

In our partnership school in Habanero, two boys competed against each other in a spelling game.  Their teacher is a long term substitute, but I would love to see him placed permenantly as he is very dinamic and gets kids out of their seats for learning purposes.  He is also a great male role model which is very hard to find in the schools.

September 13, 2011

One day we had some pretty strange weather in La Hoya.  First there were random gusts of very strong wind that came and went at irregular intervals.  Then it started thundering loudly, although there were no storm clouds at the time.  Finally it started sprinkling rain and Ruber, expecting a big storm, let school out early.  Kids and teacers flooded the streets to get home before the heavy rains came, but despite continued thunder and occaional flashes of lightening, the rain stayed away and the kids enjoyed a rain free half day of school.

September 11, 2011

Speaking of Nairobi, she posed for her database picture for me recently because she is going back to university this fall!  I don’t know how she is going to fit it in with the rest of her activities; she plans and leads all the Friday assemblies, teaches art and English in our partnership schools in Habanero, leads a few girls in individual Bible studies, participates in the weekly youth group, and attends multiple church services every week, not to mention a healthy social life.  She is dedicated to her studies though, and I am sure she will find success.

September 9, 2011

At another Friday assembly, you can see how delighted the kids are to be there.  The stay enthralled in the activities for the entire time, and participate whenever possible.  Nairobi does a great job putting them together.

Sept 8. 2011

Wascar is a little boy in the reception class in La Hoya, number 1094.  We had to teach (unsuccessfully) most of these little ones how to smile on command, but Wascar didn’t even hesitate!  He is a joyful little boy with some learning and development problems, but he come from a great family, and his teachers have really gotten him off to a great start this school year.  He takes a little longer than his classmates on most tasks, but with the support of his teachers, he is learning to write letters and numbers along with the rest of the class.

Sept 6, 2011

In our partnership school in Hato Viejo I teach English to 4^th graders twice a week.  Today we were practicing introducing ourselves.  These two boys really got into the spirit and even shook hands upon learning each others’ names. 

|September 4, 2011

Maritza (1069)was a little uncomfortable in front of the camera.  Normally she is very smiley and happy, but everytime I counted to three before snapping the picture, she geeked out a bit and wouldnt make eye contact with the camera.  Then she wanted to see how the picture turned out, and made me retake about five times.  This was the picture that she chose, although she wasn't thrilled with it.

September 2, 2011

At the Friday assembly this group of fourth graders led every body in a rousing rendition of “Mi Dios es bueno” or in English, “My God is good”.  The crowd really gets into it, and I feel it is a great self esteem builder to be up in front of a large crowd, and get a positive response everytime.

September 1, 2011

In the next few weeks I will be sprinkling in somehighlights from the pictures Rachel and I took for the COPA database.   Below is Ronny, student number 415 in La Hoya.   Ronny has the best smile, and he is happy to share it.  For the most part you have to really struggle to get these kids to smile for a picture, most of them are just accustomed to the stony face look for photos, but Ronny’s smile comes easily, and can brighten anybody’s day.