Hola!!
So this time, I kept a list of all the things I wanted to write about this week in my notebook so I could share in my weekly email update... and wouldn´t you know, I left it sitting on my desk in my classroom at the end of the day!  Of course!!  Well, it´s been another hot, crazy, busy week, full of the usual ups and downs, but all is good here.  Last week was NUTS with finishing Christmas cards, but finally got them all done Wednesday night (the day they were due)... thought I could breathe on Thursday, but then the school director called me into her office, and said so I just wanted to let you know report cards are due tomorrow (they decide these things the day before here apparently) - I had never seen a report card here before, but was pretty sure it wouldn´t apply to the majority of my kids, so I explained this to her, so she said okay well just make up your own report card forms, and have them filled out and ready for the secretary tomorrow morning.  I think I stopped breathing then, but realized there was no way I could actually physically do this for all of my now 28 kids on my caseload, so decided to just do what I could and call it good.  She also informed me (24 hours before) that she decided (that morning) that there would be no school Friday afternoon (again) because we would have a conference with all the tias (houseparents) and parents from the batey (these are kinda like slums on the outskirts of the orphanage).  They actually sent around a messenger (like in Cinderella) to all the houses and classrooms with a stamped letter the day of to let them know.  The kids are still mad at me for not working with them the past 2 Friday afternoons, and some of them won´t speak to me.  So anyways I created a progress report form for my morning kids who don´t otherwise come to school... and then sat down as much as I could over lunch and Thursday afternoon to fill out the report cards on my other kids who also go to gen. ed. (which all pretty much landed in the No lagrado - not achieved column) then wrote lengthy comments about their progress.  By Thursday night, I was whipped.  We had a dessert potluck for the new volunteers, but Dave and I decided Oreos was the way to go, with all the craziness of the week.  One of the volunteers asked if I would take over the responsibility of the butterflies for the weekend for Dia de San Francisco and I happily agreed, having no idea what I was getting myself into.  Dave took over the metal decorations and banner on the water tower.  So Friday, the report cards were in (I now have a much better idea for next month´s reports - these are monthly here and I will be much more prepared).  We had a large group meeting Friday afternoon with all the tias, and then they dismissed us all to go to our classes for individual conferences on each kid - another surprise.  None of the other teachers seemed to know anything about it either so I rolled with it, and took the tias from the special needs home to my classroom and showed them work samples and walked them through the kids´progress reports.  It all actually turned out fine, much better than I could have ever imagined for an on the spot parent teacher conference like that, but I can´t imagine what the teachers would do with an on the spot parent teacher conference like that if that happened in the states.  So got through that and left school by 5 to go work on butterflies, that went til late that night and continued through most of Saturday day, then I went to all the houses and collected and hung hundreds of butterflies (handmade by each child in each house) for Sunday... then once those were done we headed to the park to paint tables and benches (did I mention things happen last minute here?)  Then late Saturday night the people who funded the new park flew in from Virginia (only for 24 hours) and we had a dinner party to welcome them in, before the big holiday and blessing of the park Sunday.  Sunday morning, I got up at 630 and was working out and by 700 and I was asked why aren´t you in the park hanging butterflies, so I rushed to the park and we hung butterflies and balloons for 3 hours, and then painted all the girls faces just in time for the big ceremony and parade.  It was exhausting but the park looks beautiful, the people who funded the park were so excited and so grateful, it was in memory of their mother who just passed away recently, so I think it was worth all the work.  Then we had a picnic of Chinese food, of all things, and I spent the rest of the night working in my classroom until another HUGE tarantula, I swear they are the size of small dogs here, came and chased me out.  Today was definitely a Monday, especially when I got on the bus to come into town and the lady from the office came and dumped a pile of 50 Christmas cards in my lap that she thought were ugly and needed to be redone.  ARGHH this is the life of a NPH volunteer I guess - just have to roll with the punches.  I think I won´t tell the kids and just rewrite all these ones myself!  As of Saturday, we´ll have had 28 nights in the orphanage so we are hoping to get out to Boca Chica and spend 25-30 dollars on a nice hotel with a pool and maybe even take a hot shower! (it will be the first since we´ve been here... keeping my fingers crossed).... It´s hard to convince yourself to spend that much on one night in a hotel when it´s half your monthly salary, but I think after the past few weeks, and weekends, we have earned it.  So that said, we should be in a city, with our cell phone, and have a signal, so hopefully we will get some phone calls from people Saturday and Sunday afternoon???  I miss everyone from home sooooooooooo much and hope all is well back in Michigan and other parts of the world.  I will send pics of the butterflies and new park soon, or put them on facebook, but as of right now I´ve had enough of butterflies for a while.  Okay, well again love and miss everyone lots and lots, and please keep the kiddos in your prayers, I just found out one of the girls in my house has AIDS and another 2 have serious diseases, there are quite a few in the orphanage with AIDS, but it hits closer to home when they´re kids you interact with on a daily basis.  Okay, again lots of love sent from the DR, keep in touch and write soon!!!!!
Love and prayers,
Kristin

Belkis and Ditania with their butterflies!

Out for pizza for Kristina's goodbye party

Hello all,
Writing from the internet cafe during my weekly copy machine ritual in the city.  Hope all is going well back in Michigan - I hear it´s starting to cool down there, it´s so weird to think about all the things I´m missing not being there for the fall.  Things are going good here, everyday is a new adventure.  We´ve had a lot of new changes with volunteers... my roommate Kristina flew out on Saturday morning, she is from New Zealand but now living in Chile, and has somehow lived in every single country between in 22 years (she was always telling fun stories of working with monkeys in the jungles of Bolivia or selling jewelry in Spain).  We went out for pizza Friday night in San Pedro to say good-bye, and I made her a good-bye book, which was not the movie I wanted to make for her, so instead I made a TV frame and we passed it around the circle and said our good-bye messages while taping.  It was a sad night, but also fun to go out for pizza!!  Saturday morning I got up around 7a.m. and tried to catch the guagua (van) into town, but it was too full (they literally put up to 25 people in 9-12 passenger vans, I am not even exaggerating) so I hung out and waited for 2 new volunteers, an occupational therapist from Germany and a new librarian from Switzerland.  The one from Germany is living in our house and I´m hoping we can work together in the schools - I really miss that sense of TEAM we had in Owosso.  The other one is living next door.  Then yesterday we got a visitor from Washington for 2 weeks who´s also visiting and helping while her boyfriend is here who is a big part of NPH international.  I think she will be helping in my classroom on Fridays (Friday´s are now completely NUTS with my new student who is very difficult - deaf and mute and spends most the time running away from me - but of course she is cute)  I just need to learn sign language I guess.  Tell Jan Cox to come down and teach me. :) Last night, Jose also arrived, who will be living in our house for 1 year, he is from Spain and working on a gardening/agricultural project with the kids.  So lots of changes, but it is fun, we had a little shin dig last night on the patio to celebrate, and are having a dessert potluck tomorrow night too (which reminds me I need to buy something to bake tonight while I´m out).  This weekend was pretty lax, we used up our stipend so fast so have been hanging out at the orphanage on the weekends now, but I went into San Pedro Saturday and laid under a palm tree by the side of the road by the ocean for  hours (no beaches here but I guess that´s the next best thing) and read my book My Sister´s Keeper, I´m almost done, but it is sooooooooo good.  My next mission is to read a novel in Spanish but I don´t think my language skills are quite there yet.  Yesterday, I camped out in my classroom all day again and worked on making puzzles, board games, memory games (thanks Sandy for the idea), lessons, worksheets, assessments, etc.  You never realize how much you take for granted living in the states.  But I do enjoy it, and I had the director´s daughter (a beautiful and fun Mexican-Irish 8 year old who follows me around like a puppy) helping me with cutting and gluing, etc.  Other than that, just the same ol´, I´m getting into a routine here and enjoying it, more often than not.  Oh Thursday we didn´t have school, and we had a volleyball tournamnet with the kids, then spent the rest of the day working on Christmas cards for the sponsors.  I NEVER realized when I sponsored my child for all those years the WORK that goes into the little Christmas cards you throw aside on holidays.  Between the whole orphanage, we are making thousands of them, and started back in June.  Ah, and by November, I´m sure we´ll be starting Easter cards.  The other big project this week is getting ready for Dia de Francisco, the national holiday this Sunday dedicated to nature and animals, so we have a huge parade and all kinds of activities, but I will be making butterflies all week with my girls house (while after I finish the last of the Christmas cards).... always soemthing. :)  Then after 3 weekends in the orphanage, I hope we can get out of town and go to the beach!!! (we will have our stipend by then)  Oh, also, great news, my aide is full time in the school now!!!  She has a Mon.-Fri. 8-4 schedule, so she can see her daughter, study teaching, and HELP ME so much more.  So thanks for the prayers.  I am really excited.  She is probably my best friend here, she is beautiful and I love her so much.  Oh, I´m also going to check into taking classes with her if I can get the credits to transfer back to Michigan but I have NO idea, so we´ll see... Okay, well looks like the copy machine is open, so I better jump in before someone else does, but lots of love and prayers and HUGS send your way, and keep in touch!!!!!
Love always,
Kristin

Kristina's good-bye pizza party

Hi all,
Just hanging out at my internet/copy place right now, made my copies, and actually the fan is on and it has been raining and I am actually cold!!  Never thought I would write and say that!!  It is great when the days/nights are cool here, until I have to take a shower and never want to get under the ice cold water.  There has been LOTS of rain lately.  Last night I stayed working at school til after dark and didn´t realize I didn´t have a flashlight and walked back through puddles in pitch black. I probably would have looked pretty hilarious feeling the fence as I stepped and taking huge steps as not to step on or encounter any animals. Anyways, things here have been going good.  Spent a lot of time this weekend just hanging out at the orphanage, working on my classroom, but also got to see Tim and Paola on Saturday, we had pizza, and also got to spend about an hour swimming at the beach too.  The kids did a beach clean-up Saturday which was a great learning experience for them.  Things are going good at school.  I started a new system last week where I give out tickets to kids being good (my afternoon kids) and then if they are also good in their regular class they get it signed by their other teacher and can cash it on Friday for cookies, game time, listening to music, etc. (for the Central people out there, I´m totally Sue Odell every Friday=)  So it was really funny, a boy Id never seen before came Friday afternoon with a ticket, slid it through my window, and it had numbers and like codes written all over it in the teacher signature section, and was screaming desperately I have a ticket, I have a ticket, and wanted to get in so bad.  I tried to explain it was something I just did for my own students, and he was so upset, like he had the golden ticket for the chocolate factory and just HAD to get in.  It was pretty cute, and pretty innovative.  Today I had an exciting moment with Jose Martin, who I taught Touch Math, and in three weeks I have been teaching him, has learned not only his numbers but is adding up to 7 with no help and no touch points even anymore, just hitting the spots with his pencil in the right places, I was amazed and excited, he learned SO fast, when he is in 3rd grade, and they have been trying to teach him for 3 years and he couldn´t add 1 plus 1.  I think those are my favorite moments.  I decided we had to celebrate.  I gave him a big lollipop and a huge star student sticker on his shirt and we put on the cha cha slide.  Somehow he didn´t seem to LOVE it quite as much as my kiddos did at Central (i.e. Jordan in his costume) and I struggled to translate as I danced, but we had lots of fun celebrating either way and it was a GREAT moment.  I have been getting more and more and more kids referred to me.  The referral process is a bit different than the states... usually here a teacher just grabs me in the hallway, tells me the kid who has problems and asks when I can start working with him.  I am really trying hard to get my tia (aide) Maria who helps in the morning to be full-time so I can not be spread so thin and help more kids, and also she can have a teacher schedule so she can study teaching, which is her dream and also see her 9 year old daughter every night, rather than every 6 days like she is now that she has to live at the orphanage.  Say your prayers that it will work out for her.  Well, seems I´m writing lots again, so I will be off, I will try to attach some pictures, but you can always look on facebook too cause I am trying to put them on there.  Also, my project should be up on the website any day now www.nph.org - go to DR and projects (and you have to click in the bottom left corner to switch the language to English too)  They told me it would be up by now, so keep a look out for it.  Oh also, I want to apologize if anything in my last emails were offensive to anyone...  when I write these I don´t always think of how they will be interpreted.  Sometimes I say things that might be misinterpreted the wrong way, but just to clarify in case there was misunderstanding, I LOVE this country and absolutely LOVE the people here too.  Sometimes I get frustrated with the cultural clashes and especially the slow-paced way of life and how long it takes to get things done... like copies... but I LOVE the people here and of course the kids especially, but just wanted to make that clear.  Well, again love and miss everyone SOOOO much, and thanks for the mail, I love snail mail, it is so exciting to get here, so keep it coming. 
Love and prayers,
Kristin

Jose Martin and his lollypop, love him!

September Update

Maria, my beautiful teaching assistant, with some of our students

Riding the bus to Los Alcarrizos

Love my precious little class!

Hello!

I think it’s been about a week since my last email, and I thought I’d write again with an update.  I tried to make a blog with no success so this works easier.  I will send a picture to go with this story, but anyone who knows me will understand and love this one.  I was shopping at Jumbo last Saturday (like our super Wal-mart), bought coffee but the top didn’t quite fit.  I kinda made a new friend, a Dominican girl that works there and was talking to her.  As she was inviting me out to lunch, the lid fell and I spilled coffee all down the front of my shirt.  So we exchanged numbers, and my other friend Christina, also from Michigan, and I were walking out to this restaurant when she called us.  Christina couldn’t understand so she passed the phone to me.  She was trying to ask me something but I couldn’t hear her.  I bent down and plugged one ear while talking, and sped up to catch up with Christina.  Then out of nowhere, something just hit me in the head, like I thought I got hit by a baseball bat but I actually just walked into this huge metal electrical box and hit my head hard on the corner.  There was a group of 10 middle aged Dominican men standing on the street outside their business, and as I pulled myself up, I waited for them to start bursting out laughing but instead they ran over full of concern, and dragged me over to someone’s rearview mirror where I saw this ping pong ball growing larger and larger from my head.  They pushed me down into a plastic chair on the side of the road and grabbed water bottles and kept pouring water all over my head and face over and over (which made my purse stain my shirt, to add to my nice coffee stain).   The bump kept growing and they were all worried, and so I said I think I need ice.  They were confused, and asked what for, so I explained that it helped the swelling go down, and with that, one of them jumped onto their moto and was off to the colmado and back with ice faster than I’ve ever seen a Dominican move.  The ice helped the swelling somewhat and then I walked down the street with the ice pack on my head trying to find the restaurant.  I felt terrible that I had totally lost my new friend in our conversation and when we finally got to the restaurant, it was closed.  Well then Dave met us for pizza instead, and I got word from Senata, my Fijian host parent I lived with here before, that we were invited to spend the night in Los Alcarrizos.  We took a little van (this is the public transportation) on a two hour ride out there, and I showed up with my huge bump on my head, smeared make-up, and stained clothes, great impression after not seeing them for 2 years.  But we had great pizza and they cooked us a wonderful  breakfast and lunch.  It was so crazy to be back there after two years of not seeing everyone, seeing Josiah my Fijian “host baby” all grown up and walking and talking, and hearing of all the marriages, babies, moves, job changes, and unfortunately deaths, of all the people I had worked with two years ago.  The nanny in the house I lived in died of cancer, the man I worked with at the hospital who gave me moto rides home everyday actually in a moto accident.  And a friend’s friend I met here before was shot by a police officer during the night carrying nothing but a Bible and bottle of water – nobody knows why but rumor is he was impolite to the officer.  And the gate I used to climb every night I came home past curfew (and was hung from by shorts one night and had to be lifted off) – while an American mormon climbing the same gate this summer and was shot in the butt while climbing over.  Death is more common here, and I can’t imagine having been here for a funeral.  Since there is no electricity for refrigerating the body and no money to pay others to do the dirty work, the immediate family are the ones taking care of the body, the arrangements, the digging, and the burial of their loved one, and only hours after the death, because with the heat the smell begins so much faster.  Things I never realize and I could never imagine doing, that people have the strength to do here.  Crazy.  Then we didn't know if we would get back because they were supposed to riot in the streets (mostly just burning tires) over the transportation cost rising from 60 cents to 80 cents but I guess the government tricked everyone into staying in their homes because of Hurricane Erika, even though it didn't come anywhere near here.  Well so anyways, that was really nice to have a relaxing weekend with them and catch up with old friends.  I forgot what an incredible experience I had when I was here before, and am hoping to accompany them on some medical projects around the country in upcoming weekends.

This week was another good week of teaching (things are getting better each week and it’s more fun now than just survival).  I think I am starting to get into more of a routine.  Although I have my challenges, all the kids here are absolutely ADORABLE and (almost) all of them are soooo excited about being in school and in my classroom .  We have so much fun, and when I come to class they jump up and down saying “it’s my turn, it’s my turn”… it’s so cute.  And my “Tia Maria” that helps in my room is adorable is well.  She is 28 and incredibly sweet and more talented than she would ever know.  She works so hard and is always bringing in all kinds of ideas that she comes up with in her very little free time she has.  We are getting to be good friends.  She also wants to be a teacher, and has a great gift for it, and I really hope she may be able to teach the program in the future when I’m not here to do it.  As I’m getting closer with the kids, I’m getting a lot more “love notes” from them.  Mostly slid through my window in little handmade envelopes, with notes that say I love you so much I love you so much I love you so much.  Today one little girl actually made me an entire book of letters mostly repeating over and over that I am her best friend and she is so proud to have a beautiful volunteer like me here, and there were two pages of I love you I love you I love you written hundreds of times over across the page from top to bottom.  They are so sweet and so desperate for love and affection.   Things are still tough sometimes, but I feel like I am getting closer with the kids, getting into a routine, learning more how to teach entirely in Spanish (including teaching kids how to read in Spanish which consists of ma-me-mi-mo-mu, pa-pe-pi-po-pu over and over – it’s sooo different).  I am getting the hang now of writing my raps and songs and puppet shows in Spanish, and now I think they’re actually starting to make sense too, but it takes a lot longer.  I practice all my read-alouds and puppet shows the nights before, and spend a lot of late nights in school making up lessons and materials since they don’t exist otherwise.  Teachers here spend hours and hours every night creating assignments and then literally recopying them 25 times for every student in their class since making copies is a luxury no one can afford, except for gringos like me who go into the city and pay out of pocket.  It’s crazy how many little conveniences I took for granted that I now would appreciate sooo much.

Well, this is getting long now, didn’t mean to write a novel, just an update, but I love and miss everyone lots and look forward to updates from home.  Please keep your eyes peeled for deals to come visit – the beaches here are soooo beautiful and there are great deals out there.  I would always LOVE visitors.  Tomorrow we are going to Bayahibe and staying in a cabana for 18 for the night.  It’s supposed to be really beautiful and have the best snorkeling in the country.  We are excited to get away, relax, and have some alone time (our house is always loud and full of volunteers from all different countries and cultures – the Haitian guys love to blast music from The Lion King, Micheal Jackson, and Backstreet Boys at 6:00a.m. every morning).  This is the first weekend I can remember that they didn’t make Dave work on Saturday so it will be nice to spend all day at the beach!  Well, again love and miss everyone sooooooooooooooo much!!!

Love always,

Kristin

First week

Hello again,

Please forward my emails for me, as I am sitting in pitch black in a park where we could get an internet connection and yet again I don't have my notebook with me with all my email addresses!  Oops!

So I have survived almost my whole first week teaching.... as I mentioned before it has been quite a process getting it ready, with all of the shoes and storage and food and BUGS left in my room (see attached before and after pictures).... my kids are really cute and really needy, and I have a wonderful tia helping in my room in the mornings which I am so grateful for. (the first day was probably one of the hardest of my life, so they got me a tia by day two, and it helps so much to have another team member) I have some kids that are quite a handful, and it is really tricky trying to come up with materials to teach kids to read/write/etc. in Spanish... making copies here is quite a process... first there has to be electricity which cuts out about 90% of the time I would go to make copies.... then there also has to be ink and paper... which there hasn't been... then the director has to be there and available to approve your copies.... so needless to say I haven't been able to copy anything yet, so I think I will end up making copies of materials out of pocket this weekend in the city.  So far it has been mostly simple games, play-doh, puppet shows, puzzles, read-alouds, and tossing the beanbag around to talk about our feelings.  I also created an assessment to do with the kids, but since the copier doesn't work, I spent a good day copying each assessment by hand. :)  Things are soooooooo much slower here.  It is frustrating, but something I guess I will get used to.

My morning group (from 8:00-11:00) consists of 6 kids, more severe, with mostly moderate to severe mental retardation, but also one who is blind with cerebral palsy and a couple non-verbal.  I'm hoping to figure out some strategies to help them, as I haven't worked with kids this severe yet.  My second group of 5 is from 11:00-12:30, and seem to be mostly LD, but also pretty low, mostly 2nd and 3rd graders, but around 9-10 years old, who aren't able to write their names, name letters, etc. but have more capabilities then the rest of the group.  Then in the afternoon is mostly my behavioral kids and the ones who need total 1-on-1, so I think I will be doing a lot of social skills group, yoga group, and behavior plans.  I'm still working on my afternoon schedule though, as I still don't have any information yet on many of these kids. 

I will be setting a project page on the NPH website where people can go on and donate, and receive a tax write-off, so it would be great if you could spread the word, because classroom materials such as white paper and staplers are beyond the basics and out of the question.  I also am working with some really severe behavioral kids who need behavior plans, and the rewards/prizes could really add up.  It will probably take a couple weeks, but please spread the word. 

Dave is doing good working in maintenance, his Spanish is improving everyday.... he still is trying to get all of his "tool words" down...learning by his mistakes.... He is quoting now... he likes the guys he works with cause they get hooked up in the kitchen with coffee and fruit.  Okay I can't quote him right so I'm moving on.

I'll try attaching pictures but it may take a couple emails because I don't know how big the files are.  Okay, lots of love and miss everyone tons.  Lots of love.  And the mail does work, so you can send me mail!  xoxoxo

Kristin



New and improved special education classroom!

 

Have lots of these guys here (even a lot bigger), Dave caught this one in my classroom

Saludos from the DR

Buenos,

Writing again to say hello and update you.  Dave is coming tomorrow and I am soooooooo happy!  Things here are going well, but so slow paced, which I should have expected here in Latin America.... I came down one week before Dave so I could prepare my classroom but still have not been able to get in.... and youd never guess why.... one of the Detroit Pistons players is coming down to pass out shoes to all the kids... 1500 crocs... and every last one of them in is MY classroom of all places.  What can you do... the funny thing is the kids have never heard of the Pistons or the NBA so they really couldnt care less, other than that they are getting a new pair of shoes...

So in the meantime I have just been getting to know my kids by going around to all the different houses and talking to the kids and their tias... tias are like housemoms... it looks like I will have a group of 10 self contained in the morning, and do resource and pull out in small groups and one on one in the afternoon.  They all have very different reactions when I meet with them to tell them they are going to be working with me this year.  I have a few who run to me whenever they see me, jump into my arms, and tell me how many more days are left in the countdown until school starts because they are so excited.  And then there are a few who run the other direction.  One was in a full out fist fight when I came into his house and his poor tias were trying to hold him back, but finally gave up as he stormed out of the house with a crowd behind him to run across the field and find his victim.  He is 13 and Im a little apprehensive about how I will help him.  My students will range from ages 4 to 16, everywhere from blind to unable to walk to nonverbal to severely emotionally impaired to profound mental retardation to dyslexic.  And their Spanish is difficult to understand, if they speak at all, so it will definitely be a challenge.  But with a little love and creativity, hopefully I will at least reach some of them.

Other than that, I have just been hanging around the orphanage, playing with the girls and helping out where I can... and studying and practicing my Spanish.  Tonight we had a dance party in my house with all the girls, and then sat under the stars with 200 kids on the basketball court, and watched a movie projected onto a big white sheet.  I am hoping and praying tomorrow, if I am allowed to move the 1500 croc shoes myself, I can hopefully get into my dirty, empty classroom to start on trying to make it look like a classroom.  Right now other than the 1500 shoes, there are only a few desks.  If I cant, at least I will be able to go to the airport and see Dave.  Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary and it was so hard not to be with him.

Please keep in touch, and keep me posted on how things are going back there.  I will try to send pictures soon.  Please pray for the kids, and especially for their health as they have many diseases and some are HIV positive. One of the kids with AIDS died this summer, and it was really hard on a lot of the other kids and the staff here.  Pray that I will be able to reach them, and that I will have patience with the ones that are not so easy to reach.  And also, if anyone can get in touch with Sui and Lili to check in, I would be so appreciative.  I miss them terribly.  Again, please forward on this message for me as I dont have everyone in my address book. 

Love and prayers to all,
Kristin

PS The punctuation marks on this computer dont work, in case you are wondering about the lack of question marks and such...

This is what my classroom looked like after they "cleaned it out" for me :(

Arrived in the DR

Hello!

The internet is very slow and shuts down frequently so I am going to keep this short.  Wanted to let you know I arrived in the DR safe and sound Thursday night, and am doing well.  The heat is sweltering and the bugs are big and bite often, but the people and the children are beautiful and so kind.  I have been helping with a group of girls ages 9 to 12, who I will be eating with at meal time from now on.  Last night I was there with them for their devotional time, and they prayed... Thank you God for our new volunteer that has come to serve with us for a year, please keep her safe and healthy and take care of her so she can stay with us.  They are so sweet and just love and hang on you so much.  I already have a pile of pictures they colored me to decorate our room.

I have not been able to get into my classroom yet, but should be able to tomorrow, and meet with the school administrator and find out a little bit about my students, I hope.  Dave is not here yet and our room is not ready, so I have been staying at a different volunteer house, with volunteers from Germany, New Zealand, France, Haiti, Mexico, and Texas.  Everyone is really nice.  Cant wait til Dave gets here though, hopefully with a mosquito net, battery operated fan, and lots of bug spray.  Also, he will hopefully bring our camera so I can take and send lots of pictures soon.  Electricity is infrequent here, it usually only comes on at night, and the water is only one temperature, ice cold, but it is so hot that I dont think I would want it any other way.  Facebook is banned and my school account doesnt work, so this looks like this will be the only email I use.  So please pass this onto friends and fam as I cant access my address book or anyones email right now.  Keep in touch, and please come visit me!!!! 

Love,
Kristin