Bienvenido Jarabacoa, Republica Dominicana!

August 3, 2010

Soooooo I made it to the Dominican republic! My flight was delayed in Miami for about four hours, so I didn’t arrive in Santiago until about 11pm. As soon as I got off the plane, I could tell I was in a foreign country just by the smell. Going through immigration was easy, and while I was waiting for my bags I met a guy who was teaching at a different school in Jarabacoa, really close to the school I’ll be working at. It was comforting to know there were other Americans in the same boat as me on my flight! I was really nervous about who was picking me up because my plane was so late getting in, but when I walked outside there was some random guy holding a sign with my name on it, so I figured that was my ride. The whole car ride to Santiago was about 45 minutes, and I talked to my “driver” in Spanish about what there was to do in Jarabacoa, so I learned a little about the culture of the DR on my way there. Although, I still don’t really know who this random guy was and his relation to JCS (Jarabacoa Christian School). Oh well!

When I got to my house, my new roommate Elissa was there to greet me (even though it was around 12am by that point). We ended up chatting till about 1:30am and going online, so that was fun. My house is kind of like a duplex. There’s three other JCS teachers living upstairs, and me and two others live downstairs.  When you walk in theres like a double metal gate kind of thing, plus metal bars on all the doors and windows. There’s also three locks on our front door alone… a little sketch but it’s a nice house. When you walk in there’s a larger living room with a couch and a couple chairs, then to your left theres a dining area with a bench and table setting. The kitchen is down the hall on the left and then there’s three bedrooms and three bathrooms (but only two bathrooms work). My room has some crazy pink walls, a makeshift desk made from wood and cinderblocks, a larger closet, a small nightstand, and a twin size bed. It’s pretty spacious! I also get my own bathroom and shower, so that’s super nice (and it makes up for the pink walls HAH). All in all, I’m satisfied and feel really blessed with what was provided for us! 

messy room

clean room!

My bathroom

big closet :)

welcome sign in our house :)

Elissa doing the dishes

aaaand we still are sitting here... 3 hours later - because we have internet FINALLY!! (Johanna, Elissa, and Amanda - new teachers at JCS)

from in the inside of the house, looking out the front door...lots of bars!

so excited!

Today me, Elissa, Jessica, and Melissa (other new teachers at JCS) walked into the “centro” of Jarabacoa where there’s more shops and grocery stores.  I bought some essential stuff for my room, and we got ice cream downtown as well. The other girls are super awesome and have great personalities. I’m sure we’ll fit just fine! We finished off the day with spaghetti for dinner, and watching “Taken” on Elissa’s computer.  (We have no TV.. so it’ll be movies for the next two years! Haha) Overall, I’m really excited about what there is to come! Tomorrow we have orientation, so that’ll be fun getting to know all the other teachers.

Hope everyone is doing well!! The Dominican Republic continuously reminds me of a mixture between Hawaii and Honduras, and the people I’m working with remind me of west Michigan, so I’m constantly reminded of everything! I miss you guys.  I’ll fill you in on more later!!

JESS