Friday, December 30, 2011

Holidays


Happy Holidays from the Dominican Republic. Kisha and I have been down here for over 6 months now, and we have my parents in for a holiday visit. It's nice to have a little piece of home here with us in our adventure, for sure. We've been eating meals with friends to introduce them to the folks, spending good quality time talking and watching movies, and today the women went to the shoe store where they found more than just shoes... dresses and outfits, too! Imagine that.

It was really nice to receive a care package from our house church crew. We now have swanky chocolate, tasty tea, American coffee, an entire collection of DVD's, and at least one holiday tie. I feel thoroughly blessed... I'm not really a gifty sort of person, but being this far from home it's super nice to get something from the motherland. I can guarantee that I'll be able to identify with people who have moved to the states from another country. It's a weird feeling not being able to get a hold of what you are used to, and to be in a place where people speak just a little too fast and with too much slang to really know what's going on. It is a strange and lonely feeling that I think one has to experience to understand.

I'm on day 8 of my Christmas break, and it's nice to just be able to take a nap whenever I want. Now I'm at the spot where I'm a little itchy looking for something to do. It will be nice to take the folks to the capital and look at all the historical goodness the oldest European city in the New World has to offer. Plus they have some American restaurants, and I could go for a little Hard Rock Cafe right about now. We found an entry in the Rough Guide that says there's a place that will sell a falafel sandwich, and I'm so hard up for some Mediterranean food that I'll chance having to tell them to hold the ketchup and mayo.



I didn't know how hard being away from home during the holidays was going to be. I was already dealing with the ebbs and flows of culture shock, and being away from home didn't make it any easier. Living in a third world country is definitely different than visiting a third world country. I'm learning patience and contentedness, but at the same time finding new boundaries that I didn't know existed. Life adventures have a way of offering self-realization opportunities. Thank Jesus for that!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Quick Thank You Note...

I'm on my way to take the long nap, but before I do that I just want to offer up a quick word of thanks to all the family & friends who sent so much great stuff our direction. Your gifts are wonderful sights for sore eyes, to be sure! A huge thanks for making Christmas gifts happen, even though we're so far away. I'll write a longer note soon, and hopefully add some photos as well. Thanks a million!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Sicky

I came home from school yesterday with a real nice head cold. I've been pretty fortunate so far in the school year, but there are certain probabilities that I must yield to because of my chosen profession. More kids = more chance of picking up germs! Really it is not too bad... I've been able to catch up on email and watch some movies on Netflix, which recently came to the island.

We're doing reasonably well, all things considered. As you might have noticed, Kisha usually has a great deal more time to blog. My once-a-week ambition seems like a thing of the past, but today I feel suddenly motivated to write.

We're fast approaching Christmas, but it doesn't really seem like it. Without American family and friends nearby the holiday takes on a different flavor. Our neighbors have been celebrating since the beginning of December... lots of dominoes and loud music that goes well past 10pm, my self-appointed bed time. Last night, while I was trying to ignore the fact that I'm sick, a next door neighbor had a live Christmas concert with a guy who really shouldn't be given a microphone. Ever.

At the same time we've been blessed with good friends down here, who don't hesitate to eat meals with us and go out for ice cream. Below is a photo of our neighborhood friendly fruit stand guy, who keeps us in good shape with sweet papaya, pineapple, banana and juices, while introducing us to new fruit that I've never seen before.



God is good to us, even when we feel lonely and homesick. I just heard about a daughter of a friend who was teaching overseas and had to go back to the states emergency-style. I feel blessed that I haven't had any trouble with health or bandits here, which would be something of a show-stopper. I'm two days away from a three week break, and the rain has finally come so that I can at least enjoy some cloudy days :0)