Sunday we went to Iglesia Bautista de la Gracia. It was a larger Spanish speaking church than the ones we had visited the last couple weeks. When we got there, several members were giving their testimonies in preparation for their baptisms that would take place at the end of the service. I've said before I always love the worship part of the service, because I can translate a lot of the words from the songs easily (and knowing a lot of the tunes helps). They have a room that you can go into during the service to hear the message translated into English. Many from our group went in there, but I chose to stay out in the main room and pick up what I could. I must admit it is tough to listen to preaching in another language, but I did catch some and I needed to challenge myself. It was awesome to witness the baptism of 10 people! I heard there's going to be another 10 baptisms this next Sunday too. I also found out that many of the children that were at church were from an orphanage in the neighborhood. After church, Paul took several of us to Oli's Room- a nice restaurant that has a large variety of menu items such as salads, pastas, and sandwiches. I got a chicken salad that was amazing. Again, meals are my favorite times, because it is centered around relaxing and visiting. I am grateful for those that endure my endless questions about the menu and are patient as I give the waiter the "deer in the headlight" look as he asks me a question about my order.
Monday we were back into orientation. Paul gave a great devotion about how we were made in the image of God from Genesis 1:27 and we need to respect His creation. He had us name groups of people we need to respect like our students, government leaders, other teachers, etc. But there was one group we didn't name, and for me it was almost the hardest- myself. I find it easier to love and respect other people, but when it comes to myself I find excuses- mistakes I've made, times I've messed up, the way I look, etc. He made the point that this is where it begins. This is something I need to be reminded of every so often. It was a good challenge to all of us to view every person we encounter on a daily basis as a person created in the image of God. This will cause us to respond to them in the way Christ would want us to, and not based on our natural reaction. We spent most of the day split into groups according to Elementary, Middle, and High School teachers. This gave us time to focus on classroom management for our grade levels. We, at the elementary level, learned a lot about the morning meeting time and how to use the Responsive Classroom techniques. I also spent time walking through my curriculum figuring out how the different components work together. In the evening we were invited over to Dave and Stacey Pope's house for a taco bar. There was a good group of us that were able to enjoy each other's company. After dinner the games began. Somehow I was roped into dominoes with three of the guys. I had little idea of how to play and no strategy (except to get rid of all my dominoes with a lot of dots). Somehow my lack of strategy paid off and my partner and I won two games out of three. It was fun to see the reactions of the other players as dominoes were played. I don't know if it was just beginner's luck, but I really enjoyed the game! Driving home in the dark was interesting, because you have to know what streets to turn onto without seeing the signs, while paying attention to the cars that drove with no headlights and the motorcycles that were driving on the wrong side of the road. Driving (or riding here) is definitely an adjustment!
Today Jose and Victoria (two Dominican staff members) spent time talking about the Dominican culture. It was very informative and they shared some really important things we needed to know. We learned about the history of the Dominican Republic first. Then they went into some of the many differences between the North American culture and the Dominican culture in areas like food, greetings, dress, meal times, transportation, music, etc. I loved how they concluded with a list of places we need to visit during our time here. Each place they described was so beautiful! Out of the fourteen things they listed, I can check one off the list- Sosua beach. My goal is to visit every one of these places on the island.
Then Paul talked some about cultural transitions. Every person's experiences are different and therefore each will respond to cultural changes differently, but he was able to give some overall important tips on how to transition into a new culture, which is the case for many of us. He warned us about negative tendencies that can occur such as expecting perfection from ourselves, to quit on learning the culture when things get difficult, or to be owned by your fears. I love how we are frequently reminded that there are fundamental truths that we can stand on: God's brought us here, my relationship with God must be alive and active, my experiences must be filtered through a Biblical perspective, and I must be honest but gentle with myself. These are just some snippets of what he shared. I think sometimes I set my expectations, especially for myself, too high. I want to be where I think I need to be in an instant. But I'm learning that is unrealistic and I'm setting myself up for failure. God is teaching me to take one day at a time. Some days are easier than others, but each day I'm learning to embrace what this amazing culture is teaching me.
