New Class Growth!

I'm very excited about my new adult class.  I now have 3 students!  My 4th is joining on Monday.  They are more motivated than my high school kids who are more interested in asking me about Justin Beiber.  So far I have a pre-school teacher, a stay at home mom, and a musician/music teacher.  The new student is also a teacher.  I think as word spreads, I will get more.  Right now, they know all the numbers (up to 1,000) and they know the alphabet, how to fill out information cards and identify themselves, and how to introduce themselves.  We're next going to talk about jobs and careers.  They are all much more interested in pronunciation than writing or reading, so we talk a lot, and that's great.  The stay at home mom is fabulous at speaking, but has to look everything up when I ask her to write stuff down.  Really though, it doesn't matter, because the speaking part is much more important for what she needs.  She wants to be able to talk to the volunteers that come here from the US, and she'll be able to do that without a problem!

The high school class has been "playing" clothing shop all week.  They take turns being the tourist and being the sales clerk.  They are practicing phrases like, "Can I help you?" "What size would you like?" "Would you like to try this on?" and "Thank you.  Please come again soon."  This is all very practical and could help them get a job anywhere near the tourist sections of the island, but their favorite part was that I cut out pictures of clothes from American magazines and we practiced things like, "That is so cute!"  "That's adorable,"  "I love this top," "What a great color!" and other "cool" phrases.  They even learned "mini-skirt," "low-rise jeans," "tube-top," "skinny jeans," and other fashion words that they thought were totally "heavy" (which is the word they use for "cool" right now - yes, it comes from the US).

My 4th grade are happily drawing houses with bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms etc. and full of family members.  This week they learned to say, "Where is the mom?  The mom is in the living room."  Though I actually had one kid protest that I messed up the placement because I had drawn the mother in the living room and the father in the kitchen.  Didn't I know it was supposed to be the other way around?  Someone said to me recently that culture here is like the 50s in the US, and at moments like that, I think there is some truth to that statement.

House vocabulary for 4th grade

My 3rd grade have calmed down some.  I think that they're getting used to the routine of having me come twice a week, but I also think the teacher and director of the school have been working hard to curb the behavior of the rowdy class, and its working well.  They are learning emotions like "I am happy" and "I am sad."  They asked me to add "confused" too, which I thought was funny.

3rd Grade with new seating plan

The 3rd Grade Box of Crayons before I added new ones for them

My friends are working very hard to get this American girl to dance.  I can dance a little, but not in the way I'm supposed to here.  I don't shake my hips enough and they tease that Americans only know how to jump around on the dance floor (which I guess is what I do?)  I don't want to cave and take the evening dance lessons that are offered downtown that a friend of mine from Texas has been taking, but I might have to.  Those who have tried to teach me a few moves say I learn fast though, and even though I can't tell the difference between a Meringue, a Salsa, and a Bachata, they say I'll get there.  Though, they did promise we can go to a Reggaeton club soon, which is more like American music and dancing.  You dance with a group of friends free-style instead of having to wait to be asked by a guy to dance and dancing a specific style like we do at the other clubs.

Next weekend, my family comes to visit, and they will be bringing a lot of supplies.  Thank you to those who have already donated.  If you are interested in donating or want to know more,  let me know.  Also, I have included a link to my Dominican Video Slide Show that I made for church last week.  It should work even for those of you that do not have facebook, but if you have problems viewing it, let me know.

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=173701160

Dios les bendiga,

Tina