Preparing for excitement!

Dominican Independence Day is February 27th.  On Sunday, there are celebrations throughout the country celebrating patriotism and pride in the nation.  In San Pedro de Macoris, there is march around the city park and downtown area of students from all of the major schools in the city.  The students have been practicing in school and sometimes in the streets around the school so that they can all march in unison, including taking turns on street corners.  They have special uniforms representing the school, and they are all very excited to participate in this tradition.  Many of my high school students are participating, and I'll go to the march on Sunday and then to some of the festivities around the city after the parade.

My neighbor Camilla showing off her new Carnival Mask

Migneli's special manicure with the Dominican Flag
and colors for Independence Day

Independence Day has also been combined here with Carnival, so that there are many masks, costumes, and other decorations that we associate with Marti Gras during this time.  Though it wasn't exactly an English lesson, my high school students made paper mache masks this week in class that they will finish today and be able to use over the weekend.  I made it into an English lesson by writing the instructions for making the mask in English on the board because they have been working on reading and writing instruction manuals for electronic devices.  and we worked to follow the steps and use English vocabulary during the process, but really, we just got to do the craft!

Crysnery working on Madephenis's mask

Our mask making class

The papier mache paste

Klarissa working on Jairo's mask

The students who were molds had a lot to clean up afterwards!
They were good sports.

Jairo and Crysnery getting messy

The masks set out to dry

This weekend is also exciting because a group of American doctors and nurses are coming to work in the Centro Buen Pastor Clinic next week.  On Sunday, after the Independence Day celebrations, the community will welcome the group during Mass in the afternoon.  Then the group will set up their medical clinic and I will help them with translating or whatever else they need when I don't have class next week.  Mary Miner is also coming this week to visit Centro Buen Pastor, the Sisters, and me.  She'll be visiting my classes and getting to see what my life is like here.  There is a lot of excitement this weekend and in the coming week!

The Dominican Seal

The Dominican Flag

I will have a lot of pictures and more information about Independence Day in my next blog.  Here is the wikipedia site for anyone who wants a bit more information now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_War_of_Independence

As I wrap up this blog, the school next to my apartment is singing the National Anthem during an all school assembly!

Dios les bendiga,

~ Tina

Food Mission

Food is much more a part of my mission here than I ever thought it would be.  Without knowing it, I brought a whole culture of food with me, and, while here, I have been learning a whole new culture of food.  Many of my friends and students don't have access to the food I'm used to eating, so whether I brought it from the US, or I bought it in the Americanized supermarket, the food I share with them is often new.  Wasabi Peas are especially fun, and my high school class loves to dare each other to see how many they can tolerate in their mouths at one time.  At the same time, I am learning how to cook Dominican food with the ingredients that they have here.  I love going to the outdoor markets and buying fresh vegetables and fruits.  They are always better than what the supermarkets have and much less expensive.

Vegetables at a street market

Sweets sold at a street side market

Though it was expensive, I decided to buy a stove unit with an oven for my apartment because food has been so important since I have been here.  I make cookies, cake, bread, lasagna, and all sorts of other things in it all the time.  I use it so often I had to buy an extra fan to put in my kitchen for when the oven heats up.  Quickly, the kids in the neighborhood have learned that I often have extra cookies or cake to share and the mothers in the neighborhood now come to me for cooking advice when they try cooking "exotic" foods like baked potatoes and lasagna.  Many of them use their ovens as a storage spot for pots and pans and never turn them on because Dominican cooking is all on the stove top.  I just got a box I shipped with bags of ready-to-eat rice that just need to be microwaved and my friends are excited to try such a funny thing because here rice is made from scratch and takes 20 min to 1/2 an hour to make.  It is a complete novelty to have instant rice.  

My friends and students are starting to ask me to teach them how to cook things.  Some asked for the recipe for rice krispie treat squares (which they were happy to learn don't need to go in the oven) and many have come over to my apartment to make cake or cookies with me.  I translate the instructions into Spanish and make them follow the recipe.  They can't repeat everything at home because they don't always have all the tools (like a hand-held mixer) but they are still learning and they go home with plates full of goodies that they have made to share with their families.  Its a lot of fun, and they get extra food to eat, which for some of them is a really big deal.

Madeline with her vanilla frosted cake

Cinnamon and Oatmeal cookies

A chocolate frosted cake and a vanilla frosted cake

Mixing up ingredients for cake

Jairo and his peanut butter cookies

Madelin mixing up chocolate cake

Peanut butter surprise cookies!

 For Valentine's Day (Dia de San Valentine) the day of Amistad y Amor (friendship and love) my younger students made Valentine's Day cards and my older students wrote Love Letters.  They had a lot of fun with it, and we were cutting out hearts and putting heart stickers every where.  Many of them gave me lolly pops and candy and I gave out Valentine's Cookies and Chocolate Cake with Raspberries.  Valentine's Day is a big deal here and celebrated almost exactly how we celebrate it in the US.

Celestino with his
Valentine's Day Love Letter

My high school class making
Love Letters

Madephenis decorating her Love Letter

2nd grade working on Valentine's Cards

Yeni with her Valentine's Day Card
2nd Grade

Carolina with her Valentine's Day Card
4th Grade

Eme with her Valentine's Day Card
2nd Grade

Wilson showing off his Valentine's Day Card
4th Grade

Let me know if you want to know more about anything!  I look forward to next week when we will celebrate Dominican Independence Day and next weekend when a group of American doctors and nurses are coming to work in the Centro Buen Pastor Clinic and Mary Miner is coming to visit.

Dios les bendiga.

~ Tina