First Week of Semester Two

Back in December, we finished first semester with a week and a half of final exams, and then I took off to go home for a couple weeks for Christmas break.  It was a lot of fun to be home and with everyone there.  I was able to spend a lot of good quality time with family including many nights watching the Bulls with grandpa Miller and reconnect with friends.  As 2013 began I had some time to reflect on the past year and how much I have been blessed in and enjoyed 2012.  I came back a couple days early to spend some time in Monte Plata.  I always love returning to Monte Plata and try to make visits there as much as possible.  I got a lot of rest there being away from all the distractions at home that would keep me awake far past my bedtime and also got some good exercise playing basketball and soccer in the hot sun.  Then on Sunday, I returned back to Santo Domingo.
Monday was a staff development day and we spent the day going over and giving input on what we what the students of our school to be able to do and the character we would like them to have.  It was definitely a long day and I was concerned I would have trouble staying awake during the meetings since I was back to the schedule of waking up early which my body was certainly not used to, but thankfully the meeting were very interactive and engaging so my eyes stayed open.  One of the last days of first semester, I was informed that due to some changing of positions with faculty that my schedule was going to change and I would have an additional class every day, which was fine with me since I felt my load was pretty light.  The plan was that the other math teacher and I would have four classes each two of those being honors, which meant she was going to take the 10th grade honors class.  I was a little sad to lose that group since they are a highly motivated and fun group, but it was how things worked out.  As a result of the changes, we had to make changes to everyone's schedules, which meant the first day of second semester would be chaos. 
About halfway through the first day of classes, we realized the was a schedule conflict with our 11th and 12th grades.  For the rest of the day we had people working on schedules trying to get them to work, but in the end there was no way to make it work other than to give me one of the groups from twelfth grade.  I went home extremely concerned that I was supposed to be teaching a calculus lesson to twelfth grade the next day (most likely at the start of the day) without even knowing the topic or having a copy of the textbook.  On top of that, I had never worked with that grade at all.  At least with the other groups I had had all of those students during first semester.  I had heard many stories about this grade and some of their behavior issues and I was concerned about how they would respond to me and all the changes.
The next day I got the textbook right as classes were starting and flew by the seat of my pants.  I didn't have any behavior problems and for the most part everyone was engaged.  It was surprising to say the least, but it was nothing that I did but rather what God is doing.  Each of the high school grades are separated into two groups (A and B), so when they come to math it becomes a blend of A and B since they are divided into the honors class and the regular class.  I knew I had some difficult groups with my regular classes because for many of them they did not make the cutoff for the honors because of behavior, so it becomes a really tough blend of students who choose to be disruptive and students who struggle with math and really need help.  There is one class in particular that I simply feel exhausted after working with them.  There was one day where I only had about five students that wanted to learn so I just put them together in a group and gave them the lesson and the others didn't care.  Sometimes we ride home with the dean of discipline since she lives down the road from us and I was telling her the students that I had all together in this particular class, and at first she said, "how can they do that?" Surprised that all these kids were allowed to be in the same classroom together, and then she let let out a little chuckle of disbelief and said, "that is a bomb." I knew it was rough, but I was working through it, I never felt like it was out of control, and I really enjoy all the students in that class. The class has definitely been better this first week of the semester.  Students that wouldn't even bring paper to class now bring their notebook AND take notes! Seriously it's huge progress.
For a lot of these kids, they lack motivation.  They have been given pretty much everything they wanted, and they see their parents money as all they need to succeed in life and a way to pay their way out of anything.  It is a really unique situation, and I really love doing what I'm doing. It's easy for an outsider to see how empty these kids are, and how much they are in need of God, but they themselves think they have it all and have no need for God even though they seek to fill a whole with things like relationships, alcohol, and drugs.  My job is to teach them math, but the other part of my job and what I feel God has called me to do is show them His love.  I find that it is really about those little teachable moments.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...Sort Of

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I ran out of school as soon as the last bell of the day rang knowing I had little time to make my Thanksgiving surprise happen.  I made it to the airport with a decent amount of time and boarded the plane that would take me to Forte Lauderdale where I would catch my next flight to Chicago.  I had told nobody except for my brother Nate that I was coming, and I was definitely excited to see surprised looks on the faces of my family and friends.  I got off the plane in Forte Lauderdale and immediately started shivering, I had forgotten how much cooler it is in the states even in Florida.  Thanksgiving morning I walked out to the kitchen where my mother had to do a double take to realize who was standing there.  It was  fun surprising everyone as one by one they arrived for Thanksgiving.  It was a great weekend, and I loved being able to be home and eat some good Thanksgiving food. Sunday, it was back to reality as I stood in a long line for security at Midway early in the morning going through the necessary procedures for my return to Santo Domingo.
This past week was extremely busy as I was trying to get in the rest of the new material needed to complete the semester meanwhile trying to stay somewhat healthy after catching a cold and sinus infection.  This week begins our review week in which we're not allowed to begin any new material.  It is all about reviewing and preparing for their final exams which will happen the following week and a half. 
Its weird to think that I'm completing my first semester as a real math teacher. I feel like I have been teaching math for years.  It has definitely been a good semester.  God has shown me so much his patience and some of the hearts that he is patiently waiting for.  Every day I see kids that have everything they could want, but yet they are not satisfied, are empty, and are desperately reaching out for everything and anything to fill that hunger that only God can satisfy. It makes me very grateful for my high school expxerience.
I keep saying it really doesn't feel like December.  It is definitely not cold enough for that to be true and it's hard to believe I have been here for that long.  In a couple weeks, I'll be flying back to Chicago for Christmas, and I've been hearing it's been "warm" there, and I won't be heartbroken if I don't have to see snow this year.

Brother Comes to Visit

The last two weeks have been quite eventful.  We felt the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  We were quite far from the path of the storm, but we still felt the effects.  We experienced a lot of rain and flooding.  On Thursday, we woke up to the downpour of rain that had begun at some point the night before.  I thought my alarm had to have gone off at the wrong time since it was far too dark to be morning.  We were pretty sure school would be cancelled, but the time came for us to leave and school was still on.  Our dedicated taxi driver came to get us. While we were leaving the apartment garage, one of his tires went flat (thankfully it happened before we got on the road).  He and our kind doorman made a quick tire change, and we were on the road braving the flooded streets. Our car doubled as a boat, and we had to change our route three times before we could get to school.  About half the teachers made it to school; the other half were unable to leave their homes/apartments.  Students were trickling in one by one, but less than half came to school.  About an hour after school was supposed to start, it was cancelled for the rest of the day, and we started sending our students home.  It took another two hours before we could get out of school.  We spent the rest of the day managing the leaks in our apartment and getting work done.  They let us know on Thursday night that school would be cancelled for Friday. When I woke up on Friday, I thought the weather wasn’t really school cancelling worthy; however, it did not take long before it began pouring rain. We would watch out the window as the storm clouds came in and the buildings around us disappeared.  Everything was flooded and wet for quite a while.
                This past Wednesday Nate flew into Santo Domingo for a visit.  We left school on Wednesday and picked up the rental car for the weekend.  We really enjoyed having a car for the weekend and the mobility it provided.  We let him rest on Thursday and Friday since I had to teach, and on Friday after school we took off to go visit Monte Plata (where I spend my summers).   I was able to introduce Nate to a lot of the people that I work with there and show him what life is like in Monte Plata since it is very different from life in the capitol.  On Saturday morning we woke up early by Nate’s standards, and took off for the north coast to Las Terrenas, which is on the coast and has beautiful beaches and isn’t too touristy.  It was quite a drive going up and over the mountains.  I was clinging to the door the entire time as I looked over the sides of the mountains with guardrails to prevent our car from plummeting over the side.  Despite the steep road, it was a gorgeous drive with going through the mountains and being able to see the beaches off in the distance.  We had a very relaxing day on the beach. While we were there we got a phone call that our other roommate had been taken to the hospital.  She was sick when we left, but had convinced us she was doing better.  Once we got the phone call, we decided to head back to Santo Domingo.  We arrived, left Nate at the apartment, and then went to visit her.  She was quite sick and they didn’t know what was wrong.  They had tested her for a lot of stuff including Dengue, which we were happy to hear that she didn’t have that. 
                We’ve been spending the last couple days going to and from the hospital meanwhile trying to get the other stuff done that needs to be done. We dropped Nate off at the airport on Monday after a quick trip to the colonial zone, and after a delayed flight and missed connection I’m pretty sure he’s home (I haven’t heard anything different). Our roommate is still in the hospital. They told us on Saturday that she has E. Coli, so they have her on an antibiotic treatment, and she will probably be in the hospital for at least another couple days.   After the day off yesterday, it is now back to school.  We have our normal classes, a check-up visit from the organization that accredits our school, and parent teacher conferences.  With all that, we will be daily going to and from the hospital.  Pray for the health of our roommate that she can get better soon and also for energy for myself and my other roommate as we go through the busy times of this week.

It's Fall?

Last year at this time, I was back in Sycamore, IL.  The temperatures had dropped to the chilly fall weather and the leaves were changing colors and falling.  It was Pumpkinfest time and it felt like fall.  Although the temperatures have dropped some here, there is no changing of leaves or Pumpkinfest.  No Pumpkin Spice Lattes or warm apple ciders. Don't get me wrong, I love that it is still warm and I don't have to wear a coat to go outside, but I do get a little nostalgic every once in a while. After coming across some cans of pumpkin, I decided to attempt to get some feeling of fall here by making pumpkin bars. First problem, we have no electric mixer.  Not too big of a deal, I just got a nice arm workout attempting to blend together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar by hand to make cream cheese frosting (yes it was messy, but delicious). You can't have pumpkin bars without cream cheese frosting.  Second problem, no cake pans. Not too big of a deal especially when it come to the third problem, which is we do not have a working oven.  We do have a Express Redi Set Go, which is like a little oven about the size of a waffle maker that comes with a pan in which you can make six little mini muffins at a time.  I decided if it could make muffins it could make cupcakes.  Like I said, it was six at a time and not only that but the cupcakes would leave a residue despite oiling the pan that I had to wash off after every round.  About two hours and fifty cupcakes later, I finally had my taste of fall, and it was good.  I classify myself as persistent.
Today was a whole new day for me with all new students.  Our math program is a dual language program, so our students switch every quarter from Spanish to English or English to Spanish, so today I got the group that was in Spanish and began teaching them in English.  The classes I had last quarter were all honors classes (supposedly the better behaved classes).  I knew I was in for a challenge, but it wasn't bad.  I was actually surprised by how much better my 10th grade geometry class was behaved in comparison to the honors geometry class.  The 11th grade was a little bit more challenging, but in comparison to the 9th grade honors class I had this past quarter they weren't nearly as difficult.  My honors kids have seemed to get a sense of superiority and kept asking me which class I liked better.  I declined responding because I really didn't think it was all that much different, and it will keep them on their toes.  I kind of like having a whole new group although it is difficult to switch after only nine weeks when I was just getting my students to where I wanted them to be.  It will definitely be a whole new adventure this quarter.
I made a trip to Monte Plata two weekends ago.  I was so happy to be back with my "family" there.  I really missed it a lot and it was really nice to be able to get out of the busy city for a couple days.  I'm hoping to be able to continue travelling back there whenever I have long weekends or free weekends.
This past weekend, I went to the olympic stadium which is right down the street to watch our high school boys play in a tournament. They are actually really good, and it was a good game.  After the soccer game we walked to another field in the olympic stadium to watch some friends of my roommate play in the dominican football league.  Its a six team (all named after teams in the states) league that plays every saturday on the saddest looking football field I have ever seen (the goal posts are just two posts on the top of soccer goals). They are pretty low scoring games and any time a pass is thrown it is incomplete or intercepted.  It never reaches the intended target.  The refs have their flags and they love to throw them, and field goals are not attempted often.  It's very different from da bears but it's still a lot of fun.
I appreciate all of your prayers.  I ask that you continue praying for the ministry here.  I see a lot of emptiness in my students and some of my colleagues, and every day I'm given the opportunity to show the love of God.  Pray for open ears and hearts.

"Retreat"

Yesterday our 11th grade students went on their retreat.  Every grade goes for a day to work on team building exercises to improve the dynamic of the class. Since I am the 11th grade advisor, I had the priviledge of going with.  Having experiences with such kinds of retreats in middle school going to timberlee, I was excited for the kids to have a chance to experience some challenging activities and grow together.  Let's just say my Timberlee expectations were not met.  The 11th grade class's behavior is challenging.  I really enjoy working with them because they like to talk and are willing to reason with you and draw conclusions.  Unfortunately the group running the program may have not been quite prepared to handle what was coming for them.  Most of the day felt like a mess, but in the end their were definitely some good things that came out of it.  It wasn't much of a retreat for us the teachers but we were able to have some really conversations with our students throughout the day.
As the students were doing various activities, I had the chance to talk with one of  the other teachers who was on the trip with us that I really had not had the chance to get to know before.  She had just gotten engaged the night before, so we got to talk about her future wedding plans.  Then we got on to the topic of our students and their behavior.  Although they attend a Christian school, the majority of them do not hold those beliefs and don't come from Christian homes.  A lot of the time, it is easy to place Christian expectations on these students because they are in a Christian school, but the reality is they have no base for good behavior.  They can control themselves to a certain extent, but they are human beings who when it comes down to it are looking to please themselves.  The other teacher and I spoke a lot about how we as teachers cannot change this; it has to be something from God.  Our responsibility is to pray for them, love them, live our lives as a testimony to them, and be open to speak when God opens the door.  It is such a huge ministry opportunity to be a teacher at this school.
The day was definitely not my favorite, and I may have a few suggestions for the powers that be, but it did allow me to build better relationships with my students.  It was also just a huge reminder of where my students are at and the spiritual needs that they have.  This job is definitely not just about teaching math.

Fights and Russians

These past two weeks have been quite eventful. Last weekend I was so tired that on Friday night I went to bed at 9:30 because I couldn't stay awake anymore. I also woke up at seven that Saturday morning which was quite a disappointment after looking forward to being able to sleep in that weekend. Unfortunately it seems my body is getting accostomed to waking up early in the morning. Something I thought would never happen.

Perhaps part of the reason I was so exhausted by Friday last week was in part to the events that came to pass in my classroom. On to the first part of the title of the blog: fights. I have to say I may have been a little naive to believe this, but since I was teaching in a private school I figured the chances of breaking up a fight were slim to none. As I said, I was naive. As I'm teaching a very important lesson on congruent segments, I see out of the corner of my eye a Dasani water bottle being picked up by a student and soon flying through the air at a very fast speed. Next thing I knew it was hitting its target in the face. Bad news. The target of the bottle was soon on his feet and although I tried to stand in his way knowing nothing good could come of him getting any closer to the thrower of the bottle, he got around me and soon his fists were making contact with the thrower. Next thing I knew I was grabbing his arms and pulling him off the other student. In some miracle of a motion I pushed the boxer in front of me while opening the door to the classroom and guiding him out of the room. I don't know if the thrower thought his actions were acceptable because I had to inform him that he also was making a trip to the dean's office. He was soon following behind and we were walking to the dean's office. The only words coming out of my mouth were "unacceptable, this is unacceptable." I was in shock. In shock that a fight broke out in my classroom especially in my normally best behaved class and that I was able to break up a fight. I even had one student calling me the fight referee not a title that I would like to continue fulfilling. It must not have hindered the students that much since the class had an average score of a 93 percent on their test the following week. Thankfully they've moved on. Hopefully there will be no more fights.

After a long week, we were invited by one of the other high school math teachers to her home for lunch on Sunday after church. We were happy to have a free meal (we never turn down a free meal). This teacher is from Armenia and is actually a robotic engineer turned math teacher. Needless to say, she is a genius. She picked us up from church and took us to her apartment where we met her mother (I didn't know she lived with her mother). It was one of the most unique experiences of my life where I found myself in the Dominican Republic eating crepes with two Russians and the only language that all four of us had in common was Spanish. It was so interesting to hear from her mother tell about her life growing up in Russia under Communism and how the system worked in Armenia and how it still is impacting the people. We felt very welcomed and very full (her mother kept putting food in front of me and saying "eat" it didn't seem like a suggestion) by the time we left.

This week hasn't been nearly eventful. For one, I haven't had any fights in the classroom this week. My roomate's husband flew into the country on Wednesday for a couple days. We all went out to dinner Wednesday and Thursday with administration and other teachers from the school and then on Friday my roomate and her husband left to go to the beach for the weekend leaving me in my very large apartment all by myself for the weekend. Everyone kept asking me what I was going to do all alone all weekend and I kept telling them "sleep." I have really enjoyed my weekend alone. If you know me well, you know that I really enjoy my alone time. I was able to get a lot of grading done and relax. I ventured out to the local bakery to get some food making sure to carry my keys between my fingers just in case an attacker was nearby, but God protected me and I didn't have to use my keys other than to get into my apartment.

Dominican Birthday

This morning I found myself feeling quite nostalgic.  I don’t know what it is about the completion of my twenty third year of life, but I found myself reflecting on how much has changed in just a year.  Last year (on my twenty third birthday), I was in Ohio sitting in my aunt and uncles basement spending time with family and enjoying a relaxing labor day weekend.  I was feeling nervous about starting student teaching that coming week, but excited about the start of the end of my final semester of college. I really had few plans for my future.  My goals were to make it through student teaching alive and with all my hair.  I had no idea of the changes that were to come.
I had no idea I would spend a month as an aide for special needs kids.  I had no idea that would be the hardest job of my life.  I had a pretty good idea I would be back in Monte Plata for the summer but nothing definite.  I had no idea I would see three very good friends who were all single at the time or in new relationships get married within the next year. I had no idea if I would have a job or if I would spend a year in limbo substituting here and there.  I definitely had no anticipation of having a job in the Dominican Republic as a math teacher.  I had no idea how much I would absolutely love this job.
Basically I was clueless what God was doing, but I am incredibly grateful that He always has His plans worked out and that they always happen.
A couple students found out about my birthday and word spread pretty fast.  Students were wishing me a happy birthday from the start of the day until the end of the day.  My classes were trying to convince me that to celebrate my birthday they shouldn’t have homework (I said their homework would be their birthday present to me). My tenth grade geometry class broke out into the “happy birthday” song in the middle of talking about line segments.  They all wanted to know what I was going to do for my birthday, and they must have been expecting that I was going to have some elaborate celebration because my response of “going to dinner with friends” didn’t seem to be good enough.
As I said earlier, I am loving this job.  The smaller class sizes allow me to meet the needs of my students and make connections with them.  I also can be relaxed while teaching and have a lot of student involvement. I am surprised daily by their eagerness to participate and learn. I began teaching my elective class of personal finance today.  We talked about global debt and the stock market and the great depression and why investing in gold is a good idea and why you should stay out of debt.  The kids were very eager to understand the system of money. I’m excited to  see where the class goes and how the school year continues.