Arriving to DR: Day 1

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for and thinking of me as I leave the US to travel to Jarabacoa, DR! Both flights went well, my second flight from Puerto Rico to Santiago, Dominican Republic was delayed an hour for mantenimiento (maintenance): they were cleaning and upkeeping the plane, doing all the usual checks so we could take off. I explained this to Maribel and Juan (Maribel works at JCS and her husband is a self-employed forest worker...) who graciously waited to pick me up at the airport, and Juan wanted the airline to pay the expensive parking ticket fee since they're based on the amount of time you spend waiting!

The drive from Santiago to Jarabacoa took about an hour. The roads are paved, and narrow, and winding as you ascend up the mountain. I kept reminding myself that people live (survive?) here all the time driving crazily on these roads with little motorbikes weaving in and out of trucks full of chicken crates and people literally hanging out on the guard rails of the carreterita (little highway). I was able to spend the night with two other American JCS teachers who have been in Jarabacoa since last week; I was really thankful for this since one of my main fears was spending the first night alone!

Today has been spent at the vegetable market, the fruit market, the shoe repair store (english: cobbler), the meat market and the grocery store. It feels good to be speaking spanish again and to be surrounded by the language. This morning (Tuesday) I had a short conversation with Guido, the landlord of the apartment I stayed at last night (which is not the one I'll be living in), and it was great! Just a reminder to 1. not be afraid to laugh at myself and admit when I don't understand something, but 2. at the same time to use what I do know and be confident that 10 years of studying a language do yield a bit of experience and knowledge!

I am happy to be here and I feel healthy thus far. When I saw the mountains of la Republica Dominicana, my very first view of this beautiful country took my breath away and reminded me that God has brought me here in His faithfulness, by His grace and purpose.

Most recent 24 hour lesson: trust is both a noun AND a verb, and being patient with yourself is paramount to adjusting to any new experience.