Wow. It's hard to even express how much I love my job. 
Currently I'm teaching Advanced Conversation English and I couldn't even dream up a better job right now. The main goal of my teaching is to make my students feel more comfortable speaking in English. Ummm, so that's pretty vague right? Ya, that's what I thought! But turns out, its pretty awesome! It means I have a lot of freedom to be super creative. It's a lot of responsibility at the same time, since I have to fill 2 hours of class time and there isn't much guidance, but it's totally worth the trade off. Since its an advanced conversation class, they already have a pretty good grasp on the English language, they just need a little extra help with their pronunciation, extending their vocab, and being able to function in an English speaking society. Just the other day we did a cultural comparison between the different areas of the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. We listened to Katy Perry's California Gurls and then compared that to the youtube spoof of Minnesota Gurls. It was a pretty entertaining comparison. And come on, in what other job in the world could I get paid for watching Katy Perry music videos?! But we cover more serious topics too, like the documentary Miss.Representation about the objectification of women in the media. 
This week however, we started discussing their upcoming oral presentations. I modeled a presentation to give them an idea of what a good one should look like. Yoga was my topic, so mid-presentation I had them all try out a few poses. A good presentation should have audience interaction after all!
I was a sneaky little teacher though, and whipped out my camera to snap a picture of them in the act. I'm bad, I know!
And I totally ruined their zen because half of them just about fell over trying to get out of the picture. But we all were rolling with laughter afterwards. 
I said it before, but I'll say it again, I LOVE my job. 

Ok so let me clarify: when friends ask me how I'm doing, I usually respond, "great, but kinda hot." 
"But Molly," they exclaim, "I thought you liked it hot. You are usually always complaining about how cold you are. Isn't this what you wanted?!" 
Yes people, and no. Sure I like it hot, and given the choice between being too toasty or too chilly, I'd take toasty any day. But there's a big difference between being a little toasty, and literally melting into your bed sheets1. Nobody would choose to die in a fire over freezing to death. NOBODY. And sometimes, that's how I feel, like I'm burning alive here. And burning alive can have some serious consequences on your daily routine. Examples:

• I once had the misguided idea to make brownies. All too soon however, I realized that the oven is pretty much a death trip. Don´t use it unless you are trying to kill yourself via heat stroke.  
• Yoga: every yoga session is a Bikram yoga session, whether you like it or not. 
  
• Minor tasks  and household chores will reduce you to a sopping wet puddle. Exhibit A: Last night the mere act of trying to open a wine bottle had me drenched (granted, this cork was being a little bit difficult). And then my hands got so sweaty I couldn´t hold onto the corkscrew. And then I almost gave up! But it´s wine we are talking about here, so I didn´t. But I wanted to! And that´s just crazy talk.  
  
• And let me point out that just yesterday, it drizzled a bit in the mid afternoon, as it so often does here, and I swear I saw steam coming off the pavement. You know, the same way steam comes off a hot frying pan when you run water over it. 
  

So ya, I know I asked for this, but cut me a little slack here, I didn't realize when I signed on to work in Santiago that I would be willingly throwing myself into a boiling inferno2. 
I just needed to clarify all of this for anyone who asks how I´m doing in the future. Now continue with your beautiful crisp fall day. 



1. This actually happened!  Once a friend visited me and we both were tired since we'd just walked several miles to get groceries. We took a little siesta on the bed. When we woke up, her shirt was so wet that the color of her bra had bled onto the back of her shirt and stained it pink. That's how hot it is here! Clothes melt onto each other!

2. I may be slightly over-reacting.  My writing often seems to have a penchant for the dramatic. And also, extreme heat can have a funny effect on one´s brain. Don't worry though, I will perspire! 
Wait I mean perseguir! I will perseguir!

Yoga! 
So I'm killing two birds with one stone on the boredom front here: mastering yoga and improving my photography skills. I think I'm getting pretty good with the ol' self-timer function. 

Still working on this one....luckily my camera skills are improving, and you can't see me falling and bonking my head directly after this shot was taken.  I'm going to rock this pose before I leave this island though!

So far my time spent here in the D.R. has been great. Every day is the possibility for a new adventure. But at the same time, every day also holds the promise of a great deal of boredom. Life simply moves slower here, and everyone seems to be ok with that. Except for me, maybe. I'm still adjusting. Transitioning from the U.S. work force where I was working 40 hours a week (and really putting in about 65), to now just working 18 hours a week (and really probably about 24), has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, my God, I was killing myself as a teacher in the U.S. I had too many classes to prepare for, and too many kids, and never enough time. And because I genuinely cared about my students, and my work, (and maybe because I'm possibly a little OCD, thanks Mom, I blame you for that) I worked my tail off to plan detailed lessons that the kids actually learned from, spent hours brainstorming, researching, and assembling fun activities and new ideas, and spent my weekends grading countless worksheets and quizzes.  But I was definitely on the fast track to burn out and something had to give. And that give was my decision to move to the D.R., where the change of pace has been nothing if not drastic. Not only do I just have 18 hours a week, but I only have to prepare for one, yes count it, ONE class. I actually feel a little guilty about this, which is absurd, since there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. But my gringa mindset keeps telling me I should be doing more. 
So what have I been doing with my new-found free time? Well, part of it I spend moving more slowly. I don't mean this literally, I just mean that it takes more time to get things done here. If I want groceries, I need to walk 15 minutes to the nearest grocery store. If I need to get to and from school, its a 20 minute walk one way. If I want to do laundry, its a bit more of a hands-on method here, so I have to stick around for at least a half hour to get everything washed and hung to dry, instead of just pushing a button and walking away.  If I want to make lunch, I need to soak my vegetables in a bleach solution for 30 minutes to clean them before I eat them. But even with such things set aside, I still have a considerable amount of time leftover. Mostly I spend it exploring, just walking down different streets to see where they lead, or possibly taking a new concho route. Sometimes I update this blog, and sometimes, I even take a nap! My previous motto (you can sleep when you're dead), doesn't seem to apply here. Truly, sometimes its just too hot to be wandering around outside, and so like the rest of Dominican society, a have myself a little siesta. (I'm really trying not to form this habit though since my nagging American side won't let me stop feeling guilty about it.) I've also been trying to improve my Spanish skills with a little bit of Spanish tv every day and some online practice work. 
However, even if I manage to keep my days relatively full, the nights are killer. The sun goes down at 7:30, and if you are alone, that's when you should be back inside (so no late-night grocery runs and I have to make sure I leave the gym before 7 p.m.) Its just not safe enough to walk around alone after dark. Now if you are with a friend or two, no problem! But just meeting up with your friends can be a hassle. If you didn't plan ahead to hang out with them before sundown, then you are going to need to take a taxi to and from their place, which starts to get expensive after a fashion. But even if you are up for dropping a little cash on a taxi, sometimes there is just nowhere to go. Everyone seems to be ok with just staying in on the weekends. What?! That is complete culture shock for me, since I usually reserve my weekends and the occasional week night for getting together with friends, hanging out, and maybe having a couple drinks. But the culture here doesn't revolve around drinking, as is so often the case in America (getting drunk is highly frowned upon, and double that frowning for girls. I've even been told that is looks bad when a girl drinks beer straight from the bottle instead of pouring it into a plastic cup), and going out for dinner or drinks can get expensive as well. This was something I never really worried about too much in the U.S., but my budget is a bit tighter here. My English professor friends and I make a decent living compared to most Dominicans, but over 50% of the population is unemployed! So that's really not saying much.  In any case, that leads to sitting inside on a Saturday night and watching tv to be more of the norm here rather than the exception. 
So I'm going a little stir-crazy. I need to find a positive way to channel my energy because I just can't settle with being bored half the time.
Maybe master those crazy yoga poses I've always wanted to try? Become a salsa dancing expert (ok let's be honest, that will never happen, but I'd settle for being passable)? Take up painting? Write poetry? I'm open to suggestions here people!

In the meantime....here are a few ways I kept myself busy this week. 

I went to Lunes de Jazz (Jazz monday at a trendy little rooftop bar called "Soho")

I put my cooking skills to the test and prepared a vegetarian meal with friends. 

(Roasted peppers stuffed with Dominican cheese and black beans cooked with beer, chipotle sauce, lime, and cilantro)

I perfected the piña colada in a pineapple recipe. Delicious? yes. Dangerous? absolutely.

I went to a fair! And we took pictures with the fake cow. 

Then I took some pictures of the real ones. 

We watched a "carnaval" dance performance
(Carnaval, for those who don´t know, is very similar to Mardi Gras. It´s one of the biggest celebrations in the D.R., and the traditional costumes here are quite unique)

Then we snapped a few pics of a Transformer walking through the crowd. 

And then (we couldn´t help ourselves) we watched a girl seductively spin around on a rotating motorcycle for a while. Completely typical Dominican advertising. 

Hope you all are keeping busy back home! Hasta pronto!

I set up shop in my new home today: Take a look. 

I´m renting a room from my program director, but I´ve got access to the living room, kitchen, and patio as well. 

Love birds on the patio. I also share the apartment with 2 kitties and a small dog (but they were all camera shy at the moment)

I also met up with Sophia, who is teaching the same Advanced Conversation class as me, to start planning our first day and discuss the curriculum a bit. Being new teachers, we both have a small case of the first day jitters, but it was nice to bounce ideas off each other and iron out a few things. 
After our meeting, Sophia and I were loaded up in a van with several other of the previous CIEE professors who were returning to teach again. We chugged our way up to Camp David Ranch, a hotel and restaurant situated near the peak of a closeby mountain. It was the perfect chance to get to know some of the other teachers and ask questions about all those little teacher-y things that a first-timer needs to know...like which building to go to for the best free coffee on campus, and what cultural differences to expect from Dominican students, and which concho to use to get you closest to the PUCMM.   Never have I felt so immediately welcomed and accepted before, and it was so heartwarming after my relatively solitary state this last week. 
Glasses of wine and tempting appetizers were passed around the table as the sun sank lower in the sky. The views were spectacular (photos really in no way do them justice). The food was divine and the company was excellent. I'm pretty sure I could have sat there all night with the warm breeze and the twinkling lights of Santiago glittering in the background. (Sigh)  If you are trying to make me fall in love with you Santiago, you are off to a good start. 

Sofía and Abigail

So this is what a dictator drives. One of Trujillo's many cars.

More from the Trujillo collection

Thumbs up dude!

The dashing Ryan and Brian

Ceviche Peruano (Peruvian Ceviche)

Beer battered shrimp

Berenjena Parmesana (Eggplant parmesan....the crowd favorite)

Goat Cheese salad. My main course and melt in your mouth delicious. 

Ok so the rest of this food isn't mine, but it looked so gosh-darn scrumptious, I had to snap some quick pics. 

Tonight was actually a blue moon: blue moons are not actually blue (I know, I was wrong too). They are really just the second full moon that occurs in the same month, which is very rare, since moon cycles last around 28 days. So you can see where the phrase, "once in a blue moon" comes from, and what an appropriate way to describe the night. 

So this is what I was given at my professor orientation today. 

That's a pretty hefty stack of papers to sort through just two days before classes start. Preparation time is obviously not a highly esteemed belief in Dominican culture. 
On the plus side, I am teaching 4 classes of Advanced Conversation. So I only have one prep. Score. AND...I don't have classes on Friday (except for the occasional department meeting). DOUBLE SCORE.
In other news, I've seen the rat in my hostel a couple times recently, but I think that she and I have come to an understanding: I wont bother her if she doesn't bother me.  At least I really really hope she's reached that understanding, because it would super suck to wake up to a rat chewing on my face.  Then I can be pretty certain there was a miscommunication (notice I am calling her a "she", that's to make me feel better, because everyone knows girl animals are nicer). 
In any case I won't have to worry about that too much longer because I decided to rent the spare room in my program director's flat. I'll be moving in tomorrow. 
So all in all, a pretty productive day. Now I need to get back to lesson planning, so stop distracting me :)

Saturday my parents threw a family going-away party for me. Although completely unnecessary, it was nice to see me aunts and uncles and little cousins for the day. Especially since I won't be around to celebrate Thanksgiving and probably Christmas (my semester won't finish until the end of December). And there is nothing like a couple of rounds of backyard wiffle ball to make you feel like a kid again. Of course, the entire party I had to answer the typical questions about when I left and how I was feeling about the advancing departure. And if I'm being honest, it feels surreal. I don't think my mind has quite wrapped itself around this whole adventure yet. And I can' quite believe this is happening to me. I've wanted an opportunity like this for so long, that now that its upon me, it doesn't seem possible. How could I be so lucky? But by the same token, my dumbfounded brain has been so busy dealing with my excitement that it hasn't had time to process any of the other natural emotions that one should probably feel when embarking on a solo journey to a foreign land....let's say for example, panic. And after the party ended and my family departed, that's the feeling that hit me hardest. To be completely true, I've felt this feeling rise up a couple of times over the summer, but each time I've swiftly round-house kicked it to the back of my mind and focused on all the other awesomeness that I will find in the Dominican instead. As the real-ness of my leaving has started to settle in (packing my bags, saying goodbye to my parents, spending one last day with my sister) however, the panic has sneakily ninja-ed its way back into the front of my brain and is having a serious arm-wrestling match with my other emotions for superiority. Mostly I'm worried about my job. I've never taught English before, and I have next to no information on what my classes will be like. I've been teaching mainly at the middle school level, and now I'll be teaching to university students. I know all the handy little tricks for teaching and memorizing tough Spanish grammar concepts, but I don't have anything up my sleeve for English grammar.  And almost all of my co-workers will be native Spanish speakers...what if my Spanish isn't good enough to communicate properly with them? And then I'll have to battle my feelings of inadequacy and the stereotype of stupidity that comes along with not being able to effectively share your thoughts and feelings. Not to mention other minor worries: will I be able to find a good place to stay? will I make friends? will I be able to deal with homesickness? etc. 
Lucky for me, I'm not a worrier by nature. And mostly, I don't have time to. Things will happen, or they won't, and all you can do is make the best of the situation. I fly out tomorrow, so for now its time to focus on the day I have left and making the most of it. 
So without further ado, here are some pictures of me making the most of my day yesterday, with my sister and most adorable friend Michelle. We started off with a little bargain hunting at the Third-Sunday City Market and ended the day with Blue Moon and beach volleyball. Can't get much better than that. 

Hola Lola! (a.k.a. Michelle)

Isn't she gorgeous?

Maggy's spotted something interesting.

Jewelry makes us happy.

The new spoon-pearl bracelet purchase

On to watch some beach volleyball with the sis (in blue) and her hubby (on the far right).