You may have noticed the sparseness with which I've been updating you on my adventures lately. There's a good reason for that: my Academic Writing class is killing me (Even now I'm hastily throwing this post together under a fluorescent light bulb at 11:00 p.m. while a stack of essays is sitting beside me calling my name.)
The thing is, and you've probably figured this out by now, but I love to write! So teaching an Academic Writing class should be right up my ally. And it is. Helping my students to express their ideas and become creative thinkers and writers, it's one of the best classes I could have been assigned to teach.
But the grading, ooooohhh the grading. I've literally been spending HOURS upon HOURS reviewing, revising, and editing student essays and exams. And with the end of the semester under 2 weeks away, Iet's just say I've been feeling the crunch.
It's been consuming me.
So when an offer to head to the beach came up this Sunday, the angel on my shoulder was all "no way Jose, you've got way too much school stuff to do." And I almost brushed the idea away without a second thought. But the devil (whose voice sounded suspiciously like Amy's) was all like, "Carpe diem chica!" You can probably guess which one won out.
So Sunday morning Amy and I caught Caribe tours to Sosua.
I gotta say, I'm glad I went with the devil on this one. Just look at these pics! It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.
The thing is, and you've probably figured this out by now, but I love to write! So teaching an Academic Writing class should be right up my ally. And it is. Helping my students to express their ideas and become creative thinkers and writers, it's one of the best classes I could have been assigned to teach.
But the grading, ooooohhh the grading. I've literally been spending HOURS upon HOURS reviewing, revising, and editing student essays and exams. And with the end of the semester under 2 weeks away, Iet's just say I've been feeling the crunch.
It's been consuming me.
So when an offer to head to the beach came up this Sunday, the angel on my shoulder was all "no way Jose, you've got way too much school stuff to do." And I almost brushed the idea away without a second thought. But the devil (whose voice sounded suspiciously like Amy's) was all like, "Carpe diem chica!" You can probably guess which one won out.
So Sunday morning Amy and I caught Caribe tours to Sosua.
I gotta say, I'm glad I went with the devil on this one. Just look at these pics! It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.
Now Sosua is a pretty local beach. You can find a fair amount of tourists there (it actually happens to be the sex-tourism capital of the D.R. so don't be surprised to see old white men hanging out with beautiful young Dominican girls), and there are plenty of English-speaking bars and shops in the vicinity, but the majority of beach-goers will be Dominicans.
Amy and I found a nice little bar with free chairs and a great menu.
Amy and I found a nice little bar with free chairs and a great menu.
We plopped ourselves down on the beach, slathered on the sunscreen, and soaked up some rays while we waited for our meals to arrive.
Amy did a little light reading (if you can call Ayn Rand light reading), and I sipped on a cold beer while grading papers (I couldn't leave them completely behind!).
Amy did a little light reading (if you can call Ayn Rand light reading), and I sipped on a cold beer while grading papers (I couldn't leave them completely behind!).
Lunch time! They brought it right down to the beach for us. We didn't have to move a muscle. Talk about service.
After stuffing ourselves to the gills, we laid back to snooze and people watch, occasionally getting up to dip our toes in the cooling waves.
We also did a little on-sight shopping.
Nothing like a new pair of shades and a day at the beach to put things into perspective. Yep, now I have to make up for lost time and stay up later/wake up earlier to get all my grading done, but was it worth it? Totally. My grading will get done. It always does, but I can't make up for those moments I miss traveling and spending time with friends. It's good to be dedicated to your job, but every once in a while you have to take a step back, breathe, and refocus on the important things in life. Two months from now those essays will be ancient history, but I will remember this trip to the beach. I'll remember how awesome the fresh-caught fish tasted and how stunningly blue the water was. I'll remember bargaining for a pair of sunglasses and that feeling of adventure after having to flag down a ride to Santiago once we realized we'd missed the last scheduled Caribe tours bus. And another perk? After a little relaxation time, I'm ready to tackle the week head on.
In a cheesy conclusion, I'm going to leave you with a poem. I first read this poem in middle school and loved it for the simple fact that it contained both my name and my sister's name. Further readings later in life made me fall in love with it for deeper reasons. I think it fits appropriately here.
Enjoy and remember to treat yourself well this week!
In a cheesy conclusion, I'm going to leave you with a poem. I first read this poem in middle school and loved it for the simple fact that it contained both my name and my sister's name. Further readings later in life made me fall in love with it for deeper reasons. I think it fits appropriately here.
Enjoy and remember to treat yourself well this week!
RSS Feed
