So, it looks as though I've had strep throat. But it's a lot more fun to say in Spanish: estreptococo. And it has nothing to do with coco. How sad.
I ended up going to a clinic on Tuesday, waiting around all morning to see the eye, ear, nose and throat doctor. In true Dominican style, you just show up first thing in the morning, the secretary puts down your name, and you wait your turn. Well, Marxengels didn't want to get up so early, and I didn't feel well anyway, so I was #11 in line by the time we arrived. I had plenty of time to master my vocab flash cards for the GRE, and we even took off for a while and had breakfast and watched part of an old Western at Margot's house down the road. Once my turn came up a bit past noon, the doctor surprised me. He looked in my throat, took my temperature (normal), and gave me some sort of antibiotic. No throat swab, lab tests or anything. He just told me what he thought I had, gave me some sample antibiotics, and told me to get some more plus an antibiotic/pain killing spray at the pharmacy.
Even though we tried to prevent it, Marxengels ended up getting whatever I have. He decided to bypass the doctor and called the pharmacy yesterday, asking for some amoxicilin, because it's stronger than whatever slow-acting antibiotic I was on. Perhaps you could say that things aren't so regulated here?
Because I was so tired, I took most of the week off from the public health office/community work. I decided that teaching English and piano - a little more distant from my students - would be manageable. I feel like I'm doing much better, and am glad that I had the ability to take it easy this week.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
So Much to Say!
So much to say! I took a super relaxing and super necessary Christmas break in Michigan from December 23rd to January 10th, visiting with family and friends in the Detroit area, home in Burdickville, and Holland. My family says that it started snowing in Detroit right when they picked me up from the airport. Sounds to me like God honored my sincere desire to have snow while I was home! I enjoyed the snow so much, playing in it while both downhill and cross-country skiing, sledding down the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, and taking beach and forest walks. I wouldn’t have traded all this, plus cups of hot cocoa, after-Christmas cookie making, and annual Goryl family homemade pierogis for anything.
One of the greatest things is that I feel more emotionally healthy now than before I left for Christmas. Before I left, I was highly stressed out with the public health office and government in general, seeing all the abuse of power and wanting to tackle all the problems that I saw around me. We had just gone through two tropical storms, Noel and Olga, which provoked massive flooding and loss of property and life in many areas. Within my own household, it seemed like a cloud fell over us, as Emerson lost a large percentage of his plantain and banana crop… and nearly several of his workers. For several days, no blaring music or laughter was heard in the streets like normal in the festive Christmas season, and all seemed downcast. I could not handle the piropos carelessly thrown at me from the guys on the street whenever I so much as stepped out the door. My emotions were shot. Being home, I was able to refocus, re-prioritize, and take things into perspective from afar. I feel that my attitude has turned around for the better. I took to heart what one wise friend shared with me, that instead of having an attitude of criticism, I would achieve far more having a continual attitude of service.
Although many things have stayed the same upon arriving back in the DR, there have been a few significant changes. Put simply, I've been quite busy. My schedule has gotten much tighter, with each week rather tiring yet productive. I continue to work at the provincial public health office and in the surrounding communities in the mornings till about 1 pm, Monday through Friday. I am also still at the music academy teaching piano lessons, but my class size has risen dramatically. I expected my 6 faithful students to return after Christmas break, but had no idea that 12 more would show up to my new-student information session! Later, several more asked if they could join. I honestly don’t know how many people I could potentially be teaching, but the total was somewhere around 26. I only had enough time slots for 15 students at the music academy, even though we created some more slots on Saturday mornings, so I invited the rest to begin private lessons at my home (with familial approval of home usage, of course). Not all have taken up the offer, but in reality, I look at that as a good thing!
As soon as I returned to Mao, the director of the most well-established and respected English Institute in town contacted me to see if I could take up a class. I had talked with him several months back when I was getting a little desperate for not having any income, but all classes were well taken care of at the time. We set up a time to talk about details, and I stopped by the institute. It was Monday afternoon (I had arrived back in the DR on Thursday night)… a few minutes before the class was about to start. I found out that I was being asked to teach a 1-hour, third level English class to a group of almost twenty kids 4 days a week He said he’d teach the class that first day, but I’d need to decide if I was going to agree to the job by 8 am the following morning. I wrestled with the situation in my mind that night, as I knew it would be very little pay and possibly taxing on my schedule, but my first experience in teaching regularly in front of a class. I still hadn’t made up my mind that night, so I decided to sleep on it and hope that the answer would be clear in the morning. Right before the director called, I firmly decided that I would take the plunge. It's hilariously absurd, because the director told me to come to class a few minutes early that first day. I came earlier than that, but he just took about 5 minutes to basically explain the way the book works and what I should do that first day, handed me a brand new piece of chalk and an eraser, and pointed in the direction of the classroom. I had to laugh. That's the way some people function, I guess. One good thing is that I'm really learning to roll with whatever comes my way... or rather maneuver in whatever situation I find myself in. I found that I actually love teaching this class, but I'm pooped by the end. It makes me wonder how people can teach 8 hours a day. Maybe the context I'm in is really different, or maybe it's just that everything is so new to me that I have to wing it as I go.
It's funny, really, because from a career standpoint, I came to work and learn new skills as well. But it turns out that I am doing all this while really teaching all along the way, too! I never would have guessed that I'd be teaching piano lessons, I left teaching English as an open but “ehhh, only if necessary” type of possibility, and had no clue that I'd end up helping to train the "social workers" here! I find that in fact, it's quite the learning opportunity on the teacher's side. I am learning for the first time how to teach one on one, in front of a group of 17 kids, and on a professional level. There's a lot of learning in how to best teach. I think one of the main things here is learning how to adapt to my audience and how they learn best.
It’s truly been a balancing act working at 3 different places along with currently studying for the GRE and applying to Public Health school. (Recap: I have already been accepted to the University of Michigan for my Masters in Social Work, and am now hoping to complete a dual major.) Having to jog around to so many different places from day to day, I don’t know how I’d ever fit in seeing Marxengels and his immediate family if I wasn’t now sharing the same house with them. Right after coming back from Christmas vacation, I found out that I could no longer stay with Margot and Emerson as several immediate family members were coming to visit. (When Dominicans come home to visit after living in the States, the norm is to stay at least a month.) I was very thankful that Marxengels’ mom opened up their home to me. It seemed a bit of a difficult and almost awkward move at first, but has proven better in the long run. In addition to being able to see the family daily, this new living arrangement has made Marxengels my personal moto-chauffer on occasion, taking me directly where I need to go if I am exhausted and don’t feel like taking a 15+ minute walk to get there. Plus, I am creating a garden in my free time in order to fashion a quiet, cool place where we can sit and see the land be productive where there used to be a miniature family garbage dump. After a long day, it has been a good way to quiet my mind outside before the sun goes down.
So, in all this, I feel that I am able to achieve much more and feel more at peace than before because my emotional health has improved greatly. Yet, my physical health feels compromised. I am getting plenty of sleep, but I am considerably tired a lot more than normal. This week, I have been crashing on average at 9 pm, going to bed with a migraine and dizziness. I would sincerely appreciate prayers, because this and other health oddities have been plaguing me recently. I know that stress is playing a role, so I need to further figure out how to better manage my time and relax a little bit every day.
I have to say that all in all, all is well. Currently, I am expecting the soon arrival of our blond, tiger cat, Mickey’s, kittens. I’ve never seen newborn kittens before, so every day my excitement grows. And I trust that the Lord will continue to guide my path and open the right doors to meeting the right people and having sweet new opportunities. He has always proved himself faithful. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined that I would be in many of the situations that I am! I think the main thing is that GOD is so amazing, and when we decide to follow him literally wherever he leads us, it's quite the adventure.
One of the greatest things is that I feel more emotionally healthy now than before I left for Christmas. Before I left, I was highly stressed out with the public health office and government in general, seeing all the abuse of power and wanting to tackle all the problems that I saw around me. We had just gone through two tropical storms, Noel and Olga, which provoked massive flooding and loss of property and life in many areas. Within my own household, it seemed like a cloud fell over us, as Emerson lost a large percentage of his plantain and banana crop… and nearly several of his workers. For several days, no blaring music or laughter was heard in the streets like normal in the festive Christmas season, and all seemed downcast. I could not handle the piropos carelessly thrown at me from the guys on the street whenever I so much as stepped out the door. My emotions were shot. Being home, I was able to refocus, re-prioritize, and take things into perspective from afar. I feel that my attitude has turned around for the better. I took to heart what one wise friend shared with me, that instead of having an attitude of criticism, I would achieve far more having a continual attitude of service.
Although many things have stayed the same upon arriving back in the DR, there have been a few significant changes. Put simply, I've been quite busy. My schedule has gotten much tighter, with each week rather tiring yet productive. I continue to work at the provincial public health office and in the surrounding communities in the mornings till about 1 pm, Monday through Friday. I am also still at the music academy teaching piano lessons, but my class size has risen dramatically. I expected my 6 faithful students to return after Christmas break, but had no idea that 12 more would show up to my new-student information session! Later, several more asked if they could join. I honestly don’t know how many people I could potentially be teaching, but the total was somewhere around 26. I only had enough time slots for 15 students at the music academy, even though we created some more slots on Saturday mornings, so I invited the rest to begin private lessons at my home (with familial approval of home usage, of course). Not all have taken up the offer, but in reality, I look at that as a good thing!
As soon as I returned to Mao, the director of the most well-established and respected English Institute in town contacted me to see if I could take up a class. I had talked with him several months back when I was getting a little desperate for not having any income, but all classes were well taken care of at the time. We set up a time to talk about details, and I stopped by the institute. It was Monday afternoon (I had arrived back in the DR on Thursday night)… a few minutes before the class was about to start. I found out that I was being asked to teach a 1-hour, third level English class to a group of almost twenty kids 4 days a week He said he’d teach the class that first day, but I’d need to decide if I was going to agree to the job by 8 am the following morning. I wrestled with the situation in my mind that night, as I knew it would be very little pay and possibly taxing on my schedule, but my first experience in teaching regularly in front of a class. I still hadn’t made up my mind that night, so I decided to sleep on it and hope that the answer would be clear in the morning. Right before the director called, I firmly decided that I would take the plunge. It's hilariously absurd, because the director told me to come to class a few minutes early that first day. I came earlier than that, but he just took about 5 minutes to basically explain the way the book works and what I should do that first day, handed me a brand new piece of chalk and an eraser, and pointed in the direction of the classroom. I had to laugh. That's the way some people function, I guess. One good thing is that I'm really learning to roll with whatever comes my way... or rather maneuver in whatever situation I find myself in. I found that I actually love teaching this class, but I'm pooped by the end. It makes me wonder how people can teach 8 hours a day. Maybe the context I'm in is really different, or maybe it's just that everything is so new to me that I have to wing it as I go.
It's funny, really, because from a career standpoint, I came to work and learn new skills as well. But it turns out that I am doing all this while really teaching all along the way, too! I never would have guessed that I'd be teaching piano lessons, I left teaching English as an open but “ehhh, only if necessary” type of possibility, and had no clue that I'd end up helping to train the "social workers" here! I find that in fact, it's quite the learning opportunity on the teacher's side. I am learning for the first time how to teach one on one, in front of a group of 17 kids, and on a professional level. There's a lot of learning in how to best teach. I think one of the main things here is learning how to adapt to my audience and how they learn best.
It’s truly been a balancing act working at 3 different places along with currently studying for the GRE and applying to Public Health school. (Recap: I have already been accepted to the University of Michigan for my Masters in Social Work, and am now hoping to complete a dual major.) Having to jog around to so many different places from day to day, I don’t know how I’d ever fit in seeing Marxengels and his immediate family if I wasn’t now sharing the same house with them. Right after coming back from Christmas vacation, I found out that I could no longer stay with Margot and Emerson as several immediate family members were coming to visit. (When Dominicans come home to visit after living in the States, the norm is to stay at least a month.) I was very thankful that Marxengels’ mom opened up their home to me. It seemed a bit of a difficult and almost awkward move at first, but has proven better in the long run. In addition to being able to see the family daily, this new living arrangement has made Marxengels my personal moto-chauffer on occasion, taking me directly where I need to go if I am exhausted and don’t feel like taking a 15+ minute walk to get there. Plus, I am creating a garden in my free time in order to fashion a quiet, cool place where we can sit and see the land be productive where there used to be a miniature family garbage dump. After a long day, it has been a good way to quiet my mind outside before the sun goes down.
So, in all this, I feel that I am able to achieve much more and feel more at peace than before because my emotional health has improved greatly. Yet, my physical health feels compromised. I am getting plenty of sleep, but I am considerably tired a lot more than normal. This week, I have been crashing on average at 9 pm, going to bed with a migraine and dizziness. I would sincerely appreciate prayers, because this and other health oddities have been plaguing me recently. I know that stress is playing a role, so I need to further figure out how to better manage my time and relax a little bit every day.
I have to say that all in all, all is well. Currently, I am expecting the soon arrival of our blond, tiger cat, Mickey’s, kittens. I’ve never seen newborn kittens before, so every day my excitement grows. And I trust that the Lord will continue to guide my path and open the right doors to meeting the right people and having sweet new opportunities. He has always proved himself faithful. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined that I would be in many of the situations that I am! I think the main thing is that GOD is so amazing, and when we decide to follow him literally wherever he leads us, it's quite the adventure.
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