June 26

Today was our last free day before we start teaching on Monday. We are all excited, and a little anxious, to get going and start teaching. We got to meet some of the students on Friday, and they seem very eager to learn. A couple of students could not be admitted because we are already filled to capacity. That was difficult to watch, as the students started to cry, along with their parents as well. It made me think about how for some of these students, getting an education is the only way they will escape poverty.

On a more positive note, the rain has stopped for a few days now, and we were able to spend some time in downtown Santo Domingo and go to the beach for a bit. Here are a couple of pictures from this last week...

Shum Playing Guitar while we all sing


The whole clan and some of the teachers we helped train


One of our friends


RAIN! It would rain like this about 3 times a day for the last 5 days. It flooded the area, but luckily our house is on a hill

June 24

These Last few days have been adventurous...what am I talking about...every day is an adventure here. It is near the end of hurricane season here, and it has been raining hard for the last 3 days. I will post a video later. We are doing teacher trainings right now and those have been going well. Dr. Shumway has been teaching everyday, and each of us students have been doing small chunks of teaching as well. I am currently teaching robotics right after lunch each day. I taught two men named Carlos and Jorge how to make a robot drive forward, backward and spin around. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it has been fun to see them get excited as they figure out how to program the robots. The students arrive on Friday, and classes begin on Monday.
Last night we went to a Young Single Adults Home Evening and they taught us how to dance Merengue, Salsa and Bachata. Sorry, I don't have pictures today, I will put some on next time I am on.

June 20

We went to church today and met the ward we would be attending for the next 6 weeks. Everyone was staring at us when we walked in, which was expected. Immediately after Sacrament meeting a ton of little children came running up to us and started grabbing at our pants, and asking us our names...it was pretty funny and Anna and Marci met a little girl named Carla, who was attached to them until the end of church. They seemed to have no problems with that, considering the smles that were plastered to their faces the entire time.


Here are some pictures of our Nunnery Home and the surrounding area...

June 19th

It turns out that we only get to the internet about once a week, so I will try to add a few posts every time I am on here.

Today was our first day in the Dominican Republic. It took me until about noon to realize that it was my birthday. Turns out this was one of the best birthdays I have ever experienced. The day started out with Marci being trapped in her room by a giant spider which we tried to kill with some deet. That failed miserably, but Shum got it with a shoe.



We went to Claudina's home today to eat Lunch. She is the Director of this whole project. She is also the only person in 3 cities that has the internet, that we know of. After Lunch we went to the beach and swam in the Caribbean for about an hour. The water was probably about 85-90 degrees. Not a bad way to spend my birthday. Here's my official birthday pose...





When we came home from the beach we ate a small dinner and played a couple of games. Everyone sang happy birthday, which was great, and Isabela our cook, brought me some Dominican candies. After the festivities the power went out (which happens about 5 times a day) and it came back on, only for us to find this...

June 18th

It's interesting what goes through your mind when you are leaving home and going to an unfamiliar place. As I stared out the window of the airplane this morning, on the way to the Dominican Republic, the sun started to rise. I felt bitter-sweet about what I was getting myself into. Part of me thinks that it is finally setting in that I will no longer be in the comfort of my apartment in Utah. On the other hand, I can only imagine the experiences I will have and the people I will get to meet.

What a beautiful sunrise...