Back in Santiago

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we have an very intense schedule of classes. Spanish language and culture classes for 6 hours and our 2 hour graduate class (in English) with Dr. Nero. We are really starting to make a connection between our experience learning Spanish and the psychology and sociology of learning a second language. We are able to discuss many real life experiences as we read and learn about acquisition of a second language. We have our graduate class from 5-7 PM. Thank goodness Dr. Nero is such an amazing teacher!
The weather has been kind to us. It sounds like some of the weather at home is as hot as it is here. We had a little rain yesterday that cooled things off a bit. As far as the bugs go, they seem to like some of us better than others. Tomorrow we'll be visiting a cigar factory and the next day we'll go to the local market. Everyone here has made us feel so welcome and at home. Tomorrow I'll try to add some more pictures.
We have lots of homework and I'd better get busy doing it! More soon...

Weekend in Santo Domingo 7-13 to 7-15

Santo Doming was very interesting. It has the oldest cathedral in the New World from the early 1500s. Mass on Sunday is 3 hours! We went to Christopher Columbus´house and also the house of his son, Diego. We saw remains of the hospital from that time period as well. There are many plazas where the vendors bombard you with assorted wares. For example...necklaces, earrings, bracelets, hats, CDs. rosaries, candy, coffee and kids wanting to shine your shoes or sandals. One boy asked Leslie for her water, and she gave it to him! This got annoying. The young women are very beautiful and thin, They always wear long jeans and high heels .
On Sunday morning there was an antique market where I bought a set of salad tongs with handles of Madera wood and cow horns for the serving spoon and fork for 9.00 dollars or 270 pesos. Leslie, Dr. Nero and I bargained them down from 400 pesos per set. I also bought many brightly colored necklaces made from different beads and hematite. Every time I bought some it got cheaper and cheaper. The people here, even the vendors, are all very nice and helpful. We had dinner at The Malicon last night. We ate mofongo, a cubano sandwich and keepee, the Lebanese kibbee. This is an area along the ocean that is very famous. It looks like A1A in Ft. Lauderdale. Our bus driver was at our disposal all weekend. This was all built into the Grant from Fulbright Hays. Our professor just accepted a job at NYU for September and will be leaving St. John´s. Congratulations! She will be a full professor with tenure.
The man at the reception desk commented that my Spanish was better from Friday morning to Sunday when we checked out. YEAH! It was so much fun rooming with Leslie. I have 2 chapters to read and summarize for tomorrow and an article to read for my Graduate class. It was so much hotter in Santo Domingo then in Santiago because it is a much larger city with more people and development. I do not think they have emissions controls for their vehicles. This reminds me of Puerto Rico. We went to the Botanical Gardens yesterday. The plants are similar to PR with 500 species of Palm trees. They have a Japanese Garden also. We took a tram ride through the different areas. This was great because it started to rain, thank God for that, So Hot, HOT, HOT, in the city. Yes, I had on Sunblock, a thin, cotton, long sleeve shirt and my BIG hat!
We are back in Santiago. Time for dinner and homework.

Hola mis Amigos in Los Estados Unidos

We have been here five days and have experienced so much of the Dominican Republic. My host family is lovely and cannot do enough for us! The weather has been cooler than Hagerstown, MD, yet the mosquitoes at night are an issue. I learned this the first afternoon on our tour of the campus. I looked down at my right leg and there were 6 bugs just hanging out there. I swatted each away but they got a piece of me! My legs are a mess. I now put the bug spray on each day at 4pm and before going to bed. The homes here do not have screens on the windows, so I spray them as well. My meals are divine, especially lunch because I can walk over to the restaurant that Juan Jose and Rosanna own called the House of Maria that is named after their daughter, Maria Jose. Everyday some of the students join Janet, my house mate, and I for lunch. A full plate of rice and beans with 2 pieces of chicken and fresh avocado and a beverage is three dollars! A real switch from the prices in Iceland! Rosanna makes us fresh fruit smoothies in the morning in addition to coffee and hot chocolate with cinnamon. I was not sure if I would come back 10 pounds lighter or heavier! Now I know the answer! Our 2 classes have been intense due to the fact they are ALL in Spanish. The culture course is very interesting yet hard to follow. Now I know how our ELL students feel when beginning school in the US! This is definitely developing a sensitivity on our part as teachers to our second language learners. Our class of 19 is a very diverse group! We have a Speech Pathologist, a Doctoral student, an undergraduate student from England, who is going to teach me the Arabic alphabet, a male social studies teacher from Long Island, 2 females with Dominican background and various teachers of all levels. This weekend we are off to see Santo Domingo,the capitol. There is an are called the Colonial Zone which is very old and comparable to Old San Juan. Off to read a chapter for my Graduate class and journal. Buenas Noches!

We're here!!!!!

Hola family and friends!

It took us a while to figure out the logistics of getting connected so that we could start posting messages on the blog. We had no problems with our flight and arrival. Everyone here was so helpful that we were able to find our luggage and and get through customs quickly. We had a short orientation and then met our host families at a restaurant. We had dinner and music and dancing. We're getting settled in with our host families and our classes started today. We're learning about Domican food and family life. More soon...

Clase en Espanol

On Saturday we took an exam to figure our proficiency levels in Spanish. The professors spoke only in Spanish and there were four parts--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. I definitely had my first glimpse of how my students feel when they have to take a test in a language they don't understand.

Today, Monday, we had our first class in Spanish. We went around the room, introducing ourselves in Spanish to our professor Carmen Perez. She mentioned how this was new for her as well as us--there were four levels of Spanish proficiency in the class and she has to figure out how to differentiate her teaching to cater to all of us. I am looking forward to seeing the types of methods she uses to do this because these are the types of methods I have to apply when teaching a group of ELL students who have various proficiencies in English.

Okay, too much technical detail for most of you I know, but just wanted all of you to know that we're not sitting on the beach and drinking cervezas down here! :-)

Hola!

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July. I am just starting to put aside things I need to pack and am getting a little nervous that I'll forget something--we're down to less than 48 hours!!! This is going to be such an adventure for me--I'm taking a trip by myself (and leaving my husband for four weeks!!) and learning to blog at the same time--I can't wait!!

Chetal

I spoke to my Host family tonight !

I called my host fanily and spoke to them for 19 minutes! They are sooooo very nice and are as excited as I am! I feel very pleased to have made this connection prior to our departure on July 6th! I did find out that they DO have hot water and internet! YEAH! I asked Juan what I could bring them from the US and he said, jelly beans!
VIVA Republica Dominicana!