International Women's Day

 Have you heard of the International Women's Day?? I had not either until my arrival in this Spanish speaking Carribean country. The Dia Internacional de la Mujer is widely celebrated here. There was even a page in the kindergarten textbook dedicated to this day.  Last week the teachers started brainstorming about how to celebrate this day with the kids at school. We soon realized that we had a valuable opportunity to instill in these precious hearts and minds the value of women as a baby step towards prevention of family violence.

Violence against women is a sad reality of life across the world.  All too often, violence against women can be an accepted part of society in lower income, less resourced communities.  I didn't know that domestic violence was not a crime in the Dominican Republic until after 1997. With such a recent change in the law there are very limited records of the magnitude of this problem. One limited study of family violence in a Dominican community revealed that over 90% of women aged 15 - 49 reported being victims of domestic violence. Click here for more on this issue.

Today we celebrated the Dia Internacional de la Mujer in our morning chapel by discussing the positive things that we can do with our hands. We want to plant seeds at an early age that the girls and women in our lives are precious, esteemed, loved gifts from God. We determined that our hands are not for hitting, thumping, slapping, killing, fighting. No with our hands we will.......

Yes, we will use our hands to do good. And above all, we will use our hands to worship the Lord.

Our new memory verse:

Salmos 63: 3-4

Con mis labios te alabaré; toda mi vida te bendeciré,y a ti levantaré mis MANOS en oración.

Psalms 63: 3 - 4
My lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

Sisterhood

Sisterhood is a super special phenomenon. I have often thought if I was to write a book, or many books, one would have to be on this topic of sisterhood and the phenomenal, amazing affirming ties that form in sisterhood circles. I have been blessed with one biological sister but a number of 'sister-friends'. These women are near and dear to my heart, have walked through good and bad days, the dry, winter seasons of life,  new experiences and some disappointments along the way. Sisterhood doesn't come without it's share of pain, and the loss of a few of these sister bonds have been extremely painful.

This week I was intrigued at how early the sisterhood/sister bonding/nurturing behavior begins. In a conversation with Melanie this week, she commented on how formed the friendships are in the kindergarten class. And it's true... on many occasions I have watched these little 5 year olds be the most loving, nurturing, affirming sister to each other. The other day I gave every one new assigned seats. One little girl, Leslie, refused to sit in her seat and instead insisted on standing near the door. I gave several gentle nudgings to get Leslie to take a seat and it just was not happening. To avoid becoming more of a distraction to the other 17 pairs of eyes, I decided to go on with the lesson, and to re-address Leslie once the group was on their way with the morning activity. As I started our day, I noticed that where I had positioned Leslie was at an end seat with the only person for her to interact with being Juan, a little boy. For some of my 5yr old girls, this is devastating. For others of the 5yr old girls, they are way TOO interested in interacting with the boys, but that's a whole 'nother blog post. Once the group was off and running on the morning work, I rearranged the seats just a bit so that Leslie was sitting next to Anyi and Juan. She scooted her seat close to Anyi and promptly sat down. Mission accomplished, score 1 for the teacher!! What happened next was so gentle and thoughtful. Anyi got up from her seat and helped Leslie get settled in. Give me your mochila (backpack) she said to Leslie and arranged that on the back of the chair, she took the homework book to the designated spot and put her new neighbor at ease. I know it seems minor, but I was just awed by how perceptive Anyi was to notice that Leslie probably needed that reassurance and welcoming from her new neighbor.

From age 5 to 105, the blessing of sisterhood should be treasured. It really is a priceless gift if you have a true sister/sister-friend. Today my sister Joyce celebrated her 30th (NOT!!) birthday and while I can't be with her today, she has been on my mind all day. So precious are the memories that we share. For me, I really didn't even appreciate the shared memories, the understanding of the crazy wackiness of your family... and every family has their share, and the sacrifices you make for each other until adulthood.  I remember my first night in Chicago alone, Joyce called right after I dropped mom off at the airport. Man, what timing. She patiently held the phone while I sobbed and went into the ugly girl cry for at least 5 minutes. It was ugly, pull to the side of the road and get yourself together ugly girl cry.  She was patient, loving and understanding. I also strategically made sure Joyce was in the room when I 'threw out' the idea of moving to the DR. Who else could diffuse the tension, ask all the right questions, and help put my mom's mind at ease and reassure her that the baby girl was not completely crazy. I love my sister. She is amazing. She reminds me so much of my mom, because she is always going and doing for others, and I have to remind her to take care of Joyce. I'm so blessed that I have a sister who watches out for her little sister, and supports me in all of my crazy adventures, and so patiently holds down the fort, aka mom and dad, while her little sister is off following her dreams.  Always sisters, Always Friends..... so true! I love you sister!

Valentine's Day

So here goes another late post. Sort of keeping with my trend, you know, since the Thanksgiving post was a week late and here goes a late Valentine's Day post. The sad thing is that usually the ideas are already floating around in my head, but it's just finding the time and energy to get them on the computer. I'm gonna keep it short and sweet, so keep reading.... and thanks for stopping by. ....

As a single woman, Valentine's Day, can be ....ummm, what's the right word; uncomfortable, frustrating, disappointing, emotional, well, I think you get the picture.  As the 2nd week of February rolled in I started realizing that the V day was right around the corner. Hmmm, nope, no Valentine's day plans this year, or last year for that matter. I guess I was maybe a tad sad thinking about the upcoming commercial celebration of love. When I put it like that it sounds really silly to be upset about V day. Yes, I know, but  there are parts of your brain that don't always think that rationally. Anyway, I must say that this was one of the best Valentine's Day yet. (s/n:  It may even top my all time favorite valentine's day of waiting 4 hour for Pizza delivery. Good memories with a special friend.)

Teachers and staff on Valentine's day

At the end of Valentine's day 2013 I was all jubilant, bubbly and exuberant on the inside. I know, those are alot of fizzy words, but it was a really special day.  I really believe that  that the source of this joy was the result of a conscious decision to not focus on myself, but on others. It's so easy to get so consumed with our vision for our lives that we get wrapped up in making stuff happen, that just may not be the stuff that God has planned for us. When we take a step back, move away from the self centered thoughts about me,   and try giving more of ourselves away, sometimes that is when true love, fulfillment and joy bombards us.

So, I recap my Valentine's day 2013. Feb 14th was spent with 46 littles ones ages 5- 7. We laughed, painted hearts, decorated cards for parents and friends,   enjoyed chocolate cake and soda for snack -- a super big treat here, played some games, made pasta necklaces, oh, and did I mention laughter.  I gave alot of love away this year and in return my heart is full and overflowing. I still get warm fuzzies just thinking about those happy faces dressed in red shirts and fingers all messy from painting.

First 2hrs were class time, then the party started!

February Memory Verse:1 Corinthians 13:13 Tres cosas hay que son permanentes, la fe, la esperanza y el amor; pero la mas importante de la tres es el amor.

Books, Books, Books!

The other day an interesting thing happened in class. My kids were quiet, settled and content for like 20 minutes straight!!!  I kept glancing over my shoulder, quietly checking for respirations as they are NEVER this quiet. I bet you are wondering what's the secret. Nope, I didn't drug them with benadryl to make them drowsy, although there are days when the thought runs through my mind.  The secret 'medicine' is BOOKS!

Yes, she is doing a happy dance because she gets to go to the reading corner!

 This would have never happened 5 months ago when I first met this lively bunch. You see, most have no books at home, and have never been read to, and many of the parents are illiterate. So, when we started our daily storytime it was a pretty big deal. Slowly over the months these kids have grown to love 'reading'.  They always beg for another story and often the promise of a 2nd story is enough to make the group settle down quick, fast and in a hurry. Access to diverse learning opportunities, books, quality education, etc is essential to bridging the achievement gap between low income youth in this country and everywhere!

I'm excited about a project started by two friends, Rebecca and Josh, to create a community library in a nearby city of San Francisco de Macoris. I started this post a few days ago and just have not gotten around to posting it. After a rough day in class today, where my kindergartners were restless and not focused, do you know what saved the day? Yep, I had 6 books in my bag, and I passed those out to the ones who had finished their worksheet and were starting to become disruptive. Before I knew it, the other kids were settled down, working hard, finishing and asking for a book to read. I almost laughed out loud. I had threatened taking away the Valentine's day party, loosing recess, calling parents, etc, etc (yes, this imitation teacher was tired), and all it took was pulling out a book. Wow! So, I knew I needed to finish this post. These kids and kids everywhere need to have the access to reading material to develop their vocabulary, expand their horizons, build critical thinking skills and to get them excited about learning to read and education in general!

So, to learn more about this amazing project that is on the way to build a community library click on this link. I hope you may even feel generous to share $5, $15, or $500 to support this special project.

Don't leave the page without clicking this link --->   Adopt a Reader, a Teacher, a Library!