Vignettes

This week I am hard-pressed to come up with a theme for my blog so I've decided to share a series of  anecdotes with you, dear reader. Here goes:

(1) In the Dominican Republic it is customary to shower three times daily. I got this memo a little late in the game and thus have been walking around as a "stinkpot" for several weeks!
(2) I have awoken several times to find a cockroach scuttling around my room (and once, across my face)!
(3) I have taken precisely zero pictures of my time here in Neyba since my camera battery and charger have both died :(
(4) In the process of making "fritos" or fried plantains with my 8-year-old host brother we almost burned the kitchen down. There is a definite learning curve for Dominican cooking.
(5) I have grown accustomed to the wind-whipped hair that results from speeding along on the back of a dilapidated motorcycle, and have lost a sandal in the process.
(6) Everything--and I mean EVERYTHING--here is cooked in coconut oil. I find it delicious.
(7) The diet here is starch-based: plantains, rice and beans or lentils are the stars of every meal.
(8) The coffee is espresso-strong and from experience I find it advisable to drink in small doses only!
(9) The worst part of teaching by far is the tedious process of grading homework and exams. I once had a professor tell me that she was not paid to teach but rather to grade. I would agree.
(10) I had an unfortunate event of two students I caught sacando chivos (translated as "getting goats")--in other words, cheating--on their most recent exam. I found it necessary to give these students a zero on their exam as well as a stern talking-to about academic honor and integrity.
(11) Apart from the instance described in number (10), I continue to enjoy teaching but sometimes find it to be a lonely pursuit. Since my direct supervisor and coordinator are the same person, and since she is located four hours away in the capital, I do not have regular feedback on how I am doing. (12) In other news, my parents are coming to visit this week. I am beyond excited...and you will probably be graced with the words of a "guest writer" on my next blog post.

Until next time, dear reader, take care!

~Kirsten