The beginning...

Hey everyone!

So Ive finally had time to set up my blog and I have so much to say! Ill take it one step at a time and try not to overload you guy! I would like to preface my blog by saying that if my puntuaction isnt correct its not because I am not aware, its because I dont know where to find things such as a question mark, apostrophe etc. on this spanish keyboard. Ill try my best to figure it out! haha.

For those of you that dont know exactly what I am doing here, Ill take some time to explain. I chose to do my student teaching in the Dominican Republic this past semester and I will be here until November 15. I am at a school in Jarabacoa, which is a beautiful city in the mountains, called Doulos Discovery School. You can check out their website if your interested at http://www.doulosdiscovery.org/. It was a school started about 7 years ago by 2 Aggies. It goes from grades prek through 12th, and I am working with the Kindergarten class! We have 19 students...and dont yet speak English. So it will be quite a learning experience which I am so so looking forward to.

Side note...in case you are interested in sending me packages or letters, we get mail every other Tuesday. The address is...

Leah Dodson
Unit 3017 - DDSDR
3170 Airmans Dr.
Fort Pierce, FL 34946

Well lets see...I will try my best to recap my last few days that I have been here. I got here on Saturday and have already experiences some different things. I am living with a host mom named Maria, and upstairs is her daughter, Cecelia and then Celelias daughter named Dennise who just turned 5! Although they are the only ones who actually live there, we have people in and out ALL the time! So far we have discovered that Maria has atleast 4 children...but there could be more haha. The other 2 student teachers live there too, Robyn and Melinda, who you will hear me talk about alot...so remember their names.

A few highlights....
1. found out we dont have any hot water which is going to take some getting used to
2. the food is great...especially the juice! Sounds crazy buts its SO fresh and I could drink it every moment of the day. My fav thus far is called chinola {i hope i spelled that right} which is passion fruit juice.
3. my spanish is terrible but Im trying. I can kinda understand what people are saying, but as far as making up my own sentences...it will take some time.
4. the clouds are PHENOMENAL! If you know me, you know thats my favorite thing in the world!
5. Childrens birthday parties equal an excuse for parent to party. Dennise turned 5 on Saturday so on Sunday I had my first birthday experience! Lets just say it was the best 5th bday ever! LOTS of dancing!


I must tell you about yesterday though! All of the Doulos staff went to the Directors house, Krista and Chad, and had a little retreat type thing. First of all their house is gorgeous! They live a little out of town literally up in the mountains so their view is nothing but the mountains. Not a neighbor in sight. We had some worship time in the morning which was indescribable. We sang songs both in Spanish and English. Really all I can say was there was nothing more beautiful than to simply worship the Lord in this way- with such genuine passion from everyone. Krista prepared a little Bible study about the sacrifices that were made in the Old Testament for the Lord and the fragrant aroma that came from that. She related it to the aroma that each and every one of us has that we give off not only to God but also to other around us. She gave us some perfect verses...which I dont have with me right now, so sorry. We were given some much needed reflective time with the Lord on our own. I must say there was nothing greater. I simply sat outside reading my Bible, journaling and spending quality time with my Jesus. I was able to just talk to Him laying in the grass looking up at the trees and the clouds listening to the music from nature that God has blessed me with. After that we did some team building games which were an amazing way to get to know the other staff members. I REALLY love the staff and I just cant wait to get to know them all!!

Thats enough for tonight, but next I cant wait to tell you about my experiences in the classroom. And who knows what other adventure I am going to experience here!

Thanks so so much for even reading my blog, but also for your prayers and encouragement. I cant get enough. A prayer request if youre interested: patience. Patience with myself. Im being challenged in so many new ways and its very hard not to get overwhelmed and exhausted.

Love you guys!

PS. In case you were wondering about the title of my blog...the nickname Doddy came from my friend Lauren and Leah {shoutout to them}...so I thought it was catchy

PPS. I apologize for the sideways picture but I dont know how to turn them. Yea, I know...embarassing. But for what its worth the computer is in Spanish so I cant read how to change it haha.