I am a failure at blogging

So it's the end of November and I haven't blogged since the beginning of October. Whoops. I keep wanting to blog and put pictures on, but I haven't downloaded any pictures this year because my hard drive is full. In order to download said pictures, I have to take my old ones off my harddrive. I am a chicken. Hopefully one day I will get brave enough to do that. Maybe when I see my brother in a month he can help me with that... So for now this will just be a written update. And it better be good, since I have two months worth of things to talk about. Let's see...what about the letters of the alphabet?

A--amazing talks with my class. Just the other day, I had an awesome talk with them about Jesus and our need for a Savior. I am praying that many seeds were planted and watered. I love teaching at a Christian school.
B--books. Over Thanksgiving, I was actually able to read something other than third grade level books. Yay!
C--church--I am still going to the same church down here. I have had church friends over a couple times now, and that has been really neat. I am hoping to do that more!
D--drama. My kids are WAY less into the "he said/she said" thing this year. Praise the Lord!
E--empanadas. One of my favorite Dominican foods--a meat filled pastry that you can buy from a stand on the side of the road for under a dollar. Let's just say several walks have taken place just to get empanadas :).
F--Food. On the topic of food, I enjoyed learning how to make a Dominican dish from my church friends. Now I just need to try making it by myself.
G--gym. I am going to a Dominican gym--let's just say I better be a better dancer after this! I usually go to the classes, and they all include some kind of dance moves. Favorite line from the instructor so far, "You try hard, but you lack a bit of coordination." Yes, that pretty much sums up my life.
H-Health. Unfortanately, my voice problems have come back this year. The nodules in my throat came back, but this time i just didn't have to talk for a weekend. I go back to the doctor next week--we'll see what he says.
I--Ice! I am SO looking forward to ice skating when I get home! It is still SO hot here!
J--jackets. We went to the mountains for Thanksgiving and it was actually cold enough to need a sweatshirt! Wow! It felt so good and a little weird to be cold.
K--kindness. The Lord has been so good to me--His kindness is amazing! I am so thankful for all the ways He has shown me kindness.
L--laughter. So many things make me smile. I love laughing with my kids. One of my favorite stories? We had an evacuation drill to practice for earthquakes, etc. One of my kids comes up to me and says, "Last year, we had a drill, and that same day there was a little earthquake. How did the principal know?" Oh, the innocence of third graders!
M--mountains. I love living in a city surrounded by mountains. It was really neat to spend a couple days in them as well. They are very different than the rugged ones of the Pacific Northwest, but beautiful nonetheless.
N--naps! What more can I say? :)
O--ocean. I love living close to the ocean as well. It is so relaxing! The beauty of God's creation truly blows me away!
P--Parents! My parents are coming in less than two weeks! I am excited to see them and spend time relaxing with them. They also will come to church with me--let's hope my Spanish brain is turned on then!
Q--Quiet. I am enjoying the few quiet moments I have in the craziness of life to get to know my Savior better.
R--Rita! My friend from college, Rita, is also coming when my parents come. She lives in Puerto Rico and we have wanted to "hop islands," and so she is! I am so excited that she gets to come too!
S--Spanish. My Spanish is slowly improving. I understand a lot now, but sometimes the words to speak back get way stuck in my head. I am taking lessons now, so hopefully that will help.
T--Turkeys! My mom sent me a little stuffed turkey last year. It has now been to the beach and to the mountains. Oh, I have to mention that this turkey gobbles. Yes, gobbles. Yay for funny presents!
U--Umbrellas. A necessity in this country. My friend Amanda and I learned a valuable lesson: make sure your umbrella is a good one before taking it outside, even if it's not raining very hard yet. It probably will, and your umbrella might break, and you might get very wet. I just wish we had a picture of what that umbrella looked like!
V--victories! My friend Sarah and I have the priveledge of leading elementary chapel every week. We have been talking about the names of God, and one of them is Jehovah Nissi, God is our battle fighter. He gives us so many victories! Thank you Jesus!
W--water. For some reason, about a month ago our water was cut off for two days. They were an interesting two days, that's for sure. You learn to not take things for granted when you don't have them any more!
X--x-ray. Well, I haven't broken any bones yet! That's good!
Y--youngsters. I am excited to go back home and meet my friends' new babies! And also to see those who were just tiny when I left.
Z--zippers. Makes me think of lunch boxes. My students have figured out you can do much more with a lunch box besides just put your lunch in it. You can: stick your head in it, zip it up, and walk around running into things; hit people with it; wear it like a hat; sit on it; swing in like a slingshot; use it like sumo wrestling pads; play catch, and I am sure there is more they can teach me! They're funny!

Well, that is a quick A-Z update on my life. Thanks for reading, and I hope your day is blessed!

Santiago in September

Sometimes I truly think I am an "absent-minded professor." I keep forgetting to update this blog. So this is my attempt to let you know about September here in my life.

School: We are now 7 weeks into the year! It is just flying by! I have 20 great students. Some of them are really hard at times, but I am enjoying getting to know them and see them get excited about learning. I will post a picture soon--I do not have a good class picture yet. I need to fix that! My kids say the funniest things--one of them the other day said, "Miss Seeman, you can see us really well, because you are Miss See--man!" They are now all convinced that I have great eyesight and can see everything they do. I guess that's a good thing :).

Church: I am enjoying my church here more and more. The guys have been trying out their English on me--so far I've heard "Hello my brother!" and "Hi Mister!" I think I need to start some English classes :). It's fun though. Sometimes I don't understand anything, but it's good to practice my Spanish.

Voice: My voice has been bad again. We are starting to think that it's this country. They moved my classroom last week because I was right next to the neighbor who constantly burns trash and the smoke comes right into my classroom. It seems to help a little bit, but my voice was bad when I moved so it's still just not right yet. Hopefully the nodules did not come back--I will find out this week. If you think of it, pray for wisdom in all this--for me and for the doctors and the school too. It is frustrating, but I am trying to trust that God has a plan in all this.

Vacation time: Last weekend, a group of us went to the beach for the weekend and stayed at an all-inclusive resort. I have never done that before, but it was awesome! It was good just to rest and enjoy fellowship together. I do not have many pictures because I dropped my camera in the sand and it stopped working for while.

I was also able to go to a baseball game where some of my kids from last year were playing. It so happened that one of my kids from this year was on the other team. He was so excited to see me there! I love third graders because they still think their teachers are cool :).

Well, that is my month in a nutshell. I will try to post some pictures and more details later.

First Things First

Well, I finished my first week of my second year of teaching. Wow. It was really hard! I think I forgot how hard it is the first week back to school. You are just getting used to the students, and they are just getting used to you. I have 20 little blessings so far--11 boys and 9 girls. There is always the possibility of getting more. It is neat because about half of them are the same kids my old roommate had last year, so I already know a bit about them. They are sure active! They did a pretty good job of listening most of the time, but when they didn't it was pretty crazy! It's hard sitting still when you've been playing all summer. Some highlights of the week:
-Meeting my new students for the year! One of my boys I had his brother last year, so that's cool. I also have a set of triplet boys! It will be an interesting year with that, that's for sure!
-Seeing my old students from last year! Most of them gave me big hugs.
-Being reminded of the cute things ESL kids say. During the summer, they took a part of the school that just had gravel and rocks and made it into staff parking. One of the boys was shocked that there were cars there, and he proceeded to say, "The cars are stepping on the grass!" I didn't know cars took steps, but they obviously do!
-Going to a baby shower for a teacher's wife. I had their daughter last year. The teacher's wife is having their third but their first son, so that will be exciting.
-Learning more about "shining like a star." My theme for my classroom is "shining like stars" from Philippians 2:14-15. We talked about what that looks like in our lives. May I truly learn those lessons too and be a good example to all those around me!

All in all, it was a good yet tiring week. Hopefully this week my students will be a little more used to the way I do things and be ready for the week!

BACK IN THE DR!!!

Woah. It's been two months since I last posted. Sorry about that. My parents' computer at home is too slow. I had an amazing summer and now am back in the DR. It is good to be back. Here's a little catch up on the last two months:

~Craziness at the beginning of the summer! I got home late June 10th and left early June 11th for a wedding in Colorado. Unfortunately, my bags did not make it in time, so I went the next almost three weeks without them! Oh well. Colorado was beautiful, and so was Abi and Adam's wedding. Then from there on the 15th I flew to Seattle. I got to hang out with old friends and go to Amy and Joe's wedding, which was also beautiful. On the 24th I flew to New Mexico to hang out with Anna. Yes, your name must begin with an A if I am going to travel to see you! I headed home on the 29th.
~Relaxing in Dubuque. I was able to spend a lot of time with friends and family and just resting. It was totally what I needed! It was good to see my friends and hang out with them and catch up. I got to spend a lot of time with my mom too, and that was good. It was nice not having to plan lessons or work all day. I also enjoyed shopping for new clothes. Mine here had gotten so worn out!
~Heading back to the DR! I came back here on the 10th. My old roommate and I flew together, so that was nice. We both had guitars with us, so lots of people asked if we were performers! Haha it was great! It's nice to be back, though it is SO hot! I have two new roommates, Kari and Megan, and they are great. Our apartment has a TON of cockroaches, and yesterday there was a leach! Oh well. As long as they don't climb into my bed with me!

We start school on Tuesday. I can't believe I will be starting my second year of teaching! The first one went so fast and so slow at the same time! I am looking forward to it.

Please join me in praising God for:
-Great roommates
-A job!
-A good church to go to
-A voice!

Please pray for:
-My new students, that their hearts would be open and that I would know how to reach them
-That my voice would hold out. I am thinking it has a lot to do with the neighbor burning trash right outside my classroom window. The school is looking into ways to help fix the problem.
-A good first week of school
-That I would be a good witness to all around me.

Thanks for the prayers! May you be truly blessed this week.

Endings and Beginnings

The last week and this next week are a time of endings and beginning for me. It's been a crazy few days, and they will continue to be crazy, but God is still good and on the throne and teaching me more about Him. Here are some of these endings and beginnings:

-Ending: Last week marked the end of my first year of teaching. WOW! God has taught me so much, and I have grown so much in so many ways in the last year. I will greatly miss my third graders! I can't believe the year is done!
-Ending: School was supposed to end on Thursday, but the principal came at 11 on Wednesday and said it was the last day for the students. Two high schoolers had contracted swine flu, so they decided to end early. The parents were worried about it, even though their kids don't interact with high schoolers, and pulled their kids out early on Wednesday too. So by the end of the day I only had 7 kids. It was a weird ending, but that's life sometimes. Thankfully, nobody else caught the swine flu, so that's good.
-Ending: I am living with new roommates in a new apartment next year, so I have been packing up my apartment. How can I have so much stuff in only a year? It's crazy! Some of it though is my mother's fault. Rubber chickens, blow up monkeys, fake frogs...
-Ending: 10 months of living in a foreign country! I go back to the states for the first time in 10 months tomorrow! I can't believe it has been that long. I really am going to miss life here, and I am so glad I am coming back next year. It would be too hard to leave otherwise.
-Beginning: Saying goodbye. I do not like doing that. Thankfully, for most people, it is only for two months. I was sad because my two closest friends at my church weren't there on Sunday, so I won't see them again until August.
-Beginning: Preparing my mind for the summer! I get into Dubuque late tomorrow night and then drive with some friends to Colorado at 7 the next morning. I am going to be so dead! Then from there I am flying to Seattle on the 15th and then to New Mexico on the 24th and then finally home to Iowa on the 29. As a guy at my church says, "craziness!" It pretty much is
-Beginning: This isn't such a happy one. I have been having problems with my ear lately and went to the doctor. He did some tests and discovered it was my jaw. Now, those who know me know I have had braces twice and jaw surgery. I should NOT be having problems with my jaw! It's a little frustrating, but i need to just trust that God has a plan in all of it. Unfortunately, we have just been realizing it, so I am not going to be able to get all the appropriate tests and such before I leave to figure out the problem. That may mean trying to do them in the states. The orthodontist was going to make me temporary retainers that are supposed to help (don't ask me how) so hopefully they will hold up until August. It has certainly been a test of faith because I thought I wouldn't have problems after the surgery, and to have another medical problem here has been super frustrating. I am trusting God to provide the finances for all of it. He is big, and I know He can just take them away if that is His will.
-Beginning: SUMMER! I am sitting in my classroom waiting for the parents to come pick up the report cards. My room is mostly packed (we have to put everything away and get everything off the walls). It's crazy. I am looking forward to having a time to rest and get refreshed before next year.

I love learning new things and seeing how God works in my life. May you all feel His presence today! He is so good!

Frogs and Life

This is my attempt to post more than once a month. Let's see if this works. As far as I know, I only have about three readers. oh well. I guess I will update you three on the mundane and hilarious things in my life, though I may be the only one to find them that hilarious.

Lately we have had many adventures in our bathroom with frogs. A few weeks ago I was about to get in the shower, so I opened the shower curtain and something jumped off it. I, of course, start screaming when I realize there is a FROG in my SHOWER! I hastily wrapped a towel around myself and went and told Robin, my roommate who was here. She suggested we kill it. I was not too keen on frog guts all over my shower, so we decided to catch it. I was too chicken, so she caught it in one of our drinking glasses! Then we switched it over to an old peanut butter jar. It lasted through the night and we took it to school to show our students. Then we let it out in the grass at school, a good three miles away!

The next week, I was home alone and taking a shower. I was almost through and went to grab the conditioner bottle. There was something behind it! Of course, it was my favorite creature, a frog! I resisted the urge to scream, since I was the only one home! We spent the rest of the shower staring at each other. Thankfully he did not jump on me. If he had, I think I would have really gone crazy! I am hoping he does not invite his friends to join him in my shower.

My roommate Amanda and I had a new experience/adventure today. We went to the beach with another friend Jenny. I hadn't been for a long time, so it was cool to go enjoy God's beautiful creation. Jenny and I went out snorkeling. Besides a leaky mask that I returned for another bad one, it was really amazing. I will probably never get over the awe of seeing real live fish that look like the ones you see in magazines that look fake. Anyways, we took the bus back, no problem. Instead of calling our regular taxi, we took a random one at the bus station. We were about a mile from home and it sounded like we ran over something. It started to get really bumpy. The driver pulls over and says, "la goma," which means the tire. He gets out and Amanda and I just stare at each other like, "can this really be happening?" He goes and opens the trunk to get out the spare. Then he comes and turns on his hazards and tells us "un momentito," one little moment. To change a tire? Yeah right. We start laughing hysterically. Here we are, in the middle of the Dominican Republic, with a taxi with a flat tire! It was pretty humorous to say the least.

In other news, the drama at my church went fairly well. There were times where I was lost and didn't quite understand what was going on, but that happens in other settings too. The mothers seemed to enjoy it, and I did too. After that, some of the people started calling me the wife of Noah instead of my name since that is what I was in the skit. We'll see if that continues!

The next day all the third graders went on a field trip to the capital. We went to a children's museum there. The kids seemed to really like it, and it went well for the most part. We went with a tour company, which was the best thing ever. They had three guides with us who do this kind of thing all the time. They had snacks, games, and songs planned for the kids. The kids really liked it.

I've been thinking a lot about how much God has blessed me. Sometimes I question "why me?" I had the privilege to be born into a household with two loving Christian parents who had the means to provide for me. There was always enough on the table. I look around here and see so many children who do not have that. And then I go to school and see students who are far more well off than me. Why them? Then I remember that God has a plan in all of it, though sometimes it's so hard to see. I get frustrated with my students and with their families who ignore that there is even poverty in this country. Most of my students didn't even know there were people in this country living in shacks without electricity or toilets. They were shocked when I told them that. It is easy to wonder if I am doing any good here, if the students are even learning anything. I have to live "by faith" and remember that God has a plan. I may never receive the things promised--I may only see them and welcome them from a distance. May I dwell in the hope of the things to come!

Grace Like Rain

As I sit here listening to the rain outside my window, I can't help but think about the "grace like rain" that pours down on me. The last month, and more, has shown me so much about grace and what it means. It's been a long time since I've posted, so I will try to catch you up on the happenings of May.

First of all, I only have EIGHT school days left! One is a field trip, one a half day, and one is field day! Really, the time is going to go so fast! Our last day of school is June 4. I cannot believe the year is almost over. I'm ready for a break but I'm not ready to give my kids up. I told them i am keeping them all and they can't go to fourth grade. They didn't like that very much! We have grown so much together this year. I love seeing their passion for Jesus. They are AMAZING prayer warriors! They are still praying for needs I brought to them months ago.

Last week was spirit week, and they had a ton of fun dressing up for it. Here are some pictures of the craziness:

The next 50s boy band! For oldies day, I showed them pictures of Elvis and most of my boys dressed from that era. It was hilarious! They did most of this posing on their own!

Oldies Day Crazy Picture!
Pajama Day. Taking a nap--Miss Seeman wears us out!

Yes, to all you teachers out there, it was CRAZY having spirit week so close to the end of school. They were even crazier than they would have been, but it was a good week.

I have been getting more involved in my church, specifically in the area of the kid's drama. A lady approached me at camp about helping with it. A few weeks later, she asked if I would write a skit for them. She needed a drama for Mother's Day and wanted to use one the kids already knew about Noah's Ark. Yes, I know what you are thinking--how in the WORLD does Noah's Ark relate to Mother's Day? You're right--it doesn't. I wrote a skit about Noah's sons talking about how their mother didn't give up and helped right alongside them to finish the ark and how much they were thankful for their mother to go before the drama. Okay, so that helps it tie in at least a little :). Then, the lady asked me to be IN the drama! Thinking I was only in the skit I wrote, I said yes. THEN I found out I need to be in ALL of it! I still don't know exactly what I am supposed to do. Yay for huge language barriers! I guess I'll find out come Tuesday when we perform. Mother's Day here is the 31st, which is why we haven't celebrated it at church yet.

I am still going to a girl's home on Thursday nights with one of my roommates and a couple who works at the school. They have two little ones at the home now, three and four, a couple who are seven or eight, and the rest are pre-teens and teens. It has been good for my Spanish and really good to hang out with some girls in a non-school environment. The littlest one is crazy--she makes me laugh a lot!

I am trying to think of all the crazy cultural stories that have happened this last month that I was going to write down to put in my blog and of course didn't and now can't remember any of them. Hmm...come on brain! A few weeks ago, I went to a birthday party at a farm for one of my little boys. The contrast between rich and poor is just so startling here! There was of course a butler serving drinks. They brought pizza out, and I was like "whew, I can understand this!" But of course the pizza was only for the kids! They called the grown-ups inside to have a huge sit down dinner with china and linen AT A THIRD GRADERS PARTY. Wow. I have tasted bits of the liftestyle of the rich, and I must say I'm not sure I could live like that. My kids don't even understand that there are people who don't have enough food to eat. They waste food more than I knew was possible. All day I'm faced with life like that, and then I go to church, where some of the families are wondering where their next meal comes from. My heart is burdened and I don't even know how to express it or what to do. I tell my students about the need and they don't even know how to process it. I see the need and I struggle over my thoughts and what God wants for me. I feel like at this moment He has called me to work with the wealthy children, when sometimes all I want to do is go work among the poor. But I know God has a plan in all things, and I love that I can openly share the gospel with my kids. They know I LOVE to talk about Jesus, and they have that same passion. May they continue to have that same passion.I understand that not all wealthy kids have no concept of the poor people. My prayer is that my students would change and be aware of the needs around them. I can't even imagine how many lives they could change if they did!

There are little things that are different when living in another culture. Sometimes I grow so accustumed to them that I forget most people don't experience these things on a daily basis. Let's see if I can think of some...
-Riding home from church with six or seven Dominicans in a little car. Of course, all the women are talking and talking quickly! It's quite the ride home!
-Motorcycles or scooters that can carry anything and everything. Today I saw two people on a little scooter thing and the driver had a guitar standing upright resting on the floor up to his nose in front of him!
-Fruit and vegetable sellers that come by in old pickups at all hours of the day.
-Plantains in sushi. It was surprisingly good!
-Going to the salon and just getting your hair washed and dried. Maybe some of you have experienced this, but I had never before gone to the salon without getting a hair cut. Many here just go to get their hair washed and blow dried straight.
-No cross walks anywhere. Well, they do have them, but nobody pays attention to them. We pray like crazy before crossing the street!
-Greeting each other cheek to cheek. I am actually going to miss this a lot when I go back to the states! Even if you don't know someone, you greet them. It is such a friendly culture!

As some of you know, I have had a lot of health problems this year. One problem has been with my skin. The doctors haven't been able to figure it out. I went to one last week who thinks he knows what is wrong with it. Praise the Lord! The challenge is the medicine is expensive, but God has already been providing for my needs. It is amazing how He provides in ways you never expect! I am hoping my skin will clear up and I won't have to think about skin problems ever again! My voice has also held out for FIVE months! Yay! It is still not very strong, but it is much better than it was, and I have been able to teach all semester. It is amazing the things you learn to not take for granted when they are taken away from you!

God has been teaching me more about relying on Him in everything. I tend to be a perfectionist, and He has been teaching me that my imperfect perfection is nothing compared to his perfections. I need to let go and let Him work in my life without trying to control everything. I need to have faith. I need to trust Him at all times. I am so thankful for the grace He pours out on my life!

I can't believe I will be in the states in just two and a half weeks! I haven't been back since early August. I am leaving here June 10th. I will be in Iowa, Colorado, Seattle, and New Mexico this summer. I am excited to see people in those places and catch up! God has done so much in my life this year, and I am sure it is the same for you. May you feel His incredible grace this week!