Weekend Recap (Update 1/25)

Hello Parents,

  There was a lot going on at Escuela Caribe this past weekend, so I'll try to give you some of the highlights:

 

Thomas

Thomas House celebrated a birthday this weekend.  I used to be the housemom of the birthday boy and since they are currently without a housemom I was asked to come in and cook his specially requested meal for them and to celebrate with the house.  I made Orange Chicken (a favorite around here lately) and Pepper Stir-fry.  For desert I made a pan of Peanut Butter "Twix" Bars (a layer of cookie crust followed by a layer of caramel and topped with peanut butter and chocolate).  Everyone went around the table and answered a question posed by the birthday boy: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you want to have with you?  Let me tell you, there were some pretty creative answers.

On Monday some of the boys had school in the morning; so those who did not played a game of "Man-Hunt Tag" (which is just basic tag with a manly sounding name) and then took a trip with Jon Sawyer to the river to cool off (can you believe we need to "cool off" in January?!).  For the rest of the day the guys chose some type of recreation whether it was playing basketball up at the courts, playing baseball in Thomas house field with Dominicans, or playing a game of Risk with Grant Anderson.  For dinner, Gloria made them another delicious Dominican meal: Rice, Pork Chops, Fried Sweet Plantain and Dominican Salad (cabbage and carrot slaw).  They ended the evening watching a few episodes of the cult classic, "Firefly".

 

TKB

TKB house built a bonfire on Saturday evening for Family Unity and roasted marshmallows.  After that they played a game of charades where everyone was stretched to use their imaginations.

Sunday was a relaxed day; girls chose whether they wanted to nap, play guitar, read, or just sit (or swing) and enjoy the sun.  For recreation they all took a walk together in the afternoon.

On Monday the girls were able to sleep in and relax until noon.  Then for lunch they drove into town and ate some Pepperoni Pizza at (go figure) Pizza y Pepperoni, a popular pizza joint in Jarabacoa.  Then they drove around town, showing a new student the sites, including The Japanese Garden, a cute little garden with goldfish-filled ponds and The Hammock of God, a ritzy neighborhood high up in the hills with a great view of Jarabacoa and Escuela Caribe.

 

CVS

This past Sunday, Richard Webster preached a message on forgiveness.  One scripture that really leapt out at me was Ephesians 4:32 - "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  How can I not forgive others when I have been forgiven of so much?  Yet it is still a hard truth to live with.

Ms. Erin Adams has taken a one-month leave for her annual vacation, during which time I will be taking over her responsibilities including being a substitute teacher for her English classes.  I am really excited about this because I love English!

Today for lunch we had Chili con Carne with Cornbread and some fresh, juicy Pineapple.  I am really excited about Thursday's lunch when we will once again be having breakfast for lunch: Yogurt, Granola, Cinnamon Rolls, and more Fresh Fruit.  I will be looking forward to it all week.

 

Blessings,

Serenity

 

 

  

Sunburns, Swings, Bows and Arrows (Update 1/18)

Hello parents,

  On Sunday all the students on campus went down to the pavillion to play "street" hockey with Mr. Frew.  Steve Frew is very proud of his Canadian heritage and often takes the time to educate staff and students alike on the joys of hockey.  It was a little more of a physically active day then the typical relaxed Sunday we have on campus, but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

This morning I was greeted by the sunburnt faces of Thomas House.  Once a month each house has what we call an "Out Free Day", which means that the whole house takes an out-of-town day trip.  Thomas house chose to go to Play Grande on the North Coast.  For lunch they had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which they brought along with them.  After the beach they went shopping at "La Sirena" (sort of a Dominican Wal-mart) and shopped for an hour.  Then home they went and enjoyed a Dominican dinner cooked by Gloria, a Dominican staff of EC.  Now that Thomas is temporarily without a housemom, Gloria will be doing most of the cooking.  I will also be helping from time to time.

TKB had a more relaxed free day.  They had what we call a "Ascaja Service Project Free Day".  Ascaja is the local co-op that EC partners with to manufacture our coffee.  So the girls spent the morning sorting coffee at Ascaja.  In the afternoon they made a swing on the big tree up at the house.  Tommy DiEmidio has set up a target on campus for bow and arrow practice, and all the girls enjoyed practicing shooting for the bull's eye.  I am told some of them were quite good. :)  They ended the day watching the movie "Inception."

Today for lunch we had Rice & Beans, some delicious Roasted Chicken, Cabbage Salad and Watermelon.  It was a typical first day of school and as I finish typing this the students are going back up to the houses, happy to be done with school for the day.

 

Blessings,

Serenity

A week of Transition (Update 1/14)

Hello Parents!

  This week the campus of Escuela Caribe experienced some change as the houses moved around a bit.  Tommy and Tammy DiEmidio moved from Thomas house to become houseparents at TKB, Lance house joined up with TKB to become one house, and Owen Postma, previously the group leader, became housefather at Thomas.  I was able to spend an evening with each of the houses this week so I will tell you a little about that.

Thomas

Wednesday evening I helped out at Thomas house while my husband filled in for Owen (it was his night off), so I got to "play" housemom for the night.  For dinner we had Pasta with Chicken and Bell Peppers and a creamy White Sauce, buttered Wheat Rolls, and some left-over Nacho Bake.  The guys were plenty hungry and ate almost everything on the table.  A few of them have been helping with service projects around the school to make some extra money: it involves a lot of dirt, sweat, and heavy lifting.  After chores I showed the guys some pictures of a few of the boys that had been in the house when I was housemother at Thomas House as well as some house trips we took.  They really enjoyed seeing how much some of the guys have changed in the last year.  We had some fun reminiscing about the "old days".  For breakfast the next morning we had an EC favorite: baked oatmeal and peaches.

TKB

I had the privilege of having dinner with TKB on Thursday evening.  One of the girls was having a birthday dinner and invited Robbie and I over to celebrate with them.  She requested a Chinese meal, so Tammy and I made Orange Chicken, Pork Dumplings and Fried Rice.  For desert we had Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Ice Cream with Chocolate and Caramel Topping.  It was so delicious!  We all went around the table and shared favorite memories of the birthday girl, a birthday tradition at TKB.  After dinner, Tommy shared a devotional from John 11:1-37 (The Death of Lazarus).  Tommy talked about the love that Jesus had for Lazarus and his family, and how he cried when he received news of Lazarus' death, even though He knew that God would be glorified through it when He rose Lazarus from the dead.  We talked about pain, and how even though God sees "the big picture" and knows "the greater good", He still hurts with us.

School

Today I had the opportunity to sit in on one of Erin Adams' English classes.  Ms. Adams' is a phenomenal teacher and I was very impressed by her ability to make learning new terms enjoyable.  After class it was lunch time and it did not disappoint: the pancakes, fruit and egg casserole were all good.  Then after lunch one of the staff members passed around his personal stash of mini snickers bars for everyone to enjoy.

All in all it was an enjoyable week on campus and for the most part everyone seems to be taking the transition rather well.

Until next week,

Serenity

Bright, Sunny and HOT!

Today is Tuesday, which is our "Monday" - the first day in the week of classes for students and work for most staff at Escuela Caribe.  It seems that winter is officially over here in Jarabacoa - today is bright, sunny and HOT.  There continues to be a nice breeze floating through the campus which keeps things comfortable.

This morning all the girls came down and greeted me excitedly - they apparently had a fantastic time riding horses yesterday.  They went with different guides than they went with before, and they were able to ride for over an hour: by the river, through the river, through town, down dirt paths.  Lance house joined them for the horse-back riding adventure and afterwords they all went out to eat at Gilberto's.

The boys, unfortunately, did not fare so well.  I was incorrect in saying that they hiked up Magote.  In actuality they hiked about 45 minutes up Pine Forest, which is right behind the school. They had a lot of fun making their individual shelters out of stick, branches and leaves.  Then they learned how to build a fire using flint and steel.  Unfortunately their shelters, although fun to make, were not so rain-proof, and when the rain came pouring down around 8pm the shelters did not stand.  Fortunately the boys were able to hike back to the house and spent the night warm and dry in their beds.  In the morning they ate breakfast bars and fried salami and then headed back up the mountain to grab their supplies.  Despite the catastrophe, most of the guys still say they enjoyed themselves.

For lunch today we had a traditional Dominican meal of rice & beans, tostones, cabbage salad and watermelon.  Later this week we will have hamburgers (Wednesday), spaghetti (Thursday) and pancakes (Friday).  Breakfast for lunch is a particular favorite of mine, so I am looking forward to Friday.

Blessings,

Serenity