Day 3

WOW... day 3, today we finished the cabinet in the kitchen. We had a regular drill, so it was difficult to make a dent in the concrete wall. The last pilot whole was the most difficult because there was a support for the corner of the building- extra thick concrete. The students had recess after that, and we taught them how to play a game with the soccer balls we brought. You jump in the air, catch the ball, throw it to the next person before you land again. After that we prepared to start the shelves in the storage room. Then a few of the teachers needed black/white boards and other things hung up on the wall, so we had to drill more concrete. We actually got it down to a science and knock out 2 black boards, a white board, and a cloth school bus well before lunch. Then they started working on the shelves. There were enough people working on the shelves, so I found a teacher and sat in on a class. I learned about "los trinitarios", the three founding fathers of the Dominican Republic. Another teacher wanted help, so I went into the 2nd grade room and helped teach simple subtraction using buttons. (5-4=?) Then we played Uno. Then the bell rung. A real bell. The large electric bell only rings when they have electricity, which is usually for an hour a day. So they ring a small bell. We all went and ate lunch. For lunch we had the same chicken, but with black beans and rice. We also had potato salad. After lunch I still wasn't needed in the construction work , they ran out to buy "concrete" nails, so I went back into the 2nd grade room. We drew pictures of fish using a grid to copy the picture. Then we played Sorry! I always thought Sorry! was an easy game: pick a card, follow the instructions, and the next person's turn. But the cards are in English and nobody knows English. The teacher didn't even know how to play. I simplified the rules so much and they still were making mistakes. When we arrived home some of the guys went down to the corner store and bought 3 soda pops for 50 pesos. Which is about $1.50. I need to get off now because we are going to watch Monsters inc. and Paul needs to get on. I will post again tomorrow!