Time is starting to fly! The short of it is: I'm still loving it and everything is still great. Classes started last week, and those are good for the most part. There's a lot of emphasis on collaborative learning in the Dominican higher education system, and as a result most of my “tests” are not tests but group presentations. My favorite class is a dance class where I am learning Bachata, Merengue, and Salsa dancing, which are the three big dances here.

I hope to start volunteering next week, as I would prefer to be much busier than I am now. I have quite a few options, and I am hoping to work in either a regular school, or what would be thought of as an “institution” for kids with special needs. I visited the school this morning, and I absolutely LOVE it. I will be working there for sure. There weren't any kids, as the government cancelled school for all kids yesterday, today, and tomorrow due to the storm. (Note: this is somewhat humorous as it hasn't rained since Tuesday. But better to be extra safe about it.) I love the school and the lady who is in charge. It's in a little Christian Church run by CRC missionaries. What a small world, haha. I'll be helping and doing odd jobs for classes that range from preschool to second grade. I can't wait to get started! I was going to visit the "institution" today, too, but it would be super hard to gauge something like that without any students there. So I'll visit there next week.

This weekend it turns out I was supposed to go on a work retreat in a campo, or rural village, about 2 hours from Santiago. We were planning on building a new floor for a school building that a woman is using to teach 20 children that she has adopted. Unfortunately, we just got an email prohibiting any travel this coming weekend. So that, as well as any beach plans, have rapidly dissolved. But I feel safe here; don't worry about me. =) The house I'm staying in is made of concrete and is very safe from lots of wind and rain. There are other places I could theoretically go also if I had the need to escape the storm somewhere else.

I realize that my area of the Dominican Republic has been fortunate with the past few storms, and I hope that this continues with the rest. A great perk of the hurricanes and tropical storms is that they bring rain as well as temperatures probably about 20 degrees cooler. Last night, I was super excited to be able to comfortably wear a sweatshirt for the first time since Michigan! Even though it was probably still in the 70's, it felt amazing.

I was trying to upload pictures, but it's being difficult. I'll post pictures next time! =)