Very Close Neighbors

Our apartment building is very close to the apartment building next door. As a matter of fact, it sometimes seems like our neighbors are right in our apartment when they talk. Tonight I was standing in the kitchen when I sneezed. The neighbor girls in the next building called out, "salud," which is like the Spanish way of saying "bless you." Talk about close neighbors!

School Christmas Program

Here are a few of the first grade boys waiting for the Christmas program to start.

Excited about the program and about Christmas.

Each class did a song or two for the Christmas program. These are the fourth grade students doing the song "Mary Did You Know." It was beautiful.

It was different to be outside for a Christmas program. We wearing bug spray and short-sleeved shirts.

Mission Retreat

Last weekend we went to a Christian Reformed Mission retreat. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. We spent a lot of time worshipping God together and even celebrated the Lord's Supper together on Sunday.

It was wonderful to worship in English again, and it was so good to meet the missionaries. The retreat was led by a Christian Reformed pastor from Lansing, Michigan, and a few members of his church were able to come with him to spend the worship times with us. It was good to meet together in God's name.

Christmas Cookies

We had a great time baking, decorating and eating Christmas cookies tonight! What fun.

Carols and Car Alarms

We've heard that there's snow back home. Despite seeing holiday decorations in stores and in our neighborhood, it just doesn't feel like Christmas without cold weather, snow and hot chocolate. Tonight we turned on the Christmas music and decorated our cute little tree. Soon "Silent Night" was drowned out by our neighbor's car alarm. Thankfully we are now experiencing Peace on Earth and in our neighborhood.

Amy got the tree, lights, ornaments, and nutcracker from Brian's sister's family as a birthday present. Even though most days are sunny with warm temperatures and there's no chance of snow, we're feeling festive and look forward to seeing friends and family in just a few short weeks.

Pilgrim and Native American Feast at School

Today the kindergarten, first, and second grade students wore Native American or Pilgrim costumes to school to celebrate a Thanksgiving feast together.

Here you can see Brian with some of the first grade Pilgrims.

More first grade Pilgrims with one of the second grade teachers.

Local Wildlife

Tonight we went for a walk before supper. As we were passing a grassy field, I stopped because I heard some rustling. We saw some plants moving and could see an outline of a furry critter scurrying along. Finally he emerged out of the tall grass, and we could see he was a rat. Eewww.

Fireworks Display

Tonight we heard several loud bangs outside our apartment window. I snuck out onto our little balcony to see what was going on. There was a fabulous display of fireworks that we enjoyed from our balcony. No need to fight the post-fireworks traffic jam when you watch the fireworks from the comfort of your own home.

More About Our Beach Weekend

Here I am eating my birthday mousse dessert. They turned off the lights in the outdoor restaurant when they brought it to me with candles on top.

This is a view of that outdoor restaurant.

The sign for the restaurant.

I went snorkeling for the very first time! I loved seeing the pretty fish, the strange coral formations and all the underwater sights, but I did get a big panicky about breathing sometimes.

This is our pool and the thatched roof of the breakfast area.

This is a view of our room in the Secret Garden.

We enjoyed swimming in the pool.

This little porch was just outside our door.

This was our room. There were fresh leaves and a beautiful flower from the garden on the bed when we arrived.

Birthday Breakfast!

Since November 10 is a holiday in the Dominican Republic, I was able to have a very special birthday weekend. We stayed at a beautiful little bed and breakfast along the north coast. When we came out for breakfast that morning, I saw a table strewn with beautiful little flowers. My tropical fruit plate was decorated with gorgeous flowers too. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of eggs, bread with chinola jelly, and the best french toast I've ever tasted!

Even my chair was decorated for the occasion. Here you can see a side view of the beautiful palm branch and flowers that brightened my morning.

This is a front view of the beautifully decorated chair. Such royal treatment!

Another Saturday Walk

We went for another walk again this weekend. As we were roaming through the neighborhood, the missionary family that lives near us called to us and asked us to join them as they finished eating lunch outside. We enjoyed our visit. Here you can see Amy with their daughter and dog, Buddy.

Here is one of the gorgeous houses that's near our apartment building. We always wonder what it looks like inside.

We even found a small field of corn growing a few blocks away. We thought it looked interesting with the nearby palm trees.

It's warm and sunny here. We're planning a trip to the beach next weekend. We're really looking forward to that!

Saturday Afternoon Walk

This afternoon we went for a walk through our neighborhood. We thought you might like to see a few of the things we passed along the way. Across the street from our apartment building we spotted these beautiful flowers. I guess we'll enjoy a beautiful pink color this fall.

This house is just across the street from our apartment. We enjoy looking out over their pretty house and plants as we eat breakfast on our balcony each morning.

There is a plant nursery about two blocks from our apartment. We've purchased several plants for our balcony there.

We often see this horse grazing in this little corner field about three blocks from our house.

Sighting of the First Tree

When we were walking through our neighborhood this afternoon, we noticed one house where the family had already put up their Christmas tree.

Have You Decorated Yet?

Our neighbors decorated their door with a Christmas wreath this week. We noticed Christmas decorations, candy canes, and lights for sale back in September. The other day we saw three snowmen cut-outs in a yard full of palm trees, flowers, and lush vegetation as we were walking home from church. Seems a bit early to decorate to us!

Time to Pay our Bills

We needed to pay our bills today. We were walking up to the grocery store to pick up a few things, so we took the bills with us. We went into the little pharmacy next to the grocery store. At this pharmacy you can buy medications, get phone cards, and pay bills. We paid our electric and our water bill there today.

Avocado Man

This Haitian man walks through our neighborhood every Saturday and Sunday selling avocados which he carries in a big bowl on top of his head. If we call out to him, he'll come to our door. Brian helps him take the bowl down from his head so that we can choose our avocado. After haggling a bit over the price, we pay him, and Brian helps him lift the bowl back up so that he can continue down the road.

We Bought a Tree

This morning we bought a small indoor tree for the corner in our bedroom. It cost us about eight dollars for the tree, the stones she put over the dirt, and the use of her wheelbarrow to bring it home. It makes our apartment feel a bit more like a home.

Santiago Christian School

This is a picture of our cafeteria.

Here is a picture of our school sign.

Art and music classes are inside this building. Gym classes meet in the open air gym on the right side of the picture.

This is called a "ranchito." Students like to sit here to talk, study, or eat lunch.

Another open air gym.

This is the preschool play area.