Hello Everyone:)

Hello,
Well, I have been trying to write an update letter since the beginning of April, and I have never finished it:( So, I decided that I would start a blog and see if this is an easier way to keep in touch.

The past month has kept me really busy (and given me a few Puerto Rican experiences)

1)  I went to the doctor.  This 4-6 hour excursion consists of waiting, waiting, and more waiting.  Basically you wait to register, you pay $10 (how cheap!), you wait, you get your vitals taken, you wait, you get called back to a second waiting room and you wait, then you finally see the doctor.  I have found out that waiting at the doctors office for 5 hours is the best time to study!- hahaha

The waiting room at the doctors office

2) I have been applying for jobs.  For many places, there is a specific day and time in which everyone fills out an application and has a mini interview.  I went to one of the hotels/resorts on Monday to apply.  I got there around 9:00am and I filled out the application.  Then I waited, standing up in the hot sun, for 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Finally, it was my turn.  The interviewer asked me a few short questions and then said that he will notify the front desk manager, so that she will give me a real interview sometime next week-yay!  (but once again, the process involved a lot of waiting).

3) I have a job tutoring two children in Spanish this summer.  They are 8 and 10 and are American, but grew up in Jamaica.  I am going to tutor them Monday through Friday, so this should be fun and exciting.

4) Today I had two graduations.  One was for the first graders from the public elementary school and the other was for the deaf school.  So, last night the teacher from the elementary school and I went to the gym to decorate.  We started decorating at 10:00pm and finished at 1:30 in the morning!!!!!  Then today at the graduation I was in charge of about 90 spanish speaking first graders!  Well, I survived that and then we cleaned up and I went home.  About an hour later, I was in the kitchen helping prepare and clean for the graduation here at the deaf school (where I live).  This evening, we had Puerto Rican ordurves and a really nice ceremony with the students, staff, families, and friends.

A few weeks ago, the youth group from my church had a lock in- it was tons of fun!!!!  I stayed awake all night- a total of 27 hours.  We played dominoes (the favorite game of Puerto Ricans), ate pizza and dirt dessert at midnight, watched movies, and had a shaving cream fight at 5:00am.  It was a really fun night!

Playing cards on the porch at 4:15am!

Well, this is a quick summary of what has been going on here in PR!  I will post more photos soon, but my camera broke.  I have a new camera, but I lost my memory card, so as soon as I get pictures from my friends, I will post them.

I hope you are all doing well.
Have a nice night,
Tess

p.s.  The most EXCITING thing that has happened in the month of May is that I FINISHED MY FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE!  The last month of school was full of oral presentations, 11 page essays, reading novels about crazy people, turning in projects, and taking exams.  So, now I am COMPLETELY FLUENT in Spanish and I now have some time to rest:)

My first oral presentation in SPANISH- I earned an A, 100%- yay!

Some of the little boys at the deaf school- they are "singing" (or signing) a song.