This is what school looks like - sometimes! The classroom is full of kids who want to learn English, and not so they can go to college one day, but so that they can get a better job in the tourist town they live in. If they don't know any English then their jobs will be as cooks, maids, or unemployed. If they know some English they have a chance at a slightly better job, like street stand vendor, taxi driver or something. However, if they are very fluent in English then they will have the jobs that involve interacting with the tourists (who bring in the money!) like desk clerks, tour guides, restaurant hosts. etc. These teachers are there to teach the children enough English that they can help to provide for their families and themselves in a slightly better way than what they have now.
The girls have a favorite leather works shop that will make them anything they can dream of! They can show the owner a picture of some sandals, a purse, a wallet, a belt, etc, and come back a week later to pick it up. Many girls have ordered items, apparently the prices are cheap too! Alexa had this really cute purse made!
The weather is so hot right now -- the lowest it gets each day is 75 degrees, with the highs generally 90 degrees. Doesn't sound too bad until you realize that the "real-feel" temperature is generally 102 degrees with 90 percent humidity. And they have no air conditioning. No one does. Thus they spend a lot of time at the beach! Recently many of the girls took a trip to Santo Domingo for a couple of days and then went on to Punta Cana to stay at a resort for half a week.
 |
| The Punta Cana group -- dressed for a night of fun! |
 |
And yes, I just had to throw this picture in.
That is a decaying dog on the side of the road! |
This is what school looks like - sometimes! The classroom is full of kids who want to learn English, and not so they can go to college one day, but so that they can get a better job in the tourist town they live in. If they don't know any English then their jobs will be as cooks, maids, or unemployed. If they know some English they have a chance at a slightly better job, like street stand vendor, taxi driver or something. However, if they are very fluent in English then they will have the jobs that involve interacting with the tourists (who bring in the money!) like desk clerks, tour guides, restaurant hosts. etc. These teachers are there to teach the children enough English that they can help to provide for their families and themselves in a slightly better way than what they have now. 
The girls have a favorite leather works shop that will make them anything they can dream of! They can show the owner a picture of some sandals, a purse, a wallet, a belt, etc, and come back a week later to pick it up. Many girls have ordered items, apparently the prices are cheap too! Alexa had this really cute purse made!
No comments:
Post a Comment