Engagement

Hey all,

So as you have heard from facebook JP and I are engaged! We are so excited, and have already started trying to plan. I wish we could have our wedding in a month, but I think we have to wait at least 6 for the Catholic church (bummer). We are thinking June, so hopefully the church will be able to do it. We will be getting married in Michigan, most likely in Ann Arbor.


Here is how it happened:


Last Wednesday (September 1st) was JP and my 4 year anniversary of dating. To celebrate we went for a hike on a trail called Backbone Trail. It's in the Santa Monica mountains and is a really beautiful hike. As we were walking along we stopped near the top and JP just got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was shocked. Honestly, I thought that when he proposed I would see it coming from a mile away, but I had no idea. Monica made the ring, and it is beautiful. The stone is peridot. It is beautiful. I love it.

Here is a picture of JP and I once we remembered that we should take pictures to share:

Here is a picture of JP telling his mom the good news:

Basically, I couldn't be happier. I am really excited about the wedding too. It is still in the most infant of infant stages, but we are thinking of a backyard BBQ type reception. Ah! So exciting!

California Here We... Are

Hey All,

As most of you probably already know I moved out to California in July. I looked for jobs for a few weeks, and had to go for a quick trip back to the D.R. to get my stuff, and now I am working at a middle school here in Calabasas, and as a tutor. I am starting to get ready for the school year; setting up my classroom and get my lessons in order. JP and I are living with his former roommates Becky and Mike, which is awesome. I was really lucky to get this job at the school, and I am really excited to start teaching again. The school seems great, and I am going to have a bunch of cool technology for my class. Anyway, I just wanted to update you all. I will start posting again regularly soon.

Miss you all!

My Two Birthdays

Hey all,

So I got home on Tuesday night, and every minute since then has been running around and having an inordinate amount of fun. On Wednesday I woke up early to hang out with my mom before she went to work, then hung out with my sister before she went to pole vault camp. When she left it was still only 7:30 or 8, and while I am a very annoying older sister, I figured that this was still too early to wake up my brother. So I toodled around the house for awhile and drank copious amounts of coffee, and then finally I took a shower, woke my brother up and told him I would be back in an hour and that we were going to Ann Arbor, and went out to the car with the wrong keys. I came back into the house 3 more times and came back out with the wrong keys, and all the while my neighbors across the street were sitting on their porch watching this happen. Having all Toyotas can be a little confusing. 


Anyway, I woke my brother up for the second time, got him to tell me where the keys were,  and went to the bank. I decided that my brother and cousin probably weren't interested in getting up, so I went to Ann Arbor for awhile by myself, and came home. All of this was accomplished by about 11:15, so I came home. My mom came back at around 12:00, and was very confused by the productivity of my day so far. She and I went back into Ann Arbor for awhile, and then back to the bank so that I could open a new savings account, and Monica arrived in Chelsea. We went out to dinner with my mom, dad, brother, cousin, and sister at Las Fuentes. Delicious. Monica, Lucy, Natalie and I then proceeded to the Brown Jug in Ann Arbor (3 times in one day) and had a few drinks. 

Yesterday Monica and I woke up, had breakfast, and went shopping in Ann Arbor. I bought a ridiculous amount of stuff for ridiculously little, which was amazing. We came back to Chelsea, ran with my mom, and then went out to the Chelsea bars with Lucy, BETSY (This one from Africa), Natalie, and Jordan Silverman. So much fun. It has been SO good to see everyone, I can hardly stand it. All I wish is that we had about 6 weeks to talk to each other instead of 6 hours. I missed everyone and it was amazing to have them all here for my birthday. Best birthday present ever.

God Bless America (ATL I'm the Mayor)

Say what you will about the United States, ladies and gentleman, but one thing about which there can be no debate is we really have a lot of cool stuff to buy. In the Santo Domingo airport I had a choice between bag after bag of mixed nuts for $5 (when the price is in dollars you know you’re in trouble) or a really bad sandwich for $7. I chose the sandwich. Big mistake. Conversely, in the Atlanta airport there is every kind of food a person could want (sadly I did not get the terminal with Qdoba, but I know it’s here somewhere, calling me). There is a Ben & Jerry’s here. A BEN & JERRY’S! It took every bit of willpower I possess to keep walking past those $7 ice cream sundaes. I had already shoved a week’s worth of Chinese food down my gullet and I felt like the ice cream would be overkill. I think I might be growing up. I doubt it though.  There is also a nearly full sized book store in this terminal. I resisted that one too because if I buy a book I’ll never finish Huckleberry Finn. Speaking of which, has anyone read these Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books? Are they worth all the hype? How about that Edgar Sawtelle book? As sad as the rest in the Oprah Book Club? Fill me in, I’m out of the loop. One more thing, in the bathroom there was not only toilet paper (that you can flush by the way), and not only did the toilets flush on their own, and not only did the sinks turn on by themselves, but the soap dispensers are automatic too! What a country! (They are also filled with soap by the way, an added novelty.) Fellow Americans, we’ve got it good here.

Last Night in Santo Domingo

Hey all,

So tonight is officially my last night in Santo Domingo of the 2009-2010 school year. It really has gone by fast. School has been wrapping up for a couple of weeks now, and I just finished my final checklist (and most importantly got my final pay check), so I am ready for summer! I fly home tomorrow, and while I am really excited to come home I am also really going to miss my friends here. We went out to dinner together tonight to say goodbye (although like true travelers no one actually said those words) to this restaurant called El Agave on Lope de Vega. Delicious Mexican food. They have mole enchiladas that are amazing. Anyway (does anyone other than me notice how much I talk about food?), throughout dinner all I could think about was when I would see everyone again. Hopefully at the very least we can videochat. Especially the Hadleys' (I hope you are reading this) so that I can see Baby Hadley when he is born. It has been a really eventful and great year, and I feel really lucky that I have had this experience. I have met some really great people and had some good adventures, and better still, I have a whole second year to enjoy. Thank you to everyone who made this year amazing. Sorry for the clip show, but here are some highlights:

- First day in the old apartment feeling like I was living in a palace
-Las Terrenas the first weekend
- Going to the cave bar with Doug and Stacy before we really knew them
-Moving to our apartment in Zona Colonial
-Sosua
- Constanza with Doug and Stacy for Doug and JP's birthdays
- Meeting Elizabeth and Rebecca and immediately ruining their iron (sorry guys)
- Thanksgiving at the Hadleys'
- Baseball game
- Trip out west with Hadleys' (and subsequently finding out Sarah was/is pregnant)
- JP's race in the city that he WON and Carnival in La Vega on the same day (deciding to stay another year based on that day basically)
- Portuguese classes and going to the Saturday night movies
-Goodbye weekend in Boca Chica for JP
- Nearly living at Doug and Stacy's (with a guest appearance at the Hadleys') for awhile after JP left
-Puerto Plata with everyone
- Ms. De la Cruz's bachelorette party/wedding
- Moving in with Brigitte

These are only a handful of the things I want to remember from this year. I will miss you all very much next year, and I really hope we keep in touch. Thanks for an amazing year!

Sarah's Baby Shower

Last night after the wedding Stacy stayed over. In the morning we ate breakfast, did a little decorating, and then she went home to get the cake and get ready for Sarah's baby shower at 3. I ran to the store to get water, prepped the food, and then she came back and finished decorating while I finished the cooking and got ready for people to arrive. She did an amazing job on the decorations (see facebook). Brigitte, Sarah and Becky got here around 3, and Rebecca shortly after. We had guacamole, sushi, and cake, which was an amazing combination for taste and indigestion. We played a couple of games, one where you say whether it means you are having a boy or a girl for old wives tales, and another where you had to name the nursery rhyme. Sarah won the latter which I thought was a good sign. Also, we decorated onesies for the baby, which can also be seen on facebook. It was a really good shower, and I think everyone had a good time. I was just really happy to have everyone over and to do something for Sarah.

In other news, I am coming home in less than one month! I will see all of you so soon!

Ms. De la Cruz's Wedding

Well, Ms. Bazzi now. Stacy and I went as dates, can you say that? The wedding was gorgeous, Ms. De la Cruz looked beautiful, and everything was totally over the top. A bunch of my students were at the ceremony to see her dress, and they were so cute (and much better behaved than in class I might add). The wedding was a full mass (which I took to mean that I didn't have to go tomorrow morning), and then Stacy and I came back to my apartment to drop some things off and pick up my camera. We got to the reception, went through the receiving line, and then sat down with some teachers from school. I saw Alex (who I lived with at the beginning of the year) and her boyfriend Poli, which was nice, and we ate a bunch of delicious food. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a little while that was awkward, but after a couple of cocktails everyone was on the dance floor. Stacy and I sat out a few more songs than we would have liked because they were merengue (a.k.a. couples only dancing), but after awhile they brought out some marti gras-esque party favors and played some drumline music and we went out and danced around. We had some champagne and wine and chocolate-fountain-dipped-fruit and mini-muffins. The party favors were these really beautiful silver ring boxes. The problem was that there was only one for every two people. Stacy and I had each secured one anyway when someone took Stacy's. She scoured the room for a spare and eventually one of the other couples left and she commandeered theirs before their seats had cooled. On the way out we also stole some flowers. Actually a lot of flowers. Sorry Ms. De la Cruz/Bazzi/Lourdes. The other kids were doing it! Good time. I also died laughing several times at Stacy blowing into her marti gras noise maker. I have a video of it. It sounds strikingly similar to a duck caller that you use for hunting except for she was wearing a marti gras mask, which hunters do not usually do.