Donde esta el bano?

I live in the second story apartment above a colmado. It is normal for the people’s voices and street noise to travel though my back window. One night recently I was laying in bed, trying to ignore the passing motochonchos I hear a man singing. Just as I was starting to dismiss the man’s song I noticed it was getting closer. He was not on the street but under my window. I have heard of other volunteers complain about men, usually drunk, serenade them at odd hours in the night, but never did I think it would happen to me. The men that frequent the two colomados around my house are watchful of me and never step over the line. Which is why I was surprised on this particular night. It made me smile though. I knew I didn’t need to acknowledge his presence under my window because that would only provoke him. As I listened closer I noticed and extra stream like sound that did not match the creek that runs parallel to my house. Indeed, the man was only singing while he peed from the side of my house into the creek. When I realized he was relieving himself I remembered that his was not the first time that this particular spot was used as a men’s urinal. Oh! The people here in the DR just use the bathroom whenever they feel like it.
In most towns here in the DR, there are select corners or alleys that are makeshift bathrooms, not only men but the women too are guilty of peeing where they please. While my parents were here in September we spent the last few days in Santo Domingo. There is one pedestrian/ tourist trap in the Zona Colonial called El Conde. We were walking along this street looking for dominos that had the flag of the DR or something, but when we couldn’t find any we headed back to our hotel. Taking a turn just off the street I saw a woman squatting between two parked cars. In the middle of the day, maybe even mid morning, there she was taking not only number one but also number two! I immediately slowed down so as not to have my parents see her in the act. Unfortunately my mother asked why I suddenly changed my pace. I could only then explain as the woman stood up to pull up her pants that she was using the bathroom and I didn’t want to disturb her. She had zero shame, looked me straight in the eye as if it were a normal thing to shit right there. I’ll give her the benefit of being high on crack or H or whatever Dominican’s shoot up here. But seriously nothing is worse than walking on the street and noticing that you just walked through the public and I mean very public bathroom. Oh the things we see.

There was turkey!

Tis’ the season to reflect on the past year and be thankful. I have played around with how to express the many blessings that have presented themselves to me this year. My family is surely at the top of the list. All the support and love that has been sent to me via phone calls, emails, facebook posts, and their two week visit has been enough to keep me strong while dealing with the challenges of living out of the country and working with my campo. Second - my new family, those other volunteers who came at the same time as I, and my adoptive family here in the community. I have a second mother here in Baitoa and she takes care of me just as my mother would, but with a little less verbal suggestions. My new sisters, the volunteer females who have answered my daily phone calls and talked me through boredom, stress, frustration, and saddens. I thought college is where I’d make lasting friendships, but i feel these women will be in my life forever and I am very grateful to be part of theirs. Oh, yes the friends back in the states too have been encouraging too and as always i am thankful to share their friendship.

In less meaningful, yet very important ways I am thankful for (after living here in the DR) running water and indoor plumbing, 24 hour luz, health conscious living and the stores used to promote it, Kombucha, Stella Atouis, Austin, wireless internet in the home, somewhat well funded education system, teachers who care about their students (like Kay Birdwell), and huevos rancheros.

La Agua

When living in another I country I found that it's the little things that make me smile most. Like turning on the faucet and finding "clean" running water to brush your teeth and then having all barrels and buckets full of said clean water, cause you know it could be a week or more until the next time it comes. Taking a walk by your favorite colmado and the owner giving you the thumbs up 'cause they have your favorite kind of Dulce. Or the group of 10 year old girls that you walk by and they call your name just so they can see the Gringa wave. These are just a few of my favorite things. Again, like walking up to Altagracias house and the three year-old neighbor girl saying in the cutest little voice "hola, helen".. it is music to my ears and never fails to make me smile and feel warm inside.

Nothing sums up my life more than cleaning my underwear in the shower. It comes habitual. The women in this country don't usually put their under garments in with the familial wash. When going through training we were told this, but it never came up for me because my host families were all about cleaning my underwear. However, being in my own apartment now and doing my laundry elsewhere, I thought I would respect the local culture un chin (a little). So daily, after going through the regular process of the shower the last step is washing my underwear from the day before. Standing at my work table that is the cover of the lot-O gallon barrel in my shower I take my beloved Dr.Bronners and scrub away at my ever fading Calvin Kline undies. I've watched the Donas here, I know how they do it. Hell, I've watched my mother my whole life.. but nothing makes me smile more than standing naked in my shower washing my underwear. I think to myself, is this something I'll take back with me when I go back to the states? Part of me hope's so but with out the makeshift work table, who knows.

a few weeks back...

After 3 days of waking up at 6:30 AM I just couldn’t stay in bed on the fourth day, even though I was looking forward to it. This is a complete 180° from last week, where I slept in until 11AM. It’s times like these that I start to feel like I’m turning bi-polar. How is it that my body can just switch my clock to such different extremes? Even after staying in bed trying to go back to sleep this morning, the roosters and chickens were already clucking and the sun strong like it was mid afternoon I surrendered and got up to do some yoga. My old yoga teacher in Asheville Joe Taft had sent me a class on DVD and I finally got around to taking it. It was a good pick me up because his teaching style is uplifting and inspiring.

I didn’t sleep well last night due to a heavy rainstorm and the club across the creek was still kicking so the music was loud. Later a few thug noises woke me up and some tumbles that sounded like it came from my galleria. I was too scared to open my door to see what kinds of animals were making this horrible sound. It sounded like one could be killing the other, and then it dawned on me that they were having sex! It was the most uncomfortable 15 minutes, the whole time trying not to picture huge rats or rodents doing it right out side my door. I hope they were chickens or dogs, nonetheless it made my skin crawl. – After a few days of thinking this event over I’ve decided that they were indeed rats. I am unsure if they were outside my room or up in the attic. It’s even hard to think about it now, just knowing that these ugly dirty things are living with me makes me want to cringe.

After that Sunday morning I headed to Santiago to meet up with some friends and spend the day meeting Stacie’s boyfriend. They had rented a car which made getting around Santiago much more pleasant and fun. Because of my time hanging out with that family friend a few weeks before I was the navigator! We ate at a vegetarian/tea house restaurant for lunch and sushi for dinner. Yummy! The Vegie place was okay, but the tea delicious. The rest of the night was just gals drinking and catching up. Later we, 7 sexy gringas, were walking back to the hotel from the bar a girlfriend was walking just off the sidewalk when a moto drove by and the guy slapped her on her ass! I was walking next to her and we turned to look at one another and both our eyes had the look of astonishment. It caught us both so off guard. That was the first time I’d seen Dominican man cross the line and touch one of us. It was an eye opener for sure.



That was all last week.

This week I’ve been counting down the days to our 3 month In-Service-Training (IST). This is a week long event that includes more specific training and the PCVs presenting the results of our diagnostics.

The river I went to today was like an extension of the green belt in Austin. I felt as though all I was missing was a few tall boys of Lone Star and my dog, Taj. I took the afternoon to sun bathe on the large warm rock in the middle of the river, with my toes dipped in the chilly water to keep me cool. It really made me think hard about my time in Austin. It was a good time for me. I would go to the greenbelt every free afternoon/morning, running into people I knew or making new friends. My last trip to Austin I didn’t get a chance to go to the green belt and I think that is why I didn’t have as much fun. Going to that limestone oasis really makes the body cool for the rest of the day.

4 month itch is over

As posted earlier I had an allergic reaction to a mango, or so the doctors think. I mean I called them from my site and they diagnosed me on the phone. So, how would they really know without seeing it? Well they are just that good because I took the anti-histamine pills they prescribed and slathered on the calaydrl lotion all day Sunday. Monday when I woke up it was starting to dry out and clear up. Whew! That was a close call. I was going to give myself until Monday and then make a trip to the capital if it didn’t make a change for the better. Tuesday I called the doctor to let her know my status and the rest is an itchy history.

The compound in which I live was full of buzz Monday because the women of the house who went to NYC were expected home, bringing with them 5 cousins. I was so happy to hear that it was actually happening! This house and family just wasn’t the same without the mom and abuela. Floors were scrubbed, rooms organized, gas tanks filled, walls painted and everyone in high spirits. I was especially happy to have the stove working again. I woke up on Tuesday and had my sorely missed cup of Yerba Mate (the most yummy of teas). I could really tell the difference that cup of tea makes because I finally got the motivation to walk to the CTC and talk with my project partner about making my schedule and plans to change teaching material. Yes, my rash was clearing up and I was making headway with my Peace Corps life. I spent the rest of the day at sewing class, where I quickly finished a cover for a blender. I don’t have a blender and probably wont unless one is given to me, none the less – I sewed one “y es muy linda!”

Altagracia and I are also trying to accumulate furniture and things for my apartment. I was given approval to move out early because of the limited availability of places to rent in my town. So I should be moving this week or the next (I’m waiting on the last tenants to pay the light bill). I was given a twin bed, some towels, a curtain, and a few plastic chairs already but there is still so much I will have to buy if people don’t donate to this poor gringa. We get a little bit of money to move and buy the necessary things, but we all know things around the world are more expensive these days and Peace Corps hasn’t made the adjustment yet – will they ever? Anyway, I’ll live like a college student again, eating out of my cookware and washing clothes by hand. But don’t worry, I think someone is trying to find me a T.V. so I won’t be lonely – hehehehehehe. I hope that gives you an idea of what people here find most important. Never mind that I won’t have sheets on my bed or a bucket to hord water for my bucket baths, but yes I must have a T.V. with cable. Seriously though, I’ll take whatever people give me. It will all come together as things usually do in my life. Gracias a Dios!

When I got home on Tuesday I found Luisa and Negrita home!!!! The compound felt in harmony once again. I felt as though my heart was full again and there was peace in the kingdom. I didn’t realize how nice it was to have the two women around to talk with and just sit. The cousins that will spend their summer here are also fun to be around. There was a slip-n-slide laid out on the tile courtyard when I got home and the kids were trying to figure out the best way to have fun on the flat surface. They settled on shuffling or sliding on the soapy water while racing one another. I was the judge on a few occasions until Luisiana sliced open her foot a broken tile. I tried to play doctor and got my butterfly band-aids to help keep the cut together until she could get to a clinic for some stitches. Also, no one else could deal with the blood or her screams of pain. Thanks to my mothers instincts I can be strong and fearless when there is a need. That was when the slide was put up and dinner was served. The past month I had been eating dinner at Altagracia’s or just having some fruit either way they were smallest meals of the day. I don’t know if was because Negrita was happy to be home or what, but she made me a plate big enough for 3 people. I ate half. I’m not going to lie. The starches, fried eggs and salami are delicious, when you’re not eating them daily. Luckily I’ll be out on my own though so I don’t have to worry about someone else being in control of my diet. I had a smile on my face the whole time just watching her cook in the kitchen and ask over and over who had food and who she was missing. She is a tall woman with long silver hair that she wares tied up in a long bun. If you have seen Triplets of Bellville she resembles the tall sister, looks and mannerisms with out a doubt. So, yeah it was a good day and I was very happy to be part of the family.

I also saw someone come up to the house/gate and ask for Luisa. Frank went up to the man, without letting him in because he didn’t know him, left and then returned with two small packages. That was another sight that made me smile. I thought I was silly to have my friends bring me things from the states when they went, but nope I’m Dominican. I have noticed that Dominicans get lots of things sent to them from the state, via people or mail. A woman was telling me that you could get an industrial barrel sent from NY for $100 dollars or so filled with whatever you wanted. It would get here 15 or 20 days later. That’s cheaper than a plane ticket I guess. She suggested that I have my parents send me a T.V. and American food. I just smiled and nodded but I don’t think I need a barrel full of anything. Maybe I’ll change my mind after a few months, but for now I feel like the only thing I really miss are people and you can’t send them in barrels. I found it interesting though, because it sounds more reliable than packages sent through the mail. I feel like I learned a lot so far this week, as opposed to last when I didn’t do anything but itch.

I just got done with a meeting at the CTC and it looks like I’ll be teaching 4 days a week! The most being on Saturday, which leaves little time to travel this wondrous country. Oh well, I’ll find away to see all the beaches – some how!

Hope you are well.

America's B-day, Peace Corps style...

Every time I slide myself into the emerald or turquoise water of the ocean and look around to miles and miles of palm trees and the white sandy beach I cannot believe that I live on this island. The best part about it all is that I’ll live here for two more years. And within those two years I will want to hit as many beaches as possible. So those of you who are thinking about visiting me should be prepared to travel to see these beautiful sights.

Starting out on Friday morning, Arya and I check out of the Hotel Colonial, a cheap place to stay for PCVs, and find our way to the fruit stand where by coincidence a taxi drops of 3 PCV beauties. These are my girlfriends who are also going to catch the bus with us. When we get to the bus stop we spot a few more volunteers also going on our bus. It turns out there will be a total of 12 gringos on the same small passenger bus heading for Samana. This just goes to show you that we are everywhere and when there is an event planned it is a guarantee that you’ll find other PCVs on the bus – so you’re basically never alone. The ride took about 3 ½ hours to get to Samana, where we took another but smaller bus to Las Galeras. From the drive by we did of Samana, it looks like a small European village, with sailboats at the dock and pastel painted houses – very cute.

Once in Las Galeras we find our way to Hotel Marcos, where we see the ocean for the first time in this small town. The place had a very tranquil atmosphere that was perfect for us who just traveled for over 4 hours. Marcos is a Canadian ex-pat who started running the place earlier this year. He was nice and accommodating to our group of PCVs who came and went. I am sure he was happy that we all drank during his happy hour and ate at the restaurant. The food was okay, but the drinks were better. The water was warm there at the main beach and there were lots of plants under the water which made it hard to stand or walk on the ocean floor.

Saturday we took a boat to Playa Ricon. About a 20-minute boat ride this beach is hidden behind a few huge rocks. At the edge of the beach a river meets the ocean. If you have ever been in Barton Springs in Austin, Texas then you would know how cold the fresh water was! It was like stepping into an ice cube. This is the type of water that cools your inner core and it takes hours for the heat/sun to penetrate the coolness. It was Awesome. During this time older volunteers and new volunteers are meeting and sharing stories about their sites. It was a good experience to hear how the other volunteers live their day-to-day lives. I also learned a lot by seeing how they travel and what food they pack to eat cheap, but be full. Apparently canned pasta needs not cooking, just open and eat! I’m looking forward to a can of ravioli next time I go to the beach.

That night Marcos had a burger/hot dog grill party and other ex-pats came to see the spectacle of the PCVs! However, there were not fireworks, cake, or watermelon. I missed the watermelons of Grapeland, Texas this year. But in tradition, off we went to the local car wash to get our bachata and meringue dancing on. All of this lasted until late into the night and in my true fashion I was up by 7AM. Why or how I do it who knows! But I’m usually up early after a late night, I try to eat and then nap but that didn’t work out on Sunday.

I latched on to another group of PCVs and we secured a guagua to Las Terrenas, another amazing beach town. It was about an hour east of Las Galeras and even more unreal. This place feels like it was developed by Italians and French ex-pats. This place was more expensive and had a lot more to offer. We spent the afternoon hanging out in the water and the afternoon napping in the hotel/apartment. I noticed that in both towns one of the main attractions as far as food goes is Pizza. So yeah I ate pizza twice while on this trip and I am sick of it! I’ve never been a pizza lover, but this weekend I was craving something else, like fish. I got my wish to eat fish that night and it was so satisfying. We all took this night to sit around at the hotel and unwind. The next morning we found the French bakery and I had the perfect cup of café con leche and an apricot Danish. Yummmm!!! This is one place I’ll hit up if ever in the Samana Peninsula again or if I have people visit. The town was pricey for my PC budget but for people on vacation its not super expensive. The shops are trendy and the clothing very cool. I wish I had been an American on vacation just to have money to buy clothes.

My clothes here are going through some rough times. A few weeks ago I washed my darks with a new purple towel. HUGE mistake! It gave all my clothes a purple tint and changed the lighter clothing’s color completely. Fortunately I can still where all of it even though they are new colors. But today I threw in my khaki capri’s with the darks and they came out with blue stains ever where?!?! I wash with cold water so I don’t know what went wrong. So, like I said, my clothes are getting the worst of the PC experience. I also noticed that everyone uses fabric softener here. I never used it in the states so I’ve been washing without here, but today when I went to take my clothes off the line all the cotton items were stiff and rough. I will start using fabric softener now, I hope it makes them feel better. But I digress.

The small guagua back to Santiago was 4 ½ hours and it was a tight squeeze for a good 3 hours or it. Luckily with my new found friends Jenna, Karina and Justin it was a memorable time. These older PCVs have Spanish down enough to joke with the people on the bus and they throw out the “Ah, Dios” y “gracias a dios” - and well anything referring to God and your cool with the Doñas on the guagua. When we made it back to Santiago they showed me a nice sushi place that wasn’t too expensive and didn’t taste like the kind you’d get at the grocery store but better like a mid-scale sushi place. I know it seems weird that this PCV is hanging out in resort towns and eating sushi but hey its hard work being the gringa in a small pueblo. From there I grabbed a ride from the family friend who is still visiting from NY. I was happy to be home and ready to sleep in my bed.

Tuesday I woke up and headed to the CTC to check out the situation there since it had been almost a week. Turns out the Internet went down over the weekend and the place was a ghost town. Although as I was walking to and from the CTC people stopped me to see how I was and how enjoyed my trip. It was such a good feeling to have people seem like they care. It just confirms that I love my community. I still have lots of diagnostic work to do but little by little I’ll get it done before our 3-month in-service training. This is a 5-day workshop where our project partners come and we present our diagnostic findings and then us PCVs do more hands on technical training with one another. I’ll be leading a video editing class! My goal is to use the moviemaker program (on most CTC computers) to make a video as my diagnostic presentation. This way I’ll have experience using the program and then I’ll teach my fellow ICTs how to use it. I’ve got less than a month. Keep your fingers crossed.

Side note: I came down with an allergic reaction to a mango! The rash is going away after two days of sitting on my bed covered in Caladryl lotion. The PC doctors are great here so don't worry. If it doesn't get any better in a few days I will be heading to the capital. However, it seems as though the spreading has stopped and one side of my lower back is already healing. Gracias a dios!

I've missed you too

So I haven’t been completely honest with you. There are some things I’ve left out for fear of the community finding this blog. But what the hell. Today I’m going to dare to live on the edge. Not that I’m really writing anything risky but just incase…

I went to the capital the other weekend to hang out with some other PCVs and take care of some office stuff. I had only planned on staying one night and then one night in Santiago with another friend. However, I was talked into staying until after Sunday night. Getting to the capital is rather easy from Santiago. I just take a Caribe Tour bus and bam! I get to the stop in Santo Domingo and the walk to the Peace Corps office is only a few blocks down in the Gazcue district, past the American Embassy and the corner colmado that PCVs use daily. I had the pleasure of feeling like I was an independent adult once again as I walked out of the bus station. This was the first time I had been out of my site for more than a month and I felt giddy in this new sense of self. My Spanish had improved a little bit and I knew where I was going, I kind of felt like a tour guide to my friend who I had met in Santiago. We get to the office and I find two packages from Kyle! It only took me two months to get them but they were there and the Reese’s peanut butter cups were divine. After dropping our stuff in the PCV lounge/ book exchange room we headed to the Embassy to eat some lunch. The café there has a Dominican plate of the day and “American” food. We both had a cheeseburger and French fries. It was delicious and a much need dose of red meat. I’m not usually a fan of eating lots of read meat but heck; I need something beside chicken just this one time.
Walking into the Embassy we joke that even the air is different in this slice of America, were most people speak English and the military guards are American. To get into the pool we have to ask the guard at the front of the building for the key. Stacey and Katie went up to him and of course asked in Spanish or Spanglish if you will, and he replied, “I speak English.” We laughed because, well of course he does, but we are still living in the DR so we were going to speak Spanish. (The guards are very handsome and a treat to flirt with when ever we do go to the Embassy.) The pool was wonderful and the showers have hot water and you have to flush the toilet paper! The water system in this country usually doesn’t support toilet paper going down the pipes, but again, in this slice of American we can do what you guys don’t even think twice about. Us gals had a good time hanging out in the water and beating the Capital heat. It was super hot – it seems like the temperature rises 10 degrees or so after steeping off the bus. After a rinse in the hot shower we head to the hotel we’ve made reservations at. We don’t really know where its at so I’m on the phone with Lindsey who stayed there earlier that week and we finally get there. The room has A/C and hot water and two beds. What else could you ask for? So we chill out and prepare for a nice dinner at the rumored Italian restaurant. I’ll admit that we did pick the hotel furthest away from the office and restaurant, but whatever we are still learning!
Cappuccinos, is the little Italian place that has 70pesos glass of red wine. A deal that is priceless because the house wine is way better than most other house wine picks. I was impressed with the service and food. However, something I’ve learned here is that restaurant’s don’t make additions or substitutions to dishes. I ordered the pesto pasta and wanted to have them throw some artichokes in the mix but the waiter wasn’t having any of it. So I got them on the side and added them in myself. At the Chinese place a few days later they didn’t have tofu so I asked about them to just add eggplant to the veggies. Again, no go. Its like they don’t understand the concept of just adding in another ingredient. It wasn’t like it was super busy or hard but to no avail I could not get what I wanted. Anyway, this lovely group of sexy girls was having fun and it was such a good time. We walked back to the hotel and went straight to sleep. Poor Stacie was going back to her site at 6AM to make it back for a fundraiser at her CTC. Katie and I woke up that morning and went searching for the French bakery for breakfast. The DR doesn’t put much emphasis on breakfast. It was hard to find anything open aside from empanada stands. So after taking lots of wrong turns in Gazcue, we finally see another volunteer walking around and ask her. She points us in the right direction and we spot it just around the corner. I had a savory croissant as well as a chocolate one that put a big smile on my face. It was a cute small place that was cool and peaceful. Katie and I were very happy to sit and relax. We took a different street back to the hotel just to get a different perspective. It was a hot walk but after getting out stuff together, back we head to the PC office. Katie heads back to her site and I go to the office and contemplate my next move. I pick the brains of other volunteers about where to go and what areas of town are good to eat or shop. The office is buzzing with volunteers and apparently Sunday night was the night to stay because there was a free Cuban salsa band at very cool spot in the Colonial zone. My new friends Charlie and David convinced me to stay. So I called Jean and by luck her phone broke and wanted to come into the Capital to get it fixed on Monday!!! So she was heading to meet me in Santo Domingo and I would have a gal pal until Monday! I hung out with the guys and we walked around the colonial zone and played games with the tourists. Jean met up with us and we hung out in the parks and found a gelato place and then sat at the ruins of the oldest church in the southern hemisphere. This would be the same place the band would be on Sunday.
After going to National (the awesome grocery store) in the morning and buying our breakfast Jean and I went to the office and then to the pool. It was a lazy day. We had stayed at the Pensión for cheap but we were going to stay with a friend of Jean’s that night. Jean’s friends live not too far from the Embassy, they are graduate students who are doing internships here for the summer in the field of public health. They were cool girls who were happy to go out with us and other Americans. There were lots of us who showed up and it was a blast. I didn’t spend too much time on the dance floor because I was being a social butterfly. The ambiance was fantastic, with the historic colonial buildings down the hill and this ruin of a church on top of the hill and the salsa band’s lights with a crowd of Dominicans and tourists, it was a like a free concert on hot summer night in Austin, Texas. I felt at home. The thought that crossed my mind was to have all visitors come by Santo Domingo one Sunday night during their stay just to see this mass of people having a good time the Dominican way. Needless to say it was well worth the stay. Us gals head back to the apartment and crash. It was the hottest night sleep I’ve had since being in country. I sleep with out a fan usually, but my site is in the hills and so much more cool. So here I was sleeping on a couch, without at fan in the capital! It was a night of tossing and turning and trying to sleep. I was happy to wake up early and take a shower! Jean and I headed out got fruit plates and off to the office. We both got our business taken care of early in the morning, which was sort of abnormal for PC. As we are walking to the Embassy to eat lunch I remember that my friend Cameron would be coming back from the states with a harddrive for me! So I play around with the idea of staying, yes one more night just so I don’t have to leave again to get this harddrive. I talk myself into staying and thinking it would be the best thing logistically.
Another day at the PC office watching TV and downloading yoga podcasts. It felt kind of like a waste but what the hell, eh? Another fellow PCV, Cliff had come in so we went to eat Chinese and then back to El Conde (the main strip at the Colonial Zone). I call and call Cameron from the time she was supposed to land but it keeps going straight to voicemail. I settle on the fact that her flight must have been cancelled. I feel a little guilty about staying and not accomplishing my mission, but that was something beyond my control. I leave early on Tuesday so I can be back at my sight in time for Altagracias lunch. There is such a thing as “Campo Guilt” here in the DR or all of Peace Corps for that matter. This is when people in your site try to guilt you because you are leaving site. Fortunately my campo doesn’t really do that but I myself felt guilt. However, days after I got back to my site, people would say “wow, how long has it been since I’ve seen you.” or “Where have you been?” Nothing too bad but I could tell people were starting to question if I was working or not.
It was a much-needed trip out of my site and I had a good time, but getting back into the swing of things here has been hard. Being around all my friends might have started a small case of homesickness, but in just two weeks I’d be back into the group at our 4th of July weekend celebration in Las Galeras on the Samana Peninsula. (Which is this weekend!)

Lately I’ve been in a funk. It must be one of those down moments on the rollercoaster ride I’m on. I have been feeling homesick and just down on myself for not getting Spanish down as quickly as I had hoped. Silly things that I will work through but until then I’m keeping my head high and trying to smile. Mrs. Carter says it happens and that at around this time 4-5 months of living in a new place we hit a plateau where the new wears off. There is nothing wrong with my community or site, they are all really encouraging and helpful but sometimes I realize I’m just going to be down. But this weekend will be good to play and joke with other PCVs about our experience thus far. I am sure most of us have all felt the same way at one time or another.

So Wednesday when I got back I didn’t even have a regular day because it was the annual day for horseback ridding and drinking. This marked the annual caballo (horse) ride. Mostly men and a few women mount horses and prepare to ride on them through the next town and then past the presa (dam) making a vuelta (lap/tour) back to my town. The whole ride took about 4 hours. But before the caballeros could start trotting along the Ayuntamiento (municipal government) guagua had to be ahead of the crowd followed by another truck with a system in the back blaring Tejano music so that the riders would have something to move to. I don’t think the horses cared to much for the deafening music. Also following along were people on motorcycles (motos), and kids on mules. The whole precession looked like a circus gone mad. I was invited into the Sindico’s (mayor) guagua, since it was obvious that this gringa wasn’t going to be ridding any horse! So I squeezed into the back of the trucks cab with three other women. It was a very tight and I was the one getting all the sun. It was then that I couldn’t remember if I had put on my deodorant or not. I spent too much time anticipating the moment when we would cross the river and come to the open road, hoping that the breeze would dry my armpits and carry whatever body odor out the window. Apparently I did remember to put it on because I didn’t smell too bad after awhile. Now I could really enjoy the ride. However, being in the back of the guagua wasn’t as cool as I thought it would be because all the action was all behind me. So after two stops I got out and hopped in the back with the young kids and held on for dear life. As I was getting into the back I heard a rip. Yup, my jeans ripped in the crotch! However, no one else noticed and it wasn’t too big. I had acquired a digital camera from my friend and took this opportunity to take pictures to document the ride. We would stop so that the two men who organized the ride could offer raffles, for what I don’t know. I also noticed that many of the men were drinking whiskey and beer. Even the younger kids, about 12 and up, were turning up the bottle. Oh well, it is summer right?
By the time we got to the next town over, a good number of our cities finest were borracho (drunk) and I thought they did a great job representing the town! What a sight, seeing men hit, kick and whip their horse or their neighbors. FYI to all those who do not like animal cruelty, animals are not treated with care or ease here in the DR. I saw so much hitting and beating of these horses and mules. I would chalk it up to the booze but even the little kids took too much fun to hitting their mules with their sticks. That was the not so cool part.
The ride went through the next town and while we were coming up to the presa the sun was starting to go down over the lake the dam makes. It was a beautiful picture that I’ll try to post. The kids in the back of the truck were so helpful in making sure I got good pictures of this presa. They seemed so proud of their landscape that I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the sight of rolling green hills meeting the fresh water lake. By the time we got back to town it was dark and I was off to my house. It was a rather long night and I was happy to be in my bed.
The rest of the week was regular. I weighed myself when I got to the capital and noticed I’ve gained 10 pounds since being in country. That doesn’t help my mood, but I did start hitting the gym harder. On Saturday I went to the club de madres (mother’s club) sewing class and then the weekend I hung out at my place watching movies my new friend Charlie put on my thumb drives. Not much going on in the way of my diagnostic, I’ve basically decided all diagnostic work will continue when I get back from the 4th of July weekend.
Yesterday I was all set to go to sewing class and master sewing in a circle but a friend of the family came to take Sidenia and I to Santiago to swim and enjoy some time out of Baitoa. I met lots of people who live in the states. Some are on the board of a Non-Profit that help out people in Baitoa. So I pitched my idea for creating a scholarship for people who wouldn’t be able to afford classes at the CTC. I’ve thought of fundraisers already. I realized that this time during our diagnostic isn’t only to go around and interview people and kids, but to make connections. It wouldn’t have looked like I was working while chatting around a pool, but I was actually networking and making plans to do more in the future. It was a much needed pick me up. Tomorrow I’m meeting my friend Arya and we will start our journey to Samana.
Happy 4th of July to ya folks.

per your request.. a little more

Sitting in the gallery of my second floor apartment surrounded by the cock-a-doodle-doos of the chickens and the roar or the motorcycles going up and down the side road I find a pleasant satisfaction in the dark green color of my yerba mate (tea). This small action gives me such a warm feeling. Having brought a French press and the Yerba Mate was a good call. I didn’t want to use it during training because I knew when I was more settled this little bit of “my life back in the states” would help me find my routine here. And it has! It is that little bit of home life that lets me feel at peace here within this new space.

Depending on the day I do yoga, go to the gym or just wake up and start my day. Either way, I am cooking breakfast and making my tea. I bring it all up stairs and enjoy the lush green trees as I sip tea and read my book for the week. This week it’s The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It is very good, he seems like the kind of professor I could have used. I have not seen his last lecture, which you can see on YouTube. I hope to get it next time I am at the Peace Corps office (because of the high speed internet)!

Yesterday I had a very successful planning meeting with my board of directors (consejo). We broke down the town into the various barrios and started a schedule of who can go with me to which areas to start carrying out the diagnostic question. Although I had plans to meet up with my project partner at 9AM, he called to push it back to 9:30AM… so is the life. Also if it rains here, any plans are postponed. Those are the types of things that will slow my process down, but for now I feel on schedule.

It´s like this..

I am nestled on the second floor of the third house within the property my host family owns. There is a house for the grandmother, another for the daughter and family (husband, two girls, one boy), and the “garage” with a room and bathroom upstairs. That’s where I live! I couldn’t have asked for a better family and place to live. I have my own galleria area that is covered with trees, perfect for a yoga practice. So with my own key to the various fences and doors I have the freedom to come and go as I please. The grandmother and mom just left for New York for a few weeks. So I’ve organized to have my lunch with my friend Altagracia and I’ll be taking care of my breakfast, while the young gals here at the house cook dinner. My family has lived in New York for a few years so they and their kids speak English! It doesn’t help my Spanish but it makes communicating easier. It seems most of my town has some English background, which makes Spanglish the communication device of choice for me. However, Altagracia is going to be giving me Spanish lessons a few hours weekly until I get my articles down. I still fumble on the feminine/masculine parts of Spanish.

The campo that I get to live in for two years is squished within a shallow valley of rolling hills. There is a river that runs on one side of the town toward the damns that have been built here, of which there are three in the area. The views from the hills are amazing! On the hills there are crops of yucca, tobacco, corn, and bean. There might be more but I forget. I broke my camera during my site visit and have not yet tracked down my new camera from my PC friend who grabbed it for me while visiting Texas a few weeks ago. When I get my camera, I’ll be sure to put up some pictures. I tried running here the first week, but found out that all the hills here make it hard. Plus I’m not used to the altitude (I guess) so I’ll be joining the local gym. They don’t have a treadmill but they do have stationary bikes and two “elliptical trainers” that should help me get used to doing cardio at this altitude. I got one of my friends (who is here after 35 years of living in NY) to talk to the owner and get me a deal on the cost! I feel like this town and I will get along just fine!

The question of the week has been “What are you going to do here?” My canned answer is that I’m working with the CTC (Community Telecommunication Center) that was built by the office of the First Lady. My program is information technology, so I’ll be teaching computer classes, probably an English class too. However, for the next two months I’ll be walking around this community doing interviews to see what other kinds of things are needed. The past two weeks I’ve been getting to know people in the community, trying to build relationships. Since most people here have heard about me by now, because I was on the local radio and television stations this past weekend, I have gathered a buzz that should help me get through the 80 - 100 interviews with families in the area. I have ambitions to interview the younger people separate, as well as the teachers and community leaders. It seems like a lot of people and it is. But I think I’m getting a crew to help me tackle each group so it should come together, God willing.

I’ll start the interview process next week! Altagracia thinks we should get a big team together and go out and conquer the town in one day. However, I would like to go to various areas that I haven been to yet so that people can meet me. They might be more willing to answer questions from this cute American girl instead of someone they see all the time.

The campo that I live in is very quite. There is one club and a few pool halls that are sketchy so I won’t be going there to have fun. If I want a good time I’ll have to get to Santiago somehow. The gals who work at the CTC and I have been trying to get to Santiago to see a movie but so far we haven’t found a ride that works with out schedule. Being a “Mujer Seria” or “serious woman” I won’t be going out or drinking here at my site. I’ll have to save my wild times for when I get together with my PCV friends. I don’t need to be making friends with the wrong people because if one thing is true, reputations are where it’s at as far as respect goes.

I have been well accepted here and feel very much part of the community already! Showing up to a funeral and then going to the hour prayer sessions throughout the week and then cleaning the chicken carcasses for the fiesta on the 9th day will do lot for a reputation. Last week while in this family’s home I noticed how well the women here age. It could be that most die their hair black (or other color) which makes them look so many years younger but they are also strong and work hard to make sure all those around them are taken care of. These women here are very extraordinary. I feel like so much of the DR culture is to make sure guests feel like family. You would never walk into a Dominican home and not be offered a seat, coffee, soft drink, or food. That said, if you are every hungry or thirst just find your way into a house around 12 and you’ll get served lunch, regardless if you’ve never met the family. The other day I was walking down the street on my way to lunch, when I passed a woman who was washing yucca at her out side sink. As I walked by I said my usual “Hola, buenas días”, she waved me down and said I haven’t met you but I saw you on TV. I then introduced myself and she pointed out her sons and friends who were sitting in the patio. I haven’t quite figured out how to continue the small talk in Spanish, but I didn’t need to. She asked where I was eating and where I lived. She then took my shoulders holding me at arms length and smiled so big! I was then pulled in for a huge hug and at that moment was part of her family. She invited me back for coffee anytime and that was it. So when at times when I start to miss my mom I only have to walk around the street to find a mother figure willing to give me a little love. These are the women who will make my two years fly by.

If you really want to know...

I know that I skipped two weeks and sometime in the future I’ll write about it but for now here is the most recent of my days.

I left my house around 10:30 today, heading to Judi’s house in hopes that I would finally meet some people in my campo town. Keep in mind this would also be my first time to just “call” on people in their homes, a very Dominican thing to do. Alas, she wasn’t home so I kept on walking down the hill to see who else I would see further on towards the “downtown” area.

Proud Gringa moment number one: I introduced myself to a woman who was walking to the super marcado, explained that was new in town and was walking around so that I could meet everyone since I’d be living here for two years. She agreed that it was a good idea so she introduced me to the woman who came behind. Apparently she was with me on the beach trip but was just as shy so she didn’t say anything while at the beach. However, since talking on the street isn’t as intimidating (for me anyway) we all walked and talked until we got to the yellow Mercado next to the gym. She went on about her shopping and I priced the household items I will need to by very soon. You know the essentials like toilet paper, candles, wasp spray, a mop, and bread. Looks like can spend close to RD$300 (that DR pesos). While she was getting her sugar, she kindly introduced me to some other women who were getting their salad and chicken for their lunch. It was 11AM by this time and but the mercados were out of chicken!!! What is a Dona to do? As she was paying up in came the American! I haven’t seen her since the first day of my site visit. I was relived to have someone to quickly speak English with. I told her about my plans for starting a diagnostic committee and that I would be very happy if she could help me out with translating and other technical things a fluent Englsih/ Spanish person could do. Turns out her pastor and a few other people from her church in Pennsylvania are in town for the week so she had to track down a chicken so that they to could eat the typical Dominican lunch of rice, beans and chicken. She will also be a good resource to help answer questions about the inner-workings of the town, since she’s observed this town as an outsider.

Moving upward toward the park, I took a quick left toward the primary school. I knew that on this road there lived a girl about my age who is on the Consejo of the CTC and her mother seemed very helpful the first time I met her. Proud Gringa moment number 2: I remember both of their names and called out, “Buenas, Dona Altagracia! Soy la Americana!” She was very happy to see me and quickly made me sit down. I have noticed that Domincans will tell you to sit almost before saying hello. I think it’s because they want to make sure you know that you are welcome into their home and they want you stay. So I sit. Her daughter comes out and we do the small talk. I mention the meeting we are having today and I get the recent time change. I then slip in that I’m looking to start a diagnostic committee so that I can be introduced into neighborhoods and community groups with more ease. Altagracia is delighted to show me around, but then the subject quickly gets changed to what houses, if any would be available for me to live in come August. It is now 11:50AM and they are about to eat lunch – yes, the bandera. Sidena doesn’t give me the option of leaving, she commands me to stay and eat with them. Of course I can’t say no. (I did the first time – but I’ll blame that on my American ways.)

After lunch we start to play the board game Clue – you remember from the mid 90s. Altagraica then says that we are going to the Primary school sine I wasn’t formally introduced to them during my site visit. However, she takes a look outside and notices the dark clouds brewing and says we should wait until after the rain shower. The rain pours down starting at 2PM and doesn’t let up in the slightest until about 5PM. I took a look outside while the bulk of the rain was coming down and noticed that the creek that I have to pass to get to my house was now a raging river*. There is another way to get to my house but it’s much longer and I’m sure just as crazy. I know then that I’m not going home anytime soon. So we spend the afternoon playing Clue and Uno. Those games really made the time fly by, but the school had already let out so we settled on visiting her friends in the neighborhood.
*Noted for future reference when it rains.

The meeting was set for 7PM and another member of my consejo was picking up Sidena around that time so I hitched a ride with them. I left the house without my notebook thinking I would have gone to the house before the meeting, but I thought heck. I can swing it. Wouldn’t you know -- I did! I was able to successfully ask the members of my consejo and the staff at the CTC for the names of groups and community leaders. Although they didn’t really write them down for me the way I wanted everyone understood me! I’m not worried because I know Altagracia and her friends will come through for me! She used to be a teacher here and it shows, it’s mostly because of the way she’s so intent on helping me and guiding me through the town. I had a hunch that she’d be my go to Doña, I’m really glad I sucked up my fear and walked into the house.
When I got home the compound was dark, I guessed the luz must be out so I wonder up the hill and unlock all the doors to my room. (I am safely locked away). When I get into my room I hear the squish squash of my shoes in a puddle of water. Crap! Half of my room is under water, including my power strip and computer power cord. I quickly check to see if the top of my table is wet, including my computer – it isn’t – Thank God! I grab my flashlight and survey the rest of the damage, but nothing else is sitting in the puddle of water. I head down stairs to find a broom. I notice that both houses are looked up and there is now way to get in even for a glass of water! Luckily I find a mop outside of the house and curse my way up the stairs. I start moping out the water but I’m just moving it around. Then I remember the towel from the beach and in conjunction with the mop slowly soak up the water. Not only am I weak because I hadn’t eaten anything since noon, but dehydrated too. Not too long after I was done mopping, my family came home and we cut up a piña and I had some orange juice. A very satisfying dinner!
Its only day 4 here at my site and I am happy to say that I feel like things are going to fall into place as they need to. On Monday I wasn’t so sure I knew what I was doing, but today I feel like I have a clue!

*Update* I walk to Altagracia´s house at 10AM and find the whole place shut up. I knock and knock hopping I don’t have ask the neighbor where she might have gone. Her husband then comes to the door and tells me that she’s at the neighbor’s house down the road. This is the sick neighbor whom we visited yester day. He died late last night so the beginnings of a viewing are under way. I walk on down willing to help and show my respect to the family and community. I see most of the people who I met yesterday and my host mother and father. They look surprised to see me, I guess because they don’t know I have such a tight relationship with other people in the community. Altagracia is nice enough to take me next door to the escuela so that I can meet the directora (in my case the sub-directora). She apologizes for not being able to take me around later in the afternoon because of well, obviously the death of a friend! Of course I completely understand and can’t help but smile. This is just an example of why things here in the DR don’t always get done or happens as planned.

I was trying not to drink coffee here because some ¨healer¨ boyfriend of mine convinced me it wasn’t good for me, but it is impossible to refuse the shot glass amount of coffee (especially when the Doña is smiling at you with bright eyes and a friendly smile). So there goes my idea of explaining to the Doña that I won’t be having her coffee. Instead I’m opting to drink more water to flush out the coffee. Wish me luck!

My new home

I will be living in Baitoa, Santiago and working for the Office of the First Lady!

I sound pretty fancy don't I?

last day of CBT

There are a few things I’ll miss about El Seibo. One of which is not creepy uncle that comes to the house every few weeks. Blanco is back. He’s not an awful guy. He cooks well and is always willing to make me juice, but his stares are too much for me. I will miss my host family though. Even if they are crazy, they know how to have fun and make exciting adventures out trips. I like my host family in Santo Domingo lots, don’t get me wrong – they are just different. I’m actually very happy to head back to the capital to see my fam! I hope they notice a difference in my Spanish. The thing I’m most looking forward to be getting fresh fruit in the mornings. They are also very good at conversing with me. The family here in El Seibo doesn’t make much convo, but we do watch telanovelas together. That’s kind of the way things are in the DR anyway. It isn’t about what you say or how you say it, it’s more about if your there or not. Just being present makes a huge difference to them. El Seibo its self I will miss because it way more calm and quite than my barrio in Santo Domingo. I’ll have to get used to falling asleep with earplugs again. Although, not for too long because one week later I’ll be on the road again.

We have just one more day and then we pack into a bus to head back! Training has been fun – kinda’ but I know we are all ready to move along and make that first trip to our sites. There is a rumor that we’ll find out of sites on Thursday!!! Keep your fingers crossed for a small town by the beach.

Unfortunately I’ll be skipping town the day before the Patronales weekend starts. Every town in the DR has a Patron saint, and to honor them the people of El Seibo has bullfights, carnivals, fairs, and lot of parties. The carnival got here this past weekend. It’s not much really, a few kiddie rides, a carousel, and a fiareswheel. However, it’s not just any fairswheel. This one packs in three people to a cart and probably goes 4 times as fast as those in the state. Lorena took Lindsey and I on this ride and it was WAY FUN. Yes it was scary because you think at anytime it could fall off and roll down the street. We survived. After, Daisy took us out to WOW and we did it up like Dominicans. Who knew that Sunday was the night everyone went to the dicoteca? So I danced with a few men here and there but kept my seat for a majority of the night. It was neat to see the groups of people and even picked out those people who have been to my house. It was perfect way to close out my stay here.

The past few days I’ve been in a funk. Can’t really explain it. I think I feel like we’ve just been passing time until Thursday, although instead of having little parties in class I’d like to have more Spanish class, call me crazy but I still need work. Oh well, why worry anyway. This is just part of integrating right? Learn how to relax and go with the flow, Dominican style.

I am writing this in the front gallery of my house as Lorena drives her boyfriend’s truck away with the radio loud enough to vibrate my chair. Like I said, they know how to party.

hallelujah

My last two Spanish presentations are done! My group knocked them out in two days. Working with the computer lab in the high school was not an easy task. Tuesday se fue la luz (the lights went out) so we thought that class would be put on hold, but turns out the high school has a generator! After 20 minutes of thinking that we would teach, then not teach we finally taught. I almost forgot, the teacher of the computer class didn't mention to us or our technical trainer (Ann) that she would be in Santo Domingo that day! We were lucky that the class of 33 students behaved long enough to sit through our hour long power point presentation. they were also helpful when I needed my Spanish corrected. We got positive feed back and impressed our grading audience with how we controlled the class - even with our low Spanish level.
Wensday night went a lot more smooth. There were only about 20 students and most of them were older since we taught the night class. the average age was about 20 years old. Even though these students were older, they were the basic computer class. We taught the very basics of Microsfot Word. It was challenging to pace the class since some people could type and others didn't even know where the space bar was. Again, it went very well and those people who wanted to learn did!
Now I only have one more week here in CBT - then off to the last few weeks of training! For now I have Spanish classes and a few more sessions on technical stuff. For the most part I am hanging out with my family watching telanovelas and trying various types of potatoes and boiled plantains. I'll be sad to leave El Seibo, but I am crossing my fingers that my site will have the same type of rolling hills and rich land to keep me company.

Fin de Semana en Miches

Sunday was a completely Dominican day. I was told to be ready by 9AM so that we could get to Miches temprano (early). Like the gringa I am, I was ready to go by 9AM but little did I know Daisy was just getting up. In pure Dominican fashion we left around 11:30AM. Jesus and Idaliby took their boat this time. They came by the house around 10:30 so see if we were ready. Since we were not they went ahead and took off. Since I was ready I thought maybe I should ride with them, but I wasn’t really invited. So I waited another hour and rode with Daisy, Rolando, and a family friend Kiki (?). Only 10 minutes outside of town we came upon Jesus and Idaliby’s guagua (SUV) that was pulling the boat and followed them all the way to Miches. After stopping to here and there to pick up yucca and other roots and meat for lunch we got to Daisy’s brother’s house to find a few guys eating lunch and talking about their roosters. (Daisy’s brother raises roosters for cockfighting). Since lunch was cooking and would be an hour or so, I went with the younger crew to find the boat ramp in Miches. We drove around a little bit asking people where we should go, we kept getting sent further down the beach not really sure where we were headed. We finally came across a sandy beach that might work. Little did we know that it was supper shallow and the guagua ended up getting stuck in the sand! It was one of those times where I wish my Spanish was quick and accurate enough to say something. I just stood back and let it all happen. With every acceleration of the guagua it sank further and further into the sand, my grin just kept getting bigger. I felt so helpless but what could I have done anyway, Jesus didn’t even want to listen to the men in town who offered advice. I was surprised how calm everyone was – maybe that’s why I felt okay just watching from the sidelines. Franko, a friend of the crew was on his way along with another SUV following with Jesus’s sister and brother in-law and crew (lots of family). Idaliby called them on the cell phone and the girls got dropped off at the house and the guys came to rescue the guagua. After two hours, several broken strings, lots of digging and 15 or so men trying to help a Miches city/government mini-Mac truck pulled it out with heavy duty iron chains!
By this time I was back at the house eating my lunch (at about 4PM). So we didn’t get to the beach until 5pm. Jesus & Co. had the boat anchored there so I went for a ride! We didn’t really go anywhere, it was a short there and back type of trip, but it was amazing to see the island from the water. I took some pictures but don’t think they do it justice. This family sure does like to have fun though- there is never a shortage of beer or rum when we all get together. On the way up the mountain to go back to El Seibo Jesus’s guagua broke down. Again I stood back and let the crew handle the situation. While Kiki and I were sitting in plastic chairs in front of a colmado the men were pushing the broken down guagua up the hill to make room for Daisy’s guagua so they could attach the boat to it. The three people in Jesus’s car then pilled into ours – two men up front, four of us ladies in the back and one other guy in the very back (that’s not even close to full). Like I said, it was a very Dominican day. I don’t know if my family is just super chilled out but they didn’t seem to worry about the truck or any of the setbacks throughout the day. It just goes to show you that here in the DR any can and will happen.
Also on Sunday night I went to my first cockfighting arena. While we waited for the rest of the group to come back from the beach we walked over since Daisy’s brother lives real close and was there with his rosters. The arena was small but there were a good number of people there for an Easter Sunday. Men, women, and kids were staggered throughout the circular stadium watching the center ring as the handlers were aggravating the two cocks that were about to fight. I’ve never been into killing sports nor do I like the idea of two animals fighting so that humans can be entertained, but I’ll respect people’s cultures and give it a chance. I was very impressed at how the two cocks fight. It was somewhat of a graceful dance between the two cocks, each one pecking at the other, wings extended to gain leverage over the other. Here they shave the lower half and neck of the roosters – I think it’s to keep the opponent from easily being able to peck the feathers. Thus they have to peck to the head, back or wing area. The men who fight them also add “spurs” to be back roster’s feet so when they fly over the opponent they can bring their foot down to stab them in the neck, head or back. And when one rooster can’t take it any more they go limp and just lay down, like a dying swan in Swan Lake. I know it doesn’t sound very graceful but it wasn’t hard to watch. I feel like I found peace with it because I know that the roster that dies ends up being a meal for a family somewhere. Also, chickens and roosters are already raised to be eaten anyway, what does it mater how they die? Don’t worry, I wont become addicted to the fights.
My family and I went to Miches on Saturday and Sunday. The drive through the mountain is incredible! When you are driving up the mountain you go through grassy hills used for cattle grazing. Then as you get higher you can see the larger mountains in the distance, the valleys in between and the most gorgeous blue water. Everything is green and lush and looks so tranquil as the clouds float by leaving puzzle pieces of shadow on the valley. At times I have to pinch myself and remember that I am in the Peace Corps.
Some things I noticed throughout the weekend - Dominicans don’t really drink water, they usually quench their thrust with beer or booze. Dominicans don’t go to Miches to swim in the ocean; instead they wear new clothes and walk around on the beach or dance at the clubs on the beach. Most men will make catcalls at you if you are a young lady (especially if you are a gringa) walking down the beach. This includes boys eight years and older! I eventually just stared saying “thank you” under my breath when they would walk by and call me “Linda” or something. I knew it was a bad idea to walk down the beach in just my bathing suit, but I need to get dry before I could put my clothes on. Besides it was much better to go through that then have wet shorts for the remainder of the night. When I got back form my walk I got to play dominoes with the family. I am getting the hang of it! Jesus and I even beat the “unbeatable” team a few times!!! Yeah, I’m starting to integrate just fine – without even speaking Spanish. It also helps that my dancing skills are equal to many of the men I’ve danced with. I feel like its nice to have this chance to integrate but the real test will be in 3 weeks when I head to my site!
We only have two more weeks of technical training after Wednesday then we are back in Santo Domingo for a few days before heading to our new homes. The initial visit is just to meet the family, project partners and move our stuff. Then we head back to Santo Domingo for the swearing in ceremony and then the 2 years officially begins!!!

Some pics from my weekend at Miches, DR

With my sunblock and sunglasses I'm off to the playa...

Semana Santa has been a very slow and quite week around El Seibo. On the tech side of things our sessions have been productive. My lab is almost set up with software and anti-virus programs. Next week I'll have the chance to teach a basic program class to some of the high school students. Yes, in Spanish! Its the second Spanish presentation I'll be graded on.
There are only three more weeks of community based training and then I'll be told where my site is for the remaining two years. Its very exciting!!! Most of us are ready to know where we'll be and what organizations we'll be working with. I am crossing my fingers for a small town not too far from the beach! It's a long shot but I might as well dream big.
As for my health - I am almost back to normal. I have a slight cough now but that's about it! Now we know, don't eat the random organs of any animal (cow, chicken, ect), you just never know what type of parasites they might have!!!
Since it's a holiday weekend here in the DR, my family is taking me to the beach. Everyone in the DR goes to some type of body of water to celebrate Easter/ Semana Santa. The only thing is that with water activity comes drinking, and with drinking comes driving. Don't worry my host mom is responsible and probably won't drink and drive tomorrow. (just kidding mom! don't worry). Another trip to Miches is on the agenda tomorrow!

another week

The Spanish presentation went well, as I posted the other day. Last week was a full week. Not only was there Spanish class and technical training things to do all day but also I taught yoga three days and ran two days. Wednesday was very busy. We had a full day of classes; including a tour of the candy factory in town (Dona Tula’s) then I taught a yoga class and after went to the dance lessons I coordinated with Claudio (the friend of the family who is a DJ on the radio and at the Discoteca). The dance class was a success! Yeah, we said 7:30PM and Cludio showed up at 8:10 but whatever, that’s the DR for you. Once it got started the group really had a good time learning the meringue and the guys did a tremendous job learning how to lead and guide their partners while turning them. I felt so proud! We made plans to hit up the Discoteca Wow on Saturday night so the guys could show off their new moves.
Thursday was spent working on our Spanish presentations. Mine was about what I learned from the three ICT workers I had interviewed throughout the week. I’m interning at the lab in the Lecio (high school), and the ICT worker there doesn’t even have a working lab. When it is set up there are only about 10 computers for the 40 some students in the class. So most of teaching is theoretical. The DR’s education system is big on students just memorizing information and having them repeat it back so it makes sense to have it be the same with computers too. This is also a country where something like 2% of the GDP is spent on Education, ranking 133 out of 134 countries. It’s unbelievable sometimes. So that’s what my group gets to work with! This week we (all of us in the training group) are going to try to fix the computers and re-install Windows, and hope that they last a few weeks. The computers the Secretary of Education (SEE) gets for these labs are usually old and refurbished so they don’t hold up too well anyway. This week should be fun because we’ll finally be doing hands on learning! Enough of the sitting through lectures!
Friday night we were so ready to chill out after the very long day of presentations in Spanish. So we all made plans to watch a movie at another PCT’s house. My Don bought me a bottle of rum, that I was share with the group. I did my best to share but everyone wanted beer. Unexpectedly Cecilia and Justin (two PCV, I met a few weekends ago while on my PCV visit) came by the house, they are in El Seibo to help with our training. The talked me into going to Harold’s (the colmado across from WOW) and then discoteca Wow. I danced a lot and had a good time, but the hangover the next day was torture.
I woke up Saturday morning and no one was up because well, it was Saturday! I didn’t feel like waking up Yenny (the “adopted” daughter who usually makes my breakfast) since she is starting her vacation. So I walked to the colmado across the street and bought some bread. I was struggling at the tech session we had that morning. Lunchtime finally came. I had never craved rice and beans so much in my life! I would have killed for some huevos rancheros or eggs benedict that morning! When I did get home Daisy was upset that I didn’t wake her up so she could make me breakfast. I didn’t think to much of it but since this culture is very much about appearances, she doesn’t want people thinking she doesn’t feed me. She does, just not much at breakfast, but only you know that. Later on as a group of gringos, we hit up the pizza place that has Wi-fi, it worked for the first few minutes and then went out. After my slice of pizza and beer (a little hair of the dog that bit me… you know) it came back on. I found out that I could get a yoga-teaching manual in Spanish for $25, something to think about if I want to start classes at my site. After that little adventure Stacie and I went to for a run. We found I nice paved road that took us out of town toward Miches. It’s the perfect running road with just the right amount of hills and straight-aways. I need to add that on this night I attempted to eat a soup that was mostly cow intestines! Yes, I tried it, chewed it, and swallowed it. I gave it my best shot but just couldn’t eat more than a few spoonfuls. It was the most disgusting food I’ve ever had. BUT AT LEAST I TRIED!! If that doesn’t say Peace Corps I don’t know was else does. Not to mention I now have diarrhea (I’m thinking that’s why). Then it was time to get ready for the Americans debut at WOW. Everyone had a good time and Claudio was happy with the guy’s performance. We scheduled another class for Monday.
Sunday the PC group went to Costa Esmeralda (?), close to Miches. It is still a virgin beach, most of the property is rumored to be developed by a foreign development firm, but no word on when or what exactly will be built in the future. The views on the way there and at the beach were absolutely amazing. The drive there was bumpy but seeing the valleys and countryside made up for the small amount of carsickness most of us had. We spent the day lounging around, swimming and walking around this very tranquillo beach. No one wanted to leave, it was the perfect spot to sleep under the sky in a hammock, but alas we had to leave before dark since the drive through the mountains is a little tricky. My sickness didn’t kick in until I got in the car to head back to El Seibo (thank goodness). Once at my house my stomach hurt so bad and I was so nauseas I crawled into bed at 8PM and woke up at 7AM. Not only was my stomach in pain, but I’ve also come down with El gripe (a cold). Slowly I’m feeling better, I’m taking lots of liquids and advil.
Because of my yuckiness I was in daze most of Monday. I did feel good enough to go to the dance class. I was a lesson in bachata dancing. It’s a very boring dance. The beat isn’t fast and your not supposed to turn the ladies that much in it. Oh well, at least I showed up. I’ve learned so far that here in the DR 90% is just showing up. Either way, for a job or meeting, if you just show up people think your doing something – even though that’s not always true.

just a thought

It was a quick yet long week here in El Seibo. Lots of Spanish class and my first presentation in Spanish! It went well. Thanks for asking! I celebrated with my friends by watching a movie at on of the other trainee's house. I'll up date more later but just wanted to let you know all is well.

Lunes

This marked the beginning of our first full week in El Seibo. Daisy’s esposo (husband) won an election of some kind this weekend, I think he became President of some group or city office, I don’t remember what exactly even though she’s told me several times. But it’s hard for me to get the words when his title is about 10 words long in Spanish. Maybe I’ll have her write it down soon. Either way, he’s got this new job now and they celebrated all day Sunday. When I woke up this morning I wasn’t sure I would have anyone up to make my breakfast in time for me to get to the high school (where we have our training classes). I’m glad I didn’t worry to much about it because shortly after I was dressed Blanco (Daisy’s brother) was making me sardines, onions, peppers and mashed potatoes for my desayuno. It was a very untraditional meal but I liked it! Aside from the mashed potatoes it was a rather healthy meal. Halfway through Lindsey (enter link here) came by so that we could walk together and catch up on the weekend.

The first class of the week/day started out fine. We went to the high school’s computer lab to get a look inside the hardware of the dell computers. Apparently there was a PCV at this site a few years ago and left the computer lab in top shape with some one trained to take over when he/she left. However, the room that we say was very different. As of now the school doesn’t even use the lab, I think because most of the computers are broken. The room itself is super dusty, damp, and dirty and any other bad d-word you can think of. Lucky me – I am carrying out an internship in this particular lab with two other people during our 5 weeks of technical training. Nothing beats learning first hand – I guess. Needless to say there is a lot of work to be done.

Next week is a huge holiday in the DR. They call it Semana Santa (Holy Week), it’s tied into Easter somehow. The DR is big into Saints anyway. Each town has a patron Saint and once a year, at various times, they celebrate their particular saint with a huge festival in the town. But I think next week it’s just for the Easter. So, my point is that next week is a holiday and everyone goes to some type of body of water to celebrate. Even though the rest of the DR has the week off, us PCT folks get to spend the week fixing up the lab and computers. It will be nice to be at the high school without the students’ cat calling us!

Spanish class was uneventful except that I had a small cup of coffee today*. I’m not really drinking it since my acupuncturist told me I shouldn’t but today I said heck, why not? So shortly after class a group of us, including my Spanish teacher went for a run/walk. We ended up walking for about 20 minutes and running for 5, but when we got back to the house the other two guys how were supposed to join us had finally arrived so three of us continued running with them. In total it was a 45-minute work out! It felt good to get my heart rate up considering I’ve had a lot of fired food this past weekend and yoga doesn’t usually do it. I hope this same group will keep up this plan of alternating days between yoga and running. We’ll be able to do yoga at the high school in the room where we have class, because it’s huge!

When I got home Idaliby was waiting for me so that she could take me around town and help me find some tea (with or without a bag). It wasn’t really successful but I did get a few small packets of manzanilla (chamomile) that I’m going to try out in my French press. But if your feeling sorry for me you can send me bags of tea to the address to your right! She also showed me the few bookstores (used I think) around town – they were closed because it was close to 7:30PM. However she did offer me Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist in Spanish! All I really wanted anyway was an easy read book in Spanish to help with my learning and I ended up not having to pay! Yippee! I also got her to swing me by her house so that I could post yesterday’s blog post. Dominicans are super nice about sharing and I think they are sincere when they say it, but I wonder if she realizes that when she said; “any time you need the internet just stop by” I really will be by her house everyday. Hmm… maybe I’ll try to space it out some. Either way she’s an awesome person

I was out and about today more than usual, which I feel helped me hang out in the house a little more and I got to sit and chat with Daisy, her husband, and a guy who’s nickname is Coco. Coco owns the pizzeria and the factory that makes this famous drink in the country called mabi. He says that on Tuesday (today) he’ll bring me some of both so that I can try it out. It is normal for Dominican to put corn on their veggie pizza. I’ll let you know how it goes.

*It’s 12:40 and I’m still not tired. I think it must have been the coffee that’s keeping me awake. I know I turned 25 a few weeks ago, but the caffeine shouldn’t be affecting me this long! This makes me feel old 

25 days in the DR... WOW

The scavenger hunt around El Seibo went well. Our team didn’t find all of the 30 items but we got to see the city, and that was the point. The people around town were very helpful and did their best to give us directions to places like the famous candy store and the sculpture of a famous bullfighter and bull. We also scoped out the discoteca in town, although it wasn’t open at 11AM, we took note of the huge sign that read WOW Discoteca. After lunch on Friday we all went to our assigned Spanish classes. My class is at my teacher’s host family’s house, which is only a 10-minute walk from my house. Here at CBT we’ll be going home for a two-hour lunch everyday, that leaves enough time for a siesta or Internet time. During Spanish we walked around to everyone in the classes house to familiarize ourselves just a bit more. There are only 3 other girls in my group so it made for a short trip. After the walk around the barrio, we gals went to the Lincos (community Internet center) right by my house for an hour. Upon returning home, I had fried plantains and salami for dinner. I have a feeling that this house likes their fried food! Maybe it’s easier to cook, not sure. I did get some reading done in my yoga magazine and decided to start my meditation practice on Saturday.

Saturday my group and I worked on our first assignment for CBT. We had to lead/facilitate an activity with a group of kids. We divided up the boys and girls and had them draw a map of the barrio. It would have worked had there not been one older girl who dominated the rest of the girls. We didn’t intend this girl to even stay (she was the host sister of Stephanie’s), but we worked with it anyway. So the girls were so particular about their map that they wouldn’t even draw unless they had the straightedge to use. It could have gone better, but for the most part the process went well. We found out that the kids would like a University, public pool, and a super market in the town. Most of them go to the Cyber café to play games so they know how to use computers. I thought that was neat. By the time we wrapped it up it was lunchtime. The house is always buzzing with people around lunchtime. One guy always brings food so I get that served on top of what Daisy makes for me, as well as a Dixie cup of Presidente Light (beer). Today this guy invited me to play dominoes. I figured it couldn’t hurt even though I feel the game is way boring compared to how I played it in the states. But, it was fun to be part of the Dominican crew. Later I met up with Stacey and Stephanie to explore the city a bit more. We found a few other PCT and ended up at a restaurant for some Coke, but it turns out they only had Pepsi. We all talked about our experience so far as well as our projects. Nothing turns heads more than a group of Americans! I really dislike being in groups. Later that night I had to get over myself, because 15 of us walked together to check out the Discoteca WOW! First we stopped off at the colmado across the street to drink the cheaper beer, besides – no one was even in the discoteca ‘cause it was so early (9PM). Daisy showed up with her oldest daughter – whom I had not met yet and invited us over to the park. A few of us went over there until 11PM – when we thought the club would be happening but we were wrong. We did our best to have fun but without a crowd to dance bachata with the gringos looked lost. I can do the dance as long as my partner knows how, but the guys we were with haven’t figured it out yet. I don’t think the crowed even shows up until after 2AM. I didn’t wait around to see, I left for the house around 1AM. Daisy gave me a key to the house so that I wouldn’t have to worry about coming home at any particular time. A nice gesture I think. It’s nice to have a little bit of independence. I would however, like a little bit more family time. Because everyone has a TV in their room there’s not much interaction at night. Most of socializing happens between lunch and dinner – a time when I’m at Spanish class. Oh well, this is yet another lesson that the Peace Corps will teach me. Learning how to break open my shell and jump feet first into the awkwardness of my house.

Sunday I slept for most of the morning! When I woke up around noon, the house was empty. I think there was a fiesta for a friend who had become the President of some association. Idaliby, Daisy’s oldest daughter, came over in the afternoon and took me to here house so I could call my novio (boyfriend) using her free Internet phone thing. *Although Kyle and I are no longer boyfriend/girlfriend, I find it easier and better to say that I have one, especially when men ask. – It’s a safety issue. Kyle and I caught up for about two hours! It was helpful to talk with him since I’ve had the awkward transition here in El Siebo. I came home to find the house empty again so I did was I’ve been doing – watching tv in my room. I found the Chile v. Peru soccer game on tv and started writing this post. My parents called too! What wonderful people they are! It was nice to hear their words of encouragement and praise. Family is where it’s at people, in case you haven’t figured it out. Thanks again, mom and dad for the call!

All in all, training will work out. On Friday we’ll have to give our first presentations in Spanish. Throughout this week I should be doing interviews with youth and adults to access the needs of the community. There is a list of about 15 things I need to touch on, but I think we’ll be in groups. Maybe it won’t be so daunting if there are two of us. Anyway, wish me luck.

the past two weeks (in a nut shell)

Yes, it’s been too long I know! The truth is that I’ve been too tired to write. Honestly my energy is still too low to give you a nice story about my past week, but I will attempt to please you here. March 17th I celebrated my 25th birthday! It was a low-key kind of day for me considering I’m used to St.Patrick’s day being a full out party in the states. In my group there were two other people who shared my b-day so the whole day it was Feliz Cumplianos all day! It was sweet. My family had originally planed on taking me out to the discoteca (dance club), but when I got home Mayra had hurt her big toe earlier that day and wasn’t feeling up to dancing. Also, as a birthday present I got a Typhoid shot!!! And apparently I wasn’t supposed to drink beer and needed to take it easy. So it wouldn’t have worked out anyway. Mayra and the family got me some awesome red earrings and a necklace to match. Alex gave me a CD of Bachata music, Aventura. I’ve listened to the CD once but so far I like what I’ve heard, the lyrics are easy to understand so hopefully it will help with my Spanish. As a present to myself I taught the afternoon yoga class. Aside from feeling supper drugged up, the day went by like any other day. Thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes on facebook.

Wednesday was the last class of the week because we were preparing for our trips to current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV). I was heading to Tenares to visit Cecilia. But before I could out of Entrena I had to sit through a painful 4 hour Spanish class. It was the first time I’ve splurged for sugar between lunch and dinner. Since Dominicans love sugar here, it’s easy to find sweet stuff everywhere but hard to find healthy snacks. So, because they eat lots of rice and potatoes I’ve been watching my portions so I don’t blow up like a balloon. With that said, I’ve also been careful to not eat the sweet stuff, but on this day I blew it and thus the trend has continued. You may think that I could just grab some fresh fruit to snack on but that is not the case. Fruit isn’t really sold in the Colmados (small corner stores) – thus it’s not on my way to or from Entrena. I’m thinking that will change once at Community Based Training (CBT) or my permanent site.

Thursday was an early day because Lindsey and I met up with enough time to get to the bus stop by 7:30AM to catch our appropriate busses. I took the guagua to kilomitro 9 to catch the other bus to Tenares. I wasn’t sure the route that it took so I didn’t take a nap on the bus. Instead I watched the scenery change from city to campo. Outside the city it is such a different world. The fields are filled with green grass, cows, horses, and fields of agriculture with beautiful mountain ranges in the background. It was breath taking. I finally felt like I was in a beautiful tropical country! About time I think. The bus took a round about way to get to the city but luckily I was brave enough to ask the guy next to me if the stop for Tenares was close. Sure enough, it was the last stop so I really had nothing to worry about. Once off the bus I found my way to Cecilia’s house by way of a friend of her’s who knew I was coming. Anthony showed me to her house and the moment had finally arrived, I would find out what it’s REALLY like to be a Peace Corps volunteer. I was excited about getting a first hand account of the roller-costar we will experience for the next year to two years. Starved we walked to three different colmados to find veggies and pasta for out lunch. Back at her apartment (above one of the colmados) we chopped and cooked up a wonderful college style pasta dish. I got the low down on project partners and a reality check on my hopes and dreams.
Tenares is a pueblo in the Cibao region of the DR. this part of the DR is nicknamed “the bread basket” because it’s the most fertile area of the island and produces the most produce. Interesting fact #1: Rice is a big crop in this area. Fact #2: Drug dealers invest in homes here. So there’s money from all sides benefiting this valley. So the town has lots of small shops and seems to be doing fine. Why would they request a PCV? Well the Secretary of Education put a computer lab in a primary school and there is no one to run it. Funny enough – Cecilia has been there a year and still couldn’t get her counter part to open up the lab, because she doesn’t want the kids to break the computers. It seems absurd, and it is. And that’s exactly how Cecilia felt about it. I won’t bore you with any of the details about her bitch fest, but let’s just say this is not an easy job when working with others. On the bright side, her apartment was awesome. Although it wasn’t furnished there was a shower (with cold water only) and a toilet that you could flush!!!!! I felt like I was in a palace just because of that. Oh! The things we take for granted.

Saturday we took a day trip to Playa Grande. This marked my first trip to a DR beach! The sight was amazing; water various shades of blue and the sun luxurious. I felt I could stay there a whole week. The one-day trip was good for my base tan. I had one after my vacation to Miami in early February, but it’s fading away. Although we were only there for the day it was well worth the four hour round trip.

Sunday we went to San Francisco de Macoris and had lunch with a few other volunteers and their trainees at a cool place called El Patio. The theme of the restaurant is like your out on a patio. The furniture is patio furniture and the margaritas are amazing! You could also pick up wireless Internet from the Wi-fi Park across the street. Not a bad trip at all! I had such a good time feeling independent and out of Entrena’s watchful eye. I really wanted to write you all about my week but I had lots of homework and just couldn’t do it all. I also hit the hay around 9 o’clock that night because I was that tired.

Monday was just an ordinary day in the life of a PCT. Wake up, eat mashed potatoes or plantains with a fried egg on top with papaya on the side. Walk 30 minutes to the training center, try to get on the internet with 30 other people, get on just long enough to see that I got a few emails, and then off to the first meeting/class of the day. That morning we divided into our specific programs to discuss how our PCV visits went. There were some people who had about the same experience as me. Others had volunteers that are kicking butt and taking names. Some people felt disappointed because they saw volunteers just living a life of laziness, not teaching class or trying to get the community to respond. But to their credit, you can only do so much and the rest is up to the community. In these cases the communities are usually the ones at fault. I’m sure I’ll get into more of this once I’m a volunteer. The rest of the day was more information and Spanish classes. Tuesday was about the same. On the home front, my family is fine. Mayra is feeling just fine but we still haven’t gone dancing. Honestly I don’t think we ever will, which is fine with me. I’ll have my time while at CBT – so I hear. Alex has been a huge help for my Spanish. We sit and talk for most of the nights. The little gal who lives in my house likes to make fun of us because Alex has a thing for me. Oh well. He understands that we’re just friends though and that’s all that matters.

Wednesday we had our Spanish and PC exams. I passed both with flying colors!! I got a 96 on the PC exam – something I wasn’t expecting. I mean I knew I passed but that was a higher score than I had thought. Go Me!!!! The Spanish exams were fun because we had to go around to different areas and pretend that they were stores or we needed to rent hotel rooms or something like that. It was to test our speaking competency and it looks like I have it. Hooray! I was feeling a little stressed out when I got home because I had to pack just one bag for CBT (those of you who saw how I packed before leaving imagine how I fit it all into one bag!). I didn’t pack everything but most of it I got to fit into my REI BEAST! Yes, the name of the bag is the beast - a fitting name. When I got home the luz (electricity) was on which was unusual. I should have taken advantage of the light but I wasn’t ready to start packing so I sat outside with Alex and chatted about the day and other pointless banter. Come 8:30PM the luz was still on and I forced myself to pack up then. I broke a sweat zipping up my bag, a success I think. It was pretty freaking heavy but I lucky for me I’ve got yoga mussels. So the luz didn’t go off until 11PM or later and was even on when I woke up Thursday morning.

Thursday I gave my Dona the pottery and card I brought from Asheville, NC. She seemed to like it but she’s a hard read. Then Lindsey, Jeff and I drug our stuff across the highway to the corner of the Entrena road and waited a while for a taxi/carro publico that could fit all our bags in the back. It was funny experience, carrying such heavy awkward things. Imagine please, I have the beast in one hand, my messenger bag slung across my body, a motoconcho (motorcycle) helmet, a small black case of medical supplies (I volunteered to bring mine – like an idiot), and a bag with my mosquito net. What a fool others and I must have looked like trucking ourselves up the hill at Entrena! I guess its all part of the experience. At 2PM we were loaded like sardines into 3 different mini-van taxies on our way to the bus stop in Santo Domingo. From there 2 of the 3 taxi passengers were hustled into a medium sized bus, again packed like crayons in a box but this time for a two hour ride to El Seibo!

El Seibo is in the eastern part of the country. From what I’ve seen so far it’s a very nice and clean city. It was chosen as a UN Millennium city, which I think means it is supposed to set the standard for the UN Millennium goals, that’s what I’ve been told anyway. So the important thing is that the toilets flush, there is running water in the house and there is always luz! When I got into my house I found it to be much more luxurious than my home in Las Alcarrizos. Although my room is small and one of the girls just moved her clothes out of it I do have a TV in my room! (more on the family later another post) Right now I’m watching TV Chile! In addition to the commercials they show “postcards” of Chile. I’ve seen some of the desert I went to, which was nice to reminisce about that trip while on this one! I can tell already that being in El Seibo will spoil me for where ever I get put after these 5 weeks.

Today (Friday) we start our adventure into the technical training portion, doing community diagnostics, learning hardware, and taking more Spanish classes! I’ve only felt homesick once so far and that passed once I was able to get more sleep and rant to my gal pal Lindsey.

second weekend in the DR

Tuesday is now a blur since it’s been a long few days. But from what I remember Tuesday was rather productive. We (the group) had Spanish class for most of the day and then learned how to play Dominican dominoes and dance meringue. The dominoes game like many other things here is not played the same. Instead of counting points by counting the dots and looking for multiples of 5 – here you just match the dots to one another and the first person to run out of dominoes wins the points left in the other opponents hands. The first team to 200 points wins. I was first excited to play the game when I learned that this game is very popular in the DR, but the game now seems very boring. Granted you could block the other team by playing the same number domino but beside that type of strategy, it’s not a lot of fun. I mean, I was really looking forward to throwing down my bones when I scored those awesome 10 points. Oh well!

The dancing however was much more anticipated and for those of you who know me – it was easy to catch on to the type of dancing here. There are various types of meringue here, starting first with a slow (tranquillo) beat and once the music gained popularity gained speed and now the music varies tremendously. It was also seen as an anthem for people who live in the country (hence the slow beat) in the 40s-50s. The upper class didn’t accept meringue until Trujillo took over and started playing it at his parties. The dancing went well all in all. I went around and tried to help some of the guys who just couldn’t get the beat. After class was the most important part of the day. I taught my first yoga class ever! There has been a group of us who wanted to exercise and specifically practice some yoga. So, we planned ahead and stayed late so that we could attempt to clear our heads and stretch our bodies. The training center is perfect because of all the tropical plants and outdoor area, as Jean put it “people pay to do yoga in places like this” and I agree! The group liked my teaching a lot, so pat on the shoulder for me! After class those of us who were left at the school went to meet up with other trainees at a Colmado (corner store) and celebrate Leeann’s birthday. Yes, yoga then beer – what could be better? It was much needed out of the training center interaction with my group.

The way the colmado and drinking at one works here goes like this: you walk up to the counter and ask for a Presidente or Presidente Light as in our case. The guy behind the counter asks if we want a Grande or small (Grande you can split between a few people and a small is the regular bottle for one), usually you say Grande and get a few Dixie cups so that you can share. We’re talking small cups here people. Then you split the beer between whoever is drinking. After yoga I shared two Grande beers and it came out to about 4 small cups for me. Then I went home. When I get home I run through my day in Spanish with my family and proceed to eat dinner. After dinner on this day my friend Alex came by (he’s the grandson of my Dona) he’s in school to be a P.E. teacher. Anyway, I told him about the yoga class and how a group wants to get together on Saturday but we don’t know where to go. He offered to let us use some space at the school where he works. Awesome, yoga class at 11 on Saturday then! Like I said, it was a productive day.

Friday was long. I spent most of the day taking carro publicos and guaguas (buses) to one place after another and walking in between. I forgot to put on my sunscreen so I also got a little bit red because of all the walking in the sun – don’t worry it’s now a tan. This was also the final day for our transportation lessons. We were supposed to find out how to take the buses from Kilometer 9 or the Caribe Tours center to our Peace Corps Volunteer site visits. I am heading to Tenares! I did however buy some luggage locks for my bag at the supermercado owned by some European company. It was way nicer than La Serena and the selection was much better. Lindsay (who’s blog is listed to the right of this post) and I waited for almost 40 minutes for our bus to show up. Well we didn’t even take the one that goes to our house. We decided to take the 10-B that goes to the training center and hop off early so we could walk (even more walking) to our houses in the neighborhood across the highway. We then relaxed at her house for about an hour. I came home after and went to be very early because I was so warn out. The first time for me to be in bed and asleep by 9:30 in who knows, maybe 3 months!

Saturday Alex totally came through and we practiced yoga at the catholic school down the street. Again, the class went well but we had to deal with verbal attention from the students. A few younger girls came by about half way through the class and attempted to do the poses. It was cute to see them twist and stretch without knowing what exactly to do. Afterward they asked if we would be there next week and if they could come. Sadly we won’t be there again because this was basically our last weekend in the area for about a month (I’ll explain my schedule in another blog). But I tried to convince Alex that he should look into teaching yoga since so many of the kids were into it. He wasn’t going for it. The rest of the gringos parted ways there and I went to my house to get ready to go to a Campo (a rural small town) to meet some extended family. The drive was nice once we got off the major highway. It was refreshing to drive in a car and on a different highway. I feel like all I know about Santo Domingo is from a crowded run down bus on a dirty run down highway. The campo was very relaxing. I didn’t really talk with the family because they went into their house while Irene, Alex, Mayra and I sat outside and made small talk. One at a time Mayra and Irene would leave to talk to their cousins or aunt. It was sort of awkward but we had beer there to make it all better. The kids came along too and they were out playing games with the other kids. Before we left we gathered some fruit from the trees. I am not sure of the name but one that was basically green ball didn’t taste that good on Sunday morning.
Sunday started out great! I got up when I wanted and started helping my Dona and Irene make some soup for lunch. I was also learning how to use the washing machine here since there is not running water through the pipes on the regular as well as electricity. Most of my morning was a learning experience for sure! At 2 o’clock I left the house to meet up with Lindsey and Jeff so that we could make it to the Colonial part of town for a historical tour set up by Enrena. No one let us know that the bus that runs through our part of town doesn’t really run on Sundays. After waiting about an hour, we started walking to the highway to catch a different bus to the city. By this time it was already 3pm and we knew we had missed the tour, but we thought hey we might run into them and at the very least see more of the historical area. We finally arrive at our stop and take a carro pulico into the Zona, the driver tried to charge us 50 pesos each! We being smart people knew that the going rate was only 15 pesos! Our first experience of American discrimination! Luckily the guy didn’t get away with it. Although on our way back another driver did. He claimed that he didn’t have change after we had given him our 100 pesos! It was a disaster to say the least. And after getting to the stop for the bus it took another hour for a bus to even come that was going our direction. Needless to say we were all very happy to get to our homes and to never travel on Sundays again! There were a lot of frustrated emotions between the three of us. It just shows how much people here will take advantage of us at the drop a hat. Another, bothersome fact was that at Entrena they don’t encourage you to take another bus that would take you to your part of town. When I got home and told my story my family told me there is the 27B and 27A that come by the corner close to my house, something that would have been good to know yesterday. I guess that the important thing is I know now. Once coming home and after telling my story twice, I sat outside with the family for what seemed like two hours until it got dark. For dinner we had chocolate with milk (hot chocolate) and bread. Here you dip the bread into the hot chocolate, much like the churros and hot chocolate at Limones (for all you Asheville people). Then I got a surprising phone call from Kyle (!), the brightest part of my day. As if I wasn’t popular enough I got my weekly call from Mom & Dad. It was awesome to talk with you all!