March 31, 2009

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 

March 30, 2009

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.

March 27, 2009

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.

March 16, 2009

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!

March 12, 2009

Photos

I tried to post some photos but so far my internet connection has not been good enough for even one photo. Sorry you guys, but please enjoy the words.

Miercoles in la ciudad

The things we learn every day, like today I learned that a box of Kellogg Corn Flakes (family size) around $9US, but wine is around $3-5. I went with some folks to La Serena (the Wal-Mart basically) and found a washcloth for my cold-water bucket baths/ showers. I hope that it makes the cold water less intimidating. Vamos a ver.
Today was an especially long day because we went down town Santo Domingo with our Spanish classes. Most of us meet our teachers at la Entrena and from there took guaguas to Maximo Gomez (the cross street with the major highway). From there we went to the PC office and got a tour from a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader (PCVL - Peace Corps as well as the ARMY or any government agency, LOVE those acronyms). The gal was a 3rd year and worked with the education section. The office is in a very nice upper class neighborhood; it was nice change to walk around that part of town since my barrio is mid-low class and not as clean. So the intention of today’s exercises was to test our ability to use the bus and carro publicos and then see the office and clinic that we’ll use if we ever get sick. The Clinica Abreu is the nicest one in the city! It used to be a house that a few doctors worked in then one thing lead to another and now it’s a hospital with the latest equipment. So don’t worry, I’ll be in good hands if anything is ever to happen to me – as long as I’m in Santo Domingo that is.
After the clinic tour we headed to the Colonial area. So there was a park with a few monuments dedicated to the Fathers of the DR’s Independence from Spain, old fort walls, and armed guards. Across the street was a pedestrian street that had all kinds of clothing shops and a few restaurants. Further down and closer to the water was the oldest Catholic Church in the DR, well all of the Americas too (I think - because Hispaniola was the first place for Christopher Columbus to drop anchor). Across from the church was a Hardrock Café that no one was dining in, as well as few nicer restaurants and bars. This is also the port area for cruses to stop and let out their passengers. We saw a huge group of men walking with a tour group and it dawned on us that they were there as part of a gay cruse ship! I also took a tour of Christopher Columbus’s house, it was nothing special since he never married therefore never having a woman to make it inviting. I’m not trying to be sexist, but it makes a difference in a home if there is no woman, especially back when he was around. Basically the day was a lot of walking and trying to speak Spanish. The weather was cool this morning but by mid afternoon the sun was out in full force with no cloud coverage. It was a long day in the sun. So, if you can’t tell I’m tired and in need of good night sleep. Things are running right along here, in no time it will be May and a whole new chapter will start. Stay tuned…

March 10, 2009

El fin de semana

I have noticed that I am much more enthusiastic about speaking Spanish after coming home from the training center. On Saturday Irene picked me up from the center and we got into a shared taxi (carro publico), we had taken one that morning on the way to Entrenea, but in this one there were already four people plus the driver, needless to say it was a tight squeeze (Irene is not a small woman). After crossing the highway we walked to the house, for practice she made me take her to the house so that I could familiarize myself with the barrio. And because I’m so observant I found the house without any problem. Once home my dona wanted to feed me but I told her I ate not too long ago and would have dinner closer to 7pm, since it was 2:30pm. I grabbed a book and went to the front porch so I could people watch for a while. My mom came out for a little bit to chat. It was surprisingly productive and I learned that my laundry gets done on Monday while the rest of the house does theirs on Saturday. Not too long after I went with a few trainees to a baseball field to play ball.
Well, I didn’t actually play ball because those of you who know me would know I don’t play baseball or any kind of sport that includes a ball. I’m more of an endurance sport like running if that! So I was walking around taking pictures for one of the girls when a group of about 12 kids came from a house next to the field. I was asked if I knew how to play soccer I said yes because out of all the sports I could play with a ball it would be soccer. So once in position to play the game it turns out we were playing volleyball with a soccer ball. Confused? Me too! So of course there was no net or anything, just an outfield with grass and three of us in a row hitting the deflated ball back and forth. After about 30 minutes of that they switched the game to dodge ball to include the younger kids that were standing to side bugging them to play. I was the token American who was guided by the 12-year-old girl who was in charge of the younger girls. So she would make sure I knew what was going on and told me the rules of the game. Dominican dodge ball goes like this: two people stand at opposite ends of one another and throw the ball at us in the middle. If we catch the ball we gain una vida (one point or life). If we get hit with the ball and don’t have any lives saved up we are out. For each time you get hit you take away a point. The bossy girl was the one who made up the rules as she went along, giving her lives away to the little ones as she felt fit. I however was not aloud to give my points away to the little girls who gave me such sad puppy dog eyes. I felt bad about not being able to help the little ladies out, but heaven for bid I step on any toes, even if they are small.
After about another 40 minutes of that I was hot and tiered. The bossy gal took notice and offered me a seat in the shade of the cement fence. I grabbed my water and went over to where the girls had set up “camp”. Not too long after I took a seat, the mother of the group offered me a seat. The mother was outside her house with a group of older girls, possibly sisters or daughters. She was very nice and I applaud her for entertaining all those wild children. The girls wouldn’t let me get the chair myself because the grass was too high and they didn’t want me to get bugs. How sweet, right? So while sitting I tried out my Spanish and they their English. I also learned some “patty cake” type hand games, you know, the kind girls play. It was all going well and then the rest of my crew was ready to go, and truthfully I was too. I personally delivered the chair back to the mom, something I thought was a nice gesture I hope she did too because things here in the Dominican Republic rely heavily on peoples impressions. On the way back to the house we stopped off at Jarrod’s house and had some water. His house is big. Most of the trainees have larger houses than mine, something I wish I wasn’t jealous of, only because I have no where to practice yoga. I mean there really is no room! But I digress. I came home and had dinner; I think it was my first meal by myself, something I’m getting used to. Dinner here is like lunch. Sometimes smaller portions or less food in general but since my dona doesn’t see me eat my staple of rice and bean and the training center I get the same at dinner. I’m working on taking beans at one place or the other, the rice I’ll eat all day – no problem. Later that night I went with Mayra and her kids to park the car a few houses down, there is a parking garage where other people from the neighborhood put their cars at night. Upon our return we stopped at the neighbor’s house and sat outside a while to chat and let the kids play with one another. One thing I have failed to mention and I’m sorry – it is very very very loud here in the DR. we were sitting outside and these ladies were using inside voices as the music across the street was busting my eardrums. Yes that loud! So I sat there and asked for clarification every now and then to make it look like I understood most of it. I did however get the one very funny joke about her wedding night way back when, but I dare not repeat it! For my third night here the weather still had not warmed up so I slept in my very yummy and cozy sleeping bag, it was so good.
Sunday is like any other Sunday in the U.S. Some people go to church all day, others not at all. Others wake up to cockfights from across the street. I guess that’s not so typical in the United States. Yes ladies and gentleman, you read right – the shack across the street has cockfights on Sunday morning! I didn’t check it out because I was determined to get in another hour of sleep (of which I did). My family was very happy to see me sleep in since I’d had such a long and stressful few days. They are pros at having Peace Corps people stay with them so they know the drill. After breakfast I played BINGO and Monopoly with Mayra and the kidos. It was real fun and the bingo was great for me to practice my numbers in Spanish. After lunch Mayra told the kids we would not finish the game we had started because since it was Sunday she and I would need to rest a few hours more. Thus, I had my first siesta on Dominican soil. It was a much-needed nap!
Later on that night I went with Irene to her cousins house and the three of us shared a Presidente, the most popular beer here. I was careful not to drink too much since it’s against Peace Corps policy to be drunk – that’s cause for “separation” (aka. Being kicked out). They are pretty serious here about their policies and for good reason of course - it’s all about minimizing risk. (Thanks for calling mom and dad! It was so good to hear some family!)
Yesterday we stared our Spanish classes. I only have two other people in my group so it should be easy to get a grip on the language. After lunch we divided into small groups and with a Spanish teacher practiced taking the public transportation to our barrios. We also walked through our barrios to see where other trainees lived. From there we got on to a guagua (pronounced wa-wa, like baby), meaning bus. The bus took us to the main city part of Santo Domingo, the stop to get to the Peace Corps office. So we got off the bus, walked over the highway on the bridge to get back on a different bus to head back to the training center. All was fine until the bus broke (because there were way to many people on it, about 40) about 2 blocks from the place we got on. It took 40 minutes for another bus of the same route to come by but it was too full. One of the instructors had to call the center to tell them we would be late and our situation. Instead of waiting for the 10-B we got on 63 that lead us to the street that the center is on (it also takes me in front of my house, but my stuff was at the center). Some took a public car to the center and those of us who are into saving pesos for a rainy day walked. We also walked back to our barrio and decided on a time to meet in the morning since we are now responsible for getting to and from the center. We’ll be walking I think but I have a feeling I’ll be taking the car halfway sometimes. Why not? It’s hot and that’s a lot of walking! Because of the long day, I ate all my dinner and sat for a few hours outside while the lights were still out. Around 9pm the lights seem to come on and the power stays on until early morning, very convenient.
I’m very happy to have homework because I now feel like I have some type of organized learning in place and a conversation starter for my family. It also gives me an excuse to be in my room for a few minutes when I get home before I have to face those rambunctious kids. They are very nice and could be worse, but kids in general have way more energy than I do after a long day of speaking Spanish. So – that’s it for today. The pictures will be up when the connection is good and I have time to up load them. Thanks for reading. Buena Noche.

March 7, 2009

el fin (finally)

Our group arrived in the DR at 3pm on Thursday. I found out there is a time difference after all! We are one hour ahead because the DR does not use daylight savings, duh! Romeo, our country director for the Peace Corps (PC) meet us at the gate and lead us through customs, all that was easy and not much to say but that the airport was nice! On our way out of customs there was a group of current volunteers (mostly people who have extended their service and are on their 3rd year) to greet us and help us put our luggage into a big truck. From there we pilled into some vans and headed 45 minutes west to the retreat center. It was a compound type of place that had the bay on one side. You’ll have to see the pictures! We got lots of information, a vaccination, and dinner. My brain hurts too much to go into detail about the people in my group but they are all nice. A few of them I haven’t even talked to because there just hasn’t been any charisma to pull us into a conversation, but most of the people I have befriended.
This brings me to today (or yesterday for you)! So because of my crazy dreams and the abnormally cool weather I didn’t have a solid night of sleep. When my alarm went off an hour before we were supposed to be down for breakfast I turned it off (well there’s no snooze) and fell back asleep. I woke up just in time to not miss the bus to our training center! Luckily things move just a little bit slower and there was no true hurry. We get to the center and meet the Spanish teachers and have even more broad lectures about what to expect, how things work, expectations, rules ect. La Entrena (the training center) is again, like a compound – meaning that thick fences or walls surround the land and the two entrances are guarded (pretty sure they don’t carry guns). Needless to say we feel safe and the grounds are gorgeous. Trees, flowers, grass and a few small outside and two large classrooms fill the property. I heard some people at lunch say they saw an avocado, banana, and mango tree, I hope they fruit while were in training. Lunch was a typical meal of rice beans, chicken, a cooked salad (yucca, carrots, potatoes and hard boiled egg) and fruit (papaya, pineapple, watermelon). Yummy! I watched my portions cause I can see now why there is a weight gain for us gals! Lots of heavy foods and bread.
After lunch I rush up to get on my computer cause there’s wifi! And I wanted to get on before everyone else did so I could send emails. But turns out I needed to have my gmail set to basic html for emails to send and then everyone was on and my computer was about to die (I think I might need another powerbook battery before too long). After we had more “class” and I found out that packages (Fedex / DHL/ postal service) take about 2 – 7 months to get here and large envelopes take 1-2 months, so if you planned on surprising me with something I’d send it now! Also letters take 2-6 weeks. As Romeo put it today – “ Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”. We also had our first Spanish class today. It was a general “how to introduce ourselves” class and during it we were pulled out for an interview that would place us in a class at our own level and we’ll start that on Monday. Then it was time for our family to pick us up and take us home!
We were given an information sheet before they came but I felt as though it didn’t make a difference. So I grabbed my stuff and headed to the “big” outside classroom and Rosa (the host family coordinator) saw me and said “Que es la mama de Bebe?”
Mayra stood up with her two kids and cheered, as did I! I’m not going to lie it was a nice feeling to be claimed even by someone you didn’t know. Turns out Mayra is just one of three daughters to Adelaida, my real Dona. I am here in the Los Alcarrizos barrio of Santo Domingo. My house is off a busy road where you can hear most radios going by and a dog barking right next to my window. Don’t worry I have the earplugs. I also think my trip to Miami might have prepared me for this, (thanks Ayers and Cecily) So back to the family, Adelaida is in her mid 70s and her daughters are 40 some things, there is a 9 year old, 6 year old one dog and two cats in the house. Behind her house is another house with her other daughter who has her children in there of whom has one toddler and a 1 year old or something small. When I walked in I noticed the kitten right away because it has a broken (they say fractured) front paw. The nurse told me that we couldn’t touch any animals until our 2nd rabies shot so I have to wait until Sunday to play with the pets. But it’s a sad sight anyway. Of course my Spanish impressed them all but then I had to admit that what they hear is about as much as I know so far. They were very encouraging and kept up the conversation for just a little bit. I was given my dinner a little bit later and shared the table with Mayra and here kids. She commented that her son Ricky, the 9 yr. old, usually doesn’t eat cauliflower but that he must be eating it to impress me. How sweet and awkward for me. I have to get used to the awkward silence I think.
After dinner I came into my room to unpack my stuff into my six drawers and dozen hangers. Finally it was time to I put up my mosquito net and then went out to the family area one more time to see what was going on – which was not much. The lights/power were out and the room was lit by one candle. I believe I had used up all my Spanish so I just sat there listening and occasionally repeating some phrases. Once the tiredness kicked in I was off to do some paper work and write this blog post before bed. Again the night was chilly, but I survived and made it through just fine. Today we had some medical information and another set of vaccinations!!! It’s a good thing I don’t mind getting shots. For now we are all on the computer getting ready for our host families to pick us up for the weekend (or what’s left of it). Until lunes mi amigos!

March 4, 2009

In Route

Thankfully my dad checked my flight status last night, due to my brother’s incidents not only with Delta airlines but with the chilly weather too, he found out it was canceled!!! Yup! just like that. I never did find out why a 7AM flight would be canceled except that maybe there were not enough people on the flight. So after calling a few delta airline phone numbers I found out I was bumped to the 9:40AM flight! My parents and Kyle were happy to hear that we would have an extra two hours in the morning to spend those last few moments together. The farewell at the airport was nice. My stomach was turning up side down the whole time from the moment I got in the car to drive down the Glen Cannon Mountain to, well – it still hasn’t stopped fluttering (I’m sitting in the Atlanta Airport now, waiting for my flight to board). My emotions are calm on the outside but a tornado inside. There were a few tears and more on the plane once my loved ones were out of sight. It’s a strange feeling to be both excited and sad at the same time, I feel honored to be given this opportunity to help others but I can’t yet fathom what it will be like to be away from the friends, boyfriends and family! I have done it before, yes.

So enough of this pity party stuff! I am off to an amazing adventure with lots of new friends and family. As the motto of the moment says… “Yes We Can” and I will!

In Route

Thankfully my dad checked my flight status last night, due to my brother’s incidents not only with Delta airlines but with the chilly weather too, he found out it was canceled!!! Yup! just like that. I never did find out why a 7AM flight would be canceled except that maybe there were not enough people on the flight. So after calling a few delta airline phone numbers I found out I was bumped to the 9:40AM flight! My parents and Kyle were happy to hear that we would have an extra two hours in the morning to spend those last few moments together. The farewell at the airport was nice. My stomach was turning up side down the whole time from the moment I got in the car to drive down the Glen Cannon Mountain to, well – it still hasn’t stopped fluttering (I’m sitting in the Atlanta Airport now, waiting for my flight to board). My emotions are calm on the outside but a tornado inside. There were a few tears and more on the plane once my loved ones were out of sight. It’s a strange feeling to be both excited and sad at the same time, I feel honored to be given this opportunity to help others but I can’t yet fathom what it will be like to be away from the friends, boyfriends and family! I have done it before, yes.

So enough of this pity party stuff! I am off to an amazing adventure with lots of new friends and family. As the motto of the moment says… “Yes We Can” and I will!