It has been a veggielicious week (and thus one of the best weeks yet)!

Firstly, our development focus this past week has been on nutrition and hygiene practices in the countryside. We have learned about the 3 food groups in the Dominican (constructors = protein, protectors = fruits and vegetables and energizers = carbs and fat) rather than our typical food pyramid. As I have mentioned previously, the main foods in the Dominican diet are unripe bananas, yucca, potatoes, rice, beans and meat (salami or chicken). Vegetables are rarely used and if so, are typically found in a salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, onion and avocado eaten at lunch. Fruit is a rare occurrence in the diet as well, although it grows everywhere, and is mainly used in juices (it also spoils quickly without refrigeration).

However, the coolest thing I have learned this week is the nutritional value of hojas verdes (green leaves)! Many green leaves in the DR are edible and contain an incredible amount of vitamins and minerals. For instance, the leaves of the yucca plant are far more healthy than the yucca itself. The unfortunate thing is that few Dominicans actually use these green leaves in the diet. To promote the identification and use of green leaves in the diet, the volunteers have been baking lots of food with green leaves! Simply pick green leaves found in many gardens/trees, boil them, chop them up, and throw them in anything. We made a bread with 1 pound carrots, 1 pound of pumpkin and green leaves! Super delicious (thanks to sugar + oil) and very nutritious. Rather than changing eating patterns (and taking away unhealthy practices like cooking with lots of oil), we are attempting to modify the foods to contain more nutrition (so although they cook with lots of oil, at least they will be consuming more veggies).

Following the theme of nutrition, the volunteers also constructed a veggie garden in the yard of a host family last night! We planted everything from lettuce, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers to eggplant. Not only will this prepare us for the building of our own personal gardens in our future sites, but also will help us learn about agricultural practices and the building of more industrial community gardens. We hope the family will take over this garden when we leave in 3 weeks.

As well, A VEGETABLE MAN HAS STARTED TO STOP AT OUR HOUSE! For the past 2 days, a man on a motorcycle laden with bags and bags of veggies has stopped at 8am by our house selling veggies to my host mother. Subsequently, I have been eating LOTS of veggies the past few days (neither fruits or veggies are sold in our town because we have corner stores rather than a supermarket). A big hurrah! I ran out this morning to converse with the man who is from a nearby town and apparently he comes through our town everyday, although he had never stopped at our house previously.

I also had the privilege to go to the “Mercado” (market) in the nearest city of Bani yesterday. It was a typical latin American market with lots of stalls ranging from guava to beans to candles and herbs. Basically, a fruit/vegetable mecca. We spent about 3 dollars buying oranges, guavas and mangos and made a delicious natural juice back at home!

Other Updates:
· This past week has been the week of San Miguel, and every night there has been a “Fiesta de Palos” (which is a Haitian/Dominican tradition). This celebration is held at someone’s house all night and everyone in the town is invited. There is a group of men (both old and young) who drum and chant certain songs. Sometimes women dance with scarves and become possessed with the spirit of San Miguel. It’s basically a social event that many people attend. The gran finale is Tuesday on el Dia de San Miguel.
· Another PC trainee left Peace Corps today (not from the health group but the youth group). L
· The corner stores blast reggaeton, Merengue, Bachata and Salsa music all day and night. Unfortunately, their playlist consists of about 5 songs on repeat so I typically wake up to and fall asleep to the same song. Michael Jackson is huge here.
· My host father (who has a gigantic rice belly/looks pregnant) and is 65 asked me during lunch the other day how he could get rid of his belly. He says his legs are too bad to run like me. I basically told him it was a lost cause, but also showed up how to do situps and recommended eating less rice. It was a hilarious interaction.
· I’ve decided I’m going to get a dog/cat and/or both upon moving to my final site (most volunteers do). Not only is a dog/cat an automatic companion, but can help with rats/mice and can guard the house.

I can’t believe it’s almost October! While the weather here is consistently 75-87 degrees, other PC volunteers up in the northern DR have reported cool weather. Luckily, I’ll be moved up north for my final placement (in either Sanchez Ramirez or Monte Christi) in 1 month. Maybe that sweatshirt I packed will finally come in handy..