I couldn’t believe it; I was so sure that I had left the world. And who could blame me, after that trip across the mountain floor which there was no footprint, the stars flaming like oranges, those multimillion tons of exploding gas looking so mild and fresh in the dark of the sky; and altogether, that freshness, you know, that is like autumn freshness when you go out of the house in the morning and find the flowers have waked in the frost with piercing life?
-came across this in my current reading of Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King. Striking description; reminds me a bit of the wonder I feel in my new community.
Other Updates:
• So, I have a favorite colmado in Santo Domingo in which I know all the employees and frequently hang out at. As I was telling one of the employees about my new site, it turns out HE IS FROM THE SITE! Fate. So cool. I will be seeing him in December when he returns for Christmas.
I'm officially a Peace Corps volunteer! I move to my site officially tomorrow for the next two years!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
So it turns out that my host family is 95% organically self-sufficient in terms of agriculture/food. Very cool! Here is the breakdown of the food we grow and eat:
• Fruits: mango, papaya, orange, banana all grow on trees in the yard
• Vegetables: peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onion, lettuce, avocado from the garden
• Carbs: yucca, plantains (and locally made cassava bread) from the fields
• Protein: chicken, peanuts, pork, eggs from the household animals
Cow products including milk and cheese are purchased from nearby neighbors. Honey and coffee is also available via neighbors.
Basically I eat like a queen (and will be eating organic)!
Other Updates:
• My host mother already suggested I live in the vacant house behind theirs in case I can’t find other housing after 3 months; what a relief to know we are on the same page!
• My 23 year old neighbor (the only male in the community to be attending the university) also offered to give me a free ride into Santiago Rodriguez (nearest city) on the weekends when he goes to class. Awesome! Hopefully kind offers like this will help offset my costs of traveling from El Guayabo (which is expensive).
• I’ve noticed that everyone here has very neat, clean sanitary houses. All the kitchens are well-kept. This is very different from Las Tablas.
• Fruits: mango, papaya, orange, banana all grow on trees in the yard
• Vegetables: peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onion, lettuce, avocado from the garden
• Carbs: yucca, plantains (and locally made cassava bread) from the fields
• Protein: chicken, peanuts, pork, eggs from the household animals
Cow products including milk and cheese are purchased from nearby neighbors. Honey and coffee is also available via neighbors.
Basically I eat like a queen (and will be eating organic)!
Other Updates:
• My host mother already suggested I live in the vacant house behind theirs in case I can’t find other housing after 3 months; what a relief to know we are on the same page!
• My 23 year old neighbor (the only male in the community to be attending the university) also offered to give me a free ride into Santiago Rodriguez (nearest city) on the weekends when he goes to class. Awesome! Hopefully kind offers like this will help offset my costs of traveling from El Guayabo (which is expensive).
• I’ve noticed that everyone here has very neat, clean sanitary houses. All the kitchens are well-kept. This is very different from Las Tablas.
So, I’ve found Eden. I’ve also found the End of the World. Guess what? They are in the same place: El Guayabo (my home for the next 2 years)!
Eden: I basically live in a forest of green, rolling mountains. I literally have never seen a more lush place. The ground is covered with spongey moss that looks like carpet. In my backyard we have orange trees, avocado trees, banana trees and mango trees that are constantly producing fruit. Literally, we just pick food from the trees and eat it. No lack of fruits and veggies here (think fresh squeezed orange juice and avocado with every meal). It rains at least once a day for 20 minutes, which means the environment is constantly cool (I sleep with a blanket, I do not sweat during the day! Sweatshirt at night time). We have a flower garden and grow yucca and peanuts. We have chickens and pigs that roam the hills. I have already seen one woman harvest, grind and boil her own coffee beans (which made delicious coffee) and another woman gave me fresh honey still in the comb to eat with breakfast!! As my host mother said, “we are a poor community but no one here goes hungry”. What a place!
Conveniently, Eden has also provided my host family with all the amenities (albeit the host family’s house is at the end of the world):
• Constant running water (flush toilet, shower that has water come out of the showerhead, kitchen sink)
• Constant electricity. In a country where the electricity can be out any moment (in Santo Domingo, most of the day), we have electricity 24/7 here (clearly the corrupt government doesn’t know our community exists). Thus, I started writing this blog last night and my computer is still on at 6:15 in the morning. A true miracle.
• Washing machine. Yup.
• A TV with 13 channels… somehow we get reception on a TV that appears to be from the late 70s.
• Host family house: gorgeous large, white block (not wood with a tin roof!) with my own room with 2 beds in it!
• CHEESE. Not orange processed cheese, but real cow cheese that I eat on crackers (think: gouda).
End of the World: To put it lightly, I am in a rural, isolated location. I figure, probably one of the 20 most isolated locations out of Peace Corps 150 locations. I basically live on top of a large hill with no neighbors nearby. The community of 38 houses is spread over miles of other hills. I have to walk about 30 minutes down the hill to reach a main path, and 45 minutes to reach a “town” with several houses, 1 colmado and a primary school. Walking to the other communities (I’m also assigned to the “nearby” communities of La Jagua and Los Ramones) will take over an hour each way, and there is no reliable transportation anywhere in the area. Most people either walk or take motorcycles that neighbors own. The nearest place with internet/supermarket is Santiago Rodriguez which is probably about 1.5 hours on transportation (walking, car/pickup truck). Transportation is also costly. Suffice it to say, I will be leaving my community infrequently. Very infrequently. I’ve already consulted my host family about using their burro to transport myself to my neighboring villages where I am assigned to work…they think it’s a good idea (and this is no joke).
There is obviously no cell phone service here. I will have to switch my current provider. Last night, I stood in the middle of the peanut fields to get 1 bar of service with which to call my family. Don’t expect frequent communication!
Also, after 3 months of living with the host family, volunteers are given the option to move into an empty house in the community. I have been counting on this (I want to cook and clean and have my own schedule!). However, because my community is so isolated and small, there are almost no vacant houses and security would be an issue. Luckily, my host family has an empty house (their old house) right behind their house. I’m going to try to move in there eventually so I can have my own space, but still have the security (and access to amenities!).
Moral of the story: Come visit me! You will never want to leave (nor will you physically be able to!).
Other Positive First Impressions:
The people in my community are amazing. I’m obsessed. I’ve known them already for 2 days but feel so welcome and comfortable here. There are basically 2 families in the village, so everyone is related (which makes things easy). Everyone here is really motivated and excited for me to begin my work, especially the youth and agricultores (I’ve had to remind them that the 3 month community diagnostic comes first. They are already talking about latrines, gardens and youth groups). Incredibly, I’ve already been introduced at several community meetings and informal get togethers and everyone has told me “I am at your service”. The community likes to grow and eat their own organic food and they are semi-conscious about nutrition (unlike Las Tablas). The community is very united and they are involved in various community groups (womens group, agricultores). I have a lot of community leaders and entrepreneurs! I think I will be collaborating with nearby youth/economic development volunteers because the community women want to start a micro-pastry business and another university student wants to build recreation grounds for the youth.
The closest town with a colmado is El Jobo, which is a 40 minute walk down the mountain. I have already met with the doctor there (who is also brand new to town and is 27 years old) who runs the local rural clinic and I think we will be collaborating on a lot! What a great resource! He seems very intelligent and progressive in his ideas. Also, I attended a PTO meeting at the local school in El Jobo, and they started talking about the need for increased sexual education. PERFECT! The teachers appear to be first-rate (and more educated than I’ve seen other places). Finally, my dream project would be to integrate green leaves into the school meals that they have recently instituted…
Also, El Jobo had a Peace Corps member from ’97-99 so they already have a rough idea of who I am. A great jumping-off point!
All in all, I am very content with my final placement.
Eden: I basically live in a forest of green, rolling mountains. I literally have never seen a more lush place. The ground is covered with spongey moss that looks like carpet. In my backyard we have orange trees, avocado trees, banana trees and mango trees that are constantly producing fruit. Literally, we just pick food from the trees and eat it. No lack of fruits and veggies here (think fresh squeezed orange juice and avocado with every meal). It rains at least once a day for 20 minutes, which means the environment is constantly cool (I sleep with a blanket, I do not sweat during the day! Sweatshirt at night time). We have a flower garden and grow yucca and peanuts. We have chickens and pigs that roam the hills. I have already seen one woman harvest, grind and boil her own coffee beans (which made delicious coffee) and another woman gave me fresh honey still in the comb to eat with breakfast!! As my host mother said, “we are a poor community but no one here goes hungry”. What a place!
Conveniently, Eden has also provided my host family with all the amenities (albeit the host family’s house is at the end of the world):
• Constant running water (flush toilet, shower that has water come out of the showerhead, kitchen sink)
• Constant electricity. In a country where the electricity can be out any moment (in Santo Domingo, most of the day), we have electricity 24/7 here (clearly the corrupt government doesn’t know our community exists). Thus, I started writing this blog last night and my computer is still on at 6:15 in the morning. A true miracle.
• Washing machine. Yup.
• A TV with 13 channels… somehow we get reception on a TV that appears to be from the late 70s.
• Host family house: gorgeous large, white block (not wood with a tin roof!) with my own room with 2 beds in it!
• CHEESE. Not orange processed cheese, but real cow cheese that I eat on crackers (think: gouda).
End of the World: To put it lightly, I am in a rural, isolated location. I figure, probably one of the 20 most isolated locations out of Peace Corps 150 locations. I basically live on top of a large hill with no neighbors nearby. The community of 38 houses is spread over miles of other hills. I have to walk about 30 minutes down the hill to reach a main path, and 45 minutes to reach a “town” with several houses, 1 colmado and a primary school. Walking to the other communities (I’m also assigned to the “nearby” communities of La Jagua and Los Ramones) will take over an hour each way, and there is no reliable transportation anywhere in the area. Most people either walk or take motorcycles that neighbors own. The nearest place with internet/supermarket is Santiago Rodriguez which is probably about 1.5 hours on transportation (walking, car/pickup truck). Transportation is also costly. Suffice it to say, I will be leaving my community infrequently. Very infrequently. I’ve already consulted my host family about using their burro to transport myself to my neighboring villages where I am assigned to work…they think it’s a good idea (and this is no joke).
There is obviously no cell phone service here. I will have to switch my current provider. Last night, I stood in the middle of the peanut fields to get 1 bar of service with which to call my family. Don’t expect frequent communication!
Also, after 3 months of living with the host family, volunteers are given the option to move into an empty house in the community. I have been counting on this (I want to cook and clean and have my own schedule!). However, because my community is so isolated and small, there are almost no vacant houses and security would be an issue. Luckily, my host family has an empty house (their old house) right behind their house. I’m going to try to move in there eventually so I can have my own space, but still have the security (and access to amenities!).
Moral of the story: Come visit me! You will never want to leave (nor will you physically be able to!).
Other Positive First Impressions:
The people in my community are amazing. I’m obsessed. I’ve known them already for 2 days but feel so welcome and comfortable here. There are basically 2 families in the village, so everyone is related (which makes things easy). Everyone here is really motivated and excited for me to begin my work, especially the youth and agricultores (I’ve had to remind them that the 3 month community diagnostic comes first. They are already talking about latrines, gardens and youth groups). Incredibly, I’ve already been introduced at several community meetings and informal get togethers and everyone has told me “I am at your service”. The community likes to grow and eat their own organic food and they are semi-conscious about nutrition (unlike Las Tablas). The community is very united and they are involved in various community groups (womens group, agricultores). I have a lot of community leaders and entrepreneurs! I think I will be collaborating with nearby youth/economic development volunteers because the community women want to start a micro-pastry business and another university student wants to build recreation grounds for the youth.
The closest town with a colmado is El Jobo, which is a 40 minute walk down the mountain. I have already met with the doctor there (who is also brand new to town and is 27 years old) who runs the local rural clinic and I think we will be collaborating on a lot! What a great resource! He seems very intelligent and progressive in his ideas. Also, I attended a PTO meeting at the local school in El Jobo, and they started talking about the need for increased sexual education. PERFECT! The teachers appear to be first-rate (and more educated than I’ve seen other places). Finally, my dream project would be to integrate green leaves into the school meals that they have recently instituted…
Also, El Jobo had a Peace Corps member from ’97-99 so they already have a rough idea of who I am. A great jumping-off point!
All in all, I am very content with my final placement.
Today was the first day of the rest of my Peace Corps experience—and boy was it an experience! Most likely, I will never forget this day for the rest of my life (for multiple reasons detailed below).
The day started off at 5am, with packing up in Santo Domingo (my three large bags) and heading to a nearby conference center to meet my Dominican community project partners (for the first time!). Obviously excited and nervous (first impressions are very important), I was greeted by 3 women from my future community and passed the morning in orientation sessions. They were well-dressed young/middle aged women who were kind and friendly. My initial thoughts on my project partners:
• Women—shucks, I need some men to carry these bags!
• Women from both El Guayabo and Los Ramones came—I really will be working in more than one community.
• These women started traveling at 1am from El Guayabo to make it to Santo Domingo by 8am..this is very telling.
After informative sessions and lunch, we left for Santiago Rodriguez. Luckily for me, 6 project partners (all located in the Santiago/Santiago Rodriguez area) rented a bus to drive us to our sites! I didn’t have to lug my bags on public transport (although it would have made for a great story)!
This is where my adventure begins (so “Peace Corps”):
So we leave Santo Domingo at 1:30 and speed 5 hours north on a bus (stopping after 2.5 hours to drop off the 3 Santiago volunteers), and arrive in Santiago Rodriguez around 6:30pm. On the way we stopped in some random town and went to the most wonderful colmado with wine, peanut M&Ms, fresh yogurt and cold apples and fried chicken. Heaven. Okay, continuing. So just as we roll into Santiago Rodriguez it starts pouring cats and dog, with flash flooding on the road. So we pull over. Turns out, this is where Meg, one of the Santiago Rodriguez volunteers, needs to get off to go to her site. This is very unfortunate for not only is it flash flooding and Meg doesn’t have a rainjacket, but Meg had conveniently chopped her fingertip off that morning in a fence (and went to the hospital) and now has to ride for 30 minutes on the back of a motorcycle. In the rain. With a bandaged finger. Fording 3 rivers (no joke). We all nervously laughed and said our goodbyes. Very ominous. Me and the other Santiago Rodriguez volunteer rode on the bus for another 20 minutes in the rain (meanwhile I quickly changed out of my shoes into my tevas and got the rainjacket ready). We got let off on a corner, and then got on in the cab of a pickup truck, that would take us further into the countryside (which is the only means of transportation to our site). Our project partners, without rain jackets sat in the bed of the truck with our suitcases, amidst the rain (I passed my rainjacket to the people in the truckbed, but it ended up being worn by a random man). I prayed for the survival of my laptop, which I had tucked under a pile of clothes in my suitcase.We off-roaded in this pickup truck for another 40 minutes into the countryside, barreling through the rain and up the mountain side (no speedometer, no defroster). Me and the other volunteer joked about imminent death, while in reality this was probably no joke. The truck barreled through the water of 2 rivers, which were not yet flooded beyond capacity. Then, the truck stopped in front of someone’s house, and I unloaded my goods and said goodbye to the other volunteer. Turns out, the truck was going no further to my community. I sat in this random family’s house and shared my last cookies with some little boys, as my project partners tried to contact someone to come pick us up in the rain (no signal, of course). It seemed as though I was going to have to leave my bags at this house overnight and begin walking to my final community. However, at the last minute, the man of the house got his old Tracker SUV to function and offered to give us a ride up to my community. Hurray! So, we ventured over land (a grassy path—not even an unpaved road) by car for another 20 mins in the rain. By this point, it was around 8pm and I couldn’t help by laugh at how absurd this journey had become. Literally, I was smiling like a madwoman. This was truly a “Peace Corps” experience. As we neared the final river separating me from El Guayabo (final community) we stopped. The river had overflowed and was uncrossable in car. So, we unloaded my bags at some random person’s house next to the river (once again) and said goodbye to the Tracker. It seemed as though I would have to leave all my belongings at this woman’s house because they couldn’t be transported past the river. So, I packed the essentials into a small shoulder bag, and we ventured for the river. Turns out, my community was waiting for me in the rain on the other side of the river! With help from a young man, I hiked up my skirt and waded thigh-high into the rushing river (refusing a piggyback) and made it to the other side, into the arms of my host family! My host father took my hand and we walked straight up hill for another ½ mile to my future house IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE on top of a large hill/mountain. Half the community had come to see me, and they entered the house with me, smiling and talking and watching me eat dinner. It was 9pm. Everyone was wonderful and it was truly a great introduction to my community after an insane journey! By 9:30 I was asleep. What a day. Inolvidable.
Summary of the journey: 71/2 hours of using a bus, pijavascript:void(0)ckup truck, Tracker and walking to reach my final destination. Rural and isolated on a mountain, could you tell?
The day started off at 5am, with packing up in Santo Domingo (my three large bags) and heading to a nearby conference center to meet my Dominican community project partners (for the first time!). Obviously excited and nervous (first impressions are very important), I was greeted by 3 women from my future community and passed the morning in orientation sessions. They were well-dressed young/middle aged women who were kind and friendly. My initial thoughts on my project partners:
• Women—shucks, I need some men to carry these bags!
• Women from both El Guayabo and Los Ramones came—I really will be working in more than one community.
• These women started traveling at 1am from El Guayabo to make it to Santo Domingo by 8am..this is very telling.
After informative sessions and lunch, we left for Santiago Rodriguez. Luckily for me, 6 project partners (all located in the Santiago/Santiago Rodriguez area) rented a bus to drive us to our sites! I didn’t have to lug my bags on public transport (although it would have made for a great story)!
This is where my adventure begins (so “Peace Corps”):
So we leave Santo Domingo at 1:30 and speed 5 hours north on a bus (stopping after 2.5 hours to drop off the 3 Santiago volunteers), and arrive in Santiago Rodriguez around 6:30pm. On the way we stopped in some random town and went to the most wonderful colmado with wine, peanut M&Ms, fresh yogurt and cold apples and fried chicken. Heaven. Okay, continuing. So just as we roll into Santiago Rodriguez it starts pouring cats and dog, with flash flooding on the road. So we pull over. Turns out, this is where Meg, one of the Santiago Rodriguez volunteers, needs to get off to go to her site. This is very unfortunate for not only is it flash flooding and Meg doesn’t have a rainjacket, but Meg had conveniently chopped her fingertip off that morning in a fence (and went to the hospital) and now has to ride for 30 minutes on the back of a motorcycle. In the rain. With a bandaged finger. Fording 3 rivers (no joke). We all nervously laughed and said our goodbyes. Very ominous. Me and the other Santiago Rodriguez volunteer rode on the bus for another 20 minutes in the rain (meanwhile I quickly changed out of my shoes into my tevas and got the rainjacket ready). We got let off on a corner, and then got on in the cab of a pickup truck, that would take us further into the countryside (which is the only means of transportation to our site). Our project partners, without rain jackets sat in the bed of the truck with our suitcases, amidst the rain (I passed my rainjacket to the people in the truckbed, but it ended up being worn by a random man). I prayed for the survival of my laptop, which I had tucked under a pile of clothes in my suitcase.We off-roaded in this pickup truck for another 40 minutes into the countryside, barreling through the rain and up the mountain side (no speedometer, no defroster). Me and the other volunteer joked about imminent death, while in reality this was probably no joke. The truck barreled through the water of 2 rivers, which were not yet flooded beyond capacity. Then, the truck stopped in front of someone’s house, and I unloaded my goods and said goodbye to the other volunteer. Turns out, the truck was going no further to my community. I sat in this random family’s house and shared my last cookies with some little boys, as my project partners tried to contact someone to come pick us up in the rain (no signal, of course). It seemed as though I was going to have to leave my bags at this house overnight and begin walking to my final community. However, at the last minute, the man of the house got his old Tracker SUV to function and offered to give us a ride up to my community. Hurray! So, we ventured over land (a grassy path—not even an unpaved road) by car for another 20 mins in the rain. By this point, it was around 8pm and I couldn’t help by laugh at how absurd this journey had become. Literally, I was smiling like a madwoman. This was truly a “Peace Corps” experience. As we neared the final river separating me from El Guayabo (final community) we stopped. The river had overflowed and was uncrossable in car. So, we unloaded my bags at some random person’s house next to the river (once again) and said goodbye to the Tracker. It seemed as though I would have to leave all my belongings at this woman’s house because they couldn’t be transported past the river. So, I packed the essentials into a small shoulder bag, and we ventured for the river. Turns out, my community was waiting for me in the rain on the other side of the river! With help from a young man, I hiked up my skirt and waded thigh-high into the rushing river (refusing a piggyback) and made it to the other side, into the arms of my host family! My host father took my hand and we walked straight up hill for another ½ mile to my future house IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE on top of a large hill/mountain. Half the community had come to see me, and they entered the house with me, smiling and talking and watching me eat dinner. It was 9pm. Everyone was wonderful and it was truly a great introduction to my community after an insane journey! By 9:30 I was asleep. What a day. Inolvidable.
Summary of the journey: 71/2 hours of using a bus, pijavascript:void(0)ckup truck, Tracker and walking to reach my final destination. Rural and isolated on a mountain, could you tell?
Monday, October 19, 2009
ATTENTION ALL
FINAL PLACEMENT HAS CHANGED!
I will no longer be in La Lima, Santiago Rodriguez but in El Guayabo, Santiago Rodriguez. This is still in the mountains, about 45 minutes away from my old community. The community I have been placed in only has 38 homes, and is an isolated community! Gosh! I am leaving tomorrow to visit for 5 days and will update the blog soon.
FINAL PLACEMENT HAS CHANGED!
I will no longer be in La Lima, Santiago Rodriguez but in El Guayabo, Santiago Rodriguez. This is still in the mountains, about 45 minutes away from my old community. The community I have been placed in only has 38 homes, and is an isolated community! Gosh! I am leaving tomorrow to visit for 5 days and will update the blog soon.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Back in Santo Domingo (and its really humid)!
The going away party held for us health volunteers in Las Tablas was lovely. Our host families and the volunteers lounged poolside on Friday afternoon, eating cake and empanadas and sharing embarrassing stories.
I later gave my host family their gifts and they cried! It was emotional. In return, I received 2 earring/necklace sets from them. Very thoughtful!
Arriving back in Santo Domingo, I realize I do not like the capital. It’s smoggy and humid and there is a water shortage so I can’t wash any of my dirty clothes (barely enough water to bathe). However, it is nice to go to a large airconditioned supermarket and go to the Peace Corps office for free wifi.
On Tuesday I head to my final site for 5 days, return to swear in as a volunteer, and then leave Santo Domingo forever! I had forgotten how much stuff I have; 2 months in-country makes you accumulate a lot! I have about 10 manuals and a whole suitcase filled with stuff I haven’t even used yet (sheets, spices, sleeping bag, sweatshirts). It will be very interesting to try to lug these suitcases on crappy public transportation 5 hours north.
It will be even more interesting to be thrown into my community by myself. I will have no clue about the whereabouts of any amenities (i.e. how to get to the nearest city, where the supermarket is, etc.) and will be relying heavily on shoddy directions from my future host family. I will literally be dropped in my community and left to fend for myself. That’s the Peace Corps way!
Last night all the volunteers from all 4 sectors reunited at the Car Wash for drinks and dancing. It was thrilling to see everyone, hear about adventures and hear where everyone is placed! Everyone is itching to get to their sites…
The going away party held for us health volunteers in Las Tablas was lovely. Our host families and the volunteers lounged poolside on Friday afternoon, eating cake and empanadas and sharing embarrassing stories.
I later gave my host family their gifts and they cried! It was emotional. In return, I received 2 earring/necklace sets from them. Very thoughtful!
Arriving back in Santo Domingo, I realize I do not like the capital. It’s smoggy and humid and there is a water shortage so I can’t wash any of my dirty clothes (barely enough water to bathe). However, it is nice to go to a large airconditioned supermarket and go to the Peace Corps office for free wifi.
On Tuesday I head to my final site for 5 days, return to swear in as a volunteer, and then leave Santo Domingo forever! I had forgotten how much stuff I have; 2 months in-country makes you accumulate a lot! I have about 10 manuals and a whole suitcase filled with stuff I haven’t even used yet (sheets, spices, sleeping bag, sweatshirts). It will be very interesting to try to lug these suitcases on crappy public transportation 5 hours north.
It will be even more interesting to be thrown into my community by myself. I will have no clue about the whereabouts of any amenities (i.e. how to get to the nearest city, where the supermarket is, etc.) and will be relying heavily on shoddy directions from my future host family. I will literally be dropped in my community and left to fend for myself. That’s the Peace Corps way!
Last night all the volunteers from all 4 sectors reunited at the Car Wash for drinks and dancing. It was thrilling to see everyone, hear about adventures and hear where everyone is placed! Everyone is itching to get to their sites…
Good morning all! This is my last official blog update written from my bed in Las Tablas! By the time this is posted I will officially done with training in the countryside and back in Santo Domingo for a few days to gather my things and be sworn in as a true Peace Corps Volunteer!
It’s bittersweet; I’m leaving the community I have lived in for the past 5 weeks (that has taught me everything I know) but IM ACTUALLY BECOMING A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER! Not that I ever doubted.. but still, its exciting to be more than a trainee. After hours of spanish class daily, technical training sessions, community presentations and tests (along with choking down the daily fried salami and fried bananas), I can say that I am tired of training and ready to move on. The “hardest” part is over and now I will have my community for the next 2 years (maybe truly the “hardest” part?). It’s also a bit sad to leave my family here who is awesome (again, the little sister is my bff), and more unfortunate that I will be about 7 hours away by bus (and thus not able to visit often).
However, I have a few parting gifts for them that include:
-2 ripe mangos (mango season is over so this is a treat; also, subtly encouraging fruit intake)
-my spanish/English dictionary (my sister is learning english but doesn’t have a dictionary because they are too expensive. She’s wanted one forever)
-a photo album with 5 printed photos of the family & me. They’ll never forget me now!
The last few days have been hurried as we prepare for the move out of Las Tablas and wrap up training, especially yesterday. We were on the bus to the nearest town at 8am yesterday to check email, get host family presents and purchase food from the market for our going away party (Friday, potluck, pool party)! My friend Eva and I are making a sweet potato pudding for potluck. It should be healthy and delicious. The best thing about being an American woman in a marketplace can be the things you get free… we got our cinnamon and orange zest for the pudding for free from the vendors!
The highlight of the shopping trip in town was my purchase of a huge, plastic, hideous plaid (orange, black and cream) carpetbag (that zippers!). These bags are found all over Central/South America and are useful for everything from transport of clothing to food. Best of all, they fold up into a flat square perfect for storage. You can also wash them easily. I got mine for a mere $1.75 US. I know it will be essential for the move to La Lima in the coming weeks.
After the shopping trip, I returned home to my house only to find a little neighbor girl crying hysterically. This neighbor girl often likes to run around naked (and is 5 years old), and never wears shoes. Of course she tripped and basically took a toenail off, among other injuries. Being the health promoter I am, I washed, disinfected & bandaged her toes (while giving her some mango to ease the crying). Little did I expect to see her 1 hour later STILL RUNNING AROUND WITHOUT SHOES ON, with one of the bandages already off. God, children. Last time I’m helping them..(kinda joking)..
After the rice and beans lunch I finished preparing my final presentation. We took our final technical training exam at 3pm, and then at 6:30 I had my final community presentation on Gender and Stereotyping. It went horribly (but don’t worry, this story has a happy ending):
1. We were supposed to have it at the school, but the electricity was out in the community and thus had to switch the location at a nearby poolhall (that has a generator) 5 mins before the presentation was supposed to start. Note: a poolhall is not a good place for a presentation.
2. We invited 11-22 year olds as our audience. About 30 kids (12 of them under the age of 8 came). From the get-go the little kids were screaming and shouting. One of the volunteers offered to take the little kids to the baseball field and play. He coerced them away from our presentation with “I BET YOU CAN’T CATCH ME” and started madly running. He ended their games with hide and seek (and told them all to hide—he ran away haha). Many of the kids returned to scream and shout.
3. We tried to do an icebreaker to begin our presentation but there were too many kids and not enough space; scrapped that idea after giving the initial directions (and thus confusing the kids).
4. It started to monsoon after we began the presentation (think: heavy rainfall on a tin roof). You could barely hear our presentation at times.
5. No one seemed to understand gender and stereotyping although we had about 5 activities repeating the same message…we skipped much of the presentation we realized would be over their head (all of our work—to waste!).
After a half hour and a waning audience of children, we ended quickly as we saw our trainer giving us the hook. After a quick debriefing of “don’t worry, the presentation went great, the problems were outside your control, this is reality” with our trainer, we packed up and all went to the Spaghetti dinner held at a volunteer’s host family home. It was a relaxing ending to a hectic day—we were officially done with training!!! A margarita and a plate of spaghetti later, I was feeling better and trekked back to my house to watch a few telenovelas and go to bed.
It’s bittersweet; I’m leaving the community I have lived in for the past 5 weeks (that has taught me everything I know) but IM ACTUALLY BECOMING A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER! Not that I ever doubted.. but still, its exciting to be more than a trainee. After hours of spanish class daily, technical training sessions, community presentations and tests (along with choking down the daily fried salami and fried bananas), I can say that I am tired of training and ready to move on. The “hardest” part is over and now I will have my community for the next 2 years (maybe truly the “hardest” part?). It’s also a bit sad to leave my family here who is awesome (again, the little sister is my bff), and more unfortunate that I will be about 7 hours away by bus (and thus not able to visit often).
However, I have a few parting gifts for them that include:
-2 ripe mangos (mango season is over so this is a treat; also, subtly encouraging fruit intake)
-my spanish/English dictionary (my sister is learning english but doesn’t have a dictionary because they are too expensive. She’s wanted one forever)
-a photo album with 5 printed photos of the family & me. They’ll never forget me now!
The last few days have been hurried as we prepare for the move out of Las Tablas and wrap up training, especially yesterday. We were on the bus to the nearest town at 8am yesterday to check email, get host family presents and purchase food from the market for our going away party (Friday, potluck, pool party)! My friend Eva and I are making a sweet potato pudding for potluck. It should be healthy and delicious. The best thing about being an American woman in a marketplace can be the things you get free… we got our cinnamon and orange zest for the pudding for free from the vendors!
The highlight of the shopping trip in town was my purchase of a huge, plastic, hideous plaid (orange, black and cream) carpetbag (that zippers!). These bags are found all over Central/South America and are useful for everything from transport of clothing to food. Best of all, they fold up into a flat square perfect for storage. You can also wash them easily. I got mine for a mere $1.75 US. I know it will be essential for the move to La Lima in the coming weeks.
After the shopping trip, I returned home to my house only to find a little neighbor girl crying hysterically. This neighbor girl often likes to run around naked (and is 5 years old), and never wears shoes. Of course she tripped and basically took a toenail off, among other injuries. Being the health promoter I am, I washed, disinfected & bandaged her toes (while giving her some mango to ease the crying). Little did I expect to see her 1 hour later STILL RUNNING AROUND WITHOUT SHOES ON, with one of the bandages already off. God, children. Last time I’m helping them..(kinda joking)..
After the rice and beans lunch I finished preparing my final presentation. We took our final technical training exam at 3pm, and then at 6:30 I had my final community presentation on Gender and Stereotyping. It went horribly (but don’t worry, this story has a happy ending):
1. We were supposed to have it at the school, but the electricity was out in the community and thus had to switch the location at a nearby poolhall (that has a generator) 5 mins before the presentation was supposed to start. Note: a poolhall is not a good place for a presentation.
2. We invited 11-22 year olds as our audience. About 30 kids (12 of them under the age of 8 came). From the get-go the little kids were screaming and shouting. One of the volunteers offered to take the little kids to the baseball field and play. He coerced them away from our presentation with “I BET YOU CAN’T CATCH ME” and started madly running. He ended their games with hide and seek (and told them all to hide—he ran away haha). Many of the kids returned to scream and shout.
3. We tried to do an icebreaker to begin our presentation but there were too many kids and not enough space; scrapped that idea after giving the initial directions (and thus confusing the kids).
4. It started to monsoon after we began the presentation (think: heavy rainfall on a tin roof). You could barely hear our presentation at times.
5. No one seemed to understand gender and stereotyping although we had about 5 activities repeating the same message…we skipped much of the presentation we realized would be over their head (all of our work—to waste!).
After a half hour and a waning audience of children, we ended quickly as we saw our trainer giving us the hook. After a quick debriefing of “don’t worry, the presentation went great, the problems were outside your control, this is reality” with our trainer, we packed up and all went to the Spaghetti dinner held at a volunteer’s host family home. It was a relaxing ending to a hectic day—we were officially done with training!!! A margarita and a plate of spaghetti later, I was feeling better and trekked back to my house to watch a few telenovelas and go to bed.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Colmados. Those wonderful corner stores.
Colmados, in essence, are Dominican supermarkets that have adapted to the small supply-and-demand systems found in rural locations. All colmados stock the basics; canned food, household cleaning supplies, alcohol and snacks. Colmados can be attached to people’s houses or be their own entity. Everything at colmados keep for a long time, and are rarely in need of refrigeration. Good colmados will get fresh produce daily, including bread, vegetables and occasionally, fruit.
Colmados are very useful because they are on every corner and readily accessible for any last-minute need. However, my favorite part about the colmados is the pricing. Because many Dominicans live day-to-day with money and do not have access to grocery stores, many things are bought in small quantities on a day-to-day basis. So, rather than buying a whole can of tomato sauce, you only buy a bit of tomato sauce for lunch (maybe 15 pesos worth). Also, this means that storing food in the house, away from insects and mold, isn’t a problem.
Thus, you buy things by the “peso” rather than the package. You tell the colmado man how many pesos you want to spend, and they will give you that much.
My favorite examples (keep in mind 35 pesos to the dollar):
3 pesos ripe banana (great afternoon snack)
5 pesos ground pepper (enough to season the chicken for lunch)
10 pesos of soap (1/2 a bar)
25 pesos of butter (yes, they have a huge tub of butter and will slop out 25 pesos worth into a plastic bag for you. Now, try spooning out the butter from the plastic bag…)
Some things you can’t buy by the peso, such as alcohol, candy bars, vegetables or powdered milk. Dry cooking good are bought by the pound.
Other Updates:
• Fed green leaves (found in the backyard) to my family today via the kidney bean seasoning—success! No bad taste and no death—only vitamins and minerals!
• I’ve found out that my future host family in La Lima is composed of 1 older woman and her 3 grown sons… none of whom are married. I’m told that I should frequently remind the men that “I’m their sister!” and not someone to hit on…haha
• I’m so surprised that my computer has not died yet! In fact, it’s working great! I think the battery life has actually increased. Maybe it just needed a vacation..
• You can tell your appearance has fallen by the wayside when:
o You shower, put on a tshirt and jeans (still wearing your chacos), and are asked by your family “wow leigh, you look good. Where are you going?”.
Colmados, in essence, are Dominican supermarkets that have adapted to the small supply-and-demand systems found in rural locations. All colmados stock the basics; canned food, household cleaning supplies, alcohol and snacks. Colmados can be attached to people’s houses or be their own entity. Everything at colmados keep for a long time, and are rarely in need of refrigeration. Good colmados will get fresh produce daily, including bread, vegetables and occasionally, fruit.
Colmados are very useful because they are on every corner and readily accessible for any last-minute need. However, my favorite part about the colmados is the pricing. Because many Dominicans live day-to-day with money and do not have access to grocery stores, many things are bought in small quantities on a day-to-day basis. So, rather than buying a whole can of tomato sauce, you only buy a bit of tomato sauce for lunch (maybe 15 pesos worth). Also, this means that storing food in the house, away from insects and mold, isn’t a problem.
Thus, you buy things by the “peso” rather than the package. You tell the colmado man how many pesos you want to spend, and they will give you that much.
My favorite examples (keep in mind 35 pesos to the dollar):
3 pesos ripe banana (great afternoon snack)
5 pesos ground pepper (enough to season the chicken for lunch)
10 pesos of soap (1/2 a bar)
25 pesos of butter (yes, they have a huge tub of butter and will slop out 25 pesos worth into a plastic bag for you. Now, try spooning out the butter from the plastic bag…)
Some things you can’t buy by the peso, such as alcohol, candy bars, vegetables or powdered milk. Dry cooking good are bought by the pound.
Other Updates:
• Fed green leaves (found in the backyard) to my family today via the kidney bean seasoning—success! No bad taste and no death—only vitamins and minerals!
• I’ve found out that my future host family in La Lima is composed of 1 older woman and her 3 grown sons… none of whom are married. I’m told that I should frequently remind the men that “I’m their sister!” and not someone to hit on…haha
• I’m so surprised that my computer has not died yet! In fact, it’s working great! I think the battery life has actually increased. Maybe it just needed a vacation..
• You can tell your appearance has fallen by the wayside when:
o You shower, put on a tshirt and jeans (still wearing your chacos), and are asked by your family “wow leigh, you look good. Where are you going?”.
I found I’ve recently become:
A pack rat
So, due to limited funds and no place to put trash (everyone burns there trash in piles in the back yard—garbage cans don’t exist), I’ve started hoarding any storage container. This includes plastic shopping bags, large 2 liter plastic coke bottles, and plastic storage containers (such as the type baby wipes come in). These storage containers will come in handy in 2 weeks when I move to my final destination and need receptacles to store food and daily necessities (yup, my house will be filled with used plastics).
Unbeknownst to developed countries, you can make ANYTHING out of discarded materials.
Cool examples:
- plastic coke 2 liter = faucet under which to wash hands, dishes
- plastic coke 18 oz bottle = cutlery storage
- big tin sauce cans = watering can (poke holes in bottom), possible shower head (still working on the mechanics)
- baby wipe container = napkin holder
Next time I use the internet I intend to look up “cool things to do with trash” to get some good ideas.
Furthermore, I am saving the environment by recycling and am improving my health by not burning plastics and releasing carcinogens! Mom and Dad--I promise I wash all containers thoroughly.
Other Updates:
• Apparently, only single people survive Peace Corps. We had 2 more trainees leave this week, both who had serious relationships back home (original 51 is now 44?).
• Last night there was a political rally at my host family’s house! My mother is running for town secretary/councilwoman for the upcoming election. What my host mother told me would be a “meeting” turned out to be a large political event with over 100 people in attendance (which is comical because it was outside our 3 room cement house). There was a DJ and 6 other political representatives also present (to campaign and support). This was the most exciting event in Las Tablas in the past month. Of course, 30 minutes into the political speeches it started to pour, so 100 people crammed into our kitchen/living/dining room area to drink soda (grape, red and orange are the flavors of choice). It was insane. Everyone finally left amidst the rain and mud, squeezing 20 people onto truck beds, (oh, the electricity also went out), and I crawled into bed at 8:30, read a good book by headlamp, and went to bed hearing the rain (yes, resonating on the tin roof). We woke in the morning to a yard that looked like the aftermath of Woodstock = mud, trash and trampled things.
It was truly a night to remember.
• Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize?! What?! I heard this second hand from a spanish teacher and then confirmed it on the Friday night Spanish news. I’m pretty out of the loop when it comes to current events. I’m writing Obama a letter straightaway, telling him that his “call to action” better fund an expansion of the Peace Corps.
A pack rat
So, due to limited funds and no place to put trash (everyone burns there trash in piles in the back yard—garbage cans don’t exist), I’ve started hoarding any storage container. This includes plastic shopping bags, large 2 liter plastic coke bottles, and plastic storage containers (such as the type baby wipes come in). These storage containers will come in handy in 2 weeks when I move to my final destination and need receptacles to store food and daily necessities (yup, my house will be filled with used plastics).
Unbeknownst to developed countries, you can make ANYTHING out of discarded materials.
Cool examples:
- plastic coke 2 liter = faucet under which to wash hands, dishes
- plastic coke 18 oz bottle = cutlery storage
- big tin sauce cans = watering can (poke holes in bottom), possible shower head (still working on the mechanics)
- baby wipe container = napkin holder
Next time I use the internet I intend to look up “cool things to do with trash” to get some good ideas.
Furthermore, I am saving the environment by recycling and am improving my health by not burning plastics and releasing carcinogens! Mom and Dad--I promise I wash all containers thoroughly.
Other Updates:
• Apparently, only single people survive Peace Corps. We had 2 more trainees leave this week, both who had serious relationships back home (original 51 is now 44?).
• Last night there was a political rally at my host family’s house! My mother is running for town secretary/councilwoman for the upcoming election. What my host mother told me would be a “meeting” turned out to be a large political event with over 100 people in attendance (which is comical because it was outside our 3 room cement house). There was a DJ and 6 other political representatives also present (to campaign and support). This was the most exciting event in Las Tablas in the past month. Of course, 30 minutes into the political speeches it started to pour, so 100 people crammed into our kitchen/living/dining room area to drink soda (grape, red and orange are the flavors of choice). It was insane. Everyone finally left amidst the rain and mud, squeezing 20 people onto truck beds, (oh, the electricity also went out), and I crawled into bed at 8:30, read a good book by headlamp, and went to bed hearing the rain (yes, resonating on the tin roof). We woke in the morning to a yard that looked like the aftermath of Woodstock = mud, trash and trampled things.
It was truly a night to remember.
• Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize?! What?! I heard this second hand from a spanish teacher and then confirmed it on the Friday night Spanish news. I’m pretty out of the loop when it comes to current events. I’m writing Obama a letter straightaway, telling him that his “call to action” better fund an expansion of the Peace Corps.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
FINAL SITE INFORMATION:
La Lima
Population: 270 people (tiny!), 70 houses
Amenities: Crappy cellphone service, occasional light, available water (but not running water).
Income: agriculture including beans and yucca
Location: Apparently its really muddy to get to my site and is a 5 hour busride to the capital (good god!).
Services: A women's group and some other nonprofit.
A TINY VILLAGE, JUST WHAT I WANTED!
La Lima
Population: 270 people (tiny!), 70 houses
Amenities: Crappy cellphone service, occasional light, available water (but not running water).
Income: agriculture including beans and yucca
Location: Apparently its really muddy to get to my site and is a 5 hour busride to the capital (good god!).
Services: A women's group and some other nonprofit.
A TINY VILLAGE, JUST WHAT I WANTED!
This week begins our technical training of sex ed. One of the main tasks for health promoters is to form a youth group focusing on HIV/AIDS education in our communities. Interestingly, we started discussing the ramifications of HIV testing in the DR. Would we, as educators, suggest our youth and other community members get tested for HIV? From a public health standpoint, yes of course, so they would have the personal knowledge and know not to infect others and possibly help their own health. However, there are basically no services available to rural peoples with HIV, not to mention little treatment (due to huge costs). If a youth did find out they had HIV (testing itself is expensive), they would most likely become an outcast in the community and have no counseling services or treatment options anyway. So which is better, knowing or not knowing? While it is easy in the United States to be tested and receive necessary services there are few options in the DR. What are our responsibilities as educators here?
To change topics, today I had my first Dominican coconut! They are available everywhere (i.e. the street vendors & supermarkets) so before spanish class I wandered down to the corner store and bought a coconut for 75 cents. We cracked it open, had some coconut water and then dug out the meat. The meat wasn’t as sweet/tasty as expected, but the coconut water was delicious! Coconuts are used frequently as a seasoning with beans, rice and lentils here (I’m lucky!).
Other Updates:
• I’ve noticed that Dominicans age well here. While kids develop at an early age (I mistake most 13, 14, 15 year olds for being 17-22), they stay looking that same age forever. My host father is 75 but doesn’t look a day over 60 and many people who are in their 30s appear to be in their 20s. A true mystery. Maybe it’s the sun? Maybe it’s the rice and beans diet? Maybe the ground-water that is “not potable” secretly has an anti-aging chemical (Tuck Everlasting?)?
• I’m obsessed with my host sister, Yubeidy. She’s 14 but my best friend here (and could definitely pass for being 21+). She is so welcoming and doesn’t think I’m annoying in the least, even though I tag along everywhere. She’s always up for doing things (dancing, hiking, exercising) and is a very goal-oriented person (which is great in a community with high teen pregnancy). I wish she lived in my final community! I definitely plan on keeping in touch with her and hope she can come visit me in the north!
• For all you spanish-speakers out there. Spanish lit recommendation: Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 12 Cuentos. Each one has an ending with a twist—and the stories are short enough to read before bed.
• I’ve found the best frozen yogurt place on earth. Beats anything in NYC and Truly Yogurt (Wellesley readers?): Yogun Fruz. Basically delicious frozen fruit/other yummy toppings that they grind
To change topics, today I had my first Dominican coconut! They are available everywhere (i.e. the street vendors & supermarkets) so before spanish class I wandered down to the corner store and bought a coconut for 75 cents. We cracked it open, had some coconut water and then dug out the meat. The meat wasn’t as sweet/tasty as expected, but the coconut water was delicious! Coconuts are used frequently as a seasoning with beans, rice and lentils here (I’m lucky!).
Other Updates:
• I’ve noticed that Dominicans age well here. While kids develop at an early age (I mistake most 13, 14, 15 year olds for being 17-22), they stay looking that same age forever. My host father is 75 but doesn’t look a day over 60 and many people who are in their 30s appear to be in their 20s. A true mystery. Maybe it’s the sun? Maybe it’s the rice and beans diet? Maybe the ground-water that is “not potable” secretly has an anti-aging chemical (Tuck Everlasting?)?
• I’m obsessed with my host sister, Yubeidy. She’s 14 but my best friend here (and could definitely pass for being 21+). She is so welcoming and doesn’t think I’m annoying in the least, even though I tag along everywhere. She’s always up for doing things (dancing, hiking, exercising) and is a very goal-oriented person (which is great in a community with high teen pregnancy). I wish she lived in my final community! I definitely plan on keeping in touch with her and hope she can come visit me in the north!
• For all you spanish-speakers out there. Spanish lit recommendation: Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 12 Cuentos. Each one has an ending with a twist—and the stories are short enough to read before bed.
• I’ve found the best frozen yogurt place on earth. Beats anything in NYC and Truly Yogurt (Wellesley readers?): Yogun Fruz. Basically delicious frozen fruit/other yummy toppings that they grind
As my pictures below can attest, I climbed a “loma” (mountain/large hill) last Saturday! These lomas border our backyards and our volunteer group is pretty outdoorsy, so we decided we wanted to climb one. The lomas are used as grazing grounds for peoples’ goats but not much else so there aren’t “trails” per say. One volunteer asked her neighbor if he would be our guide, and he agreed. So yesterday at 6am (it was still night here), we rendezvoused at Eva’s house with water and our breakfasts and set out. It was about a 30 minute hike from our houses to the base of the loma. From there it was up, up, up as there were NO trails/paths. Our guide, an old man with a large machete, was cutting down branches and bushes left and right. Seemingly every plant on this loma had thorns, it was uncanny. It was a cool morning and we had absolutely breathtaking views of the Dominican land from various points on the loma. We made it to the summit in about 2.5 hours (so clearly it wasn’t THAT high) and luckily it was cloudy so we weren’t dead from the heat. However going down was definitely more tricky than going up, and our guide did not know the way down, although he pretended. So, we basically bushwacked our way down the loma, getting stuck by cacti every 4 feet and consistently creating mini rock slides as we half-fell down the mountain. It was quite a time! A little Dominican boy (couldn’t have been older than 10) came on the climb and impressed us with his 1 handed hiking (he was carrying a bushel of wild oregano in the other). Overall, a hilarious and typical Dominican experience.
Yesterday, as every Sunday, we beached it up. However it was cloudy and somehow not warm. We met some Dominican construction workers from Baltimore.
My Sunday ended with the weekly dancing/party at the colmado. Around 10pm the local “dance team” came to perform. One of these dance teams is composed of 8-10 year olds who basically dance in their underwear to popular songs (think: little girls with fros wearing fruit of the loom and BOOTY SHAKING). Their risqué moves (and little faces with nonchalant expressions) made me feel awkward…however everyone else enjoyed it!
Other Updates:
• I’ve recently been notified that people with high standards/self-named elitists have been reading my blog and enjoying (i.e. Rebecca Reichardt and Daniel Kasbohm). Thanks!
• I sleep a lot. Like probably 10+ hours a day (including afternoon siestas). I think I’m slowly catching up for all of college.
Yesterday, as every Sunday, we beached it up. However it was cloudy and somehow not warm. We met some Dominican construction workers from Baltimore.
My Sunday ended with the weekly dancing/party at the colmado. Around 10pm the local “dance team” came to perform. One of these dance teams is composed of 8-10 year olds who basically dance in their underwear to popular songs (think: little girls with fros wearing fruit of the loom and BOOTY SHAKING). Their risqué moves (and little faces with nonchalant expressions) made me feel awkward…however everyone else enjoyed it!
Other Updates:
• I’ve recently been notified that people with high standards/self-named elitists have been reading my blog and enjoying (i.e. Rebecca Reichardt and Daniel Kasbohm). Thanks!
• I sleep a lot. Like probably 10+ hours a day (including afternoon siestas). I think I’m slowly catching up for all of college.
So I had a very desperate dinner the other night, and found it necessary to write this ode:
An Ode To Peanut Butter
Oh peanut butter how I adore you—
You who requires no refrigeration
You who has a shelf life of two years.
I first loved you in kindergarten; I still love you at 22.
Nectar of the Gods, you versatile condiment,
Topping fruit, bread and various porridges.
Overwhelming even the most odiferous foods
And making edible the most bland.
A true game-changer for the cornstarch pudding that tastes like plastic.
I eat you with my fingers out of the jar,
Sometimes with a spoon.
You provide me with protein and supply “the good fat”--
I don’t have to run you off.
Peanut butter, you are my dear companion on trips
And occupy a permanent space in my kitchen.
Thanks to your handy container I fear neither:
Ants
Botulism
Or finding you squished at the bottom of my backpack in 2 weeks.
Smooth versus chunky is always the question,
But here in the Dominican Republic I welcome you both.
Available at most major grocery stores for a 86 pesos ($2.40),
Country Barn peanut butter, I will buy you every week!
An Ode To Peanut Butter
Oh peanut butter how I adore you—
You who requires no refrigeration
You who has a shelf life of two years.
I first loved you in kindergarten; I still love you at 22.
Nectar of the Gods, you versatile condiment,
Topping fruit, bread and various porridges.
Overwhelming even the most odiferous foods
And making edible the most bland.
A true game-changer for the cornstarch pudding that tastes like plastic.
I eat you with my fingers out of the jar,
Sometimes with a spoon.
You provide me with protein and supply “the good fat”--
I don’t have to run you off.
Peanut butter, you are my dear companion on trips
And occupy a permanent space in my kitchen.
Thanks to your handy container I fear neither:
Ants
Botulism
Or finding you squished at the bottom of my backpack in 2 weeks.
Smooth versus chunky is always the question,
But here in the Dominican Republic I welcome you both.
Available at most major grocery stores for a 86 pesos ($2.40),
Country Barn peanut butter, I will buy you every week!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
This news deserves its own post:
FINAL PLACEMENT!!!!! Our Health Peace Corps Director came to the village today to meet individually with us and tell us our “tentative” (aka 95% sure) community placement.
I will be living in the province of Santiago Rodriguez (northwest DR) in the small, rural town of Lima. I am in a cool, hilly/mountainous location! My project partner/community contact is an older woman, and I will already have 2 Dominican health promoters at my site to work with me! I might have tentative electricity and probably no running water. I have two other health volunteers located in the same province. The main city I will using will be Santiago (the second largest city in the DR).
That’s all I know about for now until October 19th when I get all the final details. But, YAY!! My placement seems great and I can’t wait to get there!
Other Updates:
• This morning I awoke to 6 Dominican DEA agents (drug enforcement agency) with semi-automatic weapons hanging out next door. Turns out, they were investigating my neighbors as dealers…
• I had my first village presentation today on the importance of hand washing. It went really well and we made faucets out of old soda bottles!
• I saw Anchorman for the first time last night (English with spanish subtitles). It was better than expected!
• We went to a child malnutrition center in Bani yesterday and ate green leaf soup and played with the kids. A small Canadian nun is the director, and when I mentioned I was from Wellesley she exclaimed, “we have a large contingent there”. Oh Sisters of Charity..
FINAL PLACEMENT!!!!! Our Health Peace Corps Director came to the village today to meet individually with us and tell us our “tentative” (aka 95% sure) community placement.
I will be living in the province of Santiago Rodriguez (northwest DR) in the small, rural town of Lima. I am in a cool, hilly/mountainous location! My project partner/community contact is an older woman, and I will already have 2 Dominican health promoters at my site to work with me! I might have tentative electricity and probably no running water. I have two other health volunteers located in the same province. The main city I will using will be Santiago (the second largest city in the DR).
That’s all I know about for now until October 19th when I get all the final details. But, YAY!! My placement seems great and I can’t wait to get there!
Other Updates:
• This morning I awoke to 6 Dominican DEA agents (drug enforcement agency) with semi-automatic weapons hanging out next door. Turns out, they were investigating my neighbors as dealers…
• I had my first village presentation today on the importance of hand washing. It went really well and we made faucets out of old soda bottles!
• I saw Anchorman for the first time last night (English with spanish subtitles). It was better than expected!
• We went to a child malnutrition center in Bani yesterday and ate green leaf soup and played with the kids. A small Canadian nun is the director, and when I mentioned I was from Wellesley she exclaimed, “we have a large contingent there”. Oh Sisters of Charity..
Who would have thought a Monday could be so great?
To preface this post, I have immensely enjoyed my experience thus far in the DR, but have found that recently I am content with daily life but not “enthusiastic” (except for special days like the beach and meringue). Much of the initial novelty has worn off, and I am enjoying daily life as I would enjoy life in the US. However, today was an especially “happy” day.
Firstly, I discovered the true sharing culture of the Dominican Republic. My host mother was gone in the city for the morning, so I came home at noon to an empty house and no prepared lunch. I wasn’t worried and knew some food would appear within the next few hours, but nonetheless I was hungry! Fortunately, a neighbor woman popped next door and realized my plight. She came bearing rice and beans! Hooray. As I was eating my lunch, another neighbor came over carrying a plate of spaghetti; she too knew that my Dona was gone for lunch. Lots of food! Next, some random man pulled up on a motorcycle carrying Chinese takeout from the city! He presented me with the pork fried rice and chicken wings and told me that he too knew that my host mother was gone. Wow! Finally, my host mother came home an hour later and offered to make me lunch. This I refused – I couldn’t possibly have more. However, I was awe-struck at the generosity of my neighbors who mainly know me as “la Americana” but still shared their own food with me!
After lunch my friend Tatiana came over (the 16 year old who just got married) and combed my hair for 45 minutes as the neighborhood girls looked on. Very relaxing. All the girls love my straight hair (as it is an oddity in the DR) and Tatiana told me she would take me to the salon this weekend! The salon will put my hair in large rollers (that is what the Domincan women do to straighten their hair) and then I will get a “blow”. This is all very exciting (I will be sure to take pictures). As my spanish teacher said, I am slowly turning into a Dominican!
To end the day, I had two other volunteers come over and help prepare a presentation we are giving to the community this week on kitchen hygiene. We relaxed on the back porch, basking in the fading sun and enjoying a giant 2 litre of Coca Cola Light. We prepared invitations for about 15 families to come to our presentation, writing on the beautiful Joan and Kevin pads of paper (a big hit!). We then went around to homes handing the invitations out and chatting with the neighbors. Everyone is so friendly and helpful and I absolutely adore the community members. They make the work worthwhile (especially the old women and small children!).
Finally, I came home and ate a delicious dinner of rice, beans, chicken and avocado. Took a refreshing shower, got into clean pajamas at 8pm and relaxed with my laptop and a cup of coffee on the back patio. As I write there are 4 girls ages 5-11 crowded around my laptop wanting to know about what I’m writing and why my laptop makes such loud sounds (I must admit to them its REALLY old).
They would like their names included in their post, so here they are:
Paola -10 years
Yafreisi-11 years
Francielis -11 years
Manyelinn – 5 years
Clearly, not your typical spanish names…which is why I still can’t remember 95% of names here.
I think it was such a good day because there are lots of things to look forward to this week! I enjoy having my own schedule (outside of daily classes) and I am the one planning and enacting real work rather than following directions of my technical trainer. Clearly, I can’t wait to get into my real community—enough with the training! Also, it was a productive day full of community integration and I’ve realized that I do fit in here! Thank goodness I already speak spanish (it is by far the biggest barrier for all volunteers).
Other Updates:
• As I was eating lunch, I heard a sound coming from under the table. I looked to see our pet cat chomping on a large rat. I went back to eating. The cat carried the rat away. At least the rat is dead and not running around my room…
• I bought some scope. What a difference mouthwash makes!
• Today I went to Dia de San Miguel party, which was attended by about 400 people throughout the town! It was basically people sitting around drinking, some dancing, and watching women dance in front of an alter. Altogether interesting but not “fun”.
To preface this post, I have immensely enjoyed my experience thus far in the DR, but have found that recently I am content with daily life but not “enthusiastic” (except for special days like the beach and meringue). Much of the initial novelty has worn off, and I am enjoying daily life as I would enjoy life in the US. However, today was an especially “happy” day.
Firstly, I discovered the true sharing culture of the Dominican Republic. My host mother was gone in the city for the morning, so I came home at noon to an empty house and no prepared lunch. I wasn’t worried and knew some food would appear within the next few hours, but nonetheless I was hungry! Fortunately, a neighbor woman popped next door and realized my plight. She came bearing rice and beans! Hooray. As I was eating my lunch, another neighbor came over carrying a plate of spaghetti; she too knew that my Dona was gone for lunch. Lots of food! Next, some random man pulled up on a motorcycle carrying Chinese takeout from the city! He presented me with the pork fried rice and chicken wings and told me that he too knew that my host mother was gone. Wow! Finally, my host mother came home an hour later and offered to make me lunch. This I refused – I couldn’t possibly have more. However, I was awe-struck at the generosity of my neighbors who mainly know me as “la Americana” but still shared their own food with me!
After lunch my friend Tatiana came over (the 16 year old who just got married) and combed my hair for 45 minutes as the neighborhood girls looked on. Very relaxing. All the girls love my straight hair (as it is an oddity in the DR) and Tatiana told me she would take me to the salon this weekend! The salon will put my hair in large rollers (that is what the Domincan women do to straighten their hair) and then I will get a “blow”. This is all very exciting (I will be sure to take pictures). As my spanish teacher said, I am slowly turning into a Dominican!
To end the day, I had two other volunteers come over and help prepare a presentation we are giving to the community this week on kitchen hygiene. We relaxed on the back porch, basking in the fading sun and enjoying a giant 2 litre of Coca Cola Light. We prepared invitations for about 15 families to come to our presentation, writing on the beautiful Joan and Kevin pads of paper (a big hit!). We then went around to homes handing the invitations out and chatting with the neighbors. Everyone is so friendly and helpful and I absolutely adore the community members. They make the work worthwhile (especially the old women and small children!).
Finally, I came home and ate a delicious dinner of rice, beans, chicken and avocado. Took a refreshing shower, got into clean pajamas at 8pm and relaxed with my laptop and a cup of coffee on the back patio. As I write there are 4 girls ages 5-11 crowded around my laptop wanting to know about what I’m writing and why my laptop makes such loud sounds (I must admit to them its REALLY old).
They would like their names included in their post, so here they are:
Paola -10 years
Yafreisi-11 years
Francielis -11 years
Manyelinn – 5 years
Clearly, not your typical spanish names…which is why I still can’t remember 95% of names here.
I think it was such a good day because there are lots of things to look forward to this week! I enjoy having my own schedule (outside of daily classes) and I am the one planning and enacting real work rather than following directions of my technical trainer. Clearly, I can’t wait to get into my real community—enough with the training! Also, it was a productive day full of community integration and I’ve realized that I do fit in here! Thank goodness I already speak spanish (it is by far the biggest barrier for all volunteers).
Other Updates:
• As I was eating lunch, I heard a sound coming from under the table. I looked to see our pet cat chomping on a large rat. I went back to eating. The cat carried the rat away. At least the rat is dead and not running around my room…
• I bought some scope. What a difference mouthwash makes!
• Today I went to Dia de San Miguel party, which was attended by about 400 people throughout the town! It was basically people sitting around drinking, some dancing, and watching women dance in front of an alter. Altogether interesting but not “fun”.
Sundays are lazy days in the Dominican Republic.
Dominicans spend much of the day sitting outside in their plastic lawn chairs (every family has them) and chatting with neighbors who drop by. Every Sunday we have a record number of visitors ranging from people selling treats and shoes to the life insurance bill collector. There is no schedule to the day, and we often eat lunch whenever we feel like it, whether it be 11:30 or 2:30. Today was an especially lazy Sunday as the volunteers decided to visit the beach again! However, unlike last beach day, we did not have a free ride from our health coordinator (she was in the capital for the weekend). To remedy this, we hired a small bus (that a neighbor conveniently had) and got transportation to and from the beach for a mere 4 dollars a person. We awoke early and were at the beach by 9:30am. The day was spent frolicking in the ocean and baking in the sun. Success!
We came back early by 2:30 pm. I scarfed down some rice, beans and avocado and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside with the family, journaling and writing letters. The Matrix (in spanish called “The Darkness”) was on TV, but my host mother couldn’t understand what was happening (and I don’t blame her).
While Sundays may be lazy days, Saturday nights are hopping in Las Tablas! This past Saturday night I learned that dancing is good for the soul. Specifically this past Saturday night was the “Pri Pri” which is held a few times a year and is a town-wide meringue dance night. A live band comes and everyone turns out to drink and dance meringue! Everyone. I danced with 13 year old boys, 75 year old men and everyone in between. The dance floor was packed with people and it didn’t matter how good or bad a dancer you were. It was great practice! For those unfamiliar with meringue, it basically consists of very quick steps to songs that are 10 minutes long. So basically, we were drenched in sweat by the time midnight rolled around.
Other Updates:
• Tonight for dinner I had cornmeal mush and water (think: a bowl of cornbread in batter form). As is true for many low-income families in the US, money has dwindled by the end of the month. Food has gotten progressively simpler, which is also demonstrated by the 3 pieces of bread I have eaten for breakfast recently. Experiencing this lifestyle is crucial for understanding the underlying problems plaguing rural communities; actually, the cornmeal mush was pretty good!
• I discovered yesterday that I am unable to play any DVDs on my computer (after receiving those 4 DVDs via mail). Being the computer genius I am, I tried to speed my computer up by uninstalling “useless” computer applications this past summer. Somehow, as I deleted about 10 programs, I also uninstalled the ability to read my DVD player (on all 3 media applications I have). I will try to troubleshoot next time I’m at the internet café, but it would be so helpful to have my brother/B-Strat/B-Wile around to fix this…
Dominicans spend much of the day sitting outside in their plastic lawn chairs (every family has them) and chatting with neighbors who drop by. Every Sunday we have a record number of visitors ranging from people selling treats and shoes to the life insurance bill collector. There is no schedule to the day, and we often eat lunch whenever we feel like it, whether it be 11:30 or 2:30. Today was an especially lazy Sunday as the volunteers decided to visit the beach again! However, unlike last beach day, we did not have a free ride from our health coordinator (she was in the capital for the weekend). To remedy this, we hired a small bus (that a neighbor conveniently had) and got transportation to and from the beach for a mere 4 dollars a person. We awoke early and were at the beach by 9:30am. The day was spent frolicking in the ocean and baking in the sun. Success!
We came back early by 2:30 pm. I scarfed down some rice, beans and avocado and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside with the family, journaling and writing letters. The Matrix (in spanish called “The Darkness”) was on TV, but my host mother couldn’t understand what was happening (and I don’t blame her).
While Sundays may be lazy days, Saturday nights are hopping in Las Tablas! This past Saturday night I learned that dancing is good for the soul. Specifically this past Saturday night was the “Pri Pri” which is held a few times a year and is a town-wide meringue dance night. A live band comes and everyone turns out to drink and dance meringue! Everyone. I danced with 13 year old boys, 75 year old men and everyone in between. The dance floor was packed with people and it didn’t matter how good or bad a dancer you were. It was great practice! For those unfamiliar with meringue, it basically consists of very quick steps to songs that are 10 minutes long. So basically, we were drenched in sweat by the time midnight rolled around.
Other Updates:
• Tonight for dinner I had cornmeal mush and water (think: a bowl of cornbread in batter form). As is true for many low-income families in the US, money has dwindled by the end of the month. Food has gotten progressively simpler, which is also demonstrated by the 3 pieces of bread I have eaten for breakfast recently. Experiencing this lifestyle is crucial for understanding the underlying problems plaguing rural communities; actually, the cornmeal mush was pretty good!
• I discovered yesterday that I am unable to play any DVDs on my computer (after receiving those 4 DVDs via mail). Being the computer genius I am, I tried to speed my computer up by uninstalling “useless” computer applications this past summer. Somehow, as I deleted about 10 programs, I also uninstalled the ability to read my DVD player (on all 3 media applications I have). I will try to troubleshoot next time I’m at the internet café, but it would be so helpful to have my brother/B-Strat/B-Wile around to fix this…
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