Last night was hands-down one of the memorable nights here in the Dominican Republic. It was a Saturday night and there was a “dance” in the nearby town of Palmarejo. It was a political fundraiser for a local candidate, so the cover charge for men was about $4.50 US, while women were free. Although I had heard quite a bit about this “dance” from the young people in my community I had no clue what to expect. Dances here in the DR can range from club-like atmospheres to hanging out at a local colmado. However, all the mothers of the town kept asking me if I liked to dance (of course I responded, yes!) so I suspected there would actually be dancing at this dance.

Well, Saturday afternoon rolls around and all my young female friends (ages 14-19) start getting dolled up. To get in the spirit of things, I had my nails done by the girls (pink with white fireworks) and they helped me choose what to wear – jeans and red heels. At 8pm, my host father motorcycled me to the dance (definite highschool flashbacks). The venue was very much what I would expect a hoe-down in the Midwest to appear like: a large, open dance floor, a live band, and tons of tables/chairs surrounding the dance floor. Slowly but surely people arrived at the dance: some by motorcycle, some by SUV ($$), some by truck-bed (everyone in my town). By 9:30 the place was packed; I would estimate about 150 -200 people to be at the dance. There was “bottle service” which consisted of waiter-like men going from table to table and bringing beer and handles of rum (aged rum, extra aged rum, white rum, classic rum) and corresponding mixers. Was I surprised when my host father (who is the local minister) ordered extra aged rum for the table!

By 10pm the meringue band came on and everyone started dancing. This is what I love about the Dominican Republic: everyone (old, young, men, women) dances. No one stays seated. I was sitting at a table with 15 young people in my community and it was basically a round-robin of dance partners. It was a great way to meet all the young people in my community! Lots of rum was consumed. I barely sat the whole night (everyone wanted to see how the American dances, haha). I learned that meringue is so fun and easy—wearing heels really works the calves. At 2:30am the band wound down (although people still wanted to dance!) and we piled into the back of a truck. The ride back was incredible—a 20 minute ride bouncing on the unpaved path, a sky full of stars, a cool breeze and lots of happy teenagers. After another 10 minute walk up my hill and to bed by 3am!

The next day all the mothers of the town kept commenting.. “Leigh, I heard you like to dance!”. At least they heard positive things. I’ve been told December is the month of dances, so stay tuned.

Other Updates:
• After finding my zip-loc bagged granola infested with ants on 3 separate occasions, I decided it was time to use Tupperware and put the granola in the fridge. We will see if the ants can penetrate that!
• I’ve noticed that El Guayabo has a very strong female community. I think this is due to the more formal gender relationships found here. Women stay around women, men around men. Thus, I’ve found that all the females are very close and comfortable with one another; old and young. It’s a very warm and caring environment. Many days I can be found drinking coffee and gossiping with the women.
• Today I asked two old women if they were sisters; turns out they were mother and daughter. Oops. Hope that wasn’t offensive.
• One difficulty I have found here is my desire to please everyone. Inevitably, community members will give me an idea (that I would like to reject) but instead I just give a noncommittal answer. Examples:
o People who live in the heart of the community: “when three months is up, make sure you move down into a house in our part of the community. You don’t want to be alone up there!” (Have you seen where my house is located? It’s gorgeous!)
Me: “Yeah, we will see, there are a few options”

o My favorite grandma: “when you fall in love here, make sure it’s with a boy from our community. I want a boy from our community going back to the states with you!” (No, I do not plan on falling in love, and no, I am not bringing anyone back with me).
Me: “Haha, sure! Maybe!”