So what have I been doing the last few weeks?
-lots of rain, washed out roads
-lots of family members here for the holidays.. our home has expanded from 3 people to 11 people.
-lots of alcohol, including rum and ponche
-lots of merengue and bachata dancing
-lots of food including pulled pork and grilled chicken!
the holidays have been great overall, with lots of young people in town and lots to do! my computer is still broken but hopefully will be fixed by next weekish.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Yesterday turned out to be an especially fun day (and demonstrates why I love my “job”). In the morning I finally finished all the interviews from the third community (20 interviews in 3 days). I have completed about 62 interviews, only about 30 to go (which will all take place in my hometown—easy)!
The afternoon was HOT. Hot for winter (thanks, global warmning) and hot for the DR. It was also one of my young friend’s 15th birthday (which for girls is like a sweet 16). So, what better thing to do than rustle up all the youth and go to the waterfall/river! So, that’s what I did. We had a group of about 10 highschoolers hike to the closest charco, which is incredibly beautiful and has crystal clean water. We played and took pictures (instead of studying for end of term exams). At different intervals the waterfall downpours and of course we all sat under the waterfall and I felt like I was on Splash mountain or something.
Then, last night marked the first night of the “gingebre”(spanish spelling is definitely off), but it’s a tradition in which every night during advent the community gets together and shares ginger tea. The person who receives the one bitter tea (it’s a surprise!) will host the tea the next night. This goes on for about two weeks; tea at a different person’s house every night. It’s a great way for the community to share (and of course a few words about Jesus are shared too). It was fun to see all the community in one place – you realize how small the community really is!
Other Updates:
• THE CONTESTANT FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WON LATIN AMERICAN IDOL!! Big deal.
• During my surveying this past week I discovered that Haitians live in one of the communities I will be working with. I knew that they worked in Hobo, but I didn’t know they lived there. That definitely mixes things up (interesting relations between Haitians-Dominicans). It was a challenge trying to interview the Haitians due to the fact that spanish is both my second second language and theirs (haha).But, I am excited because the Haitian population is definitely an underserved community (within an underserved community).
• I made my most delicious bread yet! A carrot and banana bread! Watch out, Sara Lee!
• I’ve become the token photographer in the community, mainly due to the fact I am the only person in the community that has a camera! While it is fun now, it may be tiresome in the future.
The afternoon was HOT. Hot for winter (thanks, global warmning) and hot for the DR. It was also one of my young friend’s 15th birthday (which for girls is like a sweet 16). So, what better thing to do than rustle up all the youth and go to the waterfall/river! So, that’s what I did. We had a group of about 10 highschoolers hike to the closest charco, which is incredibly beautiful and has crystal clean water. We played and took pictures (instead of studying for end of term exams). At different intervals the waterfall downpours and of course we all sat under the waterfall and I felt like I was on Splash mountain or something.
Then, last night marked the first night of the “gingebre”(spanish spelling is definitely off), but it’s a tradition in which every night during advent the community gets together and shares ginger tea. The person who receives the one bitter tea (it’s a surprise!) will host the tea the next night. This goes on for about two weeks; tea at a different person’s house every night. It’s a great way for the community to share (and of course a few words about Jesus are shared too). It was fun to see all the community in one place – you realize how small the community really is!
Other Updates:
• THE CONTESTANT FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WON LATIN AMERICAN IDOL!! Big deal.
• During my surveying this past week I discovered that Haitians live in one of the communities I will be working with. I knew that they worked in Hobo, but I didn’t know they lived there. That definitely mixes things up (interesting relations between Haitians-Dominicans). It was a challenge trying to interview the Haitians due to the fact that spanish is both my second second language and theirs (haha).But, I am excited because the Haitian population is definitely an underserved community (within an underserved community).
• I made my most delicious bread yet! A carrot and banana bread! Watch out, Sara Lee!
• I’ve become the token photographer in the community, mainly due to the fact I am the only person in the community that has a camera! While it is fun now, it may be tiresome in the future.
Something I’ve noticed that is very different from the United States is the physical build of Dominicans. As a person who is typically classified as “thin” in the US, I am labeled here as a “fuerte” (strong) woman. I’ve also been labeled as “gordita”. I’ve realized I’m a big person—Americans are big people. I’m as tall if not taller than most men and have a broader build than most Dominican women (besides the obese grandmas). As my father has pointed out, I look like an Amazon compared to my previous host family…
On another note, I have noticed that I am consistently asked the same introductory questions repeatedly (typically by middle aged men in surrounding communities). They find out I am an American living here for 2 years, and waste no time discovering my purpose here. A smattering of questions (in the order they are typically asked):
1. So, are you married?
a. No.
2. Oh, well, do you have a boyfriend?
a. Ambiguous response.
3. And do you like us Dominicans? Are you planning on marrying a Dominican here (insert chuckle)?
a. Well, Domincans are nice. No, I’m not planning on marrying. I’m still young.
4. How old are you? 17?
a. 22
And then I find some way to end the conversation. It usually ends with the Dominican shouting goodbye in broken English, or suggesting I take them back to the US with me. This is not an exaggeration. It gets old, fast.
Other Updates:
• Yesterday as I was getting on the truck to leave the city, a Haitian woman climbed on board wearing a Dunkin Donuts employee visor. What is one person’s trash, is another’s treasure.
• I am beginning to cook a bit more in my host mother’s house (I typically don’t because it involves buying my own food, and I’m already paying for her to cook my meals). However, I made a veggie scramble and yesterday I made a semblance of a grilled cheese sandwich (with a hotdog bun roll and farm cheese). I also made a breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs, friend salami and cheese on a hamburger bun. Delicious!
• I recently found out that my host family’s dog (who resembles Scrappy from Scooby doo) is pregnant! I’m taking one of the babies ~Marchish. Suggestions for names?
On another note, I have noticed that I am consistently asked the same introductory questions repeatedly (typically by middle aged men in surrounding communities). They find out I am an American living here for 2 years, and waste no time discovering my purpose here. A smattering of questions (in the order they are typically asked):
1. So, are you married?
a. No.
2. Oh, well, do you have a boyfriend?
a. Ambiguous response.
3. And do you like us Dominicans? Are you planning on marrying a Dominican here (insert chuckle)?
a. Well, Domincans are nice. No, I’m not planning on marrying. I’m still young.
4. How old are you? 17?
a. 22
And then I find some way to end the conversation. It usually ends with the Dominican shouting goodbye in broken English, or suggesting I take them back to the US with me. This is not an exaggeration. It gets old, fast.
Other Updates:
• Yesterday as I was getting on the truck to leave the city, a Haitian woman climbed on board wearing a Dunkin Donuts employee visor. What is one person’s trash, is another’s treasure.
• I am beginning to cook a bit more in my host mother’s house (I typically don’t because it involves buying my own food, and I’m already paying for her to cook my meals). However, I made a veggie scramble and yesterday I made a semblance of a grilled cheese sandwich (with a hotdog bun roll and farm cheese). I also made a breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs, friend salami and cheese on a hamburger bun. Delicious!
• I recently found out that my host family’s dog (who resembles Scrappy from Scooby doo) is pregnant! I’m taking one of the babies ~Marchish. Suggestions for names?
Friday, December 4, 2009
Hello! Not much new this week. I’m starting to get into a routine that looks a bit like this:
Monday- interviews (morning or afternoon depending)
Tuesday – interviews in the morning, English class in the afternoon
Wednesday – interviews (morning or afternoon depending)
Thursday – interviews in the morning, English class in the afternoon
Friday - interviews
Saturday -morning trip to the city for internet + errands, fun event at night
Sunday - sleep-in and do nothing. Bake.
Most nights you can find me at neighbors houses, being force-fed and hanging out with the youth.
I typically wake up at 6:30 and go to bed at 10pm. I always come home by 12:30pm for lunch and a nap.
Mind you, this schedule is as flexible as a bendy straw; if I am given any other opportunity, I take it and leave my interviewing to the side (I have 2 whole months to finish interviewing). I have covered about 30 houses in two different communities (out of a total 95) in the past 3 weeks. Sometimes I cover 2 houses in a morning, sometimes 6. It simply depends on my project partners schedules (they take me around and sit through all the interviews helping to interpret). Much of the time I am with women who have to leave early to prepare lunch (the big meal of the day).
Last week I was in the capital for 4 days to celebrate Thanksgiving with all the other volunteers. For a price of $20, we were invited to a country club on Thanksgiving to spend a day swimming, socializing, eating a massive amount of catered food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cookies, key lime pie, etc.). It was crazy to see the other 110 PC volunteers who I have yet to meet (older volunteers). There was a talent show, a dominoes tournament, field games, and a slide show. The all-day affair was great, and it was nice to get out of site to talk with other new volunteers about their sites.
This little 4 day vacation also included stuffing 8 people into a hostel room with 2 beds, spending $14 US at a nice restaurant for pesto gnocchi and 2 cosmos (cheap by American standards, expensive for volunteer standards), and spending lots of time on wifi at the Peace Corps office. It was a successful break. The only real drag is getting from my site to Santo Domingo, and visa-versa. It takes about 5-7 hours each way on multiple forms of transportation (walking, bus, truck/motorcycle).
The biggest problem this week was a bout of gastrointestinal problems, which kept me at home Monday. Interestingly enough, I am the only person in the town to drink purified water yet I always have so many more stomach issues than everyone else (and I know this because I ask in my survey about curing diarrhea and they all respond…”we don’t suffer from diarrhea, thanks be to God”). HOW?! My stomach issues thwarted my plans to go into the city to print English teaching materials and purchase supplies for World AIDS Day (this past December 1st). My youth were planning on painting a sheet and hanging it in front of the clinic to show support. This did not happen unfortunately. Lesson learned: I should constantly travel with pepto bismol in my wallet.
Other Updates:
• The latest issue of the Gringo Grita (roughly translated.. “The American Cry”), which is the official magazine of Peace Corps DR came out this week (3 issues/year). It always has fun interviews, reflection articles, poems and recipes. Also, it had 39 reflection surveys for all the volunteers that just left this past November (service was up!). It’s so interesting to read about each person’s site, what they wish they had done in country, what they learned through their service, memorable stories and funny pieces of advice. Here are some interesting stats compiled through their surveys:
o 50% of volunteers dated a Dominican
o 60% of volunteers dated a fellow volunteer (clear overlap between Dominicans and Americans)
o On average, each volunteer secured $13,000 US of grant money for their projects
o The avg number of visitors from the US was 6.3 visitors/volunteer
o 50% of volunteers pooped their pants sometime during service
• I am seemingly becoming a bit more Dominican everyday. I broke down and bought jeans that are too tight for me ($8 Sarah Jessica Parker label jeans bought from the Haitian market, that are sent over from Goodwill in the US). Too tight jeans are the norm here. Also, I was gifted a bright pink $3 “Playboy” tank top with the signature bunny printed all over. The Playboy label is all the rage here (while I find it extremely trashy). I wear this tanktop often.
Monday- interviews (morning or afternoon depending)
Tuesday – interviews in the morning, English class in the afternoon
Wednesday – interviews (morning or afternoon depending)
Thursday – interviews in the morning, English class in the afternoon
Friday - interviews
Saturday -morning trip to the city for internet + errands, fun event at night
Sunday - sleep-in and do nothing. Bake.
Most nights you can find me at neighbors houses, being force-fed and hanging out with the youth.
I typically wake up at 6:30 and go to bed at 10pm. I always come home by 12:30pm for lunch and a nap.
Mind you, this schedule is as flexible as a bendy straw; if I am given any other opportunity, I take it and leave my interviewing to the side (I have 2 whole months to finish interviewing). I have covered about 30 houses in two different communities (out of a total 95) in the past 3 weeks. Sometimes I cover 2 houses in a morning, sometimes 6. It simply depends on my project partners schedules (they take me around and sit through all the interviews helping to interpret). Much of the time I am with women who have to leave early to prepare lunch (the big meal of the day).
Last week I was in the capital for 4 days to celebrate Thanksgiving with all the other volunteers. For a price of $20, we were invited to a country club on Thanksgiving to spend a day swimming, socializing, eating a massive amount of catered food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cookies, key lime pie, etc.). It was crazy to see the other 110 PC volunteers who I have yet to meet (older volunteers). There was a talent show, a dominoes tournament, field games, and a slide show. The all-day affair was great, and it was nice to get out of site to talk with other new volunteers about their sites.
This little 4 day vacation also included stuffing 8 people into a hostel room with 2 beds, spending $14 US at a nice restaurant for pesto gnocchi and 2 cosmos (cheap by American standards, expensive for volunteer standards), and spending lots of time on wifi at the Peace Corps office. It was a successful break. The only real drag is getting from my site to Santo Domingo, and visa-versa. It takes about 5-7 hours each way on multiple forms of transportation (walking, bus, truck/motorcycle).
The biggest problem this week was a bout of gastrointestinal problems, which kept me at home Monday. Interestingly enough, I am the only person in the town to drink purified water yet I always have so many more stomach issues than everyone else (and I know this because I ask in my survey about curing diarrhea and they all respond…”we don’t suffer from diarrhea, thanks be to God”). HOW?! My stomach issues thwarted my plans to go into the city to print English teaching materials and purchase supplies for World AIDS Day (this past December 1st). My youth were planning on painting a sheet and hanging it in front of the clinic to show support. This did not happen unfortunately. Lesson learned: I should constantly travel with pepto bismol in my wallet.
Other Updates:
• The latest issue of the Gringo Grita (roughly translated.. “The American Cry”), which is the official magazine of Peace Corps DR came out this week (3 issues/year). It always has fun interviews, reflection articles, poems and recipes. Also, it had 39 reflection surveys for all the volunteers that just left this past November (service was up!). It’s so interesting to read about each person’s site, what they wish they had done in country, what they learned through their service, memorable stories and funny pieces of advice. Here are some interesting stats compiled through their surveys:
o 50% of volunteers dated a Dominican
o 60% of volunteers dated a fellow volunteer (clear overlap between Dominicans and Americans)
o On average, each volunteer secured $13,000 US of grant money for their projects
o The avg number of visitors from the US was 6.3 visitors/volunteer
o 50% of volunteers pooped their pants sometime during service
• I am seemingly becoming a bit more Dominican everyday. I broke down and bought jeans that are too tight for me ($8 Sarah Jessica Parker label jeans bought from the Haitian market, that are sent over from Goodwill in the US). Too tight jeans are the norm here. Also, I was gifted a bright pink $3 “Playboy” tank top with the signature bunny printed all over. The Playboy label is all the rage here (while I find it extremely trashy). I wear this tanktop often.
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