One more month of training!

Hard to believe so much time has passed already. This weekend was Patronales here in Constanza, celebrating the Día de las Mercedes. There were bachata singers and Paso Fino (dressage) horses in the park. But I missed most of the festivities due to this gripe I’m trying to overcome. I got sick on Thursday with a sore throat then stuffy nose by Saturday. Saturday we had a team building activity planned to go to the Reserva Científica. We had to take a bus up the mountain and between the winding roads and perhaps too much rum the night before there were a few people who got sick. We were dropped off pretty far up a mountain then had to climb a while before we could start our decent through the rain forest to the river. It ended up being a 10k hike. The river was beautiful. We stopped at a larger opening with a small waterfall to go swimming; it was freezing (definitely contributing to my cold). I was kicked out when everyone told me I was turning purple. We got back to Constanza around 3pm and I spent the rest of the day sleeping and trying to get warm. I even had Dona Tata blow dry my hair after my semi-warm bucket shower. I slept in most of Sunday as well but eventually pulled myself out of bed to go watch some of the Motorcross racing on the loma.

Later, I found myself in a very engaging conversation about the meaning and value of life, and the definition of existence; it was very thought provoking. Peace Corps has a reputation of being full of liberals, atheists, promiscuous people, hippies, and druggies, and although there are plenty of each of those (it is important to note that they are not synonymous), in this YFCD training group there are people from all ends of the spectrum. However, something we all seem to have in common, or at least have developed since we arrived, is a candidness I have never encountered before. No one is afraid to share their opinions even on controversial topics. I have never had to think about my own morals and principles so profoundly. Hearing other people’s viewpoints really makes me question the foundations of what I define as my own morality. For example, I have always held a strong position against teenagers having sex or getting married, but when you look at these questions through a different lens, like a culture where the average lifespan is only 40, maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to judge a 13 year old getting married and having children. How do I approach educating people on protecting themselves from STIs and HIV in a culture where they can not even publicly acknowledge that someone has died of AIDS? What we “westerners” see as scientifically proven facts about health and personal hygiene will be merely considered as me giving my opinion to some people in the campo. There are so many things to consider as I come close to swearing in and moving to my community that I would have never thought about as being challenges before training.

Ok enough of being deep and philosophical. Unfortunately, I’m still very sick and covered in mosquito bites… really hoping they aren’t related because I don’t think I could deal with Dengue right now. This Friday we find out our site placements! Everyone is very anxious to know where they will be living for the next two years and who we will be placed close to. We could be placed in a batey, campo, pueblo or city. I haven’t decided which I would prefer so I guess that’s a good thing. I see the benefits and drawbacks of each. I just hope I am placed near some of the volunteers/trainees I have grown close with, and it would be a plus to not have to share a latrine with ten other people…

Community Based Training

Constanza is amazing. We are up in the mountains for the next five weeks. It’s cold at night (multiple quilts cold) and hot during the day. The food here is great too; so many fruits and vegetables. Constanza is known for its vegetables and flowers. We have training everyday from 8:30-12 then Spanish class on Tuesday and Thursday from 2-5. Some nights we meet with our youth groups. We are planning an event for our last week here. There are five youth groups and each one has to plan, fundraise and execute some sort of event. We are planning to do a softball tournament and have to raise funds for balls and a trophy. My group is great; they are very well organized, and can’t wait to take us gringos out to teach us how to dance. We have a spaghetti dinner planned for Tuesday. I have taken up running since it’s not so hot her. And by running I mean running a little but mostly walking since it’s up and down steep hills. I walk up and run down. Luckily my Dona is nice enough to boil my water for my bucket showers or I might not bathe because the water/air is freezing. I sleep much better here because it’s not so hot and I have leaned to put my earplugs in correctly. The roosters here really have no concept of time. They crow all day and all night an frequently get into competitions with the roosters next door. I live with a woman who is one of fifteen children and she has four daughters of her own who also have children. So I am getting a lot of training with youth just living here. Yesterday I brought out my softball and got a group of five of my primos to play with me. Then they took me up the loma (hill) and I picked up a few pieces of trash and before I knew it they were all picking up trash with out me having to say a thing. The only problem is that there is no where to put the trash. The garbage disposal in this country is non-existent. There is trash EVERYWHERE. They just throw it in the rivers and in the streets or they burn it. Even though I was showing that you shouldn’t just throw trash anywhere, we walked over a mile until we found a small zafacón (trashcan). At first the trash made me so angry, but really what are they supposed to do? Why throw your trash away if no one is going to come and pick it up?

Welcome to the "Real World"

This weekend I went on my volunteer visit to Santiago. Once I got to Santiago I met Leticia and her dog Lucy. She is a regional Peace Corps Volunteer in her third year so she lives in a nicer area of the city. The next day we went to her campo where she served her two years. We had to take three forms of transportation to get there. A small bus (gua-gua) a carro publico (taxi that the squeeze 7 people into) and a motoconcho (a motorcycle taxi). My helmet is WAY too big so hopefully the smaller ones come in soon. Her site was a very small town that had about 100 houses and a few colmados (small convenience stores that sell just the basics aka beer and rum). I met with her volleyball team and they had a big spaghetti dinner for us. I have completely cut out cheese and milk from my diet here so I didn’t get the alfredo sauce (which ended up making a few people not feel so great). The next day we went to work on her library. We had to take everything out of the room (boxes of books, broken tables and chairs) and then we filled buckets with water and threw them at the walls and then used brooms to wash down the walls windows and the floor. It was a lot of fun especially since it’s hot as you know what down here. We let the room dry and started moving things back in. She got a grant for some books and she painted shelves and is currently working on a cataloging system that is easy to understand. We also taught her girls how to play Jenga! (Which I am terrible at because I don’t have much of a steady hand). On Sunday we went to her boyfriend’s family’s house and they made a huge chicken stew called sancocho that they only make for special occasions. I learned a little bachata and had some Presidente then it was time for me to get back to Santo Domingo on my own. I made it back around 7 after a long gua-gua ride that was super crowded and I lost my awesome glow in the dark Nalgene. I can already tell you they don’t give us nearly enough money… (cough Mom/Dad cough).

First two weeks!

Hi! Sorry it has taken me two weeks to update but training is very busy and there are limited opportunities to get online. Let me try to start from the beginning. We have core training Monday-Saturday from 8-5 where we learn about the DR and its culture and traditions, have Spanish class, and learn about development and Peace Corps rules and goals. My first host family seemed really great. I lived with a woman who had two daughters, 22 and 9 years old and a husband who was rarely home. The lights went out all the time and there was never running water. This all meant it was hot all the time because my fan wouldn’t work with no ‘luz’ and I had to take freezing bucket showers every morning (which wasn’t so bad because I’m usually always sweating… everyone is). However last weekend I was put in some uncomfortable situations with my host sister and also host dad so they moved me out to another house in a different barrio and I now live with a older woman and her daughter (where there is a shower! and a generator so there is always a fan). She is really nice but she is very protective and I have fewer freedoms than I did at the other house. Anyway that is all resolved and we are only in Santo Domingo a few more days. Also on Saturday the group took a tour of the Colonial Zone with a woman named Lynne Guitar who was a great guide. Today we went to an open air market to haggle prices for fruit then we made an awesome fruit salad and smoothies. My Spanish is an 8 out of 10 which is pretty high. There are some people who don’t speak any Spanish.

Tomorrow I am going on my Volunteer visit to Santiago to meet with Leticia. She will take me around her ‘campo’ and tell me about what she does. Pretty exciting that they are letting us travel out on our own. A little nervous about getting to the bus stop. The public transportation here is craaaazy. ‘Carro publico’ = public taxi that takes 6 passengers (in a car the size of a nova) and then ‘guagua’ which is a public van/bus that fits as many people as it can… sometimes hanging out the door. And of course motoconchos. Good thing I’ve had experience with motorcycles because everyone else is terrified. The DR is the only Peace Corps country that allows its volunteers to ride as passengers on motorcycles because out in the rural villages it is the only form of travel. So we all have PC issued helmets. So awesome! My new phone number is 809-372-1634 I live with Dona Casimira Tejada. So in conclusion, I eat well, I sleep well and I’ve made new friends… first two weeks of school = success.