End of training...start of service

Oh, hi there! Remember me?  There isn’t much to write about.  I’ve been here in El Guineo a month (minus swear-in and hurricane consolidation which I’ll explain later) and in-country for three!  My site is really great except for the fact that my community is along a long-twisty-hilly road.  It takes me forever just to walk to the school.  It’s very inconvenient that PC doesn’t let volunteers drive.  A moto would be ideal! I have lots of free time without TV or a job… I have read lots of books and completely revamped my iTunes music library. I’m really good at spider solitaire, minesweeper and dominoes.  To help with the initial boredom I have decided to start an English class and a girl’s volleyball team. We aren’t really supposed to do anything the first three months at our sites.  This time is meant to be spent working on our Community Diagnostic which is getting to know people, the community, and its needs. 

My Dona is awesome, her name is Martha and she is 56 but has two great-grandchildren (one born just the other day). My room is small but nice; I have built some shelves and figured out ways to save space.  My bed is a mattress that is very worn down and is held up with pieces of wood underneath.  Martha and her husband Cristobal harvest coffee, so the house is always noisy and full of workers.  She also has three grandkids that live in the house and are always screaming.  She cooks for at least fifteen people everyday.  At first the food wasn’t so great but I made banana bread and guacamole and hinted that I looooove carrots and eggplant. Haha I was getting pretty sick of rice and beans. 

I have already found a potential house to live in, and am thinking about getting bunk beds for all of you who will be visiting J.  It’s a wooden house with lots of holes in the siding and no kitchen or bathroom. A true fixer-upper.   Depending on how it turns out maybe when I get back I’ll audition to be on the show about “flipping houses”. 

I won’t lie to you, the campo is pretty lonely.  It’s hard to speak in Spanish all day, and I haven’t met anyone my age (that’s not entirely true, but all the women 20+ have husbands and kids and high school educations so it’s hard for me to relate).  Other than that I’ve been spending most of my time with my neighbor Stacey (13) and her brothers Armando (19) and Fraimer (17) and her sister Yohanna (8).  It’s hard to wander around the community because of the hill situation.  And no, it’s not me being lazy... it’s a serious hill. 

The director of the elementary school and the director of the high school both have internet at their houses but the service is terrible (it wouldn’t even connect today 11/18 when I tried to get on to post this). And the same goes for my cell phone.  I will be in the capital for Thanksgiving (mmm pumpkin pie!!).  PC rents out a country club and there is tons of food and sports and a talent show.  During consolidation I participated in a free-style competition.  I’m not from 8 mile or anything but I won three ‘battles’. 

We new volunteers have had a lot of quick changes of scenery (culture) in the three months we’ve been here.  When we arrived in country we lived in the capital with host families, then went to different sites to visit volunteers, then I had training in the mountains of Constanza where there was great food and running water, then back to the capital a few days, then off to visit our project sites, then back to the capital a few days, then we went to our sites on Saturday October 30^th only to be brought back to the capital on Tuesday the 2^nd because of the hurricane.  We stayed in a five star hotel for a week.  Free all you can eat buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner (create your own pasta! and 20 different types of bread!!!) hot showers, huge bed, air conditioning and a swimming pool … then we had to go back to the campo- rice and beans, bucket showers, small bed with crappy mattress, no electricity and we have a river but you can’t swim in it anymore because of the Cholera outbreak.  Not that I’m complaining ;-) Just hard to keep switching back and forth between developed and developing… 

Some people have been asking me about what they can send.

Here is a small list.

• dvds DVDs DVDS!!! (anything really, but would be awesome if you could find Disney movies that can be played in Spanish)
•  tea!!
• candy (that wont melt)
• fun jewelry
• nail files
• art project materials like gimp, colorful tissue paper, colorful string, pipe cleaners, feathers, sequins, glitter, paint brushes, stuff to make fun jewelry
• “Just-Add-Water/Eggs/Oil” cookie or muffin mix (only if it can be made in something other than a muffin tin- unless you want to send that too…), other food mixes (Thai)
• random things to decorate my new house with J

And of course, come February, yourself! 

Send email updates, and call me because I miss you, and English. But don’t you dare tell me how Harry Potter was… too jealous already.  Hehe <3   

Official PCV

Hello!   Sorry it’s been so long since my last post.  Things have been crazy here.   Let’s see…   CBT in Constanza was amazing!  It was such a beautiful city and I miss the fruits and veggies.  We Youth volunteers had a great experience, our technical trainer, Emily, was incredible.  It was her first training group and we all thought she did an outstanding job.  She was a volunteer here a few years ago and decided to come back and do training.  She was so honest and supportive through out the entire process, we all hope she gets offered the job for the next session so she can stay in country.  We came back to Santo Domingo on the 16^th and that night we all met up at the Carwash (carwash by day, discothèque by night) with the other training groups.  It was so nice to see everyone again after five weeks.  I still think the Youth sector had the best training experience.  That night Kaila slept over and we woke up at 5am to go to Isla Saona with some other volunteers.  No words can describe that trip but I will try just to make you super jealous.  We rented a guagua and drove to a port on the east side of the island which took about two and a half hours.  Then we got on a speedboat that took us half way to Isla Saona.  The boat stopped and let us get out and swim in the shallow waters.  We got some cuba libres (drinking at 9am… this is how PCVs become alcoholics) and we swam around in the ocean which seemed more like a sandy swimming pool.  We found some beautiful giant starfish!  After about an hour we got back on the boat and continued to the island.  When we got there, there were not even five other people on the island. We ordered more rum and cokes and played cards and went swimming.  After lunch I decided to swim out toward a catamaran that was anchored further out.  The guys on the boat were diving for conches and they let me get up on the boat and dive off… they also gave me one of the shells after they cut the critter out. We hung out on the island until about four then we all got on the catamaran and went back to the main island.  The boat went slowly so we could all dance and enjoy the view.  Overall it was a perfect day.  Check facebook for the pictures!

On Tuesday we had Project Partner Day which was nerve-racking and awkward.  We went to the retreat center that we spent the night in on the first night in country.  There we met our key contacts from our project sites (thank goodness I speak Spanish or it would have been even more uncomfortable)  After an hour or so once everyone arrived we started a few “getting to know you” activities and we went over a little bit of what our site visits were about.  After lunch my project partners, Santiago and Iris, and I went to my project site!  It is about two and a half hours from the capital.  To get to El Guineo I have to get a guagua from Santo Domingo to San Cristobal, and then in San Cristobal find the stop for Los Cacaos.  On this first trip we found a guy with a pick up truck then strapped my bags to the roof and rode in the back with six other people.  It was a great way to see the view going up the mountain.  My house is on the top of a mountain and my community grows coffee beans.  In the five days that I got to visit I went all over the town meeting people and I had to awkwardly introduce myself at the schools to every single classroom.   I have noticed I have no fear of public speaking when it’s done in Spanish which is really interesting because had I had to do that to groups of teenagers in the States I might pee my pants.   Wednesday the Pastor of the Evangelical church gave me a surprise spaghetti dinner for my birthday which was super nice and also extremely awkward.  He brought me to his house on the back of his motoconcho where there were fifteen people I’d never met waiting for me.  They sat me on the couch and just stared at me for a while…again, super thankful I know Spanish!  The spaghetti was an awesome change from rice and beans.  Saturday I went to the rio for a little while then learned a new card game called Briska.  My community in El Guineo is very poor but there is sometimes luz (light/electricity) and running water.  There is a lot of potential to work with the youth in the town and luckily there are three schools (in most towns there is not even one and the kids have to walk far distances to get to school everyday… one day I might write a post about the Dominical school system but I’m not in the mood to be depressed right now).   On Sunday I had to get myself back to the capital which was quite an adventure but I managed. 

We had our last two days of training Monday and Tuesday mostly just administrative things like opening bank accounts, last minute reviews of Safety and Security, and filling out the Emergency Locator Form. I was sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer yesterday!   It was a nice little ceremony with all the volunteers, training staff, the Country Director, Chris Lampert, and our Donas.  Afterwards we went to a bar in the city where we had PC Homecoming which is a party for the volunteers who are COSing (close of service) and the newbies who just swore in.  It was hard to talk to anyone because it was so loud but coincidentally due to the horrible situation in Haiti all the PCVs in country are being consolidated (one of the steps in the Emergency Action Plan, Alert-Standfast- Consolidation-Evacuation).  Consolidation usually means everyone is to go to a predetermined hotel in their region.  But this situation is serious enough that they are bringing us all in to the capital.  We are not in any immediate danger but the Country Director wants to be sure everyone is fully aware of how serious Cholera is so we can protect ourselves and pass-along the information to protect our communities.  He calls Cholera the scourge of god; it really is something you only hear about in the bible… it kills a person in 24-48 hours and there has not been an outbreak in the Caribbean in a century.   However, it is very preventable and treatable if you get proper medical treatment in time.  Cholera is a bacteria that is spread through contaminated water or anything you put in your mouth.  Since none of the water in this country is potable we just have to continue monitoring where our water is coming from, then boil or purify it. It kills through severe dehydration.  It can be treated with something as simple as Cipro to kill the bacteria.

I am in the capital until Saturday then head back to the campo. I have no internet close by and cell reception is poor but I can get texts!  Email me if you want my phone number.  I am over an hour from the closest volunteer from my swear-in group and 45 minutes from two volunteers in Cambita so I can imagine the campo could get lonely so call me anytime even if its just to say hi!.  Thanks to everyone who texted/called me on my birthday, they were the best presents.  Speaking of presents, don’t send me big packages because they charge me to get them out of customs.  And don’t send anything that can’t sit in mail space for a few months.  Ok I think that’s all for now, I hope you feel caught up on the last month’s goings ons. I miss you!

Site Placement!!

Hello! So I got my site placement! I have a link to show you where I will be. (Well as close as I can, the town is so small it doesn't show up on Google Maps but I think this is the general area). 

Click this link to see my site:

El Guineo (sort of)

Click on this link to get an idea of the Youth Program here in PC/DR
Youth Families and Community Development

I will be in a town called El Guineo in the province of San Cristobal, population: 2,500. It is up in the mountains which is awesome because it won’t be so hot. Not too much going on otherwise. I have two more weeks of training here in Constanza then back to Santo Domingo for a bit. Tomorrow my group is giving a presentation on Adolescent Pregnancy (causes, risks, prevention) at the local high school. We gave it once already and it went pretty well. On Friday we are showing a movie as a fundraiser (raising funds to paint a mural with our youth group). Speaking of fundraisers, I went to a fundraising party last night where I had to witness kids as young as 7 dancing super sexy with each other. It was really disturbing to watch. I’m not even exaggerating, little kids practically having sex on the dance floor with their clothes on. Gross.

Hmm what else? Got my third Dominican manicure! I am addicted. They are only 50 pesos (less than two bucks). Not sure how I’m going to kick this habit when I get back to the states. Pretty much over the cold that I had last week. Still rains all the time from all the tropical depressions and storms that are passing through so the whole training group has gotten some sort of sickness from the weather. Just finished my 6th book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.  Great depiction of the DR.  Other that all that I’m getting lots of sleep, lots of food, all is going well.  Keep writing emails, it's great to hear from everyone!

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.