December: A time for fiestas

4 December 2010

The other day sitting on my back porch, one of my regular small child visitors suggested that we have a dance competition. I asked him what kind of dancing he wanted to do, because I really need to get on with learning the national dances ...as dancing has never been my forte, my bachata definitely needs some work. He suggested reggaeton and salsa of course, and then proceeded to pull out a few of his suave 13 year old hip hip shakin’ steps. Rather impressed, I was convinced at once that this was a good idea. I put him in charge of music, and stepping up to the responsibility with remarkable enthusiasm  he started running around the neighborhood asking who had a functioning and portable radio, extension cord, and speakers that we could use.  Maybe 30 min later he came back to report he found all three of the above mentioned items all from separate homes, but available for use on Friday night.

Next up was a visit from the social butterfly muchacho ( I wish there was a good English translation for this word, as there doesn’t seem to be a better way to describe pre-teen/teenaged boys and girls who may or may not be behaving very maturely; I feel similarly with the word dona, which implies more than just older woman, but has a deep-seated meaning of  someone you can trust, always offer you food, and generally just be very generous in her efforts to  take your well-being into her own hands). He had stopped by to ask about this so-called fiesta and when it was happening. About 30 minutes after conceiving the initial plan, I realized just how fast word travels in our little campo.  I put him in charge of inviting all the families I know, and he said he would help as long as I made sure to invite the muchachas (note the feminine “a,” implying teenaged girls) from the other side of town.  He wanted to be sure to have a dance partner to win the competition with.  While pleased with the enthusiasm, I couldn’t help but feel a bit like I was planning a middle-school dance…



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Struggling with weak electrical connections...sad to say the party ended at 8:30 when the lights went out.



So Friday came, and mid afternoon the boys stopped by to check up on the brownies I was making. They suggested we needed juice, so I said I’d pay for the sugar if they found oranges. A bit later, they returned with the better half of a big garbage bag full of oranges brought down from the hillside.  Despite having set the start time for 7pm, kids and music showed up around 5:30 and got the party going. I was impressed; as I’ve ever never started any group meeting or event on time in the DR, let alone an hour and a half early. I was wrong to think that it would resemble a middle-school dance…for one thing, everyone was dancing. And as the muchachas from the town over weren’t able to come, the boys in my neighborhood danced the night away with their younger sisters and their moms – which is pretty much the make-up of the local female population. Writing it sounds cheesy, like a family friendly dance party..hardly something I wanted when I was 17. But the orientation around family that defines this culture extends to night-time festivities…especially in the campo. And getting up to dance with your mom in front of your crush at the age of 14 is something most of these kids don’t think twice about.  Dancing. Dominicans do it well…I will always be envious of how most kids here pretty much born dancing, and there will always be that kindergartener who can shake their booty and pop their hips in that certain way that I just can’t seem to master.   

Other volunteers always say it's hard to do work in December... being a time of celebration lots of people appear to take off the whole month to have fun and relax with their friends and families. This appears to be true, as one may not be available for a meeting concerning reforestation, everone is down to party. I’ve never seen everyone so eager to contribute what they can to any event or meeting that I’ve had thus far in the community. I hate to want to relate what was such a fun evening to doing work here, watching everyone come together to make sure we had invited everyone and were able to provide music and drink, was quite nice and kind of reassuring. If only I can figure out how to transfer this kind of punctuality, organization, and commitment to my youth group meetings…

A rambling on Campo Appreciation Day

18 Nov 2010

Returning to the campo… through the fields of green and wide open spaces, sure feels relieving after spending 2 and a half weeks travelling to and from San Juan and the capital for a cholera training, lockdown during hurricane Thomas, and language training. While my accommodations were nice in Santo Domingo…24hr luz, water, and fellow Americans. Sometimes I struggle when faced with the reality that the campesinos I live with are significantly poorer than some of the capital or San Juan folk. Or when I start thinking about how other volunteers live in communities with more money, better education systems and more motivated, organized and involved community members which perhaps make projects and “doing things” easier. Then I remember the generosity of my host-mom, and how I was worried about not being able to buy fruit in San Juan only to come home to a delivery of sweet oranges, bananas and papaya. Some people don’t have very much, but I’ve learned they often can offer just what you need. Driving home past some of the shacks in the campo and re-visiting my neighbors’ homes without floors and bathrooms tugs at my moral consciousness and complicates my understanding of poverty and the way the world decides who gets what. But I suppose it is all relative, as there are poorer and richer people in all parts of the world. And while this sounds like a cheesy quote from a flip-page calendar, material wealth can’t make up for genuine generosity and love. Point being we all live in this funny little world, and sometimes the close proximities and obvious segregation between the have and the have-nots can be uncomfortably obvious and striking. Nonetheless, the illuminated polluted streets and smoggy air is no match for fresh air of the foothills. Plus, Christmas time is rolling around and the natural decorations of huge blooming poinsettia trees lining the gravel road, hands-down beat the kitchy, song-singing strings of lights adorning my host-families house in the capital.

A humbling trip out of the campo

15 November 2010

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take a couple of kids from my campo community to a Brigada Verde Youth Conference outside of La Romana in the eastern part of the country. The day before we left, I was worried they might have forgotten as Peace Corps obligations had kept me out of my site for the last ten days. I was pleasantly surprised when the two boys showed up at my back door on their way home from school all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed asking if tomorrow we were really going to be leaving. Yep, so pack your stuff and be back at 6am tomorrow morning…

It was an exciting morning as it was the first time travelling farther than the city of San Juan for one of the boys, and the other had only been to and from the capital once as a little kid. As a mobile American, it is hard to imagine living on a Caribbean island and never getting the chance to see the ocean. Just one great big example of how skewed the tourism-enhanced perspective of the island can be. But, I thought it was all just turquoise waters and white sand, how could an 18 year old citizen of the country never have visited a beach? Passing through the capital was fun, as I pointed out some national monuments, and he asked the names of all the highway bridges were. These bridges I never would have thought twice about…but I was reminded of the utter lack of infrastructure in the campo where the only bridges are stepping stones, and the entire highway system suddenly became a remarkable work of artistry and architectural construction. Next up were the beautiful views of the ocean driving east out of the capital to the conference site. Watching their faces glued to the window, I couldn’t help but feel both happy and a little strange as I played tour guide to native Dominicans.

The conference part was enjoyable too. Sponsored by a Dominican organization, Alianza, Peace Corps took a back seat and mostly was there for technical and logistical support. There were Brigada Verde groups there who have been functioning sustainably without a Peace Corps volunteer in the community for several months which is nice to see. It was reassuring to be around other jovenes who were excited and fully dedicated to their groups’ efforts.  Overall, a good way to get the kids in my community some exposure to people from the rest of the country and shed a little light on the larger efforts being put forth in different communities.

chillin in the golf cart...

Certified Brigada Verde Conference Attendee!

Maps and Painting

October 21, 2010        

As the inevitable wait for grant money continues, I’ve been trying to establish a regular environmental youth group…with varied levels of success. Recently, I’ve learned paint is a great motivator. I stopped by the school, and coordinated a geography day with the 4^th grade teacher to introduce the idea of geography and maps to the kids, as an intro to painting a map mural. I am continually amazed at how little recognition and awareness of places outside of Las Auyamas the kids and adults in the community have. Many of the kids have never been out of the province of San Juan, most have never visited their nation’s capital, and almost all of them have never seen the ocean. I have found a new appreciation for my mobility on this island; in my 6 months here, I’ve seen more of the country than most of my fellow community members will in their own lifetime. I feel very lucky to be in a position to visit the different parts of such a beautiful country, and I am eager to share these visits and give some perspective to what else is on this island, and in the world outside of this campo. The mural I hope can serve as a way to introduce some of these other places, and give some insight to our location and existence in this world. Building awareness for how we are connected to and part of a world bigger than just here will be a very important theme for Brigada Verde: it’s easy to throw your trash in the river if you have no knowledge of the ocean, towns, or people that exist downstream. So, I had the kids come and help paint in the provinces and label the names on the map…a good first step in building this awareness for other places.

The following week, I continued with the paint theme and painted environmentally inspired drawings on higueros.. lots of butterflies and banana trees. The higuero is a local fruit that has a woody shell which can be dried in the sun and used like you would a plastic container for just about anything. They have been used traditionally for years for storing and serving food and water. One of my peers told me that his grandmother only used higueros for storing water and eating off of until about 10 years ago…when some of her kids brought her back some plastics from the capital. Now, you can still find at least one being used in every kitchen.

Salt Water Lake - Lago Enriquillo

27 Sept. 2010

I visited this salt water lake in the Southwestern part of the country on a recent trip down to visit some other volunteers. The strangest looking ecosystem ever, it is giant salt-lake in the middle of a dry area where many farmers have grazing lands and some crops. In the middle there are a few desert islands with cacti, crocodiles, and flamingoes during the winter. The DR is such a small country, but surprisingly has a huge diversity of landscapes and ecosystems.  This lake used to be part of the ocean, and then some geological faulting and lifting processes happened to disconnect it. Also interesting is that it only has rivers flowing into it, none out. The water levels depend on the amount of rainfall, but also on evaporation rates in the area. The lake as an incredibly eerie look to it right now because water levels have been rising steadily for the last several years.

 Where I was, there was about 75m of drowned trees providing a stark contrast to the lush shoreline. Another volunteer told me it had something to do with some geological uplifting that was a precursor to the Haiti 2010 earthquake as it is part of the same fault line/system The rising water level has been detrimental to the local economy. Farmers’ land for crops and grazing adjacent to the lake has been permanently flooded making it impossible to use. Also, local tourist companies have had difficulty developing accessibility to the lake, such as the building of docks, because the shoreline continues to crawl upward and water swallows up any improvements made.

water water water

quench of thirst.


4pm and raining again... While originally I wasn't sure if I liked it, I've come to expect the relief from the heat and burning sun when a good t-storm rolls in. And I find myself planning my day around these afternoon rains. Nothing important ever happens after 3pm. I'm starting to understand why my fellow campesinos tell me it is hard to have meetings, plans, or anything that implies puncutality and a schedule in the afternoon. No one likes to leave the house in a torrential downpour, and the "rivers" will flood and be impassable on foot. When we don't have water, I wait to do any chores until the afternon when I can use the water fresh from the eves to wash and bathe. The crux of the roof of the enramada and the house provides perhaps the best water pressure I've experienced in the country. Plus I save a trip to the trickling brook - my alternative source of water that I often collect from without thinking too much about its clarity and contents.  
When the washing is done, next is time to sit, watch, and listen to the deafening drone of water falling on my zinc roof. This relentless noise is so distracting to any activity you might be doing, or conversation you may be having; it forces you to stop and soak up the calm of silenced campo noises and postponed activities...all overcome by the bullets hitting the rooftops. I am grateful for a waterproof home. The videos below aren't too exciting visually, but the sound provides a good example of how loud it is...turn the volume up.

Latrines: Needs, Wants and "Community Development"

     I've been asked by many people, "So what are you actualy doing down there? What kind of projects are you planning? Do you feel like you are making a difference? Is it worth it? Is your community responding?" These questions roll around in my own head and I often don't arrive at any concrete answer. The first several months here I spent walking around trying to orient myself to the community. This involved spending full days walking from house to house - chatting with families, asking questions about their lifestyles and families, and drinking lots of sugary coffee.Peace corps calls this the "Diagnositic," or a way to meet your community, identify potential project partners, resources, and understand the needs of the community that could be met with future projects. I posted below my formal results, in the form  of a powerpoint presentation, that I presented at our 3-month group meeting. While it is in Spanish - it covers the basics of what I learned during the intial 3-months I was here and gives a bit of an overview of what daily life is like for the people in Las Auyamas.
     But, back to those original questions... what projects am I doing here? The first tangible project process I have started is organizing the building of 30 latrines - or pit toilets, bathrooms, sanitarios... call them as you wish. As I learned during my tour of the community, approximately 30% of the 105 houses I visited do not have a proper place to use the bathroom. Indoor plumbing systems do not exist here, so those with "bathrooms" have latrines out back. These are basically an 11 foot hole in the ground with a surrounding cement floor, some kind of toilet seat, and a little zinc house built around it for privacy. Based on conversations and recent meetings, I estimate there are at least 40 households that either do not have one of these, or are sharing one latrine with over 25 people. A sanitary place to use the bathroom in my opinion is a basic human right. And the community has identified it as a project they would like to see realized here in Las Auyamas.
    The next step, and current struggle, is to include the community in the development of a latrine project here and not just do all the work myself and give them to the families.This has proven to be the most difficult part. In the past, various organizations have come in to the community with a chunk of change, materials, and a plan to build X-number of latrines. The people recieving them may have had to pay $200 pesos, or dig their own hole. But the organizational part of delivering materials, buying materials, storing materials, knowing what materials to buy, building, deciding who gets one and when...was all done by an outside contributer. Gracias a dios for these organizations who have provided many people here with a latrine. But now that I have arrived in town and started talking about latrines, the general expectation is that I am "bringing a latrine project" here. Which i suppose I am doing, but I don't have the money, resources, and organizational answers in hand - this part is meant to be partly the responsibility of the community.
 That being said, I decided to hold a "latrine meeting" to see how many people were interested and motivated enough to take part in the process. About 30 people showed up. We talked about how the community will be involved in this process... they will have to dig their own hole, collect sand for the cement floor (hopefully with help from the truck of the sindico (like a county commissioner), provide 3 helpers for the mason, and contribute 500 pesos. All of this seemed to be okay with the group, but when it comes down to the fundraising and money part, things get a little dicey. I proposed the idea of a fundraising committee to try and make some money for this newly formed group of people in need of latrines. Perhaps we could organize a raffle or sell baked goods at the next festival in town...no response... In the next two meetings I held, attendance shrunk down to about 20 and then to 5. I've had a few people ask me if the money has come yet, and tell me I shouldn't hold meetings until I have the money to build latrines with. Granted it was raining for the last meeting, it is discouraging to feel like people don't want to work with you, they just want to recieve the end product.
 On a more positive note, those 5  people at the last meeting are interested in helping organize logistics and take part in an educational component of the project. One of the men has volunteered to store materials in his home and they were interested in the idea of including attendance at a workshop on the imortance of good hygiene practices as a requirement for recieving a latrine.
 So, here I am in the process of writng grants to try and get the funds to build 30 latrines in Las Auyamas, while simultaneously contemplating the sustainablility and method of this type of community development. One of the grants I have submitted is to a Dominican bank, ADEMI that donates part of its profits to community projects. I was drawn to this one because it is an outside of Peace Corps fund that the community could potentially use again in the future. I'm not sure what the liklihood of this is, given the lack of literacy and access to effective means of communication, but maybe establishing a connection between the bank and the community could help further down the line when I'm not here. 
 If we recieve the money from ADEMi, it will be enough for only about nine latrines. So, the other grant currently under construction, is part of the Peace Corps Partnership Program. It provides a way for donors in the states to contribute to projects happening around the world at various Peace Corps posts. The connection is made via website, where donors can visit and read about different projects happening around the world and then donate money to specific projects if they are willing and able. I am in the process of completing the paperwork, but stay tuned for more information if you are interested in contributing to this or any other Peace Corps project.

Oatmeal Frog

One day while baking dulce de canepa with my little host sister we heard a duck making noise in the cupboard. Asking what it was I quickly learned that frogs are called macos and they sound like ducks when they make noise in your cupboard. I opened up the door and found this little guy hangin´out. I decided he could stay because I´ve heard of worse things infesting cupboards in this country.

Then one day I was baking some bread, about to put in the oatmeal and HELLO!! Mr frog jumped out of the twistie'tied shut bag of the oatmeal into my mixing bowl, and then on to the floor.
How the little guy got in, the world may never know. It was tied up, and there were no holes, plus I hadn´t used the oatmeal in about a week. So had he somehow snuck in when I last had the bag opened, he survived on little oxygen and oats for almost a week...

Visitors!!!

September 4, 2010

Anna and Leon, two very dear fellow PCVs came to visit Las Auyamas for a couple of days.

As we enjoyed delicious snacks brought from the capital and good solid English conversation, it was nice to acknowledge the feelings happiness that come along with settling in to our communities and life here as a volunteer. Looking back on the last six months it is somewhat of a relief to have them behind me. As thrilling as it is to uproot your life only to plop yourself down in an entirely new world, the ease of mind brought by re-establishing routines and regularity is worth celebrating, and that we did with an afternoon trip to the river, fresh guacamole and homemade corn chips.

worms

September 3, 2010

Found this little present on my back porch from one of the local roosters. Perhaps these were the cause of a previous bout with gastric distress.

!Kids!

September 2nd, 2010

Hard to believe it is September already. Woooo time is flying. The family across the street has a recent new addition to the neighborhood flock. Eight new baby goats! They are 10 days old now…funny to watch their long-legged, awkward attempts at leaving the shelter of the enramada.

Compost Creation

Aug. 29^th, 2010

Yesterday I had the second environmental youth group meeting at my house, and while a bit rough around the edges, we ended up with a pretty solid compost pile in the backyard which was the primary goal of the day. Last week I assigned each of the kids with the task of collecting the various local materials needed for a quick start up compost – sawdust, ashes from cooking fires, dry leaves, fresh cut grass, manure, kitchen scraps, etc… and luckily, about ¾ of them returned this week with the goods! When the boys in charge of sticks to make the box for the compost failed to show, we sent those who had arrived on a mission to find some while the other ladies and I sat and chatted… when they all came back with the better have of a few trees, I had to remind myself that next time I have to put the emphasis on finding dead or already fallen branches. Nevertheless, the muchachos – all skilled with their machetes - constructed a really strong and aesthetically pleasing little square house for the compost. I was impressed.

Towards the end we talked a bit about the importance of the different ingredients found in this community and some of the benefits of making compost. Some were more interested than others, but I think the general idea was understood: use trash to make food for plants instead of always burning it. As far as the kids applying this type of knowledge to their own homes and making compost, we’ll have to wait and see. Some families have pigs and chickens that devour the organic trash like peels of fruits and viveres, so encouraging the women to save these scraps for use in compost might be a challenge; as I suppose it is easier to just throw it out the kitchen window to the hungry pigs that make it disappear real fast. But not everyone has pigs and chickens and everyone here burns all of their trash in the road as there is no collection service. One of the largest components of these burning piles is yard trash… such as the leaves that fall from the shade trees, grasses, fresh cut raqueta (the cactus used for fencing) and the leftover plant matter from various harvests. I would like to experiment putting large amounts of some of these different types of plants, especially the cactus, to see if it will decompose well.  If goes as planned this pile can serve as a demonstration of one environmentally responsible way to deal with the compostable trash that often just gets burned. Hopefully all will go well and this pile will help some of my veggies grow up strong and healthy.

 

I am in the process of steering this rowdy group of jovenes into a Brigada Verde – a Peace Corps initiative focused on spreading knowledge about the environment through the youth in the Dominican Republic. There are various ways volunteers are managing their groups; some run them like you would a classroom, others just play games, pick up trash, and go on hikes. Eventually I would like to start teaching some of the more specific themes included in a series of lesson plans - in an attempt to expose and raise awareness about various environmental issues… but as this group is still developing I think we’ll stick to more hands-on, fun activities until we get more accustomed to working together and the idea of having a “youth environmental club” is well-established.

Pineapple Trees

25 of August, 2010

Who knew pineapples grow on the ground? I suppose I’ve never thought much about where pineapples come from; until last night I stumbled upon a whole field filled with rows and rows of them. But just the top plant-like part is there as the fruit has yet to appear. I will be revisiting the field, as I’d like a clear image of what the fruit itself looks like as it grows. But really, it is such an unromantic, hearty, down to earth birthplace for such a fun and flirty fruit. I’m having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around this. Perhaps because pineapples are always linked so closely with the coconut, which has such strong tree imagery attached to all the stereotypes such as climbing up a tree to get the coconut or the mere possibility of a coconut fall on your head. It’s hard to imagine what tropical paradise would be without pina coladas and coconut trees swaying in the breeze along the beach. Now imagine that pineapple tree producing such a luscious and delicious fruit... Or maybe not, because a pineapple would appear super awkward and actually quite unsafe in a tree – and this might disrupt the ambiance, so I guess I’ll just have to accept their grounded upbringing.

Sunday Aug. 22nd


Linda… a fitting can for such pretty flowers.


After a bustling trip to San Juan to use the internet and buy vegetables I came home to teach my first English class. I had asked the students to bring either 5 pesos or a fruit to help me pay for the copies of handouts I make for the class. I now have enough bananas and chinolas to meet my weekly requirement of potassium and vitamins. Not to mention two beautiful bouquets of freshly picked flowers from the youngest of the bunch. How sweet, they made me really feel like an ol’ fashioned teacher getting apples from her kids. English class was fun; we worked on pronunciating basic greetings and introductions. Naturally starting an hour later than scheduled, patience continued to be the word of the day as education levels of the students varied from no schooling – up to about 10th grade. This means the majority of class has to be done orally, as many aren’ even reading in Spanish.

That being said… I have been continuing to think a lot about the purpose and intention of teaching English in an area where many still are illiterate in their first language. I’m not sure entirely how much they will learn, retain, and then use again. Afterall, many of these kids will be very lucky to finish 8th grade, and likely will live here in Las Auyamas – far from any English speakers for the rest of their lives. Some of the older volunteers have also advised against it…However, how many things have you learned and not used in your life? And was it a waste of time because you never found an opportunity to apply the knowledge? A professor I had in college was big on focusing on the process of learning, and that sometimes the material learned isn’t what counts but how you learned about it. Dominican public education systems, especially in rural areas, are struggling in the worst way. As I said before many will not continue past 3rd or 5th grade, and given that half of their parents didn’t attend school, the value of education is not always emphasized in their homes. English is popular and interesting to them; a type of class that gets kids excited about learning. I think for now I am going to capitalize on this and encourage them to take the time and effort to explore learning something new. And perhaps learn some new ways to learn. Also, it’s not to say that a literacy class or club may not happen in the future…

Secondly, even after only one class – it has been a fun way to get to know a younger demographic of people in my community. Many of the same kids also came to my youth group meeting, and I hope to be able to strengthen these relationships and interactions through the teaching of this class. Plus… it was pretty fun and who doesn’t want some fresh-cut flowers for the house every once and a while.

*Note on Education: According to the interviews I completed in the first part of my service, about 51% of the adults represented (around 200) never attended school, because their parents didn’t send them. Most of the boys stayed home to help with the agricultural work, while the women were needed to help with cleaning, preparing food, and other housework. Some were lucky enough to get the chance to complete some schooling (usually those from a slightly younger generation), and their stories from these interviews tell me that it was nearly always cut short because of parents needing more help. Another struggle was the access to school. Here in Las Auyamas, school only goes up to 3rd grade. If kids want to continue, they have to walk about 30-40 min to the next community to complete 8th grade. To continue with highschool, requires significant monetary/transport resources to get themselves to San Juan – a 40 min motorcycle ride – or Las Zanjas – a 1.5 hour walk/20 min moto.

Movin´ Out...or In

23 of August 2010
I’ve been moved out of my original host family’s house for about a week now. While I will always look back fondly on living with such a kind and caring couple of ladies, I am absolutely thrilled to be out on my own. Simple pleasures like making coffee the way I like it, eating when I’m hungry, and generally just having a little less of my life nararrated to me in Spanish has been wonderful. While I had originally worried a bit about being lonely, I’ve been proven wrong as somebody is always coming around to chat so frequently throughout the day that I rarely find myself alone.

I live in a little cement house with two rooms and a back porch. While small, the space seems to be plenty for me as I end up spend the better part of the hot days out on the big back porch in the shade hoping to catch a breeze. It has a pretty solid zinc roof which has passed the test of a few serious downpours and thunderstorms. I pay the equivalent of about $25 a month, have running water for cooking and cleaning in the llave (outdoor faucet) most of the time, and a latrine out back. Electricity is rather irregular; it comes and goes throughout the day, and usually stays on for the night about an hour after it gets dark. While it is not enough to power a fridge, I regularly charge my phone and computer, and I have one little light bulb for night time activities. All seems to be quite quaint but sufficient.

Water llave on side of house!

View from my stoop.