Another Town, Another Family

Today we ventured into Santiago to see the sites and use the internet, since our town (about 45 minutes away) has no phones, internet, or even a post office. The city is in an uproar for the upcoming election in May, and it's interesting, if tiresome, to see the Dominicans campaigning to reelect their beloved Leonel Fernandez.

Our town is beautiful, on a mountainside and surrounded by tropical plantlife. My new family is so kind and patient (and much calmer than my rambunctious Santo Domingo family!) I have 3 sisters, ages 18, 15, and 4, and they took to me right away, introducing me to all my friends and helping me with my diagnostic, in which I have to do a variety of tasks such as family trees and interviews, in order to get to know the area better. It's kind of a practice run for the real diagnostic I'll be doing when I get to my permanent site.

My house is simple, but clean. There's no running water in the house, and only one aquaduct that serves several communities, so the water runs from 8-10 am from a spicket outside the house. Every morning, my host mother fills up as many buckets as she can to use during the day. (Our drinking water is bought.) My room is cozy, with barely enough space for the bed, so arranging my life has been a challenge. There's also no door, but a curtain, and the 4 year old has taken to busting in whenever she pleases. Good thing I have only sisters! :)

Training is going well. Yesterday we made compost piles, and next week I'll be presenting with a partner on eco-tourism. There's a huge emphasis on non-formal education in the Peace Corps, so almost all our activities are hands-on. Spanish is coming along well, although I often find that I still don't have the vocabulary that I would like. I'm sure it will come.

Tomorrow we're going to a cock-fight. I'm a little hesitant, but the fights are such a big part of life here, and I feel that I should partake, if only for a few minutes, in what is an important aspect of Dominican culture. Speaking of chickens, my host mom bought a live "gallina" (chicken) off a passing "guagua" (transport vehicle) today. It sat, surprisingly subdued, in the corner while I ate breakfast, and then when I left the room, she killed it noisingly, jokingly soliciting her dog's help in the act. I've been eating whatever they put in front of me, including meat, but I must admit that this afternoon was a bit difficult...

I'm not sure when I'll get back to the internet, but know that I'm safe and happy and adjusting to my life in el campo. Sending letters is actually really difficult here, but I'll try to stay in cyber-contact when I can.

Back to El Campo

We´re in the midst of Semana Santa, the Easter celebration, and there´s a mass exodus from the city ensuing as we speak. We PCVs thought briefly of taking a vacation for a few days, but then thought better of it as that´s exactly what everyone else in Santo Domingo is doing. Instead, we´ve decided to stay in town, enjoy the (relative) quiet, and maybe take in some of the festivities in the historic district.

We had our Spanish and Core Training tests yesterday, which we all passed with flying colors! After this weekend, we all leave for the countryside (me with the Environmental group to the north, and the IT people to the Northeast) to begin our 5 weeks of Community Based Training (CBT). We´ll be staying with new host families for those 5 weeks, taking Spanish classes, and doing hands-on training for gardening, organic pesticides, ceramic stove assembly, eco-tourism and the like. So all of this to say...I may be out of touch for a while! I hope to have internet access at least on occasion in the next 5 weeks, but we never know what will be available until we get there.

Take care, and keep the letters coming to the main PC office! :) I hope to have a readathon upon my return from el campo!

Back from the Mountains

Just got back from an interesting trip to El Firme, a little ¨town¨that balances on a ridge of the Cordillera Septentrional mountain range. I visited Dawn and Charles, 2 ecclectic volunteers in their 60s who are finishing up their two years of service in El Firme, and got to know a little about their projects. Charles taught me all about Cacao (the chocolate plant, which is the main source of income for this town), and we went to a government run tree nursery and picked up over 100 trees for him to distribute in El Firme. Erosion and deforrestation are real problems in this particular part of the mountains (and everywhere really) so Charles is doing his part to recreate biodiversity in and around El Firme. Other projects include a small library (two file cabinets filled with books), a new clinic, and Charles´beekeeping, which the local youth are very interested in.

To get to El Firme, I had to take a taxi, then a large bus, then a small van, then a motorcycle. Everyone stared at me like a benign alien all weekend, especially as I was riding up the mountain with my huge backpack, clinging for dear life to the motorcycle driver. Thank goodness for my Peace Corps issue helmet!

I came back with tons of chigger-bites and a wealth of knowledge about recipes, homemade pesticides, and Dominican flora and fauna, and most importantly, a better idea of what being in the Peace Corps is really all about. (They told us when we applied that it´s not like camping for two years, but the way Dawn and Charles live, it kinda is! An outhouse, rainwater as their only source, sporadic electricity, and chickens and hogs galore!) I´m eager to hear about the experiences that all the other trainees had at their sites, as we were spread all across the country to fend for ourselves this weekend.

Shots and Bikes

The center that we train at is an oasis of beauty in an otherwise dusty, noisy city - which is fortunate since we spend an average of 45 hours a week there, not including organized activities on Saturday! After next weekend´s visit to the mountains, the following weekend is Semana Santa (Easter) and I´m interested to see how the Dominicans celebrate. Will report back!

Had vaccination number 6 or 7 today - ouch! Anyone looking to get vaccinated for typhoid, be informed that the pills last longer, and are significantly less painful.

I´ve started saving breakfast scraps for a lonely scruffy pup who lives on my street. I know I can´t save them all, but he really wrenches the heart-strings. Can´t wait to adopt a pup of my own when I move to el campo!

We also received our motorcycle helmets today. Although we´re not allowed to ride in the city (and are never allowed to drive), they say over 80% of Peace Corps DR sites would be inaccessible without motorcycles. We had a brief training session, and I think that combined with lessons from Dad will guarantee safe riding in the future!

The things I learned in class...

Of all the days of training I´ve had so far, this seems an interesting one on which to start my blog, for today we learned about tarantulas that can jump 6 feet and a fatal disease one can contract from mouse pee. That tupperware I brought is looking better all the time. And hey! What a great excuse to have a cat!

So I´m adjusting to life with my host family, including the cold shower from a bucket I take once a day, the rapid-fire Spanish, and the motorcycles with no mufflers that pass directly by my house at all hours of the day.

I am now confident that it was the best idea not to bring a guitar, because I bought one downtown 2 days ago at an amazing price. She´s glossy and blue and I think I´ll call her Elle. Beware to all my musician friends - I´ll be a force to reckon with upon my return!

I´m leaving Santo Domingo and headed to the mountains next weekend to visit a couple of Peace Corps Volunteers who are working with Cacao plantations (the chocolate plant!) and am looking forward to a much needed break from the dusty city.

It´s difficult to upload photos here, but I´ll get one or two up as soon as I can!