Monday, June 16, 2008
Pablo Manda (written 6.13.08)
My BV group loves to play games, and one of their favorites is Pablo Manda, or the Dominican version of Simon Says. Apparently the news that I'm the ringleader for this game has spread across the community, because there are several little boys who live near the basketball court (where I often go in search of cell phone service) who address me as such each time I pass. I've never heard them speak any words other than "Pablo Manda", and I can't tell if it's meant to be my name, a command to play, or simply the only thing they can think to say to me, but it strikes me as funny when I hear a little voice say "Pablo Manda" and I look over to see a small Dominican boy, clothes disheveled if present at all, staring at me totally straight-faced and stating the Spanish equivalent of "Simon Says", with no apparent goal in mind. I'm sure you see the humor in this, or maybe things are just funnier in the campo.
Paco's Rainbow (written 6.13.08)
I returned home soggily from a Brigada Verde (BV) meeting yesterday with a tag-a-long quietly trudging behind me in the mud. We'll call him Paco. He's a quiet little guy of 9 years old who's taken to following me home on occasion after meetings and the like, no purpose stated, in fact, no words said. He opens up in groups, is eager to please, and thrives off the energy of his peers - indeed he hasn't missed a BV meeting yet! - but is excruciatingly shy in one-on-one situations, the few words he does manage to utter barely intelligible through clenched teeth and pursed lips.
As we sat on my porch yesterday, freshly damp from the afternoon rain that is a sure thing here, with me trying to make conversation, a rainbow appeared. Only a small piece, but very vibrant at times, we were both taken in by its beauty, and I made several comments to this effect before I realized he had the right idea all along: silence was just better in this situation. So we sat. Well I sat in the one chair, and he stood beside me barefoot, and we both looked up for a while. When the bright colors had passed and Paco was done, whatever that means to him, he simply put on his shoes and left. I called out "adios", not expecting a response, not getting one, and watched as he skipped away in the mud.
He seems to be satisfied with my simple presence, and that's just fine with me. There are many ways I had hoped to help here, but I hadn't really predicted that one would be the simple act of sitting quietly and watching the sky, in the company of one so young, who seems to have gone through quite a lot in his 9 years. Just goes to show you never can tell the ways in which people may need you, and I want to make myself available to Paco, just in case he decides to speak up. If not, we'll simply sit and watch together and be content to do so.
As we sat on my porch yesterday, freshly damp from the afternoon rain that is a sure thing here, with me trying to make conversation, a rainbow appeared. Only a small piece, but very vibrant at times, we were both taken in by its beauty, and I made several comments to this effect before I realized he had the right idea all along: silence was just better in this situation. So we sat. Well I sat in the one chair, and he stood beside me barefoot, and we both looked up for a while. When the bright colors had passed and Paco was done, whatever that means to him, he simply put on his shoes and left. I called out "adios", not expecting a response, not getting one, and watched as he skipped away in the mud.
He seems to be satisfied with my simple presence, and that's just fine with me. There are many ways I had hoped to help here, but I hadn't really predicted that one would be the simple act of sitting quietly and watching the sky, in the company of one so young, who seems to have gone through quite a lot in his 9 years. Just goes to show you never can tell the ways in which people may need you, and I want to make myself available to Paco, just in case he decides to speak up. If not, we'll simply sit and watch together and be content to do so.
Jurassic Park and Night Smells (written 6.12.08)
If we work hard in the Peace Corps (and believe me, we do!), then we play hard as well, and what better place to play than a friendly, travelable island in the tropics? This past weekend I went to Jarabacoa with 7 other Peace Corps friends, chosen for its location nearly in the geographic center (accessible to all!) and its reputation for outdoor adventure. On the guagua ride up, we started to notice something we hadn't seen in a while (unlike lizards on walls, spiders in showers, and cockroaches in beds): that is, we saw pine trees! Jarabacoa, known for its waterfalls, is situated in the highest mountain range in the DR and therefore offers some trees that don't exist in the more tropical lowlands. This isn't to say that I've grown tired of cacao and mango trees, which are in their height of fruit giving as I type, but it was somewhat like going home to visit a cooler city covered in hardwoods.
We arrived at our budget hotel (there really aren't many hostels here, but we still found a little hole in the wall for about $7 American a night) on Friday and were immediately greeted by a friendly tour-guide who undoubtedly thought "money" at first, but quickly realized that we were Peace Corps volunteers and had none. When I asked how he knew, he pointed at the Nalgene water bottle hanging from my bag and said "you all have them". What can I say, we like to hydrate! Being a nice guy, he agreed to take us on an all day private tour of the 3 main waterfalls, including transportation to and from the trails, which were vigorous at times, but completely worth it. The second waterfall we arrived at was surrounded by a small beach and we were the only ones there for most of the time. We were all taken aback by its beauty, and were not surprised to find out this was the site of part of the filming for Jurassic Park.
The weekend went smoothly, full of good company and good food, until Sunday night when I got violently (yes, I mean that) ill. Able to think of nothing that could have caused it (I was a good girl and drank only bottled water!), I couldn't help but laugh when I realized it was probably all the rich, delicious food. Great: I get sick when I leave the campo for a visit to the city. Apparently, I gotta have them viveres (remember my old friends, the white starchy vegetable group, each barely distinguishable from the other)! My disease reared it's ugly head again today, and after consulting my doctor by phone, found out that if I keep this up I'll be taking a sample cup to the lab in no time (or babyfood or mayonnaise jar, or any old thing with a lid that's laying around). Yipee!
Yesterday was one of those slightly frustrating Peace Corps days that turned out pretty good in the end. For several weeks now, several people have been telling me that my attendance is desired at the meeting of a youth group the next community over, an hour walk uphill both ways (yea, that really exists here), starting out at 5 PM …in otherwords, it's a commitment! I told them if they got me the details before the last minute, I would go, but no one ever seems to know what time, or where, or if it's happening at all due to rain, so I've just been kind of waiting it out. Well yesterday I was at home alone waiting for my host mom to return from the Chocolate Factory (I know, do I live in Heaven? Sometimes I think so) so I could take a much needed shower, which they don't like me to do so when I'm home alone. When she walked in the door I heaved a sigh of relief and was preparing to enjoy the cool water when she announced "Milagros is waiting for you at the top of the hill to go to the meeting in La Travesada". Mouth agape, I realized I was trapped and set out the door in shorts and flip-flops at a near trot so as not to keep her waiting for too long. An hour later, we arrived at the meeting which, to my surprise, had the principal goal of getting to know…well…me! I realized with some comfort that it sure was a good thing I went, and put my best foot forward in introducing myself and encouraging them to make the trek to my weekly environmental youth group meeting. They were very happy to see me, and had obviously been looking forward to meeting me, which made all the sweating and trekking worth it in the end.
On the walk home, subdued by a sense of accomplishment and the cool moonlight, I smelled cherries and gardenias, Dominican night smells that I don't usually get to enjoy as I'm always in the house before dark. Certainly preferable to the daytime smells of pigs and chickens, I soaked it in and strolled on home, where I took my first bucket bath in a while. The power had been out all day, which keeps the aquaduct from pumping water through our pipes. I was a bit out of practice with the bucket and didn't have enough water to wash my hair - I swear this bucket is smaller than the one I had during training! - but it was a relief to be clean and at home, in a place which I have no qualms calling by that name.
We arrived at our budget hotel (there really aren't many hostels here, but we still found a little hole in the wall for about $7 American a night) on Friday and were immediately greeted by a friendly tour-guide who undoubtedly thought "money" at first, but quickly realized that we were Peace Corps volunteers and had none. When I asked how he knew, he pointed at the Nalgene water bottle hanging from my bag and said "you all have them". What can I say, we like to hydrate! Being a nice guy, he agreed to take us on an all day private tour of the 3 main waterfalls, including transportation to and from the trails, which were vigorous at times, but completely worth it. The second waterfall we arrived at was surrounded by a small beach and we were the only ones there for most of the time. We were all taken aback by its beauty, and were not surprised to find out this was the site of part of the filming for Jurassic Park.
The weekend went smoothly, full of good company and good food, until Sunday night when I got violently (yes, I mean that) ill. Able to think of nothing that could have caused it (I was a good girl and drank only bottled water!), I couldn't help but laugh when I realized it was probably all the rich, delicious food. Great: I get sick when I leave the campo for a visit to the city. Apparently, I gotta have them viveres (remember my old friends, the white starchy vegetable group, each barely distinguishable from the other)! My disease reared it's ugly head again today, and after consulting my doctor by phone, found out that if I keep this up I'll be taking a sample cup to the lab in no time (or babyfood or mayonnaise jar, or any old thing with a lid that's laying around). Yipee!
Yesterday was one of those slightly frustrating Peace Corps days that turned out pretty good in the end. For several weeks now, several people have been telling me that my attendance is desired at the meeting of a youth group the next community over, an hour walk uphill both ways (yea, that really exists here), starting out at 5 PM …in otherwords, it's a commitment! I told them if they got me the details before the last minute, I would go, but no one ever seems to know what time, or where, or if it's happening at all due to rain, so I've just been kind of waiting it out. Well yesterday I was at home alone waiting for my host mom to return from the Chocolate Factory (I know, do I live in Heaven? Sometimes I think so) so I could take a much needed shower, which they don't like me to do so when I'm home alone. When she walked in the door I heaved a sigh of relief and was preparing to enjoy the cool water when she announced "Milagros is waiting for you at the top of the hill to go to the meeting in La Travesada". Mouth agape, I realized I was trapped and set out the door in shorts and flip-flops at a near trot so as not to keep her waiting for too long. An hour later, we arrived at the meeting which, to my surprise, had the principal goal of getting to know…well…me! I realized with some comfort that it sure was a good thing I went, and put my best foot forward in introducing myself and encouraging them to make the trek to my weekly environmental youth group meeting. They were very happy to see me, and had obviously been looking forward to meeting me, which made all the sweating and trekking worth it in the end.
On the walk home, subdued by a sense of accomplishment and the cool moonlight, I smelled cherries and gardenias, Dominican night smells that I don't usually get to enjoy as I'm always in the house before dark. Certainly preferable to the daytime smells of pigs and chickens, I soaked it in and strolled on home, where I took my first bucket bath in a while. The power had been out all day, which keeps the aquaduct from pumping water through our pipes. I was a bit out of practice with the bucket and didn't have enough water to wash my hair - I swear this bucket is smaller than the one I had during training! - but it was a relief to be clean and at home, in a place which I have no qualms calling by that name.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Wild ¨Fruit¨ Chase (written 5.28.08)
Two deliciously sweet mangos and approximately 87 maggi bites later, I returned home and took a shower, never appreciating so much the feel of cool water running down my bitten-to-pieces legs. I really would have worn long pants had I known we were going on a wild-"fruit" chase, but I tend to not understand the magnitude of these activities that I get myself into with my muchachos until I'm in right in the middle of them…and of course by then, it's too late to put on long pants, etc!
I know I write a lot about bugs but…that's kind of my life here. Bugs and fruit and coffee and sweat. That said, I noticed a huge spider in the shower with me today in the opposite corner from where I stand (which is really not all that far in this shower) and actually said out loud "Oh, I didn’t know YOU were in here", eye roll and exasperated tone of voice included. I take this as proof that I'm going crazy, and probably would omit this story out of embarrassment if I wasn't so sure that there are at least a few of you out there who'll get a good laugh out of it!
If Peace Corps is good for anything (and that's just a turn of phrase, because it’s actually good for a lot!), then it's the perfect cure for stage fright. Not only are we put in front of large, critical audiences, but we have to speak in Spanish! Por ejemplo (for example): Today, I arrived 15 minutes early at the school in my community, with all my little papers and books, prepared to give a "charla", or chat, to ONE class of 8th graders on trees and deforestation. Over an hour later ("la hora Dominicana", or Dominican time), I found myself performing surprisingly well in front of about 50 students between 6th and 8th grade. You just can't be afraid to make mistakes, and that's that. (Also, it's better to just come to terms with the fact that nothing will go as planned, i.e. 50 students instead of 20 and starting nearly an hour late.) The worst part of these charlas is that sometimes I can't understand the students who actually speak up to answer my questions (a minority) when all I really want to do is show my enthusiasm that they answered at all. They're very understanding though, and over all it went well. I'm giving the chat two more times this week, and should be a pro by the end! Although my vocabulary most likely still resembles that of a 6th grader, it should serve me well tomorrow as my group will consist of 3rd-5th graders.
I know I write a lot about bugs but…that's kind of my life here. Bugs and fruit and coffee and sweat. That said, I noticed a huge spider in the shower with me today in the opposite corner from where I stand (which is really not all that far in this shower) and actually said out loud "Oh, I didn’t know YOU were in here", eye roll and exasperated tone of voice included. I take this as proof that I'm going crazy, and probably would omit this story out of embarrassment if I wasn't so sure that there are at least a few of you out there who'll get a good laugh out of it!
If Peace Corps is good for anything (and that's just a turn of phrase, because it’s actually good for a lot!), then it's the perfect cure for stage fright. Not only are we put in front of large, critical audiences, but we have to speak in Spanish! Por ejemplo (for example): Today, I arrived 15 minutes early at the school in my community, with all my little papers and books, prepared to give a "charla", or chat, to ONE class of 8th graders on trees and deforestation. Over an hour later ("la hora Dominicana", or Dominican time), I found myself performing surprisingly well in front of about 50 students between 6th and 8th grade. You just can't be afraid to make mistakes, and that's that. (Also, it's better to just come to terms with the fact that nothing will go as planned, i.e. 50 students instead of 20 and starting nearly an hour late.) The worst part of these charlas is that sometimes I can't understand the students who actually speak up to answer my questions (a minority) when all I really want to do is show my enthusiasm that they answered at all. They're very understanding though, and over all it went well. I'm giving the chat two more times this week, and should be a pro by the end! Although my vocabulary most likely still resembles that of a 6th grader, it should serve me well tomorrow as my group will consist of 3rd-5th graders.
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