Monday, May 26, 2008

You know you´re in the Peace Corps when...

And now for my ongoing list, which will be updated periodically, so check back!

You know you´re in the Peace Corps when...

- You voice surprise that there is electricity when it's raining
- You scrub a moldy-smelling grocery bag with soap and water in order to reuse it
- The "smell test" for clothes takes on a whole new meaning
- You start to view spiders more as naughty children than terrifying insects, and even catch yourself thinking "aww" to the tiny ones who are the less threatening likenesses of the palm sized ones
- You ride for an hour on a crowded bus with a bag full of semi-live chickens under your seat
- You unpack your bags from a car and repack them into the back of a crowded bus in order to save a dollar and a half
- You offer to pay people in salami, and they accept
- You leave town for a week and a rat dies in one of your bags, rendering ¼ of your belongings useless (can't claim that one, but it happened to a friend)
- You come home after a long day to find an old man whom you do not know reclining in your bed (also a friend's story)
- You begin to accept hot chocolate and crispy bread rounds as breakfast AND dinner fare.
- You equate the combination of river, razorblade, bar of soap, and pumas stone to a visit to a luxurious spa
- You realize, with literal distaste, that it's been over 24 hours since you last brushed your teeth. (It only happened once, ok! And I was asleep like ¾ of the time with an evil DR illness)
- You pay $1 for enough drinking water to last you and 7 friends a whole weekend
- You get sick when you leave the campo for a vacation to the city, instead of the opposite. Gotta have them viveres!
- You wake in the night to find a rat in bed with you, happily snuggled against your leg. (Thank God that wasn't me!) You take some consolation in the fact that there was a mosquito net between you and the vermin.
- You read 13 books in 4 months

Bugs and Chocolate (written 5.25.08)

Don't worry, I still haven't put the two together…yet! But the bugs were definitely out in force several nights ago. I don't know what was going on, because I usually have a few spiders and roaches hanging out as I'm getting ready to turn in for the night, but on this particular evening (after a day no different from the ones before in insufferable heat, as far as I can remember) as I was reading by headlamp in my mosquito net, I had to remove a small cockroach from the inside, and check for holes so the higher than usual number of creepy crawlies wouldn't get in. Earlier in the night, reading on the porch I was focused on a orange and black spotted beetle, whose sheer size and sound-making capabilities were enough to make me a bit uneasy, when along came a huge brown praying mantis (stick-bug) to join the party, and before long I was dancing all over the place to rid the inside of my shirt from gnats and other small, bothersome chewers. Needless to say that night of sleep wasn't the best I've had in country…

Turns out my theory of cooking as bonding holds water. There's something about feeding people, providing nutrition with something you made with your own hands, that brings a certain satisfaction and comfort between the cook and those who partake in the final product. On Friday night, Mamín's (my host mom) daughter, her husband, and one month old baby arrived in time to partake in a huge pot of vegetable soup we had made together that ended up feeding people. To those of you who are familiar with my minestrone, it wasn't quite the same without the pesto, but was immensely satisfying to be able to recreate the basic flavor in a "town" (and I use the term loosely) where it's hard to find items as basic as potatoes.

Because today is Dominican Mother's Day, several weeks after the American version, I decided I would cook again for Mamín and her daughter - I'm getting pretty creative with campo food! And as tribute to the special day, they made a big lunch and even followed it up with chocolate from scratch, which will be combined with milk and sugar to make a delicious drink - that will, along with bread, probably serve as my breakfast AND dinner for the next 2 months. At least I'm starting to put back on a few of those lost pounds with this new carb. and sugar heavy diet!

We made another abonero (compost pile) yesterday, and although my crew was significantly smaller, later, and less enthusiastic than the first round a week ago, we managed to pull it off. Two hours, many bug-bites, machete blisters, and ankle scratches later, we had a hip-high pile in my host parents backyard…which promptly shrunk and compacted under today's torrential downpour, complete with hail (really an incredible sound underneath a zinc roof). As I worked to dig holes, drive stakes, and pile on the layers of dry leaves, green leaves, cacao shells and manure, I quickly became mud-splattered and sweaty. The Dominicans, who are generally a very clean people, helpfully reminded me very often that I had "tierra" (earth) all over my neck and shoulders, and seemed puzzled that I had resigned myself to wait until the end of the activity to wash it all off at once. They seem amiably puzzled by the dirty American, but at least I'm developing a reputation as a hard worker! And it clearly makes that trickle of a shower, routed through small pipes from the nearby cool aqueduct, that much sweeter to first be covered in filth.

First Week Jitters (written 5.21.08)

I've been a week in my new home in the campo, and despite the uncontrollable and constant sweating, bug bites, and creepy crawlies with whom I share a bedroom (and occasionally a bed!), it's already becoming home. I couldn't ask for a better host family, although we're still moving politely around one another and discovering our cultural differences and likenesses. I find that food is a great way to get to know people, and as I sat on the front porch popping beans from their garden, I could have closed my eyes and imagined I was popping green beans at home - that is if I closed my ears or pretended that anyone else in my family can speak Spanish.

My host mother is nothing but sweet and hardworking, but I often feel at a loss for words when I'm around her as our lives have to this point been completely different. So I decided to use the failsafe method in getting to know a Dominican woman of the campo: enter her kitchen. My host father had voiced an interest in me cooking them lunch or dinner, so they could try a little bit of food my style (and also, I think, they weren't quite convinced that a little white girl actually knew how to cook). So last Saturday, I rolled up my sleeves, and with the help of Mamin (my host mom) made a lunch that elicited the response "wow, this is like restaurant food!" I was beaming for the rest of the day, but keep in mind, it really wasn't anything that special: mashed potatoes, peas in a cream sauce, and fried tuna cakes - all items available in the local colmado. (What's a colmado, you ask? It's a great little system of small shacks that often operate out of one room of a family's house and sell basic food and household items, to make up for the fact that there are no grocery stores for miles. In order to make a complex meal, or if one has many items on their shopping list, it is not unusual to visit upwards of 3-4 colmados on your way home to obtain all necessary items.) The meal was special to them because it was different, and Mamin and I squealed like school girls and jumped back from the stove each time the mean tuna cakes popped hot oil our direction.

I've also given up any verguenza (shame) about playing the guitar and singing as loud as I like in the house, and they seem to welcome it as a change to the staticky radio or television. My host dad recognized the word "mother" from a Gillian Welch song called Orphan Girl, and after I explained the idea behind the song, he proclaimed it as his favorite. Not surprising that an Evangelical Christian would approve of a song in which a child asks God to be with her until she can be with the rest of her family in Heaven.

And speaking of Evangelists, I went to a church service with my host parents several nights ago and really enjoyed listening to all the teenagers showcase their singing and playing talents in karaoke style. I looked around the room with a smile on my face to notice that everyone in the church (all 15 of them) were happily and enthusiastically singing along, and all but dancing in their seats. I don't mind the services at all, and they're a great way for me to bond with the community. They are all so close at these times, and I feel lucky to be welcomed into a place where people are so supporting and loving of one another, and of perfect strangers, who are clearly well-intentioned. 

The hardest thing in the Peace Corps by far, and not surprisingly, is starting out an entirely new life where you have no real significant personal contacts, where you have to put your best foot and best face forward everyday, where you have no one to really complain to or to hug and really feel good about it. On top of these barriers, my closest friends at the moment are 12-18 year old Evangelical Christian girls, the majority of which are required to wear skirts every day and are forbidden to dance in a country where shakin' what your momma gave you is the name of the game. They are sweet and helpful and fun girls, but our cultures and backgrounds are mercilessly different. I'm sure we'll all learn from one another and take valuable pieces of each other's life experiences as our own, but right now it's difficult to see a common ground. I'm lucky to have been plopped into a community that is ripe for activities, because otherwise I would be at a loss for what to do while I'm conducting my diagnostic over the next 3 months. We're looking forward to our 3rd Brigada Verde (green youth group) meeting on Thursday, and our second abonero (compost pile) on Saturday. I learned during training how to compost properly, as well as build a container completely from items that are locally and naturally available, and when I did an all call for helpers to build one last Saturday, I was in awe at the turnout. Not only did my Brigada Verde kids show up, but interested adults came too, and between the nearly 30 of us, we built a great compost pile at Noemi's house - she has an amazing home garden. To make it a little more official, I typed up a list of do's and don'ts for your compost that they really took to heart. We've planned to do another at my host parent's house this Saturday, and I can only hope that the novelty hasn't worn off and that everyone (or at least some) will show up to help. It was immensely satisfying when, during the building process of the last abonero, the jovenes (youngsters) started answering my questions of "what comes next?" correctly. I really feel like some of them could do the project on their own now, and after all, isn't sustainability what the Peace Corps is all about? Well in case you don't know, yes, that's what it's all about.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to el campo we go!

After visiting my permanent site last week, a lot of my fears (housing, family, community, food) have been assuaged and replaced by excitement to start my project. It will definitely be challenging at times - for instance, I'm really not sure how I will get all my bags there right now as there's a mandatory motorcycle ride - but I have lots of ideas for projects, especially with my Brigada Verde youth group. I had only been there two days on my site visit, talking about forming this group, when the "jovenes" decided to call our first meeting! They are energetic and smart, and are longing for something to belong to. Hopefully I can incorporate environmental education while keeping our activities fun!

My house is modest, but comfortable. In my room there was only a bed, but I found a broken chair in the woods and converted it into a bookshelf - it's amazing the resourcefulness that necessity fosters! My host parents are an older couple, and my host father is also my project partner, the President of the Junta de Vezinos, which is a neighborhood association which currently operates more like a weekly Bible study - religion is very important in the Dominican Republic.

My house is surrounding by fruit trees, from which my muchachas have collected many delicious treats for me, beautiful mountains, and a flowing river which is refreshigly clean. During my visit last week, a group of 20 kids took me to the river - check out the pictures at: http://community.webshots.com/user/jynx24

I have a few small activities, or "quick wins", scheduled for my return, including composting with a community member who has an impressive garden and several "charlas", or conversations/lectures at schools in and around my community. Other than these small projects, I'll have to do my diagnostic to make a decision about our big projects, which will most likely be latrines, improved cook stoves, and gardens.

Our swearing in ceremony is this afternoon and all 36 of us made it through training, which rarely happens! It would be even more extraordinary for us to all make it to the end of the 2 years...here's pulling for Peace Corps DR, group 08-01!