Very rarely do I hear that question here. Normally, the question is, “How many brothers and sisters do you have?” or “What’s your family like?” I must say it’s a little refreshing and takes the pressure off.
Yet the question remains, “What will I be doing here in the DR as a Peace Corps Volunteer?” I think I finally have some direction and some answers for those inquisitive minds out there… I recently completed my annual work plan, which details all the projects I would like to undertake during this next year. A fair warning, I may be soliciting help from you kind people abroad at some point, but fear not, for now, I’m just planning and developing.
To summarize my annual work plan, I will be…
- Training computer teachers in Microsoft Office 2007, Photoshop, web design, computer repair and maintenance, and teaching methodologies and classroom management. Just all that is going to take me a whole year! I need to train myself in some of these things!
- Forming a youth IT group in which we will do slideshows, movies, blogs, animating (maybeee), and other techie fun things. I’m officially a nerd.
- Starting a community newspaper, run by the youth in my community. We’ll create the newspaper using Photoshop and InDesign, and we’ll distribute it to local colmados. We’ll be doing something creative and giving people in the community something to read (yay, literacy!).
- Creating a local cinema at my telecentro. Yes, I will put my many years of movie theatre experience to practice. We’ll screen quality Spanish-language cinema and sell refrescos and popcorn! And we’re going to be the only cinema in town!
- Chess competitions… I don’t know how to play, but I hear that people enjoying playing it. Certainly, Dominicans like thinking, strategy-oriented games (I mean it’s incredible how the play Dominoes. The pros can determine which dominoes each player has in their hand and predict the next moves. It’s really stunning.).
- Introducing “Cultural Days” at the center. Poetry readings, music, art, oh, how I love thee!
- Teaching English classes that are fun and exciting! Yeah. Already, I’ve been co-teaching some, trying to use my goofy giggly nature to motivate students to learn English. I will have my very own classes in the fall, and we’re going to incorporate computer time into the class. Hmmm… and maybe an English video chat exchange?? That’s really high tech but I think the students would really enjoy that.
- Starting basic computer workshops for local teachers. (Can you believe that many teachers, including school principals, have never used a computer before? Well, maybe we can change that, at least a little bit…)
- Forming book clubs for the niños and the jóvenes. Think story time with beautiful picture books with the kids, and then afterwards playing games and doing activities that involve the socially important themes discussed in the book. Or a youth book club in which we read a themed-novel about racial relations (a very important topic here in the DR), for instance, and then we discuss the themes and create journals. I really want to work on the literacy in this community. The educational system underestimates the potential of these kids and it’s reflected in how they think and communicate.
- Creating a youth club about healthy choices called Escojo mi Vida (literally, “I choose my life” – a Peace Corps DR-countrywide initiative). I will be teaching adolescents about self-esteem, peer pressure, drugs, violence, race relations, and sex (all of which, especially the sex ed, are not actively included in school or home discussions. In regards to drugs, sex, and violence, it’s “just don’t do it. It’s bad.” But do the kids know why? I’m not sure that they do…). So empowerment, the power of choice, that’s what we’re going to focus on, and then hopefully when the kids graduate from the program, they can go out there and share their knowledge with all their friends.
I’ve got a lot on my plate. All of this seems rather ambitious. And where do I start? Baby steps, I gotta keep telling myself, because the big picture scares me. Of course, if any of you have any suggestions on how to approach these projects, please share them. The “community” itself makes projects like these a success, not the “individual.” Therefore, the support, whether in the form of reading this blog or offering words of kindness to suggestions or physical donations, is greatly appreciated!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Dancing the Night Away
A shiny dress. High heels. Flashy accessories. A sparkly clutch. Makeup. Lots of makeup. Perfectly styled wavy hair. A true Dominicana makes sure she’s a knockout before going to the disco!
On Saturday night, a local non-profit was hosting a big fundraiser party in town. Everyone who was anyone packed a local discothèque, 80’s night they were calling it, even though there were only 3 80’s songs played during the whole night – “Beat It!” “Thriller,” and “Papa Don’t Preach” (this song eerily fitting, though I won’t go into details in order to keep this post lighthearted.). The rest of 80’s night was merengue, bachata, and salsa. Yes, very spicy.
And despite my terror, my self-consciousness, my fear of looking like a robotic gringa sans rhythm in her genes, well… I DANCED. And I danced a lot.
I danced it all. Merengue. All of a sudden, I felt my hip joints loosening. Bachata. I was getting a hang of the three steps. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. Salsa. Though a dear friend taught me salsa a couple weeks ago, I was a little lost. What was that count again? But it didn’t matter, because I had fun, and my family actually thought I was dancing well. (How in the world did I fool them?? I mean, really!) When the three token 80’s songs played, I really let loose. I showed them how Americans do it. We just dance like crazy people, however we feel! Steps, what are those? Who’s counting beats anyway? You just move! And I was singing all the words, and most likely, I was the only one in that place who knew what she was singing! (I often hear people singing English songs here, but when I ask them if they know what they’re singing, they usually say no.)
One of the highlights was watching an older couple dance. They really had some style. She was wearing a flowing white lacy dress with a blue sun hat. He was wearing the typical Dominican shirt – white, freshly pressed, four front pockets—and an old man’s hat tipped so fashionably and slightly to the side. He was twirling her, both their feet dancing so smoothly to the classic salsa song the band was playing.
The next day, I still hadn’t regained all my hearing – my family and I had been sitting beneath the speakers, and just to emphasize, we were in a Dominican disco, so please imagine, if you will, the noise level. The whole entire lazy Sunday (we all lazed around… we had been out until the wee hours of the morning!), my family proudly told whoever came over that I could dance! What?! Haha. They were so proud that their gringita could dance. The funniest imitation was when my neighbor reenacted my seizure-like American 80’s dance moves. Yeah well, at least they learned a little dancing style too, ya know.
So I have another accomplishment to check off my never-ending list of challenges. I can fool my Dominican compañeros and compañeras into thinking that I can dance. I still have the fear though, but at least it has dwindled a bit. ¡Ya!
My host sister and me
On Saturday night, a local non-profit was hosting a big fundraiser party in town. Everyone who was anyone packed a local discothèque, 80’s night they were calling it, even though there were only 3 80’s songs played during the whole night – “Beat It!” “Thriller,” and “Papa Don’t Preach” (this song eerily fitting, though I won’t go into details in order to keep this post lighthearted.). The rest of 80’s night was merengue, bachata, and salsa. Yes, very spicy.
And despite my terror, my self-consciousness, my fear of looking like a robotic gringa sans rhythm in her genes, well… I DANCED. And I danced a lot.
I danced it all. Merengue. All of a sudden, I felt my hip joints loosening. Bachata. I was getting a hang of the three steps. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. Salsa. Though a dear friend taught me salsa a couple weeks ago, I was a little lost. What was that count again? But it didn’t matter, because I had fun, and my family actually thought I was dancing well. (How in the world did I fool them?? I mean, really!) When the three token 80’s songs played, I really let loose. I showed them how Americans do it. We just dance like crazy people, however we feel! Steps, what are those? Who’s counting beats anyway? You just move! And I was singing all the words, and most likely, I was the only one in that place who knew what she was singing! (I often hear people singing English songs here, but when I ask them if they know what they’re singing, they usually say no.)
One of the highlights was watching an older couple dance. They really had some style. She was wearing a flowing white lacy dress with a blue sun hat. He was wearing the typical Dominican shirt – white, freshly pressed, four front pockets—and an old man’s hat tipped so fashionably and slightly to the side. He was twirling her, both their feet dancing so smoothly to the classic salsa song the band was playing.
The next day, I still hadn’t regained all my hearing – my family and I had been sitting beneath the speakers, and just to emphasize, we were in a Dominican disco, so please imagine, if you will, the noise level. The whole entire lazy Sunday (we all lazed around… we had been out until the wee hours of the morning!), my family proudly told whoever came over that I could dance! What?! Haha. They were so proud that their gringita could dance. The funniest imitation was when my neighbor reenacted my seizure-like American 80’s dance moves. Yeah well, at least they learned a little dancing style too, ya know.
So I have another accomplishment to check off my never-ending list of challenges. I can fool my Dominican compañeros and compañeras into thinking that I can dance. I still have the fear though, but at least it has dwindled a bit. ¡Ya!
Getting ready for the party
My host sister and me**There are pictures of me dancing, but I've yet to get them from my host sister's camera. I will update this blog with thoses pics!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Books, books, books!
I need some books!
To promote youth literacy:
-Spanish literature novels (even Spanish translations of English novels would do)
-Spanish children's storybooks with colorful pictures
To teach English:
-English as a foreign language textbook (my priority! I need to find a text by mid-Sept at the latest)
-English children's storybooks
-Magazines with lots of pictures
If you have any suggestions for gathering such books or would like to donate, please leave me a comment or send me an email!!
To promote youth literacy:
-Spanish literature novels (even Spanish translations of English novels would do)
-Spanish children's storybooks with colorful pictures
To teach English:
-English as a foreign language textbook (my priority! I need to find a text by mid-Sept at the latest)
-English children's storybooks
-Magazines with lots of pictures
If you have any suggestions for gathering such books or would like to donate, please leave me a comment or send me an email!!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Five Months In...
So much has happened to me in the last 6 months that my life before coming here seems like something of the distant past. I’ve almost forgotten how it feels to be bundled up in a coat in the New York winter, working in a standard American office, speaking English regularly, and eating my usual arugula and Paul Newman’s creamy Caesar salad everyday. I am much more in the present than I have ever been in my entire life. Just last night, I was looking at photos from Staging in Miami, our flight over the Atlantic, and the guagua we boarded outside the Santo Domingo airport. Looking at those pics reminded me of the feelings of uneasiness, awkardness, and utter and complete culture shock we all were experiencing. Though I can’t say I’m completely in my comfort zone now, I’ve definitely acclimated to this way of life. I can’t even imagine how I lived before. I am different and changed.
In about a week, another training group will be coming here, and we will no longer be the “new group.” I can’t believe that we’ve come so far… such a short time, yet seems so distant from now.
Welcome to all the new trainees coming over! No fear, you're coming to a great place with amazing people (Dominicans and PCVs alike). It’ll be weird at first, but you’ll learn to love it here. And you’ll learn so much. No regrets… Just look forward and keep moving.
Cheers!
In about a week, another training group will be coming here, and we will no longer be the “new group.” I can’t believe that we’ve come so far… such a short time, yet seems so distant from now.
Welcome to all the new trainees coming over! No fear, you're coming to a great place with amazing people (Dominicans and PCVs alike). It’ll be weird at first, but you’ll learn to love it here. And you’ll learn so much. No regrets… Just look forward and keep moving.
Cheers!
Reconnecting...
So I have officially completed my first three months of service (last week was my 3-month In Service Training – IST), and I’ve been in country over five months.
I spent all of last week reconnecting with people from training group during IST. We went to summer camp type place in the middle of nowhere. We each brought our Dominican project partners and presented our results from our 3-month diagnostic. I used to be so nervous about public presentations; I would create note cards and practice, and then during the actual speech, my hands would shake and I would be so worried about losing my place. Well, not anymore! This time, I created the Power Point, shared it with my project partner, and then decided to “wing it” during the presentation. So yes, I gave a 15-minute presentation speaking spontaneous Spanish!
The next day, we worked on creating vision statements and annual plans for our projects (I will share my project proposals later in another blog post for those who are interested.). A lot of great ideas came out of this planning session. Many of my fellow Volunteers and their project partners have already started working on some great projects.
After the third day, the project partners went home and we had technical sessions in networking, Photoshop, web design, and a bunch more topics. Overall, the IST was really great, and I left feeling re-energized and inspired.
I spent the weekend after IST enjoying the company of my fellow Volunteers and we had many fun adventures.
Some highlights from IST week:
Live music festival – Every Sunday in the Colonial Zone, a 10-piece, live band plays meringue, bachata, salsa, some great American hits (by the likes of Frank Sinatra and MJ!). The event space is on the hill of 500-year-old church in ruins. Just really great atmosphere in general, and I even danced a few songs (though I still have a fear of dancing badly).
Reggae – A group of us also went to an awesome club that plays reggae… a great cultural experience and unusual for the DR.
Italian Food – We went to a real, classy restaurant! Maybe normal for you all, but very rare for us. The food, the ambience, and the company were fabulous.
IST “summer camp” – I loved sharing bunk beds with a bunch of my girls. I think we all grew much closer during this week of living and working together.
IST tech sessions – I now have so many fun, exciting ideas for my projects. The sessions on creative software (such as web design and print publishing) provided a starting point for my own exploration of various programs. Yes, I’m here to serve people, but at the same time, I have a chance to really build my technical knowledge base! What other job will allow me the time and freedom to play around on high-demand software suites?!
Lots and lots of eating – We were fed so well at IST, and the several cups of coffee and chocolate milk were so great and comforting!
Embassy swimming pool – Floating, splashing, laying out at the pool… really, I don’t need to say more.
HOT showers were just amazing. Never realized before how great they are.
Air conditioning (see the above comment)
Chocolate croissants, honey buns, Caesar salad, how I’ve missed thee!! (If you haven’t noticed, food is a running theme in this highlights section… We’ve all become intense food lovers since coming to this country. We just miss certain things, and food is really comforting.)
Fast and all-you-can take internet
And of course, having a lot of quality time with my pals.
So now that I’m back, I actually have to do some work. The “now what?” feeling is certainly lurking, but I’m trying to keep myself focused by breaking my objectives into manageable, small chunks.
Here's to getting to work and doing some good...
I spent all of last week reconnecting with people from training group during IST. We went to summer camp type place in the middle of nowhere. We each brought our Dominican project partners and presented our results from our 3-month diagnostic. I used to be so nervous about public presentations; I would create note cards and practice, and then during the actual speech, my hands would shake and I would be so worried about losing my place. Well, not anymore! This time, I created the Power Point, shared it with my project partner, and then decided to “wing it” during the presentation. So yes, I gave a 15-minute presentation speaking spontaneous Spanish!
The next day, we worked on creating vision statements and annual plans for our projects (I will share my project proposals later in another blog post for those who are interested.). A lot of great ideas came out of this planning session. Many of my fellow Volunteers and their project partners have already started working on some great projects.
After the third day, the project partners went home and we had technical sessions in networking, Photoshop, web design, and a bunch more topics. Overall, the IST was really great, and I left feeling re-energized and inspired.
I spent the weekend after IST enjoying the company of my fellow Volunteers and we had many fun adventures.
Some highlights from IST week:
Live music festival – Every Sunday in the Colonial Zone, a 10-piece, live band plays meringue, bachata, salsa, some great American hits (by the likes of Frank Sinatra and MJ!). The event space is on the hill of 500-year-old church in ruins. Just really great atmosphere in general, and I even danced a few songs (though I still have a fear of dancing badly).
Reggae – A group of us also went to an awesome club that plays reggae… a great cultural experience and unusual for the DR.
Italian Food – We went to a real, classy restaurant! Maybe normal for you all, but very rare for us. The food, the ambience, and the company were fabulous.
IST “summer camp” – I loved sharing bunk beds with a bunch of my girls. I think we all grew much closer during this week of living and working together.
IST tech sessions – I now have so many fun, exciting ideas for my projects. The sessions on creative software (such as web design and print publishing) provided a starting point for my own exploration of various programs. Yes, I’m here to serve people, but at the same time, I have a chance to really build my technical knowledge base! What other job will allow me the time and freedom to play around on high-demand software suites?!
Lots and lots of eating – We were fed so well at IST, and the several cups of coffee and chocolate milk were so great and comforting!
Embassy swimming pool – Floating, splashing, laying out at the pool… really, I don’t need to say more.
HOT showers were just amazing. Never realized before how great they are.
Air conditioning (see the above comment)
Chocolate croissants, honey buns, Caesar salad, how I’ve missed thee!! (If you haven’t noticed, food is a running theme in this highlights section… We’ve all become intense food lovers since coming to this country. We just miss certain things, and food is really comforting.)
Fast and all-you-can take internet
And of course, having a lot of quality time with my pals.
So now that I’m back, I actually have to do some work. The “now what?” feeling is certainly lurking, but I’m trying to keep myself focused by breaking my objectives into manageable, small chunks.
Here's to getting to work and doing some good...
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