Surviving

"No es fácil" (It's not easy) is a very common phrase here, almost as if it's the country's motto. Doñas far and wide exclaim this saying... I've come to say it quite regularly too.

The other day, I was at my neighbor's house, and we were commenting on how the lifestyle is not easy here. When one thing gets fixed, another thing breaks. Then, she explained how living here is more like "surviving." We never have 24-hour electricity (it's a country-wide problem), water can be hard to come by, mosquitoes are everywhere, it's HOT, and people are generally poor. Luxuries (like 24-hour luz, hot water, air conditioning) are for the rich -- or people of the United States.

So we're not living here in La República, we're surviving here. I thought that was an intriguing perspective... And interestingly enough, I've adapted. I'm "surviving" too and I'm doing it quite well, but I never thought of my American life as luxurious before.

I have a lot to be thankful for.

(And a little Spanish lesson for you... vivir means "to live" and sobrevivir means "to survive." Interesting how similar the two words are, but have rather different implications.)

Chicken Hamburger

Chicken Hamburger

One bight Saturday afternoon, after spending the morning in the center, after a tough week of lesson planning, frustration, a few shed tears, I decided to take a trip to the “United States of America” – Cabarete Beach, the DR’s own Miami beach.

After a wonderful afternoon of solitude -- reading, sunbathing, people watching, and swimming, I thought I would end my trip with an all-American chicken sandwich. I approached the waitress at a bar-and-grill I frequent.

(In Spanish…)

Me: Hey, do you have a Happy Hour for food?

Waitress: Yes we do, 30% off the food.

Me: Does that include everything on the menu?

Waitress: No, here’s the happy hour menu.

Me: Ok, I just want a chicken sandwich.

Waitress: That’s not on the happy hour menu.

Me: That’s okay. I just want a chicken sandwich with fries.

Waitress: The chicken sandwich doesn’t come with fries. It comes with potato chips. See? (She takes out the regular menu and points to a picture above the sandwich section depicting a sandwich and potato chips.)

Me: Oh, I’ve ordered here plenty of times, and the chicken sandwich comes with fries. I order from this section. (I point to the hamburger section, which includes a note that for chicken, it costs 30 pesos more.)

Waitress: Oh, that’s because that’s a chicken hamburger. Chicken hamburgers come with fries.

Yeah, chicken hamburger. Isn’t a hamburger a sandwich? Isn’t a piece of chicken in a bun a sandwich?

Well, here in the DR, it’s a chicken hamburger!