Eating sugar cane by the moonlight… Not eating really, but peeling it, chewing on it, sucking out the juice and then spitting out the pulp. That’s how you really enjoy raw sugar cane. I just learned that this evening actually. My neighbor gave me a large stalk of cane, and I looked at it blankly and said, “No se comer esta.” Her children were enjoying their stalks – biting off chunks and chewing, and then when they saw the puzzled gringa, they all laughed. So did I. Ah, how I adore cultural exchanges…
So I learned two things today – masticar means to chew and how to masticar sugar cane.
After chewing the sugar cane, listening to the rumblings of an approaching thunderstorm, and compartir-ing for a while, my neighbor gave me some platano maduros, avocado, and boiled guineos (bananas) for my dinner. Everyone has been so generous, so giving, I simply don’t know how I’m going to repay all these kindnesses.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Rough Guide to Dominican Living
Dear Readers,
On this starry night, I am sitting on my balcony, overlooking fields, a newly constructed apartment building, and—a passionate, evangelist tent revival. Hallelujah! I believe in praising the Lord, but at this late hour—9:30 in the PM—I’m looking for a little peace… but alas, that is the Republica, mucha buya (lots of noise) everywhere.
In this crowded and busy pueblo, the scene behind my balcony is my escape, in that much of the land is still “untouched.” I sit here many nights, thinking, reading, looking at the stars, or waiting for the luz.
Since I’ve recently moved, I’ve learned a lot about Dominican living. It’s hard, and many things take a LOT of time to do. No modern conveniences here. So to give you a taste of my daily Dominican homemaker life, I’ve prepared this “rough guide” on how to survive Dominican domesticity.
Know your vecinos (neighbors). By far, they are your best resource. They know everything that is going on in your ‘hood, and they can usually help you out. My neighbors have been great so far. They gave me an ice cold Pepsi when I came home tired one evening (oh, just what I needed! It was magical.). They helped me find water when I had none (more on that later), and on my first night here, when my house was dark because there was no electricity, they called out to me and offered me a candle. They’re my protectors and they watch over my house constantly.
Make sure you have an extra cubo (basically a big plastic trash can) of water. Water is not so easy in this country. Many people don’t have running water on a daily basis, so they have to save up water when it actually does come por la calle (i.e., when the pueblo sends it down the hill from the small aquaduct it has). The more “modern,” luxurious houses, like mine, have tanacos which are basically big water tanks that are usually on the roofs. When there is electricity (and there is water por la calle), you turn on your pump, which sends the water up to the tank. In case you run out of water in your tank, you need to have an extra cubo of water in your bathroom. So yeah, water is not easy.
Aprovechar la luz (Take advantage of the electricity) when you have it! We get electricity maybe an average of 10 hours a day. It comes and goes at random. You can’t plan for it. Therefore, when there is luz, you plug in your chargers, and you do any tasks that require electricity at that moment. I’ve been spending the last couple nights sitting on my balcony, staring at the streetlight waiting for it to turn on. It is a real problem here, and people complain about it constantly, but of course, nothing has been done to fix it.
Cook in the morning, work in the afternoon. I still haven’t done this yet, but once my work slows down, I would like to start living by this schedule. As far as food goes, I’ve been Dominicanized. I look forward to my Dominican lunch every day, and since I’ve moved out of my doña’s house, I’ve been missing my big midday meal. Once in a while I visit her, and she feeds me, but I’ve got to learn to cook for myself. Therefore, to set myself right again, I’m going to start cooking beans, rice, and chicken every other day. It takes a few hours to cook, so I’ll have to spend my mornings at home, doing household tasks and afternoons at the center. That’s how a modern Dominican woman does it.
Go food shopping EVERYDAY. With the shotty luz situation, you can’t rely on your fridge to keep food fresh and cold. So, I’ve learned that I can only buy small amounts of dairy products, and if I want meat, I have to buy it and cook it THAT day. The days of leftovers are over!
Sweep, mop with Chlorox, then mop again with a fragrant floor cleaner. This is an old doña trick. You gotta make sure you disinfect your lovely tile floors and then to counteract the bleach smell, you mop with a fragrant cleaner that keeps your house smelling fresh. Oh yeah, sea breeze!
Wash your clothes by hand. We don’t have modern washing machines here. Instead, we have lavadoras which only do part of the washing process. There’s no spin cycle, and for part of the process, you have to hand scrub some things. I don’t completely understand how they work, but the point is, because this domesticated young lady doesn’t have a lavadora, she will be washing her clothes by hand and line drying them. My doña said soon enough, I will have rough hands like her. It’s true… I already have calluses from sweeping.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
What Do You Do?
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!
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!
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!
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