Peeling back the layers

So, this past week I have had the opportunity and sadness of seeing some of the bad side of the situation here. I have always known that there are tensions between the Haitians and Dominicans here in the DR, but I have not seen it openly.

I have been teaching English class 5 days a week to a group of Haitian youth. There are between 4 and 7 that come everyday. These guys are great and have such motivation. They work hard and want to learn. We have fun in class and are making progress. We have been meeting in the local school, which is pretty much the only place with space and a blackboard. The teacher had given us a hard time for "leaving a mess" etc. I had however made sure that we always leave the school in as good or better condition than we found it in. The teach never talked to me directly, only through kids or other members of the community. Well, 3 days ago now she said that we could no longer use the school because we were stealing the milk and juice that is for the school students. That of coarse was not true. I came to find out later that day that she came to that conclusion because a boy in her class made that accusation. This boy openly hates Haitians. There was a Haitian boy in the class that protested what was being said and the teacher told him that he was only protesting because he was a dirty Haitian too. Mind you, these kids are between 6 and 9 years old. I was soo angry when I found this out. Especially because the boy who accused us of stealing had asked if we could take the milk and juice and I said no.

I knew these things existed here but this is the first time I have really felt them. In a way I feel like I am experiencing what life was like in the US back in the 50's for the Blacks. The living conditions are poor and the diet basic, there is share cropping and a large house where between 20 and 100 men live. They come to pick coffee. There are many similarities. I know that I am not in the same position as the Haitians but the hatred is being directed at me too because I am helping them. It is interesting that the Dominicans feel so cheated or offended by the Haitians receiving education when I have offered many times to help Dominicans learn English as well. They all say that they want to learn but they never come.

The other thing is that Dominican culture is very machismo. Meaning that the men are very aggressive and vocal about their desires. They seem to think that they can and should have everything that they want, or try to get it at every opportunity. Which means that I rarely talk to any of the Dominican men here and when there are parties and dances I only stay for the first little bit. Things always get worked into a kind of frenzy. Granted this is coming from a girl that almost never got attention from men in the US. My perspective is a little different. Nonetheless, it is a difficult thing to deal with all of the time. I am learning more and more everyday how to approach this issue. On the other hand, the Haitians are not aggressive and seem to be much more friendly without have other motivations, at least openly. I feel much more relaxed when I am in the Haitian side of the community. That doesn't mean I am not cautious but they have smiles on their faces and talk to me like I am a person and not a piece of meat.

I am sure there will be more realizations and clarity to come on this issue and others. Feel free to comment. I welcome thoughts on this issue and others.

What up!!

So, I have been trying to upload some videos of my campo so that all of you can see where I live, but alas my efforts have been futile. It seems that the elements have been converging against me, bad internet, ghetto camera and fate I guess. Well, maybe one day right before I leave to go back to the states it will work. Haha.

Life here is a crazy roller coaster. I keep hearing that it will smooth out at some point but I am not feeling that as of yet. It's cool I like roller coasters. Let me give you a short up date on some of the things that have happened.

A bunch of other volunteers and I went to carnival in La Vega the other weekend. It was a crazy fun time. There are people dressed up in amazing elaborate costumes that hit you with these cow or pig blatters, who knows. It really hurts and leaves bruises. So, there is crowds in the streets dancing and them the guys in costumes come through hitting people and everyone starts running. Quite comical really. We all came back with bruises.

This last Sunday 3/3/13 (disclaimer: when in the Peace Corps nothing is off limits in conversation) I awoke around 5:30 am and proceeded to poo my guts out. I had diarrhea 7 times before 9 am. Clearly something was out of sorts here. I called the doc in the capitol to ask her what she would have me do. She prescribed a poop sample. So, I headed to the local public hospital to poo in a cup, oh what fun. I had never done that before. It turns out I had an over abundance of bacteria in my system. What a surprise in this country eh. Got me some antibiotics and am feeling better, well until the next spell. We all know it will come again. Oh, the life of a Peace Corps volunteer.

Maybe I should write a little about the work too. So, I have been working on team teaching English with a Haitian. I have been learning Creole at the same time. It has been fun and exciting. The health classes on the other hand have been a flop so far. No one wants to come to class. I shall soldier on however and teach the 1 or 2 that come to class. What can a girl do?

Well, it has been lovely talking to you all. Write me soon and I will fill you in on more details, if you want them that is. Haha

A trip around town

Since I don't have tons of time to use the internet very often I am going to share little tid  bits about experiences that I have had. I will try to include illustrations.



Ok. A couple of weeks ago our health training group got to go into the capitol to go to the Peace Corps office and look into some of the NGO's in the city. This was an exciting day for us because we had been in a very small campo (village) of 30 houses or so for a few weeks. The office has internet and there are several stores around the office. It is always good to communicate with people back home (hint hint) and  stock up on chocolate and peanut butter. We were in the city for about 8 hours or so. We hired a guagua (transport van) to drive us from our campo into the city and then home again. We were heading home during rush hour. Which by the way is not bad compared to a lot of places I have lived but here its is filled with a lot more pollution and stops.

After the first break down we all thought that we were going to be stuck for awhile but the driver got out and did something underneath the guagua.  

While we were waiting we were solicited by a couple of men selling plantains. Although we all wanted more plantains (sarcasm) we passed on the offer. 

The second stop was near a park. It was a nice view while the driver once again fixed whatever was wrong, or just jimmy rigged it. After we were on our way with no more stops. Yay!

Holy Shnikies!!!

So, I don't have the internet very often as you all have probably noticed. So, I will share a few short things with you. Life here in the DR is fun and crazy and hard. I was living in the capitol for a few weeks and now I am out in the Campo for 5 weeks. Whaen I was in the capitol I lived with am awesome family. With me there were 8 of us in the house. We had a scragly little chiwawa that was the ugiest thing I have ever seen. He is cute though. It is funny how things grow on you. The grandma that lived there and ran the house is supper cute too. I never understand a word she says but she has the best smile. She has 2 brown snaggle teeth on the top and a few on the bottom. She makes me smile everytime I see her. She is a very hard working and kind 75 year old.
Here in El Careto, outside of the capitol, I have had some interesting experiences. The first nine days we were her was patronales. It is the celebration of the Saint Mercedes. Basically everyone in the town and sorounding areas party and drink every night until 3am and then get up and do it again the next day. It was fun and exhausting. Also, on the 3 or 4th day I was here I had some crazy stuff go down in my insides. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I was going to throw up when in fact I stood up ans almost crapped my pants. I struggled to get around the motorcycle in the kitchen and open the back door. I ran across the muddy back yard to the latrine. I made it thank goodness because that was one big wave. After the visit to the latrine I chilled outside for a while because I still felt like I was going to puke. The dogs the desided that I was no longer welcome there and started closing in and barking. Luckly I was able to get back inside because the dogs have bitten people in the community before. The next day I was still feeling sick and chillin outside with some of the other volunteers when I was not feeling so well. I went into a friends house and puked and the proceeded to sit on her floor for the next 3 hours while my stomach and all of my insides spasmed out. I feel like I know a little bit about how much it might hurt to be in labor. Crazy!! I then had a fever later that night of 101.1. By the next morning I was feeling better. I have no idea what it was but it is gone now:) I will post pics later.

Pre Peace Corps Trip

I spent some time in Southern Virginia, northern Virginia and Philadelphia. It was a whirlwind of a trip but was wonderful. It was just the right amount of time to get my head in the right place to come to the DR. This journey is going to be hard at first. I am nervous about learning Spanish but I am excited too.

I got to ride on a train, see the beauties of southern Virginia, have some adventures to Middle Earth to pick berries, see the oldest street in Philadelphia, do the Jersey shore and most importantly be with people I love. Friends and family make the world wonderful!

Stop one

I have been in Seattle for just under a week. It has been fun but it feels like I am in a holding pattern waiting for the real adventure to start.

The drive was a long 15 hours but I made it without incident.  There was defiantly lots of singing at the top of my lungs on that one.

The highlight of my time here was the Dirty Dash. My sister came up with our costumes. It was a blast, filled with running swimming in muck and climbing slippery walls.

Dominican Republic

I have finally received a placement from the Peacecorps. I will be serving 27 months in the Dominican Republic. I was a little shock and kind of disappointed at first when I read where I was going. They have previously assigned me to Sub-Saharan Africa. So, this was a big unexpected change. I have since realized that I am glad that I get to go there. It is a beautiful tropical island with a wonderful culture and language. I am excited that I finally get to learn Spanish. The black men won't be so hard on the eyes either.

I received my placement about a month ago. Since then I have been working to secure some rugby refereeing opportunities there. I have since been told by people at the IRB (International Rugby Board) that I will be a welcomed addition and that they would love to fly me to other counties in the Caribbean to ref. I am so happy that I will have the opportunity to advance my reffing career. Refereeing at the next level is hard to get into at times. This will be the perfect opportunity. I just have to work hard and make sure I am up to the task.