Right now I am in the capital and am dealing with some sort of allergic reaction on my mouth and face. It has calmed down a bit, but now my lips are just really chapped. The dermatologist that I saw on Tuesday told me that the reaction is either from 1) mangos 2) my toothpaste or 3) some other unknown source that enters my mouth. So, coincidentally, I have had several mangos that have popped out of the trees randomly even though it is not mango season (mango seasons is May and April). I am not completely sold that that is the case but for those that do not know, mango trees are from the same family as poison ivy, so this is why some people get an allergic reaction to them. What I have been told by other volunteers with mango allergies is that you can still enjoy mangos as long as you peel the peel off and wash and cut the mango off of the seed that is in the middle. I was relieved because mangos are pure deliciousness...so plan those visits in April and May if you want to enjoy unlimited mangos for virtually free (because of the Haitians selling them for dirt cheap in our market).
Things have been a little frustrating for me lately out here in the campo (countryside). My project partner is talking about quitting and selling his farm and it makes me feel very lost as to what my roles are as a Peace Corps Volunteer with the association/cooperative. Meetings are canceled frequently and when they do meet they discuss matters dealing with them forming the cooperative and nothing makes much sense to me as it is. So, when my project partner told me this I just wasn't sure what to think. The good news is that I talked to Joy, my APCD, and she said to focus my diagnostic on the community instead of on my organization. She said just throw in a slide or 2 about my organization but don't let it get me stressed out. She said if they need something, they will get it together and I am not there to hold their hand. I think that this made me feel a lot better about things because I know there is a magnitude of projects that I can work on in my community!
As for moving out in February, things are looking good. My host dad built the doors for my house and he helped me plant tons of Batata (which is delicious, kind of like potatoes but a little sweeter) and chick peas. My host sister and I planted tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, papaya and pineapple. So, I am super pumped for all of this deliciousness right in my backyard! It will be great to finally just be able to cook my own food and have my own place for the first time in my life. It is so crazy for me to think that this is the first time that I will ever live on my own and here it is in the Caribbean. There is still a lot of work to be done on my house before I can move in, but hopefully we will get all of the necessities required by Peace Corps for me to be able to move in right away in Febraury. :)
Other news would be La Navidad! Christmas is here and it feels nothing like the holidays. I never thought I would say this, but I miss the snow. I have never been away from home for the holidays because studying abroad always worked out so that I left right after Christmas. I don't understand the holiday without the cold weather and snow..it is beyond me when people are all excited that it is Christmas. So what makes Christmas interesting here in the DR..first of all, there are people of all ages (2 years old to 80 years I'd say) and loud music at my house on Saturday and Sunday nights (which are the fiesta nights here) and lots of dancing merengue and bachata. Bottles of rum (Brugal specifically, a brand of rum here) being passed among old men playing super intense rounds of dominoes. The reason why they are able to splurge a little on the rum during the month of December is because most people receive a double wage during the holidays (I am not sure if this is true in my community because most people are unemployed...). We end our nights drinking a warm drink (non-alcoholic) that they make over a little fire in the ditch with boiling water, a spicy leaf called "inebre", cinnamon sticks and sugar and little touch of dona power. It is a sweet beverage with a unique spicy aftertaste you could say. Besides the weekend fiestas, my host family, several neighbors and myself are all doing an "angelito" which translates as "little angel" but is the equivalent of a secret santa. It will be nice to give a gift to someone at least to make it feel a little more like Christmas. I wish that I could have sent presents back to the U.S. for each and everyone of my friends and family, but with the cost of mail that is clearly just not feasible but I do want you guys to know that I love and miss you all and wish you a VERY Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
12.17.2009
11.16.2009
Trying to keep you guys up to date...
I have been at my site a little over 2 weeks now. I feel very comfortable with my host family and also feel as though my Spanish may be getting a little better even. My host dad is super talkative and I am really appreciative of that because he is constantly trying to teach me things. Not only in Spanish but also about growing fruit trees and gardening. He is also planning to teach my how to put electricity in my house and how to set up a tube for water. Also, we are going to build a bed frame and other household items for me when it is getting closer to my time to live in my own house.
As far as my community diagnostic goes, I am feeling a little bit panicky. I have been going to all of my community meetings to keep trying to learn more but it is hard to imagine getting a report written and a presentation formed within the next 2 1/2 months. It seems like a lot of time right now, but when the days go by slow and the weeks fairly quickly it gets me a little worried. The only things that I have started to work on so far are my community map and some interviews to learn more about the financial situations of different families. It blows my mind that familys of 3-5 people are living off of 200-300 US dollars a month. We would not dream of that in the states! Although necessities are a cheaper here, $200-300 does not go far. So, you are probably wondering how these interviews will come into play for my community diagnostic. I am learning about how families spend and save their money so that I can see if there are ways that they could do things better. This will be included in my two year plan if I see it necessary to give "charlas" or, presentations, over financial planning and basic accounting skills that they can use. I have found that most families to do not really know what their actually income is because they don't have a set income from month to month. This is due to the fact that they are selling a few nuts or mangos here or giving a few moto rides there.
I am also continuing to attend community meetings and association meetings of my fruit producer group. I am trying to work on an organizational diagnostic with Andres, my project partner, but that is coming along slowly if at all. At the meetings, the members are constantly trying to talk at the same time and nothing every really gets accomplished. I think that I will be working a lot with getting them organized and getting them able to have more constructive meetings. An additional problem is that many of the members do not attend meetings.
Right now there is a volunteer COSing (close of service) in Dajabon about 15 minutes away from me. Yesterday I attended her going away party that was thrown by the association of bee keepers that she was working with for the last 2 years. They presented her with so many plaques and certificates it was unreal. I hope I will be able to figure out a way to make such an impact on my association, but right now it seems like I can't even figure out with is going on! Other volunteers that have been here awhile tell me that I should not stress about it because this is how everyone feels at the beginning...clueless! :) So, I am trying to just keep calm and not worry about it too much. It will all come together eventually.
As for all of you--keep saving those pennies to come visit. I really think that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to come see and learn about developing country first hand...and take a few trips to different beaches as well. Love you all and miss you all.
As far as my community diagnostic goes, I am feeling a little bit panicky. I have been going to all of my community meetings to keep trying to learn more but it is hard to imagine getting a report written and a presentation formed within the next 2 1/2 months. It seems like a lot of time right now, but when the days go by slow and the weeks fairly quickly it gets me a little worried. The only things that I have started to work on so far are my community map and some interviews to learn more about the financial situations of different families. It blows my mind that familys of 3-5 people are living off of 200-300 US dollars a month. We would not dream of that in the states! Although necessities are a cheaper here, $200-300 does not go far. So, you are probably wondering how these interviews will come into play for my community diagnostic. I am learning about how families spend and save their money so that I can see if there are ways that they could do things better. This will be included in my two year plan if I see it necessary to give "charlas" or, presentations, over financial planning and basic accounting skills that they can use. I have found that most families to do not really know what their actually income is because they don't have a set income from month to month. This is due to the fact that they are selling a few nuts or mangos here or giving a few moto rides there.
I am also continuing to attend community meetings and association meetings of my fruit producer group. I am trying to work on an organizational diagnostic with Andres, my project partner, but that is coming along slowly if at all. At the meetings, the members are constantly trying to talk at the same time and nothing every really gets accomplished. I think that I will be working a lot with getting them organized and getting them able to have more constructive meetings. An additional problem is that many of the members do not attend meetings.
Right now there is a volunteer COSing (close of service) in Dajabon about 15 minutes away from me. Yesterday I attended her going away party that was thrown by the association of bee keepers that she was working with for the last 2 years. They presented her with so many plaques and certificates it was unreal. I hope I will be able to figure out a way to make such an impact on my association, but right now it seems like I can't even figure out with is going on! Other volunteers that have been here awhile tell me that I should not stress about it because this is how everyone feels at the beginning...clueless! :) So, I am trying to just keep calm and not worry about it too much. It will all come together eventually.
As for all of you--keep saving those pennies to come visit. I really think that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to come see and learn about developing country first hand...and take a few trips to different beaches as well. Love you all and miss you all.
11.03.2009
Life @ my site
I swore in as a volunteer about a week ago and came back to my site on Friday. I think it is going to be a lot harder getting started in my community that I had originally thought before getting out here. I have no idea where to begin as far as the fruit producer group goes but I have spoken with some people about the problems that exist and also was giving a "course" on how they plant and grow the fruit here. Basically there are 3 parts to growing the fruit. To my understanding, first they plant the seeds for the fruit in bags in something called a "jimanadero" and after 15 days they replant in the "vivero". The vivero is somewhat of a nursery where the seeds continue to grow for 45 days and then they go to the fields to continue growing until the fruit is ripe. I will probably continue to learn the process for this, as of right now that is the most that I got out of the "course" that a man named Gregorio taught me.
Right now I have decided to just focus myself on getting to know members of the community better and try to look for opportunities for secondary projects. So far I have taken notice that many families do not have bathrooms (latrines) and this could be a possibility for a project later on if I can find the resources to do it. Also, some members of the community have approached me about wanting to learn English and I think that that could be an option to start here in the upcoming month. For now, I plan to just settle in to my community and talk to people about their needs and wants. There are also some things going on in and around my community right now and some events have taken place that make me a little nervous about my safety and I know that I need to take precautions for the time being until I know my surroundings better. Thats all for now..:) Stay tuned for more.
Right now I have decided to just focus myself on getting to know members of the community better and try to look for opportunities for secondary projects. So far I have taken notice that many families do not have bathrooms (latrines) and this could be a possibility for a project later on if I can find the resources to do it. Also, some members of the community have approached me about wanting to learn English and I think that that could be an option to start here in the upcoming month. For now, I plan to just settle in to my community and talk to people about their needs and wants. There are also some things going on in and around my community right now and some events have taken place that make me a little nervous about my safety and I know that I need to take precautions for the time being until I know my surroundings better. Thats all for now..:) Stay tuned for more.
10.26.2009
My site visit
If one could have seen me a week ago (only my fellow PC Trainees truly know), mentally I was somewhat of a mess. I could not stop thinking negatively about my site. I was disappointed that I had not been placed in a mountainous area, but ultimately I knew that it would only be the people there that would make or break my site. I tried endlessly to think positive but I was pretty disappointed that I had not been put in a more beautiful area of the country. I told myself I needed to do a 380 and remind myself why I joined the Peace Corps. I joined my own personal growth as an individual, but at the same time I am here because I want to help and improve the lives of others. I had to remind myself that this is not about me. So, with that as my mindset I headed out to meet my project partner in a country outside of the city of Dajabon. It was approximately a 6 hour bus ride from Santo Domingo, which means that I am one of the volunteers further away from the Peace Corps office here in the capital. I am also pretty isolated because there is not another volunteer in my training group that is very close to me. The closest volunteers to me are in Monte Cristi which is about an hour away from my site.
Instead of being picked up by my project partner, I was picked up in the capital by a woman named Dora and a man named Polito. Dora was awesome and we ended up hitting it off right away. I knew that we were going to get along great when I told her my feet hurt from wearing heels, she offered me hers. Dominicans are all about sharing, some a situation like sharing shoes is pretty typical.. Turns out she is my neighbor and also is a member of the Mothers Group (Grupo de los Madres) in my community. The other man that came to pick me up is one of the fruit producers that I will be working with in my town. He seems like he will be a very hard worker and a great motivator in the community. I found out that I will not only be working with mangos, but also a various other fruits including avacados, bananas, passion fruit, grapefruit, ect.
Arriving at my site, I met my actual project partner, Andres, who was super intense and seems to be very motivated to make improvements for the association of fruit producers. After speaking with Andres, I have discovered that the main problem that the producers are facing in the community is that the Haitians are crossing the border and selling the same fruits at a super low price, which is driving down the price of the fruit so low that the farmers in my communities are not making enough money on their fruit. Also, they are not able to sell all of the fruit that they produce, so they lose a large quantity of the fruit every year that is not consumed. Andres and I will be doing a diagnostic and a census of the fruit in my community and the surrounding communities that are all part of the organic fruit association. I attended a meeting of one of the producer groups, which was amazing. I was gifted with big bags of avocados and grapefruit and was told that I was like a daughter to them now and that they would be looking after me. So don’t worry mom, I have at least 10 old men watching my back to make sure I stay out of trouble and don’t get involved with people I cannot trust. Eventually, it sounds like our principle goal will be planning and implementing a small factory where they will be able to process their fruit so that it will last longer and so that they are able to sell it. This would also mean that they would be able to create new products such as juice or wine and could potentially sell it in the Dominican Haitian market in Dajabon. This could also open doors for them to export at some point. I feel like there is a lot of work and planning that will need to be done in the next 2 years for this to happen, and certainly a lot of letter writing for grants to even get the funds to. In addition, during my community diagnostic over the next three months I will be searching for other smaller projects to work on.
On the home front, my host family is great. I live with a couple named Rolando and Suni who have 2 children, Muneca and Reynaldo, 17 and 19, respectively. Suni’s mother, Zarra, also lives with us. The house is small, we don’t have running water and electricity is spontaneous. I take bucket baths outside behind a piece of tin that doesn’t really cover much and if someone from the street knew to look, they would definitely get a show. I just throw the water over my head and hope I am not being spied on. We also have a latrine, but I get a little cup for the middle of the night so that I don’t have to go all the way outside to go to the bathroom if I wake up. Our back yard is abundant with cherry, coconut, mango, avocado, orange and grapefruit trees. I’ve already been told by Rolando to never hesitate to yell out when I want a piece of fruit. The family also has a “colmado” attached to their house. Colmados are basically tiny little shops with gum, suckers, rice, noodles, butter, oil, eggs, ect. People can go and buy exactly the quantity that they need. I also have introduced Scrabble and Uno to my family, which have both been a big hit and huge ice breakers for me to get to know everyone. Muneca and I also went running together to the river. It is a nice place to run and I hope to get in better shape while I am here. I also think I have already found a house to rent when I can finally live solo in 3 months! It needs some fixing up but I can get an advance from Peace Corps from my settling in allowance to do that. I realized during the visit that all of my worries before going to my site were pretty pointless and not realistic at all. The countryside is quite beautiful even if it wasn’t the mountains that I had originally hoped for. I can’t wait to get back to my site Friday to be honest, I couldn’t be more excited.
Wednesday is the big day to swear in officially as volunteers! Time sure does fly..I can’t believe I have been here already for 2 ½ months almost. That means 24 months to go…which is still a hell of a long time. SO, with that in mind…don’t forget..packages are always welcome! So are phone calls, I just got a phone and would really love to hear from you all. It is 33 cents a minute for me to call there, which is really not something that I can afford on a volunteer budget of 30 cents a day. So if anyone is willing to make the splurge, its cheaper on your end to call me. Shoot me off an email/facebook message if you would like the number! Love you all. Peace.
Instead of being picked up by my project partner, I was picked up in the capital by a woman named Dora and a man named Polito. Dora was awesome and we ended up hitting it off right away. I knew that we were going to get along great when I told her my feet hurt from wearing heels, she offered me hers. Dominicans are all about sharing, some a situation like sharing shoes is pretty typical.. Turns out she is my neighbor and also is a member of the Mothers Group (Grupo de los Madres) in my community. The other man that came to pick me up is one of the fruit producers that I will be working with in my town. He seems like he will be a very hard worker and a great motivator in the community. I found out that I will not only be working with mangos, but also a various other fruits including avacados, bananas, passion fruit, grapefruit, ect.
Arriving at my site, I met my actual project partner, Andres, who was super intense and seems to be very motivated to make improvements for the association of fruit producers. After speaking with Andres, I have discovered that the main problem that the producers are facing in the community is that the Haitians are crossing the border and selling the same fruits at a super low price, which is driving down the price of the fruit so low that the farmers in my communities are not making enough money on their fruit. Also, they are not able to sell all of the fruit that they produce, so they lose a large quantity of the fruit every year that is not consumed. Andres and I will be doing a diagnostic and a census of the fruit in my community and the surrounding communities that are all part of the organic fruit association. I attended a meeting of one of the producer groups, which was amazing. I was gifted with big bags of avocados and grapefruit and was told that I was like a daughter to them now and that they would be looking after me. So don’t worry mom, I have at least 10 old men watching my back to make sure I stay out of trouble and don’t get involved with people I cannot trust. Eventually, it sounds like our principle goal will be planning and implementing a small factory where they will be able to process their fruit so that it will last longer and so that they are able to sell it. This would also mean that they would be able to create new products such as juice or wine and could potentially sell it in the Dominican Haitian market in Dajabon. This could also open doors for them to export at some point. I feel like there is a lot of work and planning that will need to be done in the next 2 years for this to happen, and certainly a lot of letter writing for grants to even get the funds to. In addition, during my community diagnostic over the next three months I will be searching for other smaller projects to work on.
On the home front, my host family is great. I live with a couple named Rolando and Suni who have 2 children, Muneca and Reynaldo, 17 and 19, respectively. Suni’s mother, Zarra, also lives with us. The house is small, we don’t have running water and electricity is spontaneous. I take bucket baths outside behind a piece of tin that doesn’t really cover much and if someone from the street knew to look, they would definitely get a show. I just throw the water over my head and hope I am not being spied on. We also have a latrine, but I get a little cup for the middle of the night so that I don’t have to go all the way outside to go to the bathroom if I wake up. Our back yard is abundant with cherry, coconut, mango, avocado, orange and grapefruit trees. I’ve already been told by Rolando to never hesitate to yell out when I want a piece of fruit. The family also has a “colmado” attached to their house. Colmados are basically tiny little shops with gum, suckers, rice, noodles, butter, oil, eggs, ect. People can go and buy exactly the quantity that they need. I also have introduced Scrabble and Uno to my family, which have both been a big hit and huge ice breakers for me to get to know everyone. Muneca and I also went running together to the river. It is a nice place to run and I hope to get in better shape while I am here. I also think I have already found a house to rent when I can finally live solo in 3 months! It needs some fixing up but I can get an advance from Peace Corps from my settling in allowance to do that. I realized during the visit that all of my worries before going to my site were pretty pointless and not realistic at all. The countryside is quite beautiful even if it wasn’t the mountains that I had originally hoped for. I can’t wait to get back to my site Friday to be honest, I couldn’t be more excited.
Wednesday is the big day to swear in officially as volunteers! Time sure does fly..I can’t believe I have been here already for 2 ½ months almost. That means 24 months to go…which is still a hell of a long time. SO, with that in mind…don’t forget..packages are always welcome! So are phone calls, I just got a phone and would really love to hear from you all. It is 33 cents a minute for me to call there, which is really not something that I can afford on a volunteer budget of 30 cents a day. So if anyone is willing to make the splurge, its cheaper on your end to call me. Shoot me off an email/facebook message if you would like the number! Love you all. Peace.
10.07.2009
The end of CBT
Wow, time sure does fly. I can´t believe Community Based Training is almost over. I am going to miss the fruit trees, tropical mountainside and eating avocado and super delicious bananas everyday out here in the country side when we head back to the capital. We have done so much in CBT I really don´t know where to begin. I didn´t do a very good job of describing much of the training process in my last post so I am going to be using this post to do just that. The principal idea that Peace Corps wants us to grasp is to see a vision for the community. They want us to be able to use the development idea of teaching sustainable ideas to the community. Basically that means that we need to serve as facilitators and educators in our community so that they will be able to continue doing what we teach them for theirselves after we leave in 2 years. For example, we have visited an artisan group in this region of the country (the Cibao region) that makes tons of detailed wooden carving projects by hand and sell them. Their main market is tourists so that have worked with hotels in Puerta Plata to bring buses of tourists to see their site. They have had Peace Corps volunteers in the past that have helped to teach them how to do websites, marketing, financial planning, ect. Since we are living amongst a fertile land of Cocoa plants, we have also visited 2 chocolate producers, one of which being much more developed than the other. The further developed one is now focused on getting their site conditions improved to be as sanitary as possible and also by wearing hairnets and clean shoes on the floor so eventually they may be able to export. Also, they are trying to turn their site into an ecotourism spot to generate more income. The smaller chocolate factory is struggling because they can´t produce all of the time because of the constant power outages that the majority of the country faces. Also, they do not have as big of a market span and their product is not as well known. A Peace Corps volunteer´s job is to go in and start to help with the marketing by teaching them the promotional skills that they need. Examples could be websites, fliers, brochures, business cards, ect.
At the technical training classes we have really just focused on the basic accounting, marketing and business principles that we may be using as volunteers. Right now, we are working with business plans and next week will be attending a business plan competition. The reason why we are doing this is because we may be assisting youth and young adults in the community to write business plans to submit to the regional business plan competition that takes place once a year. This competition is great for people of smaller communities because it helps them get more hands on experience of how to organize a business on paper and they can recieve start up money for the business and-or scholarships if their plan is one of the better ones submitted. With the expertise of a Peace Corps Volunteer like myself, hopefully I can help a winner. Just kidding...
Lastly, yesterday my friend Ben and I gave a ¨Charla¨ which is basically a presentation to a group in the community over something that could help their group. We chose to do an income generation project with the ¨Grupo Juventir¨ which consists of young people in the community who try to create activities like small fiestas, playing movies for the community since many do not have tv-electricity, ect. The product we selected as an income generator was banana bread. Although this product could be anything ranging from floor cleaner to Vicks Vapor Rub..we will have the recipes and can get the chemicals to do it thanks to Peace Corps. We taught them how they could use this product to generate income for the group by selling it in the community. We went over the fixed and variable costs to select a price, talked about doing a feasibility study to see if there is demand in the community, ect.
Anyway more to come on my Peace Corps life. I am headed back to Santo Domingo Sunday for the business plan competition. I will be getting a cell phone on October 28th, so please buy calling cards so you can call me..I really want to hear what is going on with everyone. It is more expensive for me to call there...very expensive. I will repay with wonderful souvenirs or a free place to stay with out electricity when you visit.
At the technical training classes we have really just focused on the basic accounting, marketing and business principles that we may be using as volunteers. Right now, we are working with business plans and next week will be attending a business plan competition. The reason why we are doing this is because we may be assisting youth and young adults in the community to write business plans to submit to the regional business plan competition that takes place once a year. This competition is great for people of smaller communities because it helps them get more hands on experience of how to organize a business on paper and they can recieve start up money for the business and-or scholarships if their plan is one of the better ones submitted. With the expertise of a Peace Corps Volunteer like myself, hopefully I can help a winner. Just kidding...
Lastly, yesterday my friend Ben and I gave a ¨Charla¨ which is basically a presentation to a group in the community over something that could help their group. We chose to do an income generation project with the ¨Grupo Juventir¨ which consists of young people in the community who try to create activities like small fiestas, playing movies for the community since many do not have tv-electricity, ect. The product we selected as an income generator was banana bread. Although this product could be anything ranging from floor cleaner to Vicks Vapor Rub..we will have the recipes and can get the chemicals to do it thanks to Peace Corps. We taught them how they could use this product to generate income for the group by selling it in the community. We went over the fixed and variable costs to select a price, talked about doing a feasibility study to see if there is demand in the community, ect.
Anyway more to come on my Peace Corps life. I am headed back to Santo Domingo Sunday for the business plan competition. I will be getting a cell phone on October 28th, so please buy calling cards so you can call me..I really want to hear what is going on with everyone. It is more expensive for me to call there...very expensive. I will repay with wonderful souvenirs or a free place to stay with out electricity when you visit.
9.26.2009
Strange dreams
Well its been awhile since I have been able to sit down and write out a nice long blog for all of you guys back home. First of all, I can´t believe I have already been gone for over a month. I miss you all dearly! Unfortunately since my last post we have had 4 volunteers in our training class ET.aka.Early Terminate. It is sad to see them go but I think they all made the right decision for them. Things have been hectic here in Community Based Training aka CBT. Our director of the Community Economic Development sector, Tim, is great! He is a lot of fun and we are all learning a lot from him and each other as we are plowing through some of the basic business skills and community diagnostic skills for when we are sent to our own sites. Hopefully it will all come in handy. I live in a small community called Arroyo Blanco, in English that is White Stream basically. My family is great! At first everyone was very quiet around me, quite possibly because I was only the second American that they had ever seen. The first being a PCV that had worked on a water project and got running water going for most members of the community. Strange to think that only 5 years ago this small community did not have running water. The food is great here in the country side, so great that I broke a zipper on a pair of jeans today. Anyway, although there are 15 of us in the CED program, we are all divided into different communities based on our language skills and we have a language instructor that also lives in the community with us for Spanish class each day. I am the only PCV girl in my community, with 3 other guy trainees so that always makes things interesting. I must admit, I feel a little silly when I am the only girl playing soccer-baseball with the Dominicans and 3 other PCV´s but you gotta live a little right? The other volunteers are all pretty far away but at least I get to see them when we have technical classes. It will be interesting to see how things will be when I am ALL ALONE in a community!
Besides all of this, my Spanish has improved from a 6 to a 7.5 out of 10 on the ACTFL scale which I am pretty happy with! I feel more confident with my Spanish now than when we first arrived in the capital, although the campo accent is tough getting used to I am understanding more each day. Bucket baths are actually not as bad as one would imagine either...and I´ve stopped wearing makeup. Besides that, all of us volunteers are having the most wild vivid dreams because of these darn anti malaria pills...I wake up every morning and its always something new. Its kind of like I have two lives.
Today was amazing. We went to 27 charcos and climbed the rocks-cliffs and jumped off of them into the refreshing blue turquoise water. I felt a little silly in the life jacket and helmet but it was still SO refreshing!! Especially after a long week of Spanish class and tech training, it was a well deserved trip.
Tonight I will spend the evening dancing merengue and bachata in the living room of my barn like new home celebrating my host dad and brothers birthdays. It should be an eventful evening, with our without electricity. Most likely without. Again, just like the bucket baths, not nearly as bad as you would imagine. Stay tuned, Peace and Love!
Besides all of this, my Spanish has improved from a 6 to a 7.5 out of 10 on the ACTFL scale which I am pretty happy with! I feel more confident with my Spanish now than when we first arrived in the capital, although the campo accent is tough getting used to I am understanding more each day. Bucket baths are actually not as bad as one would imagine either...and I´ve stopped wearing makeup. Besides that, all of us volunteers are having the most wild vivid dreams because of these darn anti malaria pills...I wake up every morning and its always something new. Its kind of like I have two lives.
Today was amazing. We went to 27 charcos and climbed the rocks-cliffs and jumped off of them into the refreshing blue turquoise water. I felt a little silly in the life jacket and helmet but it was still SO refreshing!! Especially after a long week of Spanish class and tech training, it was a well deserved trip.
Tonight I will spend the evening dancing merengue and bachata in the living room of my barn like new home celebrating my host dad and brothers birthdays. It should be an eventful evening, with our without electricity. Most likely without. Again, just like the bucket baths, not nearly as bad as you would imagine. Stay tuned, Peace and Love!
9.06.2009
Visit to Los Cocoas
I just returned from a 4 day visit to a volunteer site in Los Cocoas, San Cristobal. Each trainee was assigned a different site in their specific sector (Health, Community Economic Development, Youth or Water Sanitation) so that we could see what the life of a volunteer is like. After taking a bus to San Cristobal, I had to take another bus to the Los Cocoas. I knew as soon as I took off in this bus I was headed for an adventure! The scenery on the ride up to the site was breathtaking. I felt like I was in a tropical jungle winding up to the top of a thousand beautiful mountains. When I pictured being a volunteer on the tropical island of Dominican Republic, I never could have dreamt of such a beautiful place. I mean I thought beaches and palm trees but I had not thought as much about the countryside. By the time I got to the site, I was exhausted from traveling because it took me about 6 hours to get there because the buses here do not leave at specific times, they just leave whenever they fill up. I learned a lot while I was there. The volunteer I visited was living by herself in a small simple shed like house with a tin roof. It was not anything glamorous. I am now an expert at bucket baths with ice cold water, so if anyone needs any pointers back home, let me know. The volunteer I visited is working with a coffee company called "Cafe Esperanza", which is a DELICIOUS coffee that should probably start exporting to the U.S.A. RIGHT NOW so that I can drink it all day everyday. I was able to see the how they process the coffee beans through the different stages until packaging. It was quite interesting and way more complicated than I ever thought it could be. She also was working with a hospital that was pretty much dormant before she got there. She has gotten several doctors to come work there and her mom donated and sent a bunch of hospital supplies to the community from the U.S. The government here makes med students do a year of free service after graduating, so she was able to get in contact with the right people for that. She also teaches English classes and does a workout group on the side 6 days a week.
Another volunteer that works as an environmental volunteer lived 20 minutes from her site, so we went to an inauguration of a stove project. It was really interesting to see how much Peace Corps volunteers mean to small communities because several important members of the community were there to give speeches and several Donas cooked for everyone. Basically her stove project was that she was able to get people in the community together to help them construct 40 stoves that do not use the wood and are bad for the environment and cause damage to lungs and so on.
Well, this week I have my first test for training thus far and will be heading out of Santo Domingo for CBT (Community Based Training) for CED (Community Economic Development) in Altamira in the north. I am super excited because our CED director, Tim, is going to plan an outing for us to visit 27 charcos (waterfalls) which is super beautiful, and you can watch a video of it on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwS6FTdtJOs
Well thats all I got for now, stay tuned for more :) Peace!
Another volunteer that works as an environmental volunteer lived 20 minutes from her site, so we went to an inauguration of a stove project. It was really interesting to see how much Peace Corps volunteers mean to small communities because several important members of the community were there to give speeches and several Donas cooked for everyone. Basically her stove project was that she was able to get people in the community together to help them construct 40 stoves that do not use the wood and are bad for the environment and cause damage to lungs and so on.
Well, this week I have my first test for training thus far and will be heading out of Santo Domingo for CBT (Community Based Training) for CED (Community Economic Development) in Altamira in the north. I am super excited because our CED director, Tim, is going to plan an outing for us to visit 27 charcos (waterfalls) which is super beautiful, and you can watch a video of it on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwS6FTdtJOs
Well thats all I got for now, stay tuned for more :) Peace!
8.27.2009
This is LA VIDA!!
I have to admit, overall I am having a great time here in the DR. I love my family, the training center is great, our training staff is excellent and I could not ask for a better group of trainees. Despite all of this, life in another culture can be extremely difficult. I had my first breakdown this morning which I am sure is only the first of many. Lets just say some female problems and not being able to find my keys this morning sent me into a fit of tears on and off for an hour. Sleeping in a bed of sweat last night didn't help matters. This is something one should know before ever living in the Dominican culture, is the saying "se fue la luz". Yes, that is Spanish for the lights went out. Happens AT LEAST 30 times a day. It really is a fantastic life, and I am not even being sarcastic. In the U.S. the majority of us would not dream of this. It is really weird because I don't think that half of us Americans realize how much we have in comparison to the developing world.
Also, most of us can remember times when there was more litter in the streets. And then the litter campaigns. And then the fines came. Just like seat belts being just an idea, and then were proven to save lives, and now a law. And the fines. So we obey because it is better for the environment and it is safer. We discussed these concepts in training today because people here do not wear seatbelts, although there is a law, it is not enforced. There is litter pooring out of the rivers here in Santo Domingo into the Carribean and it is very saddening to see this. We discussed how if the streets and the rivers were kept clean, tourism may go up here in Santo Domingo and help create more jobs and even better paying jobs for those living in poverty. 40% of Dominicans currently live in poverty.
Wherever I end up living for my 2 year community project, I would like to help create some kind of campaign to help clean up the area that I am living in. Get people involved and help them understand why it is important to treat the environment better.
Tomorrow night I think I might go to the "Car Wash" with several other volunteers. The car washes, yes actual car washes, are where people hang out and drink a few cervezas. :) I am excited to go and see what it is all about and spend some time getting to know the other volunteers outside of training.
*Ands*
Also, most of us can remember times when there was more litter in the streets. And then the litter campaigns. And then the fines came. Just like seat belts being just an idea, and then were proven to save lives, and now a law. And the fines. So we obey because it is better for the environment and it is safer. We discussed these concepts in training today because people here do not wear seatbelts, although there is a law, it is not enforced. There is litter pooring out of the rivers here in Santo Domingo into the Carribean and it is very saddening to see this. We discussed how if the streets and the rivers were kept clean, tourism may go up here in Santo Domingo and help create more jobs and even better paying jobs for those living in poverty. 40% of Dominicans currently live in poverty.
Wherever I end up living for my 2 year community project, I would like to help create some kind of campaign to help clean up the area that I am living in. Get people involved and help them understand why it is important to treat the environment better.
Tomorrow night I think I might go to the "Car Wash" with several other volunteers. The car washes, yes actual car washes, are where people hang out and drink a few cervezas. :) I am excited to go and see what it is all about and spend some time getting to know the other volunteers outside of training.
*Ands*
8.23.2009
More on my new life..
Okay..finally I have some more time on the internet. I don´t like using internet at my familys house because we were told during training to keep phone and internet minimal at the house because Dominicans usually keep it quick. But I have snuck away to an internet cafe. So much has happened here I do not even know where to start! The first week of training officially begins tomorrow but we had training all of this last week. Today is our day off, and I do not know when I will have another. Training is from 8 to 5 right now, and will be 8 to 6 later. I will be in Santo Domingo for these next 3 weeks but then the volunteers in the Community Economic Development sector will travel to the northern part of the Dominican Republic for Community Based Training for 5 weeks. Then we will return back to the capital for 2 weeks and then take a visit to the communities where we will live for the next 2 years. Then we return to the capital and swear in on October 28th. If we qualify as a volunteer and meet certain criteria.
Okay..mas sobre la vida aqui en la Republica Dominicana. More about the life here in the Dominican Republic. My family is so sweet. I literally sit around with the kids and sometimes mom and dad and play Dominoes, Uno and chat for HOURS on the porch. Last night a few other girls from Peace Corps and I played soccer in the street with the kids and it was SUPER fun. Our neighborhood is VERY hilly and we went running this morning, which was super hard for me with the hills. My little brother Maverick came with. I am actually feeling extremely comfortable here and very welcomed. Dominicans love to share things, so we have been told that if we dont want to share something...to keep it put away. I have been trying to share things with the kids especially....whether it be cookies, cake, my beads and hemp...little Diana, my host sister, loved my crosses to put on jewelry and used them all...but I decided she probably loves them more than me because shes a kid, she deserves them.
Training can really wear me out. Right now we are basically just covering health and safety and we are also doing some cross cultural studies to learn more about distinguishing the differences between cultures. This next week we will begin our Spanish classes. We had a conversational test on Friday, and I will know how I did tomorrow most likely. I need to pass into Intermediate Mid-High on the ACTFL scale to swear in as a volunteer. So, I am crossing my fingers. Oh que mas...I have probably been speaking at least 5 hours of Spanish everyday which means that I could possibly be fluent in 2 years...maybe. Vamos a ver...
Tomorrow we will learn how to ride the guaguas which are like van buses and people like hang out the sides of them...it seems a little dangerous but that is one of the ways I will have to get to the training center from my barrio, neighborhood, and also carros publicos. Well wish me luck on a wonderful week of training and I hope everyone is seriously considering visiting me..because the culture, the people and the atmosphere here are just wonderful and I promise it would be the trip of a lifetime. Hasta luego and I miss everyone very much.
Andrea
Okay..mas sobre la vida aqui en la Republica Dominicana. More about the life here in the Dominican Republic. My family is so sweet. I literally sit around with the kids and sometimes mom and dad and play Dominoes, Uno and chat for HOURS on the porch. Last night a few other girls from Peace Corps and I played soccer in the street with the kids and it was SUPER fun. Our neighborhood is VERY hilly and we went running this morning, which was super hard for me with the hills. My little brother Maverick came with. I am actually feeling extremely comfortable here and very welcomed. Dominicans love to share things, so we have been told that if we dont want to share something...to keep it put away. I have been trying to share things with the kids especially....whether it be cookies, cake, my beads and hemp...little Diana, my host sister, loved my crosses to put on jewelry and used them all...but I decided she probably loves them more than me because shes a kid, she deserves them.
Training can really wear me out. Right now we are basically just covering health and safety and we are also doing some cross cultural studies to learn more about distinguishing the differences between cultures. This next week we will begin our Spanish classes. We had a conversational test on Friday, and I will know how I did tomorrow most likely. I need to pass into Intermediate Mid-High on the ACTFL scale to swear in as a volunteer. So, I am crossing my fingers. Oh que mas...I have probably been speaking at least 5 hours of Spanish everyday which means that I could possibly be fluent in 2 years...maybe. Vamos a ver...
Tomorrow we will learn how to ride the guaguas which are like van buses and people like hang out the sides of them...it seems a little dangerous but that is one of the ways I will have to get to the training center from my barrio, neighborhood, and also carros publicos. Well wish me luck on a wonderful week of training and I hope everyone is seriously considering visiting me..because the culture, the people and the atmosphere here are just wonderful and I promise it would be the trip of a lifetime. Hasta luego and I miss everyone very much.
Andrea
8.21.2009
No malaria yet...
I have to make this quick because dinner is being served..right now. Staging was good, training is going good. I have received my first of three rabies shots, used my mosquito net...ect...ect. Our training center is BEAUTIFUL. I will post pictures later. Also, good news...moved in with my host family which is a husband, wife, 1 dog, 1 puppy and 3 children. They are wonderful. I also have my own room, with tv...yes tv...to my surprise!! AND my OWN bathroom! This is the life and I better not get too used to it that is for sure. I will write more later when there is more time, I have to go eat my rice, chicken and beans! Hasta luego.
8.14.2009
The real countdown is on..
As I sit here wondering what the heck I have gotten myself into, I keep reminding myself of why I decided to accept my invitation to the Dominican Republic for Peace Corps. My decision to join the Peace Corps was brought on greatly by some of the trips that I took while studying abroad in Mexico where I saw poverty for the first time. I remember thinking that if there was something that could be done, I would be there. I found seeing such a divided culture so interesting and intriguing while I was in Mexico. I am expecting to see another similarly divided culture in the Dominican Republic, where the wealth is distributed unevenly between classes. The rich being far too rich, and the poor being far too poor. Hopefully, after 3 months of training, I will be able to really make a change and teach others some of the skills that I have gained in my life thus far so that they can improve their quality of life for themselves and future generations.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life." My sister and I were just talking about this quote a few days ago, and I truly think that it is a great quote that captures one part of the journey that I am about to undertake. I know that not only will I be helping others in the community that I live in, but I will also be growing as an individual. Some of this growth will be in my Spanish speaking skills, professional and leadership skills, but I can guarantee the majority of this growth will be reflected internally in my overall my attitude and gratefulness toward the life that God has blessed me with.
Ok, so back to my frustrations on everything I have left to do before I depart for staging in DC. It is so overwhelming to be sitting in piles of boxes and boxes of things (most of which, I really probably have never needed), papers and dirty clothes. I'd say if I didn't have anxiety before, I definitely have it now. I just sit here literally in a complete state of procrastination and anxiety. Somehow I know it will all be fine...but this just feels SO much different and much more difficult than packing to go study abroad for 4-5 months. =)
And--don't forget to start planning your visits to come see me. I will not be allowed to have visitors during my first 6 months or the last 3 months of my service. So, starting February 19th, 2010 (not exact, but close enough) until July 28th, 2011 (mas o menos..more or less) you should be able to come visit!
For those of you that have been wondering how you can send me things or get ahold of me. I will be getting a cell phone at some point after my 3 months of training. However, I will most likely not have service in the community that I am living in. It will be best to communicate via email (or facebook) or to plan a time to arrange a phone call and then one of us will buy a calling card (from what I've read, it is not very expensive to do this). Below is an advisory for sending packages:
*Sending packages. Relatives often like to send care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try to end inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail. Even though many Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:
Andrea Montague, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz
Avenida Bolivar 451, Gazcue
Apartado 1412
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic
*IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT PACKAGES BE SENT IN PADDED ENVELOPES IF POSSIBLE, AS BOXES TEND TO BE TAXED AND OPENED MORE FREQUENTLY.*
Wish me luck on this wonderful opportunity! :) *Andrea*
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life." My sister and I were just talking about this quote a few days ago, and I truly think that it is a great quote that captures one part of the journey that I am about to undertake. I know that not only will I be helping others in the community that I live in, but I will also be growing as an individual. Some of this growth will be in my Spanish speaking skills, professional and leadership skills, but I can guarantee the majority of this growth will be reflected internally in my overall my attitude and gratefulness toward the life that God has blessed me with.
Ok, so back to my frustrations on everything I have left to do before I depart for staging in DC. It is so overwhelming to be sitting in piles of boxes and boxes of things (most of which, I really probably have never needed), papers and dirty clothes. I'd say if I didn't have anxiety before, I definitely have it now. I just sit here literally in a complete state of procrastination and anxiety. Somehow I know it will all be fine...but this just feels SO much different and much more difficult than packing to go study abroad for 4-5 months. =)
And--don't forget to start planning your visits to come see me. I will not be allowed to have visitors during my first 6 months or the last 3 months of my service. So, starting February 19th, 2010 (not exact, but close enough) until July 28th, 2011 (mas o menos..more or less) you should be able to come visit!
For those of you that have been wondering how you can send me things or get ahold of me. I will be getting a cell phone at some point after my 3 months of training. However, I will most likely not have service in the community that I am living in. It will be best to communicate via email (or facebook) or to plan a time to arrange a phone call and then one of us will buy a calling card (from what I've read, it is not very expensive to do this). Below is an advisory for sending packages:
*Sending packages. Relatives often like to send care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try to end inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail. Even though many Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:
Andrea Montague, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz
Avenida Bolivar 451, Gazcue
Apartado 1412
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic
*IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT PACKAGES BE SENT IN PADDED ENVELOPES IF POSSIBLE, AS BOXES TEND TO BE TAXED AND OPENED MORE FREQUENTLY.*
Wish me luck on this wonderful opportunity! :) *Andrea*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
