Chugging

(Written March 23, not posted due to technical difficulties)

I know, I know…I said I would be better at writing but then all my projects started rolling and I just haven’t had the time to just sit down and lay out all my thoughts. I also just got over being sick for a week-have a new appreciation for all the American comfort foods like warm soups of all different kinds (Panera, grocery fresh soup bar and Thai Pho). No fun being sick all alone, although my host family did make sure I was okay. With that said, I am just going to get to it.

Yesterday I cruised with my host dad on his motorcycle to some of the poorest little isolated villages in our region. Some Italians had donated money to give some less fortunate families cement flooring. I spent most of the day traveling to these remote sites-so far out there that the children have to walk 10 km to school every day. It made me realize how fortunate I am in my community and at the same time how I want to find a way to reach some of the communities outside my own. Whether it is by choosing a few families to be part of my latrine project or raising more money to put down flooring for some families who literally sleep in the dirt (COST), hopefully I can spread myself a little more toward the more isolated communities that really lack bare necessities. When I first got to my site, I was a little disappointed because I felt like Peace Corps doesn’t send people to places that have the most need. However, I learned that it is hard to be placed in the poorest areas because of the lack of structure and resources in the communities along with the lack of motivation amongst community members. If members of neighboring communities, like my own, are able to educate these communities, that is where they need to start so that they are able to move forward and develop themselves.

So about my community. Some of my projects are getting going, but others are a little frozen. Fishermen project is off to a slow start as many fishermen have been busy with side jobs and out of town on fishing trips. Other projects are keeping me busy including a project plan for a community park, day trips for medical missions in other parts of the country, and getting prepared to teach a business course. I am enjoying my new found freedom of living alone. Everyone here tells me “how sad, you can’t live alone.” I was thinking the same thing (the how sad part that is, there is no way I would move in with someone here). I always lived with a lot of people-family of 5 at home, never had my own room after I moved out-needless to say, there was always somebody around. Now I come home at night and it is very quiet. Sometimes too quiet, but my new puppy Habichuela (Bean) has made the house feel less empty. But I am learning to live solo, and I actually like it. I like me time. I like that after a long day, I can come home and choose what I want to do and I don’t have to compromise that, or listen to the noise of my host family, and live in tight quarters-Life really does get a whole lot better once you move out. And one of the best parts is that I get to have visitors and I love to host people. Some volunteers have passed through and my sister and Sergio. Great times, fun memories. Would be nice if I had less meetings lately so that I could be a better host, but hopefully after I get done getting some of these projects organized, life will slow down.

I have been in country now eight months (can you believe it). Although I have kept some of my American ways, I have in other ways been ‘dominicanized.’- I yell for people to get their attention, I am as negro (dark) as some dominicans, I eat whole fish head and all, I am so good at scaling fish a gringo asked me for help, I can make a mean sason (seasoning), my guandule (pea) peeling skills are exceptional, I have mastered riding a motorcycle and bucket bathing, and learned to be fashionably late to meetings. I have also learned to just take it easy (cogelo suave) and enjoy sitting outside passing time doing not so much (when I have time for that).

Mango season is approaching. There are so many outside that I have to be careful crossing under the trees as I might get pelted by mangoes. My grandfather keeps telling me I will grow tired of mangoes, but I have a bet going that after bags of mangoes, I will keep eating them. Really glad sister brought me a blender. Fresh mango smoothies, yes please. I feel like I have been in a constant summer since August. We have some ‘cooler’ days, but for the most part, the sun has stayed strong. I will be going home in April and I am excited for some chilly days where I can throw on a sweater and wear sneakers. Never did I think I would miss that. Yes, I am going home. Just thinking about it I get overwhelmed with my food options-what will I eat first! But before thinking about home, I have a Shakira concert I must attend (would I really miss Shakira performing in a Latin American country?) and my best girlfriends coming to visit. April is sure to be an exciting month.

I think I am going to end it here for today. I am at a neighbor’s house and the smoke from burning trash is getting to me. No matter how much they cough, they still burn their trash AND they have trash pick up. Don’t quite understand their reasoning of inhaling toxic fumes from burning plastic. Some people think I am crazy when I tell them that you really shouldn’t burn the plastics.

O forgot to update on my International Women’s Day Event. Great turnout for my first big community event-65ish girls. All went well, minus the fact that it got a little too competitive for my liking, but that is always an issue when it comes to sporting events.