A new top ten list from the campo!
1- I am obsessed with soap operas.
My favorite, La Patrona, just ended last week and I am torn up about it. The acting is horrible and the drama is daft but I am addicted. Unlike US shows, soap operas here only have one season and the TV station has free control over how long they want that season to run and when they want to repeat a section. Makes no sense to me but its a fine example of how an elite few control this facet of Dominican life.
2- Getting sick here is a real bummer.
I knew it was too good to be true. I didn't get sick- no diarrhea, common cold, weird rash, etc for the first seven weeks in country. And then, probably because I jinxed it, I got sick in a matter of days. I got a weird mix of all sorts of internal stomach problems, horrible body aches, and nasty eye goop. My host family was convinced it was the yogurt I ate from the factory down the road, but I'm 95% sure it was some random vegetable that was still contaminated or non purified water I swallowed in the shower. The common household remedies here are interesting. For diarrhea, my mom gave me a cup of coffee with half a lemon and a tablespoon of salt (read: gave me a laxative with acid for an upset digestive tract). For the common cold Mamí gave me cilantro tea with sugar for its "healing properties." For bloating I got licorice tea, and for a headache I got vanilla tea with salt. People here have little access to health resources when they are sick and have learned to live with natural remedies for illness. Whether or not they work was unconfirmed by my bouts of sickness but I'll alert you when I find one that actually works.
3- Part of our project framework as Peace Corps Volunteers is to work on combatting non communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory illnesses.
This rocks! For the most part, the way to cure these preventable diseases is through diet and exercise. Part of my job is to create an appropriate way of doing this bearing in mind cultural differences surrounding obesity and nutrition. Many Dominicans don't want to lose weight because being fat is a sign that you can afford to eat and some truly believe that if they get their heart rate up enough, it might explode. I will be debunking these myths over the next two years. I have a really great opportunity here to work with community members on weight loss challenges, fitness groups, goal planning, and obesity prevention which affects almost one in four Dominicans. If any of you have workout ideas, nutrition plans, or other useful information- send it my way!
4- The United States government shut down while I was here and it was embarrassing to have to explain.
When I mentioned to Dominicans that our government shut down (thanks to those who kept me in the loop whilst this was all happening) they looked at me perplexed. First, they hardly cared, but since I'm a loud mouth, I told anyone who would listen (in basic Spanish terms keep in mind so I hope I did the ACA justice). Secondly, none of them understood why our government would rather shut down than provide citizens with access to health insurance. It doesn't make sense to me either. But in all seriousness, the gravity of the shutdown in our country will have detrimental effects on this country and my work here. For instance, I will be starting a project to make improved cookstoves that use less combustible and are safer for women and children because they eliminate harmful fumes that cause pneumonia and respiratory infections abundant in the DR. These stoves need to be heavily subsidized with grants from the US but because of this shut down business, I won't be able to apply for them for another 6-8 months, rendering a huge part of my job impossible. So to any legislators out there reading my blog (here's lookin' at you Joe Kennedy, returned Peace Corps Volunteer Dominican Republic) get your vaina together and fix this lio.
5- I should be a professional cow milker.
In Spanish the verb for "to milk a cow" is ordenear, que chulo! And did I ordené or what! We live next to a farm and our vecino invited us to try it one morning. Most newbies don't echar any leche but I got the milk to come out first try. After joking with everyone that I milked three whole cows and got five gallons out of it (really I milked 1/2 a cow's udder and got barely an inch of the bucket full) I told the owner he should hire me. He said he'd send over my contract but I'm still waiting.
6- Dominicans are afraid of the water and the sun.
Whenever I go anywhere here, the first thing my family asks is "Dónde está la sombrilla?" To which I reply - "It's not going to rain why do I need an umbrella?" And then you hear a chorus of neighbors and family members yelling- "Because the sun stings mija!" In a country where being dark skinned is considered worse than being of a lighter shade (read: albino white people are the "best" people), its no wonder no one wants to head into the full sun in the middle of the day (more to come on race issues in a next blog edition) It's incredible the versatility my umbrella has here. Dominicans (especially women who only wash/do their hair once a week) hate the rain because they despise getting wet. Most Dominicans have no idea how to swim either, adding to the great fear that rain will wash them away. And when you schedule a meeting and there's rain or beaming hot sun- there's a 100% chance no one will show up.
7- Kids don't go to school on days when their parents (read: mothers) do the laundry.
This seems absolutely ludicrous to me, but when the uniforms of children are being washed, the kids will excuse themselves from a day of school. I asked my host cousin why she didn't just use another uniform (a simple blue collared shirt and khaki pants for every public school in the entire country) and she told me that her extra was ugly. What a shame that the educational productivity of this country's children is linked to the laundry their parents do.
8- I'm finally used to having ten mosquito bites at any given time, lines of ants crawling on me, cockroaches in my bed at night, lizards sliming up walls in my house, flying beetles, and scary wasps.
Unfortunately I don't think I will ever get used to the tarantulas. Yuck!
9- I'm almost sick of avocados.
It's hard to believe, it really is, but I eat at least an avocado a day- sometimes more. Avocado season is almost over so the good news is that I just have to aprovechar the time I have left with these delicious being and soon they'll be no more.
10- I love to dance.
Not really surprising, but I'm obsessed with dancing to bachata, merengue, salsa, dembow and reggaetone. It was a regular affair for us to dance until 2 in the morning with my host cousins, friends, and harmless tigueres on Fridays and Saturdays in the campo. To check out some of my favorite canciones, google Propuesta Idecente by Romeo Santos and Ayyy by Amara la Negra.
11- Going to the salon is an absolute ordeal.
Lots of Dominican women head to the salon once a week to get a good wash and valuable gossip time. So on my last day in the campo, I went with my sister and cousin. They lather, rinse and repeat- three times. Then it's off the the rolos where one's head is covered with rolls and stuck under the dryer, giving me the impression I'm stuck in old school chick flick. It's 45 minutes under the wretchedly hot dryer which burns like hell so I threw a fit and made them turn it off after fifteen minutes. Finally hair gets straightened then wrapped up in what's known as a tubie and trapped under a hair net to protect it from sun/sweat/rain. Women only take their hair out of the caps I they're going out, dancing, or showing off. The whole process took 3 hours. Torturous I tell you!
12- I cannot wait use a machete.
Machetes are used for just about everything- cutting firewood, mowing the lawn, opening a coconut, killing rats, etc. As a final community project, Mamí suggested that we cut the weeds and clean up the street with machetes. I was all for it, but unfortunately my compañeros weren't so thrilled by my valiant offer to use machetes and cut weeds. Instead we held a community Zumba class which was probably safer anyhow. One day I will report back on my advancing machete handling skills.
13- Not having Internet for five weeks was liberating.
Apparently we are the most tech savvy and dialed-in group the Peace Corps staff here has ever seen. Everyone has an iPhone, a computer, gadgets, kindles, iPads etc. and we are on them all the time. Being thrown into a campo without access to Internet changed all that for me. My computer broke day two in the campo and it hasn't been fixed nor am I in a huge hurry/need to do so. Unfortunately that left me writing this blog post on my iPhone, but definitely an inconsequential problem in comparison to others in the world. The majority of you will never get the liberating chance to disconnect for five weeks because the realities of our lives in a capitalist society don't grant us that freedom, but if you do, embrace it. Embrace the hundreds of conversations you will have uninterrupted by unexciting text messages and spam email alerts. Embrace the moments in which you wont have google to figure out who sings that one song, what jello is really made of, where in the world you are on a map, which republican is trying to ruin the country today, or how you can make icing without powdered sugar. It's a life changer and the creativity that comes with having to invent your own entertainment and enjoy the company of others is extremely gratifying.
14- I love the Dominican Republic.
Being in the campo gave me the chance to experience how the majority of Dominicans live and to see what my service in a small town will be like. Campesinos are friendly, warm, welcoming, sincere and compassionate and although they don't have much money or physical resources, they are truly happy and content people. I really love the culture, people, scenery, way of life, food, music, and even the crazy fashion styles that make me feel like this country is permanently stuck in the 80s. I feel blessed (all this church-going has really gotten to me) to have been placed in this vibrant and dynamic country for my Peace Corps service and I am excited to see what I can do here in two years. The Dominican Republic is my home now, I feel comfortable, happy and content to be exactly where I am. And after six weeks in the campo- I really truly feel like I can call it mi hogar.
So there you have it! My campo experience and six weeks of Peace Corps training in one blog post. Phew! And on Monday I find out the details of my site placement and home for the next two years. Then finally on Halloween we graduate from lowly Trainees to real living breathing Volunteers!!! More to come later this week when I find out and head to my new site/home!
A baby from the campo! My nephew, Adrian!
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