On a trip to the motherland

Saludos!

I still can’t believe it’s already over! Ten whole days in the motherland for the Peace Corps Blog It Home tour flew by. From presentations in elementary and middle schools to nomming mass amount of food from foodtrucks to visiting the White House and seeing my best friends, this was a much needed break from my site and as one blogger aptly put it, “the best week of my life.”

I’ve been struggling for a few days now thinking about what I want to say in this mensaje. I of course want to tell you that America was beautiful (so clean) and easy to settle back into (English, amirite?) and fun (I love my best friends), but I really want to reflect on the experience Peace Corps gave me to come home and "third goal" (basically rave) about the DR in the midst of my service. The Peace Corps’ Third Goal is “To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.” Historically, Peace Corps hasn’t been all that down with blogging. We heard from an RPCV that in his day (2005) a friend of his was administratively separated from Peace Corps for keeping a blog. I’m sure HQ thought, holy shit, 7,000 volunteers with the potential to write about everything is probably not our best PR strategy. Eventually, Peace Corps only request was to put a disclaimer on the blog. And soon enough the Office of the Third Goal was created and the staff began to write little notes to people keeping blogs to say “great job” and “keep it up.” Their brief messages were met with a surprising amount of enthusiasm from the volunteers, who probably considered blogging to be something keep under the PC radar. PC was surprised by the enthusiasm from volunteers who usually hear more “no, no, no” than “go, go, go” from the higher ups. The office thought that they could build on this excitement and thus the “Blog it Home” contest was created.

So there I was, home in America, to share the culture of the Dominican Republic with Americans during the mid-point in my service. It was a fairly daunting task especially since so much will only become clear to me in retrospect. With 8 other amazing PCVs (and all my borrowed professional clothes from Arlen and Kris), we were shuffled in ubers from meetings to presentations to professional development opportunities to dinners to happy hours and repeat! Bonding moments also included craving pickles, drinking dark beer, cheers-ing together over fireball whiskey shots, explaining to a guy hitting on Erika that “no, I won’t give you my phone number” because we don’t live in America, eating ice cream and joking about all the clothes my Dominican tailor didn’t make me (because unlike those from Guinea, Senegal, Cameroon and Ugando, I don’t have a tailor). For a full blow by blow of the events, check out Keith’s latest entry documenting the whole shebang. 

And for as much planning, preparation and excitement went into about the Blog It Home tour, it was suddenly over. Fortunately, I ended up staying an extra five days to hang out with the girls and my momma. Highlights from that portion of the trip included a tour of the West Wing thanks to a Peace Corps connection, seeing the First Lady dresses in the Museum of American History, laying my eyes on the Hope Diamond in the Museum of Natural History, getting a fancy haircut, snuggling with my momma and drinking iced cofeeeeeeee. But de una vez, that adventure, too, was over. It was only in coming back after a whirlwind ten days that I was able to reflect on my time in DC. Here's what I came up with:

1) As much as I’ve adapted well to DR culture, I will always be American.

I went to DC thinking I would bring my super outgoing loud personality I’ve accentuated here in the Peace Corps, but I just couldn’t. Because in America, it is rude to wag your finger at someone to say no, you can’t just command someone to sit, eat or go without adding modifiers like “please or would you care to," you can’t just walk into a restaurant and scream “owner, owner” like you can in the DR. You can’t cross the street in the middle of a busy highway and you certainly can’t litter. You can talk to people on the subway but you can't greet the whole metro car enthusiastically when you step in or say "God bless all of you." You must also give people their space and avoid long bouts of eye contact if possible. 

And as if I had never lived without running water, reliable electricity or a non-nutrient rich diet for the past year, I fell right back into "being American" when I landed. I exist as a different person here and there. Yes, I have become more assertive and honest here, but I can’t bring all that back with me, because it’s not cool to be firm and bossy in America. But I’m not saying all of this is necessarily bad, it just is. America rocks and our culture is "successful" for a reason. We have highly effective ways of keeping people in their places, we have rules being orderly, we do things “by the books.” And that was nice. But then I came back to a place where no one plays by the rules, cars don’t abide traffic laws, litter is everywhere, police take bribes, kids don't go to school when it rains and I felt completely overwhelmed. 

I'm four days back and I am settling in again thanks to my favorite parts of this place, the compartir and hospitality that makes the DR so very special. And I realized while sharing a few crackers and soda after a neighborhood mass last night that I will continue to learn and grow and adopt these traditions into my own life, but at the end of the day I really do like religious freedom, rules, order, punctuality, treatment of women like equals, stoplights, the environment and I will never be truly aplatanada.  

2) I lied about my deepest desires.

On touchdown, with the scents of burgers, beer, seafood and Starbucks looming, I realized that more than spinach and kale, what I really wanted was a burger, sweet potato fries, nachos, crabcakes and cronuts. I guess I’ll have to save my kale and spinach detox for December.

3) Everyone has different problems.  

My real mom questioned me a while back if I was going to come back to America and turn up my nose at “American problems” which I believe she meant to be things like “shit, I didn’t order the iPhone 6 in time, my pumpkin spice latté has too much milk, my shower is too hot, eugh my pilates class was cancelled because the teacher is sick” which were in fact all things I overhead in DC. But here’s the thing, those are people’s real problems right here right now. People in the DR have complaints that are just as "trivial." The difference is that people’s realities here don’t include iPhones or Starbucks, but I’m sure if they did, we’d be complaining about the same stuff. 

Here I overhear ridiculous complaints too, like “the sun is too hot I’m not going to that meeting, my license photo looks bad, the chicken lady was out of chicken feet today, my neighbor didn’t give me her leftover cow intestines for the stew, what a bitch.” I can’t pass judgment on your problems any less than you can on mine. So while yes, I caught myself laughing under my breath when someone lamented their cancelled pilates class, I realized that humans everywhere complain be they wealthy, without a peso to their name, college educated, illiterate, American or Dominican. I shouldn’t expect someone who doesn’t live in my condition to be mindful of chicken feet or not having bathing water. The world is a massive place and we can’t possible empathize with everyone. I’m just as guilty as my neighbor in Manzanillo and my best friend in DC is of complaining about life's "trivial" things. Instead of passing judgement, I'm going to make more of an effort to see where problems I can fix lie and help there. I can't fix your Starbucks latté or give you chicken feet but I can help teach sex-ed in a country rife with underage pregnancy, help doñas cook nutritious meals and make a stove for cooking that cow intestine stew. 

Now I'm taking time to settle back in after a perfect ten days in the motherland. As anxious as I was to come back, it all got so much easier when I stepped off the bus and swarms of neighborhood kids ran at me with open arms, everyone asked about my family and people were so excited to see me. And I’m still busy with my stoves project, Escojo Mi Vida, Hogares Saludables and implementing an Emergency Medical System in conjunction with an NGO from NYC and the local hospital. Oh, and another best friend comes to visit in two weeks. So yes, busy it is! Forward ho! And to check out my latest post with lots more info about Blog It Home, click up!

Love from my island, 

Bea

On the Blog It Home blogs

This just in! Blog It Home by the numbers:

- 350 Peace Corps blogs submitted by volunteers around the world 

- 11,000 votes on Facebook

- 9 winners travelled 70,000+ miles to be in DC

- 4 days on Peace Corps Top Bloggers Tour in which: 

• 16 congressional visits
• 5 Voice of America interviews in local languages reaching millions across the globe
• 2 White House meetings
• 107 Peppermint Patties consumed
• 5 DC Public School visits reaching 450+ middle and elementary school students
• 6 professional development sessions 
• 56 times the Bloggers said "wow"
• 75+ times audience members said "wow"
• 1 Library presentation in the MLK Library Great Hall
• 20 Food Trucks visited
• 95 Girls Scouts Global action awards earned resulting in 95 future Peace Corps Volunteers

Just hanging out at the White House!

Getting crazy at home base! 

Cool and composed in front of the entrance to the West Wing

Speaking at an event at the MLK Library in DC.

The best crew of PCVs around!

And here is a short synopsis of my fellow blog winners: 

Keith and Heather (China): Sponge and Slate

The token married couple from China. Keith and Heather are such a dynamic duo and were the best PCV role models for me. They are in their early 40s and had such a different and unique take on their PC service. They constantly reminded us young-ins that we should be in the moment, embracing each day we get to spend in our host countries and not use it as a stepping stone or launching pad. I really value their opinion and am so excited to keep reading their blog. Post to read: The Chinese Time Machine

Just a casual selfie with Heather and Keith!

Julia (Uganda): Pearls From Africa 

A PCV from Uganda who has such witty humor and a great energy and enthusiasm with kids. Julia and I did a presentation together in an elementary school and afterward, the principal offered her a job! And a fun fact: she is engaged to another PCV who proposed to her during a youth camp in Uganda! Post to read: Camp LION and a Tidal Wave of Good News

Julia teaching a greeting to elementary schoolers!

Christine (Thailand): It's Not About Me, It's About Everything Else

The trained journalist of the group. Christine lives in Thailand and is very serious about her blogging, posting twice a week and a video on Sunday. She delves deep into the culture and has series about art, music, celebrations, etc. Great writer! Post to read: Visual Arts in Thailand

Christine the resident journalist and Thai culture educator!

Erika (Senegal): Senegal Writing Home

Erika, a bad ass agrobusiness volunteer making planting seeds and making crops happen in the far off reaches of Senegal. Erika write poignant stories with such beautiful detail and you feel right there with her. It was so cool to hear about her experiences in Senegal, such a different country than mine, but we seemed to have rather similar experiences/emotions re: service. Post to read: Where Your Dad Picks Your Husband

Erika, my tablemate during an event at the MLK Library downtown.

Jill (Albania): Holy Shiqip Xhilli is in Albania 

One of her posts, “50 Unique Observations About Albania” went viral after her mom posted a comment on a YouTube video of Tina Fey pretending to be an Albanian. In one week, she had over 50,000 pageviews! Jill is hilarious and honest in her writing and I really enjoy following her posts. She's also a bad ass! Post to read: 50 Unique Observations About Albania

Jill had the best outfit and the best dance moves!

Anna (Cameroon): Anna Does Pangea

Anna writes eloquent and inspiring posts from her time as a PCV in Cameroon. She is sassy and spunky and I can’t wait to keep following her adventures in the chicken-shaped country in Africa. She also had the best clothes made by her Cameroonian tailor and she's even learning to make her own as her tailor's apprentice. Go get 'em tiger! Post to read: 21 Ways to be a Happy Volunteer

Although Anna's outfits were a close second and she even went to happy hour in this gettup.

Sara (Guinea): Guinean Dreams

And then there was Sara, a PCV on administrative leave from Guinea. She left three months ago when PC closed three countries (Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia) because of the Ebola outbreak. Sara wrote a beautiful post that was picked up by news sources around the country and succinctly explains what it was like to be evacuated as a volunteer when her host community has to stay. Post to read: On being evacuated, it's every volunteers worst nightmare

Sara during a meeting at the White House Executive Office Building

And here's a few pictures of what I was up to:

Teaching kids at a bilingual elementary school to invent their own baseball games!

Home run!

All my DR swag during an event at the MLK Library

Of course, I included a Dominican dinamica. 

And made everyone dance!

And then I got to stand on the Speaker's Balcony at the US Capitol with my momma and Arlen.

And stand where CJ Cregg did! 

And then it was over and so there you have it! The best of the best of the Peace Corps Blog It Home contest! And I got to spend an entire week with these cool cats! Ah how much I loved the foodtrucking, talking to middle schoolers, eating York peppermint patties, etc! Great crew, thanks for an awesome week! 

On roses, thorns and buds

In college, the girls and I had a weekly family dinner around our much-too-expensive-for-college-students kitchen table. During every family dinner we took turns going around the table and saying our “highs and lows” of the week. Another name for our little game is “Roses and Thorns” and when we were feeling mega reflective, we even threw in  “buds” which are the things we looked forward to for the coming week. So this week, take a journey with me and imagine you’re sitting around my kitchen table eating a delicious meal of grilled chicken and vegetables prepared by Arlen, fresh bread made by Emily, Sauvigon Blanc poured by Alix and melted chocolate microwaved by Alexa for desert and listen up to my roses and thorns. Then it’s your turn – send me your highs, lows, buds! I’m all ears!

Highs (Roses):

1) I made four fogones (stoves) this week. That meant that I got to eat at four doñas houses and try four different ways of cooking rice, beans and meat. Albeit every meal was the exact same but they each spiced it up a little differently. I could tell they were putting on a show for me, being sure to include vegetables in the meal and always offering a salad. They also went on and on about how little salt and oil they put in the food and although I watched them throw in handfuls, I am proud they at least know how much damage those things do to your heat, arteries, belly, etc. I’ve taught them well!

2) I had the best dining experience in more than a year. My mom, Luisa, made us all eat together (a rarity here) and we had delicious grilled chicken a la crema, vegetables galore and rice with peas especially for my despedida (goodbye). On Monday I take off for America for the Peace Corps Blog It Home Tour and I really feel like I’m packing and leaving my home for two weeks. I’m going to be leaving my family (but thank god I get to see my momma and bffs, so that’s cool!). It took a really long time to feel this warm fuzzy home-y feeling in Manzanillo and I’m so happy to have found it. I’m so excited to leave, but I know I’ll be excited to come back as well.

3) I keep daydreaming about all the delicious food and fun things I’m going to be doing in America next week! Here’s some highlights of the agenda:

            - I get to give presentations to 7/8^th graders in Spanish!

            - Haircut

            - IPAs and Sauvignon Blanc

            - Kale

            - Iced coffee

            - Trader Joes (especially cookie butter and coconut covered cashews)

            - Getting a hotel room all to myself and per diem

            - Wifi everywhere!

            - Seeing the Peace Corps HQ and meeting lots of fun people

            - Talking all about the DR with interested Americans

4) Everyone has been so friendly to me. I don’t know if it’s that the stars and moon are strangely aligned, but everyone in town has been so kind and generous. I haven’t cooked a meal for myself in a week because I’ve been invited to friends, family and strangers houses. It’s been a great week of compartir.

5) I’ve been running early every morning and feel strong and fit! We’ll see what two weeks in America does to me, but I’m feeling motivated with yoga, running, insanity workouts and biking. Maybe I’ll start training for something. It’s not too soon to start preparing for the Peace Corps Thanksgiving Turkey Trot is it?

6) I had a productive and busy week. Peace Corps has highs, lows, down time, busy time, and everything in between. Some weeks drag on and on and on but this week happed super rapido. Which was the perfect distraction! I made 4 stoves, had bunches of meetings, compartired, had an Hogares Saludables graduation and planned for my absence so my projects will continue running smoothly. 

Lows (Thorns):

1) I ride my bike to my worksite in Copey, 30 minutes away. I ride down a paved highway that is neither dangerous nor heavily trafficked. However, everyone asks if I, a single woman, dare ride my bike along the road because...those Haitians are gonna capture me...rob me...kill me or...(the most offensive one) eat me. I cringe when I hear Dominicans tell me this because these “concerns” stems from a place of ignorance and hatred. I have never encountered a mean Haitian nor have I ever felt unsafe or nervous around them. I hate the way Dominicans look down on their neighbors and start superstitions like this. The other day, a 4-year-old told me not to walk alone at night because Haitians are kidnapping children to eat. WHAT THE HECK?

2) Every man (Dominicans, mind you) I pass on my bike riding to and from Copey stares at me like a juicy piece of meat. I hate lingering eye contact, but I’ve turned it into a game now, seeing how long I can hold their stare as they look me up and down on my bike. I usually lose because it’s so damn uncomfortable. I feel more vulnerable with Dominicans passing than I ever have with a Haitian. And their catcalls are offensive. I can count the number of times I’ve had a peaceful bikeride (one without someone saying saying to me “Mmmm, I’d like to mount that,” “Give me a ride later tonight mami chula” or “Damn those legs”) on one finger. 

3) Everyone knows I’m heading to America this week and all they ask is “What will you bring me?” Mind you, I’m not made of money nor extra empty suitcases so I usually just smile and say "a lollipop." The list of requests is as follows:

            - $4,000 from my senator to build a house

            - Lollipops with bubble gum in the middle 

            - The "good kind" of boxers

            - Crystal light packets

            - The "good kind" of flip flops (from Old Navy)

            - A rotisserie oven from a second hand store

            - Brownie mix with nuts

            - Nicotine patches

4) I’m going to have to have an intervention in my Hogares Saludables women’s group. I feel like I have a great leader, Yesenia who is so motivated and dedicated. However, the women have told me in confidence that they feel that she is being a “dictator” and that they don’t get a say in any of the decisions. On the one hand, I think this is obviously unfair, but on the other hand there’s no one who has shown or demonstrated much dedication to our group. Either way I’m going to have to delicately manage the situation when I return. Grrr.

Buds:

1) America! Nuff said.

Here’s to safe flights, free checked bags and endless snacks on JetBlue flights!

Xox,

B.

On other great Peace Corps blogs

I'm definitely not a blog troll, but I do enjoy reading my friends' blogs documenting their very own experiences as PCVs in the DR. My friends are up to some very cool things here and have different spins on life in the campo, being a PCV and living...so feel free to check them out! 

Katy's blog: http://no-greater-joy.tumblr.com/ 
My friend Katy lives in a small pueblo in the mountains near Lago Enriquillo. She's a super smart Duke graduate from New York and always reading academic reports and studies about international development, problems in the DR and teenage pregnancy rates, etc. She takes the things she reads and integrates them in her PC initiatives. I am really proud of her and it's been fun to watch her success!

Grayson's blog: http://ardorandgray.com/
Grayson lives in a tiny 200-person campo in the middle of nowhere. She's a city girl from North Carolina and is loving her time spent in the sticks. She spends a lot of time training her dog Effie, watching her garden grow, inventing meals with her doñas, kicking ass with Peace Corps projects across ten communities and acting as my moral support most days.

Jessie's blog: http://jessieboas.wordpress.com/
Jessie was my first friend and we met before we even set foot on the island. Her brother, Sam, was my dance partner in a wild and wacky dance crew in college and he connected us in the spring of 2013. Jessie is a Connecticut native, Cornell graduate and bad ass yogi. She devours books, viveres and telenovelas with her doña. She is the spunky, refreshing and reliable person I WhatsApp when I need to vent or ask for help!

Julia's blog: http://briefandwondrousblog.tumblr.com/
Julia is a health volunteer, Michigan native, anthropology major and groovy PCV. She lives in a small campo in the province of Monte Plata and could easily pass as a super model. She's great at leading dinamicas and working with Dominicans. I have loved hanging out with her at various conferences and workshops and feel very lucky to know her. Her blog eloquently documents her challenges, successes and adventures in the DR.

Maria's blog: http://cruzandoelmar.tumblr.com/
Maria is a Cuban/Russian youth volunteer who lives in the mountain town of Jarabacoa. She is sassy and hard-working and has some emotionally charged and profound posts.

Leah's blog: http://leahpeacecorpsdr.wordpress.com/
Leah is a Virginia native/UVA grad who lives in the south in a beautiful campo near the town of Barahona. She hit the site jackpot and I get to go see her site (among beaches like Los Patos, San Rafael and Bahia de las Aguilas) in two weeks and I couldn't be more excited. She's been such a great addition to my PC life here as she's smart, helpful and a motivational volunteer. She's been a great role model for me!

Laura's blog: http://peacechirps.wordpress.com/
Laura is a quirky, reflective and philosophical lady who lives in a small little campo called Los Guineos, or The Bananas. I recently got to hang out with Laura for five whole days during a Deportes Para La Vida camp and I got to talk about life, feelings and our PC experiences more than I have in the past three months. I was so thankful to be able to debrief, digest and talk to her and I'm not even sure she knows how helpful she was! Her blog is intense, spirited, lough out loud and often very deep. One of my personal favorite posts is titled "Goats are people too" and the whole post goes like this: One time I watched a goat slide down a hill on its belly, get up, and do it again.

Lauren's blog: http://lorenainthedr.blogspot.com/
Lauren is a health volunteer, Virginia native and Master's International volunteer (doing her service and simultaneously doing research for her MPH thesis from UVA), who lives far far away in a campo of the town San Juan de la Maguana. We've been friends since week two, when we went to visit an old volunteer together after only two weeks in country. Since then, Lauren's been an awesome friend and inspirational volunteer. She's was given the nickname "Sol" or "Sun" because she's always smiling (and the super blonde hair might have something to do with it, too). Her energy radiates and she has integrated marvelously into her community. I'm also impressed that she has such a huge group of Chicas Brillantes and millions of girls who really look up to her!

Lisa's blog: http://lisaedgeofglory.blogspot.com/
Lisa is a youth volunteer from Puerto Rico living lejos de todo. She went to college in Tampa, Florida so one of the first things I ever said was she probably met my grandma at some point. She's great with kids, funny at blogging and a great volunteer!

I hope you enjoy these blogs!

On a yummy chicken stew

Mmmmmm....asopao! A traditional Dominican dish reserved for special occassions like graduations, weddings, birthdays, goodbyes and stove inaugurations (as the case would be!).

Doña Margot stirring it!

As mentioned previously, we just finished our first improved cookstove in Copey. And to make sure the doñas knew how to use them, I decided to throw a good ol' fashioned asopao fest! Below is the process explained in pictures!

The beautiful finished product ready to be lit! 

Margot putting too much firewood in the hole and smoking up the kitchen area.

Jefa Bea fixing the mistake.

Catching flame! 

And the asopao adventure begins, starting with adding oil, caramelizing onions and cooking the chicken.

Adding the sauce, celery, rice, pumpkin, carrots and love!

Yesenia adding seasoning and giving our stew more oopmh!

The final and most important ingredient - a fresh avocado!

¡Buen provecho!

Bea 

On building things with boys

¡Hola!

Phewwww! I’m exhausted. I am currently knee deep in an construction project to build thirty improved cookstoves in a small nearby town called Copey. I love this project and it's certainly keeping me very busy while I wait for the high school director to make the official teaching schedule for the school year that started three weeks ago. Stove construction has been so much fun, albeit a huge challenge. I've learned to write a grant, purchase lots of fun building materials like hammers and saws, work with a toothless mason from another town to coordinate our travel and work schedules, solicit transportation and gas for materials from the town hall, organize the beneficiary families, give presentations about the improved cookstoves and keep meticulous records and receipts for the good ol' US government.

The process has been such a learning experience, but I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is how to deal with men dealing with a woman in charge of a massive construction project. The two to three days a week that we construct concrete tables, iron-enforced walls, and clay stoves, I work with two assistants, Pepe and Willy, and my mason, Lin. In addition, I am constantly running or riding back and forth to the home base to find and carry planks of wood, bags and blocks of cement, power tools, saws and hammers back to our job site. In this route, I encounter an average of 20-25 tigueres (young men) who hiss, scream and holler when I walk or bike by. 

My mason, Lin, is actually the best man to work with. He’s worked with five other Peace Corps Volunteers in the past and knows how hard women work and how offended we get when you tell us we can’t lift blocks, mix cement or carry heavy things. He lets me put ceramic pieces together, saw wood, hammer nails and supervise him, just like he should. The others, however, aren’t so understanding. I’ve been collecting quotes since we started three weeks ago and have documented them below.

Top ten quotes overhead on the worksite:

10) “You don’t know what you’re doing.” – Marcos, a 10-year-old watching me place cement parts inside the stove.

9) “Let me do that.” – Every man I’ve ever worked with on this job.

8) “Ay, Bea, you’re too delicate to be lifting such heavy blocks.” – My uncle, Elvio, grabbing blocks from my hands.

7) “Bring me my lunch muchacha.” – My assistant, Pepe, demanding his lunch and soda be brought to him under the tree.

6) “But Bea, you’re going to get too strong, let me do that.” – My assistant, Willy, telling me to let him carry buckets of cement.

5) “She’s not a normal woman is she? She’s a hard worker and likes to get dirty.” – Overhead while my assistant, Willy, was talking to Lin as I cut chicken wire in the dirt nearby.

4) “I want a woman who can work as hard as she does. Look at those legs.” – Obnoxious street tiguere.

3) “Peace Corps certifies women as stove technicians?” – A skeptical neighbor.

2) “Damn that rubia (blonde) is the jefa (boss)?” – A street tiguere confused that I am the boss.

1) “Let her do it, she’s strong, hardworking and knows what she’s doing more than any of you do.” – My mason, Lin, scolding all the haters and supporting me 100%.

And if you think it’s only the men that say ridiculous things, you’re wrong. Sometimes, it’s the women who give me the best quotes. 

Here’s the top six:

6) “You can build a stove but you can’t cook on one?” – Doña Shiomara when I told her I don’t know how to make rice and beans.  

5) “Lin – you are an abuser, carry that bucket of sand for Bea, girls shouldn’t be lifting heavy things you loco.” - Doña Margot while I was hauling bucket after bucket of sand as my mason, Lin, took a cigarette break.

4) “All this time in the sun is going to make you dark and ugly.” – Doña Daisy while encouraging me to stop mixing cement in the sun and drink coffee with her on the porch.

3) “Don’t you dare carry those without gloves, you’ll scratch your little hands.” – Doña Yesenia when I picked up a cement block with (god forbid) my bare hands.  

2) “You’re bleeding, sit down before you faint.” – Doña Ana when I (barely) cut my finger on piece of zinc.

1) “Well, all this construction work isn’t going to help you find a boyfriend.” – Doña Lule in response to my saying, “I am single.”

Yes, these quotes are obnoxious, frustrating, irksome and spiteful, but I’m happy to be showing them that a woman can do this project. I am proud not just because the stoves we are building help women, children and the environment. I am proud because I am illustrating to an entire community that women can build things, mix cement, use their hands and boss men around. I’m breaking down ugly stereotypes and gender barriers one improved cookstove at a time!

I'm off to clean up an ant infestation in my cookie butter jar...

On a job update

It’s been a while since I’ve given a solid job/project update, so here's what I've been up to and what I plan to do in the coming weeks/months:

Deportes Para la Vida:

I’m sitting down to relax por fin after a long Sunday of compartir and an even longer week of camp! I took two youth to the San Cristobal in the south for a training camp for a Peace Corps initiative called Deportes Para la Vida (DPV) or “Sports for Life.” It’s the DR’s version of a famous program Grassroot Soccer which started as a Peace Corps initiative in South Africa. DPV’s basic methodology is giving presentations to prevent HIV/AIDS and promote healthy decision making through sports. I left the camp feeling so energized, excited and ready to start my own DPV group in Manzanillo. The two youth I took are also ready to tackle the project and together, I’m excited to see how many groups we can start and eventually graduated here. 

DPV masters presenting certificates to my youth who graduated as DPV trainers! 

Just some new jovenes I met during the DPV camp

Escojo Mi Vida:

My Escojo youth groups are now in their second year and second phase. It is now the job of my students to impart the knowledge we learned during the past school year. I have 26 graduated students who will be helping me give charlas (presentations) to their peers in the local high school. Peace Corps is all about sustainability and I sure hope that these kids even form their own groups outside of school. I will still serve as facilitator and mentor for my old Escojo kids, but it is now in their hands to continue the program. One of my students, Genesis, now in her 1^st year of high school, has started a course in her church and the are suprisingly open and progressive, letting her teach correct condom usage and family planning methods like the pill, IUD and implants. Yay for progress! In order to get a foot in the door and classroom time and space, I convinced the teacher that I would be giving English lessons and so I have also been named a tallerista (workshop giver) in the high school and will be using that time to have my old kids teach a little bit of English but mostly just Escojo to new kids. And I get free lunch, yumm!

Hogares Saludables:

My women’s groups have both graduated and are also on their second phase – home visits! Each woman was named a community health promoter and has her own official badge, binder and book of information. They are now conducting house visits, educating women on critical health topics and investigating important information like which households have people with diabetes, hypertension, obesity or other chronic illnesses. The idea being that we follow up with them and help them implement a regimen to follow or seek further help at the clinic. I would really like to work in coordination with the local health clinics to gather and disseminate this information and ensure that we aren’t being redundant in our efforts so I have been speaking with the town doctors to organize this and work with us more this year.  

Yesenia, my Hogares leader, showing off her shiny new certificate

Improved Cookstoves Construction:

This week, I celebrate a landmark moment – constructing my first (and second and third and fourth) improved cookstove! The process of soliciting a grant, waiting for approval and subsequent deposit of approved monies, purchasing materials, finding beneficiary families, building cement tables from which to start, organizing transportation and establishing a work schedule for my mason, and training to build these stoves is a massive undertaking. I went to stoves training in March and am just starting construction now. Which goes to show a) how much planning has gone into this process, b) how much waiting was done while my grant was being approved and funded and c) just how complicated logistics are in the DR. I am thrilled to be starting this project and feel so proud to have completed my first stove. This Sunday, in Margot’s house, we will be inaugurating the project with an asopao (stew) and some good old compartir! 

Getting my hands dirty!

Pepe climbing on the roof to attach the chimney

Coming along slowly but surely

Our first stove = complete!

Blog It Home:

On the 15th, I head to DC for the Blog It Home Tour. I can't wait to go to DC and share the culture of the DR. I've come to love this place as my own and I am really excited to bring my enthusiasm back to America - if only for a bit! 

Onward!