Hey there!
This week I wanna talk about my family. I have three brothers. There’s Henry, Dawin and Luis Enrique. Henry’s my biological brother, a fifteen-year-old high school freshman and total rockstar. He is athletic, smart, kind and motivated. He rocks. I miss him everyday. But thankfully, I have two more. They’re the adopted kind, the kind I was lucky enough to be given in Peace Corps.
My older younger brother, 23-year-old Dawin, is a character. He is a natural leader and a total goof ball who also is somehow a total tiguere(think bro). People respect him and get his opinion for everything. He’s the most animated and energetic Dominican I’ve ever met (and that’s seriously saying something). I also joke around that he’s the only Dominican I would ever commit visa fraud for because if we had to go to interviews together and people asked all sorts of personal questions, he’d be the only one with the answers. He knows how I drink my coffee, what time I go to bed, what I like to do on the weekends, what I eat for dinner, the vegetables I like and don't like, etc. He could also tell them he cooks for me, that we spend hours on the porch talking about life, and that I love his mother like my own (cause she is). Don't worry though, it's a joke. I am not actually thinking about committing visa fraud because 1) that's illegal, 2) you should marry for love not money and 3) that's so cliché.
Anyhow, I took Dawin to a sports camp with me at the end of August and he immediately became the ringleader of a group of Dominican youth. The moment when we truly became brother and sister was during an icebreaker for this sports camp. It was a game where someone makes a statement and if you agree with the statement you change places with someone else in the circle. When the person in the middle of the circle said, “Change places if you have an older sister,” without a pause he ran to the middle and changes places. I looked him in the eyes and he was beaming at me with a finger pointed at me and a Blue Steel Zoolander model face that said “ya tu sabes, you know it girl.” I recounted the story to our mom Luisa and she shed a tear. It was precious.
Luis Enrique is my younger younger 20-year-old brother and lives in Santiago so he’s not around all the time. When he is, I appreciate his company, except when he turns into the grammar police. Most people have given up on correcting my Spanish mistakes because they’re used to my accent and can understand me for the most part. Luis Enrique, however, cracks down. He is always making me repeat words, learn the proper pronunciation and start over. It’s annoying but I can absolutely appreciate his efforts. I like to think that these grammar lessons are what brings me and Luis Enrique closer. Unfortunately, I know it’s not the case; there was one moment, many moons ago, that solidified our fate as siblings. One Sunday afternoon I wanted to do laundry so I asked my dad to turn on the water pump and he just screamed back, “Go in the room, no one’s there. So, I walked in on Luis Enrique naked laying spread eagle in bed. Instead of retreating embarrassed out of the room, I walked past the bed, flipping the switch and said, “I didn’t know you were coming home today.” His response was an awkward grumble. What doesn’t kill you makes a brother/sister bond stronger was absolutely true in this situation. We’re tighter than ever.
The best part of feeling like they are actually my brothers is all the shit we can shoot. When we all sit down to eat dinner together, Luisa sees an opening and asks, “Which one of you will be giving me the first grandkid?” At first she started out pretty covertly, but now she’s really anxious for a kid. She said, “If one of you doesn’t give me a grandkid by the end of next year, you’re all kicked out of the house!” I sassily replied, “Fine, kick me out in October when my time’s up cause you’re not getting one from me.” To which she retorted, “Well, figure it out with the boys then and start encouraging them.” We all just laugh at her cause none of us are close to that yet.
My mom, Luisa, is a catch. We spend evenings gossiping and playing Candy Crush together on the porch. She’s my perfect companion, never needy and always funny. Sometimes she makes me watch weird Jesus-preaching YouTube videos with her and even though she streams off my internet and inevitably eats up 80% of the data, I love her. She makes me soup when I’m sick, does my laundry when I am really busy, and fries me cheese. We are also in the market for a new telenovela to watch together, but haven’t quite found one that sticks. Which is fine, though, because Candy Crushing, porch sitting and girl gabbing is good enough for me!
My dad, Enriquito, is the Dominican version of my biological dad. Enriquito is a total bad ass. He wears fishnet tanktops when it’s hot out, spends time playing with electrical things, fixes motorcycles, and wears glitter pocketed jeans. He is a luz genius, fabulous rice-maker and coffee-aholic. He works at the banana factory from 8pm-4am so he’s not around at nights. But even though he comes home and passes out at 4:30am every morning, he still wakes up at 7:30am to share a cup of coffee with Luisa and I before we head off for work at 8am. He sleeps less than an over-worked college student and still has more energy than I get from ten hours a night. And he treats Luisa like the queen she is, giving me confidence that there are some truly wonderful Dominican relationships built on kindness, respect and love.
The moral of these stories is to tell you that you're invited to come visit me! Luisa is an amazing host and has extended a general invitation to all of you. My bff Arlen just came to visit and Luisa said, “I loved her. I can see why she’s your best friend. And the other visitors you’ve had are amazing too, invite them all and we’ll make a sambumbio!" So there you have it, an invitation is extended! Me and my brothers will show you a good time, Luisa will whip you up a delicious meal and give you a Shirley Temple cocktail, and Enriquito will make sure the lights stay on your whole stay!
¡Siempre a sus ordenes!
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