Happy (belated) 4th of July

Written on 7.4.09

Happy Fourth of July!

I had a great 4th of July. At 7:10 my host mom woke me up and we walked to school with the other “gringos.” ‘Los gringos’ is basically a word for white people. It can be a loaded word but here they use it as a term of affection.

I had a few hours of class: medical, cultural, etc. Then a few people had to get vaccinations. All of the volunteers had to stay until this was finished. The women here work very hard, especially during lunch. Our PC training director does not want us to be around the house during lunch because is it very stressful for them. Basically, that means we get to hang out with each other for a few hours. My friend John and I went looking for mangoes. There are various types of fruit trees around the training center. We found a few ripe mangoes, but finding them is the easy part. You have to take a green mango and throw it into the tree, aiming for the ripe mango. John was pretty good at this so we were able to eat 5 mangoes. Of course, once everyone finds out that you have mango they come looking for you!

My host mom’s mom came to pick all of the ‘gringos’ up from school. I live in an area called Los Cocos. Everyone is related and they all host volunteers. This makes it really fun for us volunteers. We enjoy trying to figure out the family ties because this is a very different culture than our own. At first a few of the volunteers thought my host dad was my host mom’s son! We thought an older gentleman was my host dad’s dad; however, another man sleeps in the house with my host dad’s mom. I hope that made sense. If you are confused—you know how we feel!

On Friday, my host mom talked about a “baby shower.” Yes, they actually call a baby shower a “baby shower” in Spanish. I thought it would be a small family gathering at one of the apartments in the area. I was wrong. A baby shower is a great reason to throw a huge party. After my classes, I went with my host mom to help set up the baby shower. We walked over to a bar… “hmm, this can’t be right.” Well, we did not walk to the wrong place! We started setting up a bunch of really cute decorations. There were a ton of balloons and Styrofoam baby decorations. After we helped set up for a few hours, we went home to get ready. I did not bring any clothes for a party! I do not have running water, a hair dryer, makeup, cute shoes, etc. Somehow all of the Dominicans still manage to look amazing, while I look like a sweaty mess!

Around 9pm, we drove to the party in a pick-up truck filled with people. All of Los Cocos was going to this party. We arrived and the party was full! There were a few dance floors, tables in the street, and decorations around the bar. We saw a few other volunteers sitting with their host families. Then there was beer, food, and a lot of dancing. In the middle of the party, the “baby shower” games began. The first involved two blindfolded people who had to feed each other baby food. It was hysterical watching the baby food go everywhere else besides into their mouths. Next, three men sat on chairs and had to pretend that they were feeding the “babies” on their laps with a bottle. I was one of the “babies.” Of course I do not remember drinking out of a bottle, but it is much harder than I thought. The Dominican women drank it much faster than I did.

Then, everyone started to dance. It was awesome. People of all ages were dancing. The little girls dance better than most women in the United States. There is so much music here I think they are dancing from day one. All of them have rhythm—I am so jealous.

We got home around 1 AM. All of the kids were still awake and wired. From what I can see, the children here are tougher. If they fall, the parents do not come running and the child does not cry. I love my host brother and sister. They always want to color or watch movies. I am learning to play baseball with sticks. My domino skills are also evolving. Once I learn to understand the older gentleman who is trying to teach me, I will probably be a lot better.

I finally slept well last night. The water and electricity are unreliable here. The water comes on at night usually. The electricity is more sporadic. We usually have electricity when it is dark outside, but during the day it is never consistent. My host mom made me a mango smoothie this morning (7/5/2009). We had to wait until around noon until the electricity finally came back. They are used to it so many of them have generators in their houses. My host family has one for the fridge but the other two broke. They are very expensive to fix so my family has learned to live without electricity. Most of the community spends time outside which makes electricity of minimal importance.

Anyways, I think that is all for now. I love you and I hope everything is going well in the states. I am going to the grocery store for the first time tomorrow. It is supposed to be similar to the supermarkets in the States. I need to buy a bag big enough to fit my laptop. The small backpack I brought is perfect for going to class with my books, but it is too small for my laptop. I wish I would have thought about that! I also need shampoo. My hair is very greasy here because I take bucket showers. My host mom offered me her two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, but my hair is greasy after an hour in this heat. I think the shampoo is going to cost three days of my wages! What a concept! Lastly, I told me family I like to cook. They thought it would be fun if I cooked them a dinner! I will let you know how it goes.

E-mail me with any questions you have. It is hard to spend a long period of time on the internet. I will do my best to respond to everyone who has already e-mailed me. Thanks for all of the encouraging responses. I really appreciate it.

¡Qué pases bien el día! (Enjoy your day)