Dominican Thoughts

Written on 7/30/2009

Here is a recap/summary of my time in the DR:

1) It took me about two weeks to figure out the family ties that connected my family with my neighbors. By the time I figured it out, it was already time to leave. I learned that my host mom did not get along with her husband’s family. This is problematic because my host family lived in the same building as my host dad’s parents and sister. His sister lived in the apartment next to ours and his parents lived in the house below us.

2) The DR is probably the hottest place I have ever visited. I sweat more than I thought was humanly possible (and I was not the worst!). Water had more value to me than other products. Unfortunately, the water was not potable and even if it were potable, it only came once a week to the house.

3) The education system did not seem very strong due to my host brother’s age and literacy level. He was learning to read in fourth grade. I thought he may be the exception but on our volunteer visit, the volunteer explained to us the sad truth about education in the DR.

4) We went to El Ramón to visit a youth development volunteer. She was doing multiple projects including a women’s group, HIV/AIDS awareness, a book club, English classes, a library project, a world mural project, etc. Mountains surrounded her house which overlooked an incredibly beautiful valley. Her site was exactly what I expected in a PC site. I hope to live in a site similar to hers.

5) We frequented the Car Wash. It is actually called the “Car Wash” in Spanish, but in reality, the concept is foreign. People bring their dirty cars to get washed and while waiting, they drink a few beers. When their car is ready, they drive home! However, it has turned into a place to drink more than a place to wash cars. Typical as it may be, they play music extremely loud and people dance until 2 am.

6) One night after going to the Car Wash with my host mom and her brother, we walked back to Los Cocos at 2:30 in the morning. My host brother and his friends started talking “Dominican” (meaning: virtually impossible to understand). They kept saying, “Queremo arro” but I did not know what they were trying to say. I finally deduced that they wanted to eat rice…but how? Well, this is how: (1) You make a fire in the middle of the street using cinder blocks, sticks, and a large pot. (2) Each person runs to their house looking for the ingredients to make the rice. One guy ran to find a pot, another found rice, another brought oil, etc. (3) Begin cooking and wait! At 3 am, we were cooking rice in the middle of a dirt road! My host mom and her friend were in charge of cooking! The rice took forever to cook but it was worth the wait! (4) EAT! We ended up eating around 4:30 and I went to bed at 5! It was an amazing experience. We enjoyed it so much that our families made us a “locrio” (rice with meat) for our going-away party.

7) Living without electric and water is probably not what I am looking for in my Honduran site. I hope to have the basic essentials; however, I have redefined “essential” in my time living abroad. Tomorrow, I am buying a cell phone! Yes…it is essential with the current political situation and the potential for hurricanes!

8) Both the training center and the training staff in the DR were amazing. I enjoyed my time there and I hope to return at some point. I loved living by other volunteers (something that is not the same here in Honduras). The days seemed to pass faster in the DR than they do here…I have not figured out why.