TravelStream™ news feed for member enjoytheride on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/enjoytheride en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:02:21 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1257879621/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1257879621/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1257879621/tpod.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:02:21 -0500 Enjoy The Ride - The Story of a Peace Corps Volunteer

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Barahona, Dominican Republic

BEN & JERRY, YES, THE ICE CREAM GUYS: Who would have thought that I would meet Ben & Jerry in the Dominican Republic? Not me, that's for sure. As a part of a new flavor competition to promote fair trade products, Ben & Jerry selected 15 finalists from all over the world to come to the Dominican Republic, stay at an insanely nice resort on the beach, and help build a park in my friend, Alanna's community. Ben & Jerry picked Alanna's community because this is where they purchase their cacao to make chocolate in their delicious ice cream. As a volunteer, most of us jumped at the chance to go to help translate, build the park, and of course EAT ICE CREAM AND MEET BEN & JERRY. We spent the entire day in the very draining sun working - painting, assembling equipment, planting trees, and then having the pleasure to innaugurate the park that day. It was fun meeting Ben & Jerry considering we didn't think they would actually show up, but they did and brought more than ice ceam, but lively and gratuitous attitudes, thanking us for coming to help. What a day...a delicious day!
http://www.benjerry.com/activism/inside-the-pint/fair-trade/

INEQUALITIES: The education system here is less than stellar; children only go to school for 2.5 hours a day about 4 times a week (considering teachers don't show up or cancel class once a week). Intelligent students do not get the same opportunites that we do in the states and never will, soley based on the fact that they were born and raise in a developing country here in the DR. For the first time it really hit me when I was talking to my best friend in the community, Pepe, and another friend, Yadira, that even though they had goals and dreams that they would never have the same opportunities as myself. I was telling them about my high school and college experiences, such as music class, art class, theatre, sports programs, study abroad, after school activities, etc. and realized that we have it REALLY good in the states. They have none of that here and if they do get one of those opportunities it is because their family has money, power, or status.


CELEBRATING ONE YEAR IN SERVICE: Many other volunteers and I celebrated our one year in service in a little beach town named Juan Dolio. We made a giant taco feast and talked about our time here and how it has been both the slowest and fastest times of our lives. We go through periods of being extremely busy and happy and periods of missing home and having a whole week free of work. It's been nice to have a job that is so flexible, where I can travel and visit friends and work on the projects I'm passionate about, but at the same time, it's been difficult realizing the realness of it all. We've experienced so much in one year and while we have had failures, we are ready for another year. Estamos en la lucha todavia!


PLANTING 100 SEEDS: After being in service for a year, a lot of volunteers in my group (myself included) have been feeling almost more lost than we did we when walked off the plane for the first time in the Dominican Republic. We have been here for a significant amount of time and have unfortunately grounded our idealist sentiments to a more realistic practiality. We've seen projects fail, been taken advantage because of our American backgrounds, felt unappreciated, tried to motivate the unmotivated, and most of all seen that it will take more than two years of community projects from a wide-eyed, recent undergraduate to develop this country.


However, even though I am an optimist, I still need positive reinforcement. This is the time I've most needed support from back home and also here on the homefront. I've spoken with my fellow volunteers who know all too well the difficulties and aggrivations we face every day, but for me, I needed more. I had to find the passion, strength, and drive from people in my own community. There is a retired univeristy professor (Dominican) that I recenty talked with about frustrations in my site and sure enough he gave me inspiring words, giving me hope to continue the fight for development. "Justin, if you plant 100 seeds but only one flower grows, that is still one flower that wouldn't have grown if you weren't there to plant it." It made me think. If just stopped trying because it was hard, I wouldn't be here for the right reasons. There are many challenges I deal with here, some I was not prepared for, but I don't see myself stopping just because it started getting difficult. This is when my service begins.



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Bahoruco, Barahona, Dominican Republic

AND THE WINNER IS...unfortunately, not my group of jovenes that I brought to the national Construye Tus Suenos: Business Plan Competition. From October 12-14, my "kids" (they're all older than I am; Pepe-23, Mayki-25, & Chicho-28) and I went to Santo Domingo after writing and preparing a legitimate business plan and presentation for a vivero (plant nursery). The competition was better than last year, but I really thought that my kids had it in the bag. The judges were very impressed with their idea since it is so unique from what usually enters the competition. They split up the business into two categories: Production and Commerce. Out of 30 business plans, my kids advanced to the next round (top 10) to present again as finalists. Their second presentation wasn't as good as the first but the thing about it was that the coordinators of the conference all of a sudden changed the agenda so that they had to present right after lunch instead of allowing us to work on the presentations for another hour as originally planned. Moreover, my kids had to present first, which gave them absotutely no time to prepare and the judges hounding them with questions, whereas the last group to go (the one that won) had no questions from the judges. Still, I am very very proud of them and they ended up winning a prize for the 'Most Green/Sustainable Business," which made me really happy because they deserved to win something. It was really cool this year having a group as opposed to last year as a trainee. I felt like a proud father watching his kids hit the game winning homerun or in a music recidal. Now, I'm working with them to search for more funds to actually start the business (less than USD$2000). They're driven, motivated, and passionate and there is nothing more I can ask for.

CLASS INTERUPTION: I had been giving my Escojo Mi Vida (I Choose My Life) sex-education class and it was going well; 15-17 kids showing up on time, ready to learn, do educational activities, and most important expand their knowledge on something that affects many Dominican adolescents. One day I was giving a talk about abstinesce (of all things) as a method of birth control and this man from my community disrupts my class to tell me that these kids are too young to learn about subjects like this and how it was bad of me to be teaching it to them. I asked him while pointing to the girls in the class he if wishes that they get pregnant, which he didn't like considering some are 12 years old. He just walked away and I didn't think much about it. Well, I had to cancel class the following week for the Business Plan Conference and when I came back the following week for class, only 2 kids showed up. 2 KIDS!! It is really unfortunate but this man went around to talk to all the parents that had children in the class to tell them that I was telling their children to have sex behind their backs. Obviously, I'm a liberal, especially about matters such as sex education. I also understand that I am in a rural campo in a developing country. But it is just so disheartening that there are now 13 kids that will not finish the course to learn about other themes like HIV/AIDS and STDs that they might never get formal education on. Especially in a country where there are so many myths about how to not get pregnant (ie. you can't get pregnant if the girl isn't ovulating) or an STD/HIV/AIDS. It is hard when you go outside your job description, set up a really engaging, important course, and have it destroyed in a matter of a minute. I think the worst part of it all is that not one of the parents nor the man who interrupted the class have come to talk to me about it, rather, just believed their misguided sentiments.

MUCHACHO & ME: This is a piece I wrote for the Peace Corps DR Volunteer magazine, Gringo Grita (I appologize for the extreme use of Spanglish):

Never would I imagine that when I was 23 years old my best friend would be 8. Growing up, I have always had friends my age. I once dated a girl two years younger and thought it was a little strange in the beginning because she was my brother's age. However, here in the campo age doesn't really matter. I have jovenes that are older than I am. I hang out with doñas viejas, my 30-40 year old artisans, pre-teens from my Escojo group, mothers with babies, and so on. I guess that's the Peace Corps for you, building relationships with ayone that can tolerate your terribly slow Spanish (but also want to hang out with a terribly good looking gringo? Maybe? Okay, or not?). But my muchacho, Carlos Antonio, or Coyoyo, is just that, tolerant. He is patient, kind, biencreado, and even says, "por favor" y "gracias" (Que raro!). He doesn't have the "dame algo" attitude even though he is one of the poorest kids in the community. Rather, he tells me all the wrong things that I'm doing when I'm cooking, "Pero, Yustin, no puedes hacerlo, mi mai no lo hace asi." Then he probars the end product and gives me the patented elbow out, fist pump, "TAN BUENA!"

In the beginning I thought it was odd hanging out with muchachos that were a third my age. Doesn't the rest of the community think it's weird that there are little boys in my house all the time, I know I would! At first I had no idea what to do with them either. "Bueno, uds. querien mirarme leyendo? That's fun, right?" Then I had some friends visit who came bearing activities; puzzles, art supplies, Lego cars with solar panels, etc. I (and I suppose the muchachos) were in heaven! I stopped feeling like I was a boring gringo and all of a sudden was the talk amongst the muchachos in town. Kids constructing amazing things out of Legos, putting together rompecabezas that had never seen one before in their lives, learning about solar energy; so many things going on at one time. It was like a little sweat shop of fun! I felt like I was really doing something to not only educate these kids but also inspire the creativity that they didn't even know they had.

Now the novelty has worn off and even though some kids still come and go playing with the different activities, Coyoyo is the one that still comes over every day without fail. He's lo mas sabia about everything in my house, like the rules for example. One muchacho/a must: 1) Knock to enter and wait for permission 2) Say "por favor" y/o "gracias" when asking for or receiving any object 3) No fighting in the casa 4) No swinging in the hammock. They are simple rules I feel but as we know, kids easily forget. Not Coyoyo. He is the enforcer, the protector if you will. "Fulana, tu no tocaste la puerta pa' entrar!"

I think the thing I love the most about having muchachos like Coyoyo around is that they always provide some form of entertainment even if it can be annoying at times. But for the most part it's nice to find things to do that are innovative or just plain fun. We dance to Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat" along with other popular hip-hop songs from the US, have contests of who can pick up the most trash on the beach, and play a variety of sports like football and baseball. They tell me, "el piso está sucio" and make me clean it (sometimes they even do it). It's a blunt exchange of words porque nadie tiene vergüenza.

Even though I'm not these kids' father, sometimes I feel like it; Wondering if they have eaten that day, did they bañarse or go to school? That part is difficult but I hope for the best and feed them occasionally (just in case). I try to instill some form of learning with the activities we do, be it academic, environmental, creative, or just common sense. Muchachos here don't have the same opportunities as others in developed countries so by just hanging out and playing with them we are giving them the tools to think in a different way and hopefully succeed. We all have muchachos in our sites; maybe we all have a Coyoyo, but even so we should make an effort to teach and inspire outside of a course or camp. If anything, it's just cool to have a little sidekick that calls me, "Daddy Yustin*."

*Daddy Jooze-tin is in reference to Daddy Yankee, the Puerto Rican rapper, not in the sense that I'm a father haha.


HOMECOMING: I can't believe it, but in less than 2 months I'll be back in the United States of America. On December 16, I'll be in Washington DC to spend 5 days with my girlfriend in her neck of the woods in addition to visiting friends and family that I have around the area. Then, on December 20 through January 7, I will be spending 2.5 weeks in CALIFORNIA!! I really am exciting to take a little break from the developing world with all of it's frustrations and non-changing realities. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but after not being home for 16 months, I've been looking forward to something different, comfortable, and recognizable -- my culture, my background, my language, my people, my music, my family, my friends, my dog, my car, my food. I'll get a quick taste and then back I go to the developing nation, continuing to work towards a goal that is everchanging and increasingly difficult the more time that I spend here.
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La Ciénaga, Barahona, Dominican Republic

BOY INTERRUPTED: One typical day last month I was taking a mid-afternoon shower since I had been sweating from just sitting in my house. Two muchachos were also there, quietly forming a puzzle, while I was getting so fresh and so clean. All of a sudden my phone starts ringing and the muchachos scream, "Jooze-tin, alguien te esta llamando!" And before I could tell them to just leave it alone, the shower curtain comes flying open and the muchacho is standing there with my phone in his hand. I quickly covered my man parts and the muchacho left the bathroom. Since he went through all of the effort to hand me the phone I picked up and talked to the volunteer who called me (of course I told him where I was talking to him from and what just happened, it's Peace Corps, c'mon!) while being all lathered up. I'll tell you what, this place never has a dull moment.

DRINKING, DANCING, & DIOS: In the Dominican Republic, almost every community, big or small, has Patronales. Patronales is a 9 day celebration in the honor of the town's Patron Saint, so depending on the Saint depends on the time of the year the fiesta is going to be. My town, Bahoruco, had our Patronales the 18-26 in honor of Mercedes (not the high-class German vehicle) and it was definitely a party. People come from all over the region to celebrate as well because essentially it's Catholic holiday excuse to party. The first three nights of Patronales include La Campana, where the entire community attends church services, but directly following that the town flips a switch, the music blares louder than I've ever heard and the drinks start flowing. Live performances are common, including a Michael Jackson impersonator that danced to Billy Jean, Thriller, and Bad and also local bands. My friend Alexis was the announcer and gave my friends and I a shout out before one of the performances "Yo quiero saludar Justin y su grupo de gringos!" (I want to say hi to Justin and his American group). Some nights it was hard to sleep because the bulla echoed throughout the entire community but it was fun the nights I went out, dancing Merengue, Bachata, and even some Reggaeton!

JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE WHITE: you get treated better here. Sure it's still weird getting stared at because I'm the only gringo, always, but I'm used to it. The odd thing is that I am not used to the fact that just because I am a lighter skin tone I get prefered treatmet. My community had the inauguration for the Liceo (High School) that was just built (it looks amazing) and for the ceremony I dressed in my Sunday best, which I never do here. I met big players in the region who helped with donations and planning of the liceo construction and one woman wrote down my name and organization when after we spoke briefly. During the beginning of the inauguration she mentioned me among these other important people just because I was the only white person there. Sure I went to some of the meetings to plan for the budget of the construction, but I really didn't do much of anything. I just found it strange that I would even be mentioned.

KEEPING IN TOUCH: is difficult from a foreign country. It's also weird coming straight from undergrad where you are constantly connected, both technologically and logistically, with almost every one of your friends. I only use the Internet once, maybe twice a week and even though I have a cell phone, I just can't call the states without it charging me an arm and a leg. It's nice that I can call other volunteers for free on what is called the flota (network). But sometimes it's just not enough. Before I left for the Dominican Republic with the Peace Corps, all of my friends told me, "I will call you, write you, visit you..." and to tell you the truth, there are really only a handful of people that I regularly keep in contact with now. Some people are different about it; emails, letters, phone calls every now and then, but most nothing. It frustrates me sometimes because I really try to keep people updated and respond as quickly as I can to emails/letters, but why am I better at it when I don't have Internet all of the time? I'm busy here and I, just like anyone else, have to take time out of my schedule to sit down and write someone back, then physically go to an Internet Center to send an email or the Post Office to send a letter and buy stamps. It got me thinking - are people in the United States TOO connected? With constant updates on Facebook and frequently checking email accounts, do people back home have TOO much to be distracted with? I know I have to limit what I do on the Internet because I only have so much time when I use it, does it make me more efficient? I don't really the know the answers to all of my own questions however I do know some of you should be sending me some emails after this post...

Justin Lee, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz
Av Bolivar 451, Gazcue
Apartado Postal 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

(809) 723-7818
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La Ciénaga, Barahona, Dominican Republic

PRETTY MUCH BIG TIME: In the beginning of September I received a phone call from our Country Director's Assistant. "Will you be willing to come to the capitol for a meeting and reception with newly appointed Worldwide Peace Corps Director, Aaron Williams?" After I thought about it for a little I gave my response. "Will Peace Corps be reimbursing me for transportation and per diem?" "Yes." "Then count me in!" It actually is the second PC Director I have met since the previous Director gave a talk at the LA Regional PC Office before I left for the Dominican Republic. Mr. Williams served as a PC Volunteer in the Dominican Republic so after his appointment as Director he knew the first country on his agenda and came here a week later. It was interesting hearing is development goals for Peace Corps as a whole, including expansion with the number of volunteers, a complete innovation overhaul of everything from training to volunteer programs, and possibly opening up new Peace Corps countries. We, as volunteers, were able to ask him questions and even though some of his answers were of typical politician nature, his responses were well-received as they seemed genuine and positive. After the meeting, we attended a reception on Mr. William's behalf at our Country Director's pent house apartment that overlooks the city lights of Santo Domingo. In addition to eating real food (lasagna and wine, buen provecho!), we sat down with the newly appointed Director and had real conversations where he told us of his days living in a campo in La Republica Dominicana. I feel honored to have met someone so inspiring who actually knows what it is like to be a volunteer and will be fighting for us on Capitol Hill. It was also nice to dress up for a change and not smell like pulvo y pez.

FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER: One part of training for each volunteer group that comes in is to visit a current volunteer who has been here more than a year. I had a "trainee" visit me in the beginning of the month and it really made me remember my first few weeks in country not knowing ANYTHING about ANYTHING; adjusting to Dominican Spanish aka it might as well be Japanese, eating arroz y habichuelas every single day, living with a host family (hello awkward silence!), going through training and feeling like you are 9 years old again, and generally not knowing what to expect. I felt this overwhelming sense of confidence when Dan, the trainee, was visiting me in my site. I showed him all of my projects, introduced him to the people I work with and hang out with, and allowed for some “free time” in which we played with muchachos and met up with some other volunteers to go to the beach. He enjoyed it and actually seemed to relax a bit from the engulfing experience of training and the daunting thought that, “I'm going to live HERE for TWO YEARS.”

COMO SE DICE, “ANTICONTRACEPTION“ EN ESPANOL? (SEX ED IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE): I finally started giving classes to the course “Escojo Mi Vida” (I Choose My Life) and it is very interesting so far. The age range of the kids I teach are 11-15, so they are younger than the teenagers I usually work with. I think it makes it more fun though, having them laugh at the word pene or condon, but still really paying attention to what I’m teaching because they know that it is important material that they are learning from me (and not getting from their parents or school). I bring up subjects that are not necessarily taboo, just ones that they are misinformed (such as one kid telling me that wearing two condoms is safer than one). It is exciting when I can see that they are learning and grasping the information, especially when they figure it out themselves. To be continued…

LIVING A DIFFERENT LIFE: Sometimes I even shock myself when I think about how long I’ve already been here and the lifestyle I now lead. I went from constant Internet to constant blackouts, a thousand and one food options to rice and beans, hot showers to cold ones, structure to a lack there of, English to Espanol, Starbucks to cafecito, on time to very late, and a Ford Explorer to a dilapidated guagua. Are the changes bad? Well, I wouldn’t say so. Frustrating? Sometimes. Different? DEFINITELY. People always comment, “Justin, I could never do what you are doing.” I mean, some of it really isn’t that hard. I wake up when I want most days, give some courses, compartir with community members, go to meetings, and constantly plan and implement other projects. On the other hand, I am living without the luxuries that we all have back home and maybe that is hard for some people. I don’t even want to use the Internet for more than 5 minutes now. I kind of like being in a packed guagua with music blasting. I don’t mind cold showers because it is 120 degrees out. I guess my response usually is, “Well, you get used to it just like we’ve become so accustomed to daily life in the states.” How do you learn about other people and other cultures? You live it, of course.
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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

BEST FRIENDS + DR = PANDA? : My anticipation was killing me as I was waiting at the airport to pick up George and Eric. Finally they arrived and we immediately piled into our rented car, a Fiat Panda. It really was as big as it sounds, meaning the size of a shoebox. We drove up north to stay at my girlfriend's house for the first night. Some of us (Eric) had too good of a time so we had to change the schedule around a little but that was fine. My birthday, August 6th, was amazing. My birthday consisted of soaking up the sun during the day and a really nice sushi dinner on the beach. After jumping off of waterfalls at an ecotourism spot, we made the long drive back to my site. Getting through the capital took entirely too long and at one point during the ride a motorcycle hit us from behind. Everyone was okay so we continued our journey and we were very happy to arrive in my site. Many volunteers came down to celebrate my belated birthday, so it was great to have everyone together. I was sad to see George and Eric leave, but the best end to the trip was that the rental car place didn’t charge us for the damage to the car (we turned it in at night…).

HEADACHES, STOMACH PAIN, & VAGINAL DISCHARGE: I helped translate at an 11-day Medical Mission in the north where I and 8 other Peace Corps volunteers worked with nursing students from USM (University of Southern Maine) to help 14 different communities. I had never translated in a work setting before so in the beginning it was a little difficult but I got the hang of it towards the end. Dominicans complain a lot of dolor de cabeza (headaches), dolor de estomago (stomach pain) but some of the complaints that I was not ready for were those about the feminine region. It ended up being the running joke because for some reason I always had to translate for middle-aged women. To say the least, I learned a lot of new medical vocabulary, some I didn’t necessarily want to know (or thought I would ever need).

JUGAR PARA VIVIR: YOUTH SPORTS CAMP: I was able to take two kids to the youth sports camp that was over the last weekend in August. After going to three other conferences/camps this summer I was a little burnt out, but this one ended up being my favorite. I don’t know if it was because we were outside doing physical activity, but the camp was really fun and the kids learned a lot about the rules of certain sports, nutrition, and taking care of their bodies. One of the sports we taught the kids was soccer because this is the only Latin American country that does not play it (lame). The best thing about these conferences is that they always have coffee for the volunteers. Without it I don’t know if we would even function with tons of screaming, energetic Dominican children surrounding us.

GREEN LIFE: At the end of the youth business course that I gave, the teenagers that I worked with have the option of making an actual business plan to enter it to the national competition for a chance to win money and start their business. I had a group of 3 jovenes (teenagers) make a plan for a vivero (plant nursery) that they are calling Green Life. After a painstaking day of typing up the 18-page business plan, we sent it in and our waiting to hear back to see if we made it in the national competition in October where they would present their plan to a panel of judges. They’re really passionate about it so I think that they have a great shot at winning.

ONE YEAR: I have officially been in La Republica Dominicana for more than a year. To think that just one year ago I just arrived to this country, eyes wide open, nervous for my two year journey to begin. Now, I’m a seasoned veteran. My Spanish is at the point where I am still learning new words but conversations come easy, my projects are in full-swing and I am always working to better them, and I have great friends, both American Peace Corps Volunteers and Dominicans in my community. It is hard to believe that an entire year went by so quickly and that this last year is supposed to fly by as well. Last week the new group of volunteers came to country and part of their training is to visit a current volunteer who has been in country for more than a year. I remember thinking that the volunteers who have been here a year knew so much and seemed so confident, which is crazy to think that it is me now. I’m excited to talk to the new volunteer that visits me (and I guess he’ll be happy to visit a volunteer that lives on the Caribbean Sea).
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Barahona, Dominican Republic

FUEGO EN LA CALLE: One day when I was visiting the volunteer in the next town over, all of a sudden we heard shouting and screaming from outside. We were in the foundation’s office where she works, which is a two story building, so we ran to the balcony and saw that someone’s house had caught on fire. Of course there are no fire brigades here, but low and behold, it seemed as if the entire town had not only started to put out the fire, but taking every single object out of the house. It was incredible to see that no one cared about the potential dangers, just that they had to save what was in that house. It just made me think that something of this nature, to this degree, would never happen in the states. Given we have the infrastructure and services that they do not have here, but that sense of community and doing anything it took to save their home (considering the poverty here) was absolutely extraordinary to see and something that lacks back home.

A LITTLE R&R: Before I headed out to the capital to language training (a week of practicing, clarifying, and learning all things Spanish), I decided to aprovechar my location and head up to the north because my girlfriend’s family had come from the states. It was nice to finally meet them, but also it was bien because when a Peace Corps Volunteer’s family comes, that means 2 things: hot showers and good food. We ate Italian, seafood, and even went to the only Irish pub in the country (that happens to look right out onto the Caribbean). Best of all was that we traveled to a place called Jarabacoa, a mountainous region where they have a lot of outdoor sporting, like white water rafting. I had never been before so it was really exciting and a little scary at times when we had utterly no control of the situation. We survived and even saw the picture they took during the trip right when we were going down a steep section of the river and our of our faces look distorted with fear! It was definitely an experience!

DOMINICANOS Y AMERICANAS: There have been ISV groups (International Student Volunteers – university students who do 2 weeks of service and 2 weeks of traveling) coming through Bahoruco once a week to make their own Larimar jewelry. As is typical with volunteering, the majority of these groups are females, but in these groups it is overwhelmingly so. The men in my town have been salivating because they have never seen a pack of gringas in their lives. One of the groups that recently came down had a girl that actually goes the University of Redlands, so that was really crazy considering there are only 2400 students. The told me that they were going to go out to the colmadon (bar/dancing area) one night so I called up a few volunteers to come as well. The Dominican men were still amazed at these girls but were too nervous to ask any of them to dance. I was telling them that the girls would dance with them, but they had too much verguenza and were telling me that they had to drink more before they danced. The girls ended up leaving and the guys were left by themselves, drinking away their dreams of dancing with a beautiful americana…

HOT HOT HEAT: Not only has the rainy season started, where it rains either a lot or a little every day, but the heat has arrived in full force. Even after living in Redlands, CA in the summer time, this does not compare. I mean, think about it; even when it is hot in the states, people have air conditioning everywhere - in their cars, there office buildings, their homes. Here it just does not exist. The worst is when the power goes out at night and my fan stops spinning. Luckily I have an ocean brisa, but that hardly solves the problem. The best part is people always start out a conversation with “hace calor” (it’s hot out) or “esta lloviendo” (it’s raining). Oh, and it’s only the beginning of July…three more months of this heat to go!

ESCOJO MI VIDA: means I choose my life, rather, I make healthy decisions that deal with sex, drugs, alcohol, and relationships. It is the health group that I’m looking to start this summer. I just came back from the Escojo Southwest Regional Conference and it was a blast. All of the kids were really excited to learn about these groups and I was able to bring a kid from my site to learn about it too. The funniest thing of all was that since I was a volunteer the Dominican girls that were participating thought I was something of a hot commodity. They all wanted to be in my group for activities and talk with me during the down time. All of the other volunteers thought it was hilarious, of course, and during the end of the conference when we passed out certificates the girls started chanting my name. Well, even when I smell and have a goatee (yes, it’s true!) I still got it.

TODAVIA LUCHANDO PARA LA COMUNIDAD (STILL FIGHTING FOR THE COMMUNITY): I finished my Youth Business Course and it went really well. I graduated 10 students from the course and gave them certificates identifying their completion of the course. We’re going to start working on their business plan (an Internet Center) to enter in the Business Plan Competition where they will have the opportunity to present their plan and win money to start their micro enterprise. I’m working on starting an Art Club for kids this summer, along with Escojo Mi Vida (I Choose My Life), a youth club that focuses on healthy decision making such as safe-sex and educating them on HIV/AIDS. In addition, I have a group of Doctors from Global Health Force coming for a medical mission in which I’ve been helping prepare with other community members. I’m still getting ready for the 2 summer camps (sports and diversity) as well. This summer will keep me very busy so I’m excited and ready for the extra work load.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1249420398/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1249420398/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1249420398/tpod.html Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:31:32 -0400 Enjoy The Ride - The Story of a Peace Corps Volunteer

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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

THE BREAKDOWN: I have had my share of frustrating moments, even days, since being here in the Dominican Republic, but this topped the list. Since the doctors left me 150 mosquito nets from the medical mission, Jackie (the volunteer in the next site over) and I decided that instead of just giving them out to community members we should give a presentation explaining the importance of mosquito nets, such as preventing Malaria and Dengue. Jackie and I met to work on the presentation and we got a lot done but there was still some work to do and she told me she would pick a time to work on it later (she didn’t). It ended up that she did not show up to the presentation (that we planned around her schedule), which was only the beginning of my frustrations. 30 people showed up and the presentation went fine as I gave it by myself. We were going to have a raffle for 25 of the mosquiteros but instead I decided to give them out considering there were just over 25 people in attendance. I had the people who came to the presentation come down to my house to get the mosquito nets and this is where my troubles began. People saw a large group coming to my house so of course being the naturally curious and chismoso society that the DR is, everyone had to know what was going on. When people found out that I was giving them away it was madness, pure madness. They bombarded my house like savages, wild animals if you will, trying to get their grabby hands on the mosquito nets. I only gave them to people who came to the presentation and had to essentially yell at the rest to get outside and respect my house and me. I sold the rest to raise money for community projects, so in that aspect, I have some money for activities, but DAMN, I felt terrible after. I never felt so used, taken advantage of, and unappreciated in my life. The thing that made me feel the worst was the fact that the whole thing was just sad to see, that people change so much just for something free that has a $5 value.


LIKE OMG, THIS IS NOT AN LOL MATTER: On another sour note, my business plan project with the jovenes (teenagers) has pretty much been put to a halt. There is still one group that is going to enter a business plan to the national competition, but the main group that I was working with on the Centro de Internet will not be doing a plan. I had been explaining to them that they need to meet without me since I cannot give them all the advice and ideas for their plan since it’s their plan and not mine. I tried clarifying that as a facilitator I can only have so much of a hand in the project but some of them, two girls in particular, did not understand and kept saying that I had to be there to help them and elucidate certain questions that they had to answer to enter the plan. I then missed a meeting and told them to work on the plan themselves that day and they sent me a text saying that I left them waiting for me and they were not going to work that day because of me. I felt like I was in high school again with all of the text drama that was occurring. I was pretty enojado considering I just explained my reasoning for not helping with every little aspect of the project. They are smart kids so the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that they thought they couldn’t accomplish this task without my help. The thing that doesn’t help is that it is just the two girls that think this way, but to their credit, they’re the only ones showing up to the meetings. The guys are on my side, claro que si, but they don’t show up as often. There is still time to turn in the plan, so we’ll see what happens.

A BUNCH OF MINI PICASSOS: One of the projects I really have wanted to do for a long time has been to give an Art Camp to the kids here in Bahoruco. Thankfully, the group of doctors that came for the medical mission also brought me a suitcase full of art supplies. I was set and so last week I gave a 4 day art camp after putting up flyers throughout the community and telling my best friends (10 year old boys) that they need to come and also find others to come. Almost 50 kids showed up every day to El Campamento de Arte and I think they really had a good time. We did some fun projects, for example the kids pasted shapes that I cut on a blank piece of paper to form a picture, they traced parts of their bodies then colored them in, we had a paper airplane design contest, made a construction paper chain, and painted with water colors. It was pretty controlled actually, that being said, I was really happy that I had two Dominican friends helping me with the camp.

CELEBRANDO EL SUR: is the youth diversity camp that I was soliciting money for. It was tons of fun and the kids took away a lot of valuable, global information. We had presentations on immigration, a viaje mundial (where the kids “traveled” to each of the continents), HIV/AIDS presentations, and of course lots of fun dinamicas (ice-breakers). Thank you to those of you that donated, every bit makes a difference and because of the money raised we were able to put on an amazing 3-day conference that really benefited the teenagers that went.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1248199319/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1248199319/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1248199319/tpod.html Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:26:30 -0400 Enjoy The Ride - The Story of a Peace Corps Volunteer

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Barahona, Dominican Republic

RED, WHITE, & BLUE: I write this entry with Tom Petty's American Girl playing in the background to get the exact mood of the trip that myself and 19 other volunteers made on the fourth of July. Being the organized person that I am, I was chosen to plan the trip for the group and after a lot of price negotiations and verbal contracts, the trip was set. We stayed in house on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea, with one of the most stunning views I have seen in country. On the morning of the fourth, we piled into the back of a Daihatsu truck. How many volunteers can you fit inside a truck? (17 in back, 3 up front, and 2 dogs, with plenty of room to spare, that is, if you’re a Peace Corps volunteer where space ceases to be an issue). We made the 3 hour trek to Bahia de Las Aguilas (Eagle Bay) where it is a conserved land and the most pristine beach that I have ever seen. White sand, clear blue/green water, and fish swimming around your feet. We had to take a boat to get to the area where we spent our day and as we left the shore, we sang the National Anthem, holding up little American flags and celebrating the USA in a foreign country.


MEDICAL MISSION: If I had to describe the medical mission that came to my site in two words it would be: Organized Chaos. I had been communicating with the group Global Health Force that assembles doctors to travel (on their own dime) and perform medical duties in developing countries for the last 5 months or so. It was very hectic organizing and planning the event because 1) it is always difficult to plan ANYTHING in this country, 2) meeting with my community groups usually proves to be a long process, and 3) you have to expect the unexpected. I contacted other Peace Corps Volunteers to translate along with having the help of community members from active community groups. We put up posters in the community, made tickets, collected names and sicknesses, and found a location to have the event (the high school that they are constructing…yes, there was construction during the medical mission). What made it even more frenzied was the fact that I had two friends from the states visiting, Emily and Jessica. I made sure to put them to work as we started the medical mission at 8 in the morning since there was a large line of people at 7am when we were setting up. The doctors and volunteers got to work and continued until 3pm. We had a registration area, nurse station, rooms for adults and pediatrics, and a pharmacy. It was so exciting having them there because not only did we see just fewer than 300 patients from my community but they received valuable information to hopefully prevent future illnesses. Oh, and I got to poke peoples’ fingers to test their blood sugar level!!


PLAN DE NEGOCIOS: Since I finished teaching the youth business class, we are currently working on the actual business plan that we are going to enter to the national competition. The entry date is coming quickly so we’ve been meeting 4 days a week, creating a feasible business plan for an Internet Center that we’re going to link with the Papeleria (paper shop) that we already have. The most difficult aspect for me is that I want to take a passive role since they have all of the tools after taking the class, but they aren’t as efficient or effective when I am not around. I told them to prepare for the sessions when I am not there, but they still rely on me. I’m hoping that as the deadline nears they will take more ownership of the project.

VISITING HOURS: Having visitors is really not as stressful as I originally thought; it is just funny seeing how much I’ve become accustomed to this lifestyle. Like the fact that I wash my dishes in a bucket because I do not have a sink or that I shower 3 times a day because it is just SO HOT HERE! It really makes you think about where and how you live. But it is always fun showing people a different culture with distinctive music, food, dance, and ways of doing things.

PERFECTION: Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is a real place. That it is not a figment of my imagination and it is actual, physical, and just as beautiful as it really is. This country has so much natural splendor that it almost seems like a dream; Rivers that run as clear as glass, lush, green mountains, a blue sea that matches a bright day with no clouds in the sky, trees plentiful with mangos, bananas, and fruits that I had never even seen before. All things that, for some reason, are not as vibrant or alive as they are back home. For such a small place, it really does have a lot to offer.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1241023560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1241023560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/enjoytheride/1/1241023560/tpod.html Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:19:31 -0400 Enjoy The Ride - The Story of a Peace Corps Volunteer

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Barahona, Dominican Republic

BOLA RACE 2009: It has been a Peace Corps DR tradition for the last 3 years to have a hitchhiking race from one part of the country to another. In teams of two and with a costume and back-story (Kelly, my girlfriend, and I were singers trying to make it to an International Singing Competition dressed as pop-stars), all of the 46 (23 teams) gringos raced as fast as they could to get to a location that we found out right before we started without paying for transportation. Kelly and I got 6th place, which we were glad about since apparently we went the long way to get there. We met some interesting people along the way, like an old man who actually wanted to give us money (we clearly did not accept) and a guy who raised gallos to fight and wanted to show them to us). Although we are here to work and serve our communities, it is kind of nice that there are little activities like these throughout my service to keep me balanced (and have some fun!).

MEETINGS: Starting at least half an hour late, the meeting begins. Sometimes it has an agenda, sometimes it doesn't. More than half of the group members did not show up (or clearly showed up late) and they talk about where those people are; the excuses of why they are not here are along the lines of, "Ahh, Fulana? Hmm, she had to prepare dinner. Ya tu sabes." After nearly every absent member has been accounted for we discuss something that doesn't relate to the group for an hour. A group member then stands up and offers his philosophical perspective on the matter at hand, which happens to be the construction of the new high school. An applause. Another group member stands up and basically says the same thing as the man before him but just in different words. Another applause. It's been two hours and people are getting restless. "Oh, a cookie and juice? Gracias!" We start discussing pertinent issues for 15 minutes then end the meeting. "Ay, pero discutiramos a la promixa reunion" (We'll discuss it at the next meeting). A quick group prayer to end the meeting and we're off.

FRUSTRATIONS: occur pretty regularly here in the Dominican Republic. Of course I'm enjoying my time here, but there are always things about this culture that aggravate me from time to time. For example, the other night I came back from a day of meetings (see above) and my youth business course, where all I wanted was to enjoy my night in my house, watching a movie on my laptop. Well, la luz se fue and my laptop doesn't really function as a laptop (lasts 25 minutes when not connected to a power source). "Okay," I thought "it's going to be a night of reading and writing in my journal." I lit my gas lantern and laid in my hammock reading. I turn and see the flame in the lampara de gas is out of control so I tried to turn the fire down and it just went out. I wanted to wash out the lantern because it was all black from the flame so I put it under cold water and it shattered, of course. It just seemed like with everything I did there was this other force that was against me that night. Maybe it was grounding me to realize that I'm still in a developing country and shouldn't be watching movies, on my cell phone, or depend on electricity so much. At any rate, it is frustrating sometimes knowing what you once had and gave up by coming to a foreign place with drastic differences. Yet, it is also comforting to have left those things behind and experience another way of life that in some ways is more real.

CONSTRUYE TUS SUENOS (BUILD YOUR DREAMS): is the youth business course that I'm teaching currently. We started 2 weeks ago and things are going pretty well. The course started with talking about leaders and entrepreneurs, along with having an idea and pursuing what you're passionate about. I enjoyed the material because I got to here inspiring comments from my students (ages 16-25) about what they want to accomplish. I had them write down their aspirations and goals in their notebooks, but didn't have them share because I wanted them to reflect on them at a later time. The course is fun and we're going to get into feasibility studies, community demand, and project ideas, which should seize more interest from the kids. It is also funny teaching a course and having the complete respect because soy licenciado (I have a college degree).

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO DONATE TO THE YOUTH SPORTS CAMP! IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-296
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Barahona, Dominican Republic

EL VELORIO: Last week a woman died in my site. It was of natural causes, but I knew something happened when I woke up in the night to screams from a few houses down. In the Dominican Republic, people do not hide their emotions when it comes to death. They scream, cry, and wail until they feel it sufficed. I didn't know the woman who died but the whole community came together for the days following her death. Everyone in the community paid their respects, even the little niños and niñas that didn't understand what had happened were in their best clothes for the funeral. These moments are what I find so touching about this cultural - that an entire community can come together for another family.

NOCHE DE INGLES: Since my English class ended, I have been asked my multiple people in my community, adults and kids alike, to start another class. Teaching English is not my favorite thing in the world, and even though there is a big demand for it in the community, I feel there are better ways to spend my days of service (and bigger needs). This is when I thought to put on a 'Noche de Ingles,' (English Night) where people are not aloud to speak Spanish, only English. I made guacamole, popcorn, cookies, and bought some soda. It was a good turnout and they seemed to enjoy the night, where I had them introduce themselves in English and play charades with easy words. Some highlights:
- one student said that if Jackie (another volunteer who came) and I kept speaking English as fast as we were, "I go." (he stayed)
- one student asked what cookies were called in English and after I told him, another student asked the same question and he said, "Cookie!," like the other student should have known.

RAIN RAIN, GO AWAY: The rainy season has officially begun and boy did it begin. I thought that my little palm board, zinc-roofed shack was going to blow away. The wind was howling, the clouds were booming, and the lightening was striking with force. The rains, of course, were nonstop for hours on end. My bathroom eventually flooded because the little holes in the roof expanded when the hard rains came. It was definitely a little scary but since then it has calmed down and things have been somewhat normal weather-wise. We're fixing the holes in my roof very soon (I hope). It is unfortunate though because everything just stops when it rains - my projects, work, transportation, and even school! Apparently even though it is the rainy season, this is abnormal for this time of the year. I hope that's the case because this Southern California Guy does not like this weather.

SURFING COMPETITION!: Randomly in my town, a quiet fishing village in the Southwestern region of the DR, arrived a weekend long surf competition. It was cool to see stands set up with food and drinks, surfboards galore, and surfers speaking Spanish. I guess being from southern California the style and culture wasn't new to me, but everyone in my town was

CELEBRANDO EL SUR: is a conference that I'm helping to put together for Dominican youth to learn about diversity within their country, the world, and themselves. Celebrando el Sur (Celebrating the South) is for youth in the southern region of the Dominican Republic to value the differences in themselves and find out more about the world outside of the DR. We are trying to raise money to support the costs of the camp, so if you could donate, we (volunteers and the youth) would really appreciate it! Please donate at the following website: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-299


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