Aprovechar = To Make Good Use Of; Take Advantage
Trip Start
Aug 19, 2008
1
22
29
Trip End
Oct 29, 2010
Barahona,
Dominican Republic
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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.
