Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Hitting the ground running
Ok people I´ve been getting alot of flack for what appears to be all fun n games here in the DR (and a good chunk has been) BUT I have also been working, BUT the real work is just beginning. Once I got back from IST and hung around Fantino a bit, but then peaced out to the Capital again for PC Comite Weekend. During this other respite from site, two of my friends got married and I served as a witness...can i get a witness, sing it with me now....OK. so there were some meetings discussing all things IT, where at one point I felt like one of those gophers in the arcades that you have to hit over the head and win a prize because everytime there was a suggestion by a so called ¨newbie¨aka me, one older PCV in particular held the stick and kept hitting me on he head ¨Wrong newbie, stupid newbie¨ But maye this was just the scene in my head..but I digress...Also during my time in the Capital I ran into our contact with the Sec of Educacion and she told me that I will be waiting much longer for computers which is totally frustrating, so in efforts to get something going and give the gente what they want I will be starting cursos de Ingles next week. This may sound like a simple thing to put together, but in fact I searched high and low for the Director of the Cultural Center in my town to put a schedule together for almost a week! But as luck should have it, on my last (not really) attempt last night I found him and vamos a ver...I am becoming an english teacher. One friendly chap here asked me if I was qualified to teach Ingles. This is ironic seeing as how the majority of english teachers here who are Dominican in fact DO NOT speak English...so to his question I responded ¨Bueno, yo hablo ingles.¨Our convo ended shortly after that. What else? Last week I went to the highschool and had a great meeting with the Director and told her about the Youth Group Escojo Mi Vida (all about AIDS/HIV education, raising self esteem and self awareness, making healthy decisions...) that I want to start and asked her to send me 10 muchachos who are strong, smart students to start with and after we´ll ¨mulitply¨ the info on a broader sense. So she was stoked and this Wednesday I´m going back to meet these said muchachos and pump them up for the first meeting this Friday! Last week, while preparing for said meeting, I had a visitor: my good buddy Ramiro (you may recall this muchacho from the pictures of a hike to some caves near my site..) Anyway, I had mentioned awhile ago my desire to start a newspaper here in Fantino and he asked ¨K lo k con el periodico?¨ (whats up w the newspaper?) I sadly explained nada, mainly because the people who said they wanted to work on it were always busy and I obvioulsy can´t do it sola! So he said, well lets just do it..me and you! So we sat for two hours formulating a plan of action, a list of people in the community who could be part of the team as well as businesses and the like who we are going to beg for pesos from to get started. The following day we put an invitation together for this meeting with the selected people and this thursday Ramiro and I will present our vision for a proper newspaper here! So I think that lays a pretty clear idea about what I am actaully doing when Im not falling out of rafts and such...However, never an email without a humorous anecdote! So last week I was rummaging around in the closet and found ants...a friend lovingly refers to them as diablos...I agree with this sentiment. So I huffed and puffed and walked across the street to buy something to kill these diablos, but no luck, However I did meet Gladys. Gladys is my neighbor and asked if I liked cafe? Do I like cafe? Thats like asking if the sky is blue...so, of course I obliged to her kind invitation and went to her house to tomar some cafe and give my story. While sitting there chatting, another vecina, Lydia came over. Pleasantries exchanged and another invitation to go across the street to tomar cafe and see her house. She asked me if I like pancakes? Do I like pancakes? Thats like asking if Russians like vodka...I happily told her that I looove pancakes. To this, she was very happy and excited and said ok, vamos a cocinar... We went into the kitchen and Lydia started laying various ingredients used to make pancakes. Once all were out she told me to start cooking! Um what, something must have been lost in translation as they say! So there I was in my neighbor´s cocina, sweating my ass not only because its crazy hot, but because there I was about to cook pancakes...yes, they are not hard, its not rocket science, but when put on the spot things get a bit hairy. So I took a deep breath, grabbed Aunt Jemima´s friendly face and sighed a deep sigh of relief when I saw that good ole Aunt Jemima was in fact, en Ingles! Therefore, I enjoyed some yummy whole wheat pancakes with syrup and explained to Lydia´s husband that syrup is not honey, but in fact a type of honey (i felt this was an appropriate connection) that is sweet and comes from trees en un estado cerca Nueva York! Ah, as for the crazy hurricanes that have commenced, all is well here (so far) just lots of rain and apparently more to come... paz afuera (peace out)A
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Something about a new apt and a river...
Mis panes! Como estan??? Well like always it has been awhile since my last update of life in the DR and like always there is much to report. First, panes as in breads, are also slang for friends, so there is your spanish lesson for the day. Also, as of now there is lots of rain but nothing major...yet. re: Tropical Storms. Hmm, where to begin? I believe as when we last left off I was working on my diagnostic and drinking lots of cafe. Well, my diagnostic has come and went and I presented the finished product with a member of my committee. Originally I thought was going to go sola mission as my project partner is forever "ocupada" with something and while she talks a good talk there is very little time for her to actually work with me...also something about a language barrier...anyhoo, I was sitting on my new galleria (we'll get to this part soon) playing in with my flashlight when Felipe and Leo suprised me with a visit and told me that Felipe would join me manana for the day...they also apparently needed to investigate my new place and be sure to inquire if a)can i cook and b)when will i be having them over for dinner? Well they are going to be quite suprised because I still dont have a stove and I am not cooking rice and beans and carne! Ok, so Monday morning rolled around and after a long weekend of waiting the rain, bargaining with my new landlord and moving! I met Felipe and off we went to IST in GuaGui, La Vega. This is a town close to my site mas o menos, however after the carro publico ride we had to take a taxi up the mountain which was a little bumpy to say the least, but very very beautiful as we looked down on the valley and city below. After pleasantries and many tazitos of cafe later, we commenced with IST and Domingo, my APCD (Director of my sector) introduced IST and asked everyone to BRIEFLY go around and describe their site and project status. Well, being at the beginning of the table I started, stating that Fantino was great blahblah and that we are STILL waiting on computers from the Sec of Education so for the moment we are at a standstill as far as computer class goes...well then Felipe felt the need to pipe in. Chatty Cathy over here went on for 15 minutes about his 21 years in education, blahblah...with all my friends' eyes on me thinking "What is this joker talking about and is he finished yet?" Well after Felipe talked about how bonita PC was he finally signed off. Then onto the diagnostic presentations which were very boring and said the same thing basically each time around...well that is until I went (last) and made the mistake of asking Felipe to give a BRIEF history of Fantino. I even gave him a written out paragraph of exactly what to say. Well chatty cathy over here once again was quite verbose for no reason and took up at least half of my 15 minutes to present! So I was rushed through my presentation which was fine...I bid Felipe adios and went to a friends room to have a long awaited Cuba Libre! As I have referenced I have moved! Por fin! While me and Milagros (my dona) have become pretty good friends and I genuinely feel like she's my family here I was more than excited to get to my own place and have some peace and quite and alone time in a room other than my bedroom! Well, my new casa is in reality an apartment over a colmado. It has water and light (sometimes). But since I am on the second floor there is mas brisa so sleeping sin fan isn't too too bad. When I was looking at the place, my friend who helped me find it and my new landlord assured me that the calle is muy tranquilo. Well, while I am no longer living right next to that blasted moto repair shop the street is not quiet and there are many many gallos that wake me up at all hours of the morning, BUT there are NO screaming kids and no dona looking at me to finish every grain of rice so all is superbien! In an effort to keep this corto, I will depart with this final tale...yet another of my spazzyness that I'm sure will provide comincal relief in yor day (at least thats the goal). So, after my IST I went to Jarabacoa, which is the Swiss Alps mountain town version here in the DR to meet up with the Enviroment kids to go white water rafting. So, Sunday morning we go up and out and off to the place to gear up TK is the enviro trainer and I asked if it was really neccesary to wear the wet suit as it is hot and how cold can the water really be in the middle of August in the Carribean? While I did not don the wet suit, the helmet and life vest were a must. So off we went down the river with Juan as our fearless river guia. All started out well and my friend Anne fell out a few times which was HIGHLARIOUS but apparently a sign of things to come. On one of the big rapids I was on the low side of the boat going down the big rapid. Well I fell out and at first I was thinkng "hey i'm cool, I can swin and Juan will save me" Well, how wrong I was. All of sudden everything went into highgear and the next thing I knew I was pinned in between a rock and the raft watching my friends jump of out of the boat, shouting "Where is she"? Then I was under the boat, in between the boat and rock. Next thing I knew my friend Joel, gracias adios, pulled me up by life jacket and into the boat after I popped back up on the other side. However, as you may recall we were still in the middle of the rapids and once back in, we were still fighting our way to calmer waters. I gave Juan and all my friends a good little rattle and a little while later we stopped for a snack and a rest and TK came up to me to inquire if I was ok. TK: Well, how ya doing?AB: Um, ok I have a big bruise here on the back of shoulder and few others but I'm goodTK: yea, thats why I wear the wetsuit, It protects from that.AB: Uh huh, thanks I'll keep that in mind next time. I didnt know that wetsuits also kept you from falling out of the raft?! But hey what do I know...so along the river we went sin incident. After we disembarked I had a much needed cerveza! Anyway that is the lasted cuenta...tommorow back to site to begin work!
Hope all is well much
love A
Hope all is well much
love A
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Jugo, mormones y volibol
10 de Julio de 2008
Greetings and salutations from the DR! As usual I fear it has been quite sometime since I have last written of my daily trials, tribulations, spastic moments and the like. For starters: Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone spent it with a cold cerveza and a beach…or something close. Last we left off, I was being stalked by creepy Pablo and on the brink of beginning my community diagnostic. Well, I can happily relate that as we speak I am working on the finishing touches of my power point presentation of said diagnostic and feel seemingly content with it. What does this diagnostic consist of, well as I explained earlier, I was waiting to andar (walk/visit) with Antonia from the school in various barrios in my town to meet the gente and ask questions about informatica and their opinions…Antonia and I started out late in the afternoon when it was ¨mas fresca¨. Antonia would introduce me: Hola, ella es Arianna, gente de Cuerpo de Paz. Ella va a trabajar con nosotros en la escuela y ella esta haciendo un trabajo. Me: Si, hola. Como esta usted? Mi nombre es Arianna y yo soy una Voluntaria con Cuerpo de Paz, un organización del Gobierno en los EEUU SIN afiliación religiosa y politica. Voy a trabajar en Proyecto Ave con computadoras y informatica. Pero, ademas de informatica yo tengo mucho mas interes en la comunidad enterro and me gustaria hacer otros proyectos sociales. Tiene tiempo por algunos preguntas porque estoy haciendo una encuesta para conocer y entender la gente y Fantino mejor? (Basically, hey I´m with Peace Corps anda m trying to get to the people here and the town better, going to work with comps but wanna work within the community also. Do you have time for a few questions) However, even after this little speech, the EXACT same thing was repeated by my Dominican counterpart as was about every single one of my questions. Pero, after my intial frustrations, I just had to laugh at it and realize that while I feel ridiculous and a little annoyed because I know what I´m saying is in fact in Spanish and is in fact correct, this is the way its gonna go and at least I´m getting to spend time with the people in my community and on occasion get some sweet, free coffee. But on the other side, there were occasions when I was talking with people and was actually, gasp, complimented on my Español and circumvented the parroting. Yet, in the end, I bid almost every household adios with a big hug and an open invitation to return whenever as Dominicans are always ¨A sus ordenes¨ This frase doesn´t really translate perfectly, but the gist is ¨whatever you need¨ This point has in fact been proven to be so true, that I have been asked by at least 3 ladies when I was coming back to tomar café and ellas estaban un poco guapa conmigo (they were a lil mad with me…also guapo/a here means mad) because I hadn´t been back to visit them again! So next week, I need to make my rounds with the ladies who lunch (not really) but to drink café, maybe talk a lil chisme and most likely after the intial pleasantries and bitching about the heat we´ll sit in awkward silence for enough time for my bladder to fill with the said café. On the note of the heat, it is incredible and mas mas fuerte than the heat in good ole SoFla, also in SoFla we have this magical device called A/C or at the very least 24hr electricity and fans. Therefore, it just gets my goat that almost every day I have a conversation similar to this one: Dominican amigo: Ah Arianna, tu estas sudando. (Oh, Arianna, you´re sweating)Me: Si, yo tengo mucho calor y yo llegue a pie. (Yes, I´m hot, I walked here)Dominican amigo: Ah, ya, que calor eh? El sol me pica mucho. (Oh yea, its hot. The sun is really bothering me too.)Me. Si. Siempre. (Yes, always) Yet, they know its effing hot and feel the need to comment on my sweat, yet they appear cool as cucumbers…go figure. What else? I have made a new friend: Julio. Julio has a juice tienda and I have been spending lots of time there as every time I´m there he gives me free, delicious, fresh juice. But even better, I sit there and shoot the shit with him while every other customer that walks in is invariably introduced to me with a nod of the head, lip point and an obligatory ´un amigo´ o ´un primo, tio, etc¨. So therefore, I have been meeting a lot of people and not having to walk in the crazy sun, showing up to their homes like a Mormon with my survey and explaining that, no I am not a Mormon. So, one day while enjoying my jugo de melon and chatting with Julio, un amigo showed up…I was introduced to him and Julio explained that he is some pastor of sorts with the Mormon church. Said pastor and I exchanged pleasantries along with my customary story about PC. Then onto the subject of what iglesia I´m with…I explained that, no I wasn´t with an iglesia, but was in fact a Judea and that no, I didn´t believe in Jesus Christo (pero, claro que is yo tengo mucho respecto por el). I also, then explained that there are many other religions and people in this mundo who do not believe in JC as well…pretty sure I blew his mind. In fact I know I did, because he exclaimed ÁH! Yo no sabia esto, incredible!) Oh, I didn´t know that…incredible! I felt that I had done my part of sharing culture and knowledge about others…I ran into him yesterday and he was intent on making sure we were amigos. I assured him we were and with a firm hand shake, I bid him adios until next time at the juice stand… One last quickie cuenta before I leave, as I´m sure you will all enjoy it. Yesterday, I went over to the cultural center, hoping to find people attending the Brigada Verde meeting and more importantly I was hoping to find the muchacho who had some of my surveys. Well I encountered neither. But I did encounter an ongoing volleyball tournament and un amigo who told me I should play with the muchachas as they were missing players. ME? Seriously? I know I think people here are slightly delusional when they tell me I look Dominican, but surely he can see that I stand a mere 5ft tall (Yes, I said it and let me live in my delusion of 5ft ok!) Well, after much nay saying and fear of embarrassment, I agreed and went home to change. Returned and told myself the whole way there that I need to embrace the awkward and put myself out there, step out of my box. Essentially make an ass out of myself for the greater good?! Well, I warmed up with some of the AWESOME muchachos and actually played ok. Even was asked if I play?! Can you believe it! We lost, I have a pretty sweet bruise on my wrist, but just this moment was told that I´m losing weight, so maybe there is something to this volleyball thing afterall… Ok, I fear at this point, if you´re still reading you´re wondering when it will be over…its over!
Greetings and salutations from the DR! As usual I fear it has been quite sometime since I have last written of my daily trials, tribulations, spastic moments and the like. For starters: Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone spent it with a cold cerveza and a beach…or something close. Last we left off, I was being stalked by creepy Pablo and on the brink of beginning my community diagnostic. Well, I can happily relate that as we speak I am working on the finishing touches of my power point presentation of said diagnostic and feel seemingly content with it. What does this diagnostic consist of, well as I explained earlier, I was waiting to andar (walk/visit) with Antonia from the school in various barrios in my town to meet the gente and ask questions about informatica and their opinions…Antonia and I started out late in the afternoon when it was ¨mas fresca¨. Antonia would introduce me: Hola, ella es Arianna, gente de Cuerpo de Paz. Ella va a trabajar con nosotros en la escuela y ella esta haciendo un trabajo. Me: Si, hola. Como esta usted? Mi nombre es Arianna y yo soy una Voluntaria con Cuerpo de Paz, un organización del Gobierno en los EEUU SIN afiliación religiosa y politica. Voy a trabajar en Proyecto Ave con computadoras y informatica. Pero, ademas de informatica yo tengo mucho mas interes en la comunidad enterro and me gustaria hacer otros proyectos sociales. Tiene tiempo por algunos preguntas porque estoy haciendo una encuesta para conocer y entender la gente y Fantino mejor? (Basically, hey I´m with Peace Corps anda m trying to get to the people here and the town better, going to work with comps but wanna work within the community also. Do you have time for a few questions) However, even after this little speech, the EXACT same thing was repeated by my Dominican counterpart as was about every single one of my questions. Pero, after my intial frustrations, I just had to laugh at it and realize that while I feel ridiculous and a little annoyed because I know what I´m saying is in fact in Spanish and is in fact correct, this is the way its gonna go and at least I´m getting to spend time with the people in my community and on occasion get some sweet, free coffee. But on the other side, there were occasions when I was talking with people and was actually, gasp, complimented on my Español and circumvented the parroting. Yet, in the end, I bid almost every household adios with a big hug and an open invitation to return whenever as Dominicans are always ¨A sus ordenes¨ This frase doesn´t really translate perfectly, but the gist is ¨whatever you need¨ This point has in fact been proven to be so true, that I have been asked by at least 3 ladies when I was coming back to tomar café and ellas estaban un poco guapa conmigo (they were a lil mad with me…also guapo/a here means mad) because I hadn´t been back to visit them again! So next week, I need to make my rounds with the ladies who lunch (not really) but to drink café, maybe talk a lil chisme and most likely after the intial pleasantries and bitching about the heat we´ll sit in awkward silence for enough time for my bladder to fill with the said café. On the note of the heat, it is incredible and mas mas fuerte than the heat in good ole SoFla, also in SoFla we have this magical device called A/C or at the very least 24hr electricity and fans. Therefore, it just gets my goat that almost every day I have a conversation similar to this one: Dominican amigo: Ah Arianna, tu estas sudando. (Oh, Arianna, you´re sweating)Me: Si, yo tengo mucho calor y yo llegue a pie. (Yes, I´m hot, I walked here)Dominican amigo: Ah, ya, que calor eh? El sol me pica mucho. (Oh yea, its hot. The sun is really bothering me too.)Me. Si. Siempre. (Yes, always) Yet, they know its effing hot and feel the need to comment on my sweat, yet they appear cool as cucumbers…go figure. What else? I have made a new friend: Julio. Julio has a juice tienda and I have been spending lots of time there as every time I´m there he gives me free, delicious, fresh juice. But even better, I sit there and shoot the shit with him while every other customer that walks in is invariably introduced to me with a nod of the head, lip point and an obligatory ´un amigo´ o ´un primo, tio, etc¨. So therefore, I have been meeting a lot of people and not having to walk in the crazy sun, showing up to their homes like a Mormon with my survey and explaining that, no I am not a Mormon. So, one day while enjoying my jugo de melon and chatting with Julio, un amigo showed up…I was introduced to him and Julio explained that he is some pastor of sorts with the Mormon church. Said pastor and I exchanged pleasantries along with my customary story about PC. Then onto the subject of what iglesia I´m with…I explained that, no I wasn´t with an iglesia, but was in fact a Judea and that no, I didn´t believe in Jesus Christo (pero, claro que is yo tengo mucho respecto por el). I also, then explained that there are many other religions and people in this mundo who do not believe in JC as well…pretty sure I blew his mind. In fact I know I did, because he exclaimed ÁH! Yo no sabia esto, incredible!) Oh, I didn´t know that…incredible! I felt that I had done my part of sharing culture and knowledge about others…I ran into him yesterday and he was intent on making sure we were amigos. I assured him we were and with a firm hand shake, I bid him adios until next time at the juice stand… One last quickie cuenta before I leave, as I´m sure you will all enjoy it. Yesterday, I went over to the cultural center, hoping to find people attending the Brigada Verde meeting and more importantly I was hoping to find the muchacho who had some of my surveys. Well I encountered neither. But I did encounter an ongoing volleyball tournament and un amigo who told me I should play with the muchachas as they were missing players. ME? Seriously? I know I think people here are slightly delusional when they tell me I look Dominican, but surely he can see that I stand a mere 5ft tall (Yes, I said it and let me live in my delusion of 5ft ok!) Well, after much nay saying and fear of embarrassment, I agreed and went home to change. Returned and told myself the whole way there that I need to embrace the awkward and put myself out there, step out of my box. Essentially make an ass out of myself for the greater good?! Well, I warmed up with some of the AWESOME muchachos and actually played ok. Even was asked if I play?! Can you believe it! We lost, I have a pretty sweet bruise on my wrist, but just this moment was told that I´m losing weight, so maybe there is something to this volleyball thing afterall… Ok, I fear at this point, if you´re still reading you´re wondering when it will be over…its over!
Monday, June 16, 2008
No, Pablo, I won`t be your novia
Aye aye...let that title sink in a bit. Last entry referred to SKIM ICE which I cleverly forgot to explain. Skim Ice are those frozen icicle treats that are in plastic tube / wrapping, you snip the top and enjoy a frozen treat. Well, it can get a bit tricky at the end when you have a long slender plastic tube and a little liquid that you just wanna finish so badly bc it is so insanely hot, so you push it up only to have it explode all over your white shirt...le sigh.
Entonces, Friday afternoon I was supposed to begin my community diagnostic with Antonia, a teacher at my school. She told ^muy muy temprano^ because its so hot...so I get to the school promptly at 8am and who`s not here? Yep, true to form. So I waited until she arrived and then she told me she had to go home for something...um, didn`t you just leave your house? Obvioulsy I did not ask this obvious question, but rather Bien, I`ll continue to wait. In the meantime, I helped the secretary make an end of the year document, that since I am in fact a trained computer expert should have taken me 20 minutes instead of the 1.5hrs it really did. But, before taking forever on said doc, Antonia returned in a completely different outfit only to tell me 15 minutes later that after discussion with another teacher, they felt it was better for me to attend the PTA meeting and go in the afternoons as it is so hot and many people are at work in the morning and we don`t want to disturb them. OK, I get, I really do, its ungodly hot, BUT there is ALWAYS someone home here, usually the woman, or at least one of the many possible women who live in said casa. Also, I have never been to a house here where people are not welcoming to a pop-in visit, especially by someone they know ie Antonia. So, I sighed and said ^Bueno^. Monday it is then. After of course my presentation to the PTA. Well, the PTA mtg was that afternoon and the entire gym was filled to the brim as I made my way to the front to give the classic:
Buenos Dias, Mi nombre es Arianna, soy de Florida, soy una Voluntaria con Cuerpo de Paz, blahblah...I also cracked a joke, something to the effect of `don`t be scared if you see with papers and surveys..`not so sure how it went over, but I did get a fuerte aplauso. After the meeting conclued a few people approached me, said hello and the like, but nothing prepared for me Nelli. Nelli was a whirlwind of a lady and scooped me up bc she had heard that I was looking for a casa and or room and she had just the thing! Well, within a 10 minute walk we arrived at her two story casa and I met her husband and they kids and their tienda in the casa and almost all of her paintings as well. Then upstairs to the roof deck while we waited for the room in question to be unlocked. During this time, she asked me 20 preguntas about my current living situation, essentially bad-mouthing the Dona I currently live with, only to say that she (my current Dona) is a `muy buena persona.` Well, the room in fact turned out to be a room and a bathroom and that is just not going to happen...thats what I got now...mama needs a little more space and a casa sin ninos!!!! After the real estate adventure, the heavy questioning began: do you have a boyfriend, do you have a husband, do you have kids, what do you like in men...oh well then I have the perfect chico for you; PABLO, my brother in law! This was my inner monologue: NOOOOOOO! But, my friendly PCV face said, ok to dinner the following night where a meeting with the infamous Pablo was more than assured. The following night Nelli and her esposo picked me up and took me back to their casa where I immediatley met Pablo. Nelli took me into the kitchen and held up various food items, asking me
N: Tu sabe? te gusta? (she was holding eggs.)
Me: Si., Si yo se. Huevos.
N: Y esto, que es? Te gusta? (she handed me a can of pumpkin puree from 1975.)
Me: Ay, esto es puree de pumpkin, es bueno en biscocho. ( Its good in pie)
And on it went, until her husband thought it would be better to go upstairs to the deck, of course with Pablo. Not 3 minutes after we sat did the hubby ditch me to converse with his bro. So Pablo and I began with the status quo preguntas about Peace Corps and the like. Then, 15 minutes in
Pablo: Nelli me hablo sobre ti. (Nelli talked to me about you)
Me: Ah, uh huh.
Pablo: Si, tiene un novio?
Me: No (I don`t wanna get caught in a lie if another Juan, Pablo, Carlos,etc catches my fancy)
Pablo: En serio, como una linda mujer como tu no tiene un novio? (Seriously,how can a pretty girl like you not have a boyfriend?)
Me: Ha. Uh, ahora yo estoy enfocando en mi trabajo. (Tehe, right now I am focusing on my work)
Pablo: Bueno, cuando nosotros vamos a estar novios? ( Ok, when are we gonna be boyfriend/girlfriend?)
Me: Um, nosotros solemente conocimos este momento. Esperate. (Um we just met. Chill out)
Pablo: Tu crees en amor en el primer vista? (Do you believe in love at first sight?)
Me: NOPE.
Pablo: Pero, tu crees in quimica? Tu piensas nosotros tenemos quimica? (But you believe in chemistry, do you think we have it?)
Me: Uh, yo tengo hambre.
Yes, this is casi (almost) word for word. It did not stop until I went home and not without Pablo wanting to meet Aaron, because he was to be his future cuñado (brother in law). So, finally after I couldn`t take it anymore, I said I was tired and needed to go home. Pablo, being the gentlemen that he is, took me home and I swear I sat so close to the door that I was ready to do a duck and roll at a moments notice. Gracias a dios, my casa is not far and I flew out of the car and bid Pablo adios!
A rational human being might get the picture. No, yesterday afternoon while sitting, sweating on my porch, who rolls by? Pablo. Pablo inquired if I was going over to Nelli`s house...nope, Yo voy a quedar aqui. (No, I`m staying here.)
In other news: last week I played dominos and made good with the family of my project partner and essentially have an open invitation to their casa anytime I want (without fear of Pablo types).
Today I am once again going to attempt my community diagnostic with Antonia. As well as trying to press the Se of Ed to change out my broken computers and maybe get a committee going for the newspaper project I wanna start. Also, going into the Capital this weekend for some R&R, English and a dip in the Embassy pool for a friend`s bday!
That`s the latest cuenta!
hasta luego
A
Entonces, Friday afternoon I was supposed to begin my community diagnostic with Antonia, a teacher at my school. She told ^muy muy temprano^ because its so hot...so I get to the school promptly at 8am and who`s not here? Yep, true to form. So I waited until she arrived and then she told me she had to go home for something...um, didn`t you just leave your house? Obvioulsy I did not ask this obvious question, but rather Bien, I`ll continue to wait. In the meantime, I helped the secretary make an end of the year document, that since I am in fact a trained computer expert should have taken me 20 minutes instead of the 1.5hrs it really did. But, before taking forever on said doc, Antonia returned in a completely different outfit only to tell me 15 minutes later that after discussion with another teacher, they felt it was better for me to attend the PTA meeting and go in the afternoons as it is so hot and many people are at work in the morning and we don`t want to disturb them. OK, I get, I really do, its ungodly hot, BUT there is ALWAYS someone home here, usually the woman, or at least one of the many possible women who live in said casa. Also, I have never been to a house here where people are not welcoming to a pop-in visit, especially by someone they know ie Antonia. So, I sighed and said ^Bueno^. Monday it is then. After of course my presentation to the PTA. Well, the PTA mtg was that afternoon and the entire gym was filled to the brim as I made my way to the front to give the classic:
Buenos Dias, Mi nombre es Arianna, soy de Florida, soy una Voluntaria con Cuerpo de Paz, blahblah...I also cracked a joke, something to the effect of `don`t be scared if you see with papers and surveys..`not so sure how it went over, but I did get a fuerte aplauso. After the meeting conclued a few people approached me, said hello and the like, but nothing prepared for me Nelli. Nelli was a whirlwind of a lady and scooped me up bc she had heard that I was looking for a casa and or room and she had just the thing! Well, within a 10 minute walk we arrived at her two story casa and I met her husband and they kids and their tienda in the casa and almost all of her paintings as well. Then upstairs to the roof deck while we waited for the room in question to be unlocked. During this time, she asked me 20 preguntas about my current living situation, essentially bad-mouthing the Dona I currently live with, only to say that she (my current Dona) is a `muy buena persona.` Well, the room in fact turned out to be a room and a bathroom and that is just not going to happen...thats what I got now...mama needs a little more space and a casa sin ninos!!!! After the real estate adventure, the heavy questioning began: do you have a boyfriend, do you have a husband, do you have kids, what do you like in men...oh well then I have the perfect chico for you; PABLO, my brother in law! This was my inner monologue: NOOOOOOO! But, my friendly PCV face said, ok to dinner the following night where a meeting with the infamous Pablo was more than assured. The following night Nelli and her esposo picked me up and took me back to their casa where I immediatley met Pablo. Nelli took me into the kitchen and held up various food items, asking me
N: Tu sabe? te gusta? (she was holding eggs.)
Me: Si., Si yo se. Huevos.
N: Y esto, que es? Te gusta? (she handed me a can of pumpkin puree from 1975.)
Me: Ay, esto es puree de pumpkin, es bueno en biscocho. ( Its good in pie)
And on it went, until her husband thought it would be better to go upstairs to the deck, of course with Pablo. Not 3 minutes after we sat did the hubby ditch me to converse with his bro. So Pablo and I began with the status quo preguntas about Peace Corps and the like. Then, 15 minutes in
Pablo: Nelli me hablo sobre ti. (Nelli talked to me about you)
Me: Ah, uh huh.
Pablo: Si, tiene un novio?
Me: No (I don`t wanna get caught in a lie if another Juan, Pablo, Carlos,etc catches my fancy)
Pablo: En serio, como una linda mujer como tu no tiene un novio? (Seriously,how can a pretty girl like you not have a boyfriend?)
Me: Ha. Uh, ahora yo estoy enfocando en mi trabajo. (Tehe, right now I am focusing on my work)
Pablo: Bueno, cuando nosotros vamos a estar novios? ( Ok, when are we gonna be boyfriend/girlfriend?)
Me: Um, nosotros solemente conocimos este momento. Esperate. (Um we just met. Chill out)
Pablo: Tu crees en amor en el primer vista? (Do you believe in love at first sight?)
Me: NOPE.
Pablo: Pero, tu crees in quimica? Tu piensas nosotros tenemos quimica? (But you believe in chemistry, do you think we have it?)
Me: Uh, yo tengo hambre.
Yes, this is casi (almost) word for word. It did not stop until I went home and not without Pablo wanting to meet Aaron, because he was to be his future cuñado (brother in law). So, finally after I couldn`t take it anymore, I said I was tired and needed to go home. Pablo, being the gentlemen that he is, took me home and I swear I sat so close to the door that I was ready to do a duck and roll at a moments notice. Gracias a dios, my casa is not far and I flew out of the car and bid Pablo adios!
A rational human being might get the picture. No, yesterday afternoon while sitting, sweating on my porch, who rolls by? Pablo. Pablo inquired if I was going over to Nelli`s house...nope, Yo voy a quedar aqui. (No, I`m staying here.)
In other news: last week I played dominos and made good with the family of my project partner and essentially have an open invitation to their casa anytime I want (without fear of Pablo types).
Today I am once again going to attempt my community diagnostic with Antonia. As well as trying to press the Se of Ed to change out my broken computers and maybe get a committee going for the newspaper project I wanna start. Also, going into the Capital this weekend for some R&R, English and a dip in the Embassy pool for a friend`s bday!
That`s the latest cuenta!
hasta luego
A
Skim Ice
Que lo que? I feel the need to open each email with some kind of greeting in Espanol...we can all learn Espanol together! So where did we leave off? Hmm, not sure either, but right now I am spending the day in La Vega with another PCV so we can eat something other than rice, boiled bananas and beans. I am also in desperate need of a toilet bowl cleaner as apparently I am the only one in my town who feels they are neccesary...Ah, now I recall, as of last email I was getting ready to attend my first Catholic service with my vecina (neighbor) Milday. However, previous to that I was SUPPOSED to go on an excursion with my project partner and the pres of the Eco Society. Well, at about 9:45am Saturday morning (knowing full well that I was going to be waiting around for awhile) I got a call. PP; Hola AriannaMe; Hola, que pasa?PP; Ah si, un problemita, Vinicio se fue por La Vega con el sacerdote para una vaina. (V went with the Priest to La Vega for a thing)Me; Ah, ok, entonces a que hora nosotros vamos a ir? (Ok, well, when are we going to go?)PP; Ah, no se, pero voy a buscarte a horita. (I dont know, but I`ll come find you in a lil while.)Me; Bueno, ok.By now you can see where this was going and so I went back to my bed and continued to read my trashy Marian Keyes chick lit novel. That afternoon, I was over Marian and decided to go exploring by myself. So i went walking and ended up near the Catholic Churhc where I found Vinicio. Who knows what la vaina was that he needed to take care of, but he pulled me into the courtyard and introduced me to who I intially thought were the jovenes from the Eco Society, only to find out AFTER I gave a lil speech about how much I just love the envrionment blahblahblah, that they were in fact Girl Scouts! But no harm no foul and this Saturday they are taking (we`ll see) on a tour of the other barrios in Fantino. Also, my friend who I am with today, is a huge Girl Scout proponant and when I told the Guia Scouts leader that I had una amiga that wanted to start her own group in Cutupu she almost swallowed her whistle with excitement! Entonces, we are gonna go help my friend start at Guia Scouts. After, that meeting I went over to the other side of the courtyard and in face met the jovenes of the Eco Society which was also pretty cool. However I had to leave pretty quickly and go home and get ready for Church.
Off to Church with Milady and I was looking pretty cute (if I don´t say so myself, also meaning not profusley sweating). Way more people in the Catholic Church than the Evangelico one and also an interesting discovery. My discovery was that the prick (pardon my espanol) who is a member of my comittee inexplicably, answered for me when the Subdirector of my school asked me if I knew what ^gringo^ meant. Prick; No, ella no sabe, ella no entiende. (She doesn`t know, she doesn`t understand)Me; Bueno, Yo entiendo and tambien, yo se la significa y la cuenta sobre gringo. (I do understand and I do know the meaning AND storty behind gringo)After my explanation, he put his eyes back in his head and picked his jaw up off the floor. But I was still ticked bc he hasn`t been the warmest to me, so I left without saying goodbye. However, this special gent is not the Priest, but another (clearly) important member of the Church, as he was on stage the whole time and took part in the Host / Wine process. Woops. Nah, I my exit was not that dramatic but I did feel a bit idiotic after I saw him in Church. FYI, I still think he is a prick because he has given more evidence to support this as during another meeting with my boss from Peace Corps, he felt it was appropriate to play on his lab top and not participate at all! Ah, cosas de la vida, verdad?Moving along, Sunday am, back to Evangelico Church where I met more peeps and shook some more hands and swayed with the songs of Jesus. After, went home and napped until my other Project partner and her family picked me up for an unknown destination. It was a long afternoon and this email is already long enough, so I will say this; ALL her family was soo nice and my Espanol was flowing like the salmon of Capistrano (sorry I couldn`t resist the reference). We visited 3 campos and at the second to last one, we went to a birthday party where I met on of her many many many tios (uncles) who also had a PCV and they are still bueno amigos and he LOVES PC! SO, we had nice convo and I also had a nice glass of Presidente. While chatting with PPs bro, he said, Oh I know you like Bohemia (another brew). We`ll get some on the way back. So we bid the party adios and off we went, back through the gorgeous rolling lomas and rio vista. But not without stopping for some Bohemia. He bought a whole large one for myself...well I thought when in Rome, and down the hatch in the car ride on our way to another campo and another primo....
So beyond that my week has both been very busy and very boring, which I am learning is probably going to be commonplace here. Last night I watched Inconvient Truth with the Brigada Verde...very very interesting. Go see it if you haven`t yet. And today I have another meeting with my comite to discuss the community diagnostic. That`s my cuenta!
paz afuera A
Off to Church with Milady and I was looking pretty cute (if I don´t say so myself, also meaning not profusley sweating). Way more people in the Catholic Church than the Evangelico one and also an interesting discovery. My discovery was that the prick (pardon my espanol) who is a member of my comittee inexplicably, answered for me when the Subdirector of my school asked me if I knew what ^gringo^ meant. Prick; No, ella no sabe, ella no entiende. (She doesn`t know, she doesn`t understand)Me; Bueno, Yo entiendo and tambien, yo se la significa y la cuenta sobre gringo. (I do understand and I do know the meaning AND storty behind gringo)After my explanation, he put his eyes back in his head and picked his jaw up off the floor. But I was still ticked bc he hasn`t been the warmest to me, so I left without saying goodbye. However, this special gent is not the Priest, but another (clearly) important member of the Church, as he was on stage the whole time and took part in the Host / Wine process. Woops. Nah, I my exit was not that dramatic but I did feel a bit idiotic after I saw him in Church. FYI, I still think he is a prick because he has given more evidence to support this as during another meeting with my boss from Peace Corps, he felt it was appropriate to play on his lab top and not participate at all! Ah, cosas de la vida, verdad?Moving along, Sunday am, back to Evangelico Church where I met more peeps and shook some more hands and swayed with the songs of Jesus. After, went home and napped until my other Project partner and her family picked me up for an unknown destination. It was a long afternoon and this email is already long enough, so I will say this; ALL her family was soo nice and my Espanol was flowing like the salmon of Capistrano (sorry I couldn`t resist the reference). We visited 3 campos and at the second to last one, we went to a birthday party where I met on of her many many many tios (uncles) who also had a PCV and they are still bueno amigos and he LOVES PC! SO, we had nice convo and I also had a nice glass of Presidente. While chatting with PPs bro, he said, Oh I know you like Bohemia (another brew). We`ll get some on the way back. So we bid the party adios and off we went, back through the gorgeous rolling lomas and rio vista. But not without stopping for some Bohemia. He bought a whole large one for myself...well I thought when in Rome, and down the hatch in the car ride on our way to another campo and another primo....
So beyond that my week has both been very busy and very boring, which I am learning is probably going to be commonplace here. Last night I watched Inconvient Truth with the Brigada Verde...very very interesting. Go see it if you haven`t yet. And today I have another meeting with my comite to discuss the community diagnostic. That`s my cuenta!
paz afuera A
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Mi primero vez en una iglesia
Hola mi gente! When we last left off I had more or less just arrived to Fantino, site of my home for the next two years...We were also coming up on elections here and I can say that all things went relatively smoothly in Fantino, no guns going off or the like (as in some other PCV sites). However, because almost everyone was consumed by elections, children included (I kid you not) the end of last week was very very slow and I found myself reading and sleeping alot...neither bad things, but when I feel like I should be working and andaring and meeting my community it can be a hard pill to swallow. However, not every day was spent reading and napping. The minute I got back to my host family, the Dona through me on the computer bc of course I am a computer genius and can fix her printer, the CD drive and make Internet appear! Lo siento, (again) but in fact I am not a computer expert...even with this said, I tried to fix the printer to no avail as it ony needs new ink and in my boldest attept to fix hardware, I opened up her computer, took out the CD drive and heard things rattling around and promptly explained that she needed to take it to an expert! Also, I have become part of a daily walking group courtesy of the PE teacher at my school. He nd his buddies, Papo, Kiko, and Eduardo walk every day (well every day that elections arent sweeping the nation) on a long road that runs behind the town. This road is an oasis for me....surrounded by grand farms, lined with mango and other fruit trees and lots and lots of mountains in the distance! We had a respite (elections ) but today we start up again. Last week I also attended a theater group meeting at the cultural center which was great and made some friends with some really motivated jovenes and will attend their meeting again tonight. In my attempts at andaring (walking around and meeting people) I hung out with a few older kindly gents at a colmado near my school as well as went into the other Computer School and observed a class and met a few of the other teachers. Here is where I met Mike. However, I didnt run into him until I was killing time at the Internet cafe. We chatted and he asked me if I wanted to go to his church on Sunday...while I have been having reservations about going to Church (for obvious and not so obvious reasons) I accepted. Why? Well, because its a new experience and a great way to meet other people in the community without just straight up pulling a pop in on them. He showed me where his church is (on old discoteca) and then back to his computer school where I met his two other brothers. They all speak pretty decent English and o course want to practice with me where as I need to practice with them...but that afternoon I helped them with English and they invited to me to hang out that night! Well Saturday night was great...met their sister and other friends, who are all univeristy students and really chill. The next morning I woke up early, went to observe an English class and then over to Evangelico church. Well, it was quite interesting. The first hour was spent singing (the family is kinda like the Partridge family in church with a band) and the second was a sermon, of course lots of JC talk, but all in all interesting and I got to meet alot of very nice people. However, this now means I will also be attending Catholic service as not to offend or favor anyone and of course meet more people. Also, there is a very active youth group affiflated with the Catholic Church that I wanna meet! Que mas? Well, each day proves to be another day to practice Spanish and meet more people and forget about how awkward I feel...embrace the awkward has become my motto as well as day by day! This weekend I am going to Santiago to meet up with some other PCVs and go to an Escojo Mi Vida conference given by one of my friends groups! Very excited. Beyond that, every day I am asked when I will be giving class and if I am going t teach English...vamos a ver. Well, that is all for now...hope this long winding email finds everyone happy and healthy!
much love
A
much love
A
Por Fin...a PCV!
Well mis amigos the time has finally come when I can say that I am infact a Peace Corps Volunteer...no more of this aspirante business! Butbefore we commence with the present comings and goings, it is onlyapropriate to explain what has lead up tp today...
Almost two weeks ago I learned that I was going to be living in a apueblo called Fantino, Sanchez Ramirez. It is essentially in themiddle of the country, surround by rice fields and a few mountains inthe distance. I got to Fantino two Tuesdays ago for a quick visit tolearn my new family, the community and my school. The Directora is my project partner andso far she seems very motivated. The site visit had its ups anddowns...my Espanol while better always seesm to be a problem when Ifirst meet people...its hard when they just throw Spanish at me andthen think I can`t speak it because I don^t speak super fast. BUT ohwell, one day it will come...I also got VERY sick from a plate ofcabbage...serves me right for mocking the PC nurse about salad. Idefinitly paid for it and wasnt able to meet with my tech commitee onFriday because I was in bed. Urg...but as was better and my neighborwas very sweet and brought me fruit. The next day I got up feelingbetter and went on a tour with my project partner and visited thefirefighters, the Defensa Civil, the Church and a few other locations. Later that night I went to a birthday party of one of the teachers atmy school and hungout with them for awhile which was really nicebecause I got to spend time with these people outside of a worksetting. The birthday girl was pretty stoked I was there and felt badthat I was a vegetarian and couldnt partake in the Mondongo= cowintestines! Yes, it is not a joke. I assured her that it was trulyalright and that I had already eaten, but alas, she told me that Icould just eat the veggies and rice (even though it had beenmarinating with the cow parts) After refusing this 2 times I realizedthat I better suck it up and gain confianza all the while knowing Iwould be back in the bathroom that night...well I was right, but itdid get me in good with the ladies!
That Sunday I traveled back to the capital for my last week oftraining and graduation. Training seemed pointless once again, but itwas great to reconnect with my friends and hear about everyone else^svisits. They ranged from great to one kid has tarantualas in his roomand they hiss at him! Gracias adios that I am only worried aboutroaches in my bathroom! Anyway, Thursday we had our graduation and theUS Ambassador spoke (not in Spanish!) as well as a few others and oneof my friends gave a great commencement speech (In Spanish) on behalfof our class...she was phenomenal! We all recieved fancy pins withthe DR and US flag and our picture to post on the DR map where oursite is...pretty cool.. Then the festivites began! I^ll spare thedetails, but it was a great weekend spent in the Capital with myfriends as well as older Volunteers. But Saturday came quickly andwith it my time to venture out on my own to Fantino!
The trip was quick and all the while I was thinking about what I`mgoing to do for the next tow years here...what I was going to do whenI woke up on Sunday! But I took a deep breath, unpacked my stuff, atesome boiled bananas and cheese, watched Bee Movie in Espanol with myhost sister and went to bed! The next morning I ate and rather thansitting around I visited the cultural center and talked with twoUniversity students for about 1.5 hours about the Brigada Verde Groupas well as their functioning Theater Group! So this week I will beattending a few meetings and meeting and hanging out with jovenes.But still, I don´t really know why I am needed here because manythings appear to be functioning quite well. However I do have someideas...a newspaper for the school seemed to go over quite well withthe Directora and the teachers keep asking when I`m giving computerclass and yesterday I was solicited to give English class. BUT we`llsee, right now I just need to get to know people and see what I canget my hands into!
That seems like a good review...hope all is well back in the good oleUSA...I visited it lst Friday when I was swimming in the pool at theUS EMBASSY...I`ll leave you with that thought...hahaha.
Also, elections are this Friday here so it should be nteresting.
much loveA
Almost two weeks ago I learned that I was going to be living in a apueblo called Fantino, Sanchez Ramirez. It is essentially in themiddle of the country, surround by rice fields and a few mountains inthe distance. I got to Fantino two Tuesdays ago for a quick visit tolearn my new family, the community and my school. The Directora is my project partner andso far she seems very motivated. The site visit had its ups anddowns...my Espanol while better always seesm to be a problem when Ifirst meet people...its hard when they just throw Spanish at me andthen think I can`t speak it because I don^t speak super fast. BUT ohwell, one day it will come...I also got VERY sick from a plate ofcabbage...serves me right for mocking the PC nurse about salad. Idefinitly paid for it and wasnt able to meet with my tech commitee onFriday because I was in bed. Urg...but as was better and my neighborwas very sweet and brought me fruit. The next day I got up feelingbetter and went on a tour with my project partner and visited thefirefighters, the Defensa Civil, the Church and a few other locations. Later that night I went to a birthday party of one of the teachers atmy school and hungout with them for awhile which was really nicebecause I got to spend time with these people outside of a worksetting. The birthday girl was pretty stoked I was there and felt badthat I was a vegetarian and couldnt partake in the Mondongo= cowintestines! Yes, it is not a joke. I assured her that it was trulyalright and that I had already eaten, but alas, she told me that Icould just eat the veggies and rice (even though it had beenmarinating with the cow parts) After refusing this 2 times I realizedthat I better suck it up and gain confianza all the while knowing Iwould be back in the bathroom that night...well I was right, but itdid get me in good with the ladies!
That Sunday I traveled back to the capital for my last week oftraining and graduation. Training seemed pointless once again, but itwas great to reconnect with my friends and hear about everyone else^svisits. They ranged from great to one kid has tarantualas in his roomand they hiss at him! Gracias adios that I am only worried aboutroaches in my bathroom! Anyway, Thursday we had our graduation and theUS Ambassador spoke (not in Spanish!) as well as a few others and oneof my friends gave a great commencement speech (In Spanish) on behalfof our class...she was phenomenal! We all recieved fancy pins withthe DR and US flag and our picture to post on the DR map where oursite is...pretty cool.. Then the festivites began! I^ll spare thedetails, but it was a great weekend spent in the Capital with myfriends as well as older Volunteers. But Saturday came quickly andwith it my time to venture out on my own to Fantino!
The trip was quick and all the while I was thinking about what I`mgoing to do for the next tow years here...what I was going to do whenI woke up on Sunday! But I took a deep breath, unpacked my stuff, atesome boiled bananas and cheese, watched Bee Movie in Espanol with myhost sister and went to bed! The next morning I ate and rather thansitting around I visited the cultural center and talked with twoUniversity students for about 1.5 hours about the Brigada Verde Groupas well as their functioning Theater Group! So this week I will beattending a few meetings and meeting and hanging out with jovenes.But still, I don´t really know why I am needed here because manythings appear to be functioning quite well. However I do have someideas...a newspaper for the school seemed to go over quite well withthe Directora and the teachers keep asking when I`m giving computerclass and yesterday I was solicited to give English class. BUT we`llsee, right now I just need to get to know people and see what I canget my hands into!
That seems like a good review...hope all is well back in the good oleUSA...I visited it lst Friday when I was swimming in the pool at theUS EMBASSY...I`ll leave you with that thought...hahaha.
Also, elections are this Friday here so it should be nteresting.
much loveA
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