All my underwear have holes in them....

As I write a long awaited post, I am sitting on a bed twice the size of the one I’ve been sleeping on for weeks, after having taken the best shower in a long time (keep in mind that means a very cold trickle of running water), and listening to a mellow playlist my brother made! THIS IS THE LIFE! I feel like I am living in luxury…a door for privacy, room to get dressed, a shower, a bed where I am not falling off, a bathroom to use at 4 AM in case I need to, no worries of cacatas, lizards or other creepy crawlies sharing the bed with me tonight! LIFE IS GOOD!

So, 5.5 weeks ago I packed up as much as I could and headed to a VERY small community (65 houses and only a few families haha) to begin technical training. As I stepped off the guagua, half standing straight half falling forward due to the rediculusly heavy bulto on my back, I am greeted by a woman who straight up resembled a stick of Wrigley’s Bubble Gum Chewing gum with a grey semi-afro to act as the wrapper. Decked out in pink, she sprung out of the crowd when my name was called, came in for a hug and proceeded to wrap her arms around me, jump us both up and down, spin us around, yell, laugh and more laughing…all this for about 30 seconds while everyone in the circle watched. From this moment, I knew CBT was going to be an experience.

El Cabreto - one road -all the houses to the right, sugar cane to the left

When I first got to my CBT house I was a bit nervous – I had no privacy, the latrine looked complicated for some reason and I remember wondering how this is all going to work – a small wooden house where every kind of creepy crawly could get in and my bedroom connected to my host parents’ and only divided by a sheet. Well overtime I got very comfortable there. I began to feel very at home and my house itself gave that homey feel. I mastered the latrine and bucket bathing. I became used to having my feet dirty all the time. Having bugs and nats in bed while I slept and it raining on me due to the many holes in the tin roof above my bed.

My home for CBT

The first day we got there was also the first night of Patronales celebrations. They celebrate the Virgen de la Mercedes and literally put everything in her hands. It starts out with a tradition at someones house and then everyone parades over to the church for more. This tradition consists of about 6 dominican men drumming, semi-african style,  and singing/making loud prayer sounds. It was interesting to watch and you could feel the thick energy – surprised no one became possessed while in the houses before heading to the church. There was one night when a woman became possessed while at the church – where they continue to drum for hours- she was walking around and speaking in tongues. This went on for 9 night straight – which meant drumming until about 3-4 in the morning.

One of the nights of Patronales

At one of the houses where the drumming starts before the parade

         

You might be asking….what were you doing in this campo? Well training consisted of class everyday from 8-12 and Spanish in the afternoon. Morning classes covered all the topics which we will be teaching to our communities. We will be expected to run two groups, “Escojo mi Vida” and “Hogares Saludables” (I choose my life, and Healthy Homes). The goals of these two groups are measured by indicators put out by the UN under their 2015 millennium goals. These include decreasing malnutrition in children under 5, decreasing infant mortality, working to eliminate HIV, etc. I am so excited to get started on these projects and feel more than ready to get going!

My youth group giving a Charla on the prevention of HIV and unwanted teen pregnancy

Spanish class under the mango tree next to my house!

I will be working on these projects in a pueblo about an hour east of the capital...Consuelo. I will be living in a community that I am told is campo-ish and working with four community’s where I will be doing two groups each = 8 groups total. Along with that I am hoping to do some secondary projects including a girls empowerment group, possibly a geography/world class, and various other educational projects. My community has a lot of secondary schools which will allow me to have a guidance counselor-ish type of presence since my main focus in my project plan is sexual reproductive health!

Fun Facts about my new home for two years:

-          Population of my community – 30,000 and somehow it is still considered a campo…we’ll see

-          # of houses – 7,500

-          NGO I will be working with – Fundacion Pringamosa

-          I will be 10 KM from the coast in San Pedro de Macoris

-          Sammy Sosa is from my community

-          I will be living with a woman and her 14 year old daughter

-          I will have running water and an indoor bathroom

-          Electricity comes and goes and apparently they have more time without it than with…we’ll see

 While in Cabreto I got my first “how to use a condom” demonstration out of the way – so from here on out it is my job to go through this awkward demo with my youth! Free condoms for everyone! My practicum was to work with a youth group and talk about prevention methods, STIs and HIV/AIDS. At the end of our time in El Cabreto they did a Charla on what they learned to the community through a health fair – which was the culminating experience for all the groups. My group did awesome and I was so proud of them

Other than classes, working with our groups, having Spanish under the mango tree next to my house and sweating out the massive amounts of plantains I consumed, the 15 of us health trainees had a blast together. I am so lucky that our group is so awesome! We bonded over the 5.5 weeks, went to the beach  few times, did a ton of dancing together, were there for each other on shitty days, worked out a lot together, did yoga together, shared beers, had long power sitting sessions under various fruit trees, learned how much we appreciate space and privacy.

We organized a few beach trips which were amazing. I couldn’t believe I was in Peace Corps – crystal blue waters, white sand, a drink in hand, palm trees, awesome friends and warm waters… total Beach Corps.

I loved and miss El Cabreto but am seriously glad to be back!

Off to my site tomorrow for a 5 day visit and then I will be back in the capitol for 5 days to wrap up last minute training stuff, swear-in ceremony (finally!) and go to the PCDR homecoming which is on Halloween….it’ll be a good time!

Here are a few more pictures!

me and my host mom

the center of town - the church

a view from my seat for lunch everyday!

spanish class all dressed up at our going away party that the community threw us

our community garden that we started  - hard work but totally worth it

o! in case your wondering about my blog title..yes all my underwear have holes in them because the damn soap here is too rough....figured it's a catchy title

Happy Reading!