This is MY Peace Corps

Main Street in Consuelo

3 PCT's with all their luggage for two years in 1 taxi - only in the DR

  I got to my new home last Tuesday evening after an ardous day of carrying around entirely too much luggage and waiting for a guagua just to travel an hour and a half east of the capitol.  My project partner and host mom came to pick me up in the capitol where we had a Peace Corps activity and then all 44 of us headed out to what will be our new home for two years.

From my house - a bit of Consuelo

My community is a pueblo, considered semi-urban, which it is, and has over 30 barrios. The pueblo surrounds an old sugar cane factory known as the Ingenio which is where I will be basing my work around. On Wednesday my host mom took me there, she is the maid of the Ingenio…let me tell you she knows how to clean like woah!  I was greeted there with open  arms – my project partner, Vycenta, was waiting for me. She is my age,  a college graduate and has worked with this foundation for four years.  The foundation, Fundacion Pringamosa, is amazing…I totally believe it the cause and am so happy this is the project I am working with. The foundation focuses itself on helping community member, especially kids of the street, to increase their skills by providing them free education in the Ingenio  in everything from English classes, making crafts from recycled goods for income generation, teaching them how to use the factory machines to make parts for cars, trucks, various machines, etc. With these skills they graduate and the social agency part of the foundation helps them find work for them in the community. The best part is that anyone can come for classes. Because there is no rent on the factory and no materials necessary there is no cost. They use all the old parts of the factory, melt them, and create new ones. The goal is to develop the communities that surround the Ingenio to become self-sufficient, sustainable, healthy, and provide education. I met the director, who is currently in the process of trying to make this a national foundation (right now everyone that works there is a volunteer – all classes are free) SOMETHING REALLY AWSOME   ~~~ they teach all the kids in first and second grade who come to class to play chess. They very much believe in the mental development and capacity of the kids in the community because they are the future. This class is mandatory if they are taking other courses here and free as well.

Something I saw in my time here was the severely malnourished little kids. I really want to focus on this as a secondary project. Other than the 8 groups I will be leading as part of the Healthy Communities Initiative of Peace Corps, you can have secondary projects. This can be a good opportunity for latrine or stove building. I am starting to think sustainable organic farms that the women can use to increase nutrients in their food and also an exclusive breastfeeding campaign...?!?! we'll see...I have't even sworn in yet!

Ok ok ok…I know you all want to know about the witch doctor…well, as I have gotten to know my host mom I have learned that she makes all the herbal medicines for people in the community. She had told me a few things here and there about her “gift”. As the days have gone on I have learned from her, from my host sister and my host cousins that spirits actually take over her body when someone sends her bad energy.  It will be interesting to experience this – I am more than sure I will considering I will be here for 2 years. She makes some bomb remedies..my stomach was not doing well yesterday and she mixed up natural orange juice with un chin de sal and it resolved everything. She grows tons and tons of plants and leaves and fruit trees in her yard and has been showing me different leaves and their uses…I’m so excited to learn more! Most of you know I have always had an interest in herbal remedies but never had the opportunity to learn!

Ok…o the movie set…A movie called “Los Super” is being filmed at the Ingenio. On Friday they brought in all these trucks to drop off equipment…pretty cool…there are three famous Dominican actors in it and it was awesome being on set. Because I was the only American on set EVERYONE thought I was either in it or part of the crew…haha but no, I hung out with my host mom and watched!

my host mom cutting up the cow head

Making Biscocho this morning

The rest of Saturday was spent trying to dodge the smell of the carcass of a cows head….people here celebrate birthdays by uniting everyone who has a birthday that month and making a huge meal and going out dancing. So my host mom, who’s birthday is November 4^th (which makes no sense cuz we were doing it for October) hosted the cooking portion of the evening…I’m beginning to think that she host every food related thing. Anyways, they bought a cow’s head to put in the Sancocho along with a ton of other veggies and viveres.  As she sat cutting away at the bones to pull meat, I turned around and saw the huge eye ball staring at me then since I couldn’t look away I saw the mouth, teeth and all, still covered in hair and wiskers….ahhh so gross… it was cool to see her make it though and everyone enjoyed it – minus me, I made myself and vegetarian dish!!! I guess this is a good UPDATE point…I have become vegetarian since coming here…not for tha animals but because I do not dare eat meat here. I am always walking by stands where meat is just thrown around sometimes it will fall on the streets and then sold…NO THANK YOU!

I should note – my host mom’s group of friends is basically everyone she works with at the Ingenio, including my project partner who’s actual birthday was yesterday.  So picture 5-6 strong Dominican women ages 24-50 in the kitchen all day, working hard, getting all dalled up to then go dancing! I will be hanging with these women for two years – it’s gonna be great!

Satruday night, after Sancocho, we all got dressed up and we went out on the town. It was not very Peace Corps-esque in that we went to a bar, went through entirely too much rum (all free), danced for  6 hours and had a blast. The director of the foundation at the Ingenio kept ordering bottles and pouring drinks…as a Peace Corps rep I chose to have a serious amount of water between every drink…hey, just trying to show I am gente seria…something I think I was able to establish this past visit!

my project prtner, me, a charlista and her mother (right to left)

me and my host mom out on the town

We went to look for some firewood

my neighbor taking some firewood back

cooking her sancocho over some fire wood

back yard :) My host mom's herbal garden

the galleria/front porch.

my room! laundry day! fridge doesnt work, dont get too excited

Gente Seria; adj: People who are there to work and not hanky panky around.

A few interesting nuggets:

-          I have never been stared at so much…I thought I had before but this is on a different level

o   A lot of the kids in Consuelo have never seen a white person, when they have it has been on TV so they asked me questions like “have you ever ridden in a taxi?” “have you touched snow before?” “Is it mandatory that everyone out there have a nose ring?”

-          No matter how many times you say “soy de los estados unidos” Dominicans will always refer to the country of the US as “Nueva Yol” (New York)

o   Then when they ask what country your from, you have to say the name of the city. So La Americana de Consuelo is from Boston, Nueve Yol!

-          I have a whole new perspective on what it means to be a Dominican woman

o   They are strong people….the amount of housework and cooking they are always doing. The amount of kids they have. The husbands and boyfriends they have in different parts of town and how much they have to put up with, the walk to work, the loneliness I could imagine many have – most of their men are either with their other wives living in the community or in Nueva Yol with their other family….

-          2km walk to work

Update on the “fun facts” from the previous post

-       -   Size of my community feels like a small city – my house and neighborhood is more campo-y. My house is definitely a campo feel. The barrios in which I will be working in very much resemble the slums of a city – Imagine those save the children commercials where they ask you to give Josesito  50 cents per year…that is where I will be working – It is a perfect site for me.

-        -  2 KM walk to the Ingenio from my house – it’s a nice distance but it’s through the main street of Consuelo so a lot of Motos and people.

-         - Running water – every 2 days maybe

-          -Electricity – Usually have power between 12 noon and 9 pm (of course when we have the most day light….)

-          -Indoor bathroom – let’s just say I really miss my latrine, don’t have a solid bucket flushing technique down yet

View from the front door - in the DR christmas starts october 15th by the way

Awsomely large kitchen

Front of the house

My awsome, beautiful host sister, Mabelin

View from the side of the house

So, this is it! I will be living here for two years. All of the anticipation that I have had since the beginning of the application process is officially over! I am no longer constantly trying to think about what MY Peace Corps will be like!

I swear in on Wednesday as an Official Peace Corps Volunteer. That night is Homecoming for the new class (us) and also Halloween = big party in the capital at a bar closed only to PCV's ad a night in a hotel....Posh Corps? yup.

Love and miss you all!
Until next time, Happy Reading!