Longest blog posting ever

Well, it has been quite a week. We continued with Spanish classes, our internships, watched some movies in Spanish, went to the local market (where I bought a useless 60s wallet that I just couldn’t pass up- not quite sure why), heard from some more volunteers, and I even played scrabble in Spanish. I will try and focus on some of the more interesting aspects of the week though. (Not that my 45 pt. word in scrabble didn’t make my day, but you probably aren’t very interested…)

On Wednesday we visited some bateys nearby. “Batey” is the name given to a community where the people who cut sugar cane live. There can be many separate bateys just a few kilometers from each other and some are much poorer than others. (I think the ones we visited are not considered to be that poor.) A lot of the cane is owned by a company called Central Romana and entire bateys either work for El Romana or for smaller, private owners. Some of the El Romana bateys have houses built by the company for the workers. Entire families live in one room “houses” with no kitchens and communal bathrooms outside. Women cook over fires which hurts their lungs and children sit outside chewing on cane. Although I’ve never seen the US south, it seems reminiscent of the south and slave quarters in many ways. The bateys where the caña is owned by smaller, private owners (and also some of El Romana) have houses that would not even been deemed acceptable sheds in the US. Many of the people who cut cane and live in the bateys are Haitian. Haitians cross the border to come to the DR because things are better here. It used to be that most worked cutting cane but now the production of cane is decreasing and more and more are working in construction. Many of the Haitians still speak Creole and it is interesting to hear the way they speak Spanish. Like any country with immigration issues, many people here view Haitians in a negative light, fear them, and define themselves in contrast to Haitians. For instance, Dominicans don’t say that they are black, but rather that they are “indio oscuro,” because they associate Haitians with blackness. And looking around the bateys, I must admit that one of my first thoughts was how much blacker the people were than in most towns; people whose skin was so black it almost looked purple. At the batey La Higuera we saw the way they cut cane, how the oxen pull big trains/carts of it to the weighing station, and how they weigh it. They pay workers 80-100 pesos per ton of cane (about $2.50-$3). It is very hard work and many of the workers don’t use gloves so the cane cuts up their hands. We also visited a school and talked to the students and teachers there. The school only goes to 8th grade and in order to go to high school they would have to come into El Seibo but it is a long trip and you have to have papers (which some don’t) to attend. I think it was really good for us to see the bateys and see such a different, yet integral, part of Dominican society. At the end, I caught myself thinking that I was glad I would most likely not have to live in such poverty. Then I felt guilty for even thinking such thoughts.

On another note, I had an interesting night last night. When I got back to my room and changed, I saw a large spider that surprised me but that I knew I could deal with. Then I turned around and saw a rat/mouse run across the floor. That was not as okay with me. I got in bed, tucked in my mosquito net, and tried to forget about it. I was not successful. I could see the rat running around and could hear it jolt across the floor and rustle through what I imaged to be my clothes. I pictured it eating my undies (I had heard stories about this and also about a rat who scratched up a volunteer's face in a duel) and envisioned waking up to an underwear disaster. I knew it was irrational to be so afraid of it, but I couldn’t help it. Then, I felt something beneath me. The rat had somehow managed to get on the underside of the mattress and I could feel it walk around. That kind of freaked me out. Then, I saw a dark spot on my mosquito net and realized the rat had climbed up the net and was now sitting at the top of it, weighing it down. If it weren’t for the net, the rat would have been crawling on me. I paused, momentarily terrified, then did what anybody would do and kicked it off with one good whack. The rat flew across the room, landed on the floor, and proceeded to go about it’s business. I noticed that it had tried to leave but couldn’t make it out under the door. I braved the world outside my net and opened the door. After about another hour of hide and seek where I laid curled up in a ball afraid the rat might make it inside my net somehow, I think I saw the rat leave. I gave the rat one point for making me miserable and only getting 3 hours of sleep, but myself one point for getting rid of it. Then I wondered how I will ever make it two years. I might have to get a cat.

And lastly, a side rant about life here. It is so interesting to be in place where you stand out so obviously and get treated differently because of it. People pay attention to me- both in positive and negative ways. For instance, people usually feel comfortable striking up a conversation with me but I also get hissed at and stared at all the time. (Side story- I went to this exercise class once that turned out to be no good, but ever since people ask me why I haven’t been back. So, the other day someone was hissing at me but I decided to ignore it because I was sick of it. It continued and eventually the person threw a rock at me to get my attention! Seriously, did a guy just throw a rock at me to get my attention? Yes, indeed he did. It turned out to be the exercise teacher who then proceeded to question me on why I hadn’t been back to his class and let me know that it was free for me to visit. Sweet.) Anyways, I never know if things happen by coincidence or if they happen because of who I am. For instance, would the band of motorcycles have pulled up in that exact spot even if I wasn’t there or did they pull up alongside me solely because of my presence? It’s hard to know whether you’re being conceited/paranoid or if you’re being naïve by thinking these things happen all the time and it doesn’t matter. Knowing that you will spend two years like this, trying to make this country your home but always being the foreigner, the outsider who will never fit in and will never truly understand what it feels like to be a Dominican…it’s hard to know this and be comfortable with the concept. But, there is nothing I can do to change that. I will always be different. I was also taking to my technical trainer about how obvious the difference is when it comes to money. I will always have a safety net that I can fall into if something were to happen, will always be able to buy food-even if my money runs out before the end of the month, and will be able to receive medical care. It is quite different to chose to be poor for a short period of time than to be poor for your whole life, living day to day with no vision of future possibilities. Just something I will have to keep in mind as I go through my service.

Anyways, I will end my posting before I cease to make any sense at all and before I lose too many of my readers. I hope you are all doing well, enjoying life, and eating some sushi in honor of me. I miss you, think of you, and can’t wait to hear from you. I send my love.