Monday, April 9, 2007

Semana Santa

Semana Santa was a nice time off from training activities. On Thursday we went to the same river we had gone to last week. On Friday afternoon I went to a pool with my family in Hato Mayor, a town about 15 minutes from El Seibo. There were tons of people at the pool and it was fun to play in the water with the kids. They also played music and I saw some 10 year olds getting down and dirty to some reggaeton. Also, Dominicans seem to bath in anything…from skimpy bikinis to shorts and shirts to tighty whities. The funniest was a man in tiny underwear dancing meringue. Saturday was a full day. I went to the campo/rio with Angela and John’s family. We squeezed about 20-25 people in the back of a truck along with food, giant pots, a cooler, and lots of other items. I was pretty amazed that we even got there. It was the same river we had been to before, but a little farther upstream. John’s doña has land there and we got to drink coconut water and eat some fresh cocos straight from the tree. They made a fire and cooked lunch in a giant iron pot. The chicken had been washed in the river and I have no idea what water the rice was cooked with (prayed that it wasn’t river water) but we ate it anyways and it was great. There’s definitely a different approach to sanitation…I’m not sure if we go way overboard in the US or if some of the norms here are really unsanitary-probably somewhere in the middle. Also, they leave there trash everywhere and seemed to think it strange when we went around picking up trash. But trash and dirtiness aside, they all still bathe in the river and enjoy it to the fullest. The only bad side affects from the trip are the massive amount of bug bites that I now have…I actually woke up with my legs hurting from so many bites and my ankles are completely swollen. The benedryl I took didn’t seem to cut it so if anyone out there has any remedies, send them my way… Saturday night we went out dancing and had a great time. It was packed because lots of people come home for Semana Santa which means that the capital empties out and the campos get hoppin´. Sunday, Janet, Betsy, and I made banana bread in an “olla de horno” (oven pot) because most people don’t have functioning ovens. It turned out great though and we gobbled it down.

We leave El Seibo on Wednesday and return to the capital for a few more days of technical training. On Monday, all 4 groups reconvene and we get to find out our site placements (and cell phones!) and are then sent off Tuesday to check them out. We are all really excited to find out where we are going and are getting a little antsy. I like having other volunteers around and think it will be hard to be alone, but there are also things I look forward to. For instance, the other day I passed about 3 people I knew while walking 2 blocks and it felt great to have the people shouting at me actually know me and to feel like I was a part of the community, or at least that I was recognized as an individual and not just a strange gringa. Anyway, training is almost over and I will find out soon enough what it is like to be an actual volunteer! Ack!

I miss you and send my love…

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes! I beat Michael Bloom to the comment page.....
I like to see that Shakey Face has spread all the way to the DR. You've made me and Ben very proud.
Happy Easter!

Alissa said...

shakey face will take over the world!
(although the dominicans haven´t seem to caught on yet...)

Anonymous said...

Yes.......I also beat Mikus.I hope he's OK. Good to hear they're not throwing stones at you anymore to get your attention. Simple holas must feel much better. Now about those pesky biting bugs.......too bad! When can we trade places? Your blogs make my day. Stay safe in all ways!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to be so slow, but what is SHAKEY FACE?

Anonymous said...

ok..ok...So a guy actually goes off of the grid, so to speak, for a week, and loses his primary position. I am fine, Sea Ranch was great, and it was kind of a pleasure to be without email or the internet for a week and to live to tell about it.


Alissa, your time on the river sounded great and actually reminded me a little of a description of The Land! Water from the river, less than usual sanitation, fun times and bug bites. So, you were just going retro and didn't know it. We just never really got behind the tighty whities.


I bet the anticipatiion of placement is growing and it certainly will be a whole new part of the experience. You will be part of the community, doing good work and helping people. That is inspiring.

Week off is over, back to school tomorrow, into the home stretch. Is it getting warmer there? Is that possible? Sweating much? I know...I know...

Keep the info coming and I will attempt to re-establish my primary postiion, much to my daughter's chagrin, now that I am back in the 21st century..

And, yes, what is SHAKEY FACE???

Unknown said...

Oh man, I miss riding in the back of a truck! Christine drove a white pickup when I was a freshman in high school, and she would drive us all to tennis practice after school, and all the freshmen had to sit in the back. No complaints, though, and we always got to stop at Sonic for half-price Cherry Limeades on the way. One time we sideswiped a sheriff's deputy at Sonic. Good times!

You're probably okay with the river-water rice if the rice was boiled--I think the recommended safety standard is 7 minutes. (I vaguely remember that from the Worst Case Scenario Handbook. Also, I obviously have no idea how to cook rice.) It's ironic (in the Alanis Morissette sense) that the US would have sanitation practices that are borderline excessive but also a health care system that can effectively treat 95% of sanitation-related health problems. If I lived in the DR, I imagine I would be more obsessive about preventative measures.

Finally looked at your pictures. Gorgeous! Miss you.

Anonymous said...

Quiero hacerles saber que he capturado en muy buena de cara a la inestable. Por favor venga a la República Dominicana otra vez! Y también deberías escribir otro blog, por favor.

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