American Food!

As one of the most important aspects of cross cultural exchanges, and to give my mom a break from cooking for election day last week I treated my family to the quintessential American meal - burgers, fries and salad. It was quite an eye opener for them, because if you don't know how to cook rice and beans than you must be completely useless in the kitchen. But after they all ate their second and third servings I think they had a new appreciation for me, and we were down an entire bottle of ketchcup!



Even Flaco (skinny, as we affectionately call him), who typically doesn't even eat his own share of food, had several burgers.



I was surprised and glad to see that most of what I needed was available at the local store - the one and only open on election day here - though I did enjoy making breadcrumbs from scratch as I can't seem to find them even in the big supermarkets.

I'm finally home!

April 30th: Yesterday I traveled to my permenant site for the first time. As they do with everything else, PCDR is easing us into this with a four day trial run. Then we get to go back to the capital and have a couple parties before plunging into relative isolation. I say relative because being a volunteer in the DR has a few sweet perks, one of them in particular being that there are about 150 Americans on two thirds of an island that’s about the size of Michigan. Not that I know all 150 of them, or that there are any closer than an hour from me, but in other countries the ratio is much, much smaller. So before getting to see where we’re going to live for the next two years they make us dress up real fancy and wander around a room of people who don’t speak our native language but whom we should probably attempt to impress because among them are the people that requested us in their community and who will be our main support team for the next 700 days of our life. Stressful? Umm…yes. All with good intentions though. I told my fellow aspirantes (aspiring volunteers, as we were at the time), “When I get back to the States and have interviews which would normally be stressful I’m going to ask – ‘is this going to be in a language I speak? Yes? Okay, no problem!’” So after I choked down two glasses of mango juice and went to Miami (a phrase they use for numero uno) I was one of the last volunteers to be adopted and we began our journey of everlasting friendship!

Our luxurious casa

For the next two years I will be living in a small mountain community outside San Jose de las Matas on the North face of the Cordillera Central, the mountain range containing the highest point in the Caribbean, Pico Duarte. It is unbelievably beautiful here, but if you know anything about geography and weather you might understand better than I that the winds bring moist ocean air onto this island from the north, and as it travels up the side of the North face of the mountains it dumps all that moisture onto the people living there…well I just became one of those people. I don’t know this place well enough to say, but I’m sure there are times of the year when this place doesn’t get much rain – a “dry” season if you will, but this is NOT that time. When I arrived at my site for the first time it was raining and 24 hours later…still raining. You must understand that in this country it’s a bit different when it rains, its sort of like an extremely severe blizzard in that everyone runs for their houses and no one leaves…not for work, not for meetings, nothing. Especially in the campo, nothing is urgent enough to go out into the rain for. So needless to say my new project partner did not come to pick me up and show me around.

The view from my house

If there ever was a plus side to being stuck inside a house in which 10 of us live, it’s that my new younger siblings are absolutely amazing at entertaining themselves. I assume it comes from living for years in a country where sometimes there’s electricity for the tv and sometimes there isn’t, but there isn’t too much to watch anyway besides a little Spanish dubbed Pokemon. Anyway, they are teaching me the local trees and plants and Spanish of course. We practiced our world geography with the map, played Frisbee, and ate pineapple and honey (which is delicious by the way, but the sweetness situation in this country is severely out of control). I also spent a few hours playing dominoes with my new, half crazy abuelos – grandparents. It’s an interesting situation because I cannot understand either one of them and we don’t keep score, so the game never really ends. Eventually it gets too dark for them to see the dominoes and they start taking two to five minutes a turn…if I’m lucky there’s no electricity and we’re forced to call it quits…if not, I spend the rest of the evening nodding at the same questions over and over – which I don’t understand – and exchanging silly faces with the old man across the table, who I am convinced would be hilarious if he could still speak audible words…in any language. It makes for quite a bit of humor if you can appreciate the situation unfortunately I’m using the only person at the table who remembers what we’re laughing at. Now let me tell you that kids can either make or break a host family…my first two included little sisters who were very sweet but did more to drive me nuts than improve my Spanish. Now, I have three very intelligent and thoughtful younger brothers, ages 11, 12 and 20, and my Spanish is sky-rocketing. Not that I’m fluent or anything, still struggling quite bit, but at least I am learning something everyday. They are so helpful that sometimes they just sit (probably bored out of their minds) and listen to me read random things aloud to correct my pronunciation…over and over again. Needless to say, they are extremely patient and I never feel like an obligation. We’ve been having many, surprisingly meaningful interactions since I imagine that this is the first time they’ve ever tried to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak their language. My dad is quite jovial and interacts with me a lot and my mom is classy, professional, soft spoken and beautiful.







Aside from my amazing family the best thing about my life right now is warm water. That’s right, after 63 days without even so much as a luke warm faucet, I have been blessed with the gift of warmed H2O. I don’t know where in the process of traveling, from the tank in the backyard to the PCV pipe sticking out of the wall in my bathroom it is warmed, but I would not even blink an eye if they told me it was un milagro – a miracle. In fact, I believe that it is, and I will never again take it for granted. I challenge you all to take just one or two straight up cold showers – and don’t give me that “you live in a subtropical climate” stuff either because it does get cold here, and indoor heating and cooling do not exist in the campo! Good luck!

Carnaval!

The Eastern two thirds of the island of Hispańola - now known as the Domincan Republic - have been under the control of several foreign powers since Columbus led the Spanish here in 1492 and a large part of the native Taino population was killed by way of murder, disease and/or suicide, depending on who you talk to. Interestingly though, recent genetic studies of the Dominican people show that they are descended from all three of the ethnic populations that have occupied this country throughout history, and in nearly equal parts - the native Taino, the Spanish and the African. In 1822, having been a neglected Spanish colony for hundreds of years, the island was taken over by neighboring Haiti, the first Independent Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere.



In celebration of the independence that the Dominican Republic then gained from Haiti on the 27th day of February, 1844, Dominicans have Carnaval! The weekend after we arrived in this country a few of us ventured downtown to a highly populated strip of the Mediterranean coast to brave the crowds for a glimpse of the gorgeous costumes, giant whip cracking and kite flying. As usual it was a hot sunny day and there was meringue music playing everywhere.



Disclaimer: I very much value accurate and complete conveyances of history, and the above does not meet the latter expectation. This country has a phenomenal history and if you’re interested you should read up on the topic, including but not limited to Why the Cocks Fight: Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the struggle for Hispańola.

Graduation

After 10 weeks of our lives flew by through intensive training in Spanish, domino playing and tree memorizing, Thursday, on the 8th of May, 2008 36 of us were sworn in to serve as volunteers for the Peace Corps of the United States of America. Several super important men and women were in attendance, along with our host families and Spanish teachers, all of whom have welcomed us to the country, seen us through and helped us grow in the last 7o days of our lives. Pictured below seated left to right are Mr. Noble: USAID, Romeo Massey: PCDR Country Director, P. Robert Fannin: U.S. Ambassador to the DR, and the DR Secretary of the Environment!

Behind them is a map of the DR with volunteers pictures posted at their sites. There are approximately 150 of us in the country at any one time. This is a very special day in the life of Peace Corps trainees as we add our pictures to the map, take the oath of service that all who serve the United States government do, they change our titles from PCT (trainee) to PCV (volunteer), and we also begin accruing vacation days and in this country, get cell phones!

One of the most important things we've learned in training over the last two months is that here in the Dominican Republic non-verbal communication is everywhere. It so common that no matter where in the country you go they know the gestures, it seems that they have a sign language system of their own. There are signs for do you want to dance?, what is that?, you are cheap, various public transportation routes, and even a new (slightly Americanized) combination of gestures to indicate "I dont know what that is but I doing want any you cheap bitch." To show how well we've assimilated to the culture my good friends Destin, Pedro and I (shown here in our graduation best) demonstrate the non-verbal lip point to indicate direction. If you look close you can see that I'm sporting my new, offical DR/USA/Peace Corps pin!

Yesterday to celebrate our big accomplishment the Ambassador threw us an embassy pool party - American style - complete with hot dogs and potato salad, and I had a taste of my first mango grown on U.S. soil.

Today we will all head off in different directions spread across the country to begin the real work on Monday. We all feel prepared and super excited to get started on our work, but also a little sad that this part of our journey together is ending.

Happy Easter! Feliz Pascua de Resurrecion!

As Easter approached in a largely Catholic country (approximately 95%), so did Semana Santa –literally translated as Saint’s Week. Along with the rest of the DR we had a long weekend to relax and celebrate with our families. From what I understand most Dominican families either go to church or to the beach, a huge majority the latter, as it is also the time when it’s starting to get really hot in the city…as if it weren’t already above 80 degrees at mid day everyday. Semana Santa is also characterized by the consumption of habichuelas con dulce – literally beans with sweet – a drink about the consistency of hot cocoa, made of kidney beans, sugar, vanilla, raisins and probably some other things, but you get the general idea. It’s pretty delicious, but like most everything in this country would be better with about one tenth the amount of sugar, or less! They even put sugar in their fresh fruit juices and I can’t even buy cheerios without sugar in them!

Aside from drinking more than an appropriate amount of this mystery drink, I reflected on the reason for the season by watching the hour long crucifixion scene in The Passion of Christ, which was not only appropriate for the holiday but also the Spanish subtitles were good practice. Needless to say the crucifixion is extremely intense but it is touching and I highly recommend it, regardless of religion.

For Easter Sunday, Cecelia and I scoured the supermarket for something with which to pintar nuestros huevos -paint our eggs. Deciding that they sell neither egg dye nor food coloring in this country, as neither dying eggs nor having a giant bunny leave treats in your house are customs here, I remembered how well Kool-Aid stained my finger tips when we ate it out of the package with sugar as kids. Just as expected the eggs came out fantastic, there were no weird chemicals involved, the eggs didn’t smell like vinegar and some of them even tasted a bit fruity! Eat your heart out Martha! After dying eggs with our hermanitas – little sisters – Cecelia, our friend Amanda and I created an egg hunt for them. All parties involved in the first ever Dominican Easter-Egg Hunt had an awesome time, our sisters, my host mom and grandma ran around the house giggling and afterwards we feasted on the 17 eggs! And you thought I wasn’t going to get enough protein in the DR!

A weekend in and around La Capital - Santo Domingo

On a Saturday a couple weeks ago the Peace Corps arranged a tour for us of la Zona Colonial -the Colonial Zone- of the city. A really interesting woman and historian – originally from Sterling Heights, Michigan! – led us around the areas of Santo Domingo that were occupied by Columbus and the Spanish when they arrived here in the Western Hemisphere. The first European city in this hemisphere is called La Isabela and is on the Northern coast of the Dominican Republic, but when that colony failed they came Southeast to a place they eventually called Santo Domingo – which was fine with the Columbus brothers as Domingo was their father’s name. In two hours we walked the first “paved” street in the city, Calle de Damas -Women’s street- paved so that the elite women in their heels could stroll out on a walk every once in while. We also passed through the Puerto del Conde, the gate to the city from the port where Christopher and Diego Columbus, Cortez, Pizaro and so many others came. Below is a picture of La Casa de Colon –the Columbus House- where Diego Columbus lived when he came to Santo Domingo to be governor many years after his brother was gone. He didn’t get the job because his brother was Christopher, but because he married a woman from a prominent Spanish family. He and his wife raised 12 children and ran the government from this house! It was completely restored and filled with antique Spanish furniture before it was almost completely destroyed during one of the American occupations of this country (1916 and 1965). It has obviously been restored once again and is a museum filled with beautiful things. This part of the city has amazing buildings and ruins from every part of Santo Domingo’s history but some beautiful ones are below.

One of the first European Cathedrals in this hemisphere. The building behind this hat stand is now the French Embassy, the building where Hernan Cortez rented a flat when he lived here! My best friends and training group, 36 of us in all!

After the tour, a group of friends and I went to the botanical gardens, a gorgeous serene oasis in this crowded, bustling city! The plant below is an agave, most popularly known as the pant used to make tequila.

We do love Santo Domingo and have a great time here but most of us also could not wait to get out into the campo (countryside) and see the rest of the country when we get our permanent placements.

Sunday took a number of us to Boca Chica for some fun in the sun! This was my view as I sat in the white sand cutting my first fresh mango that I bought for 15 pesos (roughly 50 cents)! …And of course had a cold Dominican brewed El Presidente to wash it down. Unfortunately, El Presidente (and every other beer on this island) is a Budweiser-type beer, and if you want anything darker there’s either Ron Brugal rum, or this interesting malted barley soda that almost tastes a good beer…almost. It’s all part of the experience, I guess I can suffer through! Seriously though, life is not all roses here...right now I'm living in the middle of nowhere in the mountains with no phone or internet - I'll write more as soon as I can!

Estoy Aqui!

I am here! It wasn’t a long trip from Washington D.C. to Santo Domingo, though it seemed that way as 36 of us rose to meet an exciting day at 3am! As a team leader I was in charge of making sure that myself and 8 of my teammates arrived at each location; the bus, the Washington airport, the Miami airport, and finally Santo Domingo, la capital de la Republica Dominicana!

As we stepped into what seemed like 90 degree heat and humidity in our business casual attire, we were all beaming with excitement. We packed into vans and thus began the job of a lifetime!

For the next two weeks we will be in classes here at the oasis of a training center near Santo Domingo. We have class from 8am – 5pm six days a week, including Spanish, Safety, Health, Transportation and Culture. After the two weeks we will begin the technical training in our specific fields of work, either Computer Information Technology, Special Education or Community Environmental Development.

Each of us is living with our own host family, who either doesn’t speak English or is instructed not to with us. My family is wonderful! My Senor and Senora are surprisingly young and are always watching out for me and feeding me lots of delicious things! Here is a picture of my standard breakfast. There is at least one plate of fresh tropical fruit with all of my meals and I get a smoothie or fresh made juice with breakfast too (though I must say that not all volunteers have it quite so good)!

The standard diet here consists of lot of rice and beans, eggs and chicken, as far as I can tell. I tell my Senora that she is the best cook in the city, she loves to cook and I have eaten some excellent eggplant, tomatoes every day and more melon, papaya (lechosa) and bananas than I have ever eaten in my life!

In addition to my Senora and Senor I have two sisters, ages 3 and 13 who are both a ton of fun! The younger one is exactly like my cousin Jada – but dubbed in Spanish! She loves to dance and has quite the attitude! The older one and I talk about our classes a lot and we have been helping each other learn our new languages (as she is currently learning English). I have a lot of trouble understanding them all so it is difficult to spend every evening here (and by every evening I mean the six days I have been here, though it seems like an eternity when you can’t communicate well!).

Fortunately, the 35 young Americans I’m sharing this experience with are some of the most kind and interesting people I have ever met. We range in age from about 22 – 35, with all different interests and skills, but I have enjoyed absolutely every minute I have spent with them, each and every one! I could not have hand picked a better group of people to share this time with.

I have also been extremely fortunate to be one of the two volunteers who shares a house with another! My friend Cecelia lives downstairs with the grandmother of my family and we couldn’t be more happy! She is such a fabulous person and we never go anywhere without each other – which is fun and safe! Here is a picture of my patio, our absolute favorite place to talk, study and have coffee.

The seven of us share a fairly large house, about the size of two small apartments, which is pretty nice for the area. Below is a picture of my room complete with my mosquitero. (The mosquito net I sleep under as a precaution against malaria and dengue fever...though we have been vaccinated quite a few times already for various things and there are more to come!) Anyway, we don’t have running water in our house but it really hasn’t been unpleasant except when I have to dump a bucket of cold water over my head in order to shower! Even in this wonderfully warm climate this is quite a task – like jumping into a cold pool on a hot day…every day! Fortunately, we have electricity for most hours of the day, but what is worse than no longer being able to watch your favorite shows (House, MD and The Simpsons in my case)??? Having to watch them in a language you don’t know, completely dubbed over in Spanish! No!!!!! As me and Cecelia say, “Guelga me!” (Hang me!) My Senora says it’s good for me.

Ms. Hunt goes to Washington (to visit Mr. Smith)

I took the fact that my Peace Corps staging event was in Washington D.C. as an opportunity to go early and see the sights! My friend Mr. Smith (and his housemates) were gracious enough to let me crash at their place for nearly a week and so I spent the days visiting monuments that are important to me, taking advantage of the (free) museums that my tax money supports and dropping in on one of my Senators – just to make sure she was voting in line with my beliefs…really, I just wanted to get my picture taken with her!

My favorite place was the Senate. I was so excited to be sitting in the gallery watching the Senators debate war funding that I was nearly late for my first Peace Corps event! I saw Joe Lieberman, Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid and John Kerry in the hour that I sat there enthralled. I’ll be back in two years or so! Hopefully a certain someone will be in the Whitehouse instead of on the Senate floor by then…I saw his desk too!

While in the D.C. area I also went to Baltimore to visit my good friend, Kate, who just took a job out there! Baltimore was a ton of fun…I highly recommend Brick Oven Pizza at Fell’s Point. I’ve eaten a lot of pizza in this world but this is certainly in the top 5!

Hola y Bienvenidos! Hello and Welcome! As you must already know, I have been chosen to serve for the United States Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic!

This means that I will spend 27 months in the DR promoting environmental development, becoming fluent in Español, learning Dominican culture, sharing a bit of my culture and so much more! I also plan on dancing Merengue and taking in the sweet natural environment in what little free time I will be allotted.

I will spend the next 6 weeks seeing friends and family (you!), ridding myself of as many of my possessions as possible and reading a ton! Stay tuned to hear of my woes and celebrations as I give all of myself in the name of serving others in my human family and challenging myself to do the things that are hard.