New House!

Whew! I finally did it. After living with total strangers for the past six months, I have now moved into my very own house. A house that is much bigger than what I need (the better to host visitors. wink wink), and it also is probably the nicest house in my neighborhood. It’s brand new, has 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, living/dining room, and a small front porch. Reasons why it’s nicer than the other houses: it’s made of cement, not wood; it has running water (although the cistern is broken now, so I’m collecting rainwater in buckets); wiring to put in electricity (once again, these aren’t currently working so I’m stealing the electricity from the house next door); and the bedrooms and bathrooms have doors (usually there is only a curtain to separate the rooms). Woohoo!

I am totally siked, although I’m starting to realize that living alone has its drawbacks too. I am constantly sweeping and mopping. I mop the floors once a day, and sweep about three times a day just to keep the house in decent condition. Additionally, the house I used to live at had a generator for when the lights went out. I do not have this luxury, and so when the lights go out at night, I light my little gas lamp and huddle around it to read or write. I actually don’t mind this, and it makes me feel very “peace corps.”

I have been waiting for this moment since I arrived in the Dominican Republic in August because I thought I would finally have privacy, and peace and quiet. The new house has not provided me with this. I have now tapped into a whole new group of friends: the 6-11 year old crowd. When I open my front door in the morning, I hear a chorus of “Lauren’s awake! Lauren’s awake!” and about 2 minutes later, the kids start arriving. Sometimes the kids are even sitting on my front porch before I open the door at 8 a.m. We sit on the floor and play card games and color until I kick them out about 4 hours later. They then leave for school, and when school’s out, they show up at my house again until I kick them out because I want to go to bed.

Community Diagnostic

All Peace Corps volunteers are required to work on a community diagnostic during the first three months of their volunteer service. Then we are required to present the diagnostic to various community groups. The point of the diagnostic is for me to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Baoba, and to also understand the opportunities for development and the threats that could cause problems in my work here. Posted below is a much shorter version of the diagnostic in the hopes that you can get a clearer picture of where I am working and what I am doing.

Baoba del Piñal is a rural community on the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic with a population of about 300 houses or 1,500 people. Baoba consists of five neighborhoods – Los Pajuiles, La Central, Ochoa, Pueblo Nuevo and Línea Quince – but, because I live in Los Pajuiles and my youth group meets in Los Pajuiles, I will focus my volunteer work on that specific neighborhood.

Strengths of Baoba

• Education: There is a primary school, middle school and high school located in Baoba. Many small towns do not have schools in their sites, and the kids have to travel long distances to receive just their basic education, so this is definitely an advantage for the kids living in Baoba. There is also a library in the school, although no one seems to use it. And the majority of the teachers (including the 2 school principals) live in Baoba; therefore they are invested in the education of the students.

• Sports: There are two basketball/volleyball courts and three baseball fields located in Baoba. The majority of the time the sporting facilities are occupied by men, but there are designated times for women to play. Women get to use one of the basketball/volleyball courts every day from 3 – 5 pm, and they can use one of the baseball fields every Saturday afternoon. The children here often take advantage of the streets and farms to play sports and games when the basketball/volleyball courts and baseball fields are unavailable.

• Churches: There are about 8 churches here in this small town of 1,500 people. The churches are of three religions (Catholic, Evangelical, and Adventist), but the majority of people are Catholic. In every neighborhood, there is Catholic youth group that meets weekly, and the other churches have masses or religious services at least once a week.

• People: The people here are great. There are kids with enthusiasm, talented and motivated adolescents and teenagers with a lot of free time, and parents and adults who are willing to help their kids and have a strong interest in seeing the kids here succeed. There are also two other Youth Peace Corp volunteers within a relatively close distance (1 hour or less).

• Health: There is a rural clinic here in Baoba that is open Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm. Two nurses work in the clinic, and they live in Baoba so that if there is an after-hours emergency, they can open the clinic. There is also a pharmacy with limited medicines located beside the clinic.

• Natural beauty: Baoba is gorgeous. It’s surrounded by farms, so it is very green and fertile. There are two rivers that run along the border of Baoba, and it is about a 10-minute walk from the beach.

Weaknesses of Baoba

• There is no community center where groups can meet, nor are their family-friendly places to hang out.

• There is a lack of infrastructure, such as lights, streets, and of course internet.

• The streets are actually dirt roads and are in extremely bad condition. They are full of potholes, and when it rains hard, no one can drive on them.

• There is no trash collection system in Baoba; therefore there is trash in the farms, streets, rivers and beaches. In addition to that type of pollution, many people burn the trash from their homes, which then creates air pollution.

• There are limited sources of income. Most of the men work in the farms, producing cattle, milk, coconuts, or rice. The majority of the women work as housewives, or they clean other houses/businesses. Many people travel to the closest larger cities (about 40 minutes) to find better work opportunities.

Opportunities for development (the same as “strengths”)

Threats to development

• Thieves: Because Baoba is near the beach, many tourists pass through the town, leaving it more vulnerable to burglaries

• Drugs, alcohol, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases

• Many youth and adults leave Baoba to find better work and/or educational opportunities. Almost every single family here in Baoba has an immediate relative living and working in either Puerto Rico or the United States, who regularly sends them money.

• The northeast gets the most annual rainfall in the country. This rain damages the streets here in Baoba, and also causes children and adults to miss school and meetings. If it is raining, work does not get done.

After analyzing this data, I was able to plan my work for the next year. Below is what I hope will happen within the next 12 months. Wish me luck!

• English Class (already started, woohoo!)
• Running Club with the youth
• Informal volleyball tournament and formation of a girl’s volleyball team
• Start searching for funds/planning to build a community center
• Talk to mayor about starting a trash collection system
• Arts Camp in the summer for young kids
• Book Club
• Paint a world map mural in the school with my youth group
• Girl’s Club to empower young girls; take 2 girls to a week-long all girl’s conference called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)
• Form a youth group called Escojo Mi Vida (I Choose My Life) to teach them about making safe decisions, sexual health, condoms, HIV/AIDS, alcohol and drugs; take youth to regional and national Escojo conferences to give them more life skills and the chance to see a new city and meet new people. (The kids here almost never have the opportunity to travel).
• Take 2 youth to “Celebrando el Cibao” conference to teach them about diversity
• Work with the Padres, Madres & Amigos de la Escuela (like PTA) and teach them better communication and discipline skills
• Work with youth group to pick up trash and place trashcans in Baoba
• Private tutoring with kids in elementary school who need help with basic reading/writing/math skills
• Strengthen the library by getting more/better books, having a daily story hour, etc.
  

Only in the Dominican Republic

I went to a birthday party last night for my 30-year-old lawyer buddy. It was a neighborhood party and he works with my youth group, so there was a mixture of youth and adults there. And the adults gave the youth alcohol, so much so that every single person was drunk except for me…and I’m including the 8 and 9-year olds. Only in the Dominican Republic, is it totally acceptable to give children shots of rum to “liven up the party.”

People here have been bugging me to form a Mother’s Club to discuss topics relevant to the development of their children. So I visited all of the churches in Baoba and announced that we were going to have an interest meeting and start the club. When it was time for the meeting, not one single person showed up. Only in the Dominican Republic, will no one show up to a meeting because it “looks” like it might rain.

I went shopping for things for my house because I am going to move soon, and I found it all to be so expensive. Only in the Dominican Republic, will I complain about spending $186 on a bed, $6 on a pillow, $44 on a 50-lb gas tank, $37 on a stove top (no oven because no one here cooks with an oven), $20 on plates/cups/utensils/coffeemaker, and $34 on monthly rent for a brand new 3-bedroom/1-bathroom house. (*prices are converted into US dollars*)

All of the youth volunteers are meeting up for a conference where we will present our community diagnostic (analysis of the resources and opportunities for development in our communities) and tell each other about what we have been doing during the past three months. I made three visuals and prepared a 10-minute speech for this presentation. And I just noticed that the corners of my posterboard have been chewed up. Only in the Dominican Republic, will I be totally content to give a presentation using visuals that have been gnawed at by the mice living in my bedroom.

Everyone here uses homemade remedies to cure various ailments. Only in the Dominican Republic, will people eat aloe to cure the flu, squeeze cherry juice into an eye to cure conjunctivitis, and hang clear bags of water inside houses to get rid of flies.

9 Days of Mourning

When I first arrived in Baoba everyone told me that during the month of December I would not be able to sleep because of all of the loud music, dancing and Christmas festivities. Noche Buena (or Christmas Eve) is the biggest holiday of the year in the Dominican Republic, and I was looking forward to seeing the celebration.

Well, the people were right. I have not slept for a week (**This post was actually written in my journal on Jan. 2**). However I do not think my experiences were exactly what everyone meant. The midnight before Christmas Eve, I was awoken by loud yelling outside the front door of the house. The grandmother of the family had died. This woman was in her late 80s and ill. She couldn’t walk, didn’t recognize anyone, refused to talk, and could only eat liquids. And for the past month she was living in my house so that the family could take better care of her.

Immediately upon hearing of her death, two of the daughters (Justina, the grandmother, had 11 children total) started wailing. The type of wailing that you only see in the movies or on National Geographic documentaries. I had been in my room, debating on whether I should leave them to grieve privately or I should go out and be with them. I decided at that point to go and be with the family. I walk out of my room and the granddaughters are furiously cleaning the entire house: mopping, sweeping, and emptying out all of the furniture in the living room into one of the bedrooms.

Thirty minutes after the grandmother’s death, she was in a casket in the middle of our living room and about 50 neighbors had come to visit the family. The two sisters continued crying, beating on the casket, and screaming “Why did you leave me Mama?” It was heart wrenching to watch. The family stayed awake all night as visitors continued dropping by at all hours of the early morning. Everyone told me to go to my bedroom and sleep, but there was no way that was a possibility. They were my family here in Baoba, and I wanted to show my support for them in this time; Even if I had wanted to sleep, that would have been impossible with all of the noise.

The next day was Christmas Eve, the biggest celebration of the year. The family had a pig in their backyard that they were planning on killing to eat, but now there would be no time for that. They continued grieving, and I continued sitting in silence beside them. At about noon, one of the other families that I am close to came and made me eat lunch with them at their house. So I did get to celebrate with the pork, although I was not in a festive mood. After lunch I stayed at that house and took a nap before heading back to the funeral.

Now let me explain to you how funerals (or velorios) work in this country. The person dies. Everyday for 9 days there is a religious service and visitors continue coming to see the family. The family is in charge of providing snacks and drinks to all of these visitors during the nine days. On the second day, the person is buried, so the body is no longer in the house. Once the body is buried, the family creates an altar of the dead person in their house so that visitors can continue paying their respects. So during the 9 days between Christmas Eve and New Year’s, we all just sat around in our black and white clothes and mourned the death of Justina. The two daughters were not content to simply cry; they would restart their wailing the minute a new visitor walked in the door.

On the 9th day, there is a big celebration and religious service. Which means my New Year’s Eve was spent preparing a larger alter (3 tiers) with my host family and prepping for the following day. On January 1, visitors started coming at 8 a.m. By noon, over 200 people had arrived from all over the country. Many of them had even rented out tour buses for the journey. At 12:30, all 200 people ate the lunch that the family had cooked- rice, beef, and yucca. It is amazing to me that the family whose mom just died are also in charge of feeding this crowd, but that’s tradition. At about 2 p.m. there was a Catholic mass, and at about 5 p.m., the crowd started filtering out.

And now for 3 years, the immediate family of the grandmother cannot wear the color red or use red or bright pink nail polish. They cannot drink alcohol or dance. And for the next 7 months, on the anniversary of the grandmother’s death, there will be another religious service in their home. And it was just four months ago that the grandfather of this same family died, so they’re continuing having monthly services for him as well.

From Jordan

Christmas is over….really before it even began. Coupled with the warm weather here in the States and then our DR vacay, it never really felt like Christmas much. I postponed writing this blog thinking that I would think of something really great to say. Well the days passed and I figured I better go ahead and write before Lauren called me internationally wanting to know why I hadn’t done her homework assignment.
Christmas was a little different for each of us this year:

After talking to Lauren on Christmas Eve, we found out that the old woman living in her house had died and a nine day funeral was taking place outside her bedroom complete with moaning and wailing. So scratch the pig roast; no Christmas celebration for you! (I’ll let her tell you more about that in her next blog.)

For me, her absence was definitely felt – mainly I miss having a person to roll my eyes with when Mom or Dad does something “funny”. Last year it was Dad blowing into his stocking after it was empty. This year it was Mom dancing to her new iPod. Now that was genuinely funny. I really want to try to upload pictures to this site so everyone can appreciate the humor.

I can’t wait to get back to the DR and see Lauren. Hopefully on the next visit I can stay with her in Baoba and learn more about the people and the town. It’s obvious that the people there love her just as much as we do!

An Early Christmas

The day that I have been waiting for finally arrived this past week: my family came to visit! While I was excited about seeing them and spending a relaxing week in a resort in Puerto Plata, I was even more excited about them meeting everyone in Baoba and everyone in Baoba meeting them. We walked all over the town, visiting the school and its professors, the kids in my youth group and English classes, and all of the people who went out of their way to make me feel comfortable in Baoba when I first arrived. Of course, the introductions were awkward with lots of pauses and me translating english into spanish and spanish into english, but I think everyone left with the impression that I am definitely in a comfortable place here in Baoba. It was so refreshing to hear everyone in Baoba tell my parents how they need not worry about my safety because I am a part of their family and they all will take care of me. And it was also nice to hear them all ask me to promise to return back to Baoba after my trip in Puerto Plata because they were worried I wouldn't return.

It definitely does not seem like Christmas now. It's 80 degrees here, and I go to the beach almost daily. There aren't any Christmas trees, snow, or traditional carols, and I think this is the first year in about 10 years that I'm not going to Concord Pres. for Project Christmas or the Christmas Eve service, so that's hard to come to terms with. But luckily, Mom, Dad and Jordan were able to bring a little bit of Christmas down here with them. They arrived with a 6 inch ornamental tree that I will put in my bedroom and presents that I can open on Dec. 25. Dominicans don't really celebrate Christmas Day; their big celebration is Christmas Eve or Noche Buena, where everyone roasts a pig (hawaiian-luau style) and dances merengue and bachata, so that will certainly be a different experience.


I've given Mom, Dad and Jordan homework to write an entry in the blog so that you can get their perspective on the Dominican Republic as well. If I don't get to update the blog again within the next week, have a merry christmas and a happy new year! And when you see Jordan, give her an extra hug from her big sister; apparently she isn't enjoying being an only child as much as she thought she would.

From Mom & Dad in Baoba

Well, I think we now know how the Pied Piper felt as we walked through the streets of Baoba with LR. As we are being shown around the town and meeting all the new people she is working with, the crowd that follows keeps growing, with the teens that obviously would follow her anywhere.
It is a great feeling to see the acceptance of LR into not only their community but into their families and lives. It seems that at every other house we are told how she is their newest daughter and a major part of their families. We feel she is being well taken care of. It is apparent that she is now a major part of this small rural community, with their expectations as well as hers growing into one. As parents, it is such a joy to watch LR be a part of this community in need knowing that with each day her accomplishments with them will grow.