Greenlover's Unite!

Ray of sunlight in the lagoon!

Ariel and Cat in front of our rockin' digs for the weekend. 

At Expo Cibao with my mom, grandma, and sisters.  It is basically the equivalent of a state fair, Dominican Republic style. 

I was looking at some pictures of Mac XC this week and I can’t believe it’s already spandex and underarmour weather in the great state of MN! However, I can report some not-nearly-so-drastic temperature changes here as well. I say this mainly because I am no longer constantly aware of how much I’m sweating and because Antonia, the woman who works in our house, made me some fffffiiiinnnneee hot chocolate the other morning. Granted, it was still probably 75 degrees while I was drinking it, but this did not detract from how delicious it was.
School is going pretty well, although I'm struggling with my independent study project. I was hoping to investigate the quality of sexual education for adolescent girls in rural and urban areas, but from the research I’ve done, it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a sexual education program anywhere. The government doesn’t seem to have implemented a standard program in schools, parents avoid talking about it, and when I went to the most well-known non-profit health organization in the country, they told me that they cut their youth sexual education program last year because of a lack of funding. So I’m going to go to Santo Domingo on Friday and hopefully get some leads about where to start looking. It’s definitely a reality check in a lot of ways and is indicative, in my opinion of the ever-present forces of the Catholic church and machismo. It also helps explain why 36% of all pregnancies here are women under the age of 18.
This past weekend I actually did not end up going to Dajabon and Montecristy (PSYCH!) and instead went to an environmental-themed music festival on the Northern coast. Although it was called “Greenlover’s festival” (I don’t know why it was in English) I didn’t really notice any environmentally-conscious behavior, unless you count the paper saved by not providing toilet paper and water conserved by turning off the flushing toilets. I wasn't expecting bathrooms, it was after all,a camping trip, but it was by far the trendiest camping trip I’ve ever seen. Our tent-mate for example, brought only mini-skirts and D&G sunglasses, but nevertheless was a really good sport, especially considering it rained literally the entire time we were there. The campsite was gorgeous and had a Fern Gully feel to it—I wish I would have taken more pictures, but they wouldn’t have turned out with the rain. There was a cave you could walk around in and a cave to swim in. We got to swim in the lagoons as well and the water was incredibly clear. And cold. Clear and cold. There was a great rope swing that we used to jump into the water and there were also some rocks to jump off of. I also got to see my first Dominican hippies this weekend, which was exciting.
When it got dark we had cena, or dinner, and listened to some bands play music, but couldn’t stay awake until they all finished (around 4 AM) so we headed back to our very wet tent. The next morning we did some yoga, read, swam in the other lagoon, snorkeled a little, (it was harder than I remembered--just against all intuition to breathe open-mouth underwater) and talked with people. It was interesting and kind of refreshing to meet a different crowd of people, although I still have trouble participating in stimulating conversations in Spanish.
One last thing—internet in my house is apparently out again, so I’m going to be a little slow in responding to e-mails, but please continue to keep me updated on everything!

I feel like I’m much more settled here than I was even a week ago, it’s quite the luxury to sometimes know what’s going on! I’m getting into a rhythm with classes and it’s nice to have the outlines of a routine, although I’m still nailing things out for sure. The general attitude towards school here is still something I’m trying to understand. The class that I have with Dominican students operates way differently than any class I have ever experienced: students show up late, answer their phones during class, text non-stop, and interrupt the professors. The university itself is just quite a bit different than universities in U.S. that I’ve had contact with. There is no on-campus housing for students and the entire campus closes (gates=locked) at 9 PM every weekday. I feel like the entire university itself doesn’t facilitate a particularly studious environment. The library for example, is an inherently illogical place considering it’s supposed to be a center of academia: It closes at 9 on weekdays, 8 on Saturdays, and noon (?!) on Sunday. The stacks are not open to browse—you have to find the book on the computer, fill out a slip of paper, take it to the desk, and turn in your student ID to look get a book. Apparently (this hasn’t been confirmed) you can only check books out after 8 unless there is a duplicate copy. You cannot wear shorts or tank tops in the library. You cannot have any food or drink (yes, that includes water) in the library at any time. Your bag is searched when you leave, but the books in the bag are never looked at to confirm whether or not they have been checked out. There is also a very poor internet signal. Basically, all these factors have severely deterred my desire to study there. Okay, enough ragging on the library.
In my spare time I’ve started to volunteer at a nearby school helping teach English. I went for the first time on Monday and it was pretty chaotic, but I hope things will settle down in the future, at least to the point where I can be of help. I also met with a Haitian guy I met in the library (I was there, don’t ask me why) who asked me to speak in English with him. These experiences have made me rethink my perception of being a native English-speaker. I never considered it to be a particularly important skill, and always just wished I could speak more than one language. I was always jealous of people who could speak more than one language, but interacting with people who really want to learn English because they see it as a means to opportunity has really changed my perspective. I am surprised that studying abroad to learn Spanish has made me appreciate English more. In general though, I feel like being here has made me really grateful to have American citizenship, which is something I didn’t necessarily expect.
In other news, I will not ever be having children. This morning I witnessed a Cesarean section from about 5 feet away, and the only thing more uncomfortable I can imagine doing is giving birth naturally. Jane, I don’t know how you did it. Everyone’s always talking about how small and fragile babies are when they’re first born, but this kid was big to be coming out of another person’s body! The doctor’s also all carried it (him) by it’s feet, like a dead chicken or something. Oh man, it was wild. The surgery in general was surprisingly fast and definitely opened my eyes to the realities of surgery. I had always imagined doctors to be very suave, with all the incisions very smooth and precise, but this was not the case! It seemed like they were hacking sometimes and after the first cut, the doctor literally threw a 4-5 inch long chunk of her skin and fat on the floor. I also had no idea the skin itself was so thin in comparison to the rest of the body. Weird really, considering how much weight and importance is given to skin color. Man, it was just a really nuts experience and I had definitely never seen so much blood before.
Tomorrow I’m going with the group to Montecristi and Dajabon, two small cities near the Haitian border. It is also a holiday called Día de Mercedes, so everyone will have the day off school and work. I’m hoping to get to see some cool cultural events or something and I’m excited to get out of Santiago for a bit. Although it’s the second largest city in the D.R. it actually doesn’t have that much to offer in terms of organizations, classes, community centers, and cultural opportunities as you would expect. I also really like being away from the noise, pollution, traffic etc. of the city, so I always enjoy a trip to the campo!

On Sunday we went to the the campo, or country.  We spent the afternoon eating fried yucca and walking around the mountainside.  We picked cherries, pears, grapefruits, cacao, and avocados off of trees.  I didn't get sick from eating any of these things, which is kind of miraculous, considering. 

The last of the Tres Ojos, underground lakes in the middle of Santo Domingo.This is the only one that has an opening over it and you have to get there by taking an underground ferry.

The house in the background was where 4 generations of Colons (Columbus').  The back of the house looks out on the port and the front looks onto a giant plaza with restaurants and shops.

Remnants from the Trujillo era, when Santo Domingo was called Ciudad Trujillo. 

The Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo

This is the first Spanish  fort in the New World

From the grounds of the oldest church in the New World. A storm was brewing as we walked around Santo Domingo, the capital city.

I want to say a little something about how great the naps are here.  The afternoon siesta is not a myth--well it is in the sense that the whole world doesn’t actually shut down for it, but it definitely exists.  I don’t take one every day, but when I do, they are always fantastic.  There’s nothing quite like sprawling out on your bed, directly under the fan, and just dozing off for half an hour.  The best part of the whole experience is that there’s no shame in it.  During the school year, if I nap in the middle of the school day, I always feel a little guilty, like I’ve been over-indulgent and lazy.  When I talk about it, it’s always in the same tone; baffled that I found a sliver of time and apologetic that I used it for a nap.  Here, when I come out of my room with the announcement that I napped, it’s met with not just approval, but praise!

Cabarete and Beyond

One of the beaches in Cabarete

View From the Hotel Window in Cabarete

I spent last weekend in Cabarete, which is a city along the Northern Coast famed for its windsurfing. It was definitely a tourist town, but the beaches were great, our hotel was super cheap because it’s off-season, and there were lots of things to see. It was also enjoyable to get out of the city for a bit and see another part of the country. Our hotel was right on the beach and had a nice ambiance. The ocean was the perfect temperature and it felt so good to just float in the water. We also got to see loads of people kite-surfing, wind-surfing, and reg surfing, and although none of us had 3 days or $300 to give it a shot ourselves, it was fun to watch. Six of the people from my group went, and I got to know them a bit better but I spoke way too much English! Other highlights from the weekend include playing Frisbee on the beach, replacing my shorts tan with a full-thigh sunburn, and eating dinner at a restaurant on the beach. On our way back, the touristy travel buses were all full at the time we wanted to leave, so we got back to Santiago using gua-guas (this word is used to describe all sorts of public transportation vans/buses, but they have seats that fold up to fit more people and will go wherever you need to get to, at a low cost) which worked out surprisingly well. It was nice to feel more comfortable with the transportation system and it like a more natural way to travel in the D.R.
We got back to Santiago on Sunday and it’s pretty much been a regular week at school since then. Although I’m not sure if I’ve figured out what a “regular” week at school is yet. I’m trying to figure out what I want to do my Independent Research study project on, and I interviewed a woman last night to try to narrow down my options. I am trying to incorporate geographical themes and public health issues and I thought I had a plan involving sexual education programs implemented by schools and NGO’s but after talking to the woman tonight, I can tell I’m going to have to go back to the drawing board. She was very interesting to talk to, but I think this issue is way bigger than I was expecting, because it's deeply tied to the machismo culture. Apparently, in the D.R. the influence of the Catholic church is still so strong that sex education, particularly for girls is incredibly stunted and there are few resources and open lines of communication for girls to talk about issues of puberty, sex, menstruation, etc. One consequence of this is that rates of teen pregnancy are extremely high and the D.R. is one of 5 countries where all abortions are illegal, so there are lots single, uneducated, poor young women.
Another topic the woman I met talked about was how the lifestyle in the D.R. is extremely affected it's island status. She said that it’s this stop off point between businesses in South America and the U.S.--no one comes to stay, and even the Dominicans are always looking to leave. She talked about how this idea is reinforced beginning with the history of the island, which was discovered by Christopher Columbus in the 15th Century, who was looking to get rich easily and leave. That mindset has continued in Dominican lifestyle in that money and material goods are highly valued and people are always talking about leaving for other places. It was very interesting (and a little uncomfortable) to hear a Dominican woman talk about her culture like this, but it helped me make a lot of connections between the things that I’ve experienced and the existent cultural values she pointed out.
Things at home are going pretty well. I more or less taught Perla and Yulissa (I’m learning new things every day, including that I’ve been spelling her name wrong!) how to play Frisbee. It’s slightly terrifying because they like to stand about 5 feet away and throw it, but it’s fun. Dad, you’ll be proud, I taught them the foolproof “crocodile” catching style (boca de cocodrilo) although it’s still a hit or miss situation. My mom’s car got broken into the other night causing some damage to the window and a stolen battery. She took it pretty well, but it was definitely a bummer. However, if nothing else, it was a testament to how deep of a sleeper I am, because my window (which was open) is on the second floor is looks directly over where her car was parked and I didn’t hear a thing.
I have also been trying to get some runs in, but I did something to my Achilles’ tendon which has me side-lined for the moment, particularly because icing isn’t really an option. It's kind of a bummer, because running is one of the only things that I feel comes intuitively here, but hopefully some time off will do the trick. Other than that, things are going smoothly and hopefully our internet will be fixed in the near future so I can put up some photos and be better at responding to e-mails!
Word of the day:
Bigote= mustache/ whiskers (for an animal) It’s the name of the stray cat in the neighborhood that occasionally wanders into the house--more so now that my sisters have been feeding him every night. I’m pretty sure he is probably carrying about 15 highly-transmittable diseases, and every time I come in contact with him I get a little nervous. But he’s super good-natured and the girls play with him and they’re still healthy…

It's the Freakin' Weekend

The CIC group on PUCMM campus

At a jazz concert in a cultural center

Promotional material passed out by the Presidente Beer Company that uses the Bible verse

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as^[a] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." to encourage liberal drinking in Catholic dominated D.R.

The majority of our group, waiting for the show to start

The crowd at Festival Presidente

At the gates of Festival Presidente in Santo Domingo with some Dominicans we met on the bus

Well folks… today marks the official end of both my first week of school and Mosquito Massacre 2010. There are very few classes on Fridays, so I have three day weekends every weekend. Tomorrow I’m going to Cabarete with some girls from my program. It’s apparently the wind-surfing capital of the world and as a result, is kind of a touristy place but I’m looking forward to getting out of the city for a bit.
I am also fairly confident that I have killed every mosquito in my room and bathroom, so until their eggs hatch, things are looking up. It’s been raining more here (as a result of Hurricane Earl) and there have been significantly more mosquitoes, which is problematic because the cases of malaria in the D.R. have gone up recently and Dengue Fever is a big problem in Santiago. My host father is a doctor and works part time at a government health clinic so a few weekends ago I volunteered with his office to go out into communities in Santiago to spread awareness about Dengue and Leptospirosis, a disease spread by rats. We basically just went door-to-door taking surveys, distributing larvicide, and sweating like maniacs.
Last weekend I went to Santo Domingo, the capital, to a huge music festival called Festival Presidente. El Presidente is the beer of the D.R. and they sponsor this enormous concert every couple of years, and it was quite the scene. It was held at a stadium used to train Olympic Athletes and was packed with people. When we left, we were practically wading through trash (well, recycling really…) left by people. The music started at about 6:30 and ended at 1 AM and there were all sorts of special effects including fireworks, giant flames, saucy dancers, smoke, and pillars rising from the stage. We saw Tito el Bambino, Luis Enrique, Luis Fonsi, (who apparently is quite the BFD based on the amount of screaming by the girls behind me), and Juan Luis Guerra who is a famous Dominican singer/musician. It was definitely exciting and we were probably less than 100 feet away from the stage, so that was really fun. Towards the end of the concert, they sprayed water on the crowd to cool us down because Santo Domingo is even hotter than Santiago (which has been at least 90 every day since we got here). This was nice at first (and explained why so many people had cell phones in plastic baggies) but they did it about 5 more times with what I’m pretty sure was a fire hose, and by the end we were all soaked. It made for a very chilly bus ride home!
Other than that I’ve just been getting settled into school and sorting out classes. It’s not looking like credits are going to transfer as easily as I had hoped, but I’m feeling a lot better about it than at the beginning of the week. I’ve decided to take Contemporary Hispanic Literature, Gender and Society in the Caribbean, Community Medicine, Introduction to Healthcare, an independent study, and Intro to Guitar. Right now, I’m most excited about guitar, but the other classes are growing on me. I feel like a freshman in college again, but without the communication skills. I’m having to learn all the little things again: my way around campus, how to check a book out of the library, where public computers are, etc.
I’ve been running on the dirt track on campus a bit though, and when another girl in my program and I have the same schedule, we go around the neighborhoods as well. I still get turned around very easily here in Santiago, but luckily there is the giant monument that makes a great marker.
Well, this has turned into a monster post, so I’m going to see if I have an internet connection to actually put it online, but I love hearing from everyone else so keep me updated on your lives and have a good weekend!