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!