Getting Down to Business

It was a dark, stormy night. Thunder roared as a warm, suspicious breeze swept along the town and invited nocturnal creatures out from their murky depths. The creatures heard the call and heard the thunder and emerged, making their way out from the river bed, across the dirt paths and to my front patio. I heard a motorcycle in front of my house at 11:00 that night, keeping my headlamp hidden so they would think I was not home, not realizing they were there for a different purpose. As I woke the next morning and started making my way down the street, the Doñas were beginning to prepare lunch for their families, and I received my invitation.

“Juana, ven a comer almuerzo aquí, tenemos cangrejo hoy!” “Juana, come here to eat lunch today, we’re having crab!”

Lots of rain had gathered up all of the crabs, and the thunder scared them out of their riverbeds. This week was like crab week in my town, the crabs were running wild and the people went out late at night with their flashlights to round them up for lunch the next day. Being along the ocean, (in fact, below sea level), you often get some interesting sights. I have found crabs in my bedroom on two occasions. Shrimp can be seen paddling their way through the puddles that collect in the empty plots of land. Even in the dirt roads, pieces of coral are mixed in with the rocks and stones.

José Miguel showed me some of the crabs his father found, as they picked off the legs from the still-living creatures and threw them in the cooking pot. With a little work and dedication, they can be pretty fun to eat, sucking the meat out of the legs like a straw. I may have even eaten the crab that made it to my front porch!

Speaking of creatures in my bedroom, I now have a cat! He takes care of all of the other unwanted creatures in my house, often to my dismay. I´m used to my cats in the states finding a mouse or a bird, severely injuring it, then batting it around, never actually sure what that primordial instinct was trying to tell them to do with it. The Dominican cats are different. They go for the kill, and then go for the meal. I witnessed my cat tossing around a freshly killed mouse, and before I had time to spit out my toothpaste, I heard the bones crunching and was too late to stop him from eating the mouse in its entirety – tail, fur, and head included. I didn´t let him sleep with me that night. He also kills and eats frogs, lizards, cockroaches, and giant spiders, among other things I´m sure, but have not had the misfortune to witness.
Though he´s still really cute and full of spastic kitten energy. He loves his mum and is with me wherever I go in the house. At night he sleeps with me, though rather than in my bed he actually sleeps ON TOP of the mosquito net, like it’s a hammock! His name is Moreno, a popular nickname here meaning “dark-skinned”, which is just so taboo in the states that I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to use a name like this and thought it a interesting play on the cultures. Also, when I got the cat, it had been one year since I had visited the Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina. Remember those photos???

Last weekend was the inauguration of the new town hall building in my town. They have a mayor, or “Sindico”, but they had just been working out of a rented house. Now they have a beautiful new space in the most modern building in town! I got all dressed up for the special occasion in a pink dress I borrowed from a friend. It was a nice treat, how often do you have the opportunity to get all decked out in dresses and jewelry?! Here is a photo of myself with the Sindico:This is my friend Richard with two friends and neighbors, sisters Clara and Deisy:

More pictures from the inauguration:Things have really picked up lately on the work front. Lots of planning and research are finally starting to take shape into more tangible projects. I’ve got a youth group now, which I hope to be a fun outlet for the youth where they can do activities as well as educational things to keep them off the streets and more educated about the decisions they make. Sexual education is virtually non-existent amongst Dominicans and therefore teenage pregnancy is a big problem, which for kids here simultaneously means marriage and starting a family. I’ll educate them in this area and about AIDS, STDs, etc. My goal is that not one of my youth gets pregnant nor gets someone pregnant unintentionally during my time here! It seems a little silly but its and honest-to-goodness goal, and I honestly don’t know how hard it will be!

I’ve also got an after school program, a “Sala de Tarea” (homework room) which I’m taking under my wing to help maintain because no one else wants to do it! Its very important as it is the only other option outside of the school where kids can get help with their schoolwork. Many kids who have learning disabilities do not otherwise have focused attention to help them learn, so if they don’t understand the way they teach in the classroom they may get discouraged and not continue with school (a common problem). The Sala was started with funds from a local community organization, and since the funds ran out in January we have been barely hanging on by a thread! I’ve been doing some small-scale fundraising activities this month (making and selling household cleaning soap from scratch, as well as a “Jeans day” at the school where they can pay to wear jeans instead of their uniforms), and both have been pretty successful. Meanwhile, we have a small committee of people who are working to come up with a more regular method of sustainability. Here are some of the kids waving from the morning session: Also on the agenda is a campaign to get people registered who do not have their birth certificates. I started the weekly meetings in my community two weeks ago, and there are a lot of people who want to be involved! It is a big problem and there are many people without birth certificates, so I’m hoping we can help at least some of them get registered.

We’re applying for funds as well for my community organization to finish the construction of their new building. As of now they don’t have a place to meet, and when this is finished (its still got a ways to go) they’ll have not only their own location, but a space for English and computer classes, as well as for other community and youth groups to meet.

And there are more ideas and plans in the works! Of course, as you know I am also working to help organize the girl’s camp, Camp GLOW in July. I will be selecting the girls who will accompany me this week, they have filled out applications and I will select the two that I believe would benefit most or could give back the most to the community from their experience. Thank you so much to all who donated, together we raised $540!

May I also add that you are all reading the blog of the new EDITOR of the Peace Corps DR magazine! I was asked to take over as the past editor has just finished his service. I’m very excited about it, I love working on the magazine and know it is such a great outlet for the volunteers here! They can read stories from other volunteers amongst humorous plays on the culture of the DR, the US, or the Peace Corps in general! Since I’ve still got a year and a half to go, I’ll be able to do about five issues.

My friend Tara is here visiting right now for ten days! She’s already developed a love for plantains, has learned how to dance Merengue and Bachata, and learned not to trust Dominican men. I’ll have her write about her impressions soon.

Thanks!
Joan