Don’t Worry Mom, I didn’t buy a motoconcho

(sorry it's blurry, the only one I have thus far)

Yesterday we received our awesome motorcycle helmets and learned how to ride on the back of a motoconcho. Although training lasted about 2 minutes, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. My training days this week have been very long, full of lots of information, more vaccinations, but a little draining. I am learning more about Dominican culture, geography, history and more medical “know how” as I like to call it(I am a professional re-hydration maker now). Current volunteers have come to visit to explain to us what they have been doing, how they are living, etc. It is interesting to hear all their different stories. This week volunteers visited that all lived in different possible living situations- la ciudad (the city), el pueblo (the villages closer to the outskirts of cities, el cambo (more rural and smaller villages) and bateys (Haitian-Dominican communities that grew out of temporary housing situations from the sugar cane factories). This was supposed to give us a better idea of where we would like to serve for our two years. Although some of you might be thinking that the city has the most amenities and is the best, you are wrong. They all have their pros and cons but I found it very interesting how twisted some of the living conditions are. If I didn’t mention this already, electricity and water here is on and off all the time. The most common frase is “se fue la luz,” the lights are out. And let me tell you, they are out more often than not in most places. Even though one volunteer lived in the second capital in the country, he had no running water and only a few hours of electricity depending on the day. Yet, the volunteer who lived in a rural campo had electricity 24/7. A close by river uses a hydro electricity system that brings his area electricity. Electricity and water. Two basic amenities, some might even call these essentials. Why is there no better system to maintain both? Not a lot of people know. There aren’t enough plants to supply the electricity, people using a lot of what there is only very little of, and there is not a set system of people paying for these amenities.

Back to the site locations. All the volunteers had a unique experience depending on where they were located. I like the idea of being in a small enough place that people know who I am, but not too small to where I feel isolated from the rest of the PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). Speaking of acronyms, Peace Corps has an acronym for just about everything. I am a PCT who will be going to CBT at the end of next week for CED training where I will meet with my APCD about our work. In English please…. I am a Peace Corps Trainee who will go to Community Based Training at the end of next week for Community Economic Development training where I will meet with my Associate Peace Corps Director about our work. That’s just a handful of them. And then the nurse comes and talks to us about STIs, HIV, MMR and I am lost.

Good news, I am leaving this Thursday for my weekend volunteer visit to a place called Higuerito in Moca (about 2 ½ hours north of Santo Domingo). I am traveling alone for the first time so fingers crossed that I won’t get lost. I am ready to get out of the city for a little bit-I think the fumes are starting to rattle my brain. It feels like I have been here in the DR for a while now although it has only been 2 weeks or so. The mosquitoes are biting me less, so I am probably starting to smell like a Dominican ( I am eating a lot of platanos). Learning more about how Dominicans live is also making me feel more integrated into their culture. Since I am in advanced Spanish class, we spend a lot of time talking about just typical Dominican life. I have learned some very interesting things about Dominicans this way.

Did you know:

-25% of the Dominican population is undernourished, 42% live below the poverty line-this has increased from 25% just since 2000.
- There are many interesting Dominican superstitions. Just to name a few: A woman should never put her purse on the floor or else she will lose money. If a pregnant woman rolls over her husband in bed, her husband will feel the pains of pregnancy.
-Many people use animal nicknames to describe personality traits. For example, if you are a player, you are a ‘tigre’. If you are an ugly woman you are called a ‘grillo’ (fire fly). ‘Jamona’ is a woman who is old and not married. ‘Caballo’ (horse) is someone who has great physical ability.

Just some things about the DR that have struck me in one way or another. If I don’t get lost in the country this weekend, I will update you when I return.