A New Place to Call Home

I know, it’s been a while, but with good reason. Since my last entry I have traveled back to Santo Domingo, had my official site visit, went back to Santo Domingo, bought a guitar, swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and finally permanently moved into my new home in Las Galeras. –deep breath- Now is when all the fun starts.

Last week was the accumulation of my three months of training. I took the same oath the President of the United States of America takes before swearing in to office. If it wasn’t official before, I certainly am now. The big day came and went, I had to leave my support network and begin a new journey all alone in my new home. I had become so accustomed to the security of being around other volunteers that this transition will take a little bit of time to get used to.

So here I am. In my new community. Dropped off at the end of the road (literally), eager to start. And now what? My site has a little bit of a different dynamic than your typical site. Unlike some of my other fellow volunteers, there isn’t a set project here for me to work with. I am here to figure out the needs of the community and work from there. Pretty broad, I know. Las Galeras has never had a volunteer before which comes with its positives and negatives. Some people just don’t really understand why I am here (they could very well be thinking that I am just like any other gringa mooching off their incredible beach). Others have approached me with tons of projects that they feel are all feasible. Apparently in two years I am capable of starting a women’s group, artisan association, fishing cooperative, vocational school, building a library, starting a rock climbing ecotourism project, teaching English classes-o the list goes on. Thus far, I have experienced a mix of emotions. It is all very overwhelming, but I take day by day. The crazy thing is, I wake up and I am supposed to figure out what the heck to do with myself-no more schedule like in training. This week I am that awkward neighbor, walking house to house meeting all my neighbors and desperately trying to remember all their names (Note to self: blue house made of wood with pink door belongs to Negra-yes her nickname is Negra because she is very dark). My notebook is filled with these little observations. I am taking things very slowly, and with all the rain we have been getting, days have been passing fast and although it has been harder to walk around with the road block of mud and puddles everywhere, I manage to keep myself busy.

Keep in mind, I have three months to figure out everything before I report back to the Peace Corps with my diagnostic. In the next three months I will be doing a variety of things including mapping out my community, interviewing 100+ households, analyzing the needs of the community and creating an action plan for the next year. It’s definitely far from your typical cubicle job.

O and about Las Galeras. Did I mention I will be living in paradise for the next two years? Karma has come my way because I am a 5 minute walk from one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. I did ask my supervisor if at all possible I could be placed near some form of water, a river or anything (somewhat jokingly), and well she gave me the entire Bahia de Rincon. Very tempting to pass the day on the beach, snorkeling- my uncle, lucky me, owns a scuba diving school (yes I will be getting certified). It is nice to know that when things get tough, whether it be trying to manage my work or confronting the inevitable dengue and amoebas, I just have to take a stroll down the road and remember, I am living in paradise.

Anyways, Las Galeras is a fishing village/town. In the past few years it has become more well known and it is becoming kind of an off the beaten path tourist spot. I should clear this up. The money from tourists lies primarily in the hands of foreign investors and the locals continue living with bare minimum, most in poverty. There might be a luxurious hotel close by, but my community still lacks running water. This is a country where most of its people don’t have the privilege to think about the future. They live day to day here. If they are able to put rice and beans on the table for dinner, well then that is all that matters. Tomorrow they will wake up and try to do the same thing over again. This is the mentality here amongst the poor and unfortunately this puts them at risk for generations of continual poverty.

This where I come in. If Las Galeras continues to grow, what affect will that have on the locals? Where can the locals get jobs? Although more than 80% of them depend on fishing as their main means of income, the fishermen don’t work together nor are they able to sell markets, hotels, etc. (the issue with the fishermen alone gets me heated). The youth who graduate high school don’t do anything. All in all, there is plenty of work that needs to be done here.

I have a lot of support from the community and my host family. My doña not only makes the best food in town (getting used to fresh fish all the time) but I think if someone tried to be mean to me, she would throw a coconut at their head-doña power.
I am learning to take things at a slow pace and for everyone reading this, ya I know you probably chuckled. But here, things get done “si dios quiere.” Things will get done, god willingly. This is how everyone talks. “Will you be attending the meeting tomorrow?” Response: “Si dios quiere.” This person is not committing to anything and when tomorrow comes and if they remember there is a meeting, well then they might go or they might not. Not the most efficient way to run things, but this is how time passes here on the island, even more so now that I am in a beach town. If the Ministry of the Environment can be two hours late for a meeting yesterday, I can only imagine what normal Dominican standard time is like here. And as hard and frustrating as it might be at first, I just need to remember to cogelosuave-take it easy.

So ladies and gents, family, friends and dedicated followers, I am finally here, living the not so glamorous Peace Corps life. Out here on my own and things are, well things are happening. I am very happy with my site and that is what is most important right now.

Sorry for taking so much time off, I’ll try and be better about writing-si dios quiere.

Paz


The Whole Gang Swearing In


My New Home, Las Galeras, Samana, Republica Dominicana