Week One

Having been a little nervous the last time I wrote, just before getting on the bus to come up here, to my site, for real this time, I am happy to report that I am doing well here. I have even had some pretty good adventures and fun days this past week. As with most things so far, there are upsides and downsides already. I’ll start with the upsides:

Friday, I did some exploring, which was great. First, I went to Alta Mira which is the pueblito in whose municipality my site is located. That’s where the local level government offices and such related to my community are located. I also learned where the supermarket is. After that, I went and found my friend and fellow volunteer, Kevin’s, site. It’s a 10 minute walk from where I catch the moto to come into my site, so pretty darn easy. Then we went to Puerta Plata, which was sortof unexciting but I’m glad we went. I think we missed the cool part, if there is one. Although other volunteers tell us that Puerta Plata is kind of a has-been tourist town. The downside of this is that I had money in my bra, just in case, and now I have an itchy, slightly yucky looking, money-shaped rash on my boob. I really hope it is heat rash because we walked a lot and I was sweaty and not some infection from the dirty, dirty money. Ew.

Yesterday, I went on a real expedition, escorted by my good sport but not particularly thrilled about it host brother, to find my other friend and co-volunteer Rob’s site. Rob is much, much more out there in the campo campo than I or Kevin are. There’s no running water or electricity there (he’s a water volunteer). Getting up there was a serious hike, about an hour long, in quicksand like mud, which I had to do mostly in flip flops because we had to walk through the river FOUR times, and the trail was a horse trail, not a foot trail, and not a car trail. We eventually arrived and then went exploring more with Rob, more mud, more impossibly slippery trails. I totally fell and got entirely very muddy. It was hilarious. At one point we actually weren’t even on a trail, or any semblance of a trail, we just hiked right up the hill through the leaves and fallen branches and mud. It was so hard I gave up and took off my flips altogether so I didn’t end up sliding all the way down the hill, which was a very real risk. I am trying not to think of the cooties I was walking in with my bare feet.

Last night I went to the discoteca, which was ok, but I was really, really tired and the music was painfully too loud. I came home early and went to bed. Today I’m supposed to go exploring more with a girl in my community, but it’s the DR so we’ll see if it actually happens.

Also, I discovered that the 10 peso ice cream bar truck comes through most days at like 215 pm, and so most of the week I have been buying myself an after lunch snack. Yum. Tuesday I’m going into Imbert to use the internet and the bank, check out the pueblo and hopefully meet up with Todd, another volunteer in the area. He’s the one working at 27 Charcos (Google it.)

And for the downsides. I like my host family, I really do. They are nice. They give me relatively good food. They are nice to each other and to me. They generally give me my space (although I struggle with feeling guilty for taking it). They are very respectful. The thing is, I think I just don’t like living with a host family. I am just not a fan of the host family experience. I feel too exposed to people I hardly know, and who hardly know me. It’s hard to find stuff to talk to them about, although I think all sides are trying. I feel more guarded with my host family than maybe with other people, probably because of the feeling exposed thing.

In general, it’s hard for me to come up with topics to chat about here still. Between still struggling with Spanish on a daily basis (although, admittedly, not as much as some others in our group) and generally not knowing what’s going on to chit chat about, I find myself being quiet. Not sad so much as lacking much to say, although sometimes I feel sad too.

I know it will just take time. Time to find my stride, time to find stuff to talk about. Time to get comfortable if I don’t have anything to say. Time to find places and people who are for me to rest and rejuvenate. Time in general. I am confident still that as time passes and I get more of a sense of what my work here is (or even what other people’s work here is) I will feel more at ease. I knew this would be hard for me, the sitting around, nothing to do in particular, nowhere to go in particular. Nobody telling me what to do or where to go, but not really being free to do whatever I want or go wherever I want.

So here’s something interesting. The Ducks lost the Civil War football game. That they lost is not what is interesting about it (although it’s a bummer). What is interesting about this fact is that I know it. What is more interesting about this fact is that I know it because I saw it! I am in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic and I saw (part) of my alma matter’s Civil War football game on ESPN last night. Now, I’m a little confused because usually the game would have been last weekend, or even two weeks ago (it’s usually on one end or another of my birthday) but alas. I didn’t get to see much, just a few minutes of the third quarter, but I saw the recap, again by freak chance, today so I saw how it all turned out. Loss. Double overtime. Bummer. Hope you guys had a beer for me.


Anyway, as with everything. Salty and sweet come together. I better go for now, I am getting called out on hiding in here and need to go compartir, but I’ll try to come and write again soon!!! New pictures are online!!!

Love you all!
Kira