3-month IST

Hello!

My, it's been a while. Today has a theme.

Since last Wednesday until yesterday afternoon, I have been at my 3 month In-Service Training for my Community Economic Development at Peace Corps. For those of you who are geographically savvy, we were in Guaigui, La Vega. Actually, the facility we were using is the former house of a former DR president, Balaguer (maybe spelled incorrectly, who knows).

In any case, this was a pretty important mark in my service so far. Basically, the first day and a half or so was a work session with the volunteers and our project partners. I was able to bring someone from Fundelosa, my main project, as well as someone from the candle business I'm working with. I have mentioned my diagnostic several times over the months, and this was the culmination of my diagnostic project. Each of us gave a 20 minute presentation summarizing the results of our diagnostic reports (mine ended up 12 pages in Spanish). After that it was working and planning projects and priorities with our partners. I didn't really feel like this part of the event was particularly useful, because the work sessions were mickey mouse and I really didn't come away from it with any better idea of what I'm going to do as a volunteer.

Things improved greatly after the project partners left and we began the training portion of the week. I got some really good ideas for projects and how to go about some ideas I had already come up with. I learned about a free opensource accounting software (which I have been unsuccessful at downloading, grr) and some tips for teaching English (which everyone wants but the idea has been too intimidating for me to seriously consider). We spent some quality time with the other volunteers and got to hear about projects the more experienced volunteers have been working on.

I'm going to be translating my diagnostic into English for archiving purposes in case I might want it for a job later on or something, and I'll be sending one or the other or both to people who seem interested, but if you want to make sure I send it to you, just shoot me an email.

La Vega is (I think) the "best" Carnaval site in the country, and actually attending was a "training activity" for our group. The other sectors had already finished their ISTs, but since ours was still in session they still wanted us to be able to go. You can see lots of pictures on my Picassa site (link to the right). I don't really know much about the history or point of Carnaval other than in most countries it coincides with the beginning of Lent, but not here. Basically it was just a lot of people with the monsters parading by. They have these balloon things filled with wax so they are really hard and if they wail on anyone whose ass is available, especially if you enter the street. There were a bunch of us there, and it was a pretty good time but I don't know what the fuss is about, other than it was a fantastic opportunity to take some really striking photos. I didn't end up getting hit at all, but I was being really careful. Several people in our group have rediculous bruises.

Up until IST, the name of the game at site has been working on the diagnostic, getting a sense of what's going on and getting integrated into the community. Some people have already been doing work and actively participating, but not me so much. Now that IST and diagnostic is over, this is when we are to begin planning and implementing organizational, community and personal projects at our sites. This is overwhelming on a number of levels, and getting started is the hardest part, I think. I have lots of ideas of things I might want to do, but figuring out what order to pursue them and how to go about it is tricky. I am feeling nervous about going back to my site today, but part of that is just that this is the longest time I've been out of site. The nice thing is that I have a meeting on the 29th in the capital, and I'm going to go in a day or two early to use my "free" days for February, so I have about a week in my site and then I'll be out for three days, so it will be good for me to get in and be able to come back out again before too long.

In any case, it's strange. There is so much to say about what I'm doing here but it's pretty impossible to describe. Someone described PC to me as like developing a photograph, and that the image won't become clear until sometime after the whole experience has concluded. She was exactly right when she said that. I really want to have some way to record my evolution and experiences over this time, and I guess this blog is the way to do it. It will be interesting to look back a year or so after I return to the states and remember how I was feeling and all the things I went through. As much as there's so much that can't possibly be included, I hope I am at least getting the general idea across. Let's just say whatever one thinks PC will be, it will be different. Better, worse and just generally different.

Okay, that's all for now. Keep the emails coming, and thanks for all the support!

More later!

Realtime

Hey folks,

It's not very often that I get to write on the blog and post it right away, so even though I already put up four or something posts plus pictures today, I thought it would be nice to add one now, especially since I actually have some interesting things to report.

I'm in the capital again, although not for as long this time (I'm leaving tomorrow morning). The purpose of this visit is Committee Weekend, which is basically every four months there's a weekend devoted to all kinds of committees, so that volunteers can go to the various meetings they need to be at in one trip. Committees are things like the Volunteer Advisory Committee (gives input to PCDR Administration), Website Committee, Gringo Grita (the Onion-esque publication I'll be working on the next cycle, I hope), and various conference committees to plan and put on activities to do with self esteem, diversity, gender empowerment and so on.

So even though the specifics of my in-site, project related work are still unclear (more on that later), I have now signed up to participate in Gringo Grita, probably doing the majority of the layout/design stuff; I am on the fund-raising committee for Camp GLOW, a week-long summer camp that volunteers put on and we each bring a couple girls to participate in activities related to self-esteem and empowerment, health, rights etc.; and I'm also going to participate in a different conference called Celebrando Cibao, a regional diversity conference that lasts 2 or 3 days and we bring in speakers and workshop leaders to talk and lead activities on ethnic, gender, racial, religious and whatever else kind of diversity we can think of. Especially the fund-raising for Camp GLOW will be really good for my resume because it's a pretty big deal as far as price tags go, I think they said the operating budget is something like US$10,000, which in Peace Corps money is quite a lot. Plus, both events sound like a lot of fun.

Yesterday I went to a meeting for Brigada Verde, which is the youth group initiative for the Environmental Education group, and although I'm not sure exactly what form it will take, I think I'm going to use some of their materials in my primary project. What happens is my counterpart organization, Fundelosa, has numerous projects including a youth group. One of the underlying themes of all the projects Fundelosa manages is environmental education and conservation, and they want me to participate pretty actively in the youth group. So I don't know if I will migrate the youth group to be Fundelosa/Brigada Verde per se, but I've gotten pretty good feedback from the PC and Fundelosa folks about at least using some of their charlas and activities and such as something I can contribute.

It's interesting because I am finding at least as many opportunities for interesting projects outside of my official CED project plan and assignment as within in. I found 30+ kids while doing my surveys who don't have their Acta de Nacimiento (birth certificates, very important!) so I think I want to do an initiative to help get their documents sorted out. I also really like the idea of working with the environmental stuff. Some of the health/gender/environment activities and secondary projects seem more applicable and adoptable than some of the CED stuff. My community, even though it's pretty developed, is still a bit of a reach to have relevance for some of the key aspects of the CED stuff.

Anyhow, I finally finished my community surveys (thank goodness) and when I get back to my site tomorrow afternoon I will be spending the next week fairly devoted to compiling my data, writing my community & organizational diagnostic report and building my presentation for my In-Service Training which is Feb. 13-18. I have a few commitments fit in there as well to work with Camino De Luz (the candle business) and a meeting or two, but it will work out. I'm really looking forward to the whole diagnostic process being over. For one, it was kind of a pain in the ass, and for two, it really hasn't resulted in a whole lot of particularly valuable information for me, either on a social level or on a programmatic level. Also, at the IST I'll be able to finally outline my project/work goals for my first year of service so that when I get back to my site I can work on planning and thinking about starting my own projects. I'm very, very much looking forward to having my own life/schedule/work/projects and things so that I feel more in charge of my life. Communication is frustratingly indirect here, so I am forever not knowing about meetings and activities until the very last minute or sometimes even after the fact. It will be nice to have my own activities and work to do.

So here are a few things on my brainstorming list of ideas for my work projects:
- Youth group for Business Plan Competition (12-week business skills course, the writing of a basic business plan, and a 3-day conference)
- Computerize the data for the micro-credit and solar panel projects at Fundelosa
- Brigada Verde (environmental education) stuff with the youth group at Fundelosa
- Income generation projects and workshops (home-made household products) with the women's group at Fundelosa
- Get computers donated to Fundelosa, get the office computerized and the data transfered
- Do computer skills training with office staff
- Do organizational, project and performance evaluations for Fundelosa and staff
- Improve data keeping and administration of Camino de Luz
- Work on marketing/promoting and developing new sales opportunities for Camino de Luz products
- Get Fundelosa online
- Help develop and launch a website for Fundelosa
- Work on Actas de Nacimiento (birth certificates)
- Camp GLOW, Celebrando Cibao

This is getting pretty long, but hopefully this helps give a more concrete idea of the kinds of things I might be doing here in the upcoming months and years. Life is pretty good, no major complaints. Although I am still very much looking forward to moving out on my own, I am adjusting to life in the host family's house, although not completely. I just have to remember that everyone's site and experience is different, everyone's trials and tribulations are different, and do the best I can with what I've got to work with internally and externally at my site. Especially when I come to the capital and actually have a chance to talk to other volunteers. We are all doing well though. Hanging in there. Finding our way. Looking forward to feeling sure, confident and under control. I know I'll get there though.

Anyhow, take care! Thanks for reading!!!! Oh, and if your looking at my Facebook, I'm holding a newborn pig. View all about it at the pictures link. :)

Pigs and Publisher and Goats, Oh My

Oh, it’s been an interesting couple of days in a pretty funny Peace Corps kind of way.

To all my current and future fellow lovers of publication design and the Adobe Creative Suite, I must confess. I used Microsoft Publisher. No, it’s worse. I installed it on my computer. I feel horrible about it, but, aside from the fact that it’s not available here (literally or cost-wise), inDesign just isn’t sustainable in the Peace Corps. Oh man, could you imagine trying to teach people who don’t know how to set a margin in Word about all the beautiful complexities of graphic design software. I used it for my official Peace Corps business card, but I’m also about to get roped into to building a brochure for Fundelosa about the chocolate factory they are getting ready to launch.

Friday, I woke up and sat outside drinking my morning café con leche. Sitting there, I noticed there were six or so goats hanging around the house, and I thought to myself Hey, I wonder why there are so many chivos hanging out today. And then it left my mind and I went to the office to install (as previously confessed) Publisher on my computer and the desktop at the office. When I came home for lunch, I figured out about those goats. Their skins were on the ground. Their heads on the cement table. Their bodies chopped up into five-gallon buckets. Two hundred fifty pounds of chivo in all.

Saturday, I woke up to a ruckus (which is sadly normal here, but this was a special, extra-hurried ruckus) and discovered that the pregnant pig in the posigla out back had gone into labor and was dar-ing luz to an indeterminate number of puercitos. I really wanted to watch so I grabbed my camera and headed out to watch the action. All said and done, she delivered 11 piggies, but one died mid-term (they chucked it into the foliage with the placenta for the dogs…). I got some great pictures!

After that, at noon, we went to some crazy neighborhood block party and proceeded to eat the 250 pounds of previously slaughtered goat. And drink. And dance. And sit around for 7 hours listening and dancing to merengue and bachata. Rob came and visited for the day and then stayed the night in a neighbor’s extra bed. He got in on the goat and rum action as well, checked out the pigs and we ate fried chicken and tostadas (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) for dinner.

Today was a long day (SUNDAY) of meetings at the office (SUNDAY, did I mention it’s SUNDAY?). We were there from 9-5. It was in Spanish. Meetings in Spanish are still generally indecipherable for me. I’m exhausted.

Oh, and I learned a new phrase today.

To fart is hacer peo. Hehhehhehehe.

Daily Life

What’s it like here? Well, this changes depending on what stage I’m in. Training in Santo Domingo was different than in CBT; my first month here, before my diagnostic, was different than now; right after my IST in February will be different from now as well as different from whatever routine I might settle into as my work and projects get underway. However, since you asked…

I usually wake up around 630 or 7 to a racket, and then doze until 8 or so if I can tune out the banging and shouting and rearranging of furniture that defines campo mornings. Then I usually lay around until about 830 before getting out of bed. Sometimes I go to the Fundelosa office in the mornings, but since I don’t really do anything there yet I get bored quickly. Sometimes I wander around the community in the morning visiting people or doing various errand-y tasks. Sometimes I stay at home, drink a coffee, tidy up my room, do laundry, take a shower, read/write, etc.

Either way, lunch is at noon and I usually eat at 1230. Camp life stops from 12-2, so sometimes after lunch I take a siesta (two things on this: 1) They don’t use siesta here. They say echar una pavita, which roughly translated means “To throw a little turkey,” but echar is a verb that doesn’t translate well and has many meanings. 2) Contrary to popular belief, my experience has been that Dominicans don’t nap and they find me peculiar for doing so.)

Usually I work on my surveys (at this writing, 70 out of 100 are completed) from 2-5ish, and then I meander back up home. Dinner is usually around 630 and then I hang around until 830 or 9 when I go to my room for the night. Sometimes I go right to sleep, but usually I read or write for a while.

It’s not that I have anything against hanging out with the family, but the TV they watch bores me to tears (and the chairs are really uncomfortable, and they change the channel constantly), and if it’s not TV it’s some mundane conversation entirely void of details that I can’t follow. So I get bored and go to my own thing.

Sometimes I have to go the pueblo and that eats at least half a day. More if I am accompanying a Dominican.

Here are some examples of meals here:

Breakfast:

Either fresh-squeezed juice or a hot drink made from pureed and strained oatmeal (rather tasty but I’d rather have a bowl of oatmeal AND either two pieces of bread (like a dinner roll) or a pack of saltine crackers roughly the quantity of three graham crackers, sometimes with squeaky cheese. I also usually make myself a coffee.

Lunch:

Salad (shredded cabbage, sometimes with shredded carrots or a cucumber or beets) with oil, vinegar and salt. Meat, usually pork or chicken. Rice (white, seasoned or with beans/lentils). If the rice doesn’t have beans/lentils, sometimes there are habichuelas (red beans in a yummy sauce). Sometimes there is a scary looking but tasty eggplant dish or yummy potato salad instead of rice. But that’s pretty much the extent of the variety for lunch.

Dinner:

Two piece of bread (same as breakfast) with the hot oatmeal drink again; cream of wheat (except its made with corn); or fried ham or salami and tostones or other root vegetable.

Yep. That’s a pretty thorough summary of my diet here. Notice the 3 square meals and 6 servings of fruit and vegetables. Maybe when I’m on my own. To be fair, though, having talked to several people from my training group this week, my situation in general with my host family is relatively good in comparison. It will still be a challenge to stay until May when I can move into my own place, but at least I know it could be worse.

Fat?

Twice so far today I’ve been told I’m bien gorda (pretty chubby) and it’s only noon. Apparently Dominicans stand by their practice that clothes only fit well if they are so tight you can see goosebumps through the fabric. I’m wearing a really cute cap-sleeve, empire waist peasant-y blouse thing Kyle sent me. I think I look cute, so they can keep their too-small spandex and we will all be happy. I understand that being called gorda here, if not a compliment per se these days, is not an insult, and I am not actually offended in the least. However, I do use these moments as an opportunity for cultural exchange and explain that Americans, especially women, are not flattered if you point out that they are chubby or have put on weight.

And anyways, I don’t even think I’ve gained weight. Last I checked at the end of November, I had lost 8 pounds since leaving the States. It’s possible that I gained a bit of it back (thanks to all the Starbursts and cookies I eat), but everything still fits, so whatever.

Aralen

Oh, before I forget. Last week I met Bartolome Colon (o algo asi), pitcher for the Anaheim Angels (I think… definitely a pitcher for an Angels team, but I’m uncertain about the Anaheim part). Apparently he is from Alta Mira and was in town for a visit. How strange to come into the “central” part of my campo community and find THREE brand-new HUMMERS parked in front of the colmado. One of them even had California plates. Now, please tell me, even if you are rich and famous, why would you go to the trouble of taking a car on an international flight for a vacation?

In other news, four whole months into the Peace Corps-mandated weekly Aralen regimen, I had my first “Aralen” dream. Now, if you feel morbidly compelled to read reviews of this malaria-fighting drug (Dan Beigh gleefully did extensive research before I came here), there are some pretty interesting stories. Suffice it to say that one of the more common side effects is extremely vivid—almost hallucinatory—dreams. Normally I take my Aralen in the morning, so it must wear off enough by nighttime. Yesterday, though, I took it right before bed and had this crazy dream that I rescued a puppy (whose name I couldn’t remember) and a newborn kitten. I then put them in the bathroom and “nursed” them back to health by checking on them once a week. I was distraught at how skinny and sickly they were. It was odd though, because I was both inside and outside of the dream, knowing the whole time that it wasn’t real, but still being upset by it. So now I have another notch on my Peace Corps Moments bedpost.