Celebrando Las Chicas

9:13 AM | Posted by Bri

3-6-11

Dios mío! So, Heather, the volunteer next to me in Juan Lopez, and I got this grant to do an event for International Women's Day observed March 8th. We were so excited because we are just starting to get our girls groups going so we thought this event would help us get more attention and girls to attend. I would say if I don't get a 10% better attendance rate from girls I am going to be sad because the conference was planned for 30 girls in total and about 70 girls ended up showing up. Yeah. We were crazy.

The day started off as a disaster. I asked my project partner to help me find people to help me bring over chairs and participants to the event over a week ago and he said he would take care of it. Needless to say, he had no clue who could help me. Jerk. So I am scrambling trying to find someone with a truck while still trying to attend to the million other things I have to do and keep a cool, calm face. I bought the 10 huge 2 liter refrescos and decided to call my neighbors. In about an hour my neighbors came to the rescue with a guagua to transport the chairs and my project partner decided to take my girls. Bien right? Well in the process of all this I tried to carry all 10 refrescos (I am pretty strong but not that strong) and while lowering the sodas onto the ground I ripped my pants! So I went to the event and tried my best not to open my legs. Thank god, my enamorado Melvin showed up and I sent Lindsey to my house to pick up another pair. Ha! I forgot about it for a while but it was a good idea to change since I was in front of tens of girls staring at me.


All in all, the event was a huge success. We shot for 30 girls and got 70. We ended up being right on our budget so there were no miscalculations. We got lucky to get help from 2 other volunteers which helped us out A LOT. We started behind but later caught up on time. We got to play volleyball. We got to dance. We got to do face painting and I think we did a pretty good job on the informational charlas too. I liked mine!

Basically the week of the event Heather and I were pretty stressed. I tried to never make Heather worry but deep inside I was so worried for us but I am proud of everything the way it turned out and our success. We couldn't have done it alone so thanks to all those who helped (Joe and Lindz). 

Heather is already talking about the next event we are going to collaborate on. Hopefully that wont happen for a couple of months. I have to admit, this was one event that I am very proud of myself about. We did it Heather!

Heather and I

I gave a gender charla so I decided I should have a mustache.

Taming these girls caused me to lose my voice for a bit, but it was fun

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Carnaval in La Vega Baby!

9:08 AM | Posted by Bri

3-6-11

Carnaval. In a few words I can describe it as colorful, fun scary and painful. Let me count thy ways…

Basically Carnaval is a celebration for the entire month of February in the DR where different towns dress up in costumes and walk the streets with these things called "vejigas" where they beat anyone in front of them exposing their butt. The best place to go for Carnaval is La Vega because they have the most elaborate costumes and they are the heart of the country for this fiesta. 

I arrived in La Vega pretty early considering American party times but apparently Carnaval is something celebrated during the day into the night because around 9pm I found the streets of Carnaval empty. So FYI if you come to celebrate Carnaval, do it early. I was in bed and asleep by midnight, which was kind of nice actually especially since I had a fun night the night before.

So basically the streets are filled with people of all ages wearing masks, purchasing vejigas to whip people and running away from costumed whippers. I was pretty nervous getting to the site because I heard they whip people pretty hard and I saw a couple of grown men fall to their knees from the pain but I was lucky to not get whipped too bad, it was mostly the kids who would get me cause I would not expect it from them.

The costumes are beautiful with different colors, themes and groups. There was even a lot of girls dressed in the costumes which I was totally all about and I am actually going to look into being in costume walking the street next year. I am going to try and be a part of it cause it looks like a lot of fun. 

I ended the night watching a free salsa concert with a couple of volunteers which was definitely a good way to end the night. I am glad I got to experience this cool DR tradition. Although I was scared and running away from scary costumed people, it was so much fun to be able to do something different and new. I have a whole new view on February. Screw Valentine's day… it's all about Carnaval!




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Med Missions are cool...

8:35 AM | Posted by Bri

2-19-11

So I've been bugging my buddy Joe to let me in on one of these things Peace Corps calls "Med Missions" where volunteers work as translators for medical physicians that come to the DR to aid dominicans for FREE. I was pretty much ready to give up and start putting Joe on my "I hate" list but he saved himself when I finally got an invitation. Haha Joe.

So the mission was set up through ILAC in Licey with these doctors from Chicago's Loyola University Medical Center. This team was super great at what they do, and they were tremendously nice and polite to us (well, most of them). It's remarkable for a team of such high status, busy people getting together to work long days and nights in a foreign country just to help people in need of their services. Thousand dollar surgeries were offered for free but it was because these people really needed the help and the surgeries were needed and deserved. 

Getting there things were super awkward because you don't know who anyone is other than the other volunteers who were really fun (Claire, Chandler, Sarah Roberts). So everyday I pretty much had to get up as early as 630am, eat breakfast, translate a little, snack, sit, translate a little more, eat lunch, poop, watch a surgery, snack, translate, sit and draw, snack, watch another cool surgery, eat dinner, sit around, translate a little more then try to find a way to sneak out so I can get a run in from all the eating. It was fun but it was also exhausting on my feet. My legs were so restless from standing all day long it kind of suck but it wasn't so bad if I sat down.

Here I am with a girl who had to get keloids extracted from her ears from the use of earrings. Weird coincidence: She's another volunteers neighbor! I stayed by her side during the entire procedure because they used local anesthesia so she wasn't completely put under. In the end, she gave me some clips she was wearing to say thanks. Sweet.
The best part of the missions were the patients and being able to serve and feel important and useful. I feel like because I am not the typical american view the people really understood me and had more comfort in speaking with me than with the doctors. It felt really good to talk to the patients about absolutely nothing but see in their faces that they appreciate my time because they are nervous for a surgery or feeling anxious because they can't communicate with the doctors. I even had a few patients that would hug me and look for me or gave me cute little gifts when they left to have something to remember them by. It's the little things like that, that really makes me feel like I am helping someone and doing something good.

Another benefit was getting to know the med students and being able to hang out and celebrate with them. After a long day in the clinic, we all would just want to go out so we went to Puerta Del Sol (bar in Santiago) or other casinos to have fun and relax after working 12 hour days. Last night we went to Cabarete. I am mentioning this because I am writing this half asleep, running on 2 hours of "rest" and I just ended my english class thinking why did i schedule these on Saturdays? Hmmm.

I am really glad I got to go on this mission and will probably be harassing Joe to let me go on more missions because of it. Sorry Joe.

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Here we go again...

12:13 PM | Posted by Bri

1-31-11
January is ending but really all the work is just beginning. This week sparks the brink of a lot of new projects which I am very excited for. Oh let me count the ways..
1. Still working on getting batteries and an inverter for my high school, but this process sure does take lots of patience (that I feel I am running out of). I am crossing my fingers for this year!
2. Started english classes this week (which I am not excited for) but it was ooooook. One class is full of little ninos. And if you know me you know I don't really like kids. So this is agonizing. Good thing I have other projects to focus on to give me some patience.
3. My community is the only community in my town that does not have water sent through pipes and tubes. We have to receive our water from trucks passing through then purchase and store the water in big tanks and barrels. Sucks. So I am working with some neighborhood leaders to solicit aid in creating an aqueduct for my community. If this can actually happen and take off I would be sooooo happy. Right now I don't have water because it hasn't rained in over a month and the trucks have not passed by all week. I haven't showered in 2 days and its really bugging me because I want to work out and I cant because I wont have water to shower afterwards. This is really putting a hinder on my workout regimen. Really annoyed.
4. I am also working to get a basketball court built in my community at a nearby school. Basically the community has told me that the school can't offer physical education classes because there is no space to teach this subject and they also said the delinquency is a problem because the teenagers have no way to funnel their energy and time other than hanging out at a nearby colmado where they can drink and gamble. Building a basketball court can solve the problem by offering sports as an after school activity and also a school educational course. I am actually really excited about this one. There is this site called www.courts4kids.org where anyone in the US can sign up to travel to a different country and help build a sports court where it is needed, no experience required. It is sort of like a mini peace corps because you stay in the site and learn about the culture, help out a community and gain a new experience. I hope I can get this aid cause I know my community really could use the help.
5. I also am working with a local women's group on getting them training on how to make household cleaning products and such so they can start their own company and make money. I'm also working on teaching them literacy and offering them health and family workshops too. So much to do!
My women's group and I celebrating International Women's Day together

6. On top of this I will be starting a new youth group this week called Chicas Brillantes made up of girls helping each other out and also includes fun activities and games. It's meant to support girls in this misogynistic country and helps build their self esteem and knowledge about being a woman. There is a conference that I am taking 2 girls to later on this month and an activity I want to plan together with my PC neighbor, Heather in combing our two groups to work together. Cool! Update: We got the grant! Yay! Activity to plan March 5th!
First week of girls group, making masks to celebrate Carnaval of course! Super fun!

7. I am still continuing with my first youth group, Encargados del Futuro, a computer group who I am at the moment, teaching photoshop and blogging. Go figure. The center where we work just installed the Internet so now we will actually start facilitator training so they can start their own computer classes and I can focus on other things like getting pedicures and massages. Oh I wish…
My Encargados del Futuro youth group, look at our flow!

8. I am also doing stuff for myself like I am going to start a worm composting bin this week. I just need to get the worms in santiago and then I will start feeding them all my leftover food and scraps and feel one step closer to being environmentally friendly. Yay! Also maybe I can encourage all my dominican neighbors to start worm bins too? I may be getting too ahead of myself they already think I am crazy.
9. I am also working on an art manual for Peace Corps so we have an A-Z book on everything art including cheap art projects and artworks to enjoy. You can tell this is one of my passions right?
10. Did I mention probably one of my biggest projects yet? Constructing a library for my high school including constructing the building then filling it with fun books and a certified librarian? Yeah it's going to be hard and although my school sucks at supporting me I really want to do this one. Just need someone to help me with the budget… darn it may take a while after all…

Of course there are more side projects in the air such as teacher training, art clubs, sports clubs and more but for now I feel a little bit overwhelmed so I need to tackle things one at a time.

I do feel like I want to take advantage of this year and feel like I have been doing things I normally don't do. I went and visited friends recently, rode a horse (never done that, well not alone without it attached to that circle thing at the swap meet),  I just got scuba certified (terrifying but FUN!) and I want to continue this year with white water rafting, the worm compost and who knows maybe eat more street food, I shouldn't get too crazy though... :)

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Christmas Vacation! Visit to the states!

4:20 AM | Posted by Bri

1-3-11

Welp I am back in the DR after a wonderful christmas vacation back to the states. I am laying in bed under a small throw blanket and a neighbors comforter freezing my butt off. What the hell happened since I've been gone? The temperature here has gotten strangely cold and thank god for neighbors I have some temporary remedies to fight off the cold before it turns into the usual summer heat and I am sweating again. I have to admit it is kind of nice to be cold in the DR when I think of all the times I wanted to die from all the sweat I was perspiring. Hooray for cold temps!

Christmas this year was a lot of fun to be able to visit home and be comfortable and lazy for a while. I only spent 2 weeks at home but it was well worth the excruciating 8 hour flights through Panama. Weird, I know. I got to see my family which is always a pleasure but I think I got a vibe from them that I don't normally get all the time and it was a lot of love. Haha. Not that my family normally doesn't love me, but I just really felt their support and happiness to see me which was really great to experience. I think they really missed me! 

I also got to see my best buds like my girls and besties which was spent mostly drinking dominican rum or some kind of substance to celebrate my arrival. Yay. I forget how many friends I have at home sometimes when I am out in this country scourging to find anyone to be my friend. :) It ain't easy…

I got the best christmas presents this year: A new traveling backpack, new wardrobe, running shoes and money. All of which definitely help me out in this country. I even got treated to a mani pedi from my sister which felt super nice to be pretty and girly again.

So it was definitely harder this time to say goodbye than it was the first time leaving, especially to the fam. For some reason I think my family didn't really believe I was leaving for the DR until the night before my flight and even then the goodbyes were very subtle and short. This time I just wanted to bawl my eyes out but I am a weirdo and can't cry in front of people so instead of them saying goodbye subtly and short, it was me trying to just give them a quick hug and goodbye. I didn't want my fam to see my face get so teary eyed because I really enjoyed my time at home and I didn't really want to go back yet.

So I get back to the DR to see my neighbors and family with so much desire to see me. I am not sure if its to see what I brought them back or if they really wanted to see me. Haha. Just kidding, but seriously some of my neighbors whom I never even said 2 words to were asking what I brought them back which was hilarious because I couldn't even bring back the things I wanted for the people who mattered. 

I spent new years on the island which was a blast. A bunch of volunteers got together and celebrated the new year in cabarete, the tourist capital of the DR north beach. What can I say, the place was packed full of dominicans, americans, europeans, everyone all doing the same thing: Getting drunk as a skunk. Needless to say it was a good time and I am kind of glad to be chilling in my site now. Not gonna say I am excited to start working but I am excited to be back in the DR. 
I got to go to Disneyland, it was pouring rain but it was fun! Here are my sisters and nieces avoiding the rain.


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Countdown til Christmas

7:24 PM | Posted by Bri

12-4-10

Woo woo! There are about 9 days left until I get to fly home for Christmas in the good ol' USA. I can't even describe the emotions running through my body. Excitement, nervousness, sadness for leaving my campo but a lot more happiness to get out of here. I really did want to see how Christmas is celebrated here in the DR but I think it will be a lot more meaningful next year. This year I am very eager to see my family and teach them everything that I've learned in my first year. I am also excited to see my friends, my polo girls and get down!

I am going to say that I feel like I definitely have created another family here in the DR that consists of a mixture of volunteers, dominican neighbors and my family. With the volunteers I can bitch about the dominicans and dance and be myself and with the dominicans it's all about learning and sharing of traditions and cultures. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable without the dominican family I have here. The other day I was on the toilet and I mandar'd my little hermanita to get me my phone so I could text people while pooping. Maybe a little too much info but that's definitely an "I knew I was integrated when…" story. (Haha Heather)

I feel like the dominicans are starting to get comfortable with me as well. They are all pretty much counting down along with me for my departure giving me long lists of stuff to bring them back. They're nuts cause I ain't bringing back shit. Haha. One wants a headlamp, one says she wants a sweater, another asked me for some pants. What the hell? Even on my morning runs the sweet man asked me to bring him back an ipod! My response "Are you crazy?" What are they thinking. First off the plane ticket alone is going to put me in a tight budget for xmas gifts so purchasing stuff in the US is impossible. Looks like I am going to be doing a lot of thrift store shopping (which I love anyway). 

I feel like I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable with myself now as well. I've gained a bunch of weight and have struggled for a while on trying to lose it that it made me miserable. Now I am not completely comfortable (I still am going to try to lose it) but I don't feel helpless. I am opening my eyes to dating and what possibilities there are and I don't feel so closed shut on trying new things and just putting yourself out there. Life is all about the experiences you have and there are ups and downs and highs and lows. It's what you do after those experiences that count. Getting out of a 7 year relationship, I kind of felt like I was never going to get over it. I'm still not completely over it but now I know I am human and life goes on. Wah wah wah… :) 

To be honest, these 9 months away from home has been an eye opening experience and has taught me a lot about growing up. I really hope to come home and not be a completely different person but someone who just looks more knowledgeable about her surroundings instead of jaded by whats in and whats cool. I left not really knowing where I was going. I still don't know what I'm doing. But I know that I am happy and I feel good about myself (on most days) :). 

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Sabrina's Countdown of the Top 10 reasons to LOVE the Dominican Republic…

10:38 AM | Posted by Bri

10. The craziness of it all! The crazy carro drivers with a beer in their lap, motoconcho drivers with gashes and burns from accidents (still working), people putting dangerous wires together just to steal the luz, cobradores from guaguas hanging out the bus holding on for dear life, little girls as old as 4 dancing scandalously to reggaeton with their mothers cheering them on, getting drunk and passing out in the public streets where everyone is peeing (so gross), the list goes on and on… (My best Dr moments include sitting in a guagua with 12 other hefty doña's sweating profusely with a huge backpack on my lap. The radio is blasting some type of bachata that I'm singing, the driver is flirting with me asking for his visa and all I really want to do is grab a pineapple and sit and read in my hammock or go to the rio and drink some rum.)
9. The ríos! The rivers here aren't always clean nor are they always safe, but they are always fun. Dominicans definitely know how to party at the rio. They bring out the fogon (grill) pop open those Presidentes and blast the music. The rio is always cold and refreshing with the heat of the island. Best rios? Definitely Jamao and the rio emptying into the beautiful beach at Los Patos. Ya tu sabes. 
8. The delicious fruit and veggies grown here: pineapples, guineos, lechosa and yucca. Never tasted sweeter.
7. Dominican honesty. You know dominicans will always tell you the truth even if it is really rude. They'll definitely tell you if you have gained weight (hear that one everyday) and they'll definitely tell you if you look bad or stink (Dominican: "Yeah let's go to the rio, but first you go shower and change and I'll come pick you up" Me: "But what's wrong with what I am wearing now?"
6. Bolas! Aka Free rides! Now that I am living without any means of my own transportation I feel so dependent on unsecured and unsafe transportation which makes me feel nuts. If there is anything I miss from the states is being able to drive my own car and doing so whenever I want. You get a "bola" basically by either hitchhiking or knowing someone that will gladly give u a lift to the place you need to be. Yes I know this is highly dangerous but compared to the US it is harmless. Since I live in a campo I pretty much know the people in my town and they know me so they know where I need to go without me telling them and they're always glad to help. Ladies always get bolas because it is considered very gentlemenlike to give women lifts to not make them walk. As for the guys, psssh they can walk. Or they hide in the bushes while the ladies get the bola then they come out and take advantage. Haha. Works every time. 
5. The gorgeous beaches and all inclusive hotels. Haven't been scuba diving or snorkeling but I bet there are some really pretty fishes and coral reefs to check out too.
4. The loud thumping music and dances. Bachata, merengue, reggaeton whatever, it's loud and the dominicans are some of the smoothest dancers I have ever seen. I never see them sweat meanwhile I am always dripping!
3. The "cogelo suave" mentality. Yeah you have a meeting at 1pm but the guagua is running late, you just ate a mountain of rice for almuerzo so you don't feel like moving, you don't even know what the meeting is about (something about setting rules and planning projects, like thats important) and you don't have minutes to call anyone to tell anyone you will be late. Ah… you will get there sometime. 
2. Campo life. There are some days when I come home from a long day and theres no luz and I just feel so annoyed that I can't watch my 30 Rock or movies but it's days like these that I will also appreciate once I am back home to have peace and quiet and time to think. I feel like I have learned a lot about taking care of myself and also on how to be a more economical person. When you live i the campo, you don't get much water so you save up as much as you can, you don't eat luxury foods so you invent recipes with what you have and you may not have electricity at hand so you are forced to read or interact with other people. Bugs don't scare me half as much anymore, I am comfortable doing everything for myself and I appreciate alone time and a good book while laying on my hammock. Peace. Tranquilo.
1. The dominican people period. Life is measured here not by the amount of money you have (nor do I measure it by the successful projects that I have implemented) but by the relationships you acquire and strong friendships and bonds you make. Nowhere else will you be greeted by everyone you see during the day. Nowhere else will you be helped and given free rides (bolas) to get to the places you need to go. Nowhere else will you find people so happy and so humble with their small wooden houses, concrete floors and tin roofs. They know the country has many reasons to be angry or sad but the dominican people celebrate anything worth celebrating. They always make sure your beer cup is always full (Seriously they never let it even get half full they're already pouring drops to the rim). They never hesitate to share anything they own (Everything is "A tus ordenes"). And they all are, quite frankly, very good looking.

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