I want to be a Doctor!

Volunteers always talk about how amazing it is to work on Medical Missions, but I was still surprised by how incredible it really was. The first day, I worked with a doctor in triage, selecting the patients that they could help and having to turn away those who didn't qualify. I was a little overwhelmed by the number of little children who came in with severe burns, cleft lips and palates, and other birth defects. There were young people who were burned from throwing gasoline on burning garbage, women whose ex-boyfriends had thrown acid on them, and men with scars from bullet and knife wounds.

On Monday through Thursday, however, I was able to see the amazing operations that the MACLA doctors performed for FREE in order to help such patients. I spent most of my time working with the little kids, keeping them calm and talking to their parents until it was time for me to carry them into the operating room. They were often REALLY scared (as I would be!) but I was able to keep my composure because I knew that, when healed, the kids would discover that their lives were greatly improved. Many kids regained function in their hands and arms, had their cleft palates closed, and had unsightly tumors and keloids removed.

What most amazed me about myself, was that I DIDN'T pass out and die the minute that I saw peoples' bodies being cut open. I was still a little uneasy...but I actually stuck around! A few years ago I couldn't handle a PIG dissection! And I was so in awe at how much the recovery nurses were able to comfort the kids after their surgeries. So now, in ADDITION to wanting to be a teacher, psychologist, and public health worker, I also want to be a nurse! :)

Shameless Solicitation

My last major goal in my project is to renovate our school library. It has been a dream of mine since just about the very beginning of my service, but it has proven very difficult to realize. I finally have the grant proposal posted, but need your help! We would like to use the money to purchase a photocopy machine, so that teachers can actually print worksheets (instead of CONSTANT boardwork) and copy exams without having to spend large amounts of money. We also want to build some better shelves, tables, and chairs. And, of course, we want to purchase as many grade-appropriate books as possible! The teachers and I are really anxious to create a functioning resource center and would really appreciate any possible help. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our website at https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-288

Muchas gracias!!

Close of Service Conference...already??

April 24th. The day that my group is officially finished with Peace Corps service in the DR. Can you BELIEVE it?? I feel like it was not all that long ago that I stepped off the plane and thought, "Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?" Now my two years FLEW by and I am expected to figure out that ultimate question....what's next? The Close of Service (C.O.S.) Conference held by Peace Corps was really great. We learned about stuff that we probably SHOULD have known about years ago...like taking out loans, applying for grad school scholarships, saving/investing money, searching for jobs, working internationally, and improving our interviewing skills. Though I still have NO clue what I want to do next, I gained a little bit more confidence and perhaps courage to pursue things that I previously thought were beyond my reach.

We also learned about the very beauracratic process of leaving the country, including the infamous week-long medical exams. Good news for us, however! The doctor was able to get take-home poop sample jars so now we can gather up our first "specimens" in the comfort of our own homes!

As a group we celebrated our completion of service (almost) at Blue Moon Resort in Cabarete. A beautiful, isolated hostel in the hills outside of Cabarete, we enjoyed a world-famous meal of what they call Indian-Caribbean infusion. The food was served on large banana leaves and we ate it with our hands! Felicidades to all the amazing accomplishments of my peers!

Life in el Barrio is sweet...

As I mentioned in other entries, I have had a great few months here in my little barrio. Life isn't EXACTLY as it is in Chicago, but I am enjoying it for what it is. The rain has kept us indoors a little more than we would like, but we have still found plenty of time for sitting around talking, telling stories, and just making each other laugh HYSTERICALLY.
Our other major pastime is beauty. We wash each others' hair, blow it dry, straighten it, put in all sorts of weird things that we think will make it healthier, and then wrap it up a night....just to do it all over again. Not to mention the sweet manicures and pedicures that are SO imperative. I, unfortunately, cannot stand having really long fake nails..otherwise I would be rocking acrylics just like those pictured below.
The little kids in my neighborhood are full of fun and love and energy, and come up with endless hours of games for us to play. Whether with or without electricity, I am never at a loss for things to do. What am I going to do when I don't have 10-year-old neighbors to play tag with me in the streets?? Life in America is definitely going to be an adjustment!

Happy New Year, Dominican Style!

Wherever I may be at the end of this year, I sincerely hope that I can find my way back to Puerto Plata to celebrate the New Year. I thought that, as usual, we would quietly sit at the house and have some beer while listening to merengue and bachata. About an hour before midnight, however, one of my little muchachitos stumbled over to Pilar's house and began demanding beer. "Angel!" I said, "Are you drunk?!?!" Angel, who is 8-years-old, replied, "Yes, my dad gave me wine!" I nearly fell over. I have never seen an eight-year-old drunk in my life! Then I decided to see what else was going on so I wondered over to where my beloved "son" and his cousin were hanging out on the bridge. They ran over to me, also stumbling, and I thought, Oh, how cute, they are pretending to be drunk like Angel. Imagine how shocked I was to discover that my beloved hijo was NOT pretending!!!! I laughed hysterically and then dragged him home to show his parents, who also started cracking up. The entire NEIGHBORHOOD was drinking!
When midnight came around, we all started running around the barrio, hugging, kissing, and saying "Felicidades!!!" to everyone. We started dancing merengue and bachata in the middle of the street and all the kids did, too! We never even left our neighborhood but it was one of the best times I have ever had. There is such a sense of community here; all of us neighbors are like family and I was so happy that this gringa could be a part of something so Dominican. I was even dressed for the part! Have you noticed my bright blue SEQUENCED turtleneck sweater (a present from my host mom)!??! I'm truly a fashionista, eh? But seriously, New Year's Eve 2009: DR, anyone??

Feliz Navidad

This year, I was a bit nervous about being away from my family for Christmas (for the FIRST time!). Though I didn't get my annual snowfall or Christmas tree, I really enjoyed my holiday season. For one thing, there was NO school and so I had tons of free time to read, relax, and hang out with my muchachos. For nine days leading up to Christmas day, we got up reaaaaally early in the morning (with the help of baseball player Ramon Ramirez and his BLASTING Christian music from his jeep) to go to church, sing, and drink hot ginger tea. The traditional Christmas food is pork, so I had the great fortune of seeing WAAAY more piggies roasted than I could ever desire. One day they roasted FIVE in one day....right in front of my house! On Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), I had like half the families in the neighborhood trying to shove pork, rice and peas, and potato salad down my throat. One neighbor even made special "American" dishes that she learned from her gringo husband! It was a low-key Christmas for me, but I spent more time with all the little would-be-delinquents in my town than I ever had before and now love them more than EVER!

OMG Being V.I.P. is SWEET!

As my Dad informed me, I must be rather sheltered because I had NO idea how awesome all-inclusive resorts are. Thanks to Robyn's family, I not only got to enjoy the luxury of all I could eat and drink on a BEAUTIFUL beach, but I also got to be V.I.P.! We had our own special area with BEDS overlooking the Caribbean!!! How AMAZING is that?? We also ate delicious Italian and Mexican food in the restaurants (no extra charge to us) and had options of ANY alcoholic beverage we desired. Unfortunately, we had a little toooo much champagne and now may never drink it again :) Bayaibe was incredibly gorgeous. The water was literally like a SWIMMING pool! I could see my feet!! Since I am such a bleeding heart hippie, I am sure that I will never have enough money to be V.I.P. ever again, but it sure was sweet while it lasted :)

Childrens' Day Celebration

When working with my kids on reading, I am (more or less) always happy to be at school. What I don't understand, however, is why the principal is more than willing to spend THOUSANDS of pesos on crazy parties rather than purchasing things like oh, I don't know, BOOKS. Also at issue, is that said events are always out of CONTROL. At the Independence Day march, kids were outside playing with homemade firecrackers. On Mother's Day, parents were literally fighting each other to get to the Brugal Rum. "The Day of the Kids" was no exception. The principal invited all 1,500 students to come to the school at 9am in their regular clothes, so that we could have a huge party. After a near riot broke out as the kids flooded in through the school gates, a huge truck drove up that BLASTED merengue, bachata, and (of course) reggaeton, so that all of the little 10-year-olds could grind on one another. The principal had also purchased HUNDREDS of pounds of rice, two whole cows, a couple of pigs, like a bazillion pounds of beans....then had half the neighborhood cooking the food in ELEVEN of those giant outdoor pots. The food arrived prepared in little boxes...and truckload after truckload fled in, but most of the kids STILL had to wait hours on end until their little hungry tummies were filled. Just as I thought the insanity was coming to an end, a CLOWN showed up and I was forced to dance on stage with him.....in front of the ENTIRE school. Good thing I am so sin verguenza :) As much as I believe in the importance of celebrating with children, I am definitely okay with the fact that I will NOT be here for the festivities next year.

"Roberto" in the barrio

Since Ann's vacation went super bien, Rob decided that he had to check out life in the DR as well. After a CRAZY first day of playing baseball in the POURING down rain (all of us covered in mud and grass from falling down so many times) and climbing the mountain (only to SLIDE down in the mud on our derriers), I thought that Rob's vacation might be a little TOO "loco". But, the rain subsided and we were able to do fun things like go to Cabarate and drink mojitos during happy hour, ride the cable car, climb the 27 waterfalls (in which we almost DIED because the water levels were SO high), visit the campo, eat our weight in rice and beans, and drink Dominican beer on the Malecon. We also played dominoes (one day I WILL learn to beat my 15-year-old muchachos) and took Pilar and the kids to Sosua Beach. Rob wanted to buy them dinner to thank them for taking SUCH good care of us...but some random drunk Canadians ended up paying our bill!

We had lots of fun hanging out in my barrio and playing with all of my kids, but I will admit that Rob got a special souvenir that he may rather have gone without. It appears that some of that free food we ate contained some rather unsanitary lettuce and, let's just say, that he and I spend a lot of time in my bathroom which, unfortunately, did NOT have water!! Coming to mi casa is always an adventure...... :) Now all of my kids ask about "Roberto," as they call him, and have begun to call me Sparky (pronounced eh-sparky). Yay for visitors!

Yay for Murals!

Well, after a hang up or two...or three...we FINALLY finished our educational murals!!! With the help of fellow volunteer Janet and some artists from her community, we painted the entire alphabet. Unfortunately, I had spinal problems and we weren't able to finish with the drawings until recently. I hand drew all of the drawings that correspond with the letters (A-apple, B-boy, etc). Then I had a bunch of teenage muchachos paint them...which was great because they really wanted to help....but also not so great because they were rushing, painting bees with green heads, fighting over who got to paint what, etc. Lori and I were able, however, to touch up any little errors and I think that both murals (one in each of the 1st grade classrooms) turned out really great. The best part is that we still have lots of paint left and some money for materials, so one of the teachers at the school wants to head up a painting project in which they create map murals! So thank you all for your generous donations and we will be sure to continue putting the funds to good use!

Happy Baby to the Best "Son" in the World!

So, for those of you who don't know already, I have unofficially adopted a Dominican son. Granted, he has a mother (who happens to be my best friend in the barrio), but he is just SUCH an awesome kid that he temporarily has two moms. I am his "Gringa" mom and Pilar is his Dominican one. We pretty much spend everyday together playing games, watching movies, doing homework, and, of course, practicing English. He recently had his 12 birthday, which was the event of the CENTURY. We juntar-ed all of our money to buy fruit (to make a delicioso punch), snacks, popcorn, decorations, and a piñata (yes, i know, they are a mexican thing, which is precisely why our piñata was not the most aesthetically pleasing). Since I am the town baker, I whipped up two 2-layer cakes that though delicious, were clearly made more with love than any professional skills. After the house was covered with balloons, and the reggaeton was bumping, it was ready for the festivities to begin. To my utter dismay, however, there were like THIRTY kids there!! Needless to say, Pilar's small, 3-room house was busting at the seams with little muchachos who, naturally, started dancing some of the raciest reggaeton I've ever seen! If you think that the adults at the discoteca dance a little dirty, you have never seen the 8-year-olds in my barrio. Precisely why I told my little son Miguel that he is LUCKY that I'm not his REAL mother because I would have turned that music off and put on some nice, kid-friendly bachata. Unfortunately the most disturbing videos were accidentally deleted, but this little show still survived:

Anyone want a gato...or two???

Well all, here she is. My beloved Dominican "hija," also lovingly referred to by neighborhood children as "La Gata Diabolica." She looks so cute and innocent, playing in that attempt at a piñata, doesn't she?? Too bad that in addition to her adorable cat hugs and kisses, she has a tendency to bite, scratch, and generally claw me and my guests to death. The GOOD news is that she is apparently pregnant! That means that I get to spread Frita's wonderful joy through her (hopefully not too many) offspring. Stay tuned for photos and videos of her precious babies!!! I'm accepting orders..... :)

Attempt at a Project #2

Perhaps my greatest challenge thusfar was the 3-day teacher training workshop I recently held at my school. Not only did it involve months of my investigating Spanish literacy (largely through trial and error with my pull-out groups), but I also wrote a 70-page guide IN SPANISH. During the writing process, of course, my laptop completely died....at which point I had a mild heart attack and then called Lori to borrow hers. I would like to add, however, that my printer is my FAVORITE toy ever (Thanks again, mom and pop!). I also had Robyn in town with me for almost a week and she was a GREAT help. I mean who else will sit up with me at 2:00 AM when we haven't slept for DAYS, cutting/pasting/plastificar-ing words for a word wall (in the dark, mind you, as the electricity se fue)???? She was definitely a lifesaver. Robyn, Zahira, and myself each had a full day of presentation, and it was really great information, if I do say so myself : )

The first disaster came when I went to retrieve those aforementioned guides. After spending about 6 months writing it, all of my sweat and labor finally paid off because I had, in my hands, 20 copies of the COMPLETED manual. Then, I quickly flagged down a motoconcho and he threw the box of my new guides right on the front of his motorcycle. Approximately 10 seconds later, he attempted to depart and the entire box fell right into the MIDDLE of the road! I had to scurry around like a madwoman to pick up my precious books, as SUVs and motorcycles were trying to run us over!!! Only in the DR....

The other disaster came when my slightly witch of a directora came in on my day to present and informed me that even though I had the dates of my taller planned since FEBRUARY, we would have to postpone my presentation for another day, as they had something ELSE to do. The best part was that the teachers were in uproar because they were very excited to talk about the reading manual that I had prepared for them and we quickly had a one-hour session (Good thing my rapidfire speech has carried over into Spanish). I definitely left a bit frustrated but, all in all, I think we had a really successful workshop and hope desperately that some of my teachers actually EMPLOY some of the things we talked about! For once I have a project that, as of now, I can call a success.

Attempt at a Project #1

After many months of being in the school constantly and avoiding working with teachers, I decided to actual attempt a project. Lori (IT volunteer from nearby Luperon) and I decided that a mural project would be fun. We had various plans for raising the money (all of which fell through) so we decided that we could sell Mistolin (very popular floor cleaner), or a homemade version of it, that is. So, we began collecting bazillions of old water and pop bottles, and I talked to my school about it almost weekly. Finally, the great day in June arrived. I had purchased all of the necessary chemicals in Santiago and Lori and I whipped out gallons and gallons of great-smelling (though the color was a little...off) floor disinfectant. My school, however, heartbreakingly let me down in that they did NOTHING to help us. My directora even kept walking around telling everyone that the money was going to be for our "summer camp" when I had repeatedly told her that it was for a mural. In the end, we were left with a ton of Mistolin (to which the school helps itself, I might add) and no money. Through your generous donations, however, we were able to get a move on the mural project and, as soon as it is finished, I will provide proud updates! Just have to mark the Mistolin fundraiser as one of the many failed project attempts...and move on to the next one.

Celebrating American Independence....DR style

This 4th of July, I think that I was more patriotic than I have ever been. And I don' t think that it would be much of a stretch to say that many of my Peace Corps peers have the same sentiments. As Dominicans don't exactly celebrate our beloved Independence Day, we volunteers joined the Peace Corps tradition of partying hardy on one of the most beautiful beaches on the southern coast (Bahia de las Aguilas). The best part, of course, was the transportation. This VERY remote beach requires a six hour trip from the capital to nearby city Pederales. From Pedernales, one has to hop in the back of a truck for about a good hour down one of the worst roads I have ever seen. The final stop: a beautiful boatride (complete with life jackets) through el mar caribe, ultimately arriving at this beautiful, isolated beach!

Kevin had the brilliant idea, however, of creating what he called a "The Kevin Inviational Party Bus." That's right, about 35 of us road the six...okay, so really it ended up being more like TEN hours from the capital to Pedernales. They somehow managed to acquire a KEG (the only one I have ever seen in this country) so that we could all drink our way down south. We sang horribly tacky American songs like the National Anthem and "I'm Proud to be an American" with more heart than is at all necessary. Perhaps we are just a bunch of drunken idiots but, then again, perhaps we have just learned to appreciate our native land of flushing toilets, hot showers, and paved roads.....that's right..."there ain't no doubt I love this laaaaaaaaaand, God Bless the U.S.A."!!!

“¡Tú eres más dominicano que un plátano!”

A few months ago, while hanging out with some English teachers in the campo, I was told, "Pero, diache Sarah, tú eres más dominicano que un plátano!”(translation: Geez, Sarah, you are more Dominican than a plantain!). Aside from the fact that I think the statement is intrinsically hilarious, I also find it tremendously flattering. For some reason, right around the 1-year mark of living in this country, I transformed. I went from "sticking it out" because I'm committed to my project, to actually WANTING to be here. Almost without noticing, I began to love many of the very things that had driven me nuts just a few months prior. I used to hate that Dominicans just wanted to sit around in plastic chairs and "compartir," and now it is like my favorite pastime! I used to think "Rice and beans AGAIN??" and now you will find ME in the kitchen whipping them up (on the rare occasions that my neighbors don't deliver them to me).
I think that I just let go of trying so hard to be "me" and, therefore, "American." I feel like "Dominican-ness" has just somehow seeped into my veins, without effort and without consciousness. Now when people ask me, I tell them that I am American-Dominican. So be prepared for lots of rice and beans and, of course, plátanos.