Independence Day Mania

As Robyn astutely noted, the Dominican Independence Day (27 de febrero) somehow brought on MORE work in the school than a regular school day. On the eve of that insane day I was stuck in the school painting, drawing, coloring, etc. mostly because the teachers INSIST that my writing is so "pretty." At 8 o'clock in the morning, I was downtown with a bunch of teachers and students from my school, getting ready for the parade that was supposed to start at "8 o'clock." Around 9:30, it actually began, and then we marched for about an hour and a half. The Dominican sun was a little unforgiving; I returned home pretty similar to the color of this little muchachitas pom pons! All in all, it was an exhausting day...most of us americans agree that our Independence Day (drinking, barbecues, fireworks, etc.) is the way to REALLY celebrate :) I will note, however, that we lack the ridiculous HOMEMADE fireworks seen above. Yes, that's right. These 10-13 year-olds (See Above) were playing with fireworks made out of rusty old tomato cans, tape, gun powder, and some sort of flammable liquid. Sounds suuuuuper safe to me!

Sparke the......baker?

As mentioned previously, the fact that I own a digital camera makes me the community photographer. Apparently, the fact that I have a muffin pan and some boxed cake mixes (Thanks, mom!) makes me a world class baker. Many a Dominican doña has said to me, "Sarah, you know how to make cakes? You MUST teach me!!" These women, who make rice, beans, stews, plantains, fish, chicken, etc. EVERY day and almost exclusively use raw materials (No Hamburger Helper here!) are asking ME how to cook something. For those of you who have tasted my "cuisine," I am sure that this comes to a rather hilarious surprise. But, hey, my deal with them is as follows: If they teach me how to make all of their scrumptious Dominican comida, then I will show them the magic of Duncan Hines. I have a feeling that my host mom might not be SO impressed when she sees that a chimpanzee could make my "sabroso" chocolate cake. =) (Pictured: my little neighbors painting a cake).

My Muchachitos are the Bestest!!!

Oh, what would I do without all of my little amigitos? Yes, they are all under the age of 12 but oh, how much entertainment they provide! In just the last month they have turned my house into a baseball field, a discoteca, a movie theater, and a bakery. We color, play mancala, do puzzles, eat candy, and generally do things that I loved when I was 12 and, apparently, still can't get enough of!

Some of their more hilarious adventures involve the day that Angel and Miguelito (pictured in photo in front of my bathroom: first and second from the right, respectively) asked me if Angel could take a shower in my bathroom. He has wanted to for a LONG time because I have...that's right...running water! I for one, am a fan of the bucket bath (at least I can make it warm!) but he had never had a running shower, especially in my I-have-an-obession-with-hygiene-products-shower. I of course, said claro que si! but just dont tell the mean, old owner of my house because she will have a fit that I am "wasting water." When Miguel was explaining to Angel which soap is for what he got so excited that he decided that HE had to bathe, too! So they BOTH jumped in at the same time and were giggling up a storm as they showered and lathered up in my girly soaps and shampoos. I, meanwhile, was dying of laughter and how much they were enjoying it. If only I could take them to Nueva York and let them have a HOT shower!

Another classic was the day they decided that they wanted to do my Pilates video. I told them that it was kind of "for girls" but they responded, "No importa!" Again, I was curled over with laughter as they streched and rolled and tried to do things like "The Saw" and "Rolling like a Ball." Sadly, I probably look JUST as ridiculous...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So, I realize that it has been AGES since I last updated my blog but I have been trancada in my site and am just now in the capital where I have access to that god of an invention known as Wi-Fi. That said, there are a few random incidents that I thought were blogworthy. For example, one day I went to the "far" colmado (being about 20 steps away instead of 15) because my usual was closed for lunch. As I was purchasing my usual gourmet lunch (bread, cheese, etc.), the little muchacha who works in the colmado (one of four siblings who essentially run it for their parents) said, "Ah, Sarah. A buen tiempo!" Which always means: FOOD. As I had happened to arrive as their lunch was being served, they regalar-ed me a whole plate of moro (rice and beans mixed) with chicken! Might not seem like that big of a gesture, but I am sometimes taken aback by the extreme generosity of many Dominicans. No matter how rich or poor, sharing (especially food) is as inbedded in the culture as bachata and merengue. I stood there at the counter enjoying a delcious domincan meal (though I admit, I had to decline the chicken claws) from a family that hardly knows me and for whom I have done absolutely nothing. I know we may complain a lot, but Dominicans are freaking sweet.

That said, not EVERY aspect is so desireable. The other day, por ejemplo , I discovered that the new cock fighting location is DIRECTLY in front of my house. Gather 'round kids, lets watch two chickens peck each others' eyes out. Not exactly this Animal-Planet-loving volunteer's idea of recreation.

I am also at issue with the tigueres who get drunk and, subsequently, very angry, and decide that throwing bottles is a fun idea. When I went to some INSANE festival on the malecon (pictured above) the other night, I spent about one hour with Pilar and her family, treking through a humongous crowd. As we stood around waiting for Pilar's two sons, suddenly people started RUNNING for their lives, screaming and practically trampling one antother. Apparently, this was the signal that all of the borrachos were breaking their Jumbo bottles and throwing them, cutting each other, etc. I later learned that this is a REGULAR occurance and that there are often innocent bystanders who end up bleeding from head to toe. Luckily for me, Pilar treats me like I am 9, grabbed my hand, and RAN with me to our pick up truck, at which point I and about 13 muchachos hopped in the back and we flew back up to the barrio. On the way home, they taught me where the "women for sale" are and starting yelling "5 pesos!!" at them. Let's just say, I was happy to get home to my quiet house and my insane little kitten pie!

Holy Helmet

As I mentioned, I recently discovered the whereabouts of a few great new locations in Puerto Plata. What I realized is that andaring around in this city really requires motorcycles, motorcycles, and more motorcycles. I, for one, LOVE riding motoconchos. I know that they are beyond unsafe, but they are so quick, cheap, and convenient! Why, then, the reservations to motor all around town?? Note Exhibit A: my casco. Peace Corps requires that we wear helmets EVERY time we ride on a motor. In my community, however, helmets are a true rarity. There are hundreds and hundreds of motors, and maybe 2 or 3 guys who wear helmets. Plus, they are about one THIRD of the size of my monstruosity, and they definitely do not say "tough" right across the top. I am constantly questioned about my helmet...most of the kids think that since I have a helmet, I must OWN a motor. I brought my helmet out at a party and there was not one dominican who didn't laugh hysterically. When I rode home to my house the other day, I literally had a group of kids start cracking up when I rode by with my super-cool head gear. But, you just wait. I think I will be starting a trend. Soon the whole TOWN will want to be "tough" just like yours truly!

Gringos are Great

The last two weeks in my site have been SWEET. There is a group of gringas from Vermont who came to do a program called "Healthy Schools, Healthy Children" (or something of the like). I got the chance to work with them in a few of the classrooms, and was really impressed with the help they provided to our fourth and fifth grade teachers. They also had an intern named Grace who came to live in Puerto Plata for three weeks. Even though she was here for a short time, she met TONS of people and learned her way around Puerto Plata much better than I do! She taught me about a really sweet grocery store (it even has a deli-I can now buy cheese OTHER than "squeaky colmado cheese"!!) and she met a lot of really eclectic friends who drove us around town. We even ended up in a discoteca in Playa Dorada that featured a man dressed as Jim Carey from the Mask, a machine that poured bubbles from the ceiling, and a man dressed as Spiderman (who later FLEW across the ceiling!!). All in all, it was really nice to have some americans to run around town with. The best part is that Grace is working on getting a group of 8-10 more students to come down and help me with work in my community in February of next year. I'm definitely ready for round two!

Home Improvment

Guess who got a toilet seat!!! I am TRULY in the 21st century now!! Jealous? Well, if you would also like one, all you have to do is move into an apartment in the DR, ask your dueno every month for about 5 months if he can put that seat on your toilet that he keeps promising you and, then, he will randomly show up at your place one afternoon with the seat that he mysteriously found lying god knows where. All in all, my apartamentcito is truly coming together. I also made myself the highly sophisticated shelf seen below. It is not exactly aesthetically pleasing but it is SO functional! I wish I had made it sooner. And, equally as exciting, I have a table AND two chairs that my host family loaned me. I went MONTHS with nothing but ample floor space and, as SOON as I mentioned that I was having some gringos in town, my host family practically ran over with my new furniture. Point is: now all of you americanos really have no excuse...you have to come see me. You can sit down to eat AND to hacer caca!