Humility

To be humble, to be humbled... these are things that I am learning in the Dominican. Mostly out of necessity. At home I am quick to retort an argument, correction, or teasing. But here, I don't have the words or the self confidence to do so. While this may seem like a bad thing, I have decided it is a great lesson. I am constantly corrected in my Spanish, told to repeat everything, and teased for my sub-par Spanish and near constant need of help. 

In a totally different way, I am humbled by the incredible will power and dedication of Caminante's staff, friends of Caminante in Boca Chica, and the many people I have met here. They work long hours for little reward or thanks to make other people's lives better, often putting themselves last. I am a child of Boca Chica after only less than a month of living here. Tonight I had the completely embarrassing moment to fall down the stairs in the rain in front of two of our new volunteers and one of my Dominican friends. While much teasing commenced from my friends, Julissa and her mother, Raya (one of my many adopted "Mami's") doctored me up with muscle rub and demanded I go to the doctor tomorrow (AGAIN, I might add). Knowing that I could cry to them after I brushed off my bum and my pride was enough to make my giant bruises feel a million times better.

I have been reminded here countless times that I do not need to be, nor should I be, totally independent. I have always been very independent  rarely asking for help and always wanting to take the lead. My friends are so astonished when I say that in the US I am an adult, did not live at home during college, and can do all sorts of things by myself. Here, the guys ask me why I didn't ask for them to take me to the grocery store when I ran for bread, or the girls at Caminante tell me, you need to go tomorrow to the post office so someone can take you. Again, this may seem debilitating or demoting... but after a while you realize it is not out of doubt for you, but for genuine desire to help you and watch out for you. I need to remember that I DO need this because being "blondie" means I do get a lot of unwanted attention and not speaking great Spanish means that I DON'T always know what is going on around me.

Humility, Dominican style.

Signs of Sandy

Tropical Storm Sandy is hanging around! Last night we had TONS of wind and rain and while less intense has stuck around all day. Nothing too challenging, but this weather means slow times for Caminante. The schools were planned to have celebrations today for a Saint, but they were all canceled due to the threat of storms. We have gotten word that school will be out tomorrow too. 

A poor attempt to capture the wind and rain.

Its interesting to see this reaction because a little rain is nothing at home, but when people rely on small buses and motorcycles to get around, and many roads are dirt and/or flood really easily, rain can be a real hindrance. I am so thankful though as the pictures from Jamaica and the updates from friends in Haiti show much worse!

So instead, we relax, take a long lunch to laugh together, and update blogs :)

Celebrating Columbus Day - Soy Dominicana

Columbus day, as most of you know, was last week. In Santo Domingo, this is a major celebration... not for Columbus... but because the Dominicans celebrate the LONG history and culture of their country, their independence, and rally for Dominican rights. I had the pleasure of attending 2 events in Santo Domingo throughout the week to see the celebrations and rallies. 

One of Caminante's High School groups and Loma at the "Soy Dominicana" Rally. This event promoted correct documentation so that people can vote, drive, get a passport, be registered as a citizen, etc. The event was directed toward youth and showcased many speakers, singers, and dancers. 

A music group performing for the crowd.

Over the weekend, I visited Zona Colonial and the festival going on to celebrate Dominican culture and history.  This is the oldest church in the "New World." It was absolutely beautiful! This area of Santo Domingo is the only area that was not destroyed after Dominican independence. It has some amazing architecture and very interesting history.

Going through the Colonial history museum. The interior and exterior of the museum had beautiful stonework. Unlike most US museums, touching the exhibits was allowed!

In the evening everyone gathered in a courtyard to follow the Queen and her party to this Medieval  castle where the night ended with a full orchestra concert.  The whole event was filled with people in costume, cultural performance, and local artisans.  

Adventures in Samana!

Last weekend, Loma, July, and I traveled to the far north side of the island to visit the Samana peninsula. We stayed in Las Terrenas, a small beach community on the north side of the peninsula. Oddly enough, this area has a strong french community, seems to be a resort town for even the locals (everyone drives around on these crazy 4 wheelers as everyday transportation), and we picked a perfect quiet weekend.

Our hotel, sunshine resorts, was really awesome and the food was amazing! We made friends with our chef and enjoyed chatting with him. Not only was the food awesome at the hotel, we ate incredibly well all weekend long! 

Julissa introduced me to the night life of the Dominican Republic. I picked the perfect dance partner, I think he saw me, an American girl, and thought, "this girl will need some dance help!" He was a dance instructor and taught me to Salsa and Meringue. This was the first of many times I have heard the phrase, "you are a good dancer for an American." I blame Jersey Shore.

Saturday morning was spent doing some shopping downtown due to some on and off rain showers. We found some wonderful art and we all bought some hand crafted jewelry made out of natural local supplies: Shells, coconuts, fossilized sea creatures, and gords.

The highlight of the trip was most definitely our climb to El Limon's waterfall early Sunday morning. July and I rode horses up the mountain for an hour with our hilarious guide through streams, up very steep rocky paths, and through the most lush forest I have ever seen. When we reached the top of the mountain, we had to climb down to the waterfalls, while the climb back up was daunting... it was worth it! The ride back down the mountain was much more adventurous, our horses were getting tired and going down steep hills on an animal is a little frightening, but we made it with only a lot of squeals and a couple and bruises and scratches on our legs. 

As I mentioned in the earlier post, the trip home was an adventure of its own. The buses here are all privately owned and sometimes less than reliable. We had planned to take the bus from Samana, the same one we took TO our trip only to find out that it "may or may not come," what? So we hopped a small aguagua (bus) to the next Caribe stop about 20 minutes away and waited for 3 hours. The group that had come with us, along with others waiting at the stop, watched several buses go by full. The guys convinced the very LAST bus to let us ride without seats, so July and I rode all the way back to Boca Chica on the floor of a crowded bus! 

Taller de Jicara de Coco!

La Casona is a trade school right outside Boca Chica where students can study culinary arts, cosmetology, seamstress, marketing and management, computer technology and jewelry making. Today I was taught by three of my favorite little guys from "Los Ninos Trabajadoes" and Julito how to make awesome jewelry out of coconuts, something that is vastly abundant and very inexpensive to obtain.

Our "Raw Materials"

Coconuts come in many sizes and colors. These are a small, light colored variety.  

With this small ones the boys were making bangles!

Cracking Open the Cocos

Some of the ladies of La Casona came out to help us clean out the Coconuts.
After we snacked our way through them, 
they took all the insides to go cook something with.

Sanding down the pieces.

The boys use a variety of sanders and cutters to shape the pieces, grind off the rough outer layer, then polish each piece till it is smooth and shiny.

Our practice pieces

Julito thought my work was subpar, but the boys made some awesome bracelets! But of course, the guys didn't let me go home empty handed...

Water

We have been "off" water for a day and a half now... it is incredibly humbling to see how the lack of water doesn't challenge Boca Chica like it would the US.

"More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million - don't have access to improved water sources."

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) 

Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) 

I was so excited this morning to hear the pumps going, only to find out that the people downstairs had turned on our reserve to wash their baby's diapers... praying that Loma & I didn't waste too much water by showering! 

Flushing toilets manually and using endless jugs of water is tiresome but a true reminder of how LUCKY we are to have endless, drinkable, and safe water coming out of several faucets in our homes. 

Sneak Peak - Las Terrenas & El Limon

This weekend, I experienced one of the most beautiful places in the world! The Samana Peninsula. 

More to come about this amazing place and our CRAZY travels home...

Beach at Las Terrenas

Almost to the Top in El Limon!

The most beautiful and cold waterfall! 

To spike your interest; On Sunday we took 2 motorcycles, 5 buses, and 1 coach bus! 

Welcome to travel in the DR! 

First Impressions

After only 3 days I have discovered that the people of Boca Chica, especially those connected to Caminante, are one large, yet tight knit, and very fun family. The staff has welcomed me in, tried to muddle through my Spanish, and introduced me to more people than I can even begin to try and remember all the names, relationships, and stories!

Sunset from my apartment porch.

Loma, my roommate and humble caretaker, has shown me how to wash dishes, stay healthy, find the best food, and how to get to the beach!


My role at Caminante for the next couple of weeks will be to try and witness the ministries they serve to Boca Chica. I have played board games with Julito's students, walked the beach with Donchy looking for any kids working, observed a class for mothers in a rule school with Lacosta, and visited a new partner school. As the weeks go on I will begin to focus my interests and work more closely with certain partners and students. But for now, I enjoy meeting the staff and community built around Caminante!

Teaching mothers about Healthy Family Life after school.