El agua es una bendición...

In the time since I´ve last cherchar-ed with you, I´ve met a bunch of older volunteers, officially become a Peace Corps volunteer, and crossed the country (lugging EVERYTHING). Now, I am officially am where I will be, si Dios quiere, for the next two years y pico. Whepa!!

1. What was quite possibily the most joyous-weird day ever...

So, after much ado (I will save telling you of the days of training, etc.), we were officially sworn in to the United States Peace Corps. Note: that oath included a promised to "defend the Constitution of the United States" and a "so, help me God." We started the day by receiving warm hugs from everyone. A nice gesture, since it would be the last official training session. (And, of course, I would be the one to show up late.... ). Next, we took a trip to Carrefour. Carrefour? Think Walmart. We get there in a public guagua, squeezed next to a doña who was explaining how she received a wrong bill for thousands of pesos and it was sent to her address; we walk in to a store with every imaginable commericial item available. After two months in the country, let´s just say the experience was a little jarrring. I couldn´t even muster the power to buy anything. I just stood in the middle of an aisle, trying to calculate whether all the shirts were really a good deal in pesos....

Then, came the juramento. With the Consulate on hand, we had an opportunity to celebrate entering into this new stage and thank our Dominican host families as well. As an aguacero, a downpour, opened up arouund us and caused everyone to get a little closer, a couple people gave speeches (a certain someone was honored to be among them....don´t worry, the text is coming...). Then, we went and ate cake. As someone mentioned at the afterparty, finally, after more than a year of applications, training, etc, we are PCVs!!

2. Another town, another family...

Or at least, so it seemed, at first. After the juramento came the conference. For me, it was an amazing opportunity to meet other like-minded persons. Folks in my same area of the country. And, folks doing similar work. Like Charlene, I wanted to say: How cool!! What may be the best may not come through in this format: the drive, determination, openness, and general spirit of everyone. Time spent with them learning and festejando is only a foreshadowing of the future...

Now comes the real deal, in the site, with the family, learning with the youth group. But, como dicen aqui, a continuacion....Stay tuned!

So, I´m alive...

Friends and family: ¡Que lo que! It´s been a while, but I´m so glad to get back into contact with you and hope all is well, Dios mediante. We´ve been training for the last five weeks and the tormenta hit....but all is safe and sound.

Ok, the highlight that you can only find in the DR...

1. It´s not Christmas, but Noel came anyway...

Rather unexpectadly, la tormenta showed up about two weeks ago. Gracias a Dios, we were rather high up and didn´t get hit too bad. But, we were holed up, incomunicados, for about three days. The highway had a couple of mudslides and the small, dirt bridge that enters to our neighborhood was washed way. Funnily, this was our entertainment. Each day, the rain would stop (probably, the different bands of the storm) and my familia would say: vamos al puente! With about 30 other people, we watched the bridge gradually disappear, saw random garbage float by, and watched as some locos of the community cut two really weak pines and crossed multiple times. It´s really more entertaining than you think, especially as people comment on every part of it. The rain would come again and we would be presos (or, prisoners) again. Which meant that we either slept or ate. As my doña says: la lluvia da mucha hambre....After a little while, things were gradually coming back into shape.

The rest of the country has been hit pretty bad, especially in the South. 4 Rivers make up a large part of the DR and they simply overflowed. Maybe you´ve seen the images; homes and families lost, bridges destroyed. And, the waters haven´t gone down. So, daily, you see people refuged in schools, etc. waiting for food and water from the government or some organization. Water is still inaccessible in a lot of the pais, including Santo Domingo.

In our community, the cause of stress was different and something you might not normally think of after a storm. As the region is a agricultural region, many of the crops were lost. And, as the people are day laborers, many went without food for almost a week. It was interesting to see the donations of food, how they get dispersed at the local level. And, it´s made me appreciate the donations that come from other countries. (Give! Being on the ground in this storm, I can tell you that it definitely makes a difference). My host dad, also president of a neighbor´s association organized and, at times, was in charge of handing out food and medicine to the community. You see people who have little giving to those who need it most. And, you also see or hear of people going without or being taken advantage of. Or, you see images of people fighting for food. Or standing in line, across a river to pass food to another person. I´ve seen and heard a little of it all...(maybe, I´ve been a part of it too much- a bunch of missionaries from the US came to give medicine and, while meeting me, were asking where my family was from cuz they thought I was Dominican!) What´s amazing is within all of the spirit of the people, still looking towards the future....alante! alante!

2. "Bet you haven´t...." or....La Misericordia con la Pastoral Juvenil.

So, training: Working with the youth sector means collaborating with community organizations, schools, and youth groups on different projects that will benefit the community. Service learning, life skills, education are some of the general themes. Over the course of a few weeks, as a group, we´ve helped to paint murals and community centers, organize trash clean ups, and create sports tournaments. What does that really mean? Well, one night I found myself on the back of a pickup truck, catching a bola, in the rain to one of the Catholic church´s youth groups. But, it also means hanging out with the youth here who have so much cool energy. The niños are amazingly cute. (I also worked with a homework help center- there´s nothing like playing dodgeball at recess with the kids yelling- Luis! En el medio!) And the jovenes, teenagers are too much...Everyone is so willing to compartir: merengue, bachata, jokes, cuentos, dominos. They are always talking! There´s an opinion on and for everything. I got to know the town pretty well and everyone´s invited me back to spend Christmas there...

3. The making of an americano tiguere...

A. Get sick the first weekend in another town...in front of the colmado with whole community watching. (yes, Dr. Jane: think E.V. in Kenya)

B. Take a hike up a mountain then jump into an ice cold charco... (see above)

C. Have your brothers (above) teach you tigueraje. And, the Sammy Sosa dap...Estoy pasao...

D. Have a conversation with a family member who is trying to learn English. When he asks a question in English and you respond, he says "I don´t know" eight times in a row.

E. Buy tighter jeans.

F. Talk trash in dominos with a local doña....
G. Have your family jokingly re-name you after spending five weeks with them:

No longer am I Derrick, I am now: Luis Jose Pichardo Ferrreira.

More to come...si Dios quiere. Te prometo that it won´t be too long in between posts now...