Peace Corps Bites

It may be a bad idea to talk about food but I will attempt to be as candid and honest as possible. I live in a little town where over half of the residents have land where they practice subsistence agriculture. This means the crop output is not great enough to export or sell in large quantities but the families live on what they grow. They plant root vegetables like yucca and a type of sweet potato, corn, a pumpkin like squash, beans and even some peanuts. Right now we are in the harvest season so this is no time to complain about food. With enough calories for the whole family, a little that is sold to occasional trucks coming from the capital, the town feels richer. At night, the music is a notch louder and there are even more men sitting in plastic chairs on the street sharing beer. I would guess lotto sales are also skyrocketing, a surprising national past time.

Tuesday morning is the normal food shopping time. A street market arrives, almost entirely from Haiti because they sell for cheaper, and spreads out under an open roof. Because we are in the midst of an avocado season, they are stacked in piles for fifteen cents per large one. I always buy at least one, a piece of squash, carrots if available and three tomatoes. I also stock up on powdered milk if available, and this natural antibacterial soap that I have come to use for everything besides my dishes. You can sift through piles of used clothes that still hold that nauseating scent of Goodwill stores or check out the popular rubber sandals.

Aside from market days, we do have corner stores called colmados where you can buy food as well as toothpaste, toilet paper and matches. They are attached to the owners’ homes and don’t follow a grocery store design. You walk up to a window where can’t see the products well and ask for what you want by commanding “Give me ten pesos of soap”. I thought this was so rude, for months I said “Can I have eight eggs and two toilet papers?” and the vendor always responded with an affirmation without giving me the items. Then, I would say “Okay, I want eight eggs and two toilet papers.” and was finally sold the items. I have since learned to regard “Give me” as more courteous and less confusing.

The two tricks about colmados in my town are that there is no produce and although there are probably over twelve in town, they all have exactly the same products. This is because certain commercial trucks come from larger towns come and sell to each vendor. Some are smaller and don’t have generators to keep things cold. My next door neighbor has one from where I can lug my water, occasionally buy eggs and do virtually nothing else. I used to see humor in the fact that she literally only sells junk food that I would never buy. She has bright red and purple soda, cookies and crackers in little packets, and lollipops (which I do admit to consuming daily in one unfortunate phase but no longer buy).

The general Dominican daily diet is weighted in the center of the day. Breakfast and dinner consist of similar choices. I later realized they are all things that cook more quickly and leave less of a mess. Some common meals are yucca or plantains with fried eggs or salami, more expensive but popular hot chocolates and hot milks with water bread, or occasional soups or pasta with red sauce so oily and overcooked I can barely swallow it. Breakfast is always served with a small cup of really strong coffee with an obscene amount of raw sugar. Lunch, which lives up to its name of “the hour of food”, is the time consuming heavy meal. Most families eat a variety of rice and beans, mixed together or separate depending on the day. Their salads, which are fairly special, seem common to me I think only because they are made when I am invited to eat. They are usually either cold with white cabbage, which must be washed and soaked with bleach water, and tomatoes or cooked like boiled carrots, potatoes and eggs. They are dressed with oil and vinegar and are truly the bomb.

I apologize if I have not done justice to Dominican cuisine but I think if the country is not famous for its food, Pedro Santana is certainly not a dining attraction. My service has certainly gone through some funny food phases to which I will try to admit knowing that they sound really strange. Living with host families in the beginning was a battle. I entered Peace Corps after a life of vegetarianism and three years of a health conscious, almost entirely vegan diet. Being plated fried salami and starchy boiled plantains was a major test to my flexibility. I basically tiptoed around mentioning my vegetarianism, complimenting the food and barely eating things I didn’t want to be fed daily claiming to be full after a couple bites.

After moving out, I excitedly made pancakes for breakfast and ate egg and avocado sandwiches every day for lunch and decided I would skip dinner to avoid dishwashing but then succumb to unhealthy snacks from colmados (thus the lollipops). I also tried to buy healthy ingredients in the capital to take back and eat in moderation. When I ate all of the oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, dried soy, and my Dominican roommate ate all my peanut butter within one week, I new that my plan was both crappy and expensive. I would also irrationally avoid milk and homemade cheese because they are somewhat luxury items and I was embarrassed to buy them in town. I would like to say going on a year and a half, I am so much wiser about food purchases but it is funny how untrue that would be. I do eat with families occasionally but generally cook for myself.

My current food phase is still pretty silly. After running in the morning I make coffee in a metal stovetop greca, Spanish for moka pot. At the same time, I boil water for two eggs. When I take the eggs out to cool, I pour the strong coffee in the egg water to make two milder cups instead of one. If I have them I put splenda and powdered milk in the coffee and drink it with my eggs. Think about the dirty dish avoidance, just a swish of the pot and voila. For lunch, there is always the question of dishes but one faves is squash, avocado and eggs. Another is a fried sandwich with cheese, a fresh white cheese that is kind of like salty mozzarella but always a little different, and tomato with as little bread as possible. On occasion, I have had only avocado, only cheese and only eggs. When I go to the larger town to get some bank, internet and town relief, I buy dried lentils, whole wheat, splenda, partly to avoid the horror of the ants when I was spilling sugar, and powdered milk in larger bags. For dinner, I will have boiled lentils, boiled wheat, milk or yet again, eggs.

I do eat vitamins, drink an obscene amount of water and have lost a little weight. When I go to the capital, I have to ignore the shame of eating the things I crave because of the price or questionable health values. I always have lots of apples, bananas and drinkable yogurt. I guiltily drink diet coke and coffee with milk and sometimes get my hands on ice cream. At restaurants, I almost always get a salad or a sandwich and yet again, some sort of pop. I buy cereal, cold milk and almost never eat eggs!

On an entirely different note, my latrines are built and two out of the twelve filters are installed. We are very slowly planning for a hygiene and health workshop to go along with the projects. As school is in session, I am walking up to my campo school, doing another nature art class for kids and have started my literacy club at the middle and high school. We have a reading competition that I think is going strong but the real word will come later. Thank you to everyone who contributed to my book drive and any library activity ideas would be greatly appreciated! Eight months to go and I will be back in the states eating loads of good stuff. Apparently this Greek yogurt is all the buzz, huh?