Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Taking Minutes
Our perception of time is really weird. You are supposed to put little kids in time out for only the amount of minutes that they have in years. Either because they view time as a percentage of their life or because their bitty heart beat faster, a toddler experiences two minutes as I might spend 24. There is geologic time where we are supposed to imagine human beings immerging right before the clock strikes midnight New Year’s Eve of a year that begins with world’s creation, difficult. Then, there’s the time that flies when you’re having fun or crawls when you are in a waiting room. There are the school years that always seem to go by so fast or web pages that seem to take hours to load. We fail to accept that time just passes at one pace as always, minute by minute, year by year.
My Peace Corps island friends and I are the worst at acknowledging this. We talk about the changing velocity of our service, the fraction that went so quickly it almost didn’t happen, the months that dragged, and of course, how much time we have left here. Does seven and a half months or 34 weeks sound shorter? We chat about all the movies we have been missing and where we will rent them from because word has it, video stores have met their fate, huh? In the midst of a discussion of buying a new wardrobe, I look at my stuff and daydream about giving away everything but what fits in a backpack and saying teary goodbyes. Right, seven and a half months and I am pinpointing the logistics of leaving. My Dominican friends make it less easy, already hashing the details of the much anticipated December and asking me why I am leaving and when I will be coming back. It is like we are constantly rewinding and fast-forwarding our life movies or rather hitting skip on the DVD.
Constantly looking forward and backward is a common vice but part of it is just good planning. Worrying about the type of computer I want is pointless but applying to grad school is fine preparation. Remembering comments about my horrible Spanish when I arrived is not so necessary. Remembering the sweet stuff is probably a good thing! For everyone, there is value in attempting to stay in the present to enjoy or at least feel some of what is actually happening. It would be silly if we are numbing ourselves with preoccupation!
Whether I count in months or seconds, I am nearing the end of my service, trying to focus the important stuff. The kids in my community and I will be doing the things I think are cool. We will learn where Africa is, write letters to Haiti, and read to smaller kids. We will use the time I’m here so that I don’t have to look back and pine. I will do my best not to put blinders on pack my bags right now. Hard as it may be, I will try not to fill my hours making lists of what TV series I will rent, U.S. landmarks I will see and food I will eat. Because I’m here, I should actually be here. I hope this badly worded mantra sticks!
My Peace Corps island friends and I are the worst at acknowledging this. We talk about the changing velocity of our service, the fraction that went so quickly it almost didn’t happen, the months that dragged, and of course, how much time we have left here. Does seven and a half months or 34 weeks sound shorter? We chat about all the movies we have been missing and where we will rent them from because word has it, video stores have met their fate, huh? In the midst of a discussion of buying a new wardrobe, I look at my stuff and daydream about giving away everything but what fits in a backpack and saying teary goodbyes. Right, seven and a half months and I am pinpointing the logistics of leaving. My Dominican friends make it less easy, already hashing the details of the much anticipated December and asking me why I am leaving and when I will be coming back. It is like we are constantly rewinding and fast-forwarding our life movies or rather hitting skip on the DVD.
Constantly looking forward and backward is a common vice but part of it is just good planning. Worrying about the type of computer I want is pointless but applying to grad school is fine preparation. Remembering comments about my horrible Spanish when I arrived is not so necessary. Remembering the sweet stuff is probably a good thing! For everyone, there is value in attempting to stay in the present to enjoy or at least feel some of what is actually happening. It would be silly if we are numbing ourselves with preoccupation!
Whether I count in months or seconds, I am nearing the end of my service, trying to focus the important stuff. The kids in my community and I will be doing the things I think are cool. We will learn where Africa is, write letters to Haiti, and read to smaller kids. We will use the time I’m here so that I don’t have to look back and pine. I will do my best not to put blinders on pack my bags right now. Hard as it may be, I will try not to fill my hours making lists of what TV series I will rent, U.S. landmarks I will see and food I will eat. Because I’m here, I should actually be here. I hope this badly worded mantra sticks!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
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?
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?
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Looking for a Book?
Right now, I am reading a fat blue book with an earth on it by Bill Bryson called A Short History of Nearly Everything and a novel by Anna Quindlen called Rise and Shine. I joke that I have to read a pink book at the same time I read a non-fiction to have a little mental relief. A lot of times novels meant for female readers have pink somewhere on the cover whether the whole book is fuscia, the text is rose colored or the publisher’s emblem is a light ballet hue. The pink is like a little subliminal signal that the book has some sisters, cell phone conversations about relationships and pregnancy inside.
I have acquired the love for reading that I have always wanted but never had. It is how I feel about art I am working on and others feel about playing music, baking, or sports. You genuinely want to do it to do it not because you feel like you should. I have always trudged through books about homelessness, development efforts, fallen addict to a few novels and taken to my text books seriously with a highlighter. Through my Peace Corps experience, I can honestly say that I love to read and admit to loving novels way more than science books and memoirs with happy endings worlds more than true tragedies.
Bryson’s A Short History is reminding me of all of those things that I have found interesting about geologic history and biology but haven´t thought about for at least two years. It makes me feel good but I have to force myself to crack it and read for hours at a time so that I will finish in a timely manner and can move on to the next thick one. I read Anna Quindlen when my project partner doesn’t show up for a meeting yet again, when I eat my breakfast eggs and tea, or ride to wear I am today four across in the broken truck. I have to tear myself away from the lives of the elaborate charachters. I have to start another one before I finish to avoid that really sad feeling. He’s a bit of a job and she’s the reward.
You can see all the books I’ve read so far on the side but I have categorized them in case you feel the need to read! Please read with a bran muffin and a hot drink, apple pie or a smoothie... it will make it so much better... ooh, dark chocolate.
General Non Fiction:
• Animal Vegetable Mineral, Barbara Kinsolver- Good one about food!
• Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
• Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich- Interesting about low income US.
• The Things They Carried, Tim O´Brien
• Pledged, Alexandra Robbins- very quick read about sororities, loved it.
• Marley and Me, John Grogan
• Genome, Matt Ridley- Read it in two days because it was so fascinating.
• Jesus Land, Julia Scheeres
• The New New Thing, Michael Lewis
• The 100-Mile Diet, Alisa Smith, J B MacKinnon- Made me homesick.
• Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey
• Essentials of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Manya Magnus
• The Color of Water, James McBride- Very well written and inspiring.
About development:
• Mountains Beyond Mountains, Paul Farmer- Highly recommend.
• Why the Cocks Fight, Michele Wucker
• Eyes of the Heart, Jean Bertrand Aristide
• Nine Hills to Nambakaha, Sarah Erdman
• In the River They Swim, Michael Fairbanks...- This took me forever to read.
• On That Day, Everybody Ate, Margaret Trost
• Banker to the Poor, Muhammad Yunus- Really informative about micro-finance.
• Kabul Beauty School, Deborah Rodriguez
• Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo and Niall Ferguson
Notable novels:
• Little Earthquakes, Jennifer Weiner- Pink book that I couldn't put down.
• The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
• Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld- I couldn´t believe this wasn´t non fiction.
• Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen- Set in Washington.
• Belong to Me, Marisa de los Santos- So well written, I cried when I was done.
• Best Friends, Martha Moody- Awesome but a pink book for sure.
• The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri- Recommend it to anyone.
• A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini- I haven't read the Kite Runner yet.
Take care and comment on my blog!
I have acquired the love for reading that I have always wanted but never had. It is how I feel about art I am working on and others feel about playing music, baking, or sports. You genuinely want to do it to do it not because you feel like you should. I have always trudged through books about homelessness, development efforts, fallen addict to a few novels and taken to my text books seriously with a highlighter. Through my Peace Corps experience, I can honestly say that I love to read and admit to loving novels way more than science books and memoirs with happy endings worlds more than true tragedies.
Bryson’s A Short History is reminding me of all of those things that I have found interesting about geologic history and biology but haven´t thought about for at least two years. It makes me feel good but I have to force myself to crack it and read for hours at a time so that I will finish in a timely manner and can move on to the next thick one. I read Anna Quindlen when my project partner doesn’t show up for a meeting yet again, when I eat my breakfast eggs and tea, or ride to wear I am today four across in the broken truck. I have to tear myself away from the lives of the elaborate charachters. I have to start another one before I finish to avoid that really sad feeling. He’s a bit of a job and she’s the reward.
You can see all the books I’ve read so far on the side but I have categorized them in case you feel the need to read! Please read with a bran muffin and a hot drink, apple pie or a smoothie... it will make it so much better... ooh, dark chocolate.
General Non Fiction:
• Animal Vegetable Mineral, Barbara Kinsolver- Good one about food!
• Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
• Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich- Interesting about low income US.
• The Things They Carried, Tim O´Brien
• Pledged, Alexandra Robbins- very quick read about sororities, loved it.
• Marley and Me, John Grogan
• Genome, Matt Ridley- Read it in two days because it was so fascinating.
• Jesus Land, Julia Scheeres
• The New New Thing, Michael Lewis
• The 100-Mile Diet, Alisa Smith, J B MacKinnon- Made me homesick.
• Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey
• Essentials of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Manya Magnus
• The Color of Water, James McBride- Very well written and inspiring.
About development:
• Mountains Beyond Mountains, Paul Farmer- Highly recommend.
• Why the Cocks Fight, Michele Wucker
• Eyes of the Heart, Jean Bertrand Aristide
• Nine Hills to Nambakaha, Sarah Erdman
• In the River They Swim, Michael Fairbanks...- This took me forever to read.
• On That Day, Everybody Ate, Margaret Trost
• Banker to the Poor, Muhammad Yunus- Really informative about micro-finance.
• Kabul Beauty School, Deborah Rodriguez
• Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo and Niall Ferguson
Notable novels:
• Little Earthquakes, Jennifer Weiner- Pink book that I couldn't put down.
• The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
• Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld- I couldn´t believe this wasn´t non fiction.
• Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen- Set in Washington.
• Belong to Me, Marisa de los Santos- So well written, I cried when I was done.
• Best Friends, Martha Moody- Awesome but a pink book for sure.
• The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri- Recommend it to anyone.
• A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini- I haven't read the Kite Runner yet.
Take care and comment on my blog!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Already August
There are generally only two reasons I go a long period without writing on my blog. One is that I find myself in a bad place, a slump of sorts, and don’t want to be that girl complaining about doing something hard that she chose to do. In these times it is much better to keep quiet until I actually feel strong than fake resilience. The other reason I don’t write is that I am actually busy. Thank goodness this has been the case!
I graduated my art camp and my English class with tests, certificates, treats just in time for July 4th. I celebrated our Independence Day with Peace Corps volunteers on a beautiful peninsula in the north east. We rented apartments, ate, swam and had a little fun at night too. My volunteer friends have been an amazing part of my service. We come from all over the place with totally different reasons for being here. We bond during training, talk on the phone in our sites and ultimately form an invaluable network of support. While Dominican friends can give me hugs and my family at home can listen to me cry, my fellow volunteers are the only people who truly understand what I am talking about. Instead of pity, we give each other the, “Ugh, I know” that somehow makes you feel better. Needless to say, our weekend together was great.
I then had a week in my site to organize latrine material snafus and was off for another vacation. Two college friends, Tess and Kristin, came for a week and we went to the northern beach town of Cabarete. We caught up on our year apart, lounged on the sand and saw some impressive kite boarding and wind surfing action. We jumped the famous 27 waterfalls and didn’t injure ourselves. Mostly, it just felt healthy for the soul to hang out with old friends, laugh, and chat about things. There was a little hurricane scare for the last couple of days which had us wet and sometimes a little stuck. It’s just that time of year!
Now I am home sweet home. I have been constructing latrines with the best construction worker I have encountered here. We work in the blistering heat, shoveling cement, sawing wood and hammering nails. I am something in between a laborer and an accessory but it feels good to get my hands dirty… and then hit them with a hammer. Sometimes we just have to accept that we are not naturals with some tasks. I am not a pretty sight with zinc, nails and wood but each latrine has me looking a little better. The long construction days have also been essential to get to know the beneficiary families. We have had meetings and will be doing a hygiene course but the days of sweating, giggling about going to the bathroom and eating lunch in the shade are more influential in truly meeting those involved in the project.
And now I have to look into the future. The exposure I have had to poverty has led me to know I want to always work with underprivileged populations both in the states and abroad. I hope to use my biology degree and the perspectives I have gained from volunteering to do something. I have nine months left and have to start my application processes if I hope to enter grad school next fall. I will be applying to masters in public health programs in epidemiology. Although I have no idea what will happen (such as whether I will be accepted), I would love to do infectious disease research. I think that everyone should have the right to be healthy and know that disease prevention and control are integral parts of that goal. There is no reason why parasites and dengue fever should be common, while hand washing, water filters and window screens are not.
As I look at great programs and draft my statement of purpose in this internet center, I am paying a dollar an hour, Dominican music blasts in my ear and a little boy emphatically narrates the computer game he is playing. I guess this is what they call facing adversity!
I graduated my art camp and my English class with tests, certificates, treats just in time for July 4th. I celebrated our Independence Day with Peace Corps volunteers on a beautiful peninsula in the north east. We rented apartments, ate, swam and had a little fun at night too. My volunteer friends have been an amazing part of my service. We come from all over the place with totally different reasons for being here. We bond during training, talk on the phone in our sites and ultimately form an invaluable network of support. While Dominican friends can give me hugs and my family at home can listen to me cry, my fellow volunteers are the only people who truly understand what I am talking about. Instead of pity, we give each other the, “Ugh, I know” that somehow makes you feel better. Needless to say, our weekend together was great.
I then had a week in my site to organize latrine material snafus and was off for another vacation. Two college friends, Tess and Kristin, came for a week and we went to the northern beach town of Cabarete. We caught up on our year apart, lounged on the sand and saw some impressive kite boarding and wind surfing action. We jumped the famous 27 waterfalls and didn’t injure ourselves. Mostly, it just felt healthy for the soul to hang out with old friends, laugh, and chat about things. There was a little hurricane scare for the last couple of days which had us wet and sometimes a little stuck. It’s just that time of year!
Now I am home sweet home. I have been constructing latrines with the best construction worker I have encountered here. We work in the blistering heat, shoveling cement, sawing wood and hammering nails. I am something in between a laborer and an accessory but it feels good to get my hands dirty… and then hit them with a hammer. Sometimes we just have to accept that we are not naturals with some tasks. I am not a pretty sight with zinc, nails and wood but each latrine has me looking a little better. The long construction days have also been essential to get to know the beneficiary families. We have had meetings and will be doing a hygiene course but the days of sweating, giggling about going to the bathroom and eating lunch in the shade are more influential in truly meeting those involved in the project.
And now I have to look into the future. The exposure I have had to poverty has led me to know I want to always work with underprivileged populations both in the states and abroad. I hope to use my biology degree and the perspectives I have gained from volunteering to do something. I have nine months left and have to start my application processes if I hope to enter grad school next fall. I will be applying to masters in public health programs in epidemiology. Although I have no idea what will happen (such as whether I will be accepted), I would love to do infectious disease research. I think that everyone should have the right to be healthy and know that disease prevention and control are integral parts of that goal. There is no reason why parasites and dengue fever should be common, while hand washing, water filters and window screens are not.
As I look at great programs and draft my statement of purpose in this internet center, I am paying a dollar an hour, Dominican music blasts in my ear and a little boy emphatically narrates the computer game he is playing. I guess this is what they call facing adversity!
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