Last weekend in Constanza--Celebrando la Juventud

This weekend was full of learning experiences.  Saturday our youth group completed their activity for “Celebrando la Juventud” week.  We had been planning for weeks a neighborhood cleanup followed by the painting and installation of three trashcans around the barrio.  Here in Constanza (and in the DR in general from what I've seen) there are few to no public trashcans depending on where you are, so when people are not in their houses they typically just throw trash in the street.  The youth group we’ve been working with, an "Ecoclub" determined that having public trashcans in the neighborhood would be a  good first step in the right direction of changing people's behavior with regards to trash.

Leading up to the day of the activity we had visited the local hardware store multiple times to price all the materials (including the metal barrels themselves that would be used for trashcans).  They assured us that the barrels would be ready for us when we came to pick them up Friday evening.  Much to our dismay, after getting a factura of all of our materials Friday afternoon, we were informed that there were no barrels and that we would have to wait until Monday!  At this point, I nearly lost my cool, reminding them how they had promised us that the barrels would be there and that the mayors office would be in attendance along with the press (a sliiight stretch of the truth).  They started to call around town and eventually came up with one, which they wanted to deliver to us in the morning, but which I insisted that we take with us at that moment, and promised two more for the next morning.

The activity went over beautifully once we finally had all of the materials.  We began the morning with a limpieza of the neighborhood followed by a wonderful snack of tostadas and juice provided by the mayor’s office (a result of our youth group soliciting their support).  After our experience at the hardware store, we were pleasantly surprised that the snacks came through.

The second portion of our activity was the most rewarding—preparing the barrels to become utilitarian works of art.  If I overestimated the reliability of Dominicans, I much underestimated their resourcefulness.  The barrels, traditionally used to hold gasoline, were closed on both sides.  By my estimation, we would have needed a dinosaur sized can-opener to transform a barrel into something resembling a trashcan.  To my surprise, I watched a few young men with nothing but a beat-up machete and a hammer complete the job of detapping the barrel in a matter of minutes.  Then, together with all of the kiddos, we spray painted the barrels with a white base and the “Ecoclubes” logo along with the neighborhood name.  Finally, we proceeded to have the kids dip their hands in paint to put their handprints on the barrels--some as tree branches, others as butterflies, and others as just freestyle hand prints.  Something we did NOT take into account was that, by requesting durable paint to withstand the sun and rain, we were given oil-based paint that does NOT come off of your hands with water! This was discovered after some 25 odd people were already covered in colors!  After a few more trips to the hardware store to buy paint thinner and rags, we finally succeeded in getting everyone cleaned off and were able to install the newly designed trashcans in designated spots in the neighborhood with chains and locks (to prevent them from being stolen to store water…a common occurrence here that explains the lack of trashcans to begin with).  Overall, it was an exhausting day, but a very rewarding experience. (I've attached a few pictures at the bottom.)

As you may have noticed, I’ve made a decision to write my blog with a bit of Spanglish.  The reason for this is not because I am incapable of translating (though it is becoming difficult at times to come up with English vocabulary!) but rather because 1) some translations do not do justice to a concept and are better left in their original form and 2) the story-telling of my experiences feels more authentic this way.  Any of you reading this that are bilingual will surely understand this sentiment.  I will try and keep these terms to a minimum so as not to make the reading experience too jarring.  Any words that are in italics in my entry will be in a list at the end explaining their meaning in English

Dominican term of the week: “bola” 

While this word most directly refers to a ball (of any kind), its utility for me in this country thus far has been far from its traditional usage.  Here in the DR, a “bola” refers to a free ride, or hitchhiking, as we refer to it in the States.  “Bolas” are extremely common here for going just about anywhere, and anyone with a delivery truck or otherwise is willing to cart you in the back for a ride.  Being “gringos” in a town not used to seeing many North Americans, we’ve even achieved bolas from cars going in the opposite direction!!

Translations--

Barrio- Neighborhood

Factura- Invoice/Bill

Limpieza- Clean-up

Tostada- A toasted sandwich of any kind (much like a melt in the States); could simply refer to toasted bread with butter, or to a more traditional melt with ham and cheese inside.