Navidad and Gripe

I’ve been sick the last few weeks with gripe--a cough and most recently an ear infeccion, but have managed to continue working throughout for the most part. I seem to have the same susceptibility to upper-respiratory issues here, but am thankful for the absence of digestive-related problems thus far. 

The holidays are in full swing here in Boca Chica. Work has consisted primarily in attending and putting on holiday events.  In the office we’ve decorated a tree with the typical lights and balls and the not so typical limpiabotas painted yellow by the muchachos in honor of the sweeping campaign for raising educational spending (see photo below).  We’ve already done 5+ events for families and youth that my organization works with.  These generally consist of demasiado gente, loosely controlled chaos, a drum circle with Dominican Christmas carols, a few words of Christmas thanks and reflection and serving food assembly line style to all of the invitees (and then some).  In Dominican culture, “crashing parties” as we would call it in the US is a frequent occurrence so by not implementing a strict guest list there will always be extra people that show up.  I also had the opportunity to accompany 25 boys who are either living or working on the street to the National Palace for a Christmas dinner put on by the First Lady.  It was an exhausting afternoon/evening, busing them to the capital and then keeping track of them among the other 500 boys and girls as they got popcorn, treats, and dinner, but overall a great experience.

This month I’ve had the pleasure of attending some events put on by international organizations here in the DR.   One of these was Plan International’s Christmas party, which was much like an office Christmas event in the states…..eggnog, hors d'oeuvres and sweets, and soft music playing in the background of polite chitter chatter.  Last week, I represented my organization at a conference on smuggling and trafficking put on by the International Office of Migration.  The head of the mission in the DR described the current time as a “golden age” of responding to child trafficking issues in the DR, since post-earthquake in Haiti it has become impossible for the Dominican government to ignore the growing problem. Finally, last weekend I celebrated Christmas wtih the Peace Corps.  The Peace Corps director had an annual holiday party complete with Chinese food, rum punch and 25 different pies and cakes at his ritzy apartment building near the Embassy.  What a blast!

The usual buzz of the holidays has been joined by the energy behind the grassroots campaign to raise educational spending.  Everywhere you go, people are wearing yellow shirts with “4%” written across the front.  The last 3 Mondays in a row there have been hundreds of people camped out in front of the national congress (including most of the people from my organization) protesting.  Dominican law states that 4% of the budget is designated for educational spending but in reality this number has never surpassed 2%, making the Dominican Republic the country with the lowest investment in education in Latin America.  The movement has really taken hold in the pueblo and leads one to hope that the legislation may actually pass in Congress to raise the budget.  My hope is that with the increased spending the Ministry of Education will invest the money wisely in school infrastructure so that each school can meet the demand the number of children attending and doesn’t have to have 3 different school days of 3 hours each.

While I have enjoyed observing cultural elements of Christmas in this country I, of course, have been feeling pangs of longing for home….cold weather, hot chocolate, Christmas carols and time spent with family and friends.  Know that this holiday season, though I’m far away, I’ll be thinking about all of you! 

Merry Christmas!  

Translations:

Navidad- Christmas!

Gripe—the term most close to “cold” in the US, used to refer to any kind of sickenss that involves the upper-respiratory tract including cold, cough, sinus, etc.

Limpiabotas--  in this case refers to the boxes that the boys who clean shoes carry around, but the term also refers to the boys themselves.
muchachos-- boys
demasiado gente- too many people

One month in...

I’ve been in my site for about a month now.  There have been ups and downs, but overall I’m looking forward to my two years of service here.  Working with boys living on the street is not easy.  When they’ve reached that point, there becomes very little that you can do for them.  I accompanied a colleague one day to the capital to take a street boy, age 10, to his family in the capital.  He slept the whole way because he had not slept the night before. We arrived at his grandmother’s house 2 hours later after 4 different public transportation transfers, we found a family full of excuses—everyone trying to lay the blame on someone else for why this child was living on the street in another city, even on the child himself!  I doubt he lasted more than 3 days with them…it was clear he was unwanted there, and when living with his father, he was abused.  The whole situation was discouraging and made me understand why Caminante has decided to focus so heavily on prevention and scale down on interventions.  In public health, prevention is a mantra, so we definitely speak the same language. 

There have also been many bright spots over the last month:

1)   Working with the limpiabotas.  These boys have resilient spirits and a desire to learn despite their education system that has failed them and their economic situations that have forced them to work in the street at a young age.

 

2)   Focus groups with youth—It is amazing how poignant young people can be when you give them the forum to express themselves.  In this country, unfortunately, those opportunities are few and far between.  In school, the teacher is the law, there is only one correct answer, and the right for children to have an opinion and be heard (an actual part of law 136-03, which protects children) is largely ignored. 

3)   Thanksgiving with Peace Corps friends—While nothing can replace spending Thanksgiving among family, this day came a close second.  In a large club in Santo Domingo all 200 of us shared a traditional family-style Thanksgiving lunch accompanied by sports, swimming, a talent show and general merriment. 

4)   Weekend with host family in the capital—My original host family that I lived with during training continues to be one of my favorite parts of my life here.  After Thanskgiving Day, I went and stayed the weekend with them.  They made all the traditional dishes that are cooked in celebration here—asopao (my favorite) and sancocho.  I helped my host sister shop for items for her new cafeteria she is opening on the corner, next door to my other host sister’s colmado and my host mom’s knick knack store (they are a very entrepreneurial family).  To top off the weekend, I went to a baseball game and a 35^th wedding anniversary in the family where they roasted an entire pig on a spit! 

5)   Trip to the National Palace for the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women—Because my organization manages a project funded by the First Lady’s initiative, we were invited to her commemorational event.  All dressed up, we sat in a ballroom and listened to speeches and testimonials from professors, priests and other distinguished guests from the DR, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, and the US.  The whole event had a very religious undertone, complete with a guest performance by a famous evangelical singer.   None of my colleagues understood my eyebrow raising of course, because here it is completely normal to hear religious discourse in a state building—there is absolutely no separation of church and state. 

This month will be full of celebrations.  Caminante plans a holiday event with every community and population that they work with.  While in my mind that is a lot of money put towards feel-good events, they justify the cost based on the fact that many people that we work with cannot afford their own Christmas celebrations.

Translations

limpiabotas- boys that clean your shoes on the street

asopao- traditional Domincan soup with rice and meat

sancocho- traditional Dominican stew with plantains, yuca, boiled bananas, and a variety of meats (among other things)

colmado- corner store/grocery

Dominican term of the week-- "Ya tu sabes"  This phrase literally translates into "You already know", but a better translation for our usage of it would be, "oooh you know how it is".  This phrased is used very frequently, and often in situations where someone is referring to a pattern of behavior (often one they aren't privy to).  But its usage is can be even more generalized.  It is a way of expressing, thats just the way it is!