Because it´s so true that no two Peace Corps experiences are the same, I added a little link to a fellow PCV´s blog. I admit that I am far from giving you the comprehensive view of the Peace Corps becuase this is what I´m seeing with my eyes and my experiences here are only mine. This whole thing is influenced by so many different variables, some within the control of the volunteer and others not, that even Volunteers in the same country have totally different experiences. So I want to send a shot out to other peoples blogs (at least people I know) and as I become aware of them I will pass the link along.
Jessica has a cool blog going and she works with coffee growers in the mountians of Jarabacoa. Check it out.
nos vemos
2.26.2006
2.20.2006
So what is up on this Monday afternoon? Now that I think about it, I have to say I haven´t felt the Monday slugishness since I´ve been here. Maybe it´s only a stateside thing.
The weekend went well. It was the second weekend of this great month-long sports tournment that is being put on by my organization Progressando. I think there´s a few pics from the inaguration that took place in my pueblo last weekend. It was my first experience organizing anything on a grand scale with Dominicans and what the cross-cultural experience it was. Maybe the first time I´ve acuatlly experience cultural crash and it happened mulitiple times in the two weeks leading up to inaguration day. They insisted on having a peraid (I know thats spelled horribly wrong, but there´s not english spell check on this thing), with a marching band, and a table of honor, and maids of honor for that matter, who presented flowers to guests of honor. I think all the honor in the world was shinning down on Pedro Sanchez this day.
Anyway, we pulled it off and the little bit I caught of the games gave me a great feeling. Growing up in the organized world of sports in the states, I never thought much about what it means to compete for a team or wear a jersery because it was such a common thing. I went from sport to sport, coach to coach, and had so many old jerseries left in my closet by the time I graduated high school I could have outfitted two full soccer teams. But this tournment was probably the first or second time these kids had suited up for their pueblos to play in an organized competition and it really showed on their faces and in their play. So last weekend the tourney moved to another PCV´s site and I was able to sit back, relax, and watch some great baseball on the most beautiful field I´ve ever seen. Ill try to get those pics up soon.
I´ve also been working with a young guy named David on his english. This kid is incredible with his english. He pretty much has learned on his own with books for the past two years and his prununciation is suprisingly good. I handed him one of my books and he was able to read it right away so 3 times a week he comes over and we go through Blue Like Jazz. My idea is to get him comfortable to the point where he can start giving english classes to the rest of the community, because I get asked about twice a day to give classes and this isn´t exactly what I want to focus my time on. Everyone wants to learn english but many of the kids can´t read in spanish yet. I think thats more important at this point.
In other news, I´m getting excited about a conference comming up in March. I will be taking two kids from my community to this youth conference where they will learn all about this national youth organiztion called Brigada Verde and hopefully come back all pumped up to start a local group. Brigada Verde started off as a Peace Corps iniative for spreading environmental awareness and in 3 years has turned into a great youth group oppurtunity for all types of environmental projects. Thinking a little selfishly I´m hopeing to sell the muchachos on the idea that we should take our machetes to the hills and chop ourselves a small path to the top. (just a little path Dad, I promise). Because as of right now there are all these great summits that are unreachable. We could even sell it as an eco-tourism thing and I could spread the word on my blog. I can see it now, people would come from all over to climb on our freshly macheted paths through the lush tropical jungles above Pedro Sanchez.
Anyway thats enough for now.
The weekend went well. It was the second weekend of this great month-long sports tournment that is being put on by my organization Progressando. I think there´s a few pics from the inaguration that took place in my pueblo last weekend. It was my first experience organizing anything on a grand scale with Dominicans and what the cross-cultural experience it was. Maybe the first time I´ve acuatlly experience cultural crash and it happened mulitiple times in the two weeks leading up to inaguration day. They insisted on having a peraid (I know thats spelled horribly wrong, but there´s not english spell check on this thing), with a marching band, and a table of honor, and maids of honor for that matter, who presented flowers to guests of honor. I think all the honor in the world was shinning down on Pedro Sanchez this day.
Anyway, we pulled it off and the little bit I caught of the games gave me a great feeling. Growing up in the organized world of sports in the states, I never thought much about what it means to compete for a team or wear a jersery because it was such a common thing. I went from sport to sport, coach to coach, and had so many old jerseries left in my closet by the time I graduated high school I could have outfitted two full soccer teams. But this tournment was probably the first or second time these kids had suited up for their pueblos to play in an organized competition and it really showed on their faces and in their play. So last weekend the tourney moved to another PCV´s site and I was able to sit back, relax, and watch some great baseball on the most beautiful field I´ve ever seen. Ill try to get those pics up soon.
I´ve also been working with a young guy named David on his english. This kid is incredible with his english. He pretty much has learned on his own with books for the past two years and his prununciation is suprisingly good. I handed him one of my books and he was able to read it right away so 3 times a week he comes over and we go through Blue Like Jazz. My idea is to get him comfortable to the point where he can start giving english classes to the rest of the community, because I get asked about twice a day to give classes and this isn´t exactly what I want to focus my time on. Everyone wants to learn english but many of the kids can´t read in spanish yet. I think thats more important at this point.
In other news, I´m getting excited about a conference comming up in March. I will be taking two kids from my community to this youth conference where they will learn all about this national youth organiztion called Brigada Verde and hopefully come back all pumped up to start a local group. Brigada Verde started off as a Peace Corps iniative for spreading environmental awareness and in 3 years has turned into a great youth group oppurtunity for all types of environmental projects. Thinking a little selfishly I´m hopeing to sell the muchachos on the idea that we should take our machetes to the hills and chop ourselves a small path to the top. (just a little path Dad, I promise). Because as of right now there are all these great summits that are unreachable. We could even sell it as an eco-tourism thing and I could spread the word on my blog. I can see it now, people would come from all over to climb on our freshly macheted paths through the lush tropical jungles above Pedro Sanchez.
Anyway thats enough for now.
2.09.2006
Buenos Dias
| About a week or so ago... It´s now about 7:30 am. I woke up at 6 with a stomach ache which turned into diahreea at about 6:30 and nearly vomiting soon there after. This was the second time I have woken up with an aching stomach in the past week. The first time I didn´t have diahreea and I was able to get back to sleep, but not this morning. I decided to look for relief outside. I pulled my favorite chair outside and inbetween doubled over cringes I watched the nights stars slowly fade away into the commuing blue morning sky. A steady tropical breeze was asserting its´ presence, chilling my skin from the nausish sweat that had made its way to the top. One star in particular stayed longer then the others, disappearing and reappearing from behind the light whispy clouds that were beginning to catch the morning color of the suns rays. they would rotate through all shades of yellow, orange, and red before returning to the standard clowd white and slowly pass over me, continuing to move with the breeze. Moving on for the next person to enjoy. Or maybe no one was woken up by an aching stomach. Or they were awake, only looking forward into their day rather then pondering up into it. But this morning was probably not that unlike the morning before or the morning before that, only noticed and appreciated. And without getting up so early I wouldn´t have recognized Don Gallo´s current attempt at Doña Gallina as the 100th or so in a very frusterating morning for the Don. I watch as Doña G, looking like the full brested Mona Lisa she is, teasingly does a quick side step, hop, and a twist to avoid Don G and all the maleness of this morning rooster. But instead of skirtting off and being done with Don G´s relentless pursuit, the Doña continues pecking ohh so flirtatiously at imaginary crumbs while juking her way out of every trap Don G manuvers her into. Getting bored with the endless pursuit I turn my eyes and thoughts to the sun which has continued to rise oblivious to the drama unfolding at my feet. |
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