I haven't been home for about two weeks now and I was just thinking how I dread the Dominican welcome I will inevitably get when I head back later on today. They really have a way of making you feel guilty. Me botaste or ya no nos quieres or estabas perdido are just a few of the lines I am prepared to hear. The botar one especially hurts because they use the same word for throwing out trash or spitting a bad tasting food from your mouth. Not exactly what I was thinking of them these past two weeks. And the estabas perdido one still stumps me every time they throw it out there. I just end up mumbling some lame excuse of why I really wasn´t lost just far away. And the far away part usually just leaves them confused and with the same lack of words I had at their intial question. I think maybe because far away isn´t a concept they think about every day. I should try to figure out some whitty reply but my sarcastic humor doesn´t seem to transfer very well here.

So anyway, the first week I was at a youth conference with three of my youth learning all about HIV/AIDS and other sexual health topics. And when I get back we are going to try to replicate all this good info for other kids; the idea being trying to start a big snowball that hopefully wont melt here in the Caribbean sun. Just one note on the conference which I was a little embarrassed/disappointed by. It´s right at the end of the whole thing when we are about to present certificates to all the youth who participated and one of my friends and fellow PCVs calls me over to check out some pics on his camera. Turns out some kids got a hold of his camera the night before and did what Dominicans do with a camera. Pose and growl like a tigers. As if they were shooting for some magazine cover. This may sound like a generalization, and I admit I do generalize a lot, but this is not one of those times. Dominicans are very difficult to photograph because they want to strike some pose like a really bad high school senior photo. But these photos were nothing for a year book. And the star was one of my girls and she was posing in horribly dirty positions that made me want to cringe. After 3 whole days of learning about self esteem, how to combat machismo in their culture, safe sex and some ways to say no to sex one of my girls was objectifying herself and throwing out everything we were trying to teach. Although a bad note it was a snap back to reality for me. It´s easy to think these kids had learned all this good stuff and as a result changed their way of thinking and behaving but really behavior change is not so quick and easy. A youth conference won´t do it. And these were just pictures. Not the most detrimental behavior out there.

That was the first part of my ¨vacation.¨ The second part I was translating for a group of doctors who came down to do clinics in the most isloated and far out campos I have seen yet in this country. This was a great time but I will have to write about it later as I am quickly loosing attention.

Nos vemos.

Peace Corps Electrics

I've been without electricity for the past week. Not even the on again - off again stuff that goes on here in the DR. It's been straight off. With no again. But I'm not really complaining as my only electric needs were my radio and my cell phone, and since I lost my phone about the same time I lost power that worked out just about perfectly.

The reason for the week long apagon is that the electric company has finally gotten serious and is cracking down on dead beat electric ladrons. For example, my house has a 16,000 peso debt hanging over its roof. And my landlord is well aware of it. She bought the house when it was at 14,000. And honestly it was kind of stimulating stealing power. I would drag two long electric wires from my house across the street and curl the tips just right so they wouldn't fall off and lift them up with this huge wooden pole to the main electrical wires that were pealed in certian spots. And right in those spots I would hang my wires. Then I would run into the house and tighten my light bulb to see if I matched up the wires correctly. Then the best part is when the electrical company would be in town. A caring and compasionate little Paul Revere would run down the street telling everyone to take down their wires. And I would go out with my pole, and my heart fluttering and hands shaking a little, take down my wires and run them into the house and close the door. Never sure if the electric truck was right around the corner and what exactly they would do if they caught me with my pole in the air.

But now that's over. The electric company has installed a steal proof wire and are even installing meters in every house. Part of the reason noone ever paid was because noone had any electric meters and the company was just charging people a flat rate across the board. Not even taking into consideration the daily power outages.

So I wait. Until my landlord settles the debt and signs a contract to get me legal electricity. Until then I'm going through the candles like no other.

This is exciting. The internet has arrived to Pedro Sánchez. I can walk down the street and jump online. I never really thought that this would be an option in the Peace Corps. As I sit here using this slick new keyboard watching cows graze out the window I think about the old Gateway commericials with all the cows and computers. This new center has it all. computers, wireless internet, Pedro Sánchez´s own radio station, copy and fax machines, projectors, digital and video cameras, a special kids room with a library, an adult library, a virtual library connected to the University of Santo Domingo´s library, and ¡bathrooms! that flush. I´m so excited about this part and I think it will change my whole morning rutine around.

It´s really incredible that a little community like mine which is poor, rural, and doesn´t even have phone lines has this new center. But these are just the communities the First Ladies office is targeting for these centers. It´s been interesting so far seeing people who never thought of computers before learning to use them. And this center has kind of added a different twist to my roll here in the community. Although I am not a computer expert in the likes of Diogo (sorry man, Frace and Zidane got your guys´ number) or my old roommate Jon Lentz (¡Lentzy!) it´s safe to say I have the most experience in town. I won´t necessarily be teaching computer classes now, 3 people were hired and trained to do that, I will try to adapt my english class to the new technology and maybe throw in a computer class for a group of teachers at the school. Also this gives me more oppurtunites for activities. I´ve always thought a literacy group was a great idea and a huge need and now we have the resources to do it. Just reading to a group of kids will be great! I´m pretty certian most of them have never been read to before.

So that´s that for now. Otherwise things are going well for the most part. We´ll talk more.

Happy 4th