Hey everyone,
Since I am an Extreme Needs Youth Development Volunteer here in the D.R., I have had the opportunity to help plan the National Conference for Children and Adolescents in High Risk Situations. It has been a great learning opportuntiy for me and the conference is a little less than a month and half away!
Check out our blog below:
Conferencia Nacional de NNA en Situaciones de Alto Riesgo
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Culturally Speaking
First of all Feliz Internacional Dia de la Mujer! This is way more popular in the rest of the world than I believe it is in the states. Unfortunately, I don´t have a major march or huge activity planned for my community this year....but I´m already starting to thing about 2013!! It is sooo important to celebrate women, especially where I am!
I just realized that I have yet to really post about the cultural aspects of my experience here in the Dominican Republic...which when all else fades will be what I hold onto, cherish, remember, and continue to share about my experiences serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer here.
So I took a little time to reflect and think about all of the good and bad aspects of the Dominican culture that I have learned to love, respect, appreciate, and/or tolerate.
si Dios quiere mentality.... In the D.R this is an extremely popular phrase which means if God wants (or if it is in His will). This is the reply to any and every question, statement, or opinion. See you tomorrow...Si Dios Quiere.... Will you be at the meeting today at 4? Si Dios quiere. I want some eggs...Si Dios Quiere. I´m not hyping this up at all! It is used as response regardless of if the person plans to come to an event or not. So literally everytime I hear this I put someone in the maybe box for attending.
ask a question...get a blank stare and the nose scrunch.... I want to blame one of my Spanish teachers Veronica (whom I love dearly) because I have picked up this habit and my friends you will definitely see me do this when I come to visit... No judging por favor. So I use the blank stare and nose scrunch in response to someone asking me a question I don´t understand, a question I don´t feel like answering, and when I´m playing around with someone. The nose scrunch allows for the person to repeat themselves...which helps with the I´m-still-learning-Spanish-perdoname-phase-Im-in.
Anything can be turned into an icebreaker (dinamica). Seriously I have led some icebreakers here that would get me booed off of any stage in the States. But here, from 50 year old parents to 10 year old boys and girls to 18 year old jovenes...Dominicans love dinamicas and I´m thankful for it! Seriously you could turn running backwards into a dinamica...sing a loony song, play a counting game, or just act out a skit (Dominicans love skits) and you have an instant classic. Dinamicas have helped me where my language skills have failed me. I love how easy going and positive spirited Dominicans are!
Nothing ever goes as planned. Nothing ever starts on time, and nothing ever ends on time either. What is the point in planning? So we all know I am an over planner so at times this hurts me to my very core. This has also been my number one lesson in humility and patience in this country. (with the exception of my Chicas Brillantes and Chicos Superman groups on Wednesdays...they get to the community center 30 minutes or an hour in advance!) And I will admit that I only witness this in doses as I am more of an 8-5 volunteer so things always generally begin and end within that timeframe.
Food is so so so fresh here. If it wasn´t for the fact that I eat viveres, I could be losing weight (and hopefully I will once I move into my own place!). Every meal is cooked right before its eaten and there are rarely leftovers. I eat a more varied and healthier lunch that I ever have (Remember McDonalds runs during 5th period Richards?) and the food (though not at all seasoned or varied) is usually rice beans some kind of meat, vegetables and salad which is always okay in my book.
You are what they see. Should anyone ever forget your name or if you are meeting someone for the first time, you are known by whatever physical features they choose to identify you by. This is not the Ms. or Mr. upon introduction culture...So you could be called anything from Morena, rubia, gringo, gordo, viejo, joven, flacita...lo que sea! This is probably one of the toughest aspects of Dominican culture for me to get used to, but it is what it is...its truly their world and I´m just happy to be apart of it.
Everybody is somebody´s relative. I live in a campo barrio and seriously just when I think I´ve met someone for the first time, they remind me that they are the uncle, brother, sister, cousin, niece, nephew, or godparent of another person that I know. One of the first questions I like to ask is not if someone is related but how they are related.
The laundry hangs outside to dry...and so does your business. LOUDLY So chisme...aka gossip is pretty big in the D.R. culture. Even though I live in a pretty urban area, people always know when I´m not here, when I got back, what I was wearing, what I´m doing, what I don´t like to eat, what I love to eat, my crazy American tendencies like sleeping past 7am, lo que sea. I´m not even exaggerating everybody knows everything about everybody here. I want to blame this on the fact that people pass their time haciendo nada...but it doesn´t matter where I am in this beautiful country...there is chisme here!! Part 2 of this is that everything is so loud. Music can be heard blasting in my site from 8am in the am until 2am. People are always yelling for some muchacho or muchacha, and Dominicans talk and laugh loudly. Music is always on blast, tvs are always on blast, everything is always on blast! Thankfuly nothing can wake me up when I´m asleep so this aspect of D.R. culture has not bothered me much.
I am somebody´s daughter...in the States and in the D.R. too! One of the greatest things about the Peace Corps is that you have to live with 3 host families (one host family during groupwide training, one family during community based training, and one family during your first 3 months in your respective site). Each host family I have had has been incredibly kind to me and has taught me a lot about D.R. culture and Dominican Spanish. My host dad here in Santiag literally had a talk with every guy in the community so that they wouldn´t mess with me and throw piropios (think catcalls) at me. He also told a new guy in the community that he fathered me once when my host mom wasn´t looking and my mom took me to the states. He went on to say that I´m here now to get to know the rest of my fam and help out youth. When the guy asked about my host mom he replied that she was okay with it since I treat her like a second mom! How awesome is that. There are a million stories I could share about how much I truly love my host families. When this experience seemed too difficult, they held my hand, wiped away my tears, sat beside me by candlelight and helped me complete Spanish homework, helped me learn how to bucket flush, made me drink coffee which has now become an addicition, taught me how to make locrio, bought me Gatorade just because they wanted too, watched monday night football with me, taught me how to play dominoes, sang me a song to wake me up in the morning, wired up some internet so I could tell my mom in the States I was okay, laughed with me, and without any ulterior motives...shared their lives with me. I will forever be grateful to my host families for this.
seriously youth can change the world...the D.R. is no exception. Now that my programs are underway, I´m developing an even deeper appreciation for youth. The youth here are incredibly patient with me (as I literally butcher their langauge everytime I give a charla) and still take the time to share their thoughts and feelings openly. I´m so thankful for their trust, support, and willingness to take positive risks with me. They may not be exposed to a lot or have seen a lot outside of their community, or had a lot of opportunities to be creative or use their critical thinking skills in school, they still have them and choose to use them everytime we have a group.
it means the world to remember someone´s name. Pretty universal but it has picked up even more meaning for me during my time here in the D.R. I have not mastered this but when you say someone´s name, and say it correctly, their whole face lights up. This might have something to do with the fact that people are called by their exterior features. I am currently striving to learn the names of the 70+ chicas y chicos in my groups... si Dios quiere...
if you had any doubts...there are Dominican professionals.... while a lot of my friends live in campos or bateys...I have the opportunity to work with Dominicans who run an organization that I am extremely proud to be apart of now. Psychologists, lawyers, social workers, community advocates, teachers, directors...I have the opportunity to interact with all of them and it has added another layer of cultural understanding for me. They are educated, compassionate, and hard'working in their quest to support youth in and around Santiago. They make me want to step up my game and they plan and prepare in a way I wish I had when I was a teacher!
Dominicans are resourceful.... The majority of Dominicans that I know are extremely poor. Still, they will open up their homes and offer whatever food or coffee they have to anyone. And they use whatever they have to do what they want to do. For instance, I´ve seen baseball played with bottle caps, rocks, sticks, (umbrellas...well my group did that during community based training) in the middle of the street when youth don´t have baseball fields to go to. I´ve learned so many new games because a lot of the youth in my communtiy do not have any toys to play with, just other kids and their imagination. And the youth definitely get this trait from somewhere...Amas de casa...Their mothers are definitely the most resourceful people I´ve every met. My goal is to have a woman´s group at some point...not because I have a lot to share with them, but because I want to spend more time learning from them!
Well hopefully this helped you see more into my world as a volunteer in the D.R. Next time around I´ll try to post some picutres from different events and places I´ve been over the last 3 months.
PS Here is more information about the organization I am partnered with...in English! Enjoy!
Accion Callejera!!
I just realized that I have yet to really post about the cultural aspects of my experience here in the Dominican Republic...which when all else fades will be what I hold onto, cherish, remember, and continue to share about my experiences serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer here.
So I took a little time to reflect and think about all of the good and bad aspects of the Dominican culture that I have learned to love, respect, appreciate, and/or tolerate.
si Dios quiere mentality.... In the D.R this is an extremely popular phrase which means if God wants (or if it is in His will). This is the reply to any and every question, statement, or opinion. See you tomorrow...Si Dios Quiere.... Will you be at the meeting today at 4? Si Dios quiere. I want some eggs...Si Dios Quiere. I´m not hyping this up at all! It is used as response regardless of if the person plans to come to an event or not. So literally everytime I hear this I put someone in the maybe box for attending.
ask a question...get a blank stare and the nose scrunch.... I want to blame one of my Spanish teachers Veronica (whom I love dearly) because I have picked up this habit and my friends you will definitely see me do this when I come to visit... No judging por favor. So I use the blank stare and nose scrunch in response to someone asking me a question I don´t understand, a question I don´t feel like answering, and when I´m playing around with someone. The nose scrunch allows for the person to repeat themselves...which helps with the I´m-still-learning-Spanish-perdoname-phase-Im-in.
Anything can be turned into an icebreaker (dinamica). Seriously I have led some icebreakers here that would get me booed off of any stage in the States. But here, from 50 year old parents to 10 year old boys and girls to 18 year old jovenes...Dominicans love dinamicas and I´m thankful for it! Seriously you could turn running backwards into a dinamica...sing a loony song, play a counting game, or just act out a skit (Dominicans love skits) and you have an instant classic. Dinamicas have helped me where my language skills have failed me. I love how easy going and positive spirited Dominicans are!
Nothing ever goes as planned. Nothing ever starts on time, and nothing ever ends on time either. What is the point in planning? So we all know I am an over planner so at times this hurts me to my very core. This has also been my number one lesson in humility and patience in this country. (with the exception of my Chicas Brillantes and Chicos Superman groups on Wednesdays...they get to the community center 30 minutes or an hour in advance!) And I will admit that I only witness this in doses as I am more of an 8-5 volunteer so things always generally begin and end within that timeframe.
Food is so so so fresh here. If it wasn´t for the fact that I eat viveres, I could be losing weight (and hopefully I will once I move into my own place!). Every meal is cooked right before its eaten and there are rarely leftovers. I eat a more varied and healthier lunch that I ever have (Remember McDonalds runs during 5th period Richards?) and the food (though not at all seasoned or varied) is usually rice beans some kind of meat, vegetables and salad which is always okay in my book.
You are what they see. Should anyone ever forget your name or if you are meeting someone for the first time, you are known by whatever physical features they choose to identify you by. This is not the Ms. or Mr. upon introduction culture...So you could be called anything from Morena, rubia, gringo, gordo, viejo, joven, flacita...lo que sea! This is probably one of the toughest aspects of Dominican culture for me to get used to, but it is what it is...its truly their world and I´m just happy to be apart of it.
Everybody is somebody´s relative. I live in a campo barrio and seriously just when I think I´ve met someone for the first time, they remind me that they are the uncle, brother, sister, cousin, niece, nephew, or godparent of another person that I know. One of the first questions I like to ask is not if someone is related but how they are related.
The laundry hangs outside to dry...and so does your business. LOUDLY So chisme...aka gossip is pretty big in the D.R. culture. Even though I live in a pretty urban area, people always know when I´m not here, when I got back, what I was wearing, what I´m doing, what I don´t like to eat, what I love to eat, my crazy American tendencies like sleeping past 7am, lo que sea. I´m not even exaggerating everybody knows everything about everybody here. I want to blame this on the fact that people pass their time haciendo nada...but it doesn´t matter where I am in this beautiful country...there is chisme here!! Part 2 of this is that everything is so loud. Music can be heard blasting in my site from 8am in the am until 2am. People are always yelling for some muchacho or muchacha, and Dominicans talk and laugh loudly. Music is always on blast, tvs are always on blast, everything is always on blast! Thankfuly nothing can wake me up when I´m asleep so this aspect of D.R. culture has not bothered me much.
I am somebody´s daughter...in the States and in the D.R. too! One of the greatest things about the Peace Corps is that you have to live with 3 host families (one host family during groupwide training, one family during community based training, and one family during your first 3 months in your respective site). Each host family I have had has been incredibly kind to me and has taught me a lot about D.R. culture and Dominican Spanish. My host dad here in Santiag literally had a talk with every guy in the community so that they wouldn´t mess with me and throw piropios (think catcalls) at me. He also told a new guy in the community that he fathered me once when my host mom wasn´t looking and my mom took me to the states. He went on to say that I´m here now to get to know the rest of my fam and help out youth. When the guy asked about my host mom he replied that she was okay with it since I treat her like a second mom! How awesome is that. There are a million stories I could share about how much I truly love my host families. When this experience seemed too difficult, they held my hand, wiped away my tears, sat beside me by candlelight and helped me complete Spanish homework, helped me learn how to bucket flush, made me drink coffee which has now become an addicition, taught me how to make locrio, bought me Gatorade just because they wanted too, watched monday night football with me, taught me how to play dominoes, sang me a song to wake me up in the morning, wired up some internet so I could tell my mom in the States I was okay, laughed with me, and without any ulterior motives...shared their lives with me. I will forever be grateful to my host families for this.
seriously youth can change the world...the D.R. is no exception. Now that my programs are underway, I´m developing an even deeper appreciation for youth. The youth here are incredibly patient with me (as I literally butcher their langauge everytime I give a charla) and still take the time to share their thoughts and feelings openly. I´m so thankful for their trust, support, and willingness to take positive risks with me. They may not be exposed to a lot or have seen a lot outside of their community, or had a lot of opportunities to be creative or use their critical thinking skills in school, they still have them and choose to use them everytime we have a group.
it means the world to remember someone´s name. Pretty universal but it has picked up even more meaning for me during my time here in the D.R. I have not mastered this but when you say someone´s name, and say it correctly, their whole face lights up. This might have something to do with the fact that people are called by their exterior features. I am currently striving to learn the names of the 70+ chicas y chicos in my groups... si Dios quiere...
if you had any doubts...there are Dominican professionals.... while a lot of my friends live in campos or bateys...I have the opportunity to work with Dominicans who run an organization that I am extremely proud to be apart of now. Psychologists, lawyers, social workers, community advocates, teachers, directors...I have the opportunity to interact with all of them and it has added another layer of cultural understanding for me. They are educated, compassionate, and hard'working in their quest to support youth in and around Santiago. They make me want to step up my game and they plan and prepare in a way I wish I had when I was a teacher!
Dominicans are resourceful.... The majority of Dominicans that I know are extremely poor. Still, they will open up their homes and offer whatever food or coffee they have to anyone. And they use whatever they have to do what they want to do. For instance, I´ve seen baseball played with bottle caps, rocks, sticks, (umbrellas...well my group did that during community based training) in the middle of the street when youth don´t have baseball fields to go to. I´ve learned so many new games because a lot of the youth in my communtiy do not have any toys to play with, just other kids and their imagination. And the youth definitely get this trait from somewhere...Amas de casa...Their mothers are definitely the most resourceful people I´ve every met. My goal is to have a woman´s group at some point...not because I have a lot to share with them, but because I want to spend more time learning from them!
Well hopefully this helped you see more into my world as a volunteer in the D.R. Next time around I´ll try to post some picutres from different events and places I´ve been over the last 3 months.
PS Here is more information about the organization I am partnered with...in English! Enjoy!
Accion Callejera!!
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