Peaces Of Eleni

Today one of those terrible, no good, very bad days – I woke up and still there was no electricity so I left for the pueblo without having had coffee. Walked to get the truck to the pueblo and missed it – waited for an hour. Went to finally buy a gas tank and stove since last night cooking in an anafe (coal in an open metal stand) was just a last straw kind of moment.

Waited in the Bani for 45 minutes for an Azua bus – got tired of waiting and gave up. Still too early for internet since the electricity hadn’t arrived. Bought the stove and gas tank only to realize later that I was ripped off – annoying. Went grocery shopping then walked to the internet center for my heavy grocery bags about 6 blocks. Ugh!! Noon arrives – the sun is scorching. Grab a grilled chicken sandwich – the only meat I’ll consume all week. With the sun at its highest I walk 15 blocks to the pickup truck bus stop with my bags to head to my campo. Don’t have to wait long. Climb in the back where I continue to work on my tan – without much of a choice.

Get to my site no electricity so I bucket bathe and read under my mosquito net naked in bed – too hot for clothing. No electricity means I have no idea of the time. Head to my host mom’s. There have an emotional breakdown as I recount my day and start crying when she tells me I paid too much for my stove and bought a bad brand. I just kept saying I’m just tired of having to struggle so much just to live in this country. Why is everything so hard. Now I know why volunteers get boyfriends here – it’s hard to be don, dona, muchacho y licenciada all by yourself. Im exhausted. My host mom lets me cry and vent. Time for my business class to I head up the mountain to the school. There I have 4 students out of about 15 – none have done their homework. I give up for today. There’s a birthday and a funeral – I don’t attend either. I shouldn’t be compartir-ing right now. I feel terrible.

Back in my pink wooden house with zinc roof included, I turn on shuffle on my iTunes and read until I fall asleep under the safety of my mosquito net. I know tomorrow will be better.

“Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed – doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language.

But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps – who works in a foreign land – will know that he or she is sharing in a great common task of bringing to man that descent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.” – John F. Kennedy, 35th present of the United States & Founder of the Peace Corps

This is the ideal on which Peace Corps was founded – all of which is very true. I can’t count the number of times, days or hours that I’ve thought about throwing in the towel and even have a countdown for when I’ll be going home or a volunteer get-together to look forward to.

This is more than a professional experience – it’s a life experience that’s an emotional and mental rollercoaster. One needs to have a very tough stomach to handle. Yet what’s even more interesting is how different each volunteers experience. Peace Corps is like a cross-country race in which we may all run the same distance and even the same course but several of us will get heat stroke, some will vomit, a few will twist an ankle and only a handful will cross the finish line.

Every time I think about my personal experience one person in particular comes to mind – George Economides. I remember when I received my invitation for the Peace Corps I just sat in my room and cried – Dominican Republic. “Are you F*@$ing kidding me?!” was all I thought. I made my mind up right away – I’m not going. I had already been to the DR several times and I thought this was going to be an experience. How did it get changed from Madagascar to DR?! Not fair!! I said all of this and more to Mr. Economides. “I need this invitation to be re-evaluated”. For god sakes, I knew too many people in the DR. It’s up the block and a weekend trip for many of my friends and even some family. He replied, “Eleni, maybe you should take the weekend to think about whether or not you’re joining Peace Corps for the right reasons. If none of that will affect how you perform your service then I don’t see the problem. Please call me on Monday to let me know if you’ll be accepting your invitation to the Dominican Republic.”

What happened to Africa, South America, some Arabic speaking country – a real cross-culture experience. Not plantains – I eat that for dinner here in Nueva Yol?!

Now after a site change, starting over, struggling and knowing that my struggling isn’t over. I know that this is where I need to be. I’m a strong believer in destiny and lessons learned throughout life. The clichéd – everything happens for a reason. For whatever reason, I know this is where I’m supposed to be right now and even though I may call home or call another volunteer and say I hate this – I don’t call my APCD right at that moment because I know that tomorrow is another day and maybe it won’t be this hot or the light will stay on longer and things will be better. They usually are. Some days I’m even crazy enough to think about extending. Quien sabe?!

Want to support one of my community initiatives in the DR?

I’m teaching a small business course in my site in Los Jobitos, Dominican Republic outside of the southern pueblo of Bani. It’s a national initiative of the Peace Corps here to teach youth to start their own businesses and then have a competition in which the best plans for new businesses win the investment money they need to start their business and construir sus suenos – build their dreams.

We need help from US donors to fill our grant request to help run the conference and raise the money to distribute to the winners. Thus, this email. To help you understand what happens with the money, here are some short descriptions of the businesses that last year’s winners started. I hope some of my students will be counted in next year’s grant request!

Production Category

First Place: Fotovideo Alanna in Vicentillo, El Seibo.  A group of 5 young adults now are providing the services of a photo lab in their rural community.  Allowing the community to document the special moments in their lives and provide a progressive method of promotional opportunities.

Second Place: Diorama in Pedro Sánchez, El Seibo.  A young woman that has previously studied design is now providing the service of interior decorating.  For example: curtains, bedspreads, table cloths, pillows, etc.

Third Place: New York Pizza in Sabana de la Mar, Hato Mayor.  2 young women proposed a small pizzeria in the middle of growing tourist town.

Commercial Category

First Place: Cyber Smerling in Azua.  A young man is providing accessibility to the internet and computer skills on the main road through Azua.

Second Place: Colmado Anna in Batey 6, Bahoruco.  A young woman is providing her small batey with the accessibility to fresh goods in the form of a small mini market.

Third Place: Jamberson Agrikol in Anses a Pitres, Haiti.  A young man is now providing the local farmers with the necessary, but not so accessible, seeds and machinery to improve their level of agriculture.  This gentleman is one of our Haitian participants that gave his presentation in Kreyol.

If you’d like to make a donation, follow this link. https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-385

THANKS!!!!

After several site visits, I decided on a village in the mountains north of Bani in the south of the country.

The entire way down to the south I went back and forth in my mind should I visit, is it worth it, should I stay, should I ET, what will I do if I go home… Honestly, just every question that crosses a volunteers mind several times during the various (scattered) low points in our 2 years of service. Those days when it’s hot, the electricity is out, your grant hasn’t been approved and your project is just flojo so you sit under the zinc roof of your house and question whether you’re making a difference – ALL of these questions were bombarding me all at once at 7am before I’ve even had my coffee… not to mention small talk with my APCD. At one point, I remember we were on the highway and I almost said just stop the car and forget – but I didn’t and I’m so glad.

Finally we arrived. Have you ever had the feeling of getting somewhere that just feels right? That’s what it was like when I stepped out of the PC jeepeta. Welcomed by the Asociacion de Mujeres Campesina de Los Jobitos – 56 fuerte, active women + 3 men working towards the betterment of their community. The women right away were hospitable and you could just tell in their faces they were excited to have a volunteer in their community. I was also assigned to work with a nearby association of NUCABA – nucleus de cafeteleros banilejos in Buena Vista.

Several weeks later I went for a trial weekend visit with my host family to solidify that there was a positive connection. It happened to be DR mother’s day so I brought over a typical dominican doll without a face  for my new to-be host mom.

June 12th I officially arrived in Los Jobitos as their new PCV. I’m supposed to be living with my host family for the next 3 months (still negotiating less time with PC) for integration purposes. It’s been sweet. My host parents are just really cool, chill people. My host sisters are around my age and we actually all kind of resemble each other to the point that a lot of the town thought one of my host mom’s daughters was home.

Like any newbie, I’m working on my diagnostic. This time instead of doing less formal interviews I’m going house-to-house with my forms and writing down the responses. It’s a small community and it really is a great way to get to know everyone, assess their individual needs and introduce myself.

Of course it’s not all bliss. There are times I get frustrated with the peace and quiet of a small mountain village and get a little bored, but this has only forced me to dive into charlas and classes right away which is great. I started teaching business classes to youth in my community. A program that didn’t work well in my last community, but has been so far successful in Los Jobitos. I expected about 10 -15 youth and was welcomed by a class of 33 all very enthusiastic.

The Association is part of a greater federation of women called FEMUCABA. On Friday I went down to the pueblo of Bani for an assembly meeting which was surprisingly well organized and informative.

The coffee nucleus & association is still something I’m feeling my way through since it’s an industry I’m trying to learn more about. Their main aspirations and what they would like my focus to be is on receiving organic, fair trade certification and developing a market for export. We’ll see – I’m still assessing the situation via my diagnostic.

Back in the states – where a lot of things seemed to make a little more sense and before I knew exactly what to expect of my Peace Corps experience – I thought Peaces of Eleni would give people at home insight into my life here in the Dominican Republic, but now that I’m here I’ve come to realize that in many aspects this is such a personal experience that it’s been difficult to blog.

On April 18th at 6am along with 3 other volunteers I had asked to stay over on Sunday after bola race, I left my site after a security issue made me unsafe in Benerito. Honestly, it was a tough decision to leave the artisans, my project and especially my youth behind, but it was the best decision made by PC/DR for me despite my arguments.

Those who speak with me regularly know that from the beginning there was trouble at my site. Despite its proximity to Bayahibe, La Romana, Casa de Campo, KI-RA, Trigo de Oro and several other luxuries & amenities – it was problem after problem. Starting with my disaster of a host mom. It was a tolerable situation while Daniel was around as a buffer, but once my only bud went back to Belgium I realized I was all alone. There was another volunteer at the site that I was placed to follow-up, but with marriage on the horizon to a guy from my site (that made my life hell) I didn’t exactly have drum circle confianza with them. It was in this loneliness that I made a huge mistake. I started letting young people from my site hang out at my house because we were all “friends”. I thought I had integrated past the point where I was a gringa americana – but that’s not true nor possibly. I could be latina, morena, mi negra – but here (unfortunately) my spanish says latina, but my identity and what people see will always in the end be “la americana” = visa…. Allowing this differentiation to lapse in my mind was my greatest vulnerability because all of a sudden I let my guard down.

Post-incident (how I refer to it now) I went home for about 10 days to see my family after my dad had a heart attack (totally fine). Followed by a painfully long stay in the capital at the pension while PC figured out where to put me and handled the situation. For the entire time I was in the capital I felt like I was in a never-ending game of Monopoly stuck in the Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 position. I just didn’t know how to explain why I left my project. I felt like I had failed at being a volunteer. People would suggest visiting other volunteers to break up the monotony of staying in the humid, mosquito infested heat of the capital. Though part of me wanted to hang out, I also wanted to be alone.

Is it all better – I don’t know, but in my mind it’s over so with this post I’m pressing the RESTART button on my PC experience. Please don’t ask for details.

I Wanted To Change The World
By Unknown Monk, 1100 A.D.
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

08 SEPTIEMBRE 2008

http://www.turismosantodomingo.com/2008/09/dichos-dominicanos.html

Dichos Dominicanos
El dominicano no mira mal. Corta los ojos.
El dominicano no deja algo. Suelta en banda.
El dominicano no se mejora. Se alienta.
El dominicano no insulta. Da una pela de lengua.
El dominicano no bebe en la botella. Se embica.
El dominicano no pelea. Se lo come vivo.
El dominicano no llama por teléfono. Da un toque.
El dominicano no ignora.Se hace el loco.
El dominicano no se sube. Se encarama.
El dominicano no pide un poco. Pide un chin.
El dominicano no come algo ligero. Pica.
El dominicano no trata. Brega.
El dominicano no esta preparado. Esta setiao.
El dominicano no se va directo y sin parase. Se va en bola´ehumo.
El dominicano no espera. Hace hora.
El dominicano no tiene flema en los pulmones. Tiene un con-con o un pollo.
El dominicano no se calma. Lo coje con suavena.
El dominicano no repite algo más lento. Lo baraja más al paso.
El dominicano no trabaja duro. Se la busca como un toro.
El dominicano no te engaña. Te lo mete frio.
El dominicano no es infiel. Pega cuernos.
El dominicano no es mentiroso. Es jablador.
El dominicano no es un experto. Es un verdugo.
El dominicano no se lo sabe todo. Es un tiguere.
El dominicano no se emborracha. Se da un jumo.
El dominicano no resbala. Patina.
El dominicano no tiene problema económico. Está en mala.
El dominicano no quiebra. ‘Ta en olla.
El dominicano no espía. Brecha.
El dominicano no convence. Da muela.
El dominicano no acaricia. Soba.
El dominicano no se lanza. Se jondea.
El dominicano no molesta. Fuñe / Jode.
El dominicano no se baña. Se echa agua.
El dominicano no llena su estomago. Se jarta.
El dominicano no se incomoda. Se quilla.
El dominicano no te golpea. Te e´plota. (Te explota)
El dominicano no te da un golpe. Te da un totazo o un fuetaso.
El dominicano no se abaja. Se aplata.
El dominicano no baja. Se apea.
El dominicano no organiza.Acoteja.
El dominicano no va rápido. Va como un chele o como lajon´derdiablo.
El dominicano no te abandona. Te saca los pies.
El dominicano no toma siestas. Echa una pavita.
El dominicano no sale corriendo. Se embala.
El dominicano no se ven luego. Se ‘chequean’.
El dominicano no se va del lugar. Se degarita.
El dominicano no se atraganta. Se añuga
El dominicano no busca pelea. Arma una piña.
El dominicano no da una bofetada. Te da una galleta.
El dominicano no se pasa de tragos. Se prende se enciende o se pone en su punto.
El dominicano no habla incoherencia. Es un baboso.
El dominicano no duda. Se pone chivo.
El dominicano no orina. Mea!
El dominicano no muere. Guinda los tenis.
El dominicano no besa, Chulea
POSTED BY VICENTE NOBLE AT 6:47 PM

Noche buena was pretty mala here is B-town since whatever greater being has decided that a single parental divorce wasn’t enough – my host parents must also get separated. Perfect…. So after a grey day of torrential rain both outside and inside my zinc roofed home, I had a spaghetti and beet salad dinner (not a fan) and spent a very awkward night both with my host moms family which continued at my host dads place of work the villa. We arrive to wish him a merry christmas and my host mom says I brought you your 3 children (me included – can someone explain to her that I’m 25) … umm.. that you could feel tension is the ultimate understatement. I forgot to mention I also had an argument with my host moms sisters now husband over religion as he began to tell me that Catholicism is a devil worshipping religion and forced me to read a passage of the bible. Not going to lie – I cried that night and missed my fun, normal, REAL family. I tried walking my dog to the large colmado thinking that seeing others having a great time drinking, partying, living life would cheer me up – it didn’t. I explained to my host mom why all of christmas eve was not OK. Had a glass of wine with her and went to bed depressed.

Christmas day – not much better. Irritated with the world. Spent the entire day in bed reading as the rain didn’t let up until the next day.

Actually the holidays didn’t get better until that Saturday when I went out with my host cousin from Belgium. We went out to Romana – danced, drank, hung out with his friends and family, then spent the night with his family in Romana. Love that I have someone that gets it to vent to. I literally cried/laughed as I was telling him the story of my Christmas. MAS NUNCA – will I spend a Christmas Eve away from my family. Lesson learned.

New Years – Awesome!! Went to Cabarete with the other volunteers. Hung out on the beach, relaxed, had a cheap spa day, did not eat the bandera. LOVED IT!!! On the way back stopped in Santiago for a few hours to visit a family friend and gain some enlightenment for 2010. Then back to my campo. At least I was a bit more refreshed and arrived with a few more patience to deal with my life in B-town.

Patience in a glass

The girls in Cabarete

Pics available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/E.Bourinaris/YoleidySWedding#

Lots of fun!!!

1. We had an aguinaldo - the night described in the previous post ended with this. Everyone at my site (well everyone 17-30 mas o menos) stays up all night playing music, drinking and hanging out. This is kind of the Dominican equivalent to singing Christmas Carols door-to-door in the states, but in very Dominican-style LOUDER. Basically, the entire entourage of 50-100 people goes door-to-door in the middle of the night (mind you I joined at 3 am and it was still going strong) singing songs, playing these dominican instruments (una tambora, la güira, etc), drinking Brugal and just hanging out. Super fun.
2. The parade of the Caballistas: For a single night B-town moved to Mexico. A parade of decorated real horses were paraded throughout my campo with their owners as pickup trucks followed behind with… Dominican mariachi?! <<Yes, much confusion>> The parade led to a rancho nearby where everyone proceeded to eat, drink and fiestar. Since it was raining I watched the parade from my house, but decided to leave my date for the chance to remain dry.
3. Mamajuana, hechiceria, bon fires – Went to some sort of hechiceria triaje festival with people getting “montao”. Really scary – even out of my realm. People singing and dancing possessed. Tambores and lyrics in Creole. Honestly, straight out of a movie. In the middle of sugarcane fields. Nightmares for days afterwards – not gonna lie.

I think I’m taking a break from exploring off the beaten path for a few days. Need some time to recoup.