Profe in the DR 06

Profe in the DR 06

I have now been in my site for two months (more than 4 ½ months in country).  I am continuing to work on forming soccer teams, which are coming along little by little.  I have managed to form a men’s team, a 14-17 year old boys team, and a very large girls team (24 girls have showed up the last few practices).  We were able to get World Vision to donate five soccer balls, and the Department of Sports donated three more.  We have had three clean up days so far, removing large quantities of garbage, rocks, and glass from the field, and cutting back some of the thorn bush that grows all around the field.  (The thorns grow to about 2-4 inches long and are super sharp.  They completely tore apart one soccer ball.  They also go right through tennis shoes.)  We measured out a field that is about 90 yards by 50 yards, and have marked the field by using white gravel to make the lines.  We made goals using two sticks for the goal posts and a rope tied between them to make the top.   The field is still in very rough shape with lots of holes and glass and rocks, but it is a million times better than when we first started.

The men had their first game against the men from Batey 5 last Sunday.  Batey 5 has been a team for more than five years and most of the guys played soccer in Port au Prince the capital of Haiti, before they came here.  They were super good.  They showed up in soccer uniforms and cleats.  We wore white t-shirts and many of our guys were barefoot.  They really took us to town.  It was so bad that our fans clapped anytime we even got the ball past mid field.  Fortunately we only lost 4-0.

  I played as well, despite being about twice as old as everyone else.  About 5 minutes into the game I slipped and fell (no cleats) and cut my leg pretty good (4”long x 1/2”deep-lots of glass on the field).  I finished out the period, during which time just about all 100 people watching, one by one pointed out to me that I cut my leg.  “Daniel, cortaste tu pierna.” “Daniel, …” .  I couldn’t get to the hospital until the next day and they said it was too late to stitch it, so they used something else to close the wound instead.  No exercise for me for one week. 

Christmas was pretty low key here in Batey Isabela.  There were no Christmas trees or decorations anywhere.  Starting on the first of December, one of the evangelist churches would parade up and down the streets singing and playing drums, at four in the morning, every day.  On the 24^th, a different group celebrated several Voodoo gods (lwa) by singing, playing homemade instruments and parading down the streets.  The procession was lead by a decorated bull, followed by someone holding a picture of the lwa up high on a stick, and someone else carried the Dominican Republic flag.  At the main intersection they danced, and played music, and a man cracked a whip.

The family I am staying with celebrated Christmas on the 24^th by having a slightly nicer meal than usual that included cookies (first time I was served something sweet to eat.)  A relative also gave them a plate of food as a gift.    They did nothing special on the 25^th.  

Yesterday I was working with some boys cleaning up the side of the soccer field when a large group of children came running out onto the play (baseball field), yelling and following a boy on a bike dragging a dog tied by a rope around its neck.  Before I could say something, they began to stone the dog, and it soon stopped moving.  Apparently some woman passed judgment on the dog for stealing food, and she had the children carry out the sentence.   Sadly the children seemed to be enjoying themselves.  It was like a scene from Lord of the Flies.   Animals are kept for their usefulness, not for their companionship like in the U.S.

N’ap wè pita.   (“See you later” in Creole)