Profe in the DR 31

Profe in the DR 31

12-22-11

Went to the capital on the 14^th to see the back doctor.  He said I was improving and didn’t need to wear the brace all the time, only when I had to sit for long periods of time. 

Third day on bike after taking off the brace I broke the ball bearing case in the bottom bracket again.  Now I have to wait until I go to the capital again to get parts to fix it. 

The co-ed soccer team beat Batey 9 yesterday 2-1.  Batey 9 has a strong team and this was the first time we beat them.  The kids were very excited.  It hasn’t rained here in a long time so there were several inches of dust in the play.  We threw water on the field before the game, but it was still a very dusty affair.  

The temperatures here in the morning are a bit on the cool side (everyone here says its cold).  The little boys who usually run around naked all the time actually put on some clothes.  One little boy had on a large t-shirt that completely covered his hands and feet, so only his head was sticking out.  It looked like a shirt was walking down the street.

Some of the evangelical churches go out every morning at 4am and walk up and down the streets, singing and playing drums for the entire month of December.   I haven’t had a good nights sleep since November.

12-27-11

The population of the batey has about doubled with all the people returning home for the holidays.  It’s amazing how many people from here live in the capital.  They always return dressed in some of their nicest clothes, and seemingly trying to impress everyone here with the fact they live in the capital.

What little celebrations of Christmas there are here take place on the 24^th.   The colmados started filling up around noon.  At night, people ate a special Christmas dinner, that seems to always include fried chicken, and possibly some other type of meat, pork or goat.  Unlike the states, they don’t all sit down and eat together, but rather serve people as they drop by.  It is a much more subdued affair than in the states.   I was invited to two houses to eat. 

There are however Voodoo celebrations on the 24^th.  Because Haitian slaves had to hide their African religions from their French masters, they held Voodoo celebrations on Catholic religious days.  There was a lot of dancing, playing of homemade musical instruments, eating, and drinking, which went on all day long.  There were two processions in the streets, one in the early morning and the other at noon.   They were led by a bull with a colorful decoration draped over its back.  Then came a tall man with a long whip he would swing around over head and then crack on the road.   Then came a man in a straw cowboy hat, a red bandana, an empty machete scabbard, and with a whistle in his mouth.  He seemed to be in charge of the ceremony and guided the procession.  He carried a decorated rattle, and a wood bowl with a bottle and other things in it.  He would also draw the Voodoo designs on the road at the intersections.  Crossroads have importance in the Voodoo religion.  He would also occasionally take a sip of rum and then blow it out of his mouth in a real fine mist, covering anyone nearby.  He was then followed by the group of dancing women, all dressed in the same solid green homemade dresses.  They would stop at every intersection and the women would dance in a circle.  They were then followed by the young men playing the homemade instruments.  These included long pieces of bamboo about 3-4 inches in diameter.  They were painted brown with white spots.  The young man would blow into the bamboo while they hit the outside with a stick.  Other instruments include the end of a brass horn (possibly from a semi truck) attached to a long tube; pieces of perforated metal that resembled cheese shredders that they would play by rubbing something up and down it; and other homemade trumpets.  The spectators made up the final group in the procession, often dancing along as they followed. 

On the 25^th I headed up to Los Rios about an hour west of here and celebrated Christmas with about a dozen other volunteers.  Sarah and Masa put together a big Christmas feast with turkey, mashed potatoes and all the fixings.  It was incredible.  Unfortunately my stomach isn’t used to such rich food in such quantities and I filled up immediately.   The next day we headed out to see Lake Enriquillo, iguanas, and cave drawings left by the Taino Indians.  The drawings look like smiley faces that have been deeply carved into the rock.  The lake was quite impressive, it is very long and lined by mountains on both sides.  It is a saline lake and boasts the highest concentration of crocodiles in the Carribean.  The iguanas that live near the lake were about 2-3 feet long mini dinosaurs, which scared two of the women in our group.  We finished off our little tour by stopping by a park and had something to drink in the shade of large trees as we sat in the middle of one of several crystal clean streams running by.  A very enjoyable day.

Profe in the DR 30

Profe in the DR 30

11-28-11

            I got a hold of several young children’s books in Spanish in the capital, like Curious George and such.  Since I got back to my site Friday night, tons of kids have been coming over to read them (or just look at the pictures), including lots of teenagers and a few young men.  I haven’t had much success however trying to get anyone to read chapter books yet.

            The doctor wants me to keep wearing the back brace for two more weeks.  I still have a little numbness in my left foot, but it is better than before. 

            While in the capital I picked up 30 soccer balls from World Vision that their country director promised me.  They are for our soccer league, five for each community.

I also spoke to a young Haitian man on Sunday about him coaching the team.  He showed up at practice today, and said he wants to coach starting Wednesday.  Hopefully things will work out.  For this program to keep going after I am gone, it’s important we find a good coach.

12-11-11

The soccer team won their game last Saturday against Batey 7, 1-0.  I had to ref the game since they couldn’t find anyone there to do it. 

            The soccer team continues to work for an hour on the soccer field every Sunday.  Mostly cutting back the thorn bush, and then burning it once it’s dry.  Its dirty, painful work, the thorns go through everything.  We often encounter wasps.  One twelve year old last week had a branch bounce back and smack him in the eye really hard.  It left a blue spot on his eye.  Hopefully it will go away soon.  However, all the hard work has been good for them.  They now have the biggest and I believe best soccer field among the bateys. 

            The Sala de tareas has been going very well.  We have been focusing on addition and using lots of games involving dice, flashcards, playing cards, and bingo cards with addition problems written on them, and a few games on the computer.  The children who have been coming regularly have really improved in a short period of time.  The challenge is getting them to come regularly.  The computers really help motivate them, but for some it is not enough. 

            The chess club has been growing with more and more young children and girls coming to play.  A 58 year old man who just moved to the batey has been joining us as well.  He used to play a lot 16 years ago.  Once he dusted off the cobwebs, he has been showing the teenagers a thing or two.  Adoni however has managed to hang with him, winning as many games as he loses.

            Art club has grown to the point I don’t have enough places for everyone who wants to participate, and have to turn them away.  I think I need to add another session to accommodate the demand.

            All my other classes and projects are going well.  Once the winter vacation starts here, many of my classes will come to a halt until January.  The kids asked for a break during the vacation.

            I spent two days at the beach in Los Patos.  I hardly ever take RR days, as I am always working; however, I think I need to work them into my schedule more.  It was nice to just relax and sit in the sun by the ocean.