The bike trip

4-9-12

This last week was semana santa.  I joined 3 other volunteers for a multi-day mt.bike ride in the mountains in the center of the country.  Paul, Justin, Will and I set out early from Paul’s house and headed west.  We started out on asphalt following along a fast flowing river, winding up into the mountains, looking across the valley at terraced farms and forests running up the hills.  The further away from Jarabacoa we headed the more remote it became.  We had lunch in Manobao, and from there the road turned to dirt.  We finished the day by climbing hard to the top of a mountain overlooking the valley on the other side and the little town of Ciénaga.  We descended into the valley, rode through a small river and into Ciénaga.  Five minutes after arriving it began to rain.   We spent the night at a visitor’s center for those climbing Pico Duarte.  It was located next to a river and surrounded by forest.  The guard there was nice enough to loan us sleeping bags and mattresses, and we found a little comedor to cook us up some rice and beans and fried chicken.   We played some cards and slept well in the fresh air coming through the open-sided building. 

            The next day we set out early and instantly were confronted with the mountains.  The climbs were steep, wet, and full of loose rock.  After about 20-30 minutes of climbing we came across a tall gate across the road, locked of course.   I checked for the keys at a house about 100 yards up a steep slope along side the road, no luck.  We then lifted the bikes above our heads and handed them over the fence.  This fence would be the last piece of civilization that we would see for the next 4-5 hours.  The washed out, wet, steep road was horrendous, but the views were absolutely incredible.  Mountains upon mountains filled with pine forest and streams.  It was such a pleasant change from the flat, dusty, dirty batey where I live.  Will and Justin had to walk up the majority of the climbs.  Paul only had to walk a few.  I managed to make all the climbs except a 30 yard section that was so steep I couldn’t keep the front wheel down, and the back one was spinning out.  I don’t think I have ever spent so much time in granny gear on one ride.  Around 2pm we finally encountered a long hard descent coming out in a small valley.  There we got lost twice, rode through a few streams, cleaned off the bikes, and finally found the correct route out, naturally going back up.   After quite some time climbing we all started to run out of water, and Paul brought out the iodine tablets, filling up a bottle in a small stream.  The water had so much silt in it, it looked like weak coffee.  Luckily, we came across a house before we had to result to drinking the runoff water.  From there we started to descend again, coming out in a valley full of farms of all sorts.  We stopped momentarily in the small town, and then started climbing out of the valley.   After a half hour or so we reached a point overlooking the city of Constanza.  From there it was a hard descent down to the town.  The road had widened out and the curbs were full of loose sand.  Will missed a turn and went flying off his bike.  Luckily he was taught in the Marines how to roll and escaped with only a few small scratches.  (All good mt. biking trips should have a little blood.) We arrived around 4:45pm.  It began to rain shortly after that.  We spent the night in a hotel.  The next day the three of them wanted to rest so we spent another night in Constanza.  Since it was Good Friday the town was just about shut down.  We had problems finding places to eat.  On Saturday, we set out from Constanza around 9:30am and rode up out of the valley.  We gained 1000m of altitude in about 3 hours.  Around 1:30pm we came across an eco-lodge.  The owner’s daughter is married to a friend of Paul’s.  We stopped to say hello and just as we were about to leave it started pouring.  It rained so hard that it wasn’t just a matter of getting soaked, but also whether we could ride safely on such bad roads.  The owner offered us a cabin to stay in, so under the circumstances we accepted.  The cabin was huge and very nice.  It was quite chilly so we sat around the fireplace and played cards at night.  Will tried his best to make something to eat out of what little he could find in a colmado a few kilometers away.  He tried making a spaghetti sauce out of tomato paste and garlic.  I just threw a poached egg on my noodles instead; life sustaining, but not gourmet.  We set out Sunday morning early and continued climbing until we reached 2500 meters altitude.  From there we rolled up and down hills for a while and eventually started encountering longer downs.  The road was so washed out and full of rocks, bumps and loose gravel that it was not possible to go too fast.  My breaks had taken quite a beating heading down into Constanza that now there was very little grab (or break pads) left.  The descending with all its bumps etc, seemed harder on my body than the climbing.  We were threatened by rain when we passed the pyramids that Trujillo built to commemorate having made the road between San Jose Ocoa and Constanza.  Luckily we out road the storm and stayed dry once again.  We pulled into San Jose Ocoa at 3:15pm.  Here I said goodbye to my riding partners and took off on my own. They were planning to catch a bus from there to the capital.  I needed to get 28km up the road to Cruce de Ocoa to catch a bus heading back to my site.  I wasn’t sure how long that would take me considering there were still a few mountains in between the two places.   I was worried I might miss the last bus heading my way so I pushed myself and rode hard, and arrived at Cruce de Ocoa in one hour, covered in sweat, but once again, just beating the rain.  From there I threw the bike on a guagau and returned home.  It was a great ride, great weather, and great company. 

profe in the DR 36

3-25-12

Last week I spent Thursday and Friday in the capital doing some work in the PC office.  When I got back I didn’t have any power whatsoever for four days.  Someone had knocked down a wire.  Electrical wiring here is mind blowing.  They use an overly small gauge wire, not designed for outside.  Then they splice into it anywhere they please, and many times as they please, running a million connections off it.  They tie a piece of a plastic bag over the connections.  It’s an electrician’s nightmare.

Sunday I got out on my bike for 5 hours 12 minutes.  I went out 3 hours and turned around.  When I did I noticed a big storm coming over the mountains so I rode as hard as I could to keep ahead of it.  It started to catch me as I was climbing the steepest hill on the way back, and I was starting to get wet, but on the long descent down, I got back in front of it and stayed there the rest of the way back.

            The rest of the week I was only able to get out on the bike once for an hour and a half.  It’s been a busy week.  In addition to my normal hustle and bustle, Thursday the APCD (Associate Peace Corps Director) for the education program came out and had a meeting with the teachers, director of the school and me.  She is thinking about placing a volunteer from that program here in May.  If she does the new volunteer and I would overlap by about 3 months or so.  Today we had an event with the Department of Sports.  They gave the baseball, softball, and soccer teams uniforms.  They are new but have the names of other towns, but the baseball and softball teams didn’t have uniforms so it is a big help.  Bateys 5, 7, 9 and Cuchilla were supposed to come as well and get uniforms and afterward we were going to play an all-star soccer game, but the Sugar Consorcio reneged on their promise to provide transportation, so the other bateys couldn’t come.  Instead my soccer team divided in two and played a game using the new uniforms.  

                        3-31-12

Another busy week, thank God semana santa is coming.  My math and English classes are all going well.  I am especially please with the progress in my reading classes.  I wish I had more time and resources because more and more kids want to join the classes but I am already maxed out.  I continue my quest for books for our library.   I spoke with three different people this week promising me books.    Art, chess, and soccer are also going well.  Tried to meet with the Sugar Consorcio on Thursday to ask for transportation for the summer soccer league but the public relations guy keeps putting us off.  He canceled our meeting at the last moment again.  Always says he will call me and never does.  Starting to think we need to speak to someone higher up the ladder.  Transportation is vital to making the league work.  I still can’t find another coach for the boys’ team, so I am teaching the two captains how to coach once I leave. 

Today a religious group from Canada stopped by the batey. They do so every year.  Half of the group was in the park preaching, the other half was in a church handing out medical supplies.  There was also a doctor from the capital with them.  They had a lot of sports equipment in the two buses they came in, but it was intended for some other locations.  However, after speaking with them, they were nice enough to change their minds and give us about 9 baseball gloves for smaller children and a baseball.  We have been trying to get gloves for the younger boys’ team for a while, so this was very helpful.

We’re about 2/3 of the way through the zafra (sugar cutting season).  When they burn the cane, the black ash from the leaves floats high up in the air and comes down far away, falling like snow.   My house is covered with ash, inside and out.  It gets inside even when the windows and door are closed, it’s amazing. 

            4-1-12

            Today the boys played soccer against Batey 7.  It was hot and windy, and I had to ref the game.  It was still 0-0 at the end of regulation play, but the boys looked so tired that I just called the game a tie.  Batey 7 was happy to tie us, and our boys were just happy to get out of the sun. 

             

Profe in the DR 35

2-24-12

Friday night I spent in Los Patos with several other volunteers.   We had plans to swim the next morning, but rain “dampened” our plans.  Sunday marked a year and a half in country; I celebrated it by getting out on my bike for four hours.  That has been my longest ride since I started dealing with all my back problems.  

I got gripe again, my sinuses feel like they are going to explode, throat’s sore, and I have a cough.  Still teaching all my classes though.  I’m pleased with the progress I am seeing in all my classes, but especially in the reading classes.  One group that started with absolutely nothing is already reading simple sentences.  I really enjoy teaching reading, and have gotten very good at reading Spanish upside down.  (This is because it is hard to find more than one or two copies of a book so we all have to share, and I sit across from the students and have to read upside down.)

More and more kids have been actually reading books in the small library I formed.  One of the older boys read one of the Goosebumps  books and really liked it, and so now more and more boys are reading them.  It is difficult acquiring books in Spanish, they are quite expensive in this country.   Most of what I have are from Scholastic en Español and are translated from English.  The kids have very little experience with books and so they don’t know how to treat them.  They flip the page by pushing with the palm of their hand, putting a crease in the page; they toss the books back up on the shelves, etc.  I’ve been teaching how to treat a book, but I am usually teaching classes while the library is open. 

Somebody stole the miniature bible that was in the library.  The kids warned me that would happen.  I just hope that who ever stole it, takes the time to read it, to realize what they did was wrong.

Last night in the computer lab I had to break up yet another fight, this time between two young men arguing over a cell phone.  Afterwards, my arm was sore the rest of the night.  To quote Lethal Weapon: “I’m too old for this (stuff) !”

3-8-12

Haven’t had much time or electricity to write lately.  The 27^th of February is independence day.  They also celebrate carnival in the DR that day or the Sunday before.  (Unlike everywhere else which celebrates carnival the week or so before Ash Wednesday.)  Like any other holiday, there is very little celebration here in the batey, however a few teenagers and kids dressed up in masks and homemade carnival outfits and walked around the batey cracking their homemade whips.  (They make the whips out of the strands from rice sacks and weave them together to make the rope.) 

I spent the 27^th working and finished up a ten week program of Deportes Para la Vida (aka: Grassroots Soccer).  The program teaches about HIV/AIDS using sports based activities. 

I spent four days in the Capital in various meetings, and ended up volunteering myself to help re-write the literacy manual and workbook.  Teachers here have little training and even fewer resources, so we want the materials to be effective, easy to use, and inexpensive to reproduce.  I also decided to take on planning a two day youth soccer leadership conference for June.  I will have to write a grant for the funding, and at this point it looks like nine communities will be participating.  Also while in the Capital, I received a box of books in Spanish from the Franklin Center.  The kids are really enjoying the new titles.  I read aloud Clic, Clak, Muu, Vacas con Maquinas de Escribir (Click, Clack, Moo, Cows with typewriters) on Monday and ever since, kids have been going around saying “clic, clak, muu!, clic, clak, muu!”

We have also started planning for our bateys’ soccer league that will start up in June as well.  We are hoping to receive transportation from the Sugar Consorcio this time.  They didn’t help us with the winter league because it was during the zafra (sugar cane cutting season).  We have decided to separate the genders this time.  We are hoping that more girls will play if they have their own team. 

We have been having problems with children running around the computer center, chasing each other and throwing rocks; (They love to throw rocks here.)  including problems with them throwing rocks at the windows and doors while people are inside trying to work.  Two days ago, finally someone got hurt.  A ten year old boy was running and trying to reach down and grab rocks at the same time and ran straight into a metal post.  They had to take him to a hospital and get four stitches in his forehead.  So yesterday we had a long meeting trying to come up with a solution to the problem.  The representative from World Vision wanted to talk to the parents and threaten to take away the computers, (to which I am sure they would have said “take them”.  Very few adults here know how to use them.)  The three of us who live here managed to come up with some better ideas.  We are going to ask teenagers to work outside the center and keep the peace.  Since we don’t have money to pay them, we will pay them in free Facebook time.  We are also going to try to get more parents to come visit the computer center and see how valuable a learning tool the computers are.  To accomplish this we are thinking to offer free Facebook time to anyone who brings their parents to the center. (Facebook, the new currency!)  We are also going to have a meeting with the parents and the representative of World Vision, but not threatening them like he suggested, but rather asking their help like an equal.   Hopefully these three things will solve the problem.  Tonight we had the meeting with the teenagers, asking their help.  About a dozen showed up.  They will start working tomorrow. The meeting with the parents is scheduled for Wednesday.

3-14-12

Sunday I rode my mt. bike in the mountains for 5hours and 15 minutes, lots of steep climbs, but little traffic, and the views are incredible.  Afterward I had a 3 hour meeting with all the coaches and coordinators of the soccer league, along with 3 other volunteers.  We were planning out everything for the next league which won’t have its first games until June.  We decided to ask the sugar consorcio for transportation, and they won’t provide that during the zafra (sugar cane cutting season).  I was in charge of the meeting and because two of the coaches don’t speak Spanish, had to conduct the meeting in Spanish and Creole.  I was rather worn out from my ride, and it takes a lot of effort still to speak in Creole, so much so that when it was time to speak in Spanish again, I started speaking in English without knowing.  This of course cracked up everyone in the meeting (except me).

We had our meeting about the computer center with the parents.  Only 12 poeple showed up, only a few of them parents.  Its hard to get parents involved in anything here.  We decided to try again, asking those 12 to come to another meeting next week, and this time bring someone with them.  Try, try again.  The teenagers who are woking at keeping the peace around the computer center are doing a good job.  We have had very few problems since they started. 

Profe in the DR 34

Profe in the DR 34

1-30-12

People here buy what they need in very small quantities, usually just what they need for that day or a single meal.  Back home where we might buy an entire can, jar, or bottle of something, people here will buy just a spoonful.   For example, before lunch everyday, you will see people carrying a small bowl to the colmado so they can buy a spoonful of tomato paste to make spaghetti.  Just about everything here can be purchased in a small quantity, from a day’s worth of shampoo, to a single bullion cube. 

            We have been having several tremors lately, nothing above 5 on the Richter scale.  However this was enough to put several cracks in the columns and beams at the elementary school. 

            A rat was trying to take up residence in my spare room.  I believe he left after I told him he would have to share the rent.  (Either that or he didn’t like the shovel I was chasing him with.)

            Yesterday the co-ed soccer team played their last game of the winter league.   We played Batey Cuchilla here and won 3-0.  The wind was blowing the fine dirt from the field all around, and by the end of the game I felt like I had been sandblasted.  (Grass fields sure would be nice.)

2-7-12

            Kids here carry half of a razor blade to school with them to use to sharpen pencils.  There are no pencil sharpeners in the room.

The ants are back.  For a few months, they were not to be seen, but now they are back and everywhere.  This morning I washed my one and only pot, but forgot about the lid and left if on the stove.  At lunch I put some water on to boil and covered it with the lid.  When I went to add the noodles to the water I lifted the lid and discovered ant soup!  Apparently they were on the underside of the lid while it sat on the stove and I didn’t realize it. 

It has only rained once since sometime around September and everything is dry and dusty.   Today the wind is quite strong and is blowing around the dust in large clouds.  I can’t wait until we get some rain again.  (I actually look forward to hurricane season.)

I have been working a lot with children’s literacy lately.  I added several classes in January, three of which are starting at ground zero.  Starting in infancy, children in the US have tons of toys and games that help build reading skills, not to mention educational DVD’s, computer programs, websites, books, access to libraries, and hopefully parents who read to them.  None of this exists here in the batey.  In addition, the majority of their parents most likely speak to them in Creole instead of Spanish (especially when they are mad), and many parents themselves are illiterate.  So when I say ground zero, I mean zero.  (You can also add poor nutrition and one of the world’s worst education systems to their woes.)  I am however seeing some progress, even if it is coming about slower than I am used to.

I managed to come up with another 15 books for the library, three children’s books, some old textbooks, and a few bibles.  (It’s hard to find free books in Spanish.)  The kids warned me that someone might try to steal the bibles.  I figure if someone steals one, then they have the most need to read it.

            2-10-12

            I just got back from the capital.  Peace Corps is celebrating its 50^th birthday this year, and PC DR turned 50 this week.  They had events for previous volunteers.  Over 200 returned for the event, mostly people who were volunteers before 1975. 

            While I was gone (only one night), the ants decided to avenge their comrades who fell in the great soup massacre by getting into all my food, even though it was protective containers (these are very small ants).  And to top it all off, they were laying in ambush in my towel hung over the curtain rod.  When I came back, there wasn’t electricity so I showered to the dim light of the lantern in the main room, and couldn’t see the imminent attack.  They waited until I had almost completely dried off before they initiated their well coordinated assault on all fronts (and all backs as well).  I was being bit all over, and the shower was almost out of water, down to just drips.  Luckily I keep a few 2 liter bottles full of emergency water, and quickly grabbed them and some soap to defend myself.  After a lengthy fight (and a lot of scrubbing) the battle ended, righteousness prevailing (that being me since I am writing the history and they aren’t).  Unfortunately I fear my war against the ants has just begun. 

“You can kill 10 of us for every 1 of you we bite, but in the end we will win and you will lose.”- Ho Chi Mini-ant

Today the ants got into my peanut butter that I left unguarded so I finally decided to escalate to biological weapons and sprayed where they were coming in.  They keep finding new places however to enter my house.  “Hasta la muerte, siempre.” –Che Hormiga.

2-16-12

It finally rained here a little on Monday.  It was not much more than to hold the dust down, but it was sufficient for the teachers not to come to school.  Half my students didn’t show up to classes either. 

Profe in the DR 33

Profe in the DR 33

1-21-12

Snap, crackle, pop goes the burning sugar cane as its red glow lights up the night sky.

Anytime I have had a chance to write lately there hasn’t been any electricity so I am getting a little behind on my blog.

School officially began a week ago Tuesday, but almost no one started going to classes until this week, and many are waiting until next week to go.  The longer the vacation, the longer it takes students to go back to classes.

Our co-ed youth soccer team won their fifth straight game on Sunday.  This puts them in first place in the league.  The game was in Batey 5, and went fine between the two teams, but the fans in Batey 5 were getting more and more aggressive as the game progressed.  (These were the same fans that two months earlier got in a huge fight with the men’s team from Batey 6, throwing rocks at each other, sending a good dozen or more people to the hospital.)   After we scored our second goal, the fans began to start yelling things.  That’s when I had my players move away from the fans, and told them not to speak to anyone from five, no matter what they said.  When the game ended, I just wanted to shake hands and get out of there as quickly as possible.  The fans quieted down a bit with the end of the game, we shook hands, and I started calling the team to come with me.  Just then I look over and there was a fight between the coach from Batey 5, and a teenager who had come along with us as a spectator.   No one could separate them so I ended up having to do it.  I kicked their legs out from underneath them, and dropped them both to the ground.  From there it was much easier to separate them and I grabbed the teenager and escorted him far away from the fans.  I then had to make sure my team was OK, because a fight around here is like blood in the water for sharks.  Sure enough, people from Batey 5 were trying to fight with some of the larger boys on my team.  One of the boys got hit in the face.  I managed to stop all that before it got out of hand, and got my team away from the fans from Batey 5.  Just then, the coach from Batey 5 broke free from the people holding him back and came running after the teenager.  The coach had two large rocks in his hands, one raised and ready to throw.  I grabbed the teenager with my left hand to make sure he wouldn’t do anything, and yanked him behind me, so I could then protect him from the coach.  I then pointed at the coach with my right hand and yelled “No” as firmly as I could.  It caused him to pause.  (Thank God)  He then tried to move to the right then left so he could get around me to throw the rocks at the teenager.  I too rotated, keeping myself in the middle, right hand still pointing at him (and ready to defend myself from flying rocks.)  Finally people from Batey 5 grabbed the coach again, and I got the teenager and my team out of there.  We then walked up to my friend Elia’s house, but he wasn’t there.  The coach once again was trying to break free and they were having trouble restraining him.  The crowd around him was growing larger, and I wasn’t sure what they were going to do, but they were slowly coming our way. (Mobs get out of control fast here.)  Just then, two men came from the other direction, and started trying to pull the teenager away.  I was trying to protect the teenager from them until finally one of the boys on my team told me the men were relatives of the teenager.   Once that was cleared up, the relatives and several other people then escorted us up to the main road, and we then waited in front of the police station until the truck we were brought in came and picked us up. 

            In addition to coaching the team here, I am also in charge of the managing the six community league we formed.  My biggest difficulties are communication and transportation.  Although a lot of people here have cell phones, almost no one ever has any minutes (you can receive calls free, but to call someone you need to buy minutes).  This means that if I want to talk to someone, I have to call them.  If they don’t answer when I call, I have to keep trying until I get a hold of them.  They will never call me back.  I have on several occasions had to go to the communities to talk with someone because I couldn’t reach them by phone.  Transportation here is predominantly small 50cc-125cc motorcycles, not ideal for transporting an entire team.  Between the six communities in the league, only three have a vehicle large enough for a team.  Batey 5 has a large flatbed truck, Batey 7 has a medium size bus, and we have a pick-up.  Last Saturday, the driver of the bus in 7 was drunk, so instead we had to send the pick-up all the way over there to take the team from 7 to Batey 5.  Luckily I went along to make sure things went smoothly, because after the game the pick-up wouldn’t start, and we had to hire and wait for the flatbed to get back from Barahona so it could take the kids back home.  It was quite late by the time they reached their houses.   Transportation is quite expensive and the costs prevent a lot of interchanges between communities.  (I wrote a grant to cover the transportation expenses of the league.)

            Now that Christmas vacation is over, I have started back up all my classes.  World Vision finally gave me photos copies of a book I have for teaching reading so I have added four reading classes to my load.  There is a 13 year old girl in one of my classes who can copy down everything her teacher writes on the board in the most beautiful of handwriting, but can’t read or understand a word of it.  (Education here is predominantly copying what is written on the board.)  

            I have been slowly forming a little library in the community center.  We now have about 30 picture books (like Curious George), about 30 chapter books, a dozen text books, and several picture books in English.  Most people just look at the pictures.  Those that do read, predominantly read the picture books (including adults).  Once in a while I see someone reading a chapter book.  Its hard to come across children’s books in Spanish, most of the titles are books translated from English, like Charlotte’s Web.  Books here are expensive.

            It is an election year here so there are tons of construction projects being carried out by public officials wanting to get re-elected (They do nothing until the final year of their term, then undertake a ton of projects all at once.)  Here in the batey, they already fixed our park, and our now putting in cement curbs.  There is talk of asphalt streets to follow.  I don’t know about sidewalks.  Of course, all of this depends if they can get it done before the election, because everything usually stops after the election, especially if the incumbent loses. 

            After two months of being inactive because of my back, I am able to exercise again.  I have been getting out on the bike in the morning and playing soccer in the evening.  My muscles are sore every day and I am feeling my age, but little by little I am getting back in shape.

 (As I am writing this, six chickens just walked through my house, in the back door, and out the front door.)

Profe in the DR 32

Saw a dead body in the middle of the road on the way to the capital.  They had covered it up with branches, but let it lay in the middle of the road as the police directed traffic around it.

1-4-12 

Finally got gas for the stove yesterday.  I ran out on December 23^rd, but with the holidays it was hard to find someone who could take my tank to the next town and get me more gas.  Spent several days eating crackers and peanut butter. 

The other day while I was sitting in an old mini van in Barahona, waiting for the slow ride back to my site, I was watching several young men who earn their living shinning shoes in a small park.  They appeared to be mute, as they were communicating with signs and gestures instead of words.  Unlike sign language in the states, they were using their entire body, often repeating gestures because they were not being understood.  It looked more like a game of charades.  There are no services outside of the capital for anyone with special needs, so children who are deaf or mute don’t go to school, and don’t learn sign language.  The young men had invented their own signs and gestures.

I bought some soap at the colmado next door.  All she had was some soap made with carrots.  I told her that if I am attacked by rabbits it would be her fault.

The hand washing of my clothes is really taking its toll.  The elastic is shot in all my boxers, and the collars in my shirts are stretched out.  The drying on barbed wire doesn’t do much for them either.  The family also uses a lot of bleach, which the white spots on my shirts and jeans would confirm.  However, the family needs the money they get from washing my clothes.  The mother has several times already had to ask to be paid a few days early.

1-5-12

Woke up to an earthquake at 5:30 this morning.  At first I thought someone was pushing my bed, but then I figured out what was going on.  According to the news it was 5.2 on the Richter scale, and as of noon they hadn’t heard of any damage.

 1-6-12

Today is day of the kings, and parents who can, give their children a toy.  (They don’t exchange any gifts on Christmas.)  Last year the gift of choice was cap guns, this year it is plastic BB guns. 

1-7-12

Today a huge group of kids were yelling, and following someone holding some small animal as she walked around the batey.   Older kids, and adults went running to see what was going on.  The attraction was a little pig “born with the face of a human”.  My friend came over to borrow my camera to take the little pig’s picture.  The pig had been born with its snout and mouth more or less fused together and its forehead protruded greatly.  I couldn’t quite make out the “human face” myself.

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.