tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61397850282314901682024-02-19T01:52:20.454-08:00Paz DispenserI'm a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. I dispense paz (peace) in the form of computer education classes. And I blog about it.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-51403446875770100482010-09-03T07:24:00.000-07:002010-09-03T07:24:47.868-07:00it's over!It occurs to me that I should update this to let everyone know that I'm done with the Peace Corps. My close-of-service date was May 7, and I flew home that day!<br />
<br />
I thought about trying to document my readjustment and reverse culture shock, but, well, I didn't. <br />
<br />
I doubt I'll update this blog again, but I'll leave it up for those who are curious about Peace Corps or who just want to look at pictures of my cat. Thanks for reading!renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-17365928409566023172010-04-14T17:38:00.000-07:002010-04-14T17:38:01.327-07:00Development!The big excitement of the <I>barrio</I> was the recent arrival of pavement! Yes, the Callejón de la Loma, home to a few thousand people and roughly the same number of motorcycles, has been paved. Well... kind of. They did about half of the streets. Maybe a third. And then the giant trucks and workers and piles of gravel just disappeared one day, as suddenly as they had arrived.<br />
<br />
One afternoon, I took a class of kids out with my camera to document the event. Here are a few of the photos they took:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamestudiante/4427754166/" title="IMG_0885 por dreamestudiante, en Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4427754166_de6cd8c78a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0885" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamestudiante/4427746914/" title="IMG_0879 por dreamestudiante, en Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4427746914_55df33706d_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0879" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamestudiante/4427817668/" title="IMG_0929 por dreamestudiante, en Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/4427817668_a65f613328_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0929" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamestudiante/4427774550/" title="IMG_0893 por dreamestudiante, en Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4427774550_9838b5f12a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0893" /></a><br />
(This one isn't really related to the paving, but I think it's a cool photo. Check out the large version! This restaurant has been abandoned and decaying for a while now, but you can still read the menu on the wall.)<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of my favorite aspect of the newly-paved roads: rollerblades! Literally the day after the streets were paved, kids of all ages started scooting around the neighborhood on rollerblades. Where did all the rollerblades come from? I have never seen them in a store here. Did everyone just have rollerblades saved in their closet, waiting for the day when the asphalt would arrive? Amazing!renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-41792476724495979382010-04-07T08:15:00.000-07:002010-04-07T08:15:08.324-07:00Thoughts on Global Injustice: My Kitty is PrettyHello, blog! It has been awhile since I posted anything here. Here's a piece I wrote for the Gringo Grita, our Peace Corps magazine.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
When people disparage this fine publication, they often say, “The Grita is just full of articles about people’s cats and stuff.” This is confusing, as in the past two years the Grita has only published one article about someone’s cat. (It was Joanna Carman’s cat.) A few more dog stories have been featured, but still, the average number of pet-related articles per issue is very low. Too low, I believe. To correct that, I am going to tell you about my cat, Duarte.<br />
<br />
Duarte is, objectively speaking, the cutest kitten ever. He is small and fuzzy and has adorable white boots on his feet. He is very clever and has very sharp claws, which he likes to use to scale my back. (I never climbed Pico Duarte, but I have been summitted by Duarte many times.) I found Duarte sitting on the edge of the main road of my barrio. He was ridiculously tiny and diseased looking, but I picked him up and took him with me. My mom was visiting at the time, and she took him into Sosua to see the vet, who said he was about three weeks old--far too young to be separated from his mother. (You may have met Duarte at Thanksgiving. You may have inquired about my "pet rat." Please know that I have not forgiven anyone for slandering baby Duarte in that fashion.) My mom and I nursed Duarte back to health and now he is a happy, healthy, not-even-remotely-ratlike kitten.<br />
<br />
Having Duartecito in my life has made me a much happier person. It’s hard to stay down when a cute little cat is rolling around on you and purring. However, he has also made me contemplate animal rights and human rights. Although I love animals, I do believe in an abstract way that human lives are more important than animal lives. And in an abstract way, I don’t think humans and animals have to compete. But here, in a very concrete way, I have taken an abandoned animal into my home and spent thousands of pesos on him. Duarte is only six months old and has been to the vet four times. He has all of his necessary vaccines. I buy fancy cat food to make sure he’s properly nourished. Duarte, one might say, has a better life than some of the kids in my barrio. My mom even sent him a care package with some light-up cat toys that any muchacho would likely enjoy.<br />
<br />
I know that as volunteers we don’t have a lot of income. But I didn’t hesitate before taking out money from my American savings account to get medical care for my cat. Taking care of Duarte has only driven home to me how privileged I am. And it raises again the question I’ve faced throughout my two years here: what can I do? I can’t take every campo kid into the doctor. I can tell people about medical missions, and I can translate for them. I can buy cat food for one small cat, and I can help sort food donations for earthquake relief. But I can’t give every Dominican the same standard of life that Duarte and I have. This is extremely depressing—and it’s exactly the reason why I need a feline companion to cheer me up.<br />
<br />
I think having Duarte is a good reminder of one of the reasons I came to the DR in the first place: to come see poverty up close and personal. If someone asked you to donate $30 to the Humane Society, you'd probably say no, thinking, "Gosh, it's a good cause, but I'll donate when I get back to the US and have a real job," and forget about it. But if someone asked you to pay $1000 pesos to get your own pet vaccinated so you can take him back to the US, well, you'd do it, if you're anything like me. And if someone asked you to donate money to UNICEF to "save the children," it would be pretty easy to justify not donating money. What children? Why do they need money? I could use that money to purchase things that I need, like Hello Kitty accessories. But when it's your own cute neighbor children drinking contaminated tap water, it's a lot harder to be indifferent. Our experiences here, in addition to the tangible benefits we're providing to community members (including stray animals), are giving us all a better understanding of our own privileges as citizens of a developed nation and of what poverty really means. It doesn't necessarily mean naked babies from Save the Children commercials, but it might mean not having access to medical care for your children, let alone your cat.<br />
<br />
Although I am conscious of this disparity, I am still attached to my cat. I asked Duarte what he thought about this kind of global injustice. He said, "Meow." I suppose that's as good of an answer as any.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-88176646205773521562010-03-16T07:56:00.001-07:002010-03-16T07:56:24.224-07:00charming anecdotes<UL><Li>There are some students and professors visiting from a college in Canada. On Friday, I led two students and one professor on a small trip to a neighboring town vis public transportation. The price for the bus is 35 pesos (about $1 US). Upon exiting the bus, I handed the driver exactly enough pesos for four passengers. He looked shocked and handed the pesos back. "I can't take your pesos," he said. "You're in the mafia!"<br />
"What?" I said.<br />
"Mafia," he said. "I need dollars from you. Twenty dollars. Each."<br />
"I'm not in the mafia. I'm a teacher. I live here, and I don't have any dollars. You have to take these pesos."<br />
"No, no. Too dangerous. I need dollars."<br />
"Don't try to trick me! I know it costs 35 pesos. I live here."<br />
"I wouldn't try to trick you! I would be in trouble with God if I did that. Twenty dollars."<br />
I ended up just shoving the pesos at him and walking away briskly. But seriously, if he thought we were in the mafia, shouldn't we have gotten to ride for free? Lest I send my mafia henchmen out after the bus driver? I mean, really.<br />
<li>In English class yesterday, the kids were filling out a sheet about their preferences. A twelve-year-old girl showed me the sentence, "My favorite movie is Yanblo Bandan" and asked me if it was right. It took me a second to figure it out, but then I helped her write "My favorite movie is Jean-Claude Van Damme." (I didn't even want to get into explaining that Jean-Claude Van Damme is not, strictly speaking, a movie.)<br />
<li>When I ask a question, my youngest computer class has a tendency to just repeat things they remember from previous classes, regardless of whether or not their answers actually make any sense. Our class has pretty much focused on three things to date: the proper use of Google, Wikipedia, and capital letters. A few examples, translated from Spanish:<br />
"So, who can tell me what Google does?"<br />
"Press the shift key at the same time as a letter?"<br />
<br />
"OK, what is Google?"<br />
"Wikipedia."<br />
<br />
"When do we need to use a capital letter?"<br />
"Google."<br />
<br />
Sigh!<br />
</ul>renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-12377065935029587182010-03-10T17:43:00.000-08:002010-03-10T18:50:14.160-08:00cute kid storyIt seems like I spend too much time on this blog talking about "development" and "poverty" on this blog. Whatever, that stuff is boringgg.<br />
<br />
So here's a story from this class this morning. I was co-teaching a class of rambunctious 9-to-11-year-old kids. And Dominican ideas about classroom management are different from American ideas about classroom management, so basically Dominican kids tend not to learn about things like "raise your hand," "line up," "don't yell," "don't yell the teacher's name while she's talking to another student right next to you," and "seriously stop yelling at me." Thus, at DREAM we spend a lot of time trying to get the kids to settle down so we can maybe, like, teach something?<br />
<br />
This morning, I decided to try a little yoga. I taught the kids a few basic poses like mountain pose (basically just standing still), tree pose (standing with one foot on your knee and your hands touching over your head), and a modified version of <a href=http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaphotogalleries/ig/Standing-Poses-Photo-Gallery/Warrior-II.htm>warrior II</a> pose (standing with feet far apart and arms stretched out to the side). <br />
<br />
And then I learned that my Spanish has progressed to the point where I can do some BS meditation guidance-type stuff. ("Close your eyes... we're in a forest... we can feel the warm sun on our skins, helping us grow... helping us grow to be tall, strong, trees... we are quiet and peaceful...") <br />
<br />
It was moderately successful, although I had to banish little David to the back corner of the forest because "It is QUIET in the forest! No one in the forest should be talking!" After class, all the kids lined up and were starting to get a little restless as we waited for the next classroom to be ready. I started asking them to do yoga poses in line. Mountain and tree were fine, but when I asked for fake warrior pose, there was trouble. One of the first few kids in line somehow fell over backwards and knocked over the entire line of warrior-ing children, like little yoga dominos. No one was hurt; everyone was delighted. It was probably their favorite part of yoga class.<br />
<br />
FACT: this entry would be better if I had a photo--or better, a video-- of children falling down.<br />
FACT: it's an imperfect world.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-14606370287238349912010-03-02T17:28:00.000-08:002010-03-02T17:28:01.009-08:00a day in the life!I just posted a day in my life in photos! <a href=http://bessiemaemucho.livejournal.com/26226.html>Check it out, if you are so inclined.</a>renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-8757329133213678362010-03-01T19:33:00.000-08:002010-03-01T19:33:26.017-08:00mi fin de semana chuloOh, hello there! I haven’t been blogging much of late. I suppose since I’ve gotten Internet in my apartment, I’ve been updating Facebook and the like much more often. Mainly I have been up to The Usual: teaching classes, hanging out at the beach, and keeping up with the demands of the cutest and most ferocious kitten on the North Coast. <br />
<br />
This weekend was a little more eventful, though! On Friday, we had the day off at DREAM. I spent the morning giving a workshop to some Dominican pre-school teachers who got some subsidized laptops. Most of them had very little experience with computers and were sooo excited to get laptops. I was nearly as excited to have the afternoon off and visit friends at their friend’s swank condo. They had fast Internet and cable TV, so we spent nine hours watching the Olympics and reading Wikipedia articles about winter Olympic events. Curling raised many questions, all of which we were happily able to answer, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling>thanks to the power of the Internet</a>. By the end of the women's curling gold medal match, we were all rooting for Canada, half in-love with Canada's <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheryl_Bernard>skip</a>, and tossing around curling lingo like we were actually Canadian. ("Wow, I thought she was going to burn that stone, but it's in the house!") <br />
<br />
Saturday--February 27--marked the DR's Independence Day! We made a day trip down to La Vega to celebrate in style at the country's largest Carnaval. I wrote about this in more detail <a href=http://renata-paz.blogspot.com/2009/02/greetings-from-samana.html>last year</a>, but it was fun to see all the elaborate costumes. Less fun: constant fear of getting hit in the butt. I only got one hard hit and few playful taps, but still: ouch! On the way home, we stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Santiago and I made an excellent discovery: Dominican KFC has biscuits! Legit biscuits! I haven't eaten a biscuit in months and months, and it was delicious.<br />
<br />
Sunday morning I got up and went surfing with a few friends, but the waves were too big and crowded with real surfers for the likes of me, and I got out after about 45 minutes. I am pretty sure that I have maintained the exact same skill level (extremely low) since I started surfing in August. Whatever. I'm definitely not going pro any time soon, but it's still fun. And something I definitely won't be able to do once I return to the landlocked states, so I need to <I>aprovecharlo</I> (take advantage of it)!renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-26688780594760730622010-02-21T07:14:00.000-08:002010-02-21T07:14:40.251-08:00counting down!<center><embed src="http://www.countdownclockcodes.com/cd/ccc-vacation/show.swf?clickURL=http://www.countdownclockcodes.com/&clickLABEL=MySpace-Countdown-Clocks&flashLABEL=CountdownClockCodes&skin=http://www.countdownclockcodes.com/cd/ccc-vacation/skins/3.jpg&text=Renata%20comes%20%0Dback%20to%20%0DAmerica%21&untilColor=6724095&textColor=13434828&datesColor=0&year=2010&month=4&day=7&hour=12&minute=0&second=0&x=6&y=77" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="300" height="200" name="countdown" align="middle" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /><br /><small><a href="http://www.countdownclockcodes.com/">MySpace-Countdown-Clocks</a></small></embed></center><br />
<br />
75 days, apparently. 75 days left in the DR. I'm sure when I get back to the US and start transitioning, there will be things that I miss about being here. Certainly I'll miss all my Peace Corps and DREAM friends. I'll miss being so close to the beach. I'll miss <a href=http://renata-paz.blogspot.com/2010/02/culinary-delicacy.html>egg empanadas</a>. <br />
<br />
But mainly, I'm ready to get home. What I miss most isn't material things--although there are plenty of those that I do miss, like hot water, a non-flood prone living space, and paved streets/sidewalks--it's just American culture. I'm not going to make a case that American culture is better than Dominican culture. But I'm used to American culture. For example, if many people are waiting for a service, such as asking for goods from behind the counter in a small store, who should get that service first? If you said, "the person who was there first," you are probably American. Or European. If you said, "the person who is loudest," you are probably Dominican.<br />
<br />
If there's a dog in the neighborhood that you don't like, what should you do? If you answered "confront the dog's owner" or "call Animal Control," you are probably American. If you answered, "put out poisoned meat," you are probably Dominican. (Now, if you are Dominican, you definitely do not have an Animal Control line to call. And if you are a Dominican whose dog is accidentally killed by some poisoned meat, you are probably not too worked up about it--you probably thought of your dog as a security measure, not as a beloved family pet. But this is one of the reasons Duartecat isn't allowed outside.)<br />
<br />
And I guess the benefit of two years here in the DR is that I really do understand where Dominicans are coming from, and I'm not like, "God, Dominicans KILL THEIR PETS." I mean, Americans have semi-arbitrarily chosen a few animals, like cats and dogs, that are "pets" and are taken care of, while others, arguably about as cute, like sheep and chickens, are kept in gross factory farms and eaten. But I still am American, and I'm looking forward to getting home and waiting in line for things, letting Duarte outside, and letting myself outside in a tank top without hearing every passing male's thoughts on the subject (which, granted, are invariably favorable). <br />
<br />
Soon enough I'm sure I'll be complaining about how people in America are overly litigious and obsessed with their lawns, but for now, I'm pretty happy to get back to the devil I know.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-40320096477445012602010-02-10T18:16:00.000-08:002010-02-10T18:16:42.485-08:00culinary delicacySo, lately I've been really excited about leaving the DR. Granted, I've been here over two years; it's fair that I'm ready to go home. But still, I have three months left and I want to take some time to focus on the positives. There must be some things I will miss, right?<br />
<br />
Yes there are, and here is one of them:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4347705072/" title="IMG_0470 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4347705072_6211bfa0a9_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0470" /></a><br />
<br />
Mmm! Egg empanadas! Empanadas are awesome little fried things sold on the street for around 15 pesos (about 50 cents). They come with a variety of fillings, but the best kind is egg.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4347718674/" title="IMG_0477 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4347718674_fbdb3a190c_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0477" /></a><br />
<br />
They are very best when they are fresh out of the oil. Some places will sell cold empanadas. These are acceptable for eating, but nothing compared to the warm crispiness of a freshly fried empanada.<br />
<br />
Dominicans: maybe not the best at getting along with their neighbors, but excellent at frying things.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-63733714944891093292010-02-10T12:55:00.000-08:002010-02-10T12:55:43.065-08:00haitian-dominican relationsI was running a little late for work this morning, like usual. I turned the corner to get to our side entrance--our front door is blocked off because we're constructing an extension to the building. I turned the corner and saw most of the other volunteers in a little gaggle outside the door. "Whew," I thought. "I must not be that late." They were talking to a couple Dominican men I didn't know. It turns out that someone hung themselves behind the community center I work at. When I found out, I said, "Wow, how sad!" And the random Dominican man said, "No, it's okay! He was Haitian! He left!" and made a "get out" hand gesture.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, he was a little confused about why we were <I>still</i> upset, even though he was Haitian. <br />
<br />
Later, in my computer class, I had the kids look at <a href=http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html>this page of photos after the Haiti earthquake</a> and choose one, and then write a description of the photo and how the photo made them feel. One student chose <a href=http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/haiti_01_13/h21_21695745.jpg>a picture of some men digging out a building</a>. The English caption said, "Residents search for victims after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010." But of course the kids can't read English, so this kid wrote that it was "Dominicans helping Haitians out of a building." I asked him how he knew they were Dominicans. He gave me a "Well, DUH" face and said, "Look at them!" I gave him a little lecture about how not all Haitians look the same, and neither do all Dominicans, and Haitians work hard, blah blah blah.<br />
<br />
I think I have more to say on the topic, but I am tired.<br />
<br />
<I>No es fácil, no.</i>renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-73618846765452575872010-02-02T12:30:00.000-08:002010-03-10T19:02:43.006-08:00beginnings and endingsOh, hello there! I'm back from a pretty exciting week in Santo Domingo. Wednesday through Thursday we had our COS (close of service) conference. This was exciting for several reasons: we got to stay at a nice hotel with hot water and buffets, all the members of my COS group got to hang out, and it meant that we're ALMOST DONE! The COS conference is three days designed to prepare us for returning to the US, which we can do on May 7th! We talked about resumes and interview techniques, we learned about our health insurance plan, and we took some rad group photos. Here is the COSing group of IT volunteers, minus Keane, who got tuberculosis and couldn't come. (Like that's a good excuse.)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4323318168/" title="IMG_0342 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4323318168_c08917b38f_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0342" /></a><br />
By the way, yes, it was incredibly nervewracking to hold my laptop that close to the pool. You can see I have one hand lamely curled around it.<br />
<br />
Some environment volunteers are COSing too, but who even cares about them?<br />
<br />
Anyway, I am getting excited about leaving! The past two years have been a rollercoaster, and I'm definitely glad I did Peace Corps. But I'm also looking forward to first world conveniences, speaking English, not being stared at all the time, not worrying about people killing my cat all the time, and eating delicious, delicious American food. Ohh, yes. America. <br />
<br />
After the COS conference--which ended up being somewhat of a plague zone, and most of us left with either a cold (I did) or food poisoning (I did not, gracias a Dios)--we all stayed around the capital for the weekend, because Stephanie got married on Saturday!! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4322673183/" title="IMG_0413 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4322673183_5d36146254_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0413" /></a><br />
She kissed her new husband!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4323405970/" title="IMG_0412 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4323405970_bf18100a6a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0412" /></a><br />
We toasted her!<br />
<br />
Hoorays all around! There are more photos at <a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter>my Flickr</a>, featuring many PCVs looking suspiciously well-dressed.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-47633594596825247502010-01-25T07:53:00.000-08:002010-01-25T07:56:51.795-08:00my week of soirees!My social calendar this week has been <i>fuera de control</I>! Everyone in Cabarete has been scrambling to do what we can to help out in Haiti. It seems that everything there is still too disorganized for more volunteers to be of much help (especially non-Creole speaking, non-medical professional ones), so we've been focusing on fundraising efforts. Here in Cabarete there are enough tourists and expats that there are plenty of funds to be tapped, unlike in a lot of Peace Corps sites. <br />
<br />
DREAM held two events. We had a <i>pulga</i> (flea market) here in the barrio--a bunch of people donated used clothing to us, which we sold to the residents of the Callejon. They got cheap clothing, we raised 25,000 pesos for Haitian relief. I myself spent $400 pesos on a new wallet, purse, and T-shirt. Everyone wins!<br />
<br />
We also had a fancier event downtown, aimed at tourists & expats. We sold art made by the students, as well as a lot of jewelry donated by local businesses. There we made $40,000 pesos. Wow! (To put this in perspective--my entire monthly salary is $13,000 pesos.) In total we raised over $5000 US. <br />
<br />
Remember my <a href=http://renata-paz.blogspot.com/2010/01/tote-bags-for-haiti.html>T-shirt tote bags</a>? Here are some, after being decorated by the kids.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4303185387/" title="IMG_0254 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4303185387_4645b60c4b_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0254" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4303934792/" title="IMG_0259 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2684/4303934792_613431536a_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_0259" /></a><br />
Here's some of the donated jewelry. I ended up buying the white button necklace.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4303944138/" title="IMG_0273 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2775/4303944138_bdc3fd4d62_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0273" /></a><br />
Me and Lindsey, both wearing hot pink and posing in front of the donated higüero lanterns. Also, I'm wearing my new button necklace! <br />
<br />
We also had a groundbreaking ceremony at DREAM. We got funding to build a few new classrooms for our center, hooray! And <a href=http://www.celinestoribio.net>Celines Toribio</a>, a Dominican actress/model, came to be our celebrity guest. She was really fun with the kids and, <i>claro</i>, extremely pretty. (I didn't bring my camera that day, alas.)<br />
<br />
On Sunday evening, a few friends organized a FUNraiser (get it... because it's fun) at a local bar. There was a silent auction, and all of us DREAM volunteers made out like bandits! I spent $600 pesos on $1000 pesos worth of gift certificates at the two restaurants we always eat at. Hooray! Plus, I'm <i>helping Haiti</i>. I am a hero! A hero entitled to $1000 pesos worth of pizza and mojitos! This is the best kind of hero to be.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-68348908368413492622010-01-16T19:31:00.000-08:002010-01-16T19:31:46.066-08:00tote bags for haiti!DREAM is having an art show/fundraiser for the Red Cross next week! One thing we're planning to sell are these awesome tote bags made out of old T-shirts! We're planning to get kids to decorate them, but let me show you some of the plain ones I made this afternoon. It's soo easy, you don't even have to sew! <br />
<br />
Step one, get a box. I mean, a T-shirt. And turn it inside-out.<br />
<br />
Step two, cut the sleeves off of it, one inch-ish in from the seams. (If you do this a lot of times with crappy scissors, you will get a blister on your thumb. If you are lucky, you will have a Hello Kitty Band-Aid to put over it.)<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4279842215/" title="IMG_0213 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4279842215_00b19e3989_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0213" /></a><br />
<br />
Step three, cut out the neck. Basically make it a sexy tank top.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4280596722/" title="IMG_0214 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4280596722_78e1daac84_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0214" /></a><br />
<br />
Step four, cut some awesome 80s-style fringe in the bottom. About a half-inch wide, two inches long, all the way across.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4280604998/" title="IMG_0215 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2712/4280604998_f5c650081b_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0215" /></a><br />
<br />
Step five, tie all the fringes together with double knots.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4279881637/" title="IMG_0217 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/4279881637_813ca62d1a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0217" /></a><br />
<br />
Step six, turn it rightside-out and oh my God you made a bag!!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4279892631/" title="IMG_0225 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4279892631_94deb285a9_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0225" /></a><br />
<br />
Step seven, try to put your cat in the bag.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4279902049/" title="IMG_0221 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2706/4279902049_8703338310_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_0221" /></a><br />
<br />
Hooray!!renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-85875735074283521052010-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:002010-01-16T11:39:09.193-08:00sigiendo la luchaBy now, I'm sure you have all read about the situation in Haiti. It's pretty grim. The earthquake would have been bad anywhere, of course, but in Haiti? In Port-au-Prince? Yikes. It pretty much destroyed all the infrastructure in a country that had barely any to start out with. People here are trying to mobilize. DREAM is having a few fundraiser events, and we're donating some of our own stuff (that others had previously donated to us).<br />
<br />
Aside from being worried about Haiti, we've all been a little down here since it's been raining constantly for two weeks now. My street is a river, my apartment floods when it rains too hard, all my clothing is mud-spattered, and things are molding. Things that I did not even think <I>could</i> mold are molding. Of course, as annoying as all this is, I know I'm lucky to have a roof over my head. A twist of geographic luck and that earthquake could have been in Santo Domingo, not Port-au-Prince. <br />
<br />
I'm sure you have heard this before, but truly, if you have any money to donate to <a href=http://www.redcross.org>Red Cross</a> or <a href=http://www.pih.org>Partners in Health</a> or <a href=http://www.oxfamamerica.org>Oxfam</a> or any relief charity, please do. It will help Duarte rest easier. He is very concerned about Haitian cats.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4267523934/" title="IMG_0187 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2731/4267523934_994bac5909_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0187" /></a><br />
<br />
(Okay... he's not really. He's pretty oblivious. But you're not, right?)renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-79461114056879976552010-01-12T15:29:00.000-08:002010-01-12T15:29:41.050-08:00¡terremoto! or, the power of social mediaYikes! I was just sitting here in my apartment, minding my own business after a long day of DREAMing, when suddenly everthing started shaking. Duarte was frolicking around the bed and at first I thought maybe he was jumping too much and shaking the bed. Then I realized that even though Duarte has gotten fatter, he's still not big enough to do that kind of damage. Since I am sooo fancy and have Internet in my apartment now, I got on Twitter and <A href=http://twitter.com/holajupiter/status/7684203609>joked about how maybe my apartment was collapsing</a>. Then I felt dizzy and decided to eat some fruit snacks. I felt better and thought I had solved the problem! Then I read Rainn Wilson's (aka Dwight Schrute on The Office) Twitter where he said "Just heard there was a terrible earthquake in Haiti. Please send some prayers that way - they need a LOT of help."<br />
<br />
Then I realized that it <I>wasn't</i> just my need for fruit snacks, and started Googling. CNN had nothing on it until like ten minutes after Rainn Wilson's Twitter. A few of my fellow IT volunteers updated their Facebooks with blurbs about the earthquake. Finally, CNN posted a 2-sentence story, which included the phrase "tsunami watch." Then I spent awhile Googling "tsunami" and freaking myself out. (Don't worry! It does not seem I am in any real tsunami danger here on the North Coast. However, in general please DO worry about tsunamis because they are terrible!!)<br />
<br />
Anyway, in summation: I'm fine, the Internet is crazy, and you should maybe donate some money to <a href=http://www.redcross.org/>the Red Cross</a> because they are going to need it in Haiti. (More than they already did.)renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-79540217482222401182010-01-10T06:41:00.000-08:002010-01-10T06:41:31.092-08:00¡dos mil diez!Oh gosh! Happy new year! I have not blogged in a little while, because I have been too busy <I>working to fight global poverty</i>.<br />
<br />
Just kidding, mainly I've been hanging out with Duarte and watching episodes of 30 Rock on my laptop. Global poverty can suck it. Uh... what I mean to say is, classes are starting soon again at the DREAM Center, at which point I will once again do my part to right global wrongs by teaching children how to blog.<br />
<br />
Anyway, in addition to hanging out with my grumpy kitten I have had a few other exciting moments. My friend Justin came back from vacation on the 29th, and a group of us with nothing else to do (and deep love for Justin in our hearts) made big posters and went to greet him at the airport. Dominicans were curious about who we might be waiting for. One guy told us he "already saw a white guy leave." We assured him that we weren't waiting for a white guy, but rather a Chinese one. (Dominicans tend to refer to all Asian people as "Chinese," which Asian volunteers can either get really depressed about or find it hilarious. Justin, a Filipino, generally opts for the latter.)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4238179353/" title="IMG_0004 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4238179353_7a28213063_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0004" /></a><br />
Justin, Jen, Karina, and Steph showing off their posters.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4238190177/" title="IMG_0006 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4238190177_b245f009fd_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0006" /></a><br />
We were, in fact, dazzled.<br />
<br />
In addition to gracing us with his company, Justin also brought me back some Christmas presents from my mom! Most exciting of these were organic macaroni & cheese and a new digital camera!! It is a <a href=http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=18144>Canon PowerShot SD1200IS</a>, whatever that means, and I really like it! It is very small and it takes pictures quickly. This is important, because with my old camera I could pretty much only take pictures of Duarte when he was sleeping. With this technological advancement, please expect up to 75% more photos of Duarte. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4239099778/" title="IMG_0023 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4239099778_45ca4d08a1_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0023" /></a><br />
Here's one right now! This was at my friend Judith's apartment, where Duarte stayed during Christmas.<br />
<br />
For New Year's Eve, volunteers traditionally come to Cabarete to party. Although I party in Cabarete every day, it is exciting to have visitors! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4239214554/" title="IMG_0053 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2507/4239214554_b48da6ca12_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0053" /></a><br />
Here is a picture of me, Jen, and Karina. Party hats are involved to verify that it is, in fact, New Year's Eve.<br />
<br />
I made two New Year's resolutions. One was to leave the DR without hating it (not that I hate it now, but I do have a little bit of an attitude problem that I want to keep in check). The other one was... uh... I forgot. Keeping my attitude in check is the biggest one, I suppose. Cheers to a new decade!renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-35346679489404765912009-12-27T07:48:00.000-08:002009-12-27T07:48:17.605-08:00simply having a wonderful christmastimeI hope everyone had a delightful Christmas! Mine was very nice, although it got off to a rough start. It was raining really hard in the days up to Christmas, so my apartment kept flooding. We coped, however--I kept mopping, and Duarte learned how to wait on the bed until I got up, and then to jump onto my hips to get rides across the apartment so he didn´t have to get his little feet wet. He is the smartest, cutest kitty ever! Objectively speaking. Then on the 23rd, I went to drop Duarte off at my friend Judith´s house while I went on a Christmas excursion. I had a backpack and a giant totebag, plus Duarte´s cat carrier. I got on the back of a motorcycle taxi, since it was a little far to walk. Plus, it was raining. I´m fairly comfortable on motorcycles, but with my enormous bag in between me and the moto guy, every time we went up a hill I was pretty sure I was going to fall off the bag and die. Plus, about halfway there, Duarte figured out how to stick his head out of a tiny gap in the cat carrier and I became terrified that he would leap off the moto, so I had to use one hand to try to shove Duarte back in the bag and the other to cling to the moto guy´s shoulder AND try to hold my big tote bag. Also, did I mention that I didn´t really know how to get to Judith´s apartment? I had some super vague directions and assumed that we could get to the neighborhood and just ask around, but since it was raining, no one was out on the street to ask. So we circled around for a ridiculously long and terrifying time. But, in a Christmas miracle, we found Judith´s place and all arrived intact. Hooray!<br />
<br />
Free of my clever escape artist kitten, I went onto Santiago to meet with my friends Jen and Karina. We spent $3000 pesos (about $100 US--goes far in the DR) on groceries and went back to prepare a fabulous Christmas dinner! Actually we just ate Chex Mix that day. Christmas eve, we went over to Karina´s neighbor´s for a Dominican celebration, which included some of the fanciest of Dominican foods arranged in a pleasing salad: cut up apples, marshmellows, grapes, whole nuts, and candy fruit slices. Another Christmas eve highlight was me trying to avoid her neighbor´s son, who dated the last Peace Corps volunteer who lived here. He told me, "You remind me of {the last volunteer}... I like bigger girls." It was awesome.<br />
<br />
Christmas Day we woke up and had some classy beverages--mimosas AND coffee with Bailey's! (Don't judge us, we´re spending Christmas in another country.) Our friends Jenna, Chris, Joel, and Brittany decided to come at the last minute, which was exciting! But also we had to figure out how to double the amount of food we were making. Which we did, and we had the following awesome dinner:<br />
Deviled eggs<br />
Hummus with carrot sticks<br />
Latkes<br />
Mashed potatoes<br />
Sweet potato casserole<br />
Green bean casserole<br />
<br />
Sadly, during the last course I got a migraine and had to go lie down. But I still wanted to hang out, so I just curled up on the couch with a pillow over my face and occasionally yelled out borderline-delirious comments. I recall being very worked up Britney Spears' latest song "3". (My stance, then and now, is that it is an awesome song and Britney is <i>so</i> comnig back.) Also, since I had the pillow over my face, I had no idea where anyone was and got kind of confused. Oh well! <br />
<br />
Anyway, even though I missed my family and American friends (and Duarte), it was still a great Christmas. Now I'm getting ready to head back to Cabarete with Jen for some beach time... I mean, there are perks to a Dominican Christmas.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-21622679722391194532009-12-14T07:33:00.000-08:002009-12-14T07:41:13.509-08:00State of the KittenGreetings, my fellow Americans, Dominicans, and other citizens of the world. I have come to this blog today to discuss a very important topic: the state of my kitten, Duarte.<br />
<br />
Health and Hygiene:<br />
Duarte has been de-wormed by the nice vet in Sosua. His fur is growing back, and he has a lot of energy. Sooo much energy. He is also using the litterbox with high levels of accuracy, although sometimes there are still accidents, often tragically involving my comforter.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4184340013/" title="IMG_3263 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2525/4184340013_17abdbee1d_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_3263" /></a><br />
<br />
Cuteness:<br />
Cuteness levels are extremely high, rising to dangerous levels when he tilts his head at me. He often seems to have a disapproving look on his face, which is ADORABLE. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4185100032/" title="IMG_3260 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2505/4185100032_6ff91547ce_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_3260" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Rest and Recreation:<br />
Duarte likes to sleep on top of me, even when I sleep on my side. This is also ADORABLE. Duarte also likes to wake up every few hours and and seek attention, which is slightly less adorable.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4185069968/" title="IMG_2966 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4185069968_0c4e4cf1a0_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2966" /></a><br />
<br />
Athletics:<br />
Duarte has proven himself to be a top contender in all internationally-recognized kitten sports, including the high jump, the pounce, the 5-inch string chase, hide and seek, and the bedsheet climb.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4184333697/" title="IMG_3145 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4184333697_53fb35a78b_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_3145" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Controversial Issues:<br />
The Renata-Duarte household is extremely divided on a few key issues. For example, the game “Bite Renata in the Face While She is Sleeping” is beloved by 50% of the population, but despised by the other 50% (margin of error +/- 3%). Another divisive topic is that of canned cat food. Again, 50% of the household finds it to be amazingly delicious, while the other half believes to to be “fucking disgusting” and “make[s] the whole house smell bad.” <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4185095508/" title="IMG_3164 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2557/4185095508_90a79993ce_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_3164" /></a>renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-57585328212302224382009-12-11T09:36:00.000-08:002009-12-11T09:36:57.828-08:00i hate it when cliches are accurateSo, as I may have mentioned, I've been a little stressed out the last few weeks. My attitude might perhaps have been best described as "over it." But things have been improving the last few days, and on Wednesday night, all the DREAM volunteers went out to dinner with a visiting Christian basketball team here to do basketball-themed charity. I was eye-rolling a bit about the entire concept of Christian basketball-themed charity (they are donating a bunch of basketballs and stuff to local kids and also leading free basketball clinics/games at some local courts, in case you are wondering what exactly "basketball-themed charity" consists of), and, I'll admit it, I inwardly eye-rolled a bit when one of the high school boys stood up to say grace.<br />
<br />
But he said, "Thank you for the opportunity to be here and to serve," and it really clicked with me. Yes. This is an opportunity. Thank you for it, whoever is responsible for it. Thank you, Peace Corps bureaucrat who put me here. Thank you, parents who occasionally send me money to buy fancy condiments with. Thank you, Peace Corps friends who keep me sane via free cell phone calls. Thank you, DREAM, for giving me a place to teach kids. Thank you, high school boy, for your super trite yet super true words.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-85088299200171556912009-12-09T07:58:00.000-08:002009-12-09T08:00:03.418-08:00december already?Whew! My mom's trip ended happily, although she enjoyed her Dominican car wreck so much that she got into another one within her first week back. Ay. She survived, albeit with a few broken bones, so if you could direct some prayers/healing vibes her way, they would be appreciated.<br />
<br />
I've been back to the grind at DREAM, which has involved a little bit of inter-NGO tension that I don't even want to talk about, but my stress levels have risen to the point where more hair than usual is coming out in my hair brush. Luckily, winter break is approaching, so I should be able to maintain the majority of my stylish tresses. Plus, I just read in <i>Cosmo</i> that center parts are coming back into style, which I did not even know they were <i>out</i> of style, so anyway I should be good to go.<br />
<br />
The brightest spot here has been my afterschool blog club, which has been really taking off. I've (somewhat awkwardly) translated all the entries, so even the most <i>gringo</i> among you can check out our <a href=http://dreamblogcabarete.blogspot.com/>Blog de Sueños</a> (Dream Blog). The kids are getting into it, especially the photography. However, when pressed to "Write more details!" they usually just tack on another sentence saying exactly the same thing as the first sentence, leading to some awesomely circular logic, e.g. <a href=http://dreamblogcabarete.blogspot.com/2009/12/mi-lugar-favorito-en-el-dream-es-las.html>"I took this picture because I like the car races and because I know how to drive vehicles because my father taught me how to drive but without him, I would not know how to drive vehicles."</a> Also of note: <a href=http://dreamblogcabarete.blogspot.com/2009/12/este-es-mi-lugar-favorito-en-el-dream.html>this photo</a>, in which I am inadvertently making some kind of pin-up girl pose in the background. (This kid took ten different pictures of the garden, including ones in which I was posing nicely and ones in which I was not at all visible, but he chose that one to post. Sigh.)<br />
<br />
Anyway, tomorrow is our last day of blog class before Christmas break. We're going to have a party and blog about our favorite foods! Mmm. (Class favorite foods tally as of yesterday: plaintains, 2; soda, 2; chips, 1; cookies, 1; undecided, 3.)<br />
<br />
PS: I would like to say that it is never, ever too late to send your favorite Peace Corps volunteer a letter or care package! My address here is<br />
451 Avenida Bolivar<br />
Apartado Postal 1412<br />
Santo Domingo<br />
Dominican Republic<br />
<br />
And I will happily receive just about anything, but especially: vegetarian boxed dinners (like Tasty Bite or Annie's pasta), dried fruit (I have a lot of nuts, I'd rather have just fruit), and pretty much any American candy. Or British candy. I'm not picky, as long as it's not gross, sticky, too-sugary Dominican candy.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-3842894388078540912009-11-30T12:39:00.000-08:002009-11-30T12:39:57.891-08:00on the road againI hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! The Peace Corps party was great, but I got some kind of 24-hour bug and threw up all my vegetarian stuffing. And all four kinds of pie. Ughhhh. But mustn't dwell!<br />
<br />
Instead let us turn our attention to post-Thanksgiving travels. Mom, Duarte (we renamed the kitten Duarte since all the volunteers kept accidentally calling him that anyway--<a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pablo_Duarte>Juan Pablo Duarte</a> was one of the founding fathers of the DR and absolutely everything here is named after him. Including my cat), Karina, Jen, Jenna and I headed down southwest to a little artisan workshop where you can pick your own piece of <A href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larimar>larimar</a> (a semiprecious stone found only in the DR) and turn it into jewelry. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived on Saturday, they were closed, so there was nothing to do but head further up the mountain to a beautiful hotel/restaurant called Casa Bonita.<br />
<br />
We got some food and drinks and enjoyed the view.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4147515776/" title="IMG_2683 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/4147515776_e28267dd83_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2683" /></a><br />
<br />
The sun set, and we continued to enjoy the view.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4146765779/" title="IMG_2688 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2586/4146765779_3471486756_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_2688" /></a><br />
<br />
Here's a picture of my mom hard at work on her larimar.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4146861263/" title="IMG_2736 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2593/4146861263_d1315a0768_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2736" /></a><br />
<br />
Here's my finished product! It's... not that impressive, but I <I>made</I> it. With a liiittle help from some Dominican artisans. And also geology.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4147616570/" title="IMG_2740 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/4147616570_3ef89d7bc3_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_2740" /></a><br />
<br />
Here's Baby Duarte looking super mad. And adorable.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4147630884/" title="IMG_2756 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2670/4147630884_a996c64e25_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2756" /></a><br />
<br />
Now my mom is at the Puerto Plata International Airport, soon to be heading back to Nueva Yol (aka Illinois). At least I'll have baby Duarte to keep me company... and look! Look how totally non-malnourished he is now. Fatty little Duarte.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4146732751/" title="IMG_2671 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2525/4146732751_ffd2ac799b_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_2671" /></a>renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-78944170696620172522009-11-26T04:33:00.000-08:002009-11-26T04:33:12.350-08:00giving thanksHappy Thanksgiving, everyone! Let's be honest, the holiday season tends to inspire a lot of lame, cliche-y blog entries. And why should I be any different? What, do I think I'm <I>better</i> than everyone? So, here are some things I am thankful for.<br />
<ul><li>My family! (<I>Awww.</i>) I'm especially glad my mom could come visit again. I am also thankful that she brought down an entire suitcase of candy.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4130488351/" title="IMG_2447 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/4130488351_0628af6b26_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_2447" /></a><br />
<li>Baby Cat--who, surprise, is a boy. And it turns out I'm unwilling to name him Billy Ray, so right now we're going with Dante. He has a little goatee!! Just like <a href=http://kevinsmith-movies.tripod.com/danteC.jpg>Dante from Clerks</a>.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4131276350/" title="IMG_2508 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/4131276350_d367488c85_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_2508" /></a><br />
(You can't really see his goatee in any of the pictures I have of him so far. But he has a little patch of white just on his chin. So cute!)<br />
<li><a href=http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/>Maru</a>, who brings so much joy to my life with every awkwardly-phrased update.<br />
<li>My site change! Although my job is a little bit stressful, I love my great co-workers. And I love living a 15-minute walk away from the beach, even if it does get invested with giant turkeys around this time of year.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4131244926/" title="IMG_2446 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2494/4131244926_13508fa829_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2446" /></a><br />
<li>The fact that I <I>still</i> haven't drowned <I>or</i> been eaten by sharks while surfing!! I don't want to jinx it though :/<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4131293222/" title="IMG_2593 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2489/4131293222_982fa3c91f_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2593" /></a><br />
<li>The Internet! I am so thankful that I can keep in touch with all my lovely friends and family so easily thanks to emails, blogs, Facebook, Skype, and the like. Hooray!<br />
<li>Friends! Of course, the Internet wouldn't be that fun if I didn't have all of you guys to keep in touch with in the first place. <br />
<LI><a href=http://www.zooborns.com/>ZooBorns</a>. It's a website of all baby zoo animals!! <a href=http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2009/11/82-tiny-baby-sea-turtles-make-lots-of-little-waves.html>LOOK HOW LITTLE THESE TURTLES ARE.</A> BE THANKFUL YOU GOT TO SEE THAT.<br />
<li>Three nights in the Santo Domingo Marriott! You guys, there is air conditioning and hot water and the room is bigger than my whole apartment!! <br />
</ul><br />
So, happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you all have as many things to be thankful for as I do.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-67163783324850054592009-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:002009-11-23T09:30:25.957-08:00crash!<blockquote>"Mom, if you tell everyone that the best part of your vacation was getting in a car crash, everyone's going to think your trip sucked."<br />
"What? No one got hurt, and it was interesting!"<br />
</blockquote><br />
Interesting, indeed. On Friday my mom and I ventured out in our tiny rental car, heading west to Dajabon for the market day. We picked up my friend Mica and two girls from her town--Mica was taking the girls to the dentist in Santiago, which was basically on our way. Driving in the DR is crazy--there are motorcycles zooming in and out everywhere, a frequent lack of taillights/headlights, barely-paved roads, and a general disregard for traffic laws. But mom assured me she was up to the challenge, and the trip had been going pretty smoothly so far. So, of course, a giant truck with no taillights stopped abruptly and Mom gently rear-ended him. The truck just drove off as if nothing had happened; we're not even sure if the truck realized it was in an accident. <br />
<br />
So: right after the impact, the two girls in the backseat are screaming, Mica is trying to console them in Spanish, I'm trying to find my glasses, the kitten is crying, Mom is crying, and like six Dominican police officers are tapping on our windows. It was hectic.<br />
<br />
Honestly, the whole thing went fairly smoothly. I have no idea why there were so many police officers just hanging out at that intersection, but they were. I think before yesterday I have maybe seen six police officers during my entire time in the DR. Weird, but helpful. They ushered us out of the car, pushed the car into a nearby parking lot, and got a ride to take Mica and her girls to the dentist all in about ten minutes. Meanwhile, my mom consoled the kitten (still unnamed, but our faithful travelling companion) and I called the car rental company, called the Peace Corps doctor, and argued with the police officers. They wanted Mom to go to the hospital; she didn't want to go. Finally we convinced her that she should go to the hospital. Then the police wanted her to go to the public hospital; I said no. They told me that if we wanted to go to the private hospital they wouldn't help us, we'd have to take a taxi to get there. I said fine. <br />
<br />
So, we took a taxi to the hospital. We're carrying five large bags and one tiny kitten, and both of us are bleeding. The receptionist tells me that the kitten can't come in the emergency room. Understandable I suppose, but what are we going to do with the kitten? We don't have any kind of carrier for it yet, we've just been keeping it on my lap in the car. It is finally settled that I will wait in the waiting room with the kitten while Mom gets stitches done by an English-speaking doctor. While I wait, a police officer asks me questions about the accident/hits on me. I call a friend to chat so I have an excuse not to talk to the police officer anymore.<br />
<br />
Here is perhaps the most startling part of the whole day: Mom got 10 stitches and IV and local anesthetic in less than an hour! And it cost about US$100! So fast and cheap! Ridiculous. And then our car rental company (Budget! Big ups to them) sent over a driver and a new rental car right away. I started thinking crazy thoughts like, "Wow! Maybe we can still make it out to Dajabon today!"<br />
<br />
Ha!<br />
<br />
Anyway, the new driver took us over to the police station. We had to wait a long time, still holding the crying kitten. I managed to get some yogurt from the police cafeteria, which we gave to kitty via eyedropper. Finally, I got to talk to a police officer and describe the accident to him. He told us we had to go to the hospital. "Oh," I said, "We just came from the hospital. We're fine."<br />
<br />
"No," he said, "You're both injured. You have to go to the hospital and have them fill out this form saying how injured you are."<br />
<br />
"But I only have a minor cut, and my mom already received treatment. I don't understand why you need this form filled out."<br />
<br />
"Yes... many people do not understand why this form needs to be filled out. But these are the rules." I spent a few more minutes engaged in a Kafka-esque debate, but finally conceded to be taken to the public hospital. Sadly, we arrived around lunchtime and all of the doctors were gone, so we waited about an hour for the doctors to come back. Then we waited another hour while all the people who got there before us got to see the doctor. Then we saw the doctor, who gave us each a cursory glance and spent about thirty seconds filling out a form that said, in essence, "Cut lip" and "cut elbow." <br />
<br />
We then went back to the police station, where I had to re-explain everything to an extremely fast-talking, mumble-y officer. (Do you know <a href==http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bkFIPLIOGL8/SInzPC_eGqI/AAAAAAAAQKI/HIx8E5LSEvE/s400/Boomhauer.jpg>Boomhauer</a> from King of the Hill? This was basically the Dominican equivalent.) So I kept telling him, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING" and finally another police officer translated for me, from Spanish to Spanish.... he just repeated everything Dominican Boomhauer was saying and I understood. Sadly, what I understood was that we were being sent to the Traffic Justice of the Peace. So we drove across town, waited in line, handed over some forms, got a stamp on the forms, got the forms back, and drove back to the police station. Like, seriously? You guys couldn't just keep one of those stamps at the police station? <br />
<br />
Anyway, then we were free! Free... to go to the Budget Rent-a-Car office and finalize our change of car! <br />
<br />
And then free to check into a hotel in Santiago and die of exhaustion! And also eat pizza. And also to promptly return our new car to Budget because the brakes were fussy and we were fearful of a repeat incident. <br />
<br />
By the way, it is important that when you read this entry and envision our trials, you NEVER FORGET that the entire day has a soundtrack of "MEW! MEW! MEW! MRAAAWR!" from a grumpy, hungry little kitten. Not that I blame the little guy.<br />
<br />
(PS pictures of Baby Cat soon, I promise! Also soon we will take her or him back to the vet and find out the sex for sure, and then I can officially name Baby Cat something besides Baby Cat.)renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-3348306094180586052009-11-19T08:05:00.000-08:002009-11-19T08:06:28.080-08:00what have i been up to?More like, what <i>haven't</i> I been up to! <br />
<br />
The weekend before last, my friend Trina stayed with me!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4112303630/" title="IMG_2796 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2570/4112303630_934a02e624_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2796" /></a><br />
<br />
We went to the Cabarete Jazz Festival and saw some festive jazz.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4111541025/" title="IMG_2804 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2652/4111541025_174b4f2bfa_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_2804" /></a><br />
<br />
Then we went up a mountain to a restaurant/retreat center called <a href=http://www.bluemoonretreat.net/>Blue Moon</a> to celebrate Jenna's birthday!<br />
<br />
We enjoyed the mountaintop view.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4111559671/" title="IMG_2823 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/4111559671_b9ae81ae34_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2823" /></a><br />
<br />
And the pool.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4111553261/" title="IMG_2820 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4111553261_b3c3db69d0_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2820" /></a><br />
<br />
And of course, the highlight: Indian food served off of banana leaves. Mmmm.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4112336502/" title="IMG_2836 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4112336502_62121d063c_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2836" /></a><br />
<br />
After that, I went to the annual IT youth conference. All the IT Peace Corps volunteers (well, almost all) came with a few kids from their town for three days of workshops, games, and ridiculousness. I brought two girls from my center, one of whom had never ridden a bus before and threw up the entire two hour trip. But she felt better once she got there, and I'm really glad I was able to give her that opportunity. (Even if when, the next week I asked her to write a paragraph about what she learned at the conference, she claimed not to remember anything that she learned.)<br />
<br />
The second night we had a big carnival. My friend Ruth and I were in charge of the cakewalk, which was awesome.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4112372400/" title="IMG_2880 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/4112372400_18b1d3054b_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2880" /></a><br />
<br />
The kids had a great time, and so did the volunteers...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4111617867/" title="IMG_2911 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4111617867_9ef9371616_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2911" /></a><br />
<br />
And, most importantly, we all received certificates of participation.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heyjupiter/4111633449/" title="IMG_2946 by heyjupiter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2619/4111633449_4e49cd709c_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_2946" /></a><br />
<br />
After the conference, I had to scurry back, drop off my girls, and go meet my mom! Yay! We spent the weekend at a posh resort in Sosua. I referred to our activites as "snake-ing"--"We just eat a lot, then go sleep in the sun and digest it, then slither back to the buffet for the next meal." It was pretty great. I didn't even touch the water all weekend. (The water was really rough so the resort closed the ocean. Yes. They closed the ocean. With yellow caution tape. I wish I had a photo, but they are all on mom's camera.)<br />
<br />
This week, I've been working at ~*DREAM*~ and mom had been keeping herself occupied with shopping during. (Those of you who know my mom will not be worried that she is bored. My mom could probably spend a month shopping in Cabarete without getting bored.) Yesterday, mmom got a new project--I found a tiny baby kitten on the street. It was clearly in rough shape, so I picked it up and took it to work with me. I kept it on a towel outside and gave it some milk. Mom saw it when she came to pick me up for lunch and she decided to take it to the vet. The vet said it was extremely malnourished, and mom has been feeding Baby Cat a special formual via eyedropper the last few days. Baby Cat is very very small and cute, but she (or he--it's too small for even the vet to tell sex yet) has a propensity to poop on me. Like ten times she has pooped on me, and never on mom.<br />
<br />
This morning I went to have breakfast with some embassy officials (who were going on a little tour of the North Coast and wanted to meet some PCVs) and Baby Cat pooped on my khakis just as I was heading out the door. However, I did not notice that Baby Cat had also pooped on my shirt until I got to breakfast. I pretended like I had spilled syrup on myself. I hope they bought my story!! Even if they didn't, they still bought me a delicious breakfast, so, score.renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139785028231490168.post-90341992120230565282009-11-04T06:54:00.000-08:002009-11-04T07:08:51.743-08:00can you tell me how to get to ocho center?So. One of the more frustrating types of conversations I have here in the DR are ones where someone tells me something in Spanish, and I understand it all except ONE WORD. I ask them to repeat the word or define the word. Instead, they bring over someone who "speaks English" to explain it to me because I "don't speak Spanish." Except this person just repeats the same word to me. Right now, for instance, I'm sitting here monitoring the computer lab. Occasionally people ask me questions about how to use the Internet or try to trick me into doing their homework for them. <br />
<br />
A young man walks up to me, hands me a pencil and piece of paper upon which is written, "September 11, 2001. Osama Bin Laden." He says, "<i>Escribame Ocho Center.</I>" (Write for me "Ocho Center".)<br />
<br />
I say, "Ocho Center?"<br />
<br />
"Ocho center."<br />
<br />
"What is Ocho Center?"<br />
<br />
"You know... Ocho Center. Osama Bin Laden... it's like the White House."<br />
<br />
"The White House?"<br />
<br />
"But instead of the White House, it's Ocho Center. Osama bin Laden lived there."<br />
<br />
"Ocho Center."<br />
<br />
"Ohhh, you don't understand. Let me get my friend."<br />
<br />
So the friend comes over and says, in English, "He wants for you to write down the words 'Ocho Center.'"<br />
<br />
By this point I am losing it and cracking up, and my friend Rachel comes in.<br />
<br />
Me: "Rachel! I don't know what they are talking about. They want me to write something about Ocho Center. He's got this paper... it's something to do with Osama bin Laden I think."<br />
<br />
Rachel: "What's Ocho Center?"<br />
Two Dudes: "Ocho Center!! Exactly!! Renata doesn't understand Ocho Center and we want you to write it down!"<br />
Rachel: I don't know what Ocho Center is either.<br />
Dude 1: Osama bin Laden!<br />
Dude 2: It's like the White House.<br />
Rachel: You want me to write down White House?<br />
Dude 1: NO! OCHO CENTER.<br />
Rachel: ... Barack Obama?<br />
Dude 2: It's the building that was destroyed on September 11. In New York.<br />
Me and Rachel: ....<br />
Rachel: The WORLD TRADE Center?<br />
Dudes: Yes! Ocho Center! How do you spell it?<br />
<br />
Oh my God. I was hyperventilating with laughter by the end of it.<br />
<br />
(Also, yes, in retrospect, given "September 11" and "Osama bin Laden" and "Something Center" you'd think I would have been able to come up with "World Trade Center." But it was just bizarre. Also, the White House stuff kept throwing me off.)renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704980795695445635noreply@blogger.com0