camping on the beach with barrio kids, an experience I won't forget

One of the Presidents of the Juntos de Vecinos (neighborhood groups) that I work with has an amazing heart and energy that never tires. Hence, he organizes annual camps for kids from his barrio--really poor kids that never go anywhere or do much of anything. He does this without any formal funding--just solicits donations from anyone and everyone in order to have sufficient food. Tents were borrowed from his church and some women came along to do all the cooking.

This year, the camp was to take place in Macao, the closest beach to us that Dominicans still have access to. I offered to help, excited for the opportunity to camp on the beach and organize activities to teach kids about the environment, and especially coastal areas. I enthusiastically planned crafts and games, bought art supplies and packed my hammock for four days of beach and camping. What could be better?!? Well...

-30 kids, age 4-15, never been camping before, and growing up in a rough barrio with often teenage parents, hence do not receive a lot of attention

-SAND! SAND! SAND! in my hair, my food, my pillow, my ears

-bugs--mosquitos and some tiny thing that doesn't respond to repellent and hurts & itches more than mosquitoes

-clinginess-these kids all cuddled with me at all times--sounds cute, but not in the heat, hence I "slept" in my hammock with the bugs

I could carry on about the so-called challenges of this camp, but the truth is that although I was so tired, dirty and sometimes frustrated, it was wonderful! The kids who hardly ever go anywhere had a chance to play in the water for hours, examine crabs and shells, listen to my charlas about self-esteem and environment, play games that involved pretending they were lobsters, paint, build sand castles, eat marshmellows, and stare at the stars.

There was a moment at dusk when some kids and I were walking on the beach and one of them asked me how old I was. 25, I responded ... thinking about how I used to dream about my mid-20's--hoping that I would be doing something really cool. I am doing something cool -- a gorgeous beach, speaking Spanish, trying to share my love of the environment with kids ...

PLEASE check out the pix from our trip! http://picasaweb.google.com/colleengatliff/20078BeachCampingInMacao

this is for real

So for the first 3 months we were just trainees. Nervous kids stumbling through Spanish and scared of public transportation. People told us where to be and when. We pointed out people carrying chickens under their arms, cringed at new starchy roots for dinner and had to reference a map when someone told us they were from San Juan de la Maguana.

We graduated… it was exciting, we felt accomplished and proud to be PCVs. We’d passed minimal conversational Spanish, survived CBT, built friendships, and even wore our Peace Corps DR pin for a day or two.

Then we ventured to our sites. We took full advantage of our cell phone “flota” as a social support network, learned to count ants on a wall, and drank endless cups of coffee while getting to know our new neighbors. All of this coffee drinking was supposed to have a purpose—we were conducting community diagnostics. Peace Corps tells us that we are not to begin any projects in the first 3 months—just do your diagnostic. So, it was a fantastic excuse for what often felt like aimless wandering and chatting.

Well, I wrote up a diagnostic and then went to Santiago with a friend from my site, Kassiel, to present it at the Peace Corps 3 month IST (In Service Training). All the PCVs presented our diagnostics to each other and sat through workshops on project planning and grant writing. Kassiel then left to return to Veron and our entire group of 31 went to a retreat center in the mountains for 5 days of training, relaxing and idea sharing. I so loved getting to know my group better. We’re from so many different places and have such different experiences. Who knew that I’d learn to play Pinochle (sp?), have a friend from South Dakota, learn to create a makeshift chai from colmado ingredients or spend an hour listening to a Texan explain techniques for making solar ovens?

The workshops were interesting, even if they hardly applied to my project. We learned to make an improved wood burning stove –which involved lots of mud! Learned about coffee in the DR—and the fact that it is controlled by a monopoly that offers ZERO incentives for improved quality or organics, hence it is a country with perfect coffee climate, but poor quality coffee. Bummer. A Sunday afternoon at the river was thoroughly enjoyed. Note my favorite picture from that day: PCV chicks tanning and reading Cosmos!

Anyway, the week was great, I learned a lot and enjoyed organically grown romaine lettuce (my first romaine since I arrived in this country!) And now, I am back in my site and I have no excuse of “I’m working on my diagnostic” … it’s time to plan projects, solicit funds if needed, and get movin’. Happily, I am moving at a Caribbean speed. It’s exciting, as it is unlike anything I’ve ever done but at the same time I am bringing my skills and experiences to the table. I feel like I am forming a niche, and that feels good. This niche of mine is probably best explained by Kassiel, who said to someone at Peace Corps—“Colleen is here to be a bridge for us between the hotels and the people of the community.” Yikes, that's a big job!

(note: if you can read Spanish and want to see my diagnostic, just ask. If you can’t read in spanish and are really interested, ask nicely and I’ll translate it)