Community Based Training has begun. We started by spending four days way up in the mountains of the Cordillera Septentrial mountain range. There, we had workshops on eco-tourism and trail maintenance. Part of that included doing actual work on a trail. Hence, we all rolled up our sleeves and learned how to use axes and machetes. I, of course, managed to slice my finger a bit on a machete, but it´s not bad. In fact, I´d much prefer a small machete slice over a paper cut. Paper cuts are boring, and thankfully, I´ve already received a tetanus shot.
We also had a great hike to the top of Diego O´Campo, the highest mountain in the Cordillera Septentrial range. The hike took us through a manacla forest. Manaclas are mountain growing palm trees. Pretty cool.
Now I am living in Los Cocos, campo outside of Santiago. This is the most lush area of the island, so it´s beautiful. I am with another host family and will be with them for the next 32 days. Our Spanish class of 4 meets almost daily... which is so needed, let me tell you. This is supposedly the time when we learn the most language. I hope so! The only problem is that we´re in an area of the country that has a very strong and distinct accent. They replace their R´s with I´s. Crazy, crazy.
Due to incidences of mystery pig meat and goat at my last house, I have decided to tell this new family that the only meat I eat is chicken. It´s working out so far, just pray for no chicken feet.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
busy days
I spoke of Independence Day in my last entry, so I will begin there. February was a very exciting month here, as Carnaval is in full swing and it is the month of the Dominican Republic´s Independence. A few days before Independence Day, I was sitting on my host family’s front porch with my Doña and my host cousin, Angele. Angele was putting my hair in twists while the Doña read to us from the newspaper. We learned about the history of “La Bandera,” or the flag. The red symbolizes the blood that was shed in the fight for freedom, blue represents liberty, and white represents a quest for peace. In spirit of all of this patriotism, they decided my hair should be la bandera. Hence, the rubberbands used where red, blue and white. According my host family, everyone in the country acts crazy in February, so it’s completely acceptable to have crazy hair!
To continue my celebration of Dia de la Independencia, which is the 27th of February, I went to the national parade with another volunteer and a few of his host family members. We took public transportation to the Malecon, a street downtown that runs alongside the Caribbean. Using incredible skill, we wove through the masses to the front stage of the parade, and then proceeded to wait about 2 hours for the president, Leonel Fernandez, to make his appearance. (waiting entailed standing in beating sun with thousands of people). When he appeared, there was much fanfare, and then the beginning of the parade. It was essentially a display of civil servants and military. There were marches and helicopter fly-overs. My favorite part of the parade was a float that demonstrated airport security. There was a woman on the float who acted as a model traveler, and the agents “checked” her and her baggage!
From Independence Day, I had one more day of training in Santo Domingo, and then took off for four days by myself for a site visit with a Real Live Peace Corps Volunteer (I am only an aspirante, or aspiring PCV). I visited Lindsay in the south, near San Juan de la Maguana. It was great to see her day-to-day. We walked to the closest river with some kids and enjoyed the cool water and a small waterfall. Her main project is a Brigada Verde group of 5 girls—much like girl scouts. We also traveled to San Juan to see the market and meet up with lots of other PCV’s and aspirantes for a few hours of pizza and a pool!
I left Lindsay’s early on Sunday and arrived home in time for lunch. My thoughtful Doña had bought me Chinese food for lunch. I’ve come to love Chinese food here because that means Chop Suey and Chop Suey means tons of vegetables, which I do not get to eat often. I ate lunch and had about an hour to rest before setting out with Angele and a few of her friends to the Malecon again.
This time, the Malecon held CARNAVAL! I am not quite sure how to describe Carnaval except to tell you that there were thousands of people and more colors than I’ve ever seen. I loved the creativity of people’s costumes. One man covered all of his clothes in bottle caps from Presidente beer. Another created a costume out of tiny teddy bears. I did buy a pirate mask which I wore with pride! An important part of Carnaval is that a lot of people have inflated cow bladders on strings (think leathered), which they run up and smack women on the butt or legs with. I was hit only once, and I don’t think it was done with full force. Gracias a dios! The Carnaval experience was total sensory-overload, but so much fun! As soon as I can, I will post all of my pictures, which will help paint the picture for you. http://picasaweb.google.com/colleengatliff/DR3Carnaval
I leave my house here on Thursday for CBT, or Community Based Training. We’ll be near Santiago, the 2nd largest city, in a very beautiful region of the country. There, our group will consist of just 10 environmental education aspirantes, 2 Spanish teachers, 1 main trainer, and tons of special guest trainers. I will have a new host family, and will begin to slow down my pace in preparation for Peace Corps life. This segment of training will last into mid-April. I am really excited about time in CBT. I’ve loved training here in the Capital, but we are busy all of the time and it is so crowded. A change of pace should be fun.
It’s hard to know what to share with you. If you have any questions, feel free to post them under comments or shoot me an email and I’ll do my best to answer them! Keep the mail coming, it is a very exciting part of the week. Letters, inspiring quotes, and local Jax news stories are welcomed. :)
To continue my celebration of Dia de la Independencia, which is the 27th of February, I went to the national parade with another volunteer and a few of his host family members. We took public transportation to the Malecon, a street downtown that runs alongside the Caribbean. Using incredible skill, we wove through the masses to the front stage of the parade, and then proceeded to wait about 2 hours for the president, Leonel Fernandez, to make his appearance. (waiting entailed standing in beating sun with thousands of people). When he appeared, there was much fanfare, and then the beginning of the parade. It was essentially a display of civil servants and military. There were marches and helicopter fly-overs. My favorite part of the parade was a float that demonstrated airport security. There was a woman on the float who acted as a model traveler, and the agents “checked” her and her baggage!
From Independence Day, I had one more day of training in Santo Domingo, and then took off for four days by myself for a site visit with a Real Live Peace Corps Volunteer (I am only an aspirante, or aspiring PCV). I visited Lindsay in the south, near San Juan de la Maguana. It was great to see her day-to-day. We walked to the closest river with some kids and enjoyed the cool water and a small waterfall. Her main project is a Brigada Verde group of 5 girls—much like girl scouts. We also traveled to San Juan to see the market and meet up with lots of other PCV’s and aspirantes for a few hours of pizza and a pool!
I left Lindsay’s early on Sunday and arrived home in time for lunch. My thoughtful Doña had bought me Chinese food for lunch. I’ve come to love Chinese food here because that means Chop Suey and Chop Suey means tons of vegetables, which I do not get to eat often. I ate lunch and had about an hour to rest before setting out with Angele and a few of her friends to the Malecon again.
This time, the Malecon held CARNAVAL! I am not quite sure how to describe Carnaval except to tell you that there were thousands of people and more colors than I’ve ever seen. I loved the creativity of people’s costumes. One man covered all of his clothes in bottle caps from Presidente beer. Another created a costume out of tiny teddy bears. I did buy a pirate mask which I wore with pride! An important part of Carnaval is that a lot of people have inflated cow bladders on strings (think leathered), which they run up and smack women on the butt or legs with. I was hit only once, and I don’t think it was done with full force. Gracias a dios! The Carnaval experience was total sensory-overload, but so much fun! As soon as I can, I will post all of my pictures, which will help paint the picture for you. http://picasaweb.google.com/colleengatliff/DR3Carnaval
I leave my house here on Thursday for CBT, or Community Based Training. We’ll be near Santiago, the 2nd largest city, in a very beautiful region of the country. There, our group will consist of just 10 environmental education aspirantes, 2 Spanish teachers, 1 main trainer, and tons of special guest trainers. I will have a new host family, and will begin to slow down my pace in preparation for Peace Corps life. This segment of training will last into mid-April. I am really excited about time in CBT. I’ve loved training here in the Capital, but we are busy all of the time and it is so crowded. A change of pace should be fun.
It’s hard to know what to share with you. If you have any questions, feel free to post them under comments or shoot me an email and I’ll do my best to answer them! Keep the mail coming, it is a very exciting part of the week. Letters, inspiring quotes, and local Jax news stories are welcomed. :)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
un dios de queso
I promise to fill you in soon on really important things (like yesterday´s Independence Day in which I saw the DR´s President live and in person), but for now, I´ll tell you something really fun--
If you know me well, then you know about my unnatural love of nacho cheese. I celebrated my birthday last year with a giant jar of nacho cheese, my friends and the beach. I expected my next few years to be void of nacho cheese. Little did I know! Today after training I went to La Sirena, a local supermarket to buy toothpaste. Upon arrival I found Tostitos doing a promotion and offering FREE SAMPLES! They were changing between salsa and chips or cheese and chips. When it was my turn in line, the lady was preparing to open salsa, but I asked ever so politely for queso instead. So, I just ate four tostitos with queso! Life is good and I relished the moment. Food here hasn´t been bad at all. In fact, I really like it. But, it is a bit monotonous. I eat a lot of yuca, plantanos, rice and beans, so queso was a fantastic afternoon snack! More meaningful things later... (maybe)
If you know me well, then you know about my unnatural love of nacho cheese. I celebrated my birthday last year with a giant jar of nacho cheese, my friends and the beach. I expected my next few years to be void of nacho cheese. Little did I know! Today after training I went to La Sirena, a local supermarket to buy toothpaste. Upon arrival I found Tostitos doing a promotion and offering FREE SAMPLES! They were changing between salsa and chips or cheese and chips. When it was my turn in line, the lady was preparing to open salsa, but I asked ever so politely for queso instead. So, I just ate four tostitos with queso! Life is good and I relished the moment. Food here hasn´t been bad at all. In fact, I really like it. But, it is a bit monotonous. I eat a lot of yuca, plantanos, rice and beans, so queso was a fantastic afternoon snack! More meaningful things later... (maybe)
Monday, February 26, 2007
what´s in a name?
So anyone who has been around people that speak a language other than English know that sometimes it´s necessary to adjust the pronuniciation of your name. For me here, my name is Coh-leen. No problem, except that I have recently learned that one of the major manufacturors of machetes in the DR has the last name of Collin (pronounced just like my name is). Hence, if someone is having difficulty, I say ¨Coh-leen¨como la machete, and then the understand. From that, a lot of jokes have been made about how fuerte, or strong I am.
Well, a family member of my host family who sometimes visits told me upon our initial meeting that he was going to call me Coh-leen Power. Since he knows some English, I figured he was making a joke about strength. I saw him a few days ago and he said ¨Hola Coh-leen Power¨and then asked if I knew who that was. I played along and said yes, me of course. Nooooo, said he, Coh-leen Power, the guy in Washington D.C., the black man .... oh, said I, Colin Powell!
In other news, while you at home watched the Oscars last night, I had a movie-going experience myself. I saw Sanky Panky (www.sankypanky.net), a Dominican film about Sanky Pankys, or Dominican men that hang out at resorts to charm rich tourists in order to get married fo ra visa or just get money. I´ve been told that in recent years there has been a rise in Dominican cinematography. It tends to be very satirical. The film was a lot of fun, very silly. If you can get ahold of a copy at home, you should watch it. The scenes shot outside of the hotel really depict a lot of what I see daily in my barrio and at local colmados, or stores.
Well, a family member of my host family who sometimes visits told me upon our initial meeting that he was going to call me Coh-leen Power. Since he knows some English, I figured he was making a joke about strength. I saw him a few days ago and he said ¨Hola Coh-leen Power¨and then asked if I knew who that was. I played along and said yes, me of course. Nooooo, said he, Coh-leen Power, the guy in Washington D.C., the black man .... oh, said I, Colin Powell!
In other news, while you at home watched the Oscars last night, I had a movie-going experience myself. I saw Sanky Panky (www.sankypanky.net), a Dominican film about Sanky Pankys, or Dominican men that hang out at resorts to charm rich tourists in order to get married fo ra visa or just get money. I´ve been told that in recent years there has been a rise in Dominican cinematography. It tends to be very satirical. The film was a lot of fun, very silly. If you can get ahold of a copy at home, you should watch it. The scenes shot outside of the hotel really depict a lot of what I see daily in my barrio and at local colmados, or stores.
Friday, February 23, 2007
No hay mangos o aguacates, pero estoy bien
(There aren’t mangos or avocados, but I’m good) -- correction--I wrote this a few days ago, and have since been served beautiful avocados!
I’m so glad that I am here. The avocado and mango season is not until late summer, but I will survive, since everything else is great. So far, I absolutely love this country. The people have been so kind, machismo isn’t bad. I’m never cold. The sun shines often. The Peace Corps training program has incredible structure and excellent instructors. My host family is wonderful. My Spanish is progressing decently. Esta bien!
I think that it will take me some time to learn how to share my experiences. For now, know that I have had several action-packed days and the only way I know to share them is to offer you some excerpts from my journal:
How will all of this play out?
I feel like I connected with people today.
I am so distracted—did I pack the right things?
We are a team now…2.5 hours in the DCA airport…ran through MIA
Platanos dulces
Rabies shot #1 (we get 10 shots in total, 2 are rabies)
Hung my mosquitera (mosquito net—mandatory for malaria prevention)
Sweat
Water
Caribbean
Palm Trees!
I could see the difference between Haiti and the D.R. from the air. The DR is green.
Host family today. Dona Maria. She explained that she is my Dominican mom. If anything bothers me, I should tell her.
We have two pregnant Chihuahuas in our house—Gucci y Mimi.
Pasta y platanos.
Happiness requires positiva, says mi dona.
Hummingbird at La Entrena (our training center).
Cheddar cheese in the DR—yay!
Lots of rest, even with barking dogs, crowing gallos and merengue.
My dona sounded surprised when I told her I heard gallos last night. She said they only crow en la manana. I would guess that they are just white noise to her. When will they be that to me?
Great culture and diversity exercises at Entrena—will add to my bag of tricks.
Tetanus shot (ok, I won’t report on any more shots!)
A RPCV (returned peace corps volunteer) from the 60’s spoke with us today.
Jogging with my host cousin.
Yoga.
Frisbee with neighborhood kids—“la platillo”
Vamos a la playa! One of the first phrases I ever learned in Spanish and someone said it to me for real. WOO. After church (Catholic of course), 4 adults and 4 kids piled into a tiny car and went to Boca Chica—the beach closest to Santo Domingo. Many hours of playing in the Caribbean with lots of kids. I am “la Americana”.
Saw my first McDonald’s and Payless Shoe Source.
Ate empanadas—laughed with the dona about how hard the dough is to make. She buys it pre-made. Es muy inteligente says she. (Aunt Alice, I guess you know what you’re talking about because this dough was much much better than anything I’ve ever concocted!)
(end journal)
Today we had a transportation lesson at Entrena. We rode around the Capital with small groups, learning the norms of public transportation here. So far, I have ridden in a ”carro publica” and a “guagua”. Carro publicas are (usually) very old Camrys. The normal capacity is one driver, plus 2 passengers in the front seat and four in the backseat. Guaguas are mini-buses that fit as many as can sit and/ or stand. I am so grateful for my experiences in Guatemala that taught me a bit about public transport in Latin America. I have, however, been reminded on several occasions of the many, many differences between Central America and the DR. I have made several incorrect assumptions and have since learned the difference. I am being very patient with myself here. I have lots to learn, and luckily, plenty of time.
As you begin filing your taxes this year, smile, think of me, and know that your tax money is financing my Peace Corps experience. Thank you! For the next few months, I believe that email will be scarce. I will do
my best to stay in touch though. Amor y paz!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
t'was the eve before leaving...
...and all through D.C., we repacked our bags, began forming friendships and braved the snow together to find one last Thai meal.
Our staging training is now complete and it's simply a count down. We have a very early flight and ambitious plans for the evening.
I will be in touch as soon as I can from the D.R., but have been told that especially in the first few weeks, Internet access may be scarce. I am excited and ready ... and just trying to figure out why my checked luggage equals one 32 pound bag (HECK YAH) and others have near 100 pounds of luggage and a few bags. Any idea what I forgot? I'll let you know.
Our staging training is now complete and it's simply a count down. We have a very early flight and ambitious plans for the evening.
I will be in touch as soon as I can from the D.R., but have been told that especially in the first few weeks, Internet access may be scarce. I am excited and ready ... and just trying to figure out why my checked luggage equals one 32 pound bag (HECK YAH) and others have near 100 pounds of luggage and a few bags. Any idea what I forgot? I'll let you know.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Unemployment. I love it.
The past month of unemployment has been quite enjoyable. Some highlights: 
-Christmas at home in Tampa with family, including a cooking extravaganza with Uncle Tony and manatee paddling and snorkeling with Robbie.
-New Year's and the we
ek after in Palm Beach with Travis, Brian and Kristin. We paddled, dove, snorkeled, peddled, ate and laid around on the beach. I saw a turtle while diving, tons of gators in the Everglades, and an anhinga eat a fish much larger than I would have ever imagined. We 
watched blowing rocks on the coast, and um, well, I left there completely soaked. 4 games of Cataan were played, and I won the final, which leaves me with the title of "Queen of Cataan" for the next 2 years.
-Several days were spent in Ann Arbor, MI with my brother, Robbie. It was so cold my teeth hurt one day! Fun was still to be had. A day in Canada ended with Poutine (french fries with cheese curds and gravy), we experienced the North American Auto Show in Detriot, scraped ice off a windshield, and spent hours inside IKEA and Trader Joe's.
-From Detroit, I flew to San Diego to visit my friend Sarah. Cool things we did: tidal pools at Cabrillo National Monument, seals--
tons of wonderful seals at La Jolla Cove, saw a gray whale up-close and personal, spent a day in Mexico seeing La Bufadora (another blow hole!) and ate fresh lobster, beans, rice and a margarita on the coast.
I arrived back in Tampa for a dinner with each parent, then drove back to Jax. I'm here now, enjoying great friends and going away parties.
Ahh, transition. I can't complain though--I often sleep 'til 8:30 or 9:00 now, go to yoga classes with soccer moms at noon, and have been eating all the brie and dark chocolate I desire.
-Christmas at home in Tampa with family, including a cooking extravaganza with Uncle Tony and manatee paddling and snorkeling with Robbie.
-New Year's and the we
ek after in Palm Beach with Travis, Brian and Kristin. We paddled, dove, snorkeled, peddled, ate and laid around on the beach. I saw a turtle while diving, tons of gators in the Everglades, and an anhinga eat a fish much larger than I would have ever imagined. We 
watched blowing rocks on the coast, and um, well, I left there completely soaked. 4 games of Cataan were played, and I won the final, which leaves me with the title of "Queen of Cataan" for the next 2 years.-Several days were spent in Ann Arbor, MI with my brother, Robbie. It was so cold my teeth hurt one day! Fun was still to be had. A day in Canada ended with Poutine (french fries with cheese curds and gravy), we experienced the North American Auto Show in Detriot, scraped ice off a windshield, and spent hours inside IKEA and Trader Joe's.
-From Detroit, I flew to San Diego to visit my friend Sarah. Cool things we did: tidal pools at Cabrillo National Monument, seals--
tons of wonderful seals at La Jolla Cove, saw a gray whale up-close and personal, spent a day in Mexico seeing La Bufadora (another blow hole!) and ate fresh lobster, beans, rice and a margarita on the coast. I arrived back in Tampa for a dinner with each parent, then drove back to Jax. I'm here now, enjoying great friends and going away parties.
Ahh, transition. I can't complain though--I often sleep 'til 8:30 or 9:00 now, go to yoga classes with soccer moms at noon, and have been eating all the brie and dark chocolate I desire.
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