Thursday the 21st- my 'american christmas'
I took a trip to barahona (also dubbed by me as 'the city') where a friend was waiting with the package that made it to me for christmas. adn It couldnt have been a better package.
the scene- me and 2 other volunteer friends (christina and enrique) are in the chinese restaurant/ fried chicken restaurant eating fried chicken, tostones, and presidente when i open the package from my aunt mary, uncle dave, and cousins. inside is a stocking stuffed with a dozen small wrapped packages. so together we opened round of present after round of presents. your semi traditional american christmas- good food, presents, good drink, and members of my peace corps family. thanks leiker fam!
Dec 24- Noche buena
This is when dominicans celebrate. this day was hyped up for me so much. After looking forward to it all week i wake up that magical 24th morning and wait for the big meal that had been promised. i play with lucy, my 2 yr old niece. noon rolls around- i am served cheetoes and orange juice- its going to be a little longer says my mom. no problem, yet the only evidence i have of this big meal at this time are the two live chickens tied together on my kitchen floor. we have luz i watch soap operas and play with lucymore. 5 oclock. 6 0clock. 7 oclock. 8 oclock. dinner is served. i guess i hadnt realized that the feast was acutally dinner.
spagetti, fried yuca, bread, chicken, ensalada rusa, and of course rice. delicious. simpsons playing in the background as we all sat at the table and ate like a family (this never happens!). it did feel like christmas for a while. then we attended a 4 hour long evangelical church service while everyone else in the town went out dancing and drinking. aye mi madre!
Dec 25- my christmas
I wake up at 7 am and put out little packages i had made. inside paper decorated with crayons in christmas like designs (made by me!) were oreos, chocolates, and other little candies. along with a letter from santa claus. go back to sleep. wake up later.
Josefina (my sister)- "Rebéc! Santa puso! santa puso!" (santa left, santa left)
me- really?
J- yes- did santa leave for you?
me- no hes bored with me after 21 years.
one hour later
J (with a plate of leftover spagetti bread and pop)- Rebéc santa puso para ti tambien! (santa left for you also)
i couldnt help but laugh. it was really sweet and funny. Santa found me in the d.r.
so besides that i spent my christmas dancing with lucy to michael jackson (they love him here) in my room. we took a walk through the sugar cane to the river. and then watched more telenovelas (soap operas).
apparently what is super special about christmas here is that there is luz almost 24hrs a day for the two days straight.
well off to the beach for new years to celebrate the good old american way (no more evangelical church for me for a while).
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
aren´t you lucky
one week later and another update- arent you all lucky!
So here it goes in Batey 3. slow slow slow... i´ve finished two novels in the past week! But in the mean time im learning creole (bonjour, bonsua, bom glo, merci, bom nuet, mue nom Rebeka- at least i think these are correct...), and how to sell items in my family owned colmado- insert photo of my sister selling items in my colmado attached to my house here-
Shes 22, only a little older than me! and my mom here is only 2 months younger than my real mom.
heres a triumphant story of me at my site.
so during my site visit a week before we moved in my overly excited project partner (the one who solicited to have a volunteer in the community and therefore takes on the responciblity of me) was taking me around the batey so i could ¨see the poverty of thier lives¨. well it became a little too real for me. these people are poor. really poor. women would see me and light up with happiness. They would welcome me into their one room wooden houses where 10plus people live and sleep on the dirt floor. theyd tell me how they needed clothes and food to eat. Then they´d hold out their hands for money... heres the thing- this is not exactly along the peace corps philosophy of development, nor do they give us the funding for hand outs. id then say that i do not have money. thats when some would become upset. i understand that in the past to many of them seeing a foreigner in a batey means ´hand oút´since that is how development had been done in the past. so point of story i was kicked out of some houses and one woman spat at my feet as i was leaving.
this made me really upset and i had problems dealing with this when i went back to the capital for swearing in (which was a fabulous week of fun and activities by the way).
Well they other day, im back at my site and im looking for big paper for an activitiy i had planned for my youth group. my 15 yr old friend rosa (who looks more like 12) was taking me around to the different colmados only to find ount noone sells big paper. well then she starts leading me into the part of the batey i had been avoiding. the part where i was not well recieved. i was followed by stares of course but was not my usual happy self greeting them. when we got to the colmado the man behind the counter Roberto, was very friendly heres how our convo went.
R- the whole world is pleased you are here
Me- you know who i am?
R- the whole world knows you
Me, doubtful he knows me- I am Rebecca. I am a peace corps volunteer, I am here to work with the youth. I live here for 2 years.
R- Yes I know. I am grateful. I am at your order. If you need anything ask. Everyone is at your order.
I was so shocked. This was the side that i had been afraid of! Ive been getting that ´at your order´think alot. oh and my youth group meeting went really well. so more photos of my site.
So here it goes in Batey 3. slow slow slow... i´ve finished two novels in the past week! But in the mean time im learning creole (bonjour, bonsua, bom glo, merci, bom nuet, mue nom Rebeka- at least i think these are correct...), and how to sell items in my family owned colmado- insert photo of my sister selling items in my colmado attached to my house here-
Shes 22, only a little older than me! and my mom here is only 2 months younger than my real mom.
heres a triumphant story of me at my site.
so during my site visit a week before we moved in my overly excited project partner (the one who solicited to have a volunteer in the community and therefore takes on the responciblity of me) was taking me around the batey so i could ¨see the poverty of thier lives¨. well it became a little too real for me. these people are poor. really poor. women would see me and light up with happiness. They would welcome me into their one room wooden houses where 10plus people live and sleep on the dirt floor. theyd tell me how they needed clothes and food to eat. Then they´d hold out their hands for money... heres the thing- this is not exactly along the peace corps philosophy of development, nor do they give us the funding for hand outs. id then say that i do not have money. thats when some would become upset. i understand that in the past to many of them seeing a foreigner in a batey means ´hand oút´since that is how development had been done in the past. so point of story i was kicked out of some houses and one woman spat at my feet as i was leaving.
this made me really upset and i had problems dealing with this when i went back to the capital for swearing in (which was a fabulous week of fun and activities by the way).
Well they other day, im back at my site and im looking for big paper for an activitiy i had planned for my youth group. my 15 yr old friend rosa (who looks more like 12) was taking me around to the different colmados only to find ount noone sells big paper. well then she starts leading me into the part of the batey i had been avoiding. the part where i was not well recieved. i was followed by stares of course but was not my usual happy self greeting them. when we got to the colmado the man behind the counter Roberto, was very friendly heres how our convo went.
R- the whole world is pleased you are here
Me- you know who i am?
R- the whole world knows you
Me, doubtful he knows me- I am Rebecca. I am a peace corps volunteer, I am here to work with the youth. I live here for 2 years.
R- Yes I know. I am grateful. I am at your order. If you need anything ask. Everyone is at your order.
I was so shocked. This was the side that i had been afraid of! Ive been getting that ´at your order´think alot. oh and my youth group meeting went really well. so more photos of my site.
Monday, November 27, 2006
CELL PHONE UPDATE
Its a miracle! I will no longer be MIA my friends. Now you can reach me with a short (well long distance actually) phone call! I have just recieved a phone with reliable service at my site. Alleluia!
Becky's new number 809-723-9867
call me whenever and I will recieve it- amazing!
Becky's new number 809-723-9867
call me whenever and I will recieve it- amazing!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
connection to the outside world
sorry no photos this time and i have been mia for too long but i do have a cell phone now
829-770-2463
thats my number call me. i dont get reception at my site unless i go out to the pley with the goats or into the sugar cane fields.
thats right i have my site- its Batey 3 in the south. Batey means that it is where the haitians and dominicans who work in the sugar cane fields live. and that also means poor poor poor. i had a hard time dealing with it on my site visit but the people are amazing.
sorry im going to keep this short. people are waiting but i swear never again will i let a whole month pass without checking my email... i hope.
829-770-2463
thats my number call me. i dont get reception at my site unless i go out to the pley with the goats or into the sugar cane fields.
thats right i have my site- its Batey 3 in the south. Batey means that it is where the haitians and dominicans who work in the sugar cane fields live. and that also means poor poor poor. i had a hard time dealing with it on my site visit but the people are amazing.
sorry im going to keep this short. people are waiting but i swear never again will i let a whole month pass without checking my email... i hope.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
the melted snickers phenomenon
so ive been living in matancitas a small community outside of Nagua on the north coast. to use the internet i have to take a motoconcho (motorcylce taxi) into Nagua so needless to say i dont use internet often- although i really like riding on the back of the motorcycle esp along the beach(who knows when i get back i might just get a motorcycle instead of a car). Ive been working with a youth group of highschool aged kids here (i gave a talk last night to the kids) and Ive been working in a sala de tarea (homework room). photos from youthgrop at the beach and the sala.
The sala is set up for kids who need tutoring- there is a great need.
I love the pic on the far left- i truely look peace corps in it.
only a week and a half left of matancitas though then the capital then i get a cell and then i get my site- las hoyas- really small. not on the map and most dominicans havent even heard of it- just what i wanted. I swear in as a actual volunteer the day before thanksgiving! then we go out to celebrate!
ok now to the title of the blog- the melted snickers phenomenon. During a class discussion of frustrations the other day a friend- laura, metioned what she entitled the melted snickers phenomenon as her frustration. i couldnt have agreed more- this is what it is.
You go to the mini mart you see a snickers and oh it is tempting with its pretty brown american like packaging and your hungry and missing home so you think "why wait". you grab the snickers put three days worth of your allowance down and leave. only when you open the wrapper you discover it is completely melted and runny. sure it still tastes good but not nearly the same deliciousness that your used to.
much of this country is like this. the houses may have electrical plugins and light bulbs, they might have faucets and even at times shiny shower heads- but when it comes down to it you prolly only get electricity a few hours a day and water every couple days. and even when you get water the pressure is just a small drip- making the shower head completely useless. you take bucket baths.
There is this mess of americanization and the developing latin world.
Everyone wears second hand shirts from the states in english but forthe most part noone knows what they mean. the side effect is quite funny at times you get old donas wearing explicit and vulgar shirts. My sister in the capital has a shirt that says "proud big brother" and my nephew wears a cici's pizza work shirt.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Saturday, September 30, 2006
I've gone to visit my real life volunteer in Perdernales and visited the beach. She is running 2 youth groups and a women's computer class and since she is on the haitian boarder she speaks creole fluently. My first time traveling on my own in the D.R. The only thing that went wrong was a very sketchy guagua (overly crowded public bus) ride in the end. I'm pretty sure it was not a legal guagua- the windshield was held together with clear tape- you couldnt even see out of it and once the driver found out i speak english he had me sit in the front of the bus for the rest of the time. But I made it home alright. Yup- pretty amazing. Beyond that I have had more training classes and yes more vaccinations.
Some sad news- My neighbor and good friend here has decided to early terminate and return to the states. That makes 4 of the group of 56 (?) that have left. So Jeff if you found this- a group of us had a presidente in your honor the other night and we all hope the required stool samples went well.
Some good news- Tommorrow I am moving to a small town close to Nagua on the Northern Coast. There will be four of us volunteers living there right on the beach and working with the town's youth group. We will be there until mid november and if you want the number to call me you can get it from my parents *just call my old cell or home #*. one thing when you call ask for Rebecca not Becky. The sad part of this is that our training group is spliting up. We've gone to the carwash to drink dance and celebrate. It feels like the ending but really we have not even begun our service. I am stuck with these people for the next two 1/4 years- thats a good thing.
I am also going to miss my family here- they have been so nice to me. I am their first volunteer and they treat me amazing.
I am trying to get photos posted- i will post as soon as possible (think 2 or 3 weeks maybe).
Thank you for all of your emails. You'd better believe that I talk about all of you. I just recieved the first letters from mom and grandma on tuesday- so it takes around 3 weeks for mail to arrive.
Laura congrats! Welcome baby Gus!
Some sad news- My neighbor and good friend here has decided to early terminate and return to the states. That makes 4 of the group of 56 (?) that have left. So Jeff if you found this- a group of us had a presidente in your honor the other night and we all hope the required stool samples went well.
Some good news- Tommorrow I am moving to a small town close to Nagua on the Northern Coast. There will be four of us volunteers living there right on the beach and working with the town's youth group. We will be there until mid november and if you want the number to call me you can get it from my parents *just call my old cell or home #*. one thing when you call ask for Rebecca not Becky. The sad part of this is that our training group is spliting up. We've gone to the carwash to drink dance and celebrate. It feels like the ending but really we have not even begun our service. I am stuck with these people for the next two 1/4 years- thats a good thing.
I am also going to miss my family here- they have been so nice to me. I am their first volunteer and they treat me amazing.
I am trying to get photos posted- i will post as soon as possible (think 2 or 3 weeks maybe).
Thank you for all of your emails. You'd better believe that I talk about all of you. I just recieved the first letters from mom and grandma on tuesday- so it takes around 3 weeks for mail to arrive.
Laura congrats! Welcome baby Gus!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Tommorrow is Daniel's second birthday. Daniel is mi sobrino (my nephew) and we are celebrating with a massive party that my family has spent all day preparing for. there will be plenty of dulces and beer (at least so i've been informed) for the adults. i cant wait! im having sugar cravings like no other! in fact i wouldnt have had any sweets since i left wichita if it were not for the surprise party for another volunteer tuesday night. his host family is apparently related to mine and when we (the two other volunteers who live with my family) got home from training we were informed we were attending. The cake! oh the cake and pop! i can not tell you how sweet it was. yes sugar cravings...
so next week i have my volunteer visit. i get to visit a current peace corps youth volunteer. she is stationed in Perdenales a six hour bus ride to the southern coast on the haitian boarder. i'm stoked to get to go so close to haiti and get to spend a day at the beach (im getting quite tan- jealous?). plus there is a saturday market with haitian vendors that i will get to go to.
the reggaeton is blaring right now (if you don't know reggaeton think sean paul or daddy yankee) as it always is and i am sweating as i always am. my arms are sore from vaccinations and i noticed there are more schedualed for monday. the water has been gone for the past three days but im stoaked for the party tommorrow.
went to the outdoor market today with my host sister. the poverty and crowdedness reminded me of tanger. i suppose this is the picture of developing countries.
i spend my days in training. its a lot like being back in school 4 hours of spanish then 1 hour lunch then 3 hours of country training where they scare us with medical talk or discuss what development means. im finding that im really interested in development *duh* i guess id have to be to be here. well se fue la luz (electricity just went out ) luckily the computers here are on a generator. the electricity is almost like a game. when it goes out everyone announces it- as if everyone else was blind. then when it comes back everyone announces it again- ahh, la luz! its really quite fun. sometimes the luz will flash once or twice like its going to come back and everyone gets really excited and says "uhhh.... uhhh.." but then it doesn't. maybe the second national sport should be luz watching. oh good times.
so next week i have my volunteer visit. i get to visit a current peace corps youth volunteer. she is stationed in Perdenales a six hour bus ride to the southern coast on the haitian boarder. i'm stoked to get to go so close to haiti and get to spend a day at the beach (im getting quite tan- jealous?). plus there is a saturday market with haitian vendors that i will get to go to.
the reggaeton is blaring right now (if you don't know reggaeton think sean paul or daddy yankee) as it always is and i am sweating as i always am. my arms are sore from vaccinations and i noticed there are more schedualed for monday. the water has been gone for the past three days but im stoaked for the party tommorrow.
went to the outdoor market today with my host sister. the poverty and crowdedness reminded me of tanger. i suppose this is the picture of developing countries.
i spend my days in training. its a lot like being back in school 4 hours of spanish then 1 hour lunch then 3 hours of country training where they scare us with medical talk or discuss what development means. im finding that im really interested in development *duh* i guess id have to be to be here. well se fue la luz (electricity just went out ) luckily the computers here are on a generator. the electricity is almost like a game. when it goes out everyone announces it- as if everyone else was blind. then when it comes back everyone announces it again- ahh, la luz! its really quite fun. sometimes the luz will flash once or twice like its going to come back and everyone gets really excited and says "uhhh.... uhhh.." but then it doesn't. maybe the second national sport should be luz watching. oh good times.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
First off- Ive arrived and I am very much so alive! This experience has been so incredible so far. Peace Corps really works us through baby steps and our trainers are AMAZING! The d.r. clearly has one of the more organized and better peace corps programs.
I arrived last thursday and the 50 of us were rushed onto buses and taken to a Catholic retreat center for our incountry orientaion. There we were given our first tablets of aralene (malaria meds) and informed we must never drink the water, we must sleep under our mosquito nets, never drink the water, we must wear deet bug spray, never drink the water, not eat certian foods (namely lettuce) and never never ever drink the water. The next day we were shown to our training center which is this amazing botanical safe haven for volunteers! The land is beautiful and well kept with tropical plants and gazeebos where we have class. We recieve our many immunizations here as well. They prepped us on the culutre and then set us free with our first set of host families. Mine is AMAZING! I'm not quite sure how many people I live with but heres the general make up of the place- It is on a family lot with five different houses, around 15 family members, 3 volunteers (including me), many roosters, chickens, 2 dogs, 6 or 7 cows, several pigs, ducks, and a car break repair shop- this is all right of the main highway in the city!!! Great combo of the perks of living in a major city (constant highway noise music and activity) along with the perks of having chickens walk through my kitchen in the morning!
I am being treated like american royalty- this is right i live with the same family that the kennedy kid did. well actually he lived with mi tia (my aunt) in one of the other houses on the lot but i have definatly sat on the same throne (in the bathroom sense). Dominicans have so far been extremely overwhelmingly loving and caring. My family here is extremely protective and proud of me. I am shown off alot and expected to talk a lot. I feel a little embarrassed by all the accomodations they have to maek for me (special water, special food, mosquito net, my own room) but they understand and care. They won't even let me in el sol during the day. They tell me my skin will turn red IMMEDIATELY!
My spanish is improving 10 fold every day and I cleared the language requirement for swearing in the first day easily. I have not stopped sweating from the moment i arrived but i love this country- the people, the latin culture mixed with african roots, the family, the collective nature. I have electricty and water in my house SOMETIMES, but when i don't i get by. when i have water i take a drip shower from a faucet, when i dont a bucket bath. when i have electricty i read from a light, when i dont an oil lamp. I am learning the ways of the national sport- 'chisme' or gossip, how to dress in humidity, use public transportation, and stayw ith in social norms.
This last is by trial and error as i attended a cock fight on sunday with another volunteer (who lives with mi tia) and our brother in law. When i arrived i noticed i was the only woman there. Apparently it is looked down upon for women to attend such things and they could even be looked on as whores for doing it. Luckily they know i am just a silly american and it was an experience of much learning.
Well my mosquito net is calling and my time at the internet cafe is running up!
I arrived last thursday and the 50 of us were rushed onto buses and taken to a Catholic retreat center for our incountry orientaion. There we were given our first tablets of aralene (malaria meds) and informed we must never drink the water, we must sleep under our mosquito nets, never drink the water, we must wear deet bug spray, never drink the water, not eat certian foods (namely lettuce) and never never ever drink the water. The next day we were shown to our training center which is this amazing botanical safe haven for volunteers! The land is beautiful and well kept with tropical plants and gazeebos where we have class. We recieve our many immunizations here as well. They prepped us on the culutre and then set us free with our first set of host families. Mine is AMAZING! I'm not quite sure how many people I live with but heres the general make up of the place- It is on a family lot with five different houses, around 15 family members, 3 volunteers (including me), many roosters, chickens, 2 dogs, 6 or 7 cows, several pigs, ducks, and a car break repair shop- this is all right of the main highway in the city!!! Great combo of the perks of living in a major city (constant highway noise music and activity) along with the perks of having chickens walk through my kitchen in the morning!
I am being treated like american royalty- this is right i live with the same family that the kennedy kid did. well actually he lived with mi tia (my aunt) in one of the other houses on the lot but i have definatly sat on the same throne (in the bathroom sense). Dominicans have so far been extremely overwhelmingly loving and caring. My family here is extremely protective and proud of me. I am shown off alot and expected to talk a lot. I feel a little embarrassed by all the accomodations they have to maek for me (special water, special food, mosquito net, my own room) but they understand and care. They won't even let me in el sol during the day. They tell me my skin will turn red IMMEDIATELY!
My spanish is improving 10 fold every day and I cleared the language requirement for swearing in the first day easily. I have not stopped sweating from the moment i arrived but i love this country- the people, the latin culture mixed with african roots, the family, the collective nature. I have electricty and water in my house SOMETIMES, but when i don't i get by. when i have water i take a drip shower from a faucet, when i dont a bucket bath. when i have electricty i read from a light, when i dont an oil lamp. I am learning the ways of the national sport- 'chisme' or gossip, how to dress in humidity, use public transportation, and stayw ith in social norms.
This last is by trial and error as i attended a cock fight on sunday with another volunteer (who lives with mi tia) and our brother in law. When i arrived i noticed i was the only woman there. Apparently it is looked down upon for women to attend such things and they could even be looked on as whores for doing it. Luckily they know i am just a silly american and it was an experience of much learning.
Well my mosquito net is calling and my time at the internet cafe is running up!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
rainy miami
so i made it. miami's rainy and entertaining. yesterday when i arrived my roommate- stephanie age 28 from california arrived soon after. we soon met up with about 12 of us early arrivers and went to dinner then to south beach- miami's night scene. well... south beach is expensive and fun. it's quite a ways away from my hotel so we ended up riding in the cab of a semi. see one of the volunteers has a cousin who drives a truck and was making a delivery in miami last night (crazy latino disco and scantily clad women dancing very provocatively). i'm not sure if you've ever ridden in the cab of a semi but they are quite nice. leather walls and seats. a t.v. a microwave and spacious seating for the 8 of us that went out. the other volunteers are interesting of course we all have similar interests and concerns. noone else from kansas is in our group of 50 but tons from california. we have $140 to spend while we are here it will go very quickly though (breakfast this morning cost me $20) well people are waiting on the computer better go.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
My flights
Sept 4th
Wichita to Atlanta 10:50- 1:54
Atlanta to Miami 4:17-6:03
Sept 7th
Miami to Santo Domingo, DR 10:35- 12:45
Beth also pointed out that my countdown is a day slow. I don't care enough to change it so just subtract a day from whatever it says. If that's too difficult just call me and I'd be more than happy to tell you how many days I have left (but whos counting?).
Wichita to Atlanta 10:50- 1:54
Atlanta to Miami 4:17-6:03
Sept 7th
Miami to Santo Domingo, DR 10:35- 12:45
Beth also pointed out that my countdown is a day slow. I don't care enough to change it so just subtract a day from whatever it says. If that's too difficult just call me and I'd be more than happy to tell you how many days I have left (but whos counting?).
Thursday, July 06, 2006
a few answers to some frequently asked questions
Why did I decide to join the Peace Corps?
Well… This is a tough one because it wasn’t a difficult decision for me. It was something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I’ve known about it. I remember thinking it was a neat idea as far back as the 4th grade but it wasn’t until my high school librarian (who was an original “Kennedy’s kid”) gave a talk with an informative (a.k.a. recruitment) video on it that I became seriously interested. Then thanks to the confidence gained in an international setting during my study abroad I really thought it was a possibility. SHORT ANSWER- The Peace Corps combines my loves of culture, language, and living in a foreign environment along with one of my favorite past-times of worrying my mother.
What are you going to be doing in the Peace Corps?
I plan on lying in my own hammock for 2 years under the Caribbean sun, getting a nice tan and eating freshly picked mangos. Just kidding! In reality I don’t even like mangos (a taste I will hopefully acquire since it is considered by many to be the most delicious food found in the D.R.). To address thisquestion I’m starting with the three goals of the Peace Corps as stated by the Peace Corps:
1. To help people of interested countries meet their need for trainedmen and women2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part ofpeople served.3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the partof Americans.
More specifically my job description is Youth Development Promoter. What this means (I know it’s kind of vague but it is what I know so bear with me) is I will work at a community level in either a urban or rural area with groups of young people- typically, loosely organized and in need of motivation and direction- and in coordination with community based organizations, non-governmental and governmental organizations. I will be assigned to a specific “project” and I am likely to be placed in a “cluster” i.e. reasonably close to other volunteers working with Youth or the complimentary sectors of Health, Education, Environment, or Small Business. (I have found that this “cluster” means they live in nearby towns)
Specific activities that this includes are: organizing youth-driven recreation and arts events, building developmental skills, forming peer educators, organizing youth groups, organizing parent support groups, presenting workshops on issues important to the community, organizing literacy programs, and supporting youth in planning and implementing community-led projects. Now what I will actually do is kind of up to me (the Peace Corps gives you this freedom). I will spend the first 3 months as a Volunteer (which will actually be my 4th-6th months of living in country) performing a “community diagnostic” which means getting to know the community and figuring out what it’s needs are. From there I will form my master plan!
Do I think I will make some major, sustainable, country altering change?
Let’s say I don’t hold some outlandish idealistic notion of what changes I will make, but that it has happened for some Volunteers. Also I wanted to relay the idea of “seed planting.” Where I more than likely will only see minor changes (if any) during service, but in the long run perhaps something major could grow because of it. There are plenty of stories where this occurs and you never know the effect you may have on others.
Am I scared?
VERY! but I don't believe that you should not do something only because you are afraid. I expect times where I will be sick from dengue (or some other crazy tropical illness) be crying for my mom wanting more than anything to go home, but I know that there will also be times where I will be completely blown away- in the best sense- by the experience.
Well… This is a tough one because it wasn’t a difficult decision for me. It was something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I’ve known about it. I remember thinking it was a neat idea as far back as the 4th grade but it wasn’t until my high school librarian (who was an original “Kennedy’s kid”) gave a talk with an informative (a.k.a. recruitment) video on it that I became seriously interested. Then thanks to the confidence gained in an international setting during my study abroad I really thought it was a possibility. SHORT ANSWER- The Peace Corps combines my loves of culture, language, and living in a foreign environment along with one of my favorite past-times of worrying my mother.
What are you going to be doing in the Peace Corps?
I plan on lying in my own hammock for 2 years under the Caribbean sun, getting a nice tan and eating freshly picked mangos. Just kidding! In reality I don’t even like mangos (a taste I will hopefully acquire since it is considered by many to be the most delicious food found in the D.R.). To address thisquestion I’m starting with the three goals of the Peace Corps as stated by the Peace Corps:
1. To help people of interested countries meet their need for trainedmen and women2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part ofpeople served.3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the partof Americans.
More specifically my job description is Youth Development Promoter. What this means (I know it’s kind of vague but it is what I know so bear with me) is I will work at a community level in either a urban or rural area with groups of young people- typically, loosely organized and in need of motivation and direction- and in coordination with community based organizations, non-governmental and governmental organizations. I will be assigned to a specific “project” and I am likely to be placed in a “cluster” i.e. reasonably close to other volunteers working with Youth or the complimentary sectors of Health, Education, Environment, or Small Business. (I have found that this “cluster” means they live in nearby towns)
Specific activities that this includes are: organizing youth-driven recreation and arts events, building developmental skills, forming peer educators, organizing youth groups, organizing parent support groups, presenting workshops on issues important to the community, organizing literacy programs, and supporting youth in planning and implementing community-led projects. Now what I will actually do is kind of up to me (the Peace Corps gives you this freedom). I will spend the first 3 months as a Volunteer (which will actually be my 4th-6th months of living in country) performing a “community diagnostic” which means getting to know the community and figuring out what it’s needs are. From there I will form my master plan!
Do I think I will make some major, sustainable, country altering change?
Let’s say I don’t hold some outlandish idealistic notion of what changes I will make, but that it has happened for some Volunteers. Also I wanted to relay the idea of “seed planting.” Where I more than likely will only see minor changes (if any) during service, but in the long run perhaps something major could grow because of it. There are plenty of stories where this occurs and you never know the effect you may have on others.
Am I scared?
VERY! but I don't believe that you should not do something only because you are afraid. I expect times where I will be sick from dengue (or some other crazy tropical illness) be crying for my mom wanting more than anything to go home, but I know that there will also be times where I will be completely blown away- in the best sense- by the experience.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Dominican Republic here I come
So it's official from Sept 7, 2006- Nov 28, 2008 I will be living in the Dominican Republic.
I already have my address
for letters send to-
Becky Spachek PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Care packages go to-
Becky Spachek PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
451 Avenida Bolivar
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Telephone 809-685-4102
(yes you do need the phone number)
I already have my address
for letters send to-
Becky Spachek PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Care packages go to-
Becky Spachek PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
451 Avenida Bolivar
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Telephone 809-685-4102
(yes you do need the phone number)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)