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!