Chocolate Country

My project is to work with a Cacao (Cocoa) Cooperative and help them to strengthen their business skills and develop relationships with international buyers in hopes to internationally export their crops. I am following previous Peace Corps volunteers who have been working for the past few years to help develop the office aspect of the cooperative and get the farmers organically certified. The couple who was placed with the Cooperative from 2003-2005 had a son who made a documentary of the Cacao farmers. He submitted the film to the 2007 Seattle International Film Festival and it won a grand jury prize. I have attached the link to the site where you can watch the documentary, my project partner is Maria Elena, the women with the rollers in her hair and a missing front tooth.

http://www.seattlefilm.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=24036&FID=32

It's exciting to have such a developed primary project with so much potential and support; not to mention the documentary gives everyone at home a little taste of my life here in the DR.
Enjoy!

Running with a stick

After much discussion and contemplation I have decided to take up running with a stick. This way when the crazy dogs of the campo (countryside/farmland) decide to bare their teeth at me like they’re planning to bite I can scare them away with the stick. I didn’t think I would have to resort to this but after today (I spent a minute hopping on one leg trying to shoo away 3 dogs who were barking and baring their teeth at me- I found that showing them the bottom of my shoe kept them away) and after talking with the Yesenia (the Coop secretary) who has been bitten twice by a dog; I have decided that it’s not worth the risk.

December 6, 2007

Trip to Santiago

Today I traveled to Santiago to pick up Cocoa powder that the Cooperative is going to sell at an Artisan Fair in Santo Domingo. I met a very entertaining man named Tony who worked in the office. He is a lover of all thing chocolate and that is how he has come to work in cacao processing. He travels to keep up with the latest news surrounding the industry and many trips have taken him to the US. He said his first trip must have been 40 years ago and that he traveled to New York City; he saw the lights, tall buildings and hoards of people and was very impressed by it all. The interesting thing is what he told me next- that most of all he was astounded to see a group of people line up to get on a bus. He said at that moment he said to himself that never in his life will he see that in his country. He believes that above all else the Dominican culture lacks “formación”, which translates as formation, education or training. I don’t think as Americans we realize how well trained we are. Almost everyone is taught some form of etiquette from a young age, although sometimes we choose not to follow our customs we are all somewhat aware of their existence. It’s as interesting to hear others impressions of Americans as it is to talk to other volunteers about our impressions of Dominicans.

December 4, 2007

First day on the Job

What an incredible first day on the job. I arrived at the Red Guaconejo office around 9am. After a mere 5 minutes of exchanging pleasantries with Yesenia and Maria Elena, the secretary and treasurer of the cooperative, Juan yelled for help. He had discovered a family of mice hiding in a tarp next to one of the warehouses… Yesenia and Maria Elena ran to grab brooms. Juan shook the tarp to force the mice out, the women ran around frantically beating the mice with their brooms. 10 minutes and 5 mice later we were back in the office.

Around 10:30 I walked outside to find them looking at a wilting pepper plant they had in front of the office. They were discussing that someone must have passed by the Cooperative and commented on how beautiful the plant was without recognizing that it was a blessing from god (therefore coveting the plant, the whole evil eye concept). As a result the plant had begun to die. Maria Elena said a prayer and did the sign of the cross in front of the plant 3 times… she said if that doesn’t heal the plant than it would soon die. After lunch (and a bit of rain) the plant was looking better, they discussed moving the pepper plant to another area of the cooperative that could not be seen by the road.

Later that afternoon a man came in with cacao for the cooperative, he brought the office a few oranges from his farm. We began eating oranges and talking, as I was eating he started talking about his 10 children, and one son who recently passed away. It will be one month tomorrow that he passed. He said he still cries often, and with those words he broke down again. There I was eating an orange, trying to figure out the right words in Spanish to express my sympathy. If my first day was any indication of how my next 2 years will be, it's definitely going to be an interesting 2 years!

November 27, 2007

Training

Training has been an incredible experience. Upon arrival in country we are all anticipating the work we will be doing, but very unsure of what our day to day job will entail. We are full of excitement, expectation and wonder. After 11 weeks of training we have been introduced to a variety of situations we will encounter, we have spoken of our role as development workers and trainers in our communities. We have learned about the process of doing a community diagnostic and the importance of analyzing your community before initiating projects in your site. Through training I have gained an understanding of the realities of the job; I have be introduced to the culture, values, and practices of my new home. I have to say, the biggest differences are not very big at all- people all over the world adapt to the realities of their day to day lives. Just as I remember pulling out flashlights as a kid when the electricity went out, Dominicans are accustomed to the practice nightly. The differences in day to day activities are considerable, but a refreshing part is that within your community you get the sense that everything is so normal- It's amazing how fast a person can adapt to their surroundings. Through the two months of training we have studied everything from the formal education system in the DR to local business practices. It has been eye opening. It's amazing to think of how much information and experience we have gained. The past 3 months have gone by in a flash and I can't wait to start service! (This is my group of Community Economic Development volunteers.)

November 5, 2007

Running

I went for a run this morning. I am happy to be in the countryside for technical training- the city is too congested and the roads too congested to enjoy a run. I am outside of a town called Moca in the north of the country- beautiful rolling hills, platano trees and farm animals have replaced the chaos of Santo Domingo. To try to integrate myself a bit more while I run I try to follow the same customs as if I were walking. This means that I say hello to everyone I pass on the street. The Dominican Republic is not like running in the suburbs in the states where everyone is typically in their houses and rarely do you run into someone else walking. Here in the DR everyone is outside- first of all it’s too hot, the breeze is a welcomed relief and secondly, most businesses open up to the street. Local stores are set up like kiosks so the local patrons sit outside and enjoy a cold drink and conversation- most everyone is outside. As a result I think I have waved and said good morning to almost every local family. Usually twice- once on my way out and again on my way back. I have to admit it’s great, they wave, smile, occasionally a local man passing on a motorcycle will offer me a ride, (he’s thinking- poor girl is running, she is obviously in desperate need of a lift!) and this morning a woman asked me if I was exercising, I said yes and told her it was for better health, she laughed and gave a heavy sigh… they wouldn’t dream of waking up and running 4 miles when they have hours of cooking, cleaning and washing clothes to occupy their day. Occasionally a few men on the street will jog behind me for a few blocks because they think it's so funny. It definitely produces quite the spectacle. I hope to continue running once I arrive at my project site, it will be a great way for me to get to know the area and introduce myself to EVERYONE!
October 20,2007

A Brief Introduction to the Animal Kingdom of the DR

I have a family of lizards that live behind a picture of Jesus that is hanging in our family room. The other night while my technical group was studying we saw an enormous spider crawling on the wall. About as soon as we saw the spider, papa lizard saw it too. He ran out from behind the picture of Jesus and opened his mouth and sunk his teeth into the spider… bye-bye spider. It was like seeing a wildlife show in person. The 5 volunteers were amazed- my host father was laughing. That same night papa lizard went after a cockroach but it managed to fly off the wall before he could get to it. Then my host father Kiko took off his shirt and tried to swat and kill the cockroach. It's somewhat of a pastime. He is a big help in ridding the house of creepy crawlies. But I must say I have much gratitude for the family of lizards that live behind the picture of Jesus. Hopefully when i move out on my own I will have a family of lizards living with me there too.

October 10, 2007

Public Transportation

It is amazing how quickly a person can adapt to new surroundings. Take for instance the public transportation system in the DR. At the end of the first day of training I was picked up from the Peace Corps training center by my host mother who would be my example of Dominican culture throughout core training. We walked out to the street to pick up a guagua (mini bus) or public car to take back to her house. I was in a group with 2 other female volunteers who lived next door to me. We found a vacant car, and all six of us proceeded to hop into a dilapidated compact car- 2 people in the front seat (not including the driver) and 4 people in the back seat. It’s easy to begin to break down barriers when your first experience with someone is being crammed in the back of a car together for a somewhat awkward 15 minute car ride. There was little conversation but lots of smiling back and forth from volunteer to host mother.

The next morning one representative host mother took the three of us girls to our training center. We hopped on a guagua (they are somewhere between the size of a minivan and a bus) and waited to for driver to begin the route. We began our journey- stopping sometimes every 20 or 30 feet to let another person on the bus, and while the “cobrador” or cashier of the guagua hangs out the doorway calling for people to get on the bus. My Dona was sure to remind me to pay attention to the bus route for I was soon going to have to get myself to and from the training center on my own. After trying to memorize “left, then right… then left… then left…” soon we were driving down my very street and I see my Dona sweeping the front porch. Well…. Scratch that route. All the while us PC volunteers are trying to contain our astonishment for the puzzling route and haphazard bus stops. (The appropriate way to request a bus stop is to yell “Let me out!” to the bus driver- this can be difficult because most will be playing Merengue or Bachata music as loud as the stereo will allow.) It was, in retrospect, a great introduction to the Dominican Culture: there is little to no personal space, things often lack American organization, but at the same time the Dominican People are always willing to chat with you, they are ready to lend a hand in yelling at the bus driver to stop, as well as helping you find your stop. As far as our first guagua experience, it took us 2 guagua’s and about an hour to get to the training center. After three separate Peace Corps activities geared to help us familiarize ourselves with public transportation in the DR a group of 6 or 7 of us realized we lived about 35 minutes away from the training center if we walked...

First Impressions

Upon arrival in country we were issued our own mosquito nets, insect repellent and anti-Malaria medication. Although I had spent a great deal of time anticipating my Peace Corps service I don’t think anyone is completely prepared for such a transition. We were briefed on water contamination, the threat of dengue and malaria, and introduced to the laundry list of vaccinations we would be receiving in the following weeks... I think about 12 in total. I started my day at 3am in Washington DC and ended it in Santo Domingo under my mosquito net... definitely the start of an adventure.

Finally!

After over 5 weeks in the Dominican Republic I have finally had an opportunity to set up a blog. I'll try to post pictures and comments as often as I can but the internet in country is unpredictable. So far the experience has been incredible and I'm having a great time. I've posted a few entries that I saved to my computer... I hope you all enjoy the stories and please let me know if there is anything specific you want to hear about!