My adventures abroad...

Bat Trang (Pottery Village) Outside Hanoi

2010-12-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

We ran into school kids at the Ceramic Village outside Hanoi... The first minute we were walking around a little boy said "Hello" to Jim and he responded with "Hello, how are you?" and the little boy responded "I'm fine, Thank you"... It was one of the most adorable things I've seen. They must do field trips to the village because we saw about 4 different groups of children.

Bat Trang was cool- an easy day because we were late booking tours. I'll be heading to the Perfume Pagoda tomorrow on my first full day trip outside of Hanoi.

Another quick video of my ceramic mug purchase in Bat Trang...

Trip to Vietnam-Temple of Literature- Hanoi

2010-12-20T02:41:00.000-08:00

After spending Saturday recovering from Thursday and Friday- Jim and I stepped out Sunday to visit the temple of Literature and see the Old Quarter in Hanoi... here's my first crack at video- I promise to get better...

First impressions of Vietnam- foggy/pollution, traffic and people! My favorite part was when I had Jim pose on the bridge going over Hoan Kiem lake and a cute little vietnamese girl scooted next to him to have her friend take a picture of her with him- loved it!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-23T10:43:00.001-08:00

After one year in country I can say that I feel comfortable in my new home, comfortable in my community and in my work. I find that everything happens in waves. I make a small accomplishment with the cooperative or with the community and feel useful and productive. Then I try another activity and I crash and burn. I try again and each time it’s a roll of the dice. Luckily by this time in my service I understand the roller coaster and don´t hang my hat on any one activity. At the end of the day I have my dog Layla and she is always happy to see me...

Wednesday was a holiday, Día de la Virgen Altagracia who is the patron Saint of the Dominican Republic. Nagua is celebrating 50 years as a city and 70 years in the province so for the entire month of January they have a fair set up with music and games. My next door neighbor has been after me to ride horses with him for a while and Wednesday was the day. He initially wanted us to ride with a group from Los Pajones into Nagua but his wife would not allow it, saying that a two hour horseback ride into Nagua with a bunch of men drinking rum and whisky was not something a young lady like me would enjoy... (I didn´t think I should protest although I think it would have been hilarious.)

She and I went into Nagua and met the group of cowboys at the fair. I then took the horse and spent the next two hours riding in a parade around Nagua. It was so ridiculous. I felt like one of the cowboys I always see in the Rose Parade… except for I stuck out like a sore thumb as the Rubia Americana. We looped around the entire pueblo waving at all the grandmothers and little babies that had stayed at home while parents took their kids to the fair.

It was the perfect way to finish the holiday season and get back into the swing of things in my site! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Feliz Día de la Virgen Altagracia!

Move In

2008-05-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

I just moved into my new house on Monday. It's still not done yet but they are just finishing and I figured I'd rather move and start organizing while they finish. (And be a constant reminder they need to finish the job already!)

The day I moved in Yesenia came over after working at the cooperative and started ordering me around to start cleaning. Minutes later my next door neighbor Altagracia came over and said she had a team of women ready to help us... in 5 minutes there are a half dozen women throwing buckets and buckets of water on my floor sweeping and mopping my new house. They just kept coming in, one by one, big smiles and a broom or mop in hand. I started thanking them and Margarita (a new neighbor) said "Of course! That's what neighbors are for."

This was a total Peace Corps moment. I started thinking about every apartment, dorm room, moving situation I've ever been in... Usually you get some of your friends to help you and everyone else in the building or area goes about their business. This was amazing. It gives me more than a definition of what solidarity is; it gave me a feeling, an experience, a genuine understanding. It was really amazing.

The house is made of cinder blocks with a zinc roof. It is a very nice house for the community with 2 spacious rooms and an indoor bathroom. (My personal request!) The walls only go part way up so it feels more like a big tent with block partitions. But it's fantastic! It's so nice to have my own place. I feel like I've regained a bit of the independence that one has when living in the States... I can cook veggies for dinner and not have anyone ask me why I'm not eating the boiled plantains that everyone else is eating with a fried egg for dinner...

In addition to independence I have acquired house guests....namely the local children. This is a picture of Piña and Nardelin (left to right). They come over in the mornings, around 8:30 or 9am and will spend the ENTIRE day at my house. At first I was worried they would be bored or want me to give them something to do. But they are quickly becoming great companions. Piña helps me sweep, wash dishes, and joins me in my walk to the local colmado for groceries... All the women joke that I have quickly added to my family... They also offer up their daughters to keep me company at night so I don't have to be alone- "But Kate, aren't you afraid sleeping alone in an empty house?" On the contrary, I couldn't be more ecstatic to have the privacy!

It's a new stage in my Peace Corps experience. I'm 8 months into my service and really starting to get moving with activities and feeling integrated. It also helps that a new group swore in a few weeks ago, their is nothing that makes you realize how far you've come like a brand new group of volunteers thirsty for any advice you can give them. (Advice? I thought I just got here too!)

Happy 6th Month Anniversary!

2008-03-13T17:23:00.001-07:00

Today marks our sixth month anniversary in country. We arrived in Santo Domingo, tired, nervous and full of anticipation... Six months later I celebrated by heading to the beach with a group of fellow volunteers!

We went to Playa Grande on the north coast. Amazing! I've never swam in water this clear and crystal blue. (Coming from California I am a bit of a snob about beaches.) Nothing short of amazing... In the afternoon we talked about a place called Dudu Lagoon. Other than an entertaining name the lagoon is a freshwater oasis in between the towns of Cabrera and Nagua. We decided to make a stop on our way back from the beach. We discovered an absolutely beautiful lagoon with cliffs to dive from, ropes to swing from and the place was all ours. After I had jumped from the highest cliff Letizia told me that I actually screamed twice- once when I jumped, then again when I hadn't hit the water yet! After having our fill of the fresh water we hiked back out to the highway and hitched a ride back to Nagua in the back of a pickup truck. The road to Nagua is right along the coast; it definitely makes me thankful that my country of service is a) an island and b) IN THE CARIBBEAN!

History of Cooperative

2008-03-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is part of a email explaining the history of the Cooperative and of the cacao market here in the DR... let me know if anyone has any questions...

Just to give you an idea of how cacao works over here:

In 2001, cacao was sold at 400 pesos, and by 2003, the price of cacao was less to nothing in the DR, and the quality wasn't any better. I am going to discuss the prices in pesos, which are 33 to the dollar. Cacao was worth 900-1500 pesos per 50 kilo sack in 2003, and the only people farmers sold to were local community members who had an empty house for storage. Then a domestic buyer would come by in a truck and buy it from the community members for about a 3-500 peso profit. At this point there was no market for fermentation, so all cacao was sold dry. Also, a lot of the more rural cacao farms were unable to get buyers for the cacao because there wasn't any way to get into the communities, and the price wasn't worth it to bring it down on horseback. The Red (meaning network) was created by a group of farmers to organize their cacao production and try and find a domestic buyer to help get more sales to the remote (and poorest) areas. In 2003, this was great for domestic buyers, because it was easier for them to get the cacao, and they were paying the same prices as they would anyway. Then in 2005, the Red was sponsored by USAID to go to an agricultural fair in Brazil, where they met cacao buyers from Europe and the USA, and started learning about high quality organic markets and the benefits. So in 2006, the Red got its first year of organic certification, paid for by one of the domestic buyers, Yacao. With this certification, it caused the prices to rise up to 2700 pesos per quintal (50 kilo increment), but all of the cacao was still sold to Yacao and Conocado. Then in the fall of 2006, USAID sent another group of farmers to the Biofach conference in Baltimore, where they made contacts with Taza Chocolate and Dagoba. Through these contacts, we began selling small increments through air freight to Taza, and began discussing financing options for a container shipment to Dagoba in conjunction with the World Bank. Dagoba is a big buyer from Conocado and Rizek, and it seems that upon making these contacts the domestic buyers began seeing the cooperative as a threat to the cacao system here in the DR. Apart from raising prices, many domestic buyers have attempted to get the Red to commit to an exclusive buying contract with them and have encouraged high-interest loan commitments to prevent large scale sales capabilities (we are too much in debt to afford to buy enough cacao independently to fill a container). However, the price wars are just starting in this harvest, beginning in December. The idea is that if the domestic buyers raise their buying price, we will be less likely to seek external exporting capabilities. Also, as we export more, the domestic buyers see us less as a supplier, and more as competition, and have started using other intermediaries to get the cacao out of the communities. This means that we have to meet their buying price for the farmers so that we don't lose cooperative members to the competition. However, these organizations are much bigger, have huge contracts and connections in the government to facilitate export and make exporting harder for us (we have recently run into a few previously unheard of paperwork fees) with the hopes of running us out of business or keeping us as a supplier. As of now, the price of unprocessed cacao in the community 4200 pesos per quintal plus a 500 peso fermenting cost, not including transportation costs.

Peace Corps... Really?

2008-03-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Some days I wonder if this is really Peace Corps. My job is to export cocoa beans. I spent the whole afternoon downloading accounting software. After 3 visits to Claro (mobile phone carrier) we finally purchased a wireless internet card so the Cooperative finally has internet. These things don't really mesh with my idea of "Peace Corps". But as I was riding back from Nagua I looked at the mountains that surround my village- they are breathtaking in the late afternoon light... and I'm totally content. They say that you can never judge one Peace Corps experience from another; each situation, country and person is different.

I just started reading The World is Flat and I couldn't be in a better position to see the evidence of flatness. My community is working on an aqueduct to bring water down from the mountain. A few weeks ago I went with a group of six men from the community to see the water source for the aqueduct. We hiked for about an hour through a small creek, most all of the men carried machetes and one man went without shoes. It was amazing to see how they were going to take the force of this small body of water and transport it to our community. It really makes one appreciate when you turn on the faucet. Other than a one of many hikes I've been on here, the point of this story is that on our way back we were walking through rain forest and one of the men got a call on his cell phone from his wife. That's probably the difference between the volunteer who was here years ago and me...

Typical Conversation

2008-03-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

Dominican man: Hello. How are you?
Me: Well, thank you. How are you?
Dominican man: I'm fine. (1 minute pause) Are you married?
Me: Yes. (For female volunteers is better just to say yes regardless...)
Dominican man: Oh... do you have children?
Me: No.
Dominican man: Oh... you should find yourself a Dominican to marry.
Me: Ah... (polite chuckle) thank you but I'm fine with one husband, I don't want another.
Dominican man: But why? You can have one here and he can have one there in New York. (In the DR they refer to the entire U.S. as New York. They will ask "what part of New York are you from?" and I say "California.")

Funerals

2008-02-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

On New Years Day the father of my host sister’s husband passed away. This afternoon I went to his funeral. Here in the DR there is typically always a funeral to go to. The DR tradition is that the day after someone dies, and the following nine days are dedicated to grieving. After the nine days are up they have the funeral. Because of the length (and the fact that 90% of the highway road traffic is comprised of motorcycles) it seems that funerals are constant activities within the community. Before I went I was talking to the secretary at the Cooperative, Yesenia, about funerals. She prefers the Haitian tradition that whenever a baby is born the community gathers together. They cry, howl and grieve for the difficult life, full of work and hardship that is to come in the newborn child’s life. They view life as work and strife. As a result, when someone dies they have a big party and celebrate because the suffering is finally over. The person who has died no longer endures difficulty, they are free.

I’m not sure I’d like to view life in the same way, but I would much prefer to celebrate the ending of a life well lived than to mourn the loss.

January 10, 2008

Tropical Storm Olga

2008-02-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

I took 3 women from my Cooperative to an Artisan Fair that was held in the Capital from the 7-9^th of December. We sold cocoa powered and enjoyed our weekend. Monday morning the ladies headed back to La Peonia and I headed to a meeting at the Peace Corps office. That afternoon we received a message from our Emergency Coordinators that a Subtropical storm was approaching and to travel with caution; we were to contact Peace Corps on Tuesday morning for further instructions. Tuesday morning we were called into to “Consolidation”- that all volunteers are to consolidate into their small regional meeting points or into the general consolidation points i.e. Santo Domingo and Santiago. If I were to have been in my site I would have had to pack a bag and head for Santiago, but since I was in Santo Domingo I just stayed put. Now… consolidation is both good and bad. Bad for the obvious reasons associated with natural disasters; good because it means a hotel with hot showers and air conditioning. Volunteers often take advantage of situations like this to actually get clean and enjoy a meal of something other than rice, beans, yucca and plantains. Although I haven’t been a volunteer for long- it’s wasn’t hard to appreciate the opportunity. We spent Tuesday through Thursday relaxing in our hotel rooms watching television in English.

Tropical Storm Olga hit the north of the country hard. Many domestic food sources were damaged; countless people lost their lives and many communities dealt with flooding in their homes. Personally, it knocked down my host family’s kitchen and blew part of the drying tunnel at my cooperative away. In situations like this it is hard not to feel a little removed from your community. You are comfortable and safe while they are spending sleepless nights listening to the wind and rain and watching the water levels rise. It’s one of the many times you can’t help but feel guilty. As much as you integrate into your community and work alongside Dominicans you are still the American and your perspective of events within the country affect you differently.

December 20, 2007

Chocolate Country

2007-12-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-23T08:51:00.001-07:00

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

2007-10-23T08:50:00.001-07:00

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!

2007-10-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

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!