Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Week One
It’s hard to believe we’ve only been here a week. (I’m writing this on Saturday, I’m not sure when I’ll get to the internet.) Because we seem to always be busy doing or learning something new, it feels at least twice that long. This past week we had classes every day. We have several hours of language per day and then we have various cultural classes like learning to dance meringue and learning to play dominoes, which is an extremely popular game here. We’re still in a neighborhood of the capitol, Santo Domingo, which is hopping city with a noisy, sprawling population of several million.
This past week we learned many of the public transportation routes, so that I can now be fairly confident in navigation my routes. Unlike many countries which have fixed stops for bus, the buses here stop anywhere to pick up or drop of passengers. Thankfully they all follow fairly fixed routes, but there is no printed map showing what numbers go where. You just have to ask the locals.
Sunday afternoon we’re getting a history tour of the colonial part of the city which boasts the first hospital and university in the Americas. There is also a beautiful cathedral in old town that is thought by many to be the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere. The inside has been restored, but the exterior still looks quite authentic. Of course, like the “gringolandia” of many foreign cities, there are some fabulous cafes in this area. After the tour I’m looking forward to a cold cerveza and cheese fries as small variation from my daily diet of rice, plantains, and beans.
The food here is actually very delicious. It might take some getting used to having rice with almost every meal. Actually, some days it’s every meal. But that’s when you get a rice and pineapple juice for breakfast. It’s amazing. Plantains are boiled or fried (my favorite). We also get a fair amount of fresh fruit (pineapple, mango, oranges, banana, avocado, tomatoes) and vegetables (red beets, cabbage, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, yucca). There are various other fruits and vegetables which I never heard of before and am still learning their names. Meals are usually also served with a little bit of chicken or beef.
As much as I love the city, I’m aching to get out into the countryside. Pollution here is quite a problem. I’m pretty sure there are no emissions regulations for vehicles, and, unlike many big cities in the States, no noise limits. I live on a fairly quiet street, but if you’re (un)fortunate enough to live near a bar or little general store (called a colmado), you can sleeplessly enjoy ear-popping music until midnight or later almost very night of the week. Recycling (as we know it) is pretty much non-existent. Dominicans do much better then we do at reusing stuff until it’s worn out, but plastics end up on the street and in the streams. It’s almost impossible to find a public trash receptacle in many areas. Only about 4% of the DR’s sewer water sees a treatment plant; the rest finds it’s merry way out into the waves of either the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean. The pollution problems of the countryside and the city are very much the same, it’s just that with the city being so congested, noise, air, and water pollution become so much more visible in everyday life. The country is currently suffering from a major water shortage. In my neighborhood we haven’t had water (to wash and bath with) for 5 days. We buy drinking water in big bottles, so access to that isn’t a problem as long as you have money. When the water comes for a few hours everyone fills up tanks on top of their houses. These tanks usually last a few days, but now most people in my neighborhood are out of water, and are forced to buy water from tank trucks on the street. There is definitely a lot of work to be done regarding the environment here if the DR hopes to have a healthy future.
The week of the 15th we are going out to the countryside for 4 days to visit other volunteers to see what their work is like. I’m excited as I’m visiting a small town in the south that’s very close to the Caribbean. Maybe I’ll spend a day at the beach. Anna is heading to a northern town near some beautiful mountains. We’re both looking forward to getting away from the noise of the city for a few days.
The week after that we are heading to community in the north to begin our technical training. We’ll live with a new host family there for about 6 weeks while getting specific training on how to address some of the many environmental challenges the DR is facing. If we survive all that, we come back to Santo Domingo to get sworn in as actual volunteers, not just trainees.
And then the real fun begins.
This past week we learned many of the public transportation routes, so that I can now be fairly confident in navigation my routes. Unlike many countries which have fixed stops for bus, the buses here stop anywhere to pick up or drop of passengers. Thankfully they all follow fairly fixed routes, but there is no printed map showing what numbers go where. You just have to ask the locals.
Sunday afternoon we’re getting a history tour of the colonial part of the city which boasts the first hospital and university in the Americas. There is also a beautiful cathedral in old town that is thought by many to be the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere. The inside has been restored, but the exterior still looks quite authentic. Of course, like the “gringolandia” of many foreign cities, there are some fabulous cafes in this area. After the tour I’m looking forward to a cold cerveza and cheese fries as small variation from my daily diet of rice, plantains, and beans.
The food here is actually very delicious. It might take some getting used to having rice with almost every meal. Actually, some days it’s every meal. But that’s when you get a rice and pineapple juice for breakfast. It’s amazing. Plantains are boiled or fried (my favorite). We also get a fair amount of fresh fruit (pineapple, mango, oranges, banana, avocado, tomatoes) and vegetables (red beets, cabbage, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, yucca). There are various other fruits and vegetables which I never heard of before and am still learning their names. Meals are usually also served with a little bit of chicken or beef.
As much as I love the city, I’m aching to get out into the countryside. Pollution here is quite a problem. I’m pretty sure there are no emissions regulations for vehicles, and, unlike many big cities in the States, no noise limits. I live on a fairly quiet street, but if you’re (un)fortunate enough to live near a bar or little general store (called a colmado), you can sleeplessly enjoy ear-popping music until midnight or later almost very night of the week. Recycling (as we know it) is pretty much non-existent. Dominicans do much better then we do at reusing stuff until it’s worn out, but plastics end up on the street and in the streams. It’s almost impossible to find a public trash receptacle in many areas. Only about 4% of the DR’s sewer water sees a treatment plant; the rest finds it’s merry way out into the waves of either the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean. The pollution problems of the countryside and the city are very much the same, it’s just that with the city being so congested, noise, air, and water pollution become so much more visible in everyday life. The country is currently suffering from a major water shortage. In my neighborhood we haven’t had water (to wash and bath with) for 5 days. We buy drinking water in big bottles, so access to that isn’t a problem as long as you have money. When the water comes for a few hours everyone fills up tanks on top of their houses. These tanks usually last a few days, but now most people in my neighborhood are out of water, and are forced to buy water from tank trucks on the street. There is definitely a lot of work to be done regarding the environment here if the DR hopes to have a healthy future.
The week of the 15th we are going out to the countryside for 4 days to visit other volunteers to see what their work is like. I’m excited as I’m visiting a small town in the south that’s very close to the Caribbean. Maybe I’ll spend a day at the beach. Anna is heading to a northern town near some beautiful mountains. We’re both looking forward to getting away from the noise of the city for a few days.
The week after that we are heading to community in the north to begin our technical training. We’ll live with a new host family there for about 6 weeks while getting specific training on how to address some of the many environmental challenges the DR is facing. If we survive all that, we come back to Santo Domingo to get sworn in as actual volunteers, not just trainees.
And then the real fun begins.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
aqui estoy!
I´m here in Santo Domingo. Full-time language and cultural training starts next week, 8-5 , 6 days a week. We are staying in a barrio with a wonderful host family. I don´t have time to write more now, but I´ll post next week.
Viva el caribe!
Viva el caribe!
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