I’ve moved! ...from living under a mango tree, to living under a coconut tree. Such is life in the Dominican Republic. :-) Right now, I’m writing from my new host family’s home in eastern DR. It was a few hours by bus out here from Santo Domingo. We’ve come out here to start CBT (Community-Based Training), and I’ll be here until the very end of April - about 5 weeks. Based on my first quick glimpses of the town, this place is a lot different from the capital. A smaller town compared to the city. Less dusty air, less trash, and less noise in general. And that’s about as deep as my comparison can be so far since we’ve just arrived.
I was sad to leave my host family in Pantoja. They have been so great to me and have made me feel really welcome here. Before I left last night they told me that for as long as I am in the DR, I will have a home there with them, which was so nice!
I haven’t been here long, but it has been an entertaining few hours with my new little host brother, Breilin. He is six and so cute. I gave some “thank you for hosting me even though I’m a complete stranger” gifts to my new dona and little brother. I gave him a Red Sox baseball, “Abran Paso a los Patitos” (Make Way for Ducklings), and a few stuffed animals. His reactions were pretty funny, at least to me anyway, so I thought I’d share.
So first, I tried to tell him about the Red Sox and Boston. Usually, I don’t have to explain where I’m from here. If any Dominican seems unsure, I just mention David Ortiz, and then they usually know. “Breilin, las Medias Rojas son el equipo de beisbol en Massachusetts, donde yo vivo en los Estados Unidos.” To which he just stared at the red Boston “B” on the ball, and asked “How did you know my name starts with a B?” Later that day, together we started reading “Abran Paso a Los Patitos,” and my dona explained to him that this was a book about the where I’m from. He nodded and then pointed to a picture in the book of a building on Beacon Hill and asked me, “Is this one your house?” I gave him a monkey stuffed animal, which he named “Emma,” so I think this might make us friends. A decent start, right?
I’ll be here living here for CBT continuing language training, and starting more technical training with our group of 22. I’m looking forward to it!
Here are some photos of the “play” or baseball field next to my new home.
I’ll write more about specifics of CBT soon. Just thought some people from home might appreciate this little story, so thanks for reading!
xo,
Emma
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