Cuentos del Caribe

Friday, June 24, 2011

Road Rules

Dominican Rules of the Road. Still don’t know that there are any “rules” per se, but there are generally accepted norms when it comes to driving. Never ever a dull moment when traveling.

I wrote about strange moto experiences a couple months back, but here are a few lessons learned from the passenger seat:

1. There’s always room for one more.

Be it packing people onto a tiny guagua, or transporting goods, there is no such thing as having too many or being too full. It may not be comfortable, you may not even have a seat, but there’s usually always a space (of some sort) for you, and you always get where you’re going. This same philosophy apparently applies to platanos too. If this truck looks like it is leaning too much to the right - it probably is.

Tons of plantains. This sight even surprised the Dominicans on the guagua with me.

2. Age is just a number (and not a driving requirement).

Which is why you can be 11 years old and drive a moto, and no one except the Peace Corps Volunteer seems to mind.

host brother drives now

3. Others will always get you where you’re going.

We already know this applies to pedestrians via bolas (free rides or hitch-hiking), which are very culturally-acceptable. But turns out, drivers also have a responsibility to other drivers - think roadside assistance, a kind of neighbor to neighbor AAA-style. For instance, say your moto runs out of gas, it is then the responsibility of another moto driver to (literally) push you along and get you where you need to be. Yes, and I do mean push. Here’s how it works: moto 1 runs out of gas, driver of moto 2 puts right foot on the back left foot rest of moto 1 and the two drive (well one drives, the other just kind of steers) alongside eachother as if all is normal. Until this happened to a moto I was on, I never really noticed that people did this. But now that I’m aware, I see the running-out-of-gas-moto-pushing scene just about everyday. ...Which I guess says a lot about a. gas prices & b. how much faith people place in their fellow drivers.

Why, yes. We are all moving in this picture. Scary at the time, but in retrospect - where else are you going to find people this nice?

4. Just because you’re a volunteer doesn’t mean you can’t ride in style sometimes.

Truth. Check out the new taxis in my town:

Kind of Disney-esque/European-ish, right? No? Well fine, at least in my eyes then. There’re only 10 of these here, but they are awesome! They will take you anywhere for a flat 50 pesos, no haggling, 50 no matter what. They are half moto/half tiny car buggy-style, perfect for times when you have to travel with a billion things (aka: Teacher Training), with too much to carry on a moto, but aren't willing to smush into a carro publico. Each tiny taxi has a radio and speakers, and passengers can even request American music to be blasted during the trip free of charge! ..& by passengers I mean me. Anyway I’m a big fan of the mini-taxi, but I’ve made that much clear.

5. ...

And I don’t have a photo for this, or even a take-away lesson - but this one wins the crazy moto prize, hands-down. One evening watching the Mao news with my neighbor, the reporters showed a video clip of a guy doing all sorts of crazy stunts on a moto. But really not even a moto - a pasola (scooter/moped - meant for one rider, and smaller than a moto). These moto tricks may have been super impressive if I wasn’t scared to death the guy was going to fall off and die the whole time. The driver did a lot of crazy things, but to name a few, he full on stood up on the moto seat, held on with two hands while dragging his feet behind, rode backwards, did some kind of breakdancing move - all while the thing was in motion. And he wasn't even filmed at some fancy motocross or stunt show - all this while just driving around town. Bueno. If we ever meet - never ever accepting a bola from that loco.

Drive safely!

PS - To conclude, here’s a picture of a tarantula found on the wall at school. Hope you enjoy it more than I did.

It was suggested I take the tarantula home. I declined.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Summer!

Saludos!

Hope your summer is off to a great start. (Not sure if the official day has arrived, but as far as I’m concerned - summer is here! Disfrutalo!)

Where to start, where to start...

How about with a GRACIAS! During the week of May 22, we reached the fundraising goal! (All in less than 2 months! A-mazing). To everyone who donated to, read about, shared, and supported the Special Education Resources project, thank you for your time, interest and kind messages. Because of you, my school will make steps toward a long-term goal of school-wide Montessori education, helping 15 teachers help 52+ students meet their individual needs in the classroom. You’ll be able to find photos and updates about the process here, and I can’t wait to share what happens next! I’m excited for the kids, the teachers, my project partner, and all you caring individuals willing to support the education of students that you have never even met (...yet!). Thank you so much.

Since I last updated this, fellow volunteers and I had our 1 Year IST (In-Service Training). We shared successes, struggles, past, current and future projects - and I found it so worthwhile - the best Peace Corps mandated training yet, in my opinion. Love our group.

And it may be summer, but there’s still a lot going on in June. So far in these first two weeks, my youth threw a Mother’s Day party for the moms in the barrio, IDENE wrapped up the school year for the students, and we held a week-long summer camp for the kids. This Friday we’ll start the first round of Teacher Training, which will be held daily through the end of June. Really looking forward to it, so hopefully it goes well. Vamos a ver!

Here's June (so far) in pictures:

Youth Group’s Mother’s Day Party
The kids' celebrated Mother's Day at the beginning of June with a party for all the moms. They invited every mother in the neighborhood and SO many people showed up. The kids put on plays, sang songs, recited poems, and performed a dance. They also gave all the mothers a number, and raffled off prizes. It was great, and the kids are already at work planning something similar for Father's Day in July. Basically - the best jovenes ever. Enjoy the pics & Feliz Dia de la Madre!

Welcoming the moms!

hangin' out.

The kids made me make this welcome sign for the event and gave me a can of spray paint. I tried, and wound up successfully creating the ugliest poster ever. But they still said it was "bien linda." :)

Dona Dominga

Simon & Dona Dominga

welcoming everyone to the event

Raffling off gifts for the mothers

over 100 mothers from the barrio came out! place was packed.

the youth in one of the 5 mini-plays they performed

IDENE Summer Week

Pictures from our Semana de Verano! Lots of fun, games and activities for the kids such as: cooking, art, manualidades...and baton ballet aka baton twirling (pero, claro).

so much twirling talent!

these kids were naturals!

Last Day of School/Entrega de Notas

During the end of last week the teachers were busy getting all of the students' evaluations ready. Each student and their family received a personalized, typed evaluation with pictures of activities from throughout the year. Check out the folders that the teachers decorated for every single kid. So artistic!

Evaluations folders for the youngest students - so darn cute!

almost all the teachers

teachers presenting the Summer Camp participation certificates

feliciades!

...& finally - So. Much. RAIN.
A little weather update: hurricane season has arrived reminding us daily of its presence with downpours every afternoon. As a side effect, everything is even greener and growing faster than normal here in the lovely Cibao.