Que reuinion! (what a meeting!) My kids threw me the best "despedida" ever! They told me we had a meeting and I suspected something of course, given I was in my final 24 hours of Duveaux, but I did not anticipate what was ahead....I got none other than my own private concert! It was an amazing way to spend the last night in my campo and I could not have asked for anything more. My man, Cholo, got his "grandmother", Muna and Chulo to come tocar palo (traditional haitian percussion music) on my front lawn. I had all my kids there, under the stars as we sang and danced and indulged in my favorite brindis (snack)... chocolate cookies and 7-Up. It was so thoughtful of them and was a great finale to my time in Duveaux.

Marco and I did a beach day! It was so much fun. We got to be beach babies! We went swimming, rock skipping, you name it! Although it wasn't like when I was a kid.... Mama Rach had a little more responsibility and I was slightly nervous. For the first time, Marco was my and only my responsibility. There wasn't grandpa or grandma or tia or tio around to keep the 18 sets of eyes on him there normally are. I only let him out of my hands to take a few glamour shots!

I’ll get right to it…. A few weeks ago I went on the viaje of all viajes, the intercambio of all intercambios …. Duveaux goes to Las Pajas, Catholic meets Cristian and Dominican meets Haitian and despite all odds, we had an absolute blast. For so long I have been wanting to bring my kids from Duveaux to Las Pajas. Mostly for personal reasons, but also to show my kids a Batey in the east and potentially put an end to some of the stereotypes their parents, neighbors, etc. have implanted in their brains about Haitians.

This trip was probably the highlight of my entire Peace Corps service and it happened two months before departure! Regardless, I got to show my family from Duveaux, my family in Las Pajas – my two worlds meet! It was such a wild feeling. I was nervous about my campo Dominicans coming to this sacred little piece of my life, as they are teenagers and 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 year olds will be 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds regardless of my emotional and psychological state. Things started off a little shaky, but once we got started, my kids did not want to leave! It was awesome. We did a treasure hunt to get to know Las Pajas and one another a little. Then Duveaux did a charla on desigualdad de genero, we threw in a brindis, a public speaking taller and there you have it! The best part of all had to have been the show de cantos, cuentos y talentos! It was like no other I have seen before and all the educational, cultural activities that were planned did not even come close to the effect show de talentos had on our groups. It was just a Catholic Dominican, Cristian Haitian extravaganza. We heard and saw everything from Escojo rhymes, Haitian jokes, socio dramas, incredible dance moves and needless to say, Brianna and I shared a large cup of wine afterwards!

Total success! Reflecting after getting back from our adventure, I realized what an impact this trip had on my Dominican teenagers. They were in awe of the kindness Las Pajas showed them and the tranquility of a predominately Haitian community. I don’t think any charla on discrimination or guest speaker could have even held a candle to the justice this viaje gave to my campo kids.

Looks much better? It looks like a old Jewish man's nose to me, but it certainly feels better. It has been a little over three months and I went for my first run since the accident June 11th today! It was awesome. I didn't clock in at 6 minute miles or anything and it wasn't the longest run I have ever been on, but nonetheless, I ran and my knee does not hurt one bit! My modeling career may be over, but sports live on!

How awesome is it when a kid reads to a kid? The Asociación de Jóvenes (Youth Association) and I celebrated International Literacy day Tuesday, September 8th. We started the celebration at the Elementary School in Duveaux, grabbed about 6 7th graders and marched through the community shouting such phrases as “Vale la pena aprenderlo, Vale la pena celebrarlo” (If its worth learning, its worth celebrating) and “Leer para Aprender, Saber es Poder” (Read to learn, knowledge is power) The translation might not be exact, but you get the idea. What a hoot! I got these tigueres to read to a huge group of kids! We marched proud to the basketball court and the Elementary School in El Limon, where we read Salta Ranita, Salta and Los Tres Cerdos. My youth group did some dinámicas with the kids and it was awesome! I won’t get all sentimental on you, but I loved that morning and the entire event cost a total of 125 pesos ($3.68). I carried Marco on my shoulders and bought him an ice cream after!

3 lbs Bizcocho (cake) - $RD 1,200 pesos ($35.29 U.S.)

12 Escojo certificates - $RD242 pesos ($7.12 U.S.)

“Pasar el blower al salón” (hair straighten at the salon) - $RD 80 pesos ($2.35)

The satisfaction and happiness my straightened hair gave Julia – priceless Since I arrived to Duveaux, March 7th, 2008, just about everyone who has laid eyes on me has been dying to straighten all life out of my hair. Not one day goes by where someone doesn’t offer to either run a brush through my mop or blow dry me straight. Comments about how beautiful it would look had I gotten my ass to the salon are also a daily remark. One gua-gua ride, I was letting the breeze blow through my curly locks out the window and a big-gutted man from outside a tire shop yelled to me “ven a peinarte”, (come, let me comb your hair). The kids and teenage girls aren’t the only ones with this yearning desire!

Now, I am not going to go into the whole schpeal about what people refer to as “good hair/bad hair” or how the Dominican yearning burning longing to straighten their kinky is just one of the many ways Dominicans seem to negate the black in them. I will keep this one slightly personal so as to evade the heat or conflict surrounding this topic.

What a lucha it has been to keep my bouncy curly cues hang loose around these parts. Up until today that is, August 16, 2009. Peace finally paid a visit to Duveaux for one, hopefully final, Escojo Graduation. Yes, you guessed it….. I spent the morning in the Salon and what a salon! Now I wasn’t exactly expecting mimosas, but nor was I anticipating the communal bobby pins that clamped my straightened mane. No one sent me the byob (bring your own bobbies) memo. I was already slightly disappointed that I couldn’t rest my head on the sink during the wash and that I was going to be sharing combs and brushes with the community at large. But the bobby pins were pushin’ it! I bit the bullet today to say the least. I am sure some in my community were thinking something along the lines of, “finally that girl got it together or at last, she gets it.” I think that getting my hair blown dry today gave some people in Duveaux the same sense of satisfaction I get when anyone throws something in the trash can instead of on the ground or says please or thank you. Neither one of us is really changing our ways, but we are momentarily pleasing the other!

August 14th marked the 100-day countdown! The group I swore in with, November 20th, 2007 as Peace Corps Volunteers is on the last leg of service. We started out as 53 and to date we are down to 43. We lost 12 and gained 2 (one volunteer from Honduras and another from Bolivia). Some have decided to go home for personal reasons, others for professional reasons and others on account of health issues. Regardless, I will always have a special bond with those 53 that I swore in with and an even closer bond with those whom I have done my entire service with side by side. It is hard to reflect or think about the future when I am knee deep in a stove project, a volleyball tournament to enter, an Escojo conference to attend and about 5 grants to close out, but nonetheless, my C.O.S. (close of service) conference came and went. C.O.S. certainly shed some light on what has happened over the last two years and it is hard to believe things are coming to a close.

We all took some time to think about the drowning economy in the U.S., the job market, Grad school and the comforts and discomforts we will come face to face with in the U.S. for those of us returning. Nonetheless, I am happy I did the Peace Corps and would not trade this experience in for all the money in the world. It has been a wild, wild ride and I look forward to sharing stories with other returned peace corps volunteers, because like they told us at the conference, no one else will really want to hear it! Once a peace corps volunteer, always a peace corps volunteer.

Now, from what I remember, it is pretty common to start having kids around the age of 24 or so. The average age at first birth for mothers has been increasing in many developed nations and today it is 25 years of age in the U.S. as opposed to the 21 years of age in 1970. It seems that women start having children later and later and careers are testing the limits of the “biological clock”. My mom had my older sister when she was about 29 and 29 years later, my sister just gave birth to her first child and my first niece (Olive Anna – Born at 12:48 am September 9, 2009 – 6 lbs 14 ounces, 20” tall)! I am one proud aunt! Back to the point…. If my grandparents were alive today, they would be somewhere around 92. Regardless, the possibility that my grandparents would be around to see their great grand kids never really existed. Things are a little different where I live in the Dominican Republic. Not only do great grandparents meet their great grand kids, they get to know their great, great, great grand kids. Seems outlandish, I know, but not if you start motherhood at the ripe age of 12! Reed and I went around my community doing a mini-photo story on young families and it came as no surprise that we were able to find Yuli, Not to mention all the pregnant 16, 17 and 18 year olds who I saludar every day. There are supposedly 9.7 million people living in the Dominican Republic and 32% of them are 14 or younger. Are you all thinking what I rewind over and over again in my head on a daily basis….. doesn’t anyone see the correlation between poverty and birth rate? Or where the hell is the birth control? Or why aren’t these kids using condoms? Sure, reproductive health education is not as easy to access as a Presidente, but the information is out there and people do talk. Granted, there is a lot of hidden “love”, birth control chit-chat is talked about just like deciding what is for dinner. There isn’t much privacy around a callejon where people depend on their neighbor for protection, water and sometimes food. It is no secret who has had their tubes tied and who hasn’t.

So why is it that current day Dominican Republic campo has so many young moms and families when the infant mortality rate is 29.6/1,000 ?

There is some rhyme and a little reason behind so many young moms like 14-year-old Yuli and why the age at first birth has not changed much since vintage Mejen gave birth to her first child in 1933 at 12 years old. Although there is TV now, hormones still run wild. The age-old saying goes, “Amarra tu gallina porque mi gallo anda suelto.” Tie up your chicken because my rooster roams free. Just so happens that regardless of accessibility to reproductive health information, tradition and culture, not to mention hormones, are hard to change.

Some girls in the Campo simply just don’t have the biological orientation about the correspondence between pregnancy and unprotected sex. Other Latin teeny bops believe it when their macho man assures them they that peeing after sex is just another form of birth control. More noteworthy than these common cases is the hang-up with marriage engrained in this culture. There isn’t a day that goes by where someone does not tell me I need to have a Dominican boyfriend if not a husband. It used to be that when people called me over to them urgently I thought it was because they needed some help desperately, but now I know it is just because they are extremely concerned about whether or not I have a boyfriend. No one has been even close to in as much of as panic (I was recently in a motorcycle accident) as when people discover I am a single woman.

The peer pressure to start a family and begin motherhood is unbelievable. Before these kids can talk they are asked who they have a crush on and how many children they want to have. Just like bachata sounds all day at the colmado some doña is simultaneously propagandizing that to be anywhere close to a respectable human being in society, one needs to be married. Women are thought of as jamonas (hams) if they haven’t shacked up by their 24th birthday. No matter how modern in technological advances, the Dominican campo has a long way to go to be modernized socially. And will continue to be so as long as the dominating peer pressure is to maintain the hot Latin lover reputation Mejen and Lila raised the bar to 76 years ago.

Mileisi’s mom and youngest grandmother (32)we came across wanted Mileisi married by the time she was 14 and was disappointed when she waited ‘til her 16th birthday to say yes to campo matrimony.

She also told us that her second daughter would get married when she was 13 because she is smart! As long as mothers are promoting their children to have children, adolescence will be quickly replaced by motherhood.

Oh GLOW, where did you go???

Do you remember camp GLOW last July? Or rather, do you remember reading about camp GLOW last year? I remember writing about it. I remember writing about a camp that flew me to the moon! I remember an all-girls camp that made me proud to be a woman: a 5-day extravaganza where I was proud to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I finally felt that I was accomplishing something: something that no previous experience could hold a candle to. Camp GLOW was it. Life clicked for five days and I was one happy PCV. Sure it was a lot of work and every second was worth it. Hence why I decided to direct camp GLOW this year. Planning started the day camp 2008 ended. We had meetings to not only raise camp GLOW to its highest potential, but to also launch a year round girls group/ gender equality program. I was becoming part of something big - something bigger than a one off 5-day event. This was huge news for a pseudo professional trying to find her place as a “soft soldier.” My service was finally starting to live up to my expectations. I was driven to lead the best camp GLOW the D.R. had ever seen. Big shoes to fill? You bet. And I was ready to fill 'em. Things started off smooth and steady. We created an application process for volunteers who wanted to be part of this all star opportunity and chose carefully. Formal meetings began in February and Emily (co-director/coordinator) and I made sure even the slightest of details had been ironed out. The goin’ was good and I was in charge of something that I believed in, enjoyed doing and fit in my job description. Does it get better? Well, yes, I could be getting paid, but that is another story.

Steps were being taken to make camp GLOW a GO! Committees were forming; charlas created, supplies ordered, reservations for lodging made and professional Dominicans were contacted to speak to the souls and futures of our young adolescents. It was all happening! Fundraising was in the works and our PCPP was slowly filling up. I remember the excitement I felt when I saw the grant had filled. Granted, my right leg was in a cast from my recent motorcycle accident, but I was pumped as could be! All was good and according to plan until July 19, 2009.

Emily and I just spent a rather epic evening celebrating our friend Jo’s 26th B-Day in Loma Verde. We hitched a bola to Rancho Campeche where camp GLOW was set to take place the next day. Perched on the back of a pick up truck, wind was blowing through our hair and we were smiles ear to ear. This is what it was all about I thought! I couldn’t really have been happier. The next thing I know, we are waiting under the shelter of a colmado for the rain to stop. It eases up a bit and we get back on our motorcycle (with Priscilio, my neighbor & trusted moto-concho driver, former house builder, enamorado and current friend). At the entrance to Rancho Campeche, the motorcycle overpowers Priscilio and our tires loose their grip. Sure enough we fall over going about 0 mph. Emily and Priscilio fall with the motorcycle to their left while I decide to fight gravity and burn my right calf on the muffler. I paid Priscilio 100 pesos ($3) and walked the rest of the way, tears rolling down my cheeks. Camp GLOW was off to a bad start and it only got worse. I had just reckoned with the scar on my right knee and gotten used to the pain & eye sore of what my previous moto accident left behind. And now a muffler burn? Right on top of the one I got my first day in Las Pajas. What does this country want with me? Tough to say, but camp GLOW 2009 will go down in history. Tuesday night, the 2nd night of camp and a Tropical storm comes through. One of the reasons camp has been held at Rancho Campeche in the past is the tents: we can see the stars and give some Dominican muchachas the feeling of camping. Hauling wet colchones (sleeping pads) out of tents at 9pm while dirt kissed my muffler burn sure took the romance out of camping! What is one to do with 60 wet Dominican hembras, their clothes, wet tents and a thunderstorm? PCV’s take action! We grabbed all the mats, bags, clothes, sheets, etc. and had a great big sleepover in Aula Taino! Yoga mats and egg crates became sleeping pads; body parts took the place of pillows and the conference room turned into a sleeping hut. We made do so to speak. Sleep deprived? Yes. So, we got a late start our second day at camp Ser Mujer, but we survived the first storm to hit camp GLOW in 6 years! I became the entertainment committee while half the volunteers organized wet sheets, clothes, pillows and mattresses! We had breakfast and played team building games for about an hour and then the sun started to peak through, Gracias a Dios! (Thank you God!) That night at about 11pm we handed out dry sheets and I got my first taste of disaster relief!

Life was pretty chaotic there on out, but at least the sun was out again and camp GLOW lived on! It was a close call. Needless to say, this was not the camp I was expecting, but así es la vida!

Now, from what I remember, it is pretty common to start having kids around the age of 24 or so. The average age at first birth for mothers has been increasing in many developed nations and today it is 25 years of age in the U.S. as opposed to the 21 years of age in 1970. It seems that women start having children later and later and careers are testing the limits of the “biological clock”. My mom had my older sister when she was about 29 and 29 years later, my sister just gave birth to her first child and my first niece (Olive Anna – Born at 12:48 am September 9, 2009 – 6 lbs 14 ounces, 20” tall)! I am one proud aunt! Back to the point…. If my grandparents were alive today, they would be somewhere around 92. Regardless, the possibility that my grandparents would be around to see their great grand kids never really existed. Things are a little different where I live in the Dominican Republic. Not only do great grandparents meet their great grand kids, they get to know their great, great, great grand kids. Seems outlandish, I know, but not if you start motherhood at the ripe age of 12! Reed and I went around my community doing a mini-photo story on young families and it came as no surprise that we were able to find Yuli, an expecting mother at the age of 14 and great, great, great, grandma Mejen, who just turned 88. Not to mention all the pregnant 16, 17 and 18 year olds who I saludar every day. There are supposedly 9.7 million people living in the Dominican Republic and 32% of them are 14 or younger. Are you all thinking what I rewind over and over again in my head on a daily basis….. doesn’t anyone see the correlation between poverty and birth rate? Or where the hell is the birth control? Or why aren’t these kids using condoms? Sure, reproductive health education is not as easy to access as a Presidente, but the information is out there and people do talk. Granted, there is a lot of hidden “love”, birth control chit-chat is talked about just like deciding what is for dinner. There isn’t much privacy around a callejon where people depend on their neighbor for protection, water and sometimes food. It is no secret who has had their tubes tied and who hasn’t.

So why is it that current day Dominican Republic campo has so many young moms and families when the infant mortality rate is 29.6/1,000 ?

There is some rhyme and a little reason behind so many young moms like 14-year-old Yuli and why the age at first birth has not changed much since vintage Mejen gave birth to her first child in 1933 at 12 years old. Although there is TV now, hormones still run wild. The age-old saying goes, “Amarra tu gallina porque mi gallo anda suelto.” Tie up your chicken because my rooster roams free. Just so happens that regardless of accessibility to reproductive health information, tradition and culture, not to mention hormones, are hard to change.

Some girls in the Campo simply just don’t have the biological orientation about the correspondence between pregnancy and unprotected sex. Other Latin teeny bops believe it when their macho man assures them they that peeing after sex is just another form of birth control. More noteworthy than these common cases is the hang-up with marriage engrained in this culture. There isn’t a day that goes by where someone does not tell me I need to have a Dominican boyfriend if not a husband. It used to be that when people called me over to them urgently I thought it was because they needed some help desperately, but now I know it is just because they are extremely concerned about whether or not I have a boyfriend. No one has been even close to in as much of as panic (I was recently in a motorcycle accident) as when people discover I am a single woman.

The peer pressure to start a family and begin motherhood is unbelievable. Before these kids can talk they are asked who they have a crush on and how many children they want to have. Just like bachata sounds all day at the colmado some doña is simultaneously propagandizing that to be anywhere close to a respectable human being in society, one needs to be married. Women are thought of as jamonas (hams) if they haven’t shacked up by their 24th birthday. No matter how modern in technological advances, the Dominican campo has a long way to go to be modernized socially. And will continue to be so as long as the dominating peer pressure is to maintain the hot Latin lover reputation Mejen and Lila raised the bar to 76 years ago.

Mileisi’s mom and youngest grandmother (32) we came across wanted Mileisi married by the time she was 14 and was disappointed when she waited ‘til her 16th birthday to say yes to campo matrimony.

She also told us that her second daughter would get married when she was 13 because she is smart! As long as mothers are promoting their children to have children, adolescence will be quickly replaced by motherhood.

While Reed and I had spent the entire week seeking photos for a story about young families, I totally overlooked some of the most hilarious photos I have ever seen! A gave a kid a camera, but little did I know what he would capture!

so, it is a little late and I couldn't give this to you in person, but I am thinking about you. I love you Dad. Happy belated birthday.

Sala de Tarea has moved to my front yard! It is kind of a long story, but I will try to keep this breif. Basically, the elementary school is under construction and the school got moved to various spots throughout the community. Thus, the women's center my Sala de Tarea was formerly meeting in twice a week is being occupied by the 8th grade every morning. My Sala de Tarea kids got the boot! We picked up shop and moved to my front yard. I have company when I drink my coffee in the morning now!

My Escojo kids did what's called a peaje last sunday morning and we raised 1,400 pesos (about $50)! They wanted formal I.D. cards to represent themselves as members of Escojo! They earned it and I was proud!

Tis' the season for Mangoes! My mata (tree) is droppin' mangoes like there's no tomorrow! I am starting to invent things to make with mangoes... mango cobbler anyone? They are delish and what would life in the Caribbean be like without a mango tree in your back yard? I don't even want to imagine. So, life is good.

Escojo kids go to their first regional conference! We had a blast! Odi, Cholo and Anabel got to meet with Escojo groups all over the Southern Region of the D.R., hangout, dance, listen to charlas and feel part of the Escojo force! They are amped up and we are on a charla roll! We did a peaje recently and raised 1,400 pesos (40 dollars!) wahoo!

Fire! Fire on the mountain!

When the electricity goes out and the gas tank is empty, whatcha gonna do? Make a fire! And I now know how. I am sure I was taught somewhere along the road, like at girl scouts or something like that, but at the time my belly wasn't empty. This time around, I was starving! So, Julia and I lit the fogon!

We immitate Dominicans all the time and Julia took it upon herself to immitate some of the gringos walkin' around the campo. I had a blast doing this photo shoot!

So this is a new luxury that has recently come into my life, thanks Mom! Yes, I am pretty spoiled here in the D.R. Now, it says Summer Shower, but it is summer on this island year round so you better believe I am not waiting til June 21st to use this and nor am I calling it a day come September 21st! This thing makes a world of difference in terms of my bathing. After showering, I feel like a new woman! No, I am not doing promotions for “Summer Shower”, but I would be happy to if they wanted to set my community up with water! Usually a shower involves pouring buckets of rain water over my head, but this new addition to my life is definitely kicking the bucket to the curb!

My first Escojo group graduated March 15th! I was so proud of them! They all said something they learned from Escojo and something they liked from the course. I was impressed! They are my first Escojo students and will be Escojo teachers for more teenagers in the community! Here are the graduates..... Chito (26 - this is his first diploma for anything), Odi Luis Made (17-Vice President of the group), Juan Brujan(18 - President of Escojo and has a 7th grade education), Ariel Rojas (16), Javier Made (19 - now wants to be a photographer!), Anabel Rodriguez (16 - will be attending the Escojo Regional conference at the end of April), Janna Maria Lugo (12 - youngest member of Escojo), Julia de los Santo Vallejo (14 - my best friend in the campo and most eager to learn of the bunch!), Soranye (19- mother of Marco and will be graduating from the 8th grade this May), Barbara (16)

As you all know, I go develop photos all the time for my Escojo kids and our photography habit. This is a picture of the place I go to. Yes, there is a Chinatown in the D.R. and of course they call the boss, China! Although extremely un-P.C. in the over hyper U.S., this nickname is accepted here. I just got a kick out of how the photo place I go to about every week also sells toilet paper! What a place.... develop photos for 7 pesos a photo and get 8 rolls of toilet paper for 135 pesos! Only in the D.R.

Go Escojo!!

Success!!

This past Saturday, March 7th, my Escojo group made me proud. They were up and at em’ early Saturday morning to get chairs in place, balloons blown up and snacks sliced for our big debut. We celebrated International Women’s Day with photography, a play, poetry and a song. My kids also educated the community about gender equality.

We kicked things off with a women’s rights song sang by the one and only former host mom, Melania! I didn’t understand much of it, but I did make out that if women don’t stand up for themselves, men will treat them like a tree stump (or something of the sort). She was a real crowd pleaser. Anabel and Julia explained the difference between sex and gender and then the drama. And oh, what a drama it was. The skit was basically about two families (one where gender equality was present in the household and one that was living under a machista father) The ending was slightly vague and it didn’t turn out exactly as we practiced, but I was proud of my kids because they put it together, practiced and the show had a moral to the story.

We also had the 1st ever (that I know of) photo gallery in Duveaux! It was awesome to have my kid]s photos up! They had taken pictures of people doing activities that contradict stereotypical gender roles in Dominican culture to demonstrate how our lives should not be limited to the gender roles we are placed in because of society’s influence.

They also took pictures of women who were important to them or the community and wrote about why. It was an amazing afternoon really, to have Dominican teenagers all gathered around to celebrate International Women’s Day, look at photos and perform.

This is a picture of a meeting we had to elect the president of the Junta de Vecinos. It was a total riot voting for people in the community to be electoral candidates of an organization solely based on their character. None of the candidates said anything prior to the vote. We all just raised our hands based on former knowledge. Everyone in the community essentially knows one another whether they want to or not because they have lived here their entire lives. I suppose 30 or so years watching someone’s life speaks louder than any 5 minute speech!

Mujeres!

The women of Duveaux made quite a presence March 8th, 2009 in the Dominican Republic. We marched screaming phrases like….. Mujer Lucha, Familia Crece (Women fight, while families grow); Mujeres de Duveaux, pongamos en acción para que cambiemos nuestra situación (Women from Duveaux, put us in action so we can change our situation.) The phrases have a lot more umph in Spanish!

It was pretty exhilarating marching together with these Dominican mothers to celebrate Women’s Day in such a machista society. I was pretty empowered to say the least. Now, this is not to say that all the piropos (catcalls) have stopped or that my conversations with men are no longer limited to why I don’t have a boyfriend or what kind of men I like (dark skinned or light skinned), because something tells me this will be the case while I am living in this country, but regardless, this day was great. I was happy to feel included and partly responsible for an important event that promoted female empowerment in this country or at least in the community of Duveaux. We marched throughout the community and ended up in the Local – the Women’s center. Milanda and Nilcia performed a skit, Melania, Milagros and Martina sang with an audience of about 50 women and 4 men! I had fun and at the same time was supporting women in this community, which felt pretty good. I am not expecting too many male dominated marriages to change, but at least more women in Duveaux know they can hangout with other women every other Thursday, chill out, laugh and relax with their female peers. March on Mujeres de Duveaux!

Today, Marco turned 3 years old! We brought in his first day as a three year old with 3 candles on a cake, 3 balloons and a banana (they are his favorite!)

Escojo Mi Vida is rehearsing for their big debut, tomorrow, March 7th! They are doing a little skit about gender roles in society! They have been working very hard and I am really excited for tomorrow! I am also exhausted, my house and yard has become the stage where they practice every night! Stay tuned for the pictures that we are featuring in the photo gallery tomorrow.

A day in the life…… Mom and Auntie Eileen came to visit the small, Dominican campo of Duveaux, San Cristobal and I think they got a pretty accurate look at my life in the D.R. All my neighbors, community members, anyone and everyone really were all wide-eyed and honored to meet and greet. We schlepped all around the campo because everyone wanted to see, watch and sit with my mom and “Aunt.” My Mom and Eileen patiently sat in plastic chairs while campesinos just stared. Eileen brought letters from Fairhaven High to Duveaux and all my Escojo kids anxiously selected their future husbands and wives! We are attempting a cross-cultural/ pen pal relationship between middle school and high school students of Duveaux and Fairhaven High. The idea is that they can ask each other questions and learn about one another’s cultures. My Escojo kids however only see romantic potential! They devotedly chose their match and began writing. They also wanted photos to accompany these pictures; so of course, we went through the thousands of pictures of them on my computer and chose the perfect one. We also talked at length about how their new found romances will receive these pictures electronically. (Many of them have not been on the internet before) Some asked for their email addresses, but I told them that they, themselves needed an email address to send an email! I suppose I would be asking the same questions had I not gone through adolescence while technology too was simultaneously hitting puberty so to speak. So, we will wait to see what unfolds, but until then, Escojo Mi Vida de Duveaux is learning to write love letters! I am not encouraging it, but it is pretty awesome to see them get so excited about writing a letter!

Back to the visit with the fam. Mixing cultures is a funny business, but oddly enough it wasn’t all that strange this time around. I may be more used to it or my community is more accustomed to peculiar behavior, but somehow I was unfased when my mom and Eileen brought out their sun hats, cheese, crackers & wine and sat down at my picnic table. Sure, they could have been in an ad for J.Crew, but somehow I think all the Dominicans surrounding them would have been airbrushed out. Regardless, all my neighbors were of course very welcoming and excited; maybe a little too much because my Mom & Eileen hit the hay long before the evening banter came to a close at the picnic table. Nonetheless, we had a great time and family is really important in Dominican culture, so my Dominicans were happy to meet more of my family and friends and I was proud to show them off. There just isn’t a better cross-cultural exchange, than real life, American family spending a sleepless (dogs barking, roosters crowing, etc.) night in the campo under a mosqiutero.

Give a kid a carema and look what happens! I love this shot. It was for no particular assignment, so I can't take much credit, but it is fun to see my kids get creative and have the freedom to take pictures.!

Cholo (one of my Escojo members took this picture)

This is the grant I just got! I am so excited!

Rachel Gottesman ($1,500 RD): Rachel has been teaching photography to her Escojo group over the past eight weeks and they have been using it as an educational tool for sexual education and healthy decision making. Using the GAD Grant, Rachel will be planning a photography exhibit on March 8th, International Women’s Day. Members of her Escojo group will take pictures of both male and females participating in activities that contradict traditional gender roles that have been developed in the community. These photos will be displayed in a public exhibition and a presentation will accompany the exhibit regarding the meaning of gender and how it influences society. The youth will each present their photo and talk about what gender role applies to that photo in particular. Additionally, each Escojo member will take a picture of the woman they most admire in the community, present the photo and talk about why this woman is important to them. The GAD Grant will provide the funds to develop enlarged pictures for the exhibition and brindis for the activity.

My kids are learning photography! These are just a few of the kids in my Escojo group. We have completed 8 of the 12 charlas for them to graduate from the course and they are doing a great job. We went to Rancho Campeche to celebrate the half way mark and these are some portraits they took of each other. I think they speak volumes of their personalities! They are not only learning about Sexual Health, (H.I.V./ A.I.D.S, Abortion, Birth Control methods, Family Planning, Drugs, Violence, etc.) but they are learning about photography! It is so much fun to teach and the group has really taken to it. We raised about 3,000 pesos ($90) by taking pictures and selling them to people in the communtiy.

Just bein' a grandma! I am a little young to be a grandma, but asi que vamos! Life in the campo has been pretty quiet, hence the time I took to take these pictures of my "grandchildren". I have been concentrating on Escojo Mi Vida and preparing for upcoming events such as.... Mom and Eileen coming to visit!!! and Dia Internacional de Las Mujeres (International Women's Day), a sports camp in May and G.L.O.W., which is just around the corner!

7 Dominican Doggies in a White Jew’s home!

Does that make me a grandma at the ripe age of 25???? Whiley gave birth to 7 puppies on Monday, January 12th 2009! None of them even remotely resemble Whiley! Three are black with light shading and four are black and white spotted. We haven’t exactly pinpointed all Dads, but we have some good leads! She had 6 boys and 1 girl. I have kind of fallen in love with the girl because of my sympathy for the underdog. Around here everyone likes male dogs better because you don’t have to deal with them getting pregnant. On top of that comes the racist tendencies ingrained in D.R. culture- she is the blackest and no one wants her! She is also the fattest (just like a woman – no man gets in the way of food!) I may very well expand my family and take in the one, black, fat, female pup!

Despite popular belief, sometimes volunteer life is not all that rewarding. Even though I am supposed to be this humanitarian, all-giving and loving person it is difficult to do this unconditionally when you get the equivalent of a slap in the face. Do you see that 6-year-old in the reading Club picture? Chicha is her name. She is a tough little kid and does not get a lot of attention from her parents. When she does get attention, it is usually because she misbehaved or needs to bathe. Regardless, I was trying my best to do things like give her positive encouragement and affection. I didn’t exactly get the response I was looking for…… the other day I noticed my camera was missing from my house. I asked around the neighborhood and people said they saw Chicha with it around her wrist. Chicha said she “borrowed” it when I was in the shower. Of course she did not come forward with this information until I brought this news to her father’s attention. Crying uncontrollably, Chicha admitted to stealing and burning my camera. She would not say where she burned it or why, but she is 6 after all. Needless to say, there are not any pictures to accompany this blog. What goes up must come down.

One to the U.S.!

yes, that is an adult diaper (panuelo) in my hand

Granted, I am living life in a language other than my native tongue. However, I have been in this country for 11 months now. Still, there is a lot that gets lost in translation in my daily life. Some of it has to do with the Spanish language and my lack of vocabulary, grammar and so forth. There is also the cultural current that whisks away many a sentido. Culture, language and personality all got in the way of the following situation.

I am sure I have mentioned a few hundred times the environmental group I have been trying to form? well, it is a work in progress Brigada Verde and yesterday's incident did nothing to strengthen our group. As I was on my way to Escuela El Limon I picked up a saco (rice sac) to clean up some trash around the school yard, while waiting for my Brigada Verde kids to make there way over. School is starting this week and the Director of the school, Carmen, was outside getting some things ready. Who has read or seen the movie Matilda? Do you remember Ms. Trunchbull? You can't forget her. Well, Carmen is the Dominican Ms. Trunchbull. The rice sac I was lugging around triggered her memory - the five labeled rice sacs we used to do a limpieza (clean up) at the school one Wednesday afternoon. The rice sacs were put to the side and left there over night this past summer. She saw that as disrespectful and yelled at me for leaving tons of trash at the school. The trash was arranged to be properly disposed of the following day. Instead of asking me about the situation or picking up on the fact that we separated trash into organic / biodegradable, inorganic, vidrio (glass), papel, plastico, etc. Senora Trunchbull was not havin' it. She left no time for explanation, questioning or what have you but immediately believed that I was out to ensuciar (dirty) the school and that I was up to no good. I have yet to find or hear about a Peace Corps volunteer that went out of their way to give a lecture about saving the whales and then tossed oil in the ocean (you get the point). Yes, Senora Trunchbull brought me to tears. It is just one of those things that got lost in translation. I thought I was cleaning up the school while educating students about the importance of not throwing their trash on the ground and she just didn't see it that way at all. I doubt we see eye to eye on all that much, but this incident was far from building a relationship between Peace Corps volunteer and School Director. I have been working pretty hard at forming this environmental group and educating people in the community about the effects of burning plastic and other trash and how we should use the three R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), etc. To say the least, it hurts when someone not only doesn't acknowledge any hint of your effort but accuses you of working against the benefit of the school. I guess this is just one of those things that I will look back on as a hurdle to overcome. Regardless of how fluent one is in Spanish or any language, I think there is always room for things to get lost no matter what country or culture you are in.

whatever happened to good old fashioned fun? It has been a while for me, but the other day, Soranje, Barbara, Janelli and I had at it with the hammock!

I think the hammock is kind of like a trampoline in that you can never really be too old to play. Granted I think hammocks are supposed to be for sipping iced tea and reading on a Sunday afternoon or something, I am in the D.R. and Sundays don't mean the same here. I spent the afternoon being very unprofessional and flung myself and neighbors into the air just laughing at whatever gravity did to our bodies. who knew this fun has been sitting in my backyard for over a month now??

Why is being volted into the air so much fun?

My two favorite ladies came to visit! I have not seen my family in 10 months or so and this trip was much needed for reasons far beyond good U.S. "product", Trader Joe's snacks and a few new favorite t-shirts. I only have one mother and one sister and it is good to check in with who and what I know when just about everything else is constantly evolving, changing, rearranging, and all in a different language. On top of being my own blood, these two just happen to be the most outstanding women I have ever met. Now, I have never met Gloria Steinem or Mother Teresa, but I doubt either would even hold a candle to my mom and sister.

We didn't cover all the bases as far as Dominican culture goes, but I think we did hit on some biggies.... my girls group welcomed my mom and sis with galletas (cookies) and jugo (juice), which is a pretty standard afternoon snack for local social occasions! This was one of my favorite parts of their visit because they got to meet a lot of the girls I work with and I have never been more impressed with my Club de Chicas. First of all, it meant a lot that they gave this visit such importance. Usually I schedule the reuniones (meetings) and snacks to accompany them and I usually have to go look for half the girls who tell the other half there is a meeting and wait for about an hour before anyone really shows up. This time around, my girls were on time, dressed and ready to bring in my fam.! Within minutes my sister was learning how to dance Bachata and my mom was telling a three year old to take a balloon out of her mouth! I don't think cookies and juice has brought me such happiness since my fifth birthday!

The next hint of the Caribbean mom and sis got to experience was the old mosquitero. Three in the bed and the little one said roll over, roll over. We all snuggled in like every good Dominican family does! And of course we woke up to my neighbors' kids in the house! My sister oh so discretely whispered over to me... "Rach, there is a little girl here!" Chicha (5), Meluda (3) and Papolla (8) are usually checkin' in on me come sunrise! (they always forget the wheat pancakes, VT maple syrup and eggs!)

We welcomed the next day in the Caribbean Sea (woke up and went to the beach first thing) and spent the afternoon at Rancho Campeche so they could see another side of my project. They got away without taking a bucket bath and riding on a motorcycle! (two trade mark customs for any peace corps volunteer).

After a taste of my life and a little cultural immersion, we hit the highway north to Las Galeras. I encountered a little culture shock there because of the French imperialism that was going on in this little tourist town, but a Piña Colada took care of that in a New York minute. We literally drove to the end of the earth (when the road ends the sand begins) or what seemed like it to get to Las Galeras, but vale la pena (worth it) hands down. We got our beach time in, swam where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic and hungout Gottesman girl style..... (a sheet, a book, the beach and constant back and forth banter). To top it all off we ate some of the best tasting fish I have ever put to my lips. Playa Rincon is one of the most beautiful beaches I have been to. The water has every shade of blue Crayola could even think of putting in their box and the forest of cocoa trees makes for a pretty remarkable backdrop. The place is totally undeveloped too. There were about 5 other tourists there and three little shacks serving fish and rice on picnic tables. Rincon is what some might call a beach lover's paradise. It was a great day to say the least and a perfect way to be with my two my favorite girls.

Mom and Sha disappear into the palm tree forest.

she really wanted to go horseback riding, but just like in the peace corps we make the best of what we have!

Mom and sis thought this guy would be a safe bet for me. (I hope he calls!)

Beach Babies!

I would not want to experience paradise with anyone else!

My mom said she would come back to visit just before going for this dip! something tells me I won't have to ask twice!

I love mornings, don't you? I am not much of a morning person, but I actually do love mornings here because they are quiet and I look forward to drinking my coffee. Some mornings here have not been all that pleasant though. For instance, one time I woke up to Meluda yelling gringa from afar and insisted I opened the door only to find that what she wanted was to give me rubber bands. (I have always dreaded waking up to alarms and anything other than my body's own clock). Today was just another noteworthy morning of a peace corps volunteer that I think speaks volumes. I met the day at about 7:30 a.m. and called over one of the girls to pick up some sugar for me on one of her errands. This apparently sent out the memo for every one under the age of 8 to come over. Chicha and Meluda immediately wanted to comb my hair and I let them only to be left with a comb mangled up in my mane without any point of departure. My 5-year-old stylists mistook my comb for a roller I think. There was no emergency exit for this comb or my hair. While kids colored on the floor, I lied in bed fearing an involuntary hair cut. I called over to a neighbor (18 year old friend who I am supposed to be an example for) to get my hair out of the mess I got it into. It didn't give. I was given no choice but to go to the scissors. Chop, chop, chop.

Not sure how anyone is going to take my charlas seriously after this one. It doesn't exactly scream sex ed. or environmental expert! nor does it shout out bachelor's degree! sometimes you just can't take life all that professionally. hair grows back, right?

In Environmental news, Greenpeace came to Rancho Ecologico Campeche last week! Angela and Juande, from Greenpeace Spain, and I put together a two day camp for kids from El Limon and my developing Brigada Verde group at Rancho Campeche. It has definitely not been easy getting kids to participate in environmental activities around the community, regardless of the snacks I bring, but this past two day campamento brought a new energy to Duveaux and my group. We made small fundas (bags) out of rice sacs to use at the colmados instead of the toxic plastic ones they give out. We did environmental trivia in the D.R., learned how to make a compost and played games to learn about deforestation. By the end of camp, kids were motivated and excited to send a solicitud to our local ayuntamiento to get a truck to come through the community and pick up trash. As things go right now, dona's are burning trash like it's the new black and people toss trash on the road like confetti. So, hopefully we can bring the three R's (or at least two; there is not much recycling in this country) back in style and get people composting. As for now, I am going to reduce the amount of electricity I am currently consuming!

G.L.O.W. Girls Leading OUR World??

sometimes you get to where you aspire to be before even considering where it is you want to go.

This past week, I reached a goal I had not even set for myself. now, it is rare to reach a goal and feel that sense of accomplishment that only finishing a deodorant stick can achieve, let alone, really pulling through on something meaningful.

I didn't know it yet, but I wanted to be part of providing a girls camp that dealt with issues facing teenagers today and I wanted it to be paid for so cost would not stand in the way of education. 24 Peace Corps volunteers and I just finished a 5 day summer camp for girls around the Dominican Republic. We slept in tents with girls from our communities across the D.R. We ate all our meals together, chit chatted and giggled together, played sports and talked about the latest for girls in the D.R. today. We talked about self-esteem, our bodies inside and out, the D.R.'s relationship with Haiti and discrimination, "good hair" and "bad hair" and just about everything else under the sun. I learned so much from so many of the chicas and couldn't help but be jealous of every activity offered to them. I could not believe how incredible it was to see all these teenage girls constantly on the brink of epiphanies, constantly letting important information sink in. In such a machismo society it was unbelievably empowering to give these girls an opportunity to be away from any male "mandaring" (sending/ordering) them to the Colmado or to do chores. They were so stimulated by everything volunteers and guests were discussing and remarkably inviting and accepting. I am not sure who benefitted more from the camp; me or the girls from Duveaux. I wanted to participate just as much as the next "counselor"! We made dream catchers, earrings out of buttons, friendship bracelets, designed diaries, wrote in journals and reflected on the days activities.

I was so proud and excited when my girls talked about what they had learned and what they were going to bring back to their community. One of the girls I brought, Daniela, from El Limon, said she was going to raise her self-esteem and not get pregnant until she was absolutely ready. Listening to these girls make such huge statements was so overwhelming. I couldn't believe how much each of them had grown in 5 days. They were all of a sudden so open to so many new ideas and concepts. Franyelina, one of the 14-year-old twins said she learned to "dejar mi timidez" (leave her timidness) and she really did! the first day she got so nervous about being separated from her twin and by the end of the week she was raising her hand for just about everything and leading group discussions. Anyelina - other 14-year-old twin (of course) wrote that she wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in her dream catcher. Instead of telling her that the Peace Corps is a U.S. organization, I just smiled and embraced that she looked up to me! I could not ask to be part of a better camp than G.L.O.W. (Estrellas de Hoy - Stars of Today) I was actually supposed to go to the Medical Office during the week, but didn't because I was too busy with camp and didn't think it was anything serious. I ended up getting a really uncomfortable boil on the back of my leg, but as they say "vale la pena". It was all worth it. Hands down. Estrellas de Hoy is probably the most gratifying thing I have done as a Peace Corps volunteer. It is unbelievable to see what a group of 25 people can do when we all work together with the same goal in mind. I can only hope that any one of the girls from any one of the 25 communities invited to camp G.L.O.W. felt somewhat empowered by the time they jumped on the bus back home Friday. I felt more empowered or motivated by this camp to keep going and work harder to open up more opportunities to teenagers all over the D.R.

Towards the end of camp, I was worried that I would be so sad and bored because all the excitement was over and there was nothing left to prepare for. However, one of the best parts of camp actually turned out to be being back in my community and feeling so much more comfortable with Franyelina and Anyelina (the twins I brought to camp). I fell asleep on their "galleria" (front porch) the other day and couldn't have been better cared for if I was at some B&B on Martha's Vineyard. They brought me a pillow, covered me up with a sheet and best of all.... they used the huge piece of paper they traced their bodies on (during a charla about society's image of the female body and their actual body image) to keep the sun out of my eyes. It was better than any thank you I could have ever gotten.

Thank you to all the relatives, friends and generous citizens that helped support this camp. Here is an outline of our schedule and a list of some of the charlas (presentations) volunteers gave so you know what you contributed to...

MONDAY: Team Buiding, Self-Esteem, Healthy Friendships and Bracelet Making, pool.

TUESDAY: Body Image, Women around the World, Nutrition and Exercise, Condom and Teen Pregnancy, pool, Button earrings.

WEDNESDAY: Relationship between Haiti and the D.R., Reproductive Health, Healthy Relationships, Sex & Gender, pool, Talent Show, Thank You Notes.

THURSDAY: Income Generation, Life Planning, Professional Panel, pool, Stars, Bonfire, S'Mores

FRIDAY: How to start a girls group, Certificates, Closing Ceremony, Presenting Higuero tree to Rancho Campeche, Hugs, Pictures, Slideshow

We also played volleyball, basketball, and did Yoga!

If you want to contribute to camp G.L.O.W. for next summer you can start now and make the stress less for volunteers come June. Just make a check out to Alianza O.N.G. for whatever amount you would like and send it to me

Rachel Gottesman

Cuerpo de Paz

A.P.D.O 1412

451 Avenida Bolivar

Gazcue

Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

Got to hand it to the only two men at camp G.L.O.W.! they were surrounded by 78 girls for 5 days!

These are the shirts everyone gets at Estrellas de Hoy!

Peace Corps volunteers get creative to show girls what their vaginas look like!

These are three of the girls I brought to camp! (from left to right) Daniela, Anyelina and Franyelina