Week 10- Last Field Trip

The Lizard Incident

Catedral de Santo Domingo

Serenaded in Santiago

My favorite

Casa de Campo

Before I begin I must share some funny happenings. Our current professor’s name is Greg Justice. He is one of those people I always accidentally call by first and last name because it’s so solid. His wife kept her last name. Get this: her name is Jane Midnight-Justice. It’s like a superhero power couple.  Another sidenote- we have had several interactions with wildlife recently. We had a birthday party for Cynthia the 12 year old turtle last week. She lives in the lagoons but likes to saunter into the Fundacian for a visit from time to time.  A baby hawk flew into the Fundacion last week as well. We cornered her easily but she freaked out when Cat went to pick her up. It was one of my moments where I die laughing at inappropriate times because it destroyed Cat’s hand but the bezerk flapping of wings in her face combined with Cat’s shouting profanity and even just the fact that there was a hawk in the common room was too much to handle. Shannon and I were traumatized by nighttime visits from both a praying mantis and another rat-sized cockroach. But the worst was last night when a huge lizard crawling in my bed. I cried like a ninny. Shan, equally terrified, turned on the lights but grabbed her camera to document me standing on my bed yelling at Christian to “GET IT!” Not one of my proudest moments.

We left last Sunday for Santo Domingo on our last, and very different field trip. I am glad they saved the Cultura class for last because Greg Justice spoiled us rotten- we were treated like royalty. I even wore dresses and finally broke into the unopened tube of new mascara and eyeliner I brought here! I was clean! I smelled good! I looked like a real girl! It was like getting a taste of what I imagine it would be like to study in Europe. I am so thankful that all our other field trips required us to get our hands dirty- backpacking instead of bussing, sleeping on mats in hostels and homes without showers rather than nice hotels, touring factories, Bateys, rural villages, medical clinics and NGOs instead of museums, eating with families or at Pica de Pollos (street food) instead of nice restaurants. Those trips shaped my experience here and revealed the real, raw Dominican Republic. But it was such a treat to have a week of being Fancy. And taking my first hot shower in ten weeks. It's the little things in life. We spent Sunday through Tuesday in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo. We stayed at a bed & breakfast called El Beaterio, which is a remodeled convent from the 1500’s. It was the most romantic place I have ever been- Shannon and I cracked up when we walked in our room to find a huge four-poster bed complete with rose petals, chocolates and lit candles. The architecture, colors, gardening, street art, plazas, and shops in the Colonial Zone are charming. It was cheerful and clean- the complete opposite of the Santo Domingo slums we spent time in with Dale and Stacy. I took far too many photos of street alleys and buildings but I couldn’t help myself, they were all so picturesque. My favorite of the many historical sites we toured Sunday was the Catedral de Santo Domingo. The Spanish stone architecture was beautiful and it sits in the center of the district, surrounded by the main plaza with lots of people socializing at cafes, kids playing, craftsmen selling their art.  And our tour guide was really cute. On Monday we toured a Larimar shop and saw the process of crafting the bright blue stone into art and jewelrey. Larimar, the national gemstone, is only found Dominican Republic. The girls went crazy for it but I was too cheap to buy anything. The salesmen took desperate measures to talk me into it- “Look here, blondie! Your blue eyes sparkle like the Larimar! Buy some earrings to match!” Thanks, but my eyes aren’t even that blue and please, stop fastening that necklace I said I didn’t want ten times around my neck. I escaped to the back of the shop and chatted up some of the craftsmen, who slipped me two pieces of raw larimar before I left. Score. That night we went to a Dominican restaurant (complete with options of, you guessed it, rice, beans, chicken, mashed plantains, fried fish, and cassava) and saw traditional dancing during our meal. My favorite dance was the El Conado, where the woman dances with one foot on top of a rum bottle while the man twirls her around and around. On Tuesday we went to El Museo del Hombre Dominicano, which was basically a National History museum, and El Museo del Arte Moderno. We spent the rest of the day at the city market. There were so many incredible local painters there. I spent two hours looking at all of them and feeling terrible as I explained I didn’t have any money but wanted to know what kinds of materials they used because I love to paint, too. They were not enthused. Tuesday was a very special day because we got ICECREAM. I spent a solid twenty minutes debating what three flavors I should put in this treasure that I had dreamed of for so long and spent another twenty eating it, making every bite last me another three weeks without my vice. That night we celebrated Tricia and Sally at Falafel, as they both turned 21 that day! It was the coolest restaurant; we ate on the roof but the entire building was open air and decorated in Mediterranean tile. I ate entirely too much hummus and falafel and thought I was going to bust the seams of the skirt I wore to the club we went to after dinner. On Wednesday we packed up for Santiago, where we met our beloved tour guide Miguel. He was such a comedian and had me laughing the entire trek from the massive monument Trujillo built for himself during his dictatorship, El Forte de San Juan, an abandoned prison from the 1700’s, several main plazas and churches, and the city market. Santiago is a funny place. There are so many characters in that city. I was serenaded by a man playing the accordion in a pair of purple tinted glasses, a top hat, and many large plastic rings as well as hugged by a very drunken elderly woman with no teeth. Both were gladly received but the second one left me empty- why was she drunk before noon? I have never in my life seen as many homeless people as I did in Santiago, and a huge number of them were either children, crippled or blind. My heart grew heavier and heavier and I felt smaller and smaller as we walked through the city. On Thursday we went to Centro de Leon, an impressive Dominican History and Art museum. Last weekend we read Anna in the Tropics, a play about workers in a Cuban cigar factory. We toured the Aurora Cigar Factory and saw the play come to life, as it is still a traditional factory that does everything naturally and by hand. They still have a Lector, someone who reads classic literature to the workers to educate them and help pass the long days. It smelled heavenly and was such a fascinating process to watch. The workers were so kind to us, the men maybe a little too kind. I loved seeing them joke around with each other and looking at all the personal touches each made to their little work stations- photographs of their children, Bible verses, postcards. Our tour guide killed me- he had me in tears I was laughing so hard at one point. He gave me a free cigar at the end because he'd never heard a laugh like mine and no one had ever thought he was that funny, but I clearly needed to relax. Not sure what to think of that one. That night we went to the fanciest, most lovely restaurant I have ever been to. It was in this restored building from the 1600’s and overlooked the city skyline. We ate outside in the gardens out front. I ate a disturbing amount of paella and seafood and once again thought I was going to bust the seams of the dress I wore to the bars after dinner. On Friday we went to Casa de Campo, the most exclusive area in the Dominican Republic. Sammy Sosa, Micheal Jackson, and Julia Roberts have houses here. One of the billionaires who lived there built an entire medieval styled village complete with shops, restaurants, a church (that MJ himself was married in), an amphitheatre, plaza, a school, stables, and apartments for his daughter as a birthday present. She hated it and said she didn’t want it. Talk about spoiled. He donated the place and now it is this gorgeous, fake, medieval town that sits on a cliff overlooking a river that flows into the ocean. Easily one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I have ever been- the architecture and gardens in this place were unreal. We all went off on our own and explored for a few hours before meeting up for lunch, where I unashamedly stuffed myself with shrimp, zucchini, eggplant parmesan, and lasagna. Are you noticing a recurring theme here? Had to go big this week since it’s back to beans and rice from here on out. One of my favorite Dominican phrases is “Sin Fin”. People often say it as a salutation- it means “without finish” or “endless”. That phrase popped into my head and I rode home for the next four hours just staring out the window, passing the mountains, plains, deserts, and ocean views of this amazing country one last time, not wanting to believe this was our final field trip and overwhelmed by all I have seen and learned and loved. My memories here are endless and the journey is limitless. Sin fin.

On Saturday I went with Christian to the Polytecnico for an English-Spanish workshop with Sabine, Nate, and two other visiting Peace Corps volunteers. I caught the gua-gua and am happy to say that I held my ground and did not let the driver rip me off this time! I argued and sassed in Spanish like a real Dominican lady! Veron never fails to amaze, today I saw a man pulling three donkeys on the back of his motorcycle and a German Shepherd chillin and cheesin on the roof of a barber shop. How he got there, I will never know. It was one of the best days of the semester (I know I say that a lot). We split up into five groups based on skill level, one of us volunteers per group. I was placed with the Beginner group- we were spread out in age from 12 to 70 but became fast friends. They were incredibly welcoming and accepting of me- Haitians and Dominicans continue to amaze me with their friendliness. The point of the workshop was for them to practice speaking and so I was instructed to only talk to them in English. We did skits, played Pictionary, and sang Karaoke. During dinner (of deelish homemade empanadas), we could speak in Spanish and Creole, which I am doing my best to learn thanks to lessons from my Haitian friends Daniel, Wisley, and Luckner. Mom- they were hyped when I told them you were in Haiti these past weeks, asking me to send you their thanks. I loved knowing you were on my island. Can't wait to hear about it and go with you someday. Anyways, Elvis, (great guy with a great name) is the English director and was impressed with my Spanish! He offered me a job at the school after graduation next year! Pictionary was probably the highlight of the day. I am not sure who made the words to draw but they were phrased so funny. For instance, I picked “Nice Colors” and “Very Important”. How do you draw that?! My favorites were “Disco With Friends”, “Five Pictures” and “Brother likes Corn Flakes”. One of the guys in my group was this elderly Rastafarian man who wore a big floppy knit hat and had a beard down to his chest. He sang a mean and VERY passionate “No Woman No Cry” during Karaoke. Where is the camera when you need it? Language is a beautiful thing. I loved watching them, so eager to converse and ask me funny questions like “What is your favorite snack?” and seeing how hard they were working to decipher my answers, smiling when things clicked. Some of their phrasing made me laugh (I love when Haitians say “How ya be?” for “How are you?” because it’s a direct translation) and they got a kick out of my quirks with Spanish, too. I think the most amazing thing I saw was how people with many differences can connect with barely any language at all.

PS. My little sister Hannah deserves a shout out. I've been/will be out of the country during her recent growing up milestones this year and am sad that I missed another two this past week! She turned 18 AND rocked a lead in Footloose this past weekend- something I wouldn't have the guts or talent to do in a million years. Proud big sister over here.