Week 11- Semana Santa

Concert

Class Acts

 It is funny how I have two weeks left here and yet, this is the first week that felt “routine”. Almost like college. This is most likely due to the fact that like the good student I am, I put off four out of six final projects for the last 2 weeks of the semester and had to force myself to plan each day instead of thinking, “I’m tired of writing this paper, who wants to play volleyball.” So, this blog post is not that exciting. I woke up at 7 am to have an hour and a half of Creole/Spanish/English tutoring with Wisley, went on a run, had breakfast, class from 10-12, lunch lessons with Luckner and Daniel, hang out at the beach for 3 hours, class from 4-6, dinner, and homework until bed. Repeat.

This week did have a few special events, though. We discovered the lizard that made an appearance in my bed and last week’s post is living in our room. We. Cannot. Catch. Him. I like lizards and they’re everywhere here. I don’t mind them sometimes visiting our bathroom, chillin in the common area, or out on the balcony but come on now, my bed is a lizard-free zone. And this is a big, fast lizard. There have been two more sightings. Once when I was reading Mountains Beyond Mountains (great book about Haiti) and felt something staring at me- there he was, perched right above my shoulder on the bed frame. A few days later, I woke up to him staring at me, drinking the milk out of the cereal bowl I left out over night. Ok maybe that one was my fault for eating cereal around 2 am and being too gross and lazy to walk back to the kitchen with it.  Doesn’t excuse him taunting me- Shannon has similar experiences.

We got to be Fancy once more this week. Ben, our site director got us free tickets to a classical music concert and wine tasting on Playa Serena. The concert was amazing and sitting outside on the ocean, underneath palm trees and the full moon made the experience an unforgettable one. It also gave me a craving to play my violin. The night was so perfect I opted to walk home on the beach around 10, forgetting I hadn’t eaten dinner and that it would be over three miles back. Ben had food delivered for when we returned- I was so hungry I relived those faraway moments in my life where I was excited to see white rice.

Finally, this week is Semana Santa- Holy Week. Spanish Catholicism is not for me, but I have learned so much from the way this country treats Holy Week. The resort has been dead, as most employees have all or part of the week off. The market is closed (the Fundacion forgot this minor detail so the 9 of us rationed off a box of plain cheerios, a half gallon of yogurt, and a dozen eggs this week- I like to think of it as fasting).  People take intentional time to celebrate this week of hope. And wow, do they celebrate. The bars are the only places where the hours are extended and more empty bottles of rum litter the streets of Veron than usual. But the idea that time should be set aside for family and friends to enjoy each other in the spirit of this week is there. Wisley taught me my new favorite Spanish phrase in honor Semana Santa. “Todo se lo debo a Dios”- I owe it all to God. I have been thinking a lot about those beautiful words and observing the Dominican treatment of Holy Week by using my afternoons at the beach to listen to sermons, read the Bible, and most importantly, talk with God. Yesterday morning a large cross was placed in the ocean and I was still out when they lit it on fire after sundown. This morning, I woke up at 5:30 and finished my run at the beach to wait for the sunrise over the water. When it did, it was awe-inspiring. The charred cross was illuminated and the words “Christ has come, Christ is risen, Christ will come again” registered- truly registered for the first time. There is so much to be thankful and hopeful for, especially today.  

Happy Easter!