Cynthia, the Only Other Female Peace Corps Volunteer Over 50 in the Dominican Republic, Visits My Site at Villa Mella

Thanksgiving Day, Peace Corps hosted a Dinner and Talent Show at the Hotel BQ in Santo Domingo. My day was wonderful, because I spent it with Cynthia Cowgill, Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Dajabon. Cynthia and her husband, Ricardo, are Environmental Volunteers working on building stoves and water sanitation systems on the Frontera. Cynthia and I had plenty to talk about. Peace Corps states that the average percentage of older volunteers is 7% worldwide. As the only two older female Peace Corps Volunteers in the Dominican Republic, Cynthia and I concluded that the percentage of Volunteers over 50 is much smaller than the international average. There are two male volunteers in the DR at this time over 50. I've been told there care approximately 170 Peace Corps Volunteers in the Dominican Republic at this time. So there are 4 out of 170 Volunteers over 50!

Peace Corps is a strong Youth Culture here in the DR. Everyone here in the Youth Corps is very, very young, most under 25 years old.  Peace Corps has been lonely and frustrating for me at times.  It has been quite delightful to share perspectives with another mature woman, since both of us have decided to leave all that was familiar and bring the fullness of our life experience to the Peace Corps.

This week Cynthia and her husband have been in Santo Domingo while Ricardo completes a language course. Cynthia came out to Villa Mella on the Metro and we spent a marvelous day together at my site! We started out in the morning at the therapy group for the girls living here at the Hogar Renacer. Marcela, one of the Hogar's Psychologists, asked each of the young girls to introduce themselves to Cynthia. In turn, Cynthia introduced herself. Cynthia and I spent the rest of the morning happily chatting away! Others seemed surprised to hear me speaking rapidly and fluently in my own language. I don't think anyone here thought I was capable of speaking in any manner other than rather slowly and with deliberation! It was great to be seen with a friend, rather than on my own all of the time.  Staff and girls alike welcomed the other "Americana Madura" with great warmth! And  Marcella took this photo of the two of us together in her office.

After almuerzo, the lunch served here at the Hogar, Cynthia and I went over to visit my host mom as well as a neighbor who is Community Contact here in Villa Mella.  My Community Contacts Candida Rodriquez and  her husband, Javier "Tiko" Rodriquez, had located an apartment nearby that they wanted me to look at because of knowing that I was chomping at the bit to get out of my current host family situation. What a thrill for me that Cynthia was able to come with me and my Community Contacts that afternoon for a view! Turns out the apartment is quite lovely and after the holidays, I'll be moving out of my host family's residence and living on my own. Not only were Cynthia, Candida,  and Tiko, along to view my new abode; the Social Worker (another Community Contact) and Psychologist came along. What an amazing experience of support I enjoyed that day.

These two photos are taken at the home of Javier and Tiko Rodriquez. Candida, Cynthia, and Dulce Maria Cruz Jimenez, the Hogar Renacer Social Worker and my Community Contact, appear here.

All three of these women are pictured above, in front of a Nativity Scene at the home of Candida and Javier Rodriguez.

Many group activities at the Hogar lately have revolved around the approaching holidays, of course. The Hogar Renacer will be closed three weeks around the holidays so that staff can have some much needed rest. Still the closing strikes me as very sad for the girls. I find myself wondering, who gets kicked out of their home during Christmas unless they are poor or have been found to have been abused, and are thus stigmatized? Some of the girls will go to their families for the three weeks, and these families are in general not happy ones. Others will go to Conani, an institution here in the Dominican Republic not favored by these girls, at least according to what I've heard.

Two weekends the  women from the BankReservas came to teach the girls how to bead and fasten clasps on their own necklaces and earrings, an experience I found very delightful. The girls were thrilled by the gifts they received at the end of the second weekend, which included caps and t-shirts advertising the BankReservas. I was less than thrilled to see the girls wearing  blatent marketing messages on behalf of the Bank given as "presents" from the bank. Corporate Greed is everywhere folks, especially in Third World Countries! The women (Bank Employees) who came to be with the girls for two weekends were very warm and generous, and I loved them!

Another Group, organized by a Dominican woman living in Miami and her aunt, living here in Santo Domingo, held a day's outing at the Parque Mirador last week on behalf of the Hogar Renacer. The photo below shows the girls participating in the Girasoles outing with their gifts:

The day at the Hogar Renacer I enjoyed most lately was one in which I baked Gingerbread Men! I didn't have a mold, so made a pattern of a Gingerbread Man and cut each man out by hand. The recipe was a little heavier on the molasses than recipes I've used in the past, which made forming the gingerbread men more difficult than I anticipated. The Cook here at the Hogar laughingly told me that the men were not hombres, but "Tigres." I brought the girls into the kitchen, one at a time, to decorate their own Gingerbread man. Below are photos of the girls and Gingerbread "Tigres."

These photos are of Nydia, the very loving Concinera here at the Hogar Renacer, along with the girls!

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I'll leave off with these two photos of Gingerbread Tigres and Gingerbread Cookies! Last week I went to the Santo Domingo IKEA store, where I found some Gingerbread Men and other Cookie Molds. Next week I'm making more cookies.

Aside from cookie making, I've been busy here at the Hogar Renacer teaching English classes twice a week, and conducting interviews with staff as part of the "Community Diagnostic"  (not a term I find endearing) Peace Corps advocates Volunteers complete in the first three months of being on site. The first week of February, all of of us in the Youth Sector will be getting together to share our findings. Our community Partners participate in this two day retreat as well.   Everything I've heard about the Three Month Retreat, (or IST, as Peace Corps terms this event) has been positive. Presentations will be short, as twenty minutes in allocated each Volunteer and their Partner, and I plan to do my best, learn from the presentations of others, and enjoy the experience. My Spanish is getting better every day, which is the main thing, and I am really happy about that.

Other highlights of the last few weeks have included attending the Circus du Soleil, as well as the performances of Latin Musicians Marc Anthony, Marc Antony Solis, and Chayanne in Santo Domingo. Dominicans all know all the words to every song and sing along with each cancione. I enjoyed watching them as much as I enjoyed the stars themselves. Additionally, I'm going with my Spanish teacher, Patria, to see Dominican Bachata Legend (or The King, as he likes to be called), Romeo Santos, December 15!

Cabarete and Playa Grande!

This weekend has been one of my best since moving to the Dominican Republic.  Today I spent the day at the reknowned Playa Grande, with Third Year Peace Corps Volunteer Meredith Tittler. Meredith lives and works in Abreu, near Rio San Juan (on the north Coast of the DR). Here is a photo of Meredith and I on the beach enjoying our Pina Coladas!

I enjoyed an exquisite guagua ride from Cabarete to Meredith's site today. Meredith met with me in front of the school where she teaches. She teaches five days a week for the Dream Project, a well known NGO based in Puerta Plata. Previously, Meredith lived in Bonao for two years,  where she succeeded in the project she developed to increase literacy in a marginalized youth population.
Below is a photo of Meredith in front of her house:

I am totally impressed with Meredith's lifestyle, which is very civilized, for being in a Third World Country. I'm afraid this photo doesn't do Meredith or her house justice, yet you can see that this is a very nice house for a PCV! After having put in her dues at Bonao for two years, Meredith now lives in one of the most beautiful places in the Dominican Republic, an hour and a half east of Puerta Plata. Meredith even owns her own (Dominican) washing machine! Here she is with her dog, Cha-Cha:

 And the following photos are of Meredith's home:

I think these photos convey a sense of the spaciousness of Meredith's new home. She is already in the midst of an awesome experience as a Third Year Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic.  Today we stopped and talked to numerous members of Meredith's campo. Having only resided here three months, she knows everyone in town! Here are photos of the front of the school  where Meredith teaches:

I will back track in the following photos to depict some of my guagua journey from Cabarete to Rio San Juan today, starting with a photo of the guagua driver:

And a few photos of the heavenly Dominican Republic, with views of the ocean visible as well as the green landscapes depicted in these pictures throughout  the hour and a half ride today to Meredith's house from Cabarete. This evening I feel replenished by the green, lush expanse of the day:

Yesterday I arrived in Cabarete, having taken the Caribe Tours bus from Santo Domingo to Sosua, outside of Puerto Plata. There I caught a carro publico to the Entrada Callejon.  Then I walked down to the home of two Peace Corps Volunteers, Dan and Phoebe Sunflower-Wirth. Neither happen to be in town this weekend, and they graciously allowed me to spend a few nights in their lovely abode!

This gorgeous tropical garden surrounds the Sunflower-Wirth home! And this is their front door:

The following photos are the living room and bedroom areas of the Sunflower-Wirth residence, and include a photo of Phoebe's wonderful cat, Chocolate. My experience of the weekend has been important in that my awareness now includes the possibility that a Peace Corps Volunteer can live quite a civilized (post-host family) lifestyle here in the Dominican Republic. I am deeply grateful for the generosity of Phoebe and Daniel Sunflower Wirth for inviting me to stay in their beautiful home. Even though neither are with me at this time, we have enjoyed communication by phone and emails in the past week. I feel held in their immense generosity and support.

These photos are of the lovely Muneca, next door neighbor and landlady to Dan and Phoebe Sunflower-Wirth. The second photo shows her in front of the lagoon adjacent to the property.

And here is the road headed out toward Cabarete:

Just viewing these photos takes me back to yesterday, when I arrived in Cabarete after my Carib Tour trip from Santo Domingo. What a glorious trip it was. We departed Santo Domingo at 9 am and a few hours later we reached La Vega, then Santiago. I was deliriously happy the entire day. What a great delight to finally catch glimpses of Santiago. Puerto Plata is a big town, and many parts are very lovely. I was ecstatic to be there! It was a pleasure driving through Sosua, a town which was settled by Jewish refugees during World War II.  Many Europeans reside there still. It is less than an hour's ride from Sosua to Cabarete.

While posting photos I want to include several of my host family in Villa Mella, during a night out on the town. I have enjoyed this family very much!

Angel and Ruth are on my left in this picture. Anthony and the children's mother, Angela, are to the right. Their dad, Melvin, took the photo. I've included a photo with the whole family after a night at the Melancon in Santo Domingo.

 

Everyday I go to the Hogar Renacer, my assigned site in Santo Domingo, and I like being there a lot. I am at the Hogar Renacer six hours a day, and am teaching two English classes a week. Additionally, I've taught one art class. I enjoy the nuns and the staff at the Hogar immensely. And everyone tells me that my Spanish is improving daily! The girls are a tremendous help in assisting me with my pronunciation, and my vocabulary has increased dramatically (at least sometimes I feel that way).

I've also been to church regularly and to a number of women's meetings in the community. I am integrating quite nicely into my assigned community, if I do say so myself. I will keep going to Catholic church as long as I feel all right about it, although I'm not Catholic myself.  The singing is a great pleasure.  I enjoy all of the hugs after church and the immense kindness of the church members.

Every now and then it helps me a great deal to get away, however. The immense beauty of this country serves to counterbalance some of the poverty and the grind of living in Santo Domingo. I am looking forward to the bus ride back to the Capitol tomorrow and the week ahead of me! I will close this blog post with photos of several of the girls at the Hogar and their balloon animals we made together in a class I taught a week ago on shaping balloons, or vehigas, into animals.

Las Galeras!

This photo is of a playa in Las Galeras, at the tip of the beautiful Samana Peninsula. My only difficulty in writing this post is choosing which of many beautiful beach photos to post.

Wednesday night was our Graduation event at Peace Corps. The event was qute lovely, really. We  heard speeches by dignitaries up front (not my favorite part) at tables decorated with flowers and patriotic colors. We sang national anthems of the Dominican Republic and the United States (better, as I liked the singing words to the Dominican anthem and neither song was too long).

There was an opportunity for Peace Corps Volunteers to speak for a moment and introduce themselves and name the locations in which they will serve. Then appetizers and cake was served. We had time to socialize and take photos.

A party was held afterward at the Zona Colonial, but I left early, not being one for a lot of loud, loud music and so on. I liked meeting the Peace Corps Volunteers who have been in the Dominican Republic longer, though.

After two months of incarceration as a Peace Corps Trainee I was ready to bolt.  By 6 am Thursday morning I was already headed out the door to catch a guagua to Las Galeras, and at noon I arrived at the B & B at which I had reserved quarters. What an enjoyable trip! Free, free at last to see the sights of the beautiful country in which I've been residing these past few months. I found the towns of Sanchez and Samana particularly scenic, and of course the beach views were stunning.

Especially moving for me was the participation of my host mom, Juanita ("Negrita") Dominguez at the Graduation event. She appears here with Rosemary, Peace Corps Staff in charge of all host family relations. I have been very fortunate to stay with a sparkling woman of even temperament who is hands off in terms of her demands on my time. She has graciously provided meals, clean clothes and a clean room for a month of my training. What a luxury it is to have that kind of care provided.

Here I am with my host "mom," Negrita, and her beautiful nieta (grandchild) Tiare, with whom I spent many hours blowing up balloons and  making animals. Tiare has been a talented student, and quickly mastered the skill of making rabbits, parrots, dogs, giraffes and snails.

This photo is taken on the road to the Casa Dorado, a Bed and Breakfast I researched for friends planning a trip to the Dominican Republic in March. I recently decided to try it out for myself. The town of Las Galeras is relatively tourist free and undeveloped. I plan to return!

This is Casa Dorado, a home built by a former Peace Corps Volunteer, Catherine, and her husband, Roberto, a Dominican national.

 Here I am in front of Casa Dorado.

And this is Gabrielle Bashist, aka "Gabby," the 3rd year Peace Corps Volunteer who turned me on to the town of Las Galeras, in which she has been serving as a Business Volunteer.  Gabby is quite a trooper, and her shepherd helps provide a margin of safety in Las Galeras. However, she has earned the respect she has in the community through her work and diligence. I admire Gabby very much!

Gabby is excited about working on a Chicas Brilliantes conference to take place in January. This 3 day conference will offer specific opportunities for young women to learn about professional careers. Gabby is the First Peace Corps Volunteer to be assigned in Las Galeras.  She has worked hard to build a Community Center for young people in Las Galeras.

This town is very undeveloped, and that is part of its appeal. Yet the downside is that there has just not been any work done to support young people who want to become active in sports or other activities.   Gabby was able to obtain property through her efforts, but thus far a way to start building that will serve as a Community Center for youth and families is not clear.

Gabby appears here with her host Grandfather and Grandmother and other host family members, people with whom it is evident she has become very close.

 This is Gabby with her Host Grandmother, and her Host Father.

The tree growing behind the house of Gabby's Host Dad is full of avocados. And I will close for now, as it is quite late and I am having difficulty uploading photos. Bye for now!

On Site in Villa Mella, Dominican Republic

With Javier (Tiko) and Candida Rodriguez, Community Partners, Villa Mella, DR

This week I came to Villa Mella, where I'll be on site for the next two years at the Hogar Renacer. Also, I'll be doing community work in a more marginalized barrio nearby known as El Tamarindo.
Tiko and his wife, Candida, (above) have been central in building their church center. Last night I was introduced to the entire congregation of about 200 people. What an exciting evening it was! Despite all of the rains from Tropical Storm Sandy, I've been having an wonderful week.

Here I am with Dulce Maria Cruz Jimenez (left), Social Worker at Hogar Renacer; Sister Gertrudis Bukowska, Director at Hogar Renacer, and other staff at the Hogar Renacer. This photo was taken Wednesday, my first full day at the Hogar. I agreed not to post any of the adolescents staying at the Hogar; however I will post a few photos of staff and the environs here.

This photo was taken Tuesday, with Adele Williams of Peace Corps, Dulce, and Community Activist Camila, both who came all of the way to our Peace Corps Training Center to meet with me and help carry my back pack and duffel to Villa Mella. I must say that Peace Corps does an outstanding job with regard to placing volunteers in community sites.  The Hogar Renacer, the Community at La Colonia, as well as the home in which I have been living have all been researched thoroughly before my placement here. Peace Corps staff really do work hard to develop relationships and bring volunteers and communities together! Natalie Ferrell and Heidi Larr of Peace Corps have been instrumental to ensuring that my work in the community to which I have been assigned can succeed. I have never felt more as though I were one wave in a vast ocean of life's support and good will.

These photos are taken of the Hogar Renacer building itself.

Hogar Renacer serves as an educational-therapeutic residential center for girls and adolescents with a history of sexual abuse. The home was founded in the year 2000 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent Depaul, however it is relatively new to the neighborhood, having moved to its current location in Villa Mella just two years ago. The Center works with a small population of 12-16 resident girls, mostly between the ages of 10-16, who stay in the home an average of one to 3 years following their trauma. Hogar Renacer offers  integral services, including therapy, educational support, workshops in arts, crafts, music. Sports are offered as well. Hogar Renacer is a warm, welcoming place with a staff of two clinical psychologists, five educators, a social worker, secretary, two cooks, an arts and crafts teacher, a driver, and the Executive Director. The Director, Sor Gertrudis Bokowska, is from Poland. She speaks Spanish fluently, of course. I find her especially welcoming and fun to be with. All the staff is terrific. I really enjoy the Clinical Psychologist, as well.

Marcelina Rodriguez, Clinical Psychologist, is pictured above with the Director. As a Licensed Clincal Psychologist myself, I can't say how much I regard Marcelina Rodriguez and her warmth. My experience in California has been that Clinical Psychologists are in general are dry and rather distant people. Marcelina and I sang together in Spanish, which I loved, and she gave me a copy of the songs she sings with the girls. Also, I learned different games with the girls that are great mixers and don't require fluency in Spanish. I took photographs of all the girls (initially they were very shy, so uncharacteristic of Dominicans, yet indicative of past abuse and self-esteem issues). The girls were thrilled when they saw their photos in a montage, accompanied by a beautiful Bachata by Dominican favorite, Prince Royce. Their feedback was very favorable. Many wanted me to take more photos! I feel very fortunate to be off to a good start here at the Hogar Renacer. What a fine colleague Marcelina Rodriguez has been in my first week here.

 
 Finally succeeded in uploading a photo of my host "siblings"(they are the grandchildren of my host "mom") jumping up and down outside of the house yesterday is particularly pleasing, in that their delight after finally having a sunny day is so obvious. While it's been raining, we've been reading together in Spanish from my Kindle, while listening to an auditory telling of  Julia Alvarez's books in English. My Spanish is improving, and so is their English. The three children are: Ruth, age 15, Angel, age 14, and Antonia, age 9. These children are a great joy to be with.

Together, Ruth, Angel and Antonio performed parts of the book together, much to my great amusement. It is a great joy to be with children without the constant interference of electronic gadgets. Of course, we have had little electricity during the past four days, which I find has actually enhanced our time together. I began to get rain weary on Friday (as did everyone else), so the weekend of sunny weather has been a real treat.

Also, wanted to upload photos of my host "mom," Rafeala, who just celebrated her 70th birthday October 24, and the home in which I am staying in Villa Mella. This is quite a lovely home, and I have my own bathroom with running (although cold) water--an unexpected pleasure. My host mom talks a million miles an hour and isn't much of a listener. She is a very dominating woman, yet I generally succeed in letting my wishes be known. She means well!

Here is a photo of the church this community built. This is the building where I'll be able to lead groups. This members of the community are very strong in their commitment to one another. I am totally impressed by their success in coming together to build a church home. It was a undertaking that required a great deal of perseverance. The building is still not complete.

The Catholic service last evening was rather arduous; a fact of life I will just learn to tolerate once a week for the sake of building relationships here in my new community. I feel very fortunate for this community's welcome here!