Daylight Savings Time

Typed 2 nights ago...

Once again, here I am up late again in my room. Too hot to go to sleep, so I figure I would jot down a few thoughts. I will probably take a shower to cool off after I get a few thoughts on my computer…the nightly showers (YES my house started getting water to come out of the pipes sometimes) and the occasional bucket showers have become part of my nightly routine. I have actually been taking more showers here than I ever did back in the states. Last I checked, Peace Corps should be an automatic guarantee to NOT have to shower. By definition, it’s a free pass to be one with nature and the world around me, to experience a life much like those less fortunate, to get down and dirty to truly learn what it means to rough it…right? Am I the only one who pictured myself going back to the US two years from now with greasy dreads and leg hair that I could practically braid? Quite the opposite. We were told from Day 1 that the Dominican culture takes pride in their hygiene. Whether they have water or not, they are going to be clean; therefore, Peace Corps volunteers must do the same since it’s our job to adapt into our country’s culture. So here I am, showering 2-3 times a day. I am sure my friends and family at home are cheering.

Things are still going well. I had an amazing time at my volunteer visit, and have a newfound inspired attitude about what I could possibly accomplish in the next two years. I realize that it is probably going to be more about learning than teaching for me, so I cannot wait to see what it is that I am going to learn from the people in my site and from the other volunteers. I left off with my last update saying that we had thought about going to see a movie...just to update accurately, we did not go back into the city, and hung out around her town instead. It was really fun!I learned how to make banana bread in a “olla de horno” (no clue what that means, but it’s a cooker thing that goes on a stove…that is powered by a gas tank that Karina, the volunteer, lit with a match). For people that know me, I know what you are thinking. Don’t try this by myself. But I really think I can do it! Most of my preconceived notions about what my life would be like have already been altered through 18 days in the DR. My list coming into this consisted of: picking up the language within the first week, living with a host family for the entire 2 years, and the 3 BIG No-NO’s…No Cooking, No Dog, and No Garden. Although things have picked up some from the infamous turtle incident, I am far from being able to carry on even a surface level conversation in espanol; I have realized that I need my privacy, and have already started getting excited about the possibility of moving out on my own in about 5 months; and, finally, I now want to learn how to cook, I can’t wait to get a puppy, and I am even CONSIDERING trying to attempt a garden. Future Martha Stewart in the Caribbean? Right here. Now I am wishing that I had not immediately checked off all of the items necessary to complete these goals right off the bat from the Peace Corps’ suggested packing list. It was an easy decision to scribble through “cookbook,” “gardening tools,” and “your favorite seeds” to replace them with a million tuna packets, Bananagrams, and 20 pounds worth of exercise clothing. Which have yet to be touched. MG and I have not done our run yet, and time is running out…and I am ok with it. Fried-Dominican-anything at every meal accompanied with zero motivation to get out in the burning sun to run it off? Yes please.

Speaking of MG, everything at home is going fairly well. I mean, as much as I love my host family, I have realized that sometimes I am just going to have to laugh at myself and at the situations and move on with life. They keep my life here a little more interesting. An example is the Daylight Savings Time incident. Just for information’s sake, the Dominican Republic does not participate in Daylight Savings Time. After eventually asking the director of Entrena (our training site), I found out that the DR tried to participate in it once years ago, but then gave up after a few months, and never has done it since. With that being said, there I was, just a confused little American girl at the kitchen table one Sunday morning eating my breakfast when Mama Sol asked me what time I was supposed to meet up with some other volunteers. We had a group tour later that afternoon, and a few of us wanted to go into Santo Domingo a little early to sightsee and get lunch. I told her 9:00, and Mama Sol freaked out. She started yelling that it was already after 9, and that I was going to be late. I had no idea what was going on, so that is when she told me about how twice a year, the clocks change (Daylight Savings Time) and insisted that I was going to ruin my whole day because I did not tell her beforehand about what time I was supposed to leave. What was I supposed to do besides believe her, quickly grab my things, and sprint up to the bus stop where I was supposed to meet everyone? So there I sat for an hour, waiting on the other volunteers. At 9:00am (10am Mama Sol’s time), the other volunteers arrived and had no idea what I meant by Daylight Savings Time. We went through the whole day on their time, which seemed to be right because our 2:00 tour started at 3:00 Mama Sol’s time…and the day was great. Except for when I got home around 7:00pm, all of my family’s clocks had been moved up an hour, and I got in trouble for getting home after 8. (This is a whole ‘nother issue…I am also convinced that my whole family thinks I am twelve because I am the only volunteer who has a strict curfew and is not allowed to leave the house until I finish my homework. We are getting past this issue…slowly but surely. I still get told that I am going to get shot every time I leave the house by myself- this includes Mama Sol making a gun with her fingers and pointing it at me, making a “bang”-type sound to really drive the issue home- but the end result is that she lets me leave.) Anyways, Mama Sol did not believe me when I told her that even my professor said that the clocks weren’t supposed to change and she kept telling me that my professors and I were “loco.” For a few days I had to tell my family that our training started at 9:00am so they would let me sleep in an hour so I could make it to our real 8:00 training time. Somehow now they are back on track with the correct time; however, all of our clocks are still an hour off. I am not going to fight it. There is still a lot of love in the house and my abuela’s favorite thing to do is cup my face in her hand and kiss my cheek, so that is nice. I am also the only volunteer that I know who gets chocolate oatmeal sometimes for breakfast, so if I have to put up with a few gun hand motions and some wrong clocks, I can deal with it. Things could be so much worse.

I guess I should try to head to bed now since I have a long day of training tomorrow. We only have 2 more days of training until we split into our different IT and Environment groups to go to community-based training for 5.5 weeks. Our group is heading to El Seibo, and I am really excited! More updates to come, I’m sure. I keep putting off writing emails or facebooking people because it is a little overwhelming to think about what all I would want to say to people when I am in the pitch black internet café, constantly waiting for the power to go out. Hopefully I will have better internet access in El Seibo, but anyone who is reading this should know that I miss y’all and hope people are doing well! Love and miss y’all!

1st ICT group shot- Day 3ish


The church I visited in my neighborhood!


The only ¨beach¨ I´ve seen so far...


On the tour of the colonial zone


The fire that I saw on my volunteer visit...





Karina, the wonderful volunteer that let me follow her around for 4 days, in front of her cute house!


The wedding.