This is my life. aka The Dog Situation.

I will eventually write about my family, my town, my community, my work, etc. I swear. But first I need to talk about what happened to me this weekend. If this was a movie, this is when the screen would cut ahead to a clip of me walking in the streets, in my pajamas, crying, carrying my (yes MY) dog. But this isn’t a movie. It’s my life.

I feel like I say that a lot here. “Yup…this is my life.” It actually makes me laugh quite a bit. Every awkward encounter I have with a person or every time I have a seemingly meaningful heart-to-heart with someone, and then walk away thinking, “What the heck did they just say?” Every time I say yes to an invitation for what I think is one thing, and then it turns out to be completely different. Like when I thought I was going to a sweet, little, old doña’s house for coffee, and next thing I knew, she was handing me whiskey shots and papaya. Or when I thought I was simply meeting one of the community members, until I realized later that I had agreed to be a founding member of his committee where I will teach classes about development to different towns.

It keeps me on my toes, I guess. But anyways, back to the not-really-a-movie-but-feels-like-a-movie night/morning I had this weekend. So last week, my project partner, Delvin, tells me that he and this high-school girl, Genesis (who I have kinda become friends with) wanted to give me a gift. I told him that that wasn’t necessary (apparently that doesn’t translate very well…because he got offended). So I said that I thought that was so nice and that I was excited. He said, “Oh well Genesis has to wash it first.” Clue #1 that I would not want the gift. I reminded him that I couldn’t have a pet until after the first 3 months, and he responded with, “Yes you can.” I thought surely I misunderstood something or was missing the joke, so I chose to ignore it. It can’t be real if you don’t think about it, right?

Entonces, I went to Moca (the closest city to me) and had a really great Saturday. I got home around 8:30pm, and as soon as I walked in my house, I heard barking. I thought surely no… My doña did not look super excited. She said, “Delvin brought you a gift. It can’t stay here.” I quickly started apologizing, trying to convince her that I didn’t know about it. She said that Delvin said I wanted a dog. Which is true. IN 3 MONTHS. I can’t have a dog now! First of all, it is against Peace Corps rules. Secondly, I don’t have the time or money to get its shots, food, etc. Thirdly, I don’t have a place of my own. After I think she understood that this wasn’t my doing, we fed it and I played with it. And I fell in love with it, but that’s not the point. It really was just soo cute, though. Anyways, my doña said that it could stay the night in a box in the back room, but I needed to give it back to Delvin in the morning. Simple. Or so I thought.

It barked the entire night. I kept getting up with it; one time when I actually fell asleep, I woke up to find that my family had turned up the music to where it was shaking the house in attempts to drown out the noises of my sweet puppy. I eventually stayed up with it for good when I found that it knew how to get out of its box & peed everywhere, and we sat outside for a bit. It was still early, but I needed to get it back to its proper owner as soon as possible- preferably before my family woke up and hated me for good. I don’t have anyone in my town’s numbers anymore (remember the mugging?) so I had no way to get in touch with Delvin. I also don’t know where he lives, so I took off to Genesis’ house that is approximately half the world away. Did not bother changing out of my t-shirt and pajama shorts because, honestly, I forgot how far away this girl lives. Along the way, I talked to a sweet woman who I had met at the CTC last week. She talked about how she loved puppy and how she had another dog in the house. Should have just given it to her then and there. But I kept walking. By the time I got to Genesis’ house, I was sweaty and just ready to do an old drop and dash.

I explained to her how I really loved the gift, but that I couldn’t keep it. I told her about how it was against the rules, how my family wouldn’t let me keep it at the house, how I didn’t know what to do with it, and blah blah blah. She was very uninterested. This 17-year-old was more concerned with fixing my hair, commenting on how sweaty I was, and telling me how much prettier I look without my glasses (which she drilled the point home by continuously taking them off of me and hiding them.) Real cool. She said that she didn’t want the dog, and that I should just worry about it next week. I went over my main points about 5 times until I just got frustrated and my eyes started to water. It is hard to fully express yourself when there is a language barrier. I am getting much better with the Spanish, but it’s times like this when I definitely just want to be able to explain myself in English. She realized that I was sad and suggested that I just sleep over. This is what she tries to do every time I see her, so I was not going to give in this time. Plus it was Mother’s Day here, and I wanted to be at my house with my host family. After I got the point that she was unwilling to help me, I tried this approach…

Me: Ok I really need to talk to Delvin…can I use your phone?
Her: No, not today.
Me: Ok, well I don’t even have his number. Can I get it from you?
Her: No, my cell phone battery is dead.
Me: I understand. Then I am going to go now. Thanks for your help.
Her: Wait, you walked all of the way here?
Me: Yes. That is why I am so tired and sweaty.
Her: That is a really long walk.
Me: (No crap, Sherlock.) Yes, I know.
Her: Where are you going now?
Me: Delvin’s house.
Her: Do you know where he lives?
Me: No.
Her: It is very, very far. You can’t walk there. Just hang out with me all day.
Me: I can’t do that. You won’t help me, so I have to find Delvin.
Her: You’re crazy. You should just eat the dog. Hahaha.
Me: That is not funny. I don’t know what to do, but I need to leave. Bye.
Her: You’re crazy. Bye.

Good times. So as soon as I left, I started bawling out frustration. I promise that I have only cried like 3 times in this country…I just happen to blog about those times? Really, just so people know (basically just my grandma since she is probably the only one still reading this), I have not been a complete mess for the past 3 months! Haha. But ya-this is where the clip of me walking along the street like a crazy person comes in. I can just imagine what a sight I must have been to all of the people I saw along the way. The crazy American, in her pajamas, disgusting, crying, holding a puppy, walking for miles. My last blog talked about how there are going to be ups and downs, and I would say this is a down-type moment. Definitely not in the running for one of my Top 10 Shining Moments in the DR.

I ended up going back to the lady’s house that I had seen on the way. I had pulled myself together by then, but as soon as she gave me a hug, I lost it. She was just so sweet and it was nice to feel like I had a friend who understood. She immediately said that she would take it for the day/night until we could figure out what to do with it. She also said that if Delvin didn’t want it, then she would keep it. Soooo nice. She offered to make me breakfast and said I was welcome anytime. And I will probably take her up on it. I still haven’t found a way to not say creepy things in Spanish. I just use the words that I know, and sometimes it comes out a little peculiar. Last week, a kid was drawing a map of Juan Lopez because it’s an exercise Peace Corps has us use to get to know the community. His was really good, and instead of telling him how great it was and that it would be helpful in my presentation, it came out, “I love it! Can I keep it for all of my life?” Ya-I’m a creeper. And another example is when I told this sweet dog lady that she was my best friend in all of the DR. Take it down about 5 notches, Heather.

I am at work now, and I haven't talked to Delvin yet. We are going to have a fun morning. I just hope that he understands my situation and is not offended. We shall see. Will write soon to update and maybe next time I will share a story worth sharing!