Volunteer Life
ICT Contest Narrative
Nestled in the Cibao valley there is peaceful town of San Víctor Moca, population 10,000. In San Víctor there is one high school where 500 of the local youth attend school in order to receive their high school education. This school was lucky because there is a computer lab with 20 computers donated by the government’s Secretary of Education. However the lab was not utilized because there was nobody to maintain the lab or to open the lab to the community or the school. So the computer lab sat unused and gathering dust: that is, until recently when a volunteer was sent to the community to revitalize the computer lab and to make it self-sustainable so that the community and students could benefit from the use of the lab long after the volunteer leaves.
IT Creates Memories, Friendships; Opens Minds and New Worlds
It all began when I noticed how much Dominicans love to take pictures; they certainly are not camera shy! I have seen the youngest and the oldest strike a pose for the camera. Oh, and how many times does one have to hear “y la camera” before realizing that one of the most important things brought to country was a digital camera. In the Dominican Republic very few families living in the campo have pictures of themselves. So it is hard to take out my camera without everyone jumping in front of it shouting “tirame una”! This is what made me decide to have my computer club create a yearbook including pictures of all activities taking place in the high school and the community. The yearbook was an instant hit: everyone loves it and everyone loved being in it. We titled it “recordar es vivir” -to remember is to live.
The Water Boy
As much as prospective Peace Corps Volunteers like to read about, inquire and dream about what their respective services will really be like or what they will actually be able to accomplish, no advice or story will ever suffice to replicate the feelings and connections volunteers truly experience until they learn for themselves. What does it really mean to serve? What will I learn and how will I actually be able to help?
Weather
Weather here is incredible: the wind, the rain, the heat, the clouds. Maybe weather is incredible everywhere, yet we seldom take the time to stop and enjoy it.
IT Conference
I just returned from our first ever Information Technology Conference for Youth and Volunteers in the Dominican Republic. It was invigorating, fun, and informative.
Yendri's Birthday
Yendri is the smallest kid on our soccer team. His house backs right up to the play and being the only boy amongst four sisters, he is obligated twice to join in on whatever is being played out there. The soccer ball goes up to about the middle of his shins, so his passes are a lot like a pitcher pitching change-ups. He’ll make you jump and turn your back with the swing of his leg, but then you see the ball slowly rolling off his extended leg crawling its way to you. He also has an interesting nose thing going on. Being a good 3 feet taller then him, I can still somehow see up his nostrils. It boggles me to this day. His nostrils are not only upturned, I can see into them from above.
Poverty & Relativity
Recently a group of volunteers were discussing the pocket money that Peace Corps provides us during training—a little over a dollar a day, which is enough to use occasional internet or buy a small snack. It's not much, but it is more than we technically need. Volunteers are frustrated though because it would be nice to have more money.
My Daily Life
Living in a medium-sized city, I feel my lifestyle differs from the “everybody knows you” experience afforded to volunteers placed in more sparsely populated and rural communities in the Dominican Republic. It would be unreasonable to expect to get to know everyone in my community in two years.
Moving Like the Daylight Cycle
I look down to check the little numbers in my lower right hand clock which read 9:51 PM while I hear water hitting the ground in cup-fulls next door. Carlos must be bathing. My mosquito net is illuminated to my right by the incredibly bright whiteness of this word document, as small fragile insects fly about the screen. I am careful not to hold it too close to my face or my nose will soon be full of them. I decided against the bucket bath tonight as it was unusually overcast and cool all day, allowing my skin a break from its sweat. I woke up this morning in one of those cloudy head fogs that didn’t really clear up as the day progressed, but I was able to cut through it to get a few things done at least.
Bucket Baths 101
1. Recognize that you smell, and a bath is necessary.
2. Gather clothes, towel, soap; then find a place to put them so they don't fall on the floor.
The New Vecina
I have reached another milestone in my time here—I finally moved into my own house. Sola, something rare in this culture. Most Dominican families have at least 3 generations and a handful of extended relatives living under the same roof; I have a sizeable house to myself. Kind, concerned neighbors ask me everyday if I’m doing all right, if I’m lonely, sad or scared, if I’m starving. I tell them I love it, and they bring me avocados, and other fruits, and covered bowls of steaming rice and beans to make me feel better.
Tiempo de Mangos
Right now is the “Tiempo de Mangos” and almost every third house here has a Mango tree and each of those mango trees has hundreds of mangos. Nobody can go hungry at this time of the year.
Almost Paradise
¿Cómo 'tu 'ta?
It is with a great deal of enthusiasm that I tell you about my assigned town. It is in the municipality of Moca. We are within sight of Santiago, which is the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. The beach at Puerto Plata is about two hours away.
No Wine. No Roses.
It seems strange that a person from California and Washington would be sent to a country that doesn’t make its own fine wines. I guess my habits will have to go back to college days of drinking beer and an occasional rum and coke. I spent 4-6 weeks in both Ecuador and Mexico, but this is the longest I have ever lived away from the places I called home. It is very different from a vacation.
Smiles
Greetings from the Dominican Republic where we are feeling more and more comfortable yet still not completely at home. Smile. Another ten days until each of us is introduced to our assigned campo or pueblo. Smile. Except for our PC team all families and relationships are still very temporary.
I think everyone’s experience is different and you’ll figure it out in your own way and time.Kelley DouglasFormer volunteer in the Dominican Republic 2005-2007.