We Now Break For a Little Stitching!

I know I haven't been telling you much about what else has been going on since I got home. Its taking me a lot of time to share my DR trip with you so I'm taking a day or two between entries.

This past week I was off work for March Break, it was a very busy week but I did manage to get some stitching in, and the Knowledge and Needles spring retreat helped too!

Celestial Dragon as of March 14th

Celestial Dragon as of March 22nd

I'm looking forward to the weekend, the Billy Talent concert is Friday night and Saturday is my Birthday! I managed to get my hands on an extra pair of tickets for the concert but so far I'm having a hard time finding some folks to join us!

Dominican Experience Day 3

Monday March 8, 2010

Today was and early wake up call for us, 6AM they had a long day in store for us! Breakfast was some kind of porridge or grits or something, it was fine, not coarse like an oatmeal. It was sweet, with cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. I liked the flavour, but the texture was a bit of a turn-off. I ate it anyhow, I knew that this morning we were working!

As is the usual routine, we were picked up and went to meet the students and get on the bus. We were all very happy to see there wasn't a cloud in the sky that there was full day of sunshine ahead. We were loaded onto the bus, as I had figured out in my first two days Dominicans like to play music all the time! On the bus, in the homes, everywhere, and always loud (I will never complain to Todd again how loud he has the stereo!). Our Dominican guides are often singing and dancing on the bus to the music that's being played (mainly Meringue and Regatone).

Mioced, singing for us

Cutting the cane

Today we drove back into Consuelo to the first sugar cane plantation and Batay, Vascas. For the first time this week we worked! We spent a few hours in the sugar cane fields helping the Haitians load the sugar cane that had already been cut into the trailer.

Loading the sugar cane

Students working hard to help load the cane

These people work so hard! They don't take any breaks (where we did), They work without gloves (we did) they aren't carrying around water bottles (which we do), and there was no food but what cane they ate while they worked. Sugar cane is awkward to carry, they made it look so easy! I could only handle 5-6 pieces of cane at a time, these men handled much more and lifted it up to the person in the trailer without any effort. Being short this was a real challenge for me! I also found walking around on the cut cane, and leaves that litter the ground a balancing act.

Domingo is trimming the cane for us to eat - Domingo grew up on the Batays, worked in the fields, then became a supervisor. Today he's in University studying to be a lawyer. His story is one of hope to see that there is a light to ward off the dark.

During our break we got to try raw sugar cane. The outside "bark" is cut off with a machete and you chew on the exposed cane, once you've chewed on it, you spit out what's left. It tastes just like sucking on a sugar cube, just not as sweet.

Juan Pablo, one of the workers

At this time Mioced introduced a few of us to one of the Haitian workers, Juan Pablo. He's been working on the plantation for many years, and has children still in Haiti. He told us that he makes 12.5 Pesos a day ($0.36 = 1 Peso), no one can live on that little money! (later that day we learnt that we couldn't feed a family of 6 for 100 Pesos). During a week he would load up to 50 trailers of cane. Juan Pablo let us see his hands, from his years of working in the fields, just how callused and scarred they were.

Juan Pablo's Hands

Cane Weigh Station

At the tail end of our break this Haitian man came to get his machete from Domingo. For awhile he stood there and just stared at me, there was no expression on his face and he said nothing. Finally he pointed at my work gloves, gesturing. He was asking for my gloves. It broke my heart to say no (we were not allowed to give away things, the rules).

Barrack-style housing

After another hour of working in the fields loading more cane we were taken to the area where the cane was weighed and loaded into transport trucks to go the refinery. From the weigh station we went to see the living quarters (Batay) where these men and their families live. We were introduced to three women (the men are never around, they're either working somewhere, or they're just not around).

Isabelle and three of her children

Isabelle's kitchen

The first woman we were introduced to was Isabelle and her six children. They lived in two rooms in the barrack-style housing. One area she used for for a kitchen where she was cooking a meager serving of beans in a pot over coals. The other room had two beds where she slept in one with half of her kids, and her husband slept in the other with the other half of the family.

Rosalie's home

The boys interacting with the Batay children

Next we met Rosalie, a grandmother on the Batay. She was better off than Isabelle, she had a home that was three times the size and she owned furniture (where Isabelle had only two beds). While I was waiting for a group of our students to go through Rosalie's house I was so happy to see/watch the boys on the trip start to interact with the children on the Batay, the were running around and giving the little boys piggy-back rides.

Marie

Today it was the final house that we visited that was the most disturbing, and sad. The mother we met was Marie, she has no husband, and six children. Her home was one main room with two closet bedrooms, the doors were sheets hanging from the top of the door. She told us how she was not feeling well, that she had a headache. It was then made clear to us that she had a lump in her breast. Wow, this hit me REALLY hard! As I had a breast cancer scare about three years ago, it was the most terrifying month of my life as I went through the diagnosis process. So I understood exactly how she was feeling.

One Marie's Daughter

Val, one of the staff that came with me on the trip asked if we could say a prayer for her. Boy, that was hard, and so emotional. Marie did really appreciate a group of 14 people she just met saying words to God for her (she is another woman who has a very strong faith in God and his plan for her and her family). After the prayer Moiced sang a beautiful song for her, I don't think there was a single dry eye in the house. That was a hard visit. (I later learnt that Marie has general cancer, and that yes she is dying, she refuses to acknowledge this. Dominican Experience and a group of Sisters who organize a co-op in the community do have a plan in place for Marie and her children. We have been assured they will be cared for, places have been made for them in the orphanage we will visit later that week, when the time is ready.)

The Co-Op

Our final stop at this Batay was at the co-op, this is where the residents buy what little they can get. There was an activity planned for us here, we were given 200 Pesos, to feed two families one meal (100 Pesos/family). Us adults stepped back and let the students run this activity. They selected per family : rice, beans, salami, and plantains. We were then told we could give this food to two of the three women we visited. The decision was quite easy and unanimous. We sent the food to Isabelle and Maria.

As we headed to the second Batay visit, we stopped and had a pick nick lunch under a big tree in a field. Lunch was made for us, it was ham & cheese buns, bags of chips (I got to try plantain chips, they rock!) and fresh pineapple and cantaloupe, very yummy (there is nothing more amazing than fresh picked fruit). As we ate two different men came upon us (on their way to the Batay), Mioced talked to each of them, and I was so happy to see she made sure they left with some of our leftover food.

Second co-op

The second visit, was not as long as the first. Here we were shown another co-op and talked with the woman who worked there. This co-op project was started up with donations from the Dominican Experience program and is run by a group of Brazilian sisters (this is where our donations went) It was smaller than the first, and did not have as much variety also because it is run by the sisters cigarettes and alcohol are not sold here.

One of the Batay children

Playing with the Batay children

We were then brought to the school yard where a bag of toys (jump ropes, balls, etc) were put out and we played with the children for about half an hour. The kids on the batays play rough, and they don't know how to share... but who would have the patience to share when you're hungry all the time?

The sisters who handle all the donations for the batays

After visiting the batays we had a quick visit to the Sisters who are working to improve the situation of the batays in the area (like I said they're involved in some of the co-op systems). This is where we dropped off our 14 suitcases full of clothes, hats, sandals, and supplies. It was good to actually see where it was going. The sister we met was from Brazil, and she had such a peaceful and serene presence. It was nice to be near her.

Abandoned Sugar Refinery

Before heading back to San Pedro de Macoris we made one last stop in Consuelo, that was the old Sugar Refinery that the got shut down in 1990 when the government decided to publicise the industry. The refinery used to employ thousands from the surrounding towns and batays, from my understanding it really crippled the local economy. Today its a graveyard for sugarcane trailers.

Back at home supper was rice and a stew of sorts, it was a mix of meats. I could recognize sausage, and yucca, I'm not sure what else was in it but it was good.

It was another rough night at reflection (in the same place again). I drew a parallel (although my situation pales in comparison) to my health issues and Marie's. How I was a migraine sufferer and how I was able to sympathize with her headaches, and her breast cancer with my scare. I understood her fears, but what really upset me is that I know I have access to an excellent health care system and she doesn't. She has nothing. I couldn't help but break into tears.

It was an amazing day, it was hard with ups and downs, and exhausting!

Day 2 Dominican Experience

Sunday March 7, 2010

Today was a later start for us, up shortly after 7am, and I got to take my first Dominican shower. The water was hot (I think the only day I got hot water), but the pressure left a lot to be desired. It was enough to soap up and rinse off. Each of the homes have large black water tanks on the roof, the homes water is all gravity fed. I don't think I will ever complain about my water pressure ever again.

Breakfast was ham and cheese sandwiches on white buns, very North American... except that's something we normally have for lunch here. The buns were paired with fresh pears, cantaloupe, and tamarind juice.

Us ladies with Berto, going to meet with the students

The chapel in the poorer area of the barrio

Berto picked us up once again, and we went with him through the barrio picking up the students at their Dominican homes. As a group we moved on into the poorer area of the Barrio to a very basic chapel. It was built with cinder blocks, and had a dirt floor (made the mistake of putting my backpack on the floor!). It wasn't long after our arrival that first one of the neighbourhood kids showed up, slowly the number of local kids kept growing. They stayed the whole time we were there watching and listening to our discussion.

Neighbourhood kids observing us at the chapel

Robert the program director

Once Robert arrived our day began with a prayer. Robert took the time to explain the rules to us as a group. They were very simple rules, such as :

1. Don't go anywhere unescorted by a Dominican

2. We must be in our homes by 9pm, this is the "off" time for our families

3. Do not give items to the people we meet, we may give gifts to our families but not people in the streets. If anything is to go to people, it had to go through the program.

After the rules were explained we went around the circle in reflection of our first 24 hours in the Dominican Republic, sharing our impressions/feelings.

My reflection was about the immediate culture shock/fear I felt once we had left the airport (as I talked about in my day 1 journal entry) in La Romana. I explained how prior to this trip I had no fears about being in a country so poor. I was taken aback by the feelings I had, I really didn't expect that.

Meoced singing for us

The reflection was wrapped up the "theme song" for the program, complete with gestures/moves to go along with the song. To this day I still don't know what it translated to, I meant to ask and but never got the chance/forgot to. Mioced our lead guide sang us a beautiful song in Spanish. Before heading to the bus, I asked if I could use the bathroom. I was taken to one of the homes nearby, that was my first experience of a toilet without a seat (should of done squats before I left!).

Beans for sale at the local market

Our day trip started out in downtown San Pedro de Macoris, the first stop on of the markets in the area. It wasn't an open air market as we have in North America, we travelled through narrow, dark passages where there were different stalls/shops. All were selling food of some kind, grains, spices, fruit, vegetables. All the meat vendors were all in one area in the center of the market. Each vendor had their meat out on the counter on display out in the open air. I was told its to show to the shopper that it was fresh. The smell was out of this world! I almost wanted to gag, I had to go through the meat area breathing through my mouth. I was told that this market is where the poorer people go to get lower prices on their food. While we were there one of the shop owners asked Ricardo "why do you bring these rich white people here when they buy nothing." That is how many countries see us white, North Americans that's sad.

Entering the meat market

Upon exiting the market you couldn't help but notice once again, the garbage! It didn't smell pretty either, there were dogs eating what they could from the dumpsters.

In this same area was also an area where there were people making and "packaging" charcoal for cooking (for those who can't afford fuel to run a stove). The charcoal wasn't the pretty little bricks we get at home, it was chunks of wood put into little plastic bags.

Well constructed, nice homes next to shacks in San Pedro de Macoris

Taekwon-Do school in San Pedro de Macoris

Following the market we walked all over the downtown area. It was amazing to see shacks that look like they're about to fall over next to very nice homes. Along our walks I found a Taekwon-Do school! Even here in the Dominican Republic martial arts are still practiced, and from what I came to find out, its quite popular. In contrast to the small, cement buildings was this gorgeous church. We eventually made our way down to the ocean front where we stopped for an ice cream. It was so tempting to go with my favourite, cookies n' cream but I was adventurous and tried raisin and rum very yummy. We enjoyed being by the ocean while we waited for the bus to pick us up.

Beautiful church in the middle of such poor conditions.

Getting ice cream

Enjoying the ocean view

After the first half of our day we were brought back to our families to have lunch. Patricia prepared lunch for us today, she was a little embarrassed stating that Dulce's cooking was much better. Lunch was good, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Our main course was rice with salami and a salad of tomatoes, carrots and something she called Toyoda, she also prepared for us mature plantains that were cut into long strips and fried, very yummy. Again we had tamarind juice. I went down for a quick siesta after eating, I was pooped from all that walking.

Once again we were picked up and loaded back into the bus, after a cool and rainy morning, the sun was finally out and things warmed up. For our afternoon we went to the nearby town of Consuelo to visit the barrio of La Loma where we were introduced to three of its elderly residents.

Mary

Mary's home

The first home we went into was quite disturbing, and upsetting. We met Mary who is in her 70's who is in a wheelchair, paralyzed probably from a stroke. She shares her tiny shack of a home with 7 of her children and grandchildren. She told us about how she had lost her parents at the age of 8 was raised by an aunt in La Loma, she had a very hard life with really no happiness at all. She had worked hard all her life, to stay exactly where she was. We were all brought to tears when her advice to us was to "be good".

Gladys

Gladys's home

The second home we visited belonged to Gladys, she was a complete joy to meet! She was so happy to see us and welcome up in her home. Her circumstances were so different from Mary's and her life has been a happy one. She had hugs for each of us as we entered her home, as she spoke she often reached out touching the people closest to her. She supports herself by selling food to her neighbours who care for her as she has no family. We asked to see where she sleeps, she was worried we wouldn't find it nice. After going into the area that was her room in the one room house, I assured her it wasn't. Her joy for life was very contagious, and a complete 360 from Mary.

Condo

Condo's home

The final home we visited was that of Condo, a man in his 70's who has Alztimers. His house is just one room with a bed in it. No kitchen, no bathroom, nothing. We were told he wears diapers. Like Gladys he has no family he never married, his sister comes to care for him and feed him.

The barrio was such a contrast to the view we discovered behind Condo's home. It looked out over a gorgeous river valley with hills in the distance.

Me with a couple of the batay children, lovely smiles!

After the barrio we visited the Batay of Don Juan just outside of Consuelo. We only stayed for a short while, meeting some of the children. We played baseball with them, and they clamoured to have their picture taken. The kids were just so happy.

This young boy had just come in from the sugar cane fields, he did not smile for me

We were returned to our families again for dinner. Dulce Maria prepared for us scrambled eggs to go with it we had boiled yucca and plantains. I have to say I didn't care much for the yucca or the way the plantains had been prepared.

It was time to be picked up for the final time that night, and taken to reflection. We went to a nearby complex where people learn to become future teachers. It was very emotional as we all had thoughts of Mary foremost on our minds. Today was our first exposure to very poor living conditions, but on the other hand the faith the people have and the joy shines through as well.

It was a good day.

Day 1 Dominican Experience

I'm going to share my hand written journal from my trip with you, I didn't think I'd get near a computer and I wanted to write all my impressions down, fresh in my mind. I haven't hand written a journal in a very long time! (I've blacked out the student's faces in my pictures)

Saturday March 6, 2010

Boy, Friday was a hectic day! My work day went by in a whirl wind, I received a lot of well wishes from the staff as the day went on. As the day progressed, my pre-travel jitters got worse. Not only did I have to co-ordinate myself, but also 10 teenagers!. I don't know why I worry so much when I fly, I'm one of those people who would rather be at the airport wayyy in advance and relax at the gate then be rushing at the last minute.

At the Ottawa airport modelling the knitted hats donated by a knitting group.

There really was no reason to worry, everyone made it to the airport, passport in hand (my other worry that someone would forget their passport). The trip from Ottawa to Toronto went sooo smoothly. Our two first time fliers survived without a scratch, or freaking out.

Getting ready to leave Ottawa

Friday was a late night, between the flight and getting checked into our Toronto Hotel (we had an overnight layover. I tossed and turned a lot that night, and 4:45am came way too soon! This morning, we left from the hotel with plenty of time to check in for your flight to La Romana, Dominican Republic. When we were through security and in the area of our gate, like all good Canadian Lemmings, we hit Tim Hortons... our last Timmies fix for the next 7 days! Once again, all travel went smoothly.

My first view of the Dominican Republic

La Romana Airport, on the tarmac. Celebrating our escape from the Canadian winter

As soon as we walked out of the plane and down to the tarmac we all cheered, it was warm and sunny! Also after almost a year of hard work we were finally there. Its not very hot today (for the DR), it was about 25c and partly cloudy with a breeze. As soon as we had our little bus loaded with our luggage and donation bags (we brought 14 bags of donated clothes, shoes, etc) we took a group picture in the airport parking lot.

Group shot at La Romana Airport the Dominicans in this picture are Berto (male) and Mioced (female) who were our Animators for the whole week. We quickly became very close to these wonderful Dominicans.

Garbage everywhere!

The next part of our journey was the drive to San Pedro de Macoris. This drive in our bus sure was an eye opener for me! Right away I knew "I wasn't in Kansas anymore". The buildings are small, they look run down but brightly coloured. The roads and traffic are needless to say... interesting. The roads are small and rough, some of the hills can be steep and unevenly graded. The drivers they're just crazy and vendors stand in the middle of the road, shouting into your open window if you stop long enough. The next thing I immediately noticed was GARBAGE Everywhere! There is obviously not the garbage collection programs we have, or the education (I later found out that the garbage is burnt right there on the side of the road or in ditches). Not only was there garbage everywhere, but dogs, chickens, roosters, and goats wandering all over the place! Again, so different from North America. Later in the week I noticed I didn't see any cats, but lots of dogs, tied up in yards. I asked about that, and their dogs are mainly for security, they don't keep them in the house like pets, or walk them like we do.

Loaded onto the bus and ready to head to San Pedro de Macoris

Words that came to mind during the drive (my culture shock was kicking in... I had an oh shit moment) : bleak, poor, shocking, eye opening, colourful, noisy).

The Barrio, La Servisaria

Uneven, dirt roads in the Barrio

Once we arrived in San Pedro de Macoris we went into the Barrio we were staying in called La Servisaria (probably spelt wrong). The barrio is crowded with homes that are made from cinder block and cement construction that are painted. All the houses have bars on the windows, carports, walls around the properties, actually anything that could allow someone access has bars and big padlocks, always locked up. You won't been getting out of these houses in a hurry if there was a fire or some other emergency. Also there are a lot of half started homes, or incomplete floors, apparently in the DR you expand your home (usually up) as you can afford to. The homes have barely any yards. The roads in the barrio are dirt roads, uneven, and with some steep hills! Most of the people get around by scooter/small motorcycle. The main reason being that gas is so expensive, and some of the roads aren't easily navigated by a car.

Student being introduced to her Dominican host... who the girls affectionately called "Mama D" by the next day. We were very lucky as this student speaks fluent Spanish, she was able to translate for us the whole trip! (two of our Dominican Animators Mioced and Ricardo did speak English so we weren't lost)

We first went to the home of a woman named Dora, she is in charge of all the housing arrangements. We were brought together for a prayer of welcome and thanks for safe travel. Here the students were introduced to their Dominican families that they would be living with for the week. Our girls were housed in groups of three and the boys in groups of two, so that no one person was alone. Once the kids were gone we were walked by Berto one of our Dominican animators to our home for the week (they had us four adults staying together, which was really nice) he didn't really speak any English but, Joe the male on the trip is Italian, and he was easily able to figure out Spanish and play as our translator. If I am to do this trip again, I really have to make an effort to learn some conversational Spanish.

The home of Dulce Maria King

The salon across the street from our hostess's house. A beehive of activity on Saturday and Sunday as its important for Dominican women to have straight hair. They spend a lot of time getting their hair straightened on the weekend for the upcoming week

We are staying with the family of Dulce Maria King, a family of 5. She has three kids, Kelmely (the youngest and a princess), Michael (the middle), and Karen (the oldest), they also had a cousin staying at the house as well. We were put two to a room, very comfortable room. It is obvious that we are staying with on of the families that are well off in the barrio. The home is large, and beautiful with nice toilets (important to us North Americans!), and all the modern conveniences, the only problem is the power in the DR is spastic, for hours at a time its out, they do have a generator for when power is needed but the y don't run it unless you have to. We first met Patrician, Dulce Maria's sister as she was still out at work (she's a nurse). She welcomed us into the home, and sat and talked with us. For a snack she gave us fresh, local oranges... amazing!

Kelmely our hostess's youngest daughter who hung out with us every available moment.

Dinner today was a nice surprise, it was simple yet delicious. The meal consisted of chicken, rice, bans and a salad. Now their idea of a salad is not the same as what we call a salad. Its sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli (or other local vegetables) sliced and layered with some sort of dressing (probably vinegar & oil). There's no lettuce in sight. I was really surprised at how good the food was, this was my biggest concern was the food (and the toilets!). When we ate, we were a little surprised that the family wasn't sitting down to eat with us. Apparently Dominicans do eat much later in the evening (probably because its cooler), they eat a larger lunch, and dinner is usually small and not eaten together as a family. Also they tend not to eat at their kitchen tables.

After dinner we were picked up, again by Berto and escorted to one of the many churches in the barrio for mass. For a Saturday night mass, it was packed. Again not something that's very common in North America. The community welcomed us into their church with open arms. After mass we walked with the students to each of their host homes, meeting the families and checking out their accommodations. They were not as nice as ours (we are purposefully given nicer accommodations to allow us to relax, and the kids a chance to experience the average middle class family lifestyle in the DR), but they were all excellent, smaller homes with proper, clean rooms and bathrooms.

Ricardo modelling another knitted hat, the newest and youngest animator on the Dominican Experience team

Our evening was spent by us adults sitting back and talking about the last 24 hours, which became our custom each day we were there (not once did I watch TV all week). Later that evening we finally got to meet Robert the director of Expiriencia Dominicana. He also brought with him one of his newest and youngest animators, Ricardo who speaks pretty good English. Robert was right away very welcoming and open person. Just before we came down he asked if we could buy a digital camera for the program (they would pay us back) as one of theirs was stolen during a careless moment. We presented it to him, but as a gift for the program as we could afford it from our fundraising in the past year.

It was a long day and I was glad to get to bed!