Updates and Travels - PICTURES ARE HERE

It's 9 am on a Saturday morning. Now that my house has been partially cleaned and things put away, I sit here with my bowl of Lucky Charms that I sprung for this week, with the powdered milk that I hate the taste of (a little extra saved for my cat of course), and contemplate how to update you all on what my life's been like lately. Since January, I have been working at the association office daily, as well as doing several coffee sale days in the capital (see pic of Katie, me & Kat selling coffee at the PCDR 45th Anniversary), which leaves limited time for internet related activities such as research, news updates, and keeping my blog updated. The last few months have also been full of fun activities as well as rough times.

In January, my boyfriend, Hito, quit his job and moved back to my community. Now he works in construction nearby and spends free time taking me places on his moto and playing baseball with all the other local guys. It's been nice to have him nearby, although it's meant some adjustments for both of us.

A week ago, one of my good friends got in a motorcycle accident. He has 2 head injuries where he hit his head on the back of his motorcycle, as well as a busted mouth where the tire hit him in the face. In the last week he has healed remarkably well, and we are hoping that he continues at this rate.

Also in January, I re-started and English class. This time around there have been few students since it's during school months and the evenings are dark. The session will end at the end of this month, to start again in May or June. I continue to find teaching English frustrating. I don't have a curriculum, and although I have a few excellent students, many Dominicans have been taught bad pronunciation, so a lot of time goes into trying to re-teach them. Later this week I need to put together their final exam, which I think I am dreading more than they are!

Carnival

In February we celebrated Carnival. Unlike similar Mardi Gras celebrations which occur the weekend before Lent, Dominican Carnival is every Sunday in February, culminating on the 27th - Dominican Independence Day. As the years continue, fun-loving Dominicans seek to extend this time, beginning at the end of January and stretching celebrations into March. Carnival is celebrated throughout the country to varying degrees, but La Vega (my province capital) is famous for their festivities. Jarabacoa also celebrates in a very similar manner, but on a much smaller scale.

Each Sunday afternoon, people line the streets to watch the parading of the mascaras - masks. These demons are elaborately designed each year by different groups. Each group has a name (Los Tigueres, Los Indeseables) and a theme. The costume for each member is the same with occasional slight variations. Jarabacoa has 8 groups, but La Vega has over 150! In Jarabacoa, after the parading of this year's masks, there is a free-for-all with the kids, teenagers and adults walking around in last years' costumes.

It all sounds like a lot of fun, right? Well, of course there's a catch. Each of the mascaras carries a vejiga. Originally, these were sheep bladders filled with rice. Now vendors sell them (along with plastic masks) as cloth-covered balls filled with air. However, the parade participants carry vejigas made of tire rubber and filled with rice. As the parade wanders down the streets, any onlooker in the street can be hit with one of these. Of course there are rules... If you're on the sidewalk or behind a rope you are safe (usually!). And the mascaras can only hit you on the backend. But that doesn't mean they have to be gentle! Often times they wind up, delivering quite a wallop! Unfortunately, I don't think I got any good pictures of people getting whacked, but you can see the vejigas in many of the pics.

After the parade is over (about an hour in Jarabacoa; all afternoon in La Vega!), there is usually a concert with a famous artist. Jarabacoa is just starting to put on concerts, so there were several glitches this year and a lot left to be desired, but over all it's a great time for celebration. Hito, Caroline and I made the worthwhile trip to La Vega one Sunday, as well as attending the Carnival in Jarabacoa as often as we could!

Samaná

Besides local festivities, I finally made the long trip to Samaná to visit my friend's site. Erica organized a library in her community, and in February she had the official inauguration. Almost all the business volunteers in my group were there. It was a great time to meet up and see how we're all doing. But the highlight of the weekend was whale watching on the bay. I brought Hito along, and it was a great time of firsts! He had never been out to Samaná before. I made plans for the 5 hour trip on public transportation, and despite his occasional doubts, we got there on time and even managed to find everybody before the ceremony! The ceremony itself was a typical Dominican affair, surprisingly well attended by the local kids and adults alike. After the ceremony, we went to the beach to swim. Unlike many of my friends, I am far from any beaches. I think the last time I had been to a beach was last April when my parents visited! (I'm working on visiting more of these beautiful beaches near all my friends this year though!)

Sunday we got up early to go whale watching. Every February, humpback whales return to the Samaná bay for mating season. The 9 of us clambered into a small motorboat and set out on the tranquil and empty bay. For awhile, everywhere we turned we saw whales surfacing, flicking their massive tails and fins, blowing, and occasionally jumping in the distance. It was the first time many of us had seen these impressive creatures in real life, and it was Hito's second time in a boat! The highlight of the morning though was seeing a huge stingray (Hito said it looked like a guinea fowl because of the spots!) and a jellyfish, which our guide scooped out of the water with his bare hands! (In Spanish, jellyfish are called aguaviva - living water!)

After an hour or so, more boats started coming out, and the sun started beating down on us, so we decided to retire to an island nearby to swim for the afternoon. A resort dominates the island, and we all felt high-class for a bit.

Hito and I intended to visit some other local sites the next day, but we woke up to pouring rain and decided to make the long trek home instead. Despite the rain, I stared out the window of the bus, catching last glimpses of the coconut palms that Samaná is famous for. Now I only have to find time to visit all my other friends scattered across this ¨tiny¨ island!

So, that's the end of my story for today. Now that it's 10:30, I'm off to finish cleaning my house before running some birth certificate errands. Hopefully it didn't take you as long to read all this as it took me to write! :o) Until the next time I find some free time!