Early in January, Tina

!Felice año nuevo! Backdrop: sitting in my King-sized bed, listening to bachata with the colmado’s reggaeton in the background, holding a bleach-soaked washcloth over the ringworm (disclaimer: not actually a worm, but a bacterial infection like athlete’s foot, if that sounds any nicer) that found itself on my arm after our New Year’s festivities (other remedies have failed thus far, and the internet swears this will work, so surely it must because like the news, the internet never lies), and giving the finger wag to a devil-child (I am still on the fence as to whether or not devil-child is a literal term for him. I am leaning toward yes) who keeps trying to come into my room. 

The New Year started off with a bang!, or rather, fireworks in Caberete, a touristy town in the north, where a lot of volunteers congregated for fireworks, lots of Presidente, rum, an Irish pub (with $20 pints of Guiness, which I sadly, on my Peace Corps salary, had to decline), rain, a beautiful beach, a fun hostel, and an overall good time.

Things have been a little hectic around here. After some turbulent times, Dominic and I ended up leaving our host family early, Gracias a Dios (my obligatory phrase that will surely weasel itself into every blog). We moved into the organization to which I was originally assigned. We have a King-sized bed, an industrial-sized kitchen, and friendly roommates. While we are still looking for our own place, I am pleasantly surprised how happy I am here. Our roommates include the founder (an 80-year old man who is amazing), his daughter and 18-year old grandson (Puerto Ricans who also speak English, which is sweet), 2 brothers who grew up in the orphanage and have lived here their whole lives (one sings constantly like an evangelical church, and the other is also an amazing man), and another 18-year old who grew up here. Despite the frat-house feel that sometimes ensues, it is good.

The founder/ our roommate has been in the hospital the past week. Visiting a Dominican hospital is a sight in itself. I went once when a neighbor was having a baby. She was lying in bed with 5 other cots also in her room. All the women were hooked up to iv’s. They all had to bring their own sheets and food, including the two 13-year olds (one might have been 12) who were also readying themselves as children to bring another child in the world.  Visiting the founder was a similar experience, and when he came home, we were all relieved. Tomorrow, 40 Americanos are coming for a medical mission trip. I am going to help with translating, which should be interesting. Vamos a ver. I am still looking forward to when we have our own place and can have a little more tranquilidad y paz en nuestra vida.

I had a productive weekend. We are still working on our community diagnostics, which will be in early February. Our diagnostics include interviews, focus groups, and lots of meetings with community members to discuss the needs, priorities, and resources of our community, with the ultimate goal of guiding us into what our projects will be the next 2 years. True to form, Dominic’s is pretty much complete, and mine is pretty much not (i.e. I have not yet started writing it). We had a meeting with the youth of our barrio yesterday. While only teens were invited, midway through I had one baby on one hip, was holding the hand of a 4-year old with the other, and was instructing the kids, “por favor, niños, su atención.” My “por favor” was more like a whimpering plea of desperation. Some teens did show up, and we were able to assess some of their needs and wants (etiquette class, English classes, sports, charlas, y yo no recuerdo que mas). We also met with the pastors of our barrio (latest count of churches=thirteen evangelical, one 7^th day Adventist, and one Catholic). After explaining for half the time that while we were Cristianos and volunteers, we were not here solely to serve the churches, but to better the community as a whole, heathens included, we received some good suggestions from the pastors. They seem committed to working with us, and I think they are going to be a good resource.   

While I joke about the evangelical community at times, they (as an extremely grand overgeneralization) really are amazing people. I can really tell a difference, both in appearance and actions, between those who are Christians here versus those who are not. Por ejemplo, you are not an Evangelical if you wear pants, wear tank tops, drink beer, wear earrings, or use makeup. You are an Evangelical if you wear flowered, buttoned shirts (sometimes with extreme cleavage) as well as long, spandex skirts (sometimes that show every, EVERY curve). That being said, all of my friends and the people with whom I work are all Evangelical.