The past 4 months...

Moving locations

Since I left you we have moved twice.  Things didn’t work out so nicely with our host family.  We had numerous arguments about how we don’t clean anything and leave our room a mess.  Now, the job of a host family is to teach you how to do things and if you are paying them, which we did, their job is to feed you and make sure your minimum needs are met.  In the situation of a Peace Corps volunteer they should also help you integrate in the community.  Now spreading rumors in the community such as we don’t pay them enough and we are paying other people to cook for us defeats the purpose of helping with integration.  Luckily we have some very sweet people in our community that loved to compartir with us and brindar un chin de comida.  So after the arguing, hearing about the gossip and having relatives of our host family come over and ignore us while we sit on the porch like redheaded step- children, we decided to move out.  After expressing our decision to our host family they told us we owed them more money.  We brought up this absurd statement to our volunteer leader who then explained to our host family when someone pays up until the 15^th of the month and moves out on the 14^th there is nothing to pay extra for.  Adios host family see you sin vergüenza en la calle.

Somos Orfanatos

Luckily Tina’s orphanage, which is the organization that she works with, let us move in until we found a house.  Our time there was a lot more comfortable than our previous place.  We had a king size bed and internet in our room, ahhh the “normal” life.  We spent many nights laughing with the 80 year old director of the organization.  He made the funniest facial expressions; now he had a stroke a few years ago so I think that helped with making the faces so funny (Lord forgive me), but it was all in all clean fun.  Living here also opened my eyes to realize that there is so much division and gossip in this country.  I think people have so little that when others come around they feel the need to protect what little they have by any means necessary.  Prime example, the director had an adult daughter who lived there with her teenage son.  They did not get along with a young man who grew up in the orphanage who is like a son to the 80 year old director.  Entonces, there is family involved in the business and an adult who grew up there who is like family all under the same roof.  Working on bettering the organization is so difficult when you have no structure with the living situation and family being involved and other people who actually were orphans who crecered in the building.  The training on conflict resolution will go a long way during our 2 years here. 

Our house

Our first night in our home was 02/07/11.  I had the bed, tank of gas, fan and washing machine delivered to the house the day before.  When the stuff was delivered 3 women came walking in and decided to say a welcome prayer for our house.  Now I don’t have a real connection with these 3 women so I was a bit suspicious because everyone told us beware of people coming in your home looking around at what you have and coming back to rob you.  Here in the D.R. I don’t put anything past anyone, including 3 bible tooting women.   All of our belongings were packed and ready to go on moving day for when Tina came back from her in-service training so we could pack the truck and go.  Well, fue bien, now that we actually live here, things are a little different, but we are enjoying are our own space and freedom.  Now that we have a home, one of the jovenes must think we are even richer Americans because all of a sudden she is thirsty, hungry and needs tape for a picture in her binder.  After a few “No’s” this will all die down.  This week we made an outdoor broom (i.e. a broom to sweep the dirt outside).  The handle was macheted down very smoothly from a piece of wood I found.  Then I went searching for this certain kind of weed that grows here that they tie around the bottom of the broom handle to sweep the dirt outside of the house.  Yes, we sweep dirt. No matter what shack you live in at least you gotta keep it clean…right.  Well we are starting English classes in March and other programs for youth.  Are club de madres had there official Juramentacion and now we are looking to build a community center for all the groups to have meetings in.  In less than 2 weeks we will take a break and live it up with Tina’s parents in an adult only all inclusive and then it’s back to the barrio.         

Enjoy the photos of our home...