As could be expected, the internet did not come through in the house (Dominicans have a way of saying yes to things when they really mean "probably not") and I am once again in the cafe down the street. Shocker. But I wanted to give an idea of my host family, so here is what happened my first Saturday in Santo Domingo:
I woke up at 7:30 because los gallos wouldn’t shut up, and also because my body is conditioned to wake up around 7 these days. Everyone else (meaning mis “padres” y four “hermanitos”) was already awake – Don Pedro (mi papa) was out in the calle con sus amigos, Doña Elba (mami) left around 5 to sell her café on the corner, and I have no idea what the kids were doing, with the exception of Frendi (18) who was going to work a half-day in the factory. I have yet to figure out what he makes, though he tried to explain it to me.
I sat out on the patio for a while, reading and writing a bit… trying to anyway. It’s hard for me to concentrate on things like that when I’m in a new place. So I kind of just sat on the porch for a while, listening to the bachata that was already blasting from the colmado across the street until the girls, Lili (10) y Katerin (13) showed up and we mixed up some eggs with onions and peppers to make breakfast. Mami was really happy when she walked in at 9:30 and found me cooking with her daughters. My other “brother,” Fraduh (15), made fun of us for being women in the kitchen… par for the course.
After a bit of relaxation, mi madre wanted me to go to the market with her. So we took a 10-minute ride in a stuffed carro publico (basically a taxi that picks up tons of people and drops them where they want to go – I was squished next to some woman in the front seat and mami was in the back with four other people), and ended up at a crowded outdoor market. Loud, smelly, claustrophobic… basically what you’d expect from an outdoor market in Santo Domingo or anywhere else. It was cool to see it, especially with a Domincana who holds my hand in a crowd like I really am her daughter. (So mom and dad, you can rest assured that I am being very well taken care of for the time being – she gave me a long talk today about how dangerous it is to walk around alone and how I should always be with other volunteers or Dominicans. Also she calls me “mi amor.") I definitely got the perspective of locals, watching as she did her shopping for veggies and fruits and spices, etc. She keeps asking me what I like and is really pleased when I say “todo.” After a few more weeks of eating Dominican food maybe I’ll find things I don’t like (probably involving animal organs), but that hasn’t happened yet.
When we finally got back to the house, she cooked a creamy pasta dish and some fried plantains, and after everyone ate we all took a siesta. When I woke up she made me coffee with lots of sugar (sugar with some coffee might be more accurate), and then we embarked on our second shopping trip. This time we went to an actual supermarket – it’s probably the most America-like place you can find around here. Got a few more things and came back around 6:30. I proceeded to spend the next 2 hours playing dominos with Lili, Katerin y Frendi. We took a little break for dinner and then continued with the game until we couldn’t ignore the music BLASTING from the colmado anymore. Lili started it – I have never seen a 10 year old with moves like that. She is seriously impressive, and super fun. They all are really. The four of us danced for a long time around the patio, living room, kitchen to bachata, reggaeton, merengue, whathaveyou. My moves and ability to sing along to a lot of the songs earned me some street cred with the hermanos, so gracias a Dios for the last year and a half in DC. We had a legitimately great time. By 1 AM, I was sitting on my bed under my mosquito net (a simple, yet ingenious invention), with no possibility of sleep for at least another few hours because that colmado was STILL raging. I probably won’t spend another Saturday night in the house while I’m in Santo Domingo… it’s better to be out dancing at the party than trying to sleep through it. Though our kitchen dancing was a solid substitution.
In conclusion, I got lucky with my first host family. Sometimes mi madre is a little too welcoming – giving me the biggest plate of food and keeping a few special glasses for only me to drink from! It makes me really uncomfortable when, for example, she tells Katerin to cook me breakfast or something. I insist on at least cooking the breakfast together, and doing at least some of the dishes. Also, my Spanish is a lot better than I thought. I'm not having much trouble communicating, and I sometimes find myself speaking Spanish when I mean to speak English... so that's cool.
That was last weekend. This weekend will (hopefully) involve the beach, some fiestas, and a guided tour through the old city. Also I'm being dragged to an Evangelical church on Sunday night with mi madre.... I've heard it will involve lots of screaming and I'll probably have a headache by the 3 hour point, but I'm all for new cultural experiences.
Sidenotes:
- In case this wasn’t clear, colmados are little stores with open fronts that sell some food, drinks, etc, and generally play loud music. On Saturday nights (and many other nights), they all turn into fiestas. There are tons around the barrio and there happens to be one directly across the street from my house. It’s really affecting my life right now.
- Also, so you don't think that Peace Corps is just some big party in the barrio, I am having actual training during the week, and it will get a lot more intense very soon, but more on that later....
