Mata's Kitchen! Where we hang out most of the time
Mata checking out the rice and corn on our front porch
View from my new house!
Front view of my new house! I'll add better pics when i have more time!
Love,
Sarah
The Deep End
13 years ago
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Few new pics
Mata's Kitchen! Where we hang out most of the time
Mata checking out the rice and corn on our front porch
View from my new house!
Front view of my new house! I'll add better pics when i have more time!
Love,
Sarah
Moving Soon!
Greetings!
I think I now have a bit to update. I’m moving at the end of this month into the little casita I had been hoping for! That is the good news. The last few weeks I haven’t had too much to do besides get the house in order and by that I mean dealing with the landlord (I’ll explain that in a second) and making furniture for the house since they are leaving it completely barren. When I say completely barren I mean it – like they were even thinking about taking the electrical wiring, sockets, and outlets - because apparently it is the current tenant’s personal property. We worked it out where I’ll reimburse them to keep it but yea? Yeah!
I personally think the house is great and that I got really lucky! The pros– it has a tamarindo, guayaba, limon, platano, coco, café, cacao, peppers, beans, and even a little pineapple (called Ahnana in Kreole by the way) already there! I am stoked about that. There is also enough room for a larger garden and a side herb garden. There is a great view from the backside of the house you can walk 20 feet to get to. There is also cell phone signal from the top of one of the windows so that is amazing. The two closest neighbors are Donas Fuertes so if anyone messes with me I just yell out to them - and one of the even has an oven. There is also a good rainwater collection system and the house is hooked up to the electrical grid so when there is light I can aprovechar (take advantage of it). I think that I will be able to make the house very comfortable and I have an extra bedroom for visitors so I am really happy!
The cons – the only real con besides a small leak in the roof and rustic bathroom is that the landlord, Juan, is one of my least favorite dudes in the community. He is comparable to a small Dominican snake – real shifty like. I quickly fell into bad terms with him during the first week I was here with him tirando piropos (flirting) infront on his wife who is very nice– her name is Meeka and she’s a jolly large woman. I am feeling slightly more comfortable with my ability to communicate effectively and last week I was a bit fuerte with him finally. I went into his colmado and explained to him that if he was going to be my landlord he needs to stop talking to me like that because I am a professional that is trying to help his community and it is completely inappropriate. Also, I said strongly that I have absolutely no interest in him - none. I told him that I only have interest in my novio (the fake Dominican one I made up to ease tigueres) – and that I don’t think it’s appropriate to have interest in more than one person. I made sure to say this infront of his wife and there were also a lot of people in the colmado and IT WAS GREAT – the people were like, oooohhhh….burn Juan. I’m so glad the burn is a universal thing. Then Juan covered his heart like he was shot – pretending to be playing around – but I never laughed and I am fairly sure he got the message I won’t take anymore of his BS.
That being said, David, my PC emergency coordinator came by to talk to him today and he was really in top snake form arguing with David that it is my responsibility to fix the leak in the roof and mentioning that he should raise the rent. That worried me and David left telling me that I’ve got a dirtbag on my hands which I already knew but there really isn’t any other housing options in the community. If all falls apart Mata told me that I could live with them for 2 years and it is always nice to know I won’t be put out. Tomorrow I’m going to go talk to Clide, our town animador/priest, to explain to him the situation with the basic house repairs and see if he can convince Juan to stop being a bastardo and help out the voluntaria in the community so she can try to help the community. If that doesn’t work –ie he doesn’t fix the small leak in the roof – over time I’ll have to save money for my plan to build a side hut for a nicer place to bathe along with a counter and other small house improvements - and then show it to Juan after two years when I am going to leave and then tear it down and sell the materials to other people in the community. Sounds a little spiteful I know. Yet why in the world would I want to improve the house of a guy like Juan – especially when other community members seem to want to help me. So I think it is justified. The thing that sucks is that if Juan doesn’t help me, the Peace Corps won’t help me with house improvements really either so it is all from my monthly allowance – ie definitely not giving any freebies to una culebra como el.
I did have a big blow this last Sunday – my little kitty Mauricio died. It was really quite sad how it happened too. I went to Milagro’s house to finish up sewing this rug I’m working on after saying goodbye to the kitty in the morning. Then I came back to Mata’s for lunch and the cat and I always eat meals together – he sat at my side and I would put some of the excessive quantity of food that Mata serves me in the little food bowl I made him. I had finally gotten people in the community to stop saying that if I eat a cat hair I will die or won’t be able to become pregnant…believe me it got really annoying. Anyways, I walked back home and start calling Miso, Miso (kitty kitty) and the cat didn’t appear so I sat down and started eating. I couldn’t find the cat dish either which was weird but I thought I’d just ask Mata after we talked about renting a stove from another neighbor and in the meantime I was putting Mauricio’s food on one of the extra plates I had. Mata and I talked about the stove and I called the cat again with no response. Then Mata sat down and looked at me and said, “Sarah, I need to tell you something” and then didn’t say anything for 10 seconds while her eyes welled up with tears and she told me Mauricio died. After bawling for about 10 minutes she finally told me that he ate some of the bountiful rat poison that they put all over the house. I sat and consoled her, which she probably thought was odd because I think she was really crying for me although the family did start to treat the cat much better when they realized I loved him and that he wasn’t going to kill anyone. Then I went into my room and didn’t let anyone see me because I really dislike crying in front of people. Mauricio was a wonderful, loving little kitty cat who was basically my best friend in the community due to his similar lack of Spanish skills and cuddleable nature. I told my community that I was in Luto (mourning) for him and while they were joking about that, I didn’t let them see that I was completely serious. I will really miss him.
In other news, there hasn’t been much going on in my community. I made the volleyball net and just finally got them to get two poles to put in the ground, but they still haven’t done it. It is really frustrating when you have to, for everything, take them by the hand. I haven’t started up the next English class because I want to get the housing stuff in order so I told all the kids it’ll be about a month. I am looking forward to the advanced class of serious kids and that is about it because having all those kids running around was definitely not easy. It makes me hesitant to start the Environmental Ed classes, especially talking about technical things in Spanish. With the water project – I am currently working on a grant to get my community out of debt for the materials they already have. This totals to over $7,000 and I am constantly amazed as to how this could have happened. There must have been no budget whatsoever and people must have backed out from every corner paying their shares. The grant, if I got it, would maximum only give me $5000 and it’s a slim chance. I was optimistic about this at first because the person I initially talked to about the sum forgot to put in a zero and I thought it was only 700 dollars. Funny how those zeros work. The jam project is at a standstill right now because I need to find sealable jars in order for the jam to store and not get anyone sick. The mango jam is delicious but unfortunately it is quite an acidic fruit I think and goes bad really fast. The chinola stores for more time, but I’m still looking into better jars. I also emailed my contacts with project DIG to see if we can start community hortalizas in El Firme and also contacted a few people about Fair Trade but nothing has come yet. Therefore there has been a lot of waiting and in the meantime I’ve been making stuff!
I am actually getting pretty good with my carpentry skills, along with bowstaff skills, clearly. I therefore am confident given the materials I could make the side bathroom I’ve designed without needing to pay for someone to help. Hurricane proof? We’ll see haha. Most recently I’ve finished a sofa minus the cushions, little boxes, coasters, a quilted rug which I might embroider with a mountain scene, and also I’m proud of my estante (book shelf) which I’m going to paint and think it will be a nice addition to the house. Plus a place to put all the wonderful books my Nana has sent me. Speaking of which:
I HAVE THE BEST NANA IN THE WHOLE WORLD. SHE IS AMAZING. I LOVE HER VERY MUCH.
My Nana is making the other volunteers question the awesomeness of their grandmothers in the quality and quantity of carepackages she sends me. Thank you so much Nana!
Mark took off to the states. He told me he’d bring me back seeds and turkey jerky from Trader Joes. I highly anticipate our next meeting haha. I’m really glad he made it out ok because there was supposed to be a tropical storm on the day of his flight which quite luckily dissipated. This country seems to be working out pretty well for him. I am also a fan of his mom who likes my blog!
My other volunteer friends Ben and Kiri have moved into their houses already! Leeann and I are in about the same stage with our houses and have been talking a lot about latrines, colmado noise, and housing issues. Her current host family sounds noisy and sort of mean, while mine is really funny and warm but noisy. Therefore we are all excited to have our own space for the first time in 5 months. For me---first time ever besides sophomore year of college when I had my own room. My brother Jim’s idiosyncrasies at times can be comparable to blasting bachatta at 7am. Needless to say I’ve waited for this move for a while.
I watched Across the Universe last night on my laptop and I thought it was interesting and a couple of the pieces really struck me. My favorite song was how they redid Let it Be. There is something about Gospel music that just utterly rocks. In another life I hope I can be a large black woman that can belt it. Clearly Patty Griffin was. I also really liked the football players running slowmo as Prudence sung I want to hold your hand. You should watch it if you have a chance.
I’m going to try and post some pics of the new casita, but you should just come out and visit. This especially means you Costa Rica kids because you would love it here. Shoot me a line anytime and I’ll answer when I have internet!
Miss you all and hope everything is going well
Also thanks to all of you who are sending me texts! It is GREAT! I am getting them and do a little dance with each one. A little bachatta here, a little merengue there.
All my lovin,
Sarah
P.S. I just remembered a really funny story that you shouldn’t read if you are easily freaked out ie Aunt Jenna. Hahah. Mata was trying to point out this ENORMOUS cockroach to me that was near the water bucket and I freaked out and jumped on the chair because I thought she said cacata (tarantula) but while she was saying it her false teeth dropped out of her mouth and she chased after them, I’m still on the chair wondering what’s going on and where the tarantula is, and the cockroach runs away and disappears. Se fue la sana! We had a good chuckle with that.
We also were sitting one night and there hadn’t been any electricity for like the whole day – and we were talking when suddenly Mata shushes us all and listens intently to the fridge that had just switched on. Then he jumps up and does a fist pump elatedly saying ‘POR FIN! LLEGO LA LUZ!’ (At last! The electricity/light is here). That is actually how the light situation can be summed up here and I am in for a nasty surprise when I get to the new house without an inversor (large rechargeable battery). Anyways I laughed really hard about that too. Mata is really fun, you’ve got to meet her.
I think I now have a bit to update. I’m moving at the end of this month into the little casita I had been hoping for! That is the good news. The last few weeks I haven’t had too much to do besides get the house in order and by that I mean dealing with the landlord (I’ll explain that in a second) and making furniture for the house since they are leaving it completely barren. When I say completely barren I mean it – like they were even thinking about taking the electrical wiring, sockets, and outlets - because apparently it is the current tenant’s personal property. We worked it out where I’ll reimburse them to keep it but yea? Yeah!
I personally think the house is great and that I got really lucky! The pros– it has a tamarindo, guayaba, limon, platano, coco, café, cacao, peppers, beans, and even a little pineapple (called Ahnana in Kreole by the way) already there! I am stoked about that. There is also enough room for a larger garden and a side herb garden. There is a great view from the backside of the house you can walk 20 feet to get to. There is also cell phone signal from the top of one of the windows so that is amazing. The two closest neighbors are Donas Fuertes so if anyone messes with me I just yell out to them - and one of the even has an oven. There is also a good rainwater collection system and the house is hooked up to the electrical grid so when there is light I can aprovechar (take advantage of it). I think that I will be able to make the house very comfortable and I have an extra bedroom for visitors so I am really happy!
The cons – the only real con besides a small leak in the roof and rustic bathroom is that the landlord, Juan, is one of my least favorite dudes in the community. He is comparable to a small Dominican snake – real shifty like. I quickly fell into bad terms with him during the first week I was here with him tirando piropos (flirting) infront on his wife who is very nice– her name is Meeka and she’s a jolly large woman. I am feeling slightly more comfortable with my ability to communicate effectively and last week I was a bit fuerte with him finally. I went into his colmado and explained to him that if he was going to be my landlord he needs to stop talking to me like that because I am a professional that is trying to help his community and it is completely inappropriate. Also, I said strongly that I have absolutely no interest in him - none. I told him that I only have interest in my novio (the fake Dominican one I made up to ease tigueres) – and that I don’t think it’s appropriate to have interest in more than one person. I made sure to say this infront of his wife and there were also a lot of people in the colmado and IT WAS GREAT – the people were like, oooohhhh….burn Juan. I’m so glad the burn is a universal thing. Then Juan covered his heart like he was shot – pretending to be playing around – but I never laughed and I am fairly sure he got the message I won’t take anymore of his BS.
That being said, David, my PC emergency coordinator came by to talk to him today and he was really in top snake form arguing with David that it is my responsibility to fix the leak in the roof and mentioning that he should raise the rent. That worried me and David left telling me that I’ve got a dirtbag on my hands which I already knew but there really isn’t any other housing options in the community. If all falls apart Mata told me that I could live with them for 2 years and it is always nice to know I won’t be put out. Tomorrow I’m going to go talk to Clide, our town animador/priest, to explain to him the situation with the basic house repairs and see if he can convince Juan to stop being a bastardo and help out the voluntaria in the community so she can try to help the community. If that doesn’t work –ie he doesn’t fix the small leak in the roof – over time I’ll have to save money for my plan to build a side hut for a nicer place to bathe along with a counter and other small house improvements - and then show it to Juan after two years when I am going to leave and then tear it down and sell the materials to other people in the community. Sounds a little spiteful I know. Yet why in the world would I want to improve the house of a guy like Juan – especially when other community members seem to want to help me. So I think it is justified. The thing that sucks is that if Juan doesn’t help me, the Peace Corps won’t help me with house improvements really either so it is all from my monthly allowance – ie definitely not giving any freebies to una culebra como el.
I did have a big blow this last Sunday – my little kitty Mauricio died. It was really quite sad how it happened too. I went to Milagro’s house to finish up sewing this rug I’m working on after saying goodbye to the kitty in the morning. Then I came back to Mata’s for lunch and the cat and I always eat meals together – he sat at my side and I would put some of the excessive quantity of food that Mata serves me in the little food bowl I made him. I had finally gotten people in the community to stop saying that if I eat a cat hair I will die or won’t be able to become pregnant…believe me it got really annoying. Anyways, I walked back home and start calling Miso, Miso (kitty kitty) and the cat didn’t appear so I sat down and started eating. I couldn’t find the cat dish either which was weird but I thought I’d just ask Mata after we talked about renting a stove from another neighbor and in the meantime I was putting Mauricio’s food on one of the extra plates I had. Mata and I talked about the stove and I called the cat again with no response. Then Mata sat down and looked at me and said, “Sarah, I need to tell you something” and then didn’t say anything for 10 seconds while her eyes welled up with tears and she told me Mauricio died. After bawling for about 10 minutes she finally told me that he ate some of the bountiful rat poison that they put all over the house. I sat and consoled her, which she probably thought was odd because I think she was really crying for me although the family did start to treat the cat much better when they realized I loved him and that he wasn’t going to kill anyone. Then I went into my room and didn’t let anyone see me because I really dislike crying in front of people. Mauricio was a wonderful, loving little kitty cat who was basically my best friend in the community due to his similar lack of Spanish skills and cuddleable nature. I told my community that I was in Luto (mourning) for him and while they were joking about that, I didn’t let them see that I was completely serious. I will really miss him.
In other news, there hasn’t been much going on in my community. I made the volleyball net and just finally got them to get two poles to put in the ground, but they still haven’t done it. It is really frustrating when you have to, for everything, take them by the hand. I haven’t started up the next English class because I want to get the housing stuff in order so I told all the kids it’ll be about a month. I am looking forward to the advanced class of serious kids and that is about it because having all those kids running around was definitely not easy. It makes me hesitant to start the Environmental Ed classes, especially talking about technical things in Spanish. With the water project – I am currently working on a grant to get my community out of debt for the materials they already have. This totals to over $7,000 and I am constantly amazed as to how this could have happened. There must have been no budget whatsoever and people must have backed out from every corner paying their shares. The grant, if I got it, would maximum only give me $5000 and it’s a slim chance. I was optimistic about this at first because the person I initially talked to about the sum forgot to put in a zero and I thought it was only 700 dollars. Funny how those zeros work. The jam project is at a standstill right now because I need to find sealable jars in order for the jam to store and not get anyone sick. The mango jam is delicious but unfortunately it is quite an acidic fruit I think and goes bad really fast. The chinola stores for more time, but I’m still looking into better jars. I also emailed my contacts with project DIG to see if we can start community hortalizas in El Firme and also contacted a few people about Fair Trade but nothing has come yet. Therefore there has been a lot of waiting and in the meantime I’ve been making stuff!
I am actually getting pretty good with my carpentry skills, along with bowstaff skills, clearly. I therefore am confident given the materials I could make the side bathroom I’ve designed without needing to pay for someone to help. Hurricane proof? We’ll see haha. Most recently I’ve finished a sofa minus the cushions, little boxes, coasters, a quilted rug which I might embroider with a mountain scene, and also I’m proud of my estante (book shelf) which I’m going to paint and think it will be a nice addition to the house. Plus a place to put all the wonderful books my Nana has sent me. Speaking of which:
I HAVE THE BEST NANA IN THE WHOLE WORLD. SHE IS AMAZING. I LOVE HER VERY MUCH.
My Nana is making the other volunteers question the awesomeness of their grandmothers in the quality and quantity of carepackages she sends me. Thank you so much Nana!
Mark took off to the states. He told me he’d bring me back seeds and turkey jerky from Trader Joes. I highly anticipate our next meeting haha. I’m really glad he made it out ok because there was supposed to be a tropical storm on the day of his flight which quite luckily dissipated. This country seems to be working out pretty well for him. I am also a fan of his mom who likes my blog!
My other volunteer friends Ben and Kiri have moved into their houses already! Leeann and I are in about the same stage with our houses and have been talking a lot about latrines, colmado noise, and housing issues. Her current host family sounds noisy and sort of mean, while mine is really funny and warm but noisy. Therefore we are all excited to have our own space for the first time in 5 months. For me---first time ever besides sophomore year of college when I had my own room. My brother Jim’s idiosyncrasies at times can be comparable to blasting bachatta at 7am. Needless to say I’ve waited for this move for a while.
I watched Across the Universe last night on my laptop and I thought it was interesting and a couple of the pieces really struck me. My favorite song was how they redid Let it Be. There is something about Gospel music that just utterly rocks. In another life I hope I can be a large black woman that can belt it. Clearly Patty Griffin was. I also really liked the football players running slowmo as Prudence sung I want to hold your hand. You should watch it if you have a chance.
I’m going to try and post some pics of the new casita, but you should just come out and visit. This especially means you Costa Rica kids because you would love it here. Shoot me a line anytime and I’ll answer when I have internet!
Miss you all and hope everything is going well
Also thanks to all of you who are sending me texts! It is GREAT! I am getting them and do a little dance with each one. A little bachatta here, a little merengue there.
All my lovin,
Sarah
P.S. I just remembered a really funny story that you shouldn’t read if you are easily freaked out ie Aunt Jenna. Hahah. Mata was trying to point out this ENORMOUS cockroach to me that was near the water bucket and I freaked out and jumped on the chair because I thought she said cacata (tarantula) but while she was saying it her false teeth dropped out of her mouth and she chased after them, I’m still on the chair wondering what’s going on and where the tarantula is, and the cockroach runs away and disappears. Se fue la sana! We had a good chuckle with that.
We also were sitting one night and there hadn’t been any electricity for like the whole day – and we were talking when suddenly Mata shushes us all and listens intently to the fridge that had just switched on. Then he jumps up and does a fist pump elatedly saying ‘POR FIN! LLEGO LA LUZ!’ (At last! The electricity/light is here). That is actually how the light situation can be summed up here and I am in for a nasty surprise when I get to the new house without an inversor (large rechargeable battery). Anyways I laughed really hard about that too. Mata is really fun, you’ve got to meet her.
Friday, August 7, 2009
End of English Class!
Here are a few photos.
We are at IST in Santiago hanging out and I've had internet for the last few days, let me repeat again...amazing. My presentation went well I think and I taught my group how to make Chinola Jam and am sending out the designs for the volleyball net out of reusable materials. We also learned how to build a nursery, worm composting, and a few other little knick knacks so overall it's been a great week. I brought Orlando with me, one of my favorite and most serio english students, instead of my project partners since they no sirven (they don't really help me with anything). He did wonderfully doing the presentation and I'm really proud of him.
Anyways - not too much to tell - English class finished up well. Did my graduation ceremony with my 18 students (13 passed so I still felt like it was a success). I'll be doing advanced classes at my house after I'm settled in, probably September. Here are some photos of the graduation (kids with their certificates and a pic of me and Orlando - he spoke a little English during our Community Diagnostic Presentation!)
Also finished my little table so take a peek! I lined the sides with sea glass I found to give it an artsy look and continue with the reuse material theme. The table in total cost me 50 pesos to make (Less than 2 bucks). You'll have to come visit me for me to show you how I rearrange a few pieces to get the top part all level. It is the first piece of furniture for my house!
The last pic is of our training group at IST (In service training) building the nursery...but just of our faces with our older volunteer friend Danielle.
Hope you are all doing well! I'll put up pics of my homestay house and community next post.
Love,
Sarah
We are at IST in Santiago hanging out and I've had internet for the last few days, let me repeat again...amazing. My presentation went well I think and I taught my group how to make Chinola Jam and am sending out the designs for the volleyball net out of reusable materials. We also learned how to build a nursery, worm composting, and a few other little knick knacks so overall it's been a great week. I brought Orlando with me, one of my favorite and most serio english students, instead of my project partners since they no sirven (they don't really help me with anything). He did wonderfully doing the presentation and I'm really proud of him.
Anyways - not too much to tell - English class finished up well. Did my graduation ceremony with my 18 students (13 passed so I still felt like it was a success). I'll be doing advanced classes at my house after I'm settled in, probably September. Here are some photos of the graduation (kids with their certificates and a pic of me and Orlando - he spoke a little English during our Community Diagnostic Presentation!)
Also finished my little table so take a peek! I lined the sides with sea glass I found to give it an artsy look and continue with the reuse material theme. The table in total cost me 50 pesos to make (Less than 2 bucks). You'll have to come visit me for me to show you how I rearrange a few pieces to get the top part all level. It is the first piece of furniture for my house!
The last pic is of our training group at IST (In service training) building the nursery...but just of our faces with our older volunteer friend Danielle.
Hope you are all doing well! I'll put up pics of my homestay house and community next post.
Love,
Sarah
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Another reason not to eat Mondongo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/28/AR2009072800390.html
Credit to Bailey Maria Bonura.
Did the open mic last night...there are some volunteers who are stellar guitarists. The Hub is wonderful. I recommend it to check out whenever it's available. Way nicer than the Pen. I have IST tomorrow. Wish me luck with my presentation and also transportation.
Love,
Sarah
Credit to Bailey Maria Bonura.
Did the open mic last night...there are some volunteers who are stellar guitarists. The Hub is wonderful. I recommend it to check out whenever it's available. Way nicer than the Pen. I have IST tomorrow. Wish me luck with my presentation and also transportation.
Love,
Sarah
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Reminder and tiny pump movie
Hey guys!
A quick reminder that you need to put your name in the text if you want me to know who is texting me. I have been able to figure out most, with the exception of the person quien sabe Espanol and is in Eugene Orgegon riding their bike around and enjoying life - who was that? :)
Also a quick movie showing that pump I was talking about.
Haha - in Spanish I am trying to say ' This is the pump and it's a project that will make the life a Dona a little easier. It can also be used to wet the little muchachos in your community.'
A quick reminder that you need to put your name in the text if you want me to know who is texting me. I have been able to figure out most, with the exception of the person quien sabe Espanol and is in Eugene Orgegon riding their bike around and enjoying life - who was that? :)
Also a quick movie showing that pump I was talking about.
Haha - in Spanish I am trying to say ' This is the pump and it's a project that will make the life a Dona a little easier. It can also be used to wet the little muchachos in your community.'
Monday, July 27, 2009
Text me for free
Well look at this handy dandy little tool I just found. If you would like to send me a text message for free, go to this website and scroll to the bottom of the page until you see a phone. Put in the number 809-723-9938 and write your message and then hit Enviar and type in the pin that pops up and I'll be able to receive a free text! Make sure you write your name otherwise I won't know who it is from. I also won't be able to text you back, but it's still a pretty cool thing.
www.claro.com.do
I am heading back to my site in a bit, currently in the capital and got my packages!!!
Thank you Sanders, Bailey, Nana, Mom, Jwall, Jenny, Matt, and Po. It is just so great. I walked into the volunteer lounge with all my packages and people were like - well somebody is loved. And that is exactly how it makes me feel!!! THANK YOU!
Went to San Fran de Macoris the other night for a regional get-together. I will definitely be going there more based on that visit - it's convenient and much nicer than Nagua from what I saw. I went out in the capital last night with some other volunteers. Mica and her Tennessee friends, Mark, Leeann and Ben and it was one of my favorite nights so far in the country. We went to Rinconcito to watch live Salsa music and then somehow ended up from there into a Merengue festival that was just ridiculously fun. I love dancing. Apparently it is every Sunday and I will take you if you come visit. Then we went back to the Penn where we played a little music. They asked me to go to this beach town with them (since they were visiting from the states) which I would have loved to do since these are all Tennessee folk with southan drawls and good tunes -- but there is this thing called Campo guilt in our training group -- when you leave your site a little too much and feel like you are having too much fun. Hopefully there are other opportunities. I think I want to visit Tennessee now because there is something in the water there that makes the people great.
Ok - off to Castillo to pick up some wood, finish the diagnostic, and then to Santiago next week. I was invited to play an open mic night the day before and I really hope I can get that in there too! They are doing Indian food, that is far beyond incentive.
Love you!
www.claro.com.do
I am heading back to my site in a bit, currently in the capital and got my packages!!!
Thank you Sanders, Bailey, Nana, Mom, Jwall, Jenny, Matt, and Po. It is just so great. I walked into the volunteer lounge with all my packages and people were like - well somebody is loved. And that is exactly how it makes me feel!!! THANK YOU!
Went to San Fran de Macoris the other night for a regional get-together. I will definitely be going there more based on that visit - it's convenient and much nicer than Nagua from what I saw. I went out in the capital last night with some other volunteers. Mica and her Tennessee friends, Mark, Leeann and Ben and it was one of my favorite nights so far in the country. We went to Rinconcito to watch live Salsa music and then somehow ended up from there into a Merengue festival that was just ridiculously fun. I love dancing. Apparently it is every Sunday and I will take you if you come visit. Then we went back to the Penn where we played a little music. They asked me to go to this beach town with them (since they were visiting from the states) which I would have loved to do since these are all Tennessee folk with southan drawls and good tunes -- but there is this thing called Campo guilt in our training group -- when you leave your site a little too much and feel like you are having too much fun. Hopefully there are other opportunities. I think I want to visit Tennessee now because there is something in the water there that makes the people great.
Ok - off to Castillo to pick up some wood, finish the diagnostic, and then to Santiago next week. I was invited to play an open mic night the day before and I really hope I can get that in there too! They are doing Indian food, that is far beyond incentive.
Love you!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Spare time! Ha - lets make some stuff!
Ok yeah so I've been having way too much fun playing 'Dominicana Bob the builder'. I also probably appear like a crazy homeless woman because I'm always scavenging for parts (the other day I found a singular shoe while with my homestay family walking and they for sure thought I was batty until I showed them what it was for - the rubber for the pump)
I want to show you guys though, especially the other volunteers reading this because if you like something you see on my blog I can show you how to make it and it might come in handy for your house (ie those of us without showers, sinks, tables) Compartir :)
The pump works! The design is simple (can be found on google) but making/collecting materials takes a bit of time depending on your circumstances.
I'm stoked. The only part I'm looking for now is a spring to cut the work load in half. With ever 36 inch stroke the pump can basically discharge .3 liters of water (36pie(.4)sq=18cub inches or ~30ml) which is pretty cool! I put a soda cap with a nail hole on the outgoing end and turned it into a mini water gun that can shoot water across my street which is bad news for the kids going by on their motos when it's raining (so as not to waste the water). They get a nice blast (although they are already soaked). Haha - it's probably not the most intelligent idea to do this to motorists and I will probably be the first PCV to kill a small Dominican child but I'd say it is worth it. Sometimes I have a crowd to watch me get a passerby. My favorites are the older men who freak out.
More importantly - the pump will be used in the community to help alleviate some serious back straining of carrying water up small hills (and also transporting it around the house in less than 40 trips). It is a prototype as of the moment - but I'm going to teach them how I made it out of materials (carved wooden dowel, goma or shoe rubber, screw, PVC cement and 3/4, nail, teflon, hose found in the
community (sans the check valves which are at the hardware store in the nearest city for approx 8 bucks each). The whole thing (including the hose) took me about 20-25 bucks to make.
The next project is a foot pump using the same method for sinks. To have the semblance of running water mainly.
Here is a pic of my shower head. I took a normal plastic soda bottle and cut the top 3rd off. Then I took a sink strainer and nailed even larger holes in it. I wrapped the circle in teflon a few times and stuck it into the bottle. I then took a candle and melted the plastic to secure it in and it works fairly well as of the moment when attached the the pump.
I was in Nagua the other day for my last blog entry and while on my 45 minute walk through the crazy city to the university I can across a fallen broken sign with prime wood and I was on that like a pregnant women craving peanut butter. I ripped off the boards with Dominicans watching and applauding. They are now the frame to this little coffee mesita!
I'm so pleased with it. On the side there you can see I started glueing sea glass that I collected during our Brigada Verde beach trip -- really silly to put it on before you finish hammering by the way. But I was testing out the look and if the superglue held. It is currently lacking the top (superficie) because of an unpleasant incident with one of my gua-gua drivers who I asked to pick my up 12 ft of 3inch wide cedro o caoba wood and long story short is that basically he is not the smartest guy in the world and came back with a huge crate that I totally couldn't use for the table and charged me 150 pesos +50 for his services which I wanted to tell him...you made me wait 8 hours for something i didn't even ask for and that is your service?
Yesterday was actually just a really bad day because of the gua-gua driver not understanding anything, then I had a few English students who are very frustrating and refuse to study but expect their certificates, a student who was cheating during my final English test, and finally and most importantly Mata telling me the Marta was not going to move out of the house I am looking to move into (the one I really have my hopes up for). It was a little much with all that yesterday and I felt like I was starting to get a little short with the kids at my house and so I decided to shut myself in my room and try to get my heart out of the blender. Then Bailey called and it was beautiful. Everyone needs a Bailey.
Then driving out of my site to San Fran de Macoris this morning I stopped by the house and asked Marta when she was moving out (pretending I hadn't heard the Chisme) and she told me the beginning of August so now I'm just really confused and still sorta upset...mainly because she didn't give me an exact date and hadn't started packing anything (Dominicans do this thing where they don't mean what they say sometimes and I'm new at figuring it out). Wish me luck though, I'd really like this house. There is a tamarindo tree for goodness sakes!
That reminds me for some reason. I'm thinking about doing a JAM project for my Donas as an income generation project. The mango and chinola jam were a hit - super easy to teach how to do (Mata and Taga already made a batch of Mango) - and a way to reuse mayonnaise glass bottles. The other volunteers seem to like them so maybe...more to come on that later.
Miss you all. Hoping to get your mail tomorrow in the Capital. Dear me I hope I get it and the Dominicans stop stealing it. Otherwise - hope to catch you online and talk! Take care.
Love,
Sarah
I want to show you guys though, especially the other volunteers reading this because if you like something you see on my blog I can show you how to make it and it might come in handy for your house (ie those of us without showers, sinks, tables) Compartir :)
The pump works! The design is simple (can be found on google) but making/collecting materials takes a bit of time depending on your circumstances.
I'm stoked. The only part I'm looking for now is a spring to cut the work load in half. With ever 36 inch stroke the pump can basically discharge .3 liters of water (36pie(.4)sq=18cub inches or ~30ml) which is pretty cool! I put a soda cap with a nail hole on the outgoing end and turned it into a mini water gun that can shoot water across my street which is bad news for the kids going by on their motos when it's raining (so as not to waste the water). They get a nice blast (although they are already soaked). Haha - it's probably not the most intelligent idea to do this to motorists and I will probably be the first PCV to kill a small Dominican child but I'd say it is worth it. Sometimes I have a crowd to watch me get a passerby. My favorites are the older men who freak out.
More importantly - the pump will be used in the community to help alleviate some serious back straining of carrying water up small hills (and also transporting it around the house in less than 40 trips). It is a prototype as of the moment - but I'm going to teach them how I made it out of materials (carved wooden dowel, goma or shoe rubber, screw, PVC cement and 3/4, nail, teflon, hose found in the
community (sans the check valves which are at the hardware store in the nearest city for approx 8 bucks each). The whole thing (including the hose) took me about 20-25 bucks to make.The next project is a foot pump using the same method for sinks. To have the semblance of running water mainly.
Here is a pic of my shower head. I took a normal plastic soda bottle and cut the top 3rd off. Then I took a sink strainer and nailed even larger holes in it. I wrapped the circle in teflon a few times and stuck it into the bottle. I then took a candle and melted the plastic to secure it in and it works fairly well as of the moment when attached the the pump.
I was in Nagua the other day for my last blog entry and while on my 45 minute walk through the crazy city to the university I can across a fallen broken sign with prime wood and I was on that like a pregnant women craving peanut butter. I ripped off the boards with Dominicans watching and applauding. They are now the frame to this little coffee mesita!
I'm so pleased with it. On the side there you can see I started glueing sea glass that I collected during our Brigada Verde beach trip -- really silly to put it on before you finish hammering by the way. But I was testing out the look and if the superglue held. It is currently lacking the top (superficie) because of an unpleasant incident with one of my gua-gua drivers who I asked to pick my up 12 ft of 3inch wide cedro o caoba wood and long story short is that basically he is not the smartest guy in the world and came back with a huge crate that I totally couldn't use for the table and charged me 150 pesos +50 for his services which I wanted to tell him...you made me wait 8 hours for something i didn't even ask for and that is your service?Yesterday was actually just a really bad day because of the gua-gua driver not understanding anything, then I had a few English students who are very frustrating and refuse to study but expect their certificates, a student who was cheating during my final English test, and finally and most importantly Mata telling me the Marta was not going to move out of the house I am looking to move into (the one I really have my hopes up for). It was a little much with all that yesterday and I felt like I was starting to get a little short with the kids at my house and so I decided to shut myself in my room and try to get my heart out of the blender. Then Bailey called and it was beautiful. Everyone needs a Bailey.
Then driving out of my site to San Fran de Macoris this morning I stopped by the house and asked Marta when she was moving out (pretending I hadn't heard the Chisme) and she told me the beginning of August so now I'm just really confused and still sorta upset...mainly because she didn't give me an exact date and hadn't started packing anything (Dominicans do this thing where they don't mean what they say sometimes and I'm new at figuring it out). Wish me luck though, I'd really like this house. There is a tamarindo tree for goodness sakes!
That reminds me for some reason. I'm thinking about doing a JAM project for my Donas as an income generation project. The mango and chinola jam were a hit - super easy to teach how to do (Mata and Taga already made a batch of Mango) - and a way to reuse mayonnaise glass bottles. The other volunteers seem to like them so maybe...more to come on that later.
Miss you all. Hoping to get your mail tomorrow in the Capital. Dear me I hope I get it and the Dominicans stop stealing it. Otherwise - hope to catch you online and talk! Take care.
Love,
Sarah
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