La Americana with the Camera

That, although I cannot confirm it 100%, as with Becks (or Bex), Bets, Eliza (pronounced Al lee sa), or Elizabeh and of course the usuals such as Americana, Gringa, Rubia (which although it means “blonde” refers to all white people), are my names here. Eliza is the most frequently used as the “th” sound is difficult for Spanish speakers to pronounce.

When I am finally able to upload photos you will get to see the proof that I am the Americana with the camera. The kids love it. There is a group of between 4 and 15 boys that stop by the house everyday to have their photo taken. For the most part they listen to me when I say yes, one photo now, and then we’ll do more tomorrow. Thing is, of course they’re cute and I want them to know me and feel comfortable playing with me, but the days are long and hot and me taking pictures of them isn’t necessarily the best way for them to get to know me.

The firefighters took us to a Fiesta Patronales, which until I have more details is basically a celebration all of the little towns here have, once a year, that is a huge deal, and everyone goes. They typically last about 2 weeks. We went to one which was about a bumpy 30 minute drive away. It consisted of a concert and some dancing. We danced with the firefighters and kids and each other, and it was fun. The one for the town I’m living in is Thanksgiving weekend, which is also the weekend of swearing in, the all volunteer conference, and the huge volunteer Thanksgiving celebration in Santo Domingo. There is little chance I’d be able to come back here to celebrate with them, though I’ve been invited many times. We will get a chance to celebrate with one of the other towns where volunteers are staying, so that should be fun.
Just before we left for community based training, literally a few hours before we left, some of the boys decided to cut their hair. The guy who did it doesn’t have a long history of hair cutting but had the tools to shave their heads, so he did. In total it was 6 or 7 guys who did it, which is a lot compared to how many guys are in the program. I tried to get a picture of all of them together but the day was hectic as I’m sure you can imagine.

All of the scenery shots on my photo website are at the end of my street or on the walk to training. They are, as you will see, gorgeous images. I can’t tell you enough how beautiful the mountains are here, nor can I describe the skies enough. If I took a picture, just one picture, of every beautiful cloud formation or beautiful sunset I saw, I would easily have 1000 pictures of the sky by the end of my service.