http://claro.com.do/productos.aspx
Send me free text messages using the above link. Simply type my phone number 809 467 2780 into the top phone window (where it says numero), then a message of 160 symbols into the other phone window (where it says mensaje). Then press the green button (enviar). Be sure to tell me who the message is from!
I hope to hear from you all soon!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
All the Joy that is Mine Today
You know how good it feels to give money to charity? And, even though it probably shouldn’t, it sort of does feel better to give $100 than $50. Right? And, doesn’t it feel better to give to a charity that you know something about, rather than one you’ve never really heard of, or one that you’re not quite sure what they do? Okay, so take those two feelings and compound them by about a thousand, because in my case it’s not just that I’m the one who solicited the money and got to feel good watching you all donate over the course of the last month or so, or that it’s a charity that I know pretty well… it’s also that I’m the one in charge of the project and I LIVE in the charity. It means that I’m the one, working with your funds, who gets to watch the community get something it needs, and who gets to be completely accountable to donors back in the US. It means that I have given you my word, and that you have put your trust in my belief that this is a major problem, one that is so bad that it requires your generosity immediately. It means that people trust me, both my community members and my friends and family back home; $4,541 worth of trust you all have in me, and we all know exactly how I’m going to spend the money.
It’s an incredible feeling.
And I’m very happy to announce that today all of the money needed to make the stoves has been raised!
So now it’s just a matter of time before I can get the check from Washington, deposit it in a new bank account, and go to the hardware store to buy the supplies we need. Then the hardware store will deliver them soon after, and we’ll distribute the supplies to the homes where stoves will be constructed, and then we will get to work on the stove construction! And all because you helped me to fundraise, either by donating, convincing someone else to donate, getting the word out, or a combination of the three!
So now that this grant is filled, does that mean that there won’t be another opportunity to help support my work here?
No. I will soon have available online another grant to help with furniture and materials for the library. (I applied for and received a grant from USAID to pay for the construction materials, but we need to furnish the building and get some more library staples such as a set of encyclopedias.)
And, if you’d like to put off a financial contribution for a little while, some fellow volunteers and I are working now on a youth conference which will be held in August to celebrate diversity. I participated in the conference last year (it’s called “Celebrating the Cibao”) and it was a huge success; the two kids from my town who went with me both had an incredible time. (The conference was even written up in the Peace Corps newsletter!) We will be soliciting money for that conference from spring until we’re raised all we need. (The volunteers set the individual goal of raising about $100 each, so if just 10 of you donated $10 this summer, I’d get my part completed in no time. This year I was responsible for sending thank you letters on behalf of our group and we included a picture of the kids at the conference in the shape of “08.” The donations are all hugely appreciated, and are, of course, tax-deductible.)
So thank you! People have congratulated me, but I really want to say to you Congratulations! I’m so incredibly thrilled and am honestly at a loss to what could feel more rewarding than what I described above. I encourage you all to come see the stoves, or consider coming to help build them because that might be the next best thing to getting to be the one in my flip flops right now. Seriously. Thank you a thousand times! Or, four thousand, five hundred and fifty one times!
It’s an incredible feeling.
And I’m very happy to announce that today all of the money needed to make the stoves has been raised!
So now it’s just a matter of time before I can get the check from Washington, deposit it in a new bank account, and go to the hardware store to buy the supplies we need. Then the hardware store will deliver them soon after, and we’ll distribute the supplies to the homes where stoves will be constructed, and then we will get to work on the stove construction! And all because you helped me to fundraise, either by donating, convincing someone else to donate, getting the word out, or a combination of the three!
So now that this grant is filled, does that mean that there won’t be another opportunity to help support my work here?
No. I will soon have available online another grant to help with furniture and materials for the library. (I applied for and received a grant from USAID to pay for the construction materials, but we need to furnish the building and get some more library staples such as a set of encyclopedias.)
And, if you’d like to put off a financial contribution for a little while, some fellow volunteers and I are working now on a youth conference which will be held in August to celebrate diversity. I participated in the conference last year (it’s called “Celebrating the Cibao”) and it was a huge success; the two kids from my town who went with me both had an incredible time. (The conference was even written up in the Peace Corps newsletter!) We will be soliciting money for that conference from spring until we’re raised all we need. (The volunteers set the individual goal of raising about $100 each, so if just 10 of you donated $10 this summer, I’d get my part completed in no time. This year I was responsible for sending thank you letters on behalf of our group and we included a picture of the kids at the conference in the shape of “08.” The donations are all hugely appreciated, and are, of course, tax-deductible.)
So thank you! People have congratulated me, but I really want to say to you Congratulations! I’m so incredibly thrilled and am honestly at a loss to what could feel more rewarding than what I described above. I encourage you all to come see the stoves, or consider coming to help build them because that might be the next best thing to getting to be the one in my flip flops right now. Seriously. Thank you a thousand times! Or, four thousand, five hundred and fifty one times!
St. Valentine's Day
I have learned to not enjoy Valentine’s Day. Ask many an American who hates the day why they do and I think you’ll hear, “why should we only celebrate love on February 14th?”, “it’s hard to remember,” or “It’s a commercial institution, created by Hallmark.” Ask a super-independent single female and she might tell you one or both of those reasons, but more likely she’ll tell you, “it is a day that makes single women feel crappy about themselves.”
As a single female, I have not enjoyed the day ever since bringing hard candies and chocolates into class on Valentine’s Day became a faux pas. (I learned that one the hard way in English 101.) If there comes a time when it’s no longer appropriate to give and receive candy on a particular holiday, then you can bet I won’t be on board with the day anymore. (This is why I no longer care about Halloween. People hesitated to give me candy when my sister was too young to trick-or-treat without a grown-up, and they really hesitate to give it to me now that she is old enough to be a her own grown-up chaperone.)
Things are different in the DR. For one thing, it’s not referred to as Saint Valentine’s Day. Even in a country full of Catholics, I have heard the majority of people refer to the day as “day of love and friendship.” It confused me a bit when I first heard that title. Someone had to explain that they were referring to Valentine’s Day. Cuz I was gonna say, “since when is there a day to celebrate love and friendship?”
Well maybe we should! Consider it- what matters more than anything, even more than hard-candies and chocolate? Love, right? Right. So, how come we can’t celebrate the day of love and friendship instead of the day of couples?
As a single female, I have not enjoyed the day ever since bringing hard candies and chocolates into class on Valentine’s Day became a faux pas. (I learned that one the hard way in English 101.) If there comes a time when it’s no longer appropriate to give and receive candy on a particular holiday, then you can bet I won’t be on board with the day anymore. (This is why I no longer care about Halloween. People hesitated to give me candy when my sister was too young to trick-or-treat without a grown-up, and they really hesitate to give it to me now that she is old enough to be a her own grown-up chaperone.)
Things are different in the DR. For one thing, it’s not referred to as Saint Valentine’s Day. Even in a country full of Catholics, I have heard the majority of people refer to the day as “day of love and friendship.” It confused me a bit when I first heard that title. Someone had to explain that they were referring to Valentine’s Day. Cuz I was gonna say, “since when is there a day to celebrate love and friendship?”
Well maybe we should! Consider it- what matters more than anything, even more than hard-candies and chocolate? Love, right? Right. So, how come we can’t celebrate the day of love and friendship instead of the day of couples?
Dog Days
I am currently reading two dog books. One is called Merle’s Door, about a mutt who is presumed to be a golden-colored Labrador, and the other is called Marley and Me, which is about a yellow lab. As I read these two books, which both declare Labradors to be the best pet on the planet I can’t help but wonder if these authors are on to something? I knew Labs were popular before, my family even believed that line about Labs being the best pets on the planet when they purchased Joey, a super rambunctious golden-Lab in 1994. (We were less convinced of this title when we gave Joey up in 1995.) So, is there a superior race of dogs? I can go along with the thinking that there are differences between different breeds of dogs, but could Lab-owners be correct in thinking that their swimming and retrieving dogs make better companions than all other breeds? (For that matter, does a “breed” even matter?) Could it also be true that different breeds have different personality traits, and perhaps the average American family just finds the Labrador more agreeable?
It’s hard to read these dog books and not compare every story to things I have experienced with Lina. I was looking at her the other day and considering at length, for the first time if you can believe it, the idea of whether she and I suit one another or not. I mean this both physically and in personality. Let me explain: a few months or so ago a friend of mine who had never before seen Lina was looking at photos of Lina and remarked “she looks like your dog.” What did she mean? Do Lina and I resemble one another? Is it like in the old joke (from 101 Dalmatians?) where a bull dog looks like a short fat man with a smushed face, and a carefully-groomed poodle looks like a thin woman in a close-fitting formal jacket with lots of fluffy trim?
But as I looked at Lina, and observed her actions, it dawned on me that my dog and I have a lot more in common than I may have ever realized. She isn’t fat but she isn’t thin. I think I could be described that way as well. She has floppy hair on her ears that hangs down on the sides of her face, which I’ve always said is a great face. Debates have taken place between my friends and I as to whether that hair should be trimmed or left to its own devices. I have always decided to do nothing because though it might be described as sloppy, it poses no threat to her sight. The same can be said to the fur on her face. Other dogs I have had have always had problems with hair on their heads growing downwards over their eyes, and hair from their noses growing up into the eyes and down over their mouths. Lina’s fur does no such thing. It’s almost as if she’s too practical for any such nonsense. Now I might not have a “great face”, but I do appreciate having my face completely clear of all of my sloppy hair, especially here in this Caribbean heat. I CANNOT be bothered with any such nonsense.
Okay, but that’s just how we look. What about ourselves? Well, Lina is my biggest fan. So while she’s incredible loyal to me, she isn’t always the most-friendly to others. There are of course great exceptions: the woman at the fried-food stand, the woman who watches Lina when I’m away, and her husband, the owners of Lina’s mom, and just about every member of my Escojo group. But Lina doesn’t like some of the people that live near the home where she stays when I’m away. Lina also isn’t a big fan of small children, or even some adults, that haven’t yet learned how to handle her (or other dogs) properly. This includes the little girl that plays here often. (She also doesn’t like anyone on a motorcycle, her mom taught her that one, and some Haitians get her to bark, again, just as her mom does.)
So how is she similar to me in this way? I have always been super-critical of anyone who hisses at me, any stranger who asks me about my marital status, even if they haven’t asked me my name, and anyone who makes sexist comments (and believe me, my definition of the word “sexist” is very liberal). I get snarly with such people, and sometimes even snap at them, and if it was socially acceptable to chase after their heels, barking, I just might. I make up things to tell them to get them to shut up and leave me alone if there’s no way I can immediately remove myself from the situation, and have even been known to pick a fight.
So what is the dog-equivalent of this scenario? People who don’t know how to properly pet! Petting is very ingrained in us as Americans. For example, would you ever go to pet a dog you’ve never pet before by moving your hand rapidly towards its head from high above the animal, and then snapping it away? Of course not! They’d think you were moving in to strike them. Would you instead move slowly and give a long, slow stroke to their back? Of course. Lina would roll over on her back and let you stroke her belly as well, since she knows that’s probably what you wanted to do all along.
I would be willing to be friendly with complete strangers if they approached getting to know me the way people who understand Lina do: slowly, using socially appropriate methods that won’t freak me out. Listen up Dominican strangers: don’t ask me for my boyfriend’s address-just talk to me about the weather.
How else are we similar? Lina is white with brown hair and brown spots. I am white with brown hair and freckles. Is that pushing it? When walking down the street on a mission, she can’t be bothered to remember to greet everyone she passes, even if they remember to greet her. (In my case it’s just flakiness and being easily distracted.) Lina currently finds herself in a situation where the food being offered to her most of the time isn’t that delicious. She has learned that if she holds out she will be offered chicken bones and meat scraps at the fried-food stand. I find myself in a situation where the food being offered to me most of the time isn’t that delicious, so I also hold out to cook for myself. Does that mean she and I are resourceful or spoiled? Could we be both?
Lina is very easily distracted, even from the best belly rub, by an interesting noise. Anyone who’s ever been in a room with me and TV knows that I am also very easily distracted. Lina loves going for long walks to places she’s never been and she certainly doesn’t let the possibility of getting dirty get in her way from a good hike. I don’t think there any denying that she got this quality from me. And she’s a natural swimmer. Alright, alright, I was never a natural swimmer (perhaps very far from it when I couldn’t stand the idea of water resting on my cheek, let alone anywhere near my eyes) but no one can deny that I have enjoyed swimming since at least 1999. At least.
Still, she enjoys sifting through poo on the side of the road (whereas I try to keep my interactions with poo to a minimum and only in the form of fertilizer), she greets her friends by sniffing them or chasing after them at full speed (and while I might chase my friends, I try to avoid sniffing them, especially the ones in Peace Corps), she takes pleasure in eating my things (whereas I just like to read them or wear them on my feet).
It’s hard to read these dog books and not compare every story to things I have experienced with Lina. I was looking at her the other day and considering at length, for the first time if you can believe it, the idea of whether she and I suit one another or not. I mean this both physically and in personality. Let me explain: a few months or so ago a friend of mine who had never before seen Lina was looking at photos of Lina and remarked “she looks like your dog.” What did she mean? Do Lina and I resemble one another? Is it like in the old joke (from 101 Dalmatians?) where a bull dog looks like a short fat man with a smushed face, and a carefully-groomed poodle looks like a thin woman in a close-fitting formal jacket with lots of fluffy trim?
But as I looked at Lina, and observed her actions, it dawned on me that my dog and I have a lot more in common than I may have ever realized. She isn’t fat but she isn’t thin. I think I could be described that way as well. She has floppy hair on her ears that hangs down on the sides of her face, which I’ve always said is a great face. Debates have taken place between my friends and I as to whether that hair should be trimmed or left to its own devices. I have always decided to do nothing because though it might be described as sloppy, it poses no threat to her sight. The same can be said to the fur on her face. Other dogs I have had have always had problems with hair on their heads growing downwards over their eyes, and hair from their noses growing up into the eyes and down over their mouths. Lina’s fur does no such thing. It’s almost as if she’s too practical for any such nonsense. Now I might not have a “great face”, but I do appreciate having my face completely clear of all of my sloppy hair, especially here in this Caribbean heat. I CANNOT be bothered with any such nonsense.
Okay, but that’s just how we look. What about ourselves? Well, Lina is my biggest fan. So while she’s incredible loyal to me, she isn’t always the most-friendly to others. There are of course great exceptions: the woman at the fried-food stand, the woman who watches Lina when I’m away, and her husband, the owners of Lina’s mom, and just about every member of my Escojo group. But Lina doesn’t like some of the people that live near the home where she stays when I’m away. Lina also isn’t a big fan of small children, or even some adults, that haven’t yet learned how to handle her (or other dogs) properly. This includes the little girl that plays here often. (She also doesn’t like anyone on a motorcycle, her mom taught her that one, and some Haitians get her to bark, again, just as her mom does.)
So how is she similar to me in this way? I have always been super-critical of anyone who hisses at me, any stranger who asks me about my marital status, even if they haven’t asked me my name, and anyone who makes sexist comments (and believe me, my definition of the word “sexist” is very liberal). I get snarly with such people, and sometimes even snap at them, and if it was socially acceptable to chase after their heels, barking, I just might. I make up things to tell them to get them to shut up and leave me alone if there’s no way I can immediately remove myself from the situation, and have even been known to pick a fight.
So what is the dog-equivalent of this scenario? People who don’t know how to properly pet! Petting is very ingrained in us as Americans. For example, would you ever go to pet a dog you’ve never pet before by moving your hand rapidly towards its head from high above the animal, and then snapping it away? Of course not! They’d think you were moving in to strike them. Would you instead move slowly and give a long, slow stroke to their back? Of course. Lina would roll over on her back and let you stroke her belly as well, since she knows that’s probably what you wanted to do all along.
I would be willing to be friendly with complete strangers if they approached getting to know me the way people who understand Lina do: slowly, using socially appropriate methods that won’t freak me out. Listen up Dominican strangers: don’t ask me for my boyfriend’s address-just talk to me about the weather.
How else are we similar? Lina is white with brown hair and brown spots. I am white with brown hair and freckles. Is that pushing it? When walking down the street on a mission, she can’t be bothered to remember to greet everyone she passes, even if they remember to greet her. (In my case it’s just flakiness and being easily distracted.) Lina currently finds herself in a situation where the food being offered to her most of the time isn’t that delicious. She has learned that if she holds out she will be offered chicken bones and meat scraps at the fried-food stand. I find myself in a situation where the food being offered to me most of the time isn’t that delicious, so I also hold out to cook for myself. Does that mean she and I are resourceful or spoiled? Could we be both?
Lina is very easily distracted, even from the best belly rub, by an interesting noise. Anyone who’s ever been in a room with me and TV knows that I am also very easily distracted. Lina loves going for long walks to places she’s never been and she certainly doesn’t let the possibility of getting dirty get in her way from a good hike. I don’t think there any denying that she got this quality from me. And she’s a natural swimmer. Alright, alright, I was never a natural swimmer (perhaps very far from it when I couldn’t stand the idea of water resting on my cheek, let alone anywhere near my eyes) but no one can deny that I have enjoyed swimming since at least 1999. At least.
Still, she enjoys sifting through poo on the side of the road (whereas I try to keep my interactions with poo to a minimum and only in the form of fertilizer), she greets her friends by sniffing them or chasing after them at full speed (and while I might chase my friends, I try to avoid sniffing them, especially the ones in Peace Corps), she takes pleasure in eating my things (whereas I just like to read them or wear them on my feet).
Adventures
I am always going on adventures… some are carefully planned, such as my recent experience whale watching, others just sort of happen, such as the whole suturing thing.
Yes, so I went whale watching. (Those are some pretty cool photos!) The day began in Samana, which is a city located on the Samana Peninsula on the Northeastern part of the country. I went to stay with a friend who lives near the city for 2 nights. She and another volunteer organized the whale watching excursion with a veterinarian from either Canada or the US (we’re not sure which) who now lives in Samana to study the whales and adopts dogs on the side.
Humpback whales! So, we took off on a yacht, and though it rained and the water was quite choppy, quite a few of us from PC turned out (give us a discount on anything and we’ll be there in large numbers). I brought both cameras to get photographs and video from the day, and while I’m so glad to have had my lovely camera, and awesome, big lens, I realized at the end of the day that I really didn’t get to see the whales too much because of my dedication to taking photos of them. I know I’m just a novice, so considering that I did get some pretty cool photos, but nothing that Time or Life magazines will want to buy. Still, it was incredible to see these huge animals so close up, and I get to be the one who took the good photos that day. We saw three whales.
I didn’t get seasick, which made me proud. We were out at sea for about 1.5 hours and then had to go in because of the waves. We got dropped off on an island not far from the city which on any other day would have been like a Caribbean dream. As it turns out, it was incredibly windy, so when we spread out on the beach, we got covered with sand. Instead we opted for the enclosed restaurants towards the center of the island. After a few hours we headed in for the safety of my friend’s house where we braved the rain.
It continued to rain all week, keeping me in Santiago on my way home from Samana. Two people died in a landslide not too far from where I live, and very close to where a few of my friends live. When I finally got back to my site, the sun was out, and I was done travelling, which was a very great feeling. (Sometimes a person just wants to sleep in their own bed with their dog at their side.)
That night my mom called with some very happy news: my grant received another donation in the amount of $1000, leaving me with just $276. Another family friend donated $200, so now there’s just $76 left to be raised before I can get the money to begin construction on the stoves. I cannot begin to tell you how good it feels to be me when I get news like that. It’s like how you feel when you donate to a charity you really believe in, plus how you feel when you’re the one that solicited the donations for this great charity, plus how you feel when you live inside the charity. See how it’s hard to explain?
Yes, so I went whale watching. (Those are some pretty cool photos!) The day began in Samana, which is a city located on the Samana Peninsula on the Northeastern part of the country. I went to stay with a friend who lives near the city for 2 nights. She and another volunteer organized the whale watching excursion with a veterinarian from either Canada or the US (we’re not sure which) who now lives in Samana to study the whales and adopts dogs on the side.
Humpback whales! So, we took off on a yacht, and though it rained and the water was quite choppy, quite a few of us from PC turned out (give us a discount on anything and we’ll be there in large numbers). I brought both cameras to get photographs and video from the day, and while I’m so glad to have had my lovely camera, and awesome, big lens, I realized at the end of the day that I really didn’t get to see the whales too much because of my dedication to taking photos of them. I know I’m just a novice, so considering that I did get some pretty cool photos, but nothing that Time or Life magazines will want to buy. Still, it was incredible to see these huge animals so close up, and I get to be the one who took the good photos that day. We saw three whales.
I didn’t get seasick, which made me proud. We were out at sea for about 1.5 hours and then had to go in because of the waves. We got dropped off on an island not far from the city which on any other day would have been like a Caribbean dream. As it turns out, it was incredibly windy, so when we spread out on the beach, we got covered with sand. Instead we opted for the enclosed restaurants towards the center of the island. After a few hours we headed in for the safety of my friend’s house where we braved the rain.
It continued to rain all week, keeping me in Santiago on my way home from Samana. Two people died in a landslide not too far from where I live, and very close to where a few of my friends live. When I finally got back to my site, the sun was out, and I was done travelling, which was a very great feeling. (Sometimes a person just wants to sleep in their own bed with their dog at their side.)
That night my mom called with some very happy news: my grant received another donation in the amount of $1000, leaving me with just $276. Another family friend donated $200, so now there’s just $76 left to be raised before I can get the money to begin construction on the stoves. I cannot begin to tell you how good it feels to be me when I get news like that. It’s like how you feel when you donate to a charity you really believe in, plus how you feel when you’re the one that solicited the donations for this great charity, plus how you feel when you live inside the charity. See how it’s hard to explain?
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