Observations and Being Observed (and Maybe a Little Alliteration)

Linguistic Love:

While in the beginning it was frustrating because it made it impossible to understand, I am now beginning to thoroughly enjoy the way many Dominicans drop the s’s out of their words.  It is replaced by a sort of stop.  For example,

mosquito becomes mo-quito

mosca (fly): mo-ca

or español: e-pañol.

They also have adopted a number of English words into their language, which usually results in the end of words not being pronounced.  For example,

cornflakes become confle

pancakes: panque

Nesquick: nesqui

or one of my personal favorites,

liquid paper to liqui pepe (pronounced licky paypay).

Mealtime Mix-Up:

It seems to me that Dominicans, while being absolutely wonderful cooks, have gotten a little confused at what each meal is supposed to look like.  We begin each day with lunch, frequently have a sandwich with a chocolate milkshake for the first meal.  Then in the middle of the day we break for dinner: a large meal in which it is most likely for the family to gather around.  In the DR, this will always include rice and beans (which are delicious).  Finally in the evenings we close things down with some breakfast, usually having a fried egg, omelet, or oatmeal.  As I mentioned originally, the food is all delicious, but I think the memo on foods are to be served got a mixed-up in translation.

Bicarbonato Bomb:

My roommate and I, along with another pair from our group, decided we were in need of some good ol’ chocolate chip cookies and it would be a nice treat to share with our families.  After translating the ingredient list into Spanish, we asked our mom if we had everything in the house or needed to buy anything from the store.  The only things we needed were chocolate chips and baking soda, which our mom said she would take care of for us.  After discovering that chocolate chips do not exist in Jarabacoa, we mentioned that chocolate bars would work just fine because we can cut them into chunks.

So the day finally arrives when we are to have our cookie making party.  Our mom hands us a bag full of a ton of little chocolate bars and a small baggy of powder.  Excitedly I begin pulling the other ingredients out from the pantry as we all start to make the coveted cookies.  As I struggle to find the baking soda I ask my mom, “¿Dónde está el bicarbonato?”  She points to the small baggie that was with the chocolate bars.  I hesitantly approach thinking it hadn’t looked like baking soda before, but maybe I was mistaking.  My suspicions were confirmed as I picked up the bag and saw that it was in fact yeast.  Knowing that both were leavening agents, we threw the yeast in and hoped for the best.  After the first batch of somewhat odd cookies, we learned that triple baking powder can substitute for baking soda.  So we threw that in with the already yeasted batter and baked up a second batch.  These cookies were definitely improved, but still not perfect.  Fortunately as my good friend Elizabeth says, “Hunger is the best seasoning,” and the cookies were fantastic at the time.  However I feel somewhat sorry for the various Dominicans we subjected to our cookie experiment, exclaiming what great American food it was…

Being Observed:

I spend much of time observing my family, trying to learn how they do life and what they think about things.  As my roommate and I have been working to learn their true thoughts and feelings on faith, it suddenly struck me, “I wonder how I appear?”  If someone were to drop into my life to observe the way I live, would they think that I am a Christian?  Would they think my faith is real, something I live out or something I only talk about?  It was an interesting reversal to consider.  However, I don’t want to live in a way that is simply trying to prove that I am a Christian.  “Oh, someone’s looking, I should pull out my Bible or say a prayer.”  It says in Matt. 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”  Hopefully my life exemplifies Christ without forcing it, if that makes any sense.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray that I am “liv[ing] a life worthy of the calling [I] have received.” (Eph. 4:1) and that I am walking out my faith beyond just talking about it.  As I settle into a rhythm here please also pray that I will not become complacent, but continue to take advantage of the opportunities presented to me and that I will continue to strive to learn what God has to teach me through this whole experience.  Praise God for a number of wonderful conversations with my host family, a good host family that takes care of me well, and for internet connections in order to stay in contact with people.  Also praise God for the amazing opportunity I have to be here right now.

I love you all and hope you’re having a great week!

Dios te bendiga.

Week 2

Greetings to everyone from the DR!

Things are going well here as I continue in the class portion of the program and continue to get more settled into this new lifestyle.  Here are a few snippets about my life down south:

Aproveche!
This is my first natively learned phrase - as in something I've learned just by hearing it and starting to use it, as opposed to learning it in class.  It means "Enjoy!" or "May it go well with you!"  We noticed that whenever we thanked our family for meals or whatever else, they seemed to respond not with "de nada" as I had so constantly been taught in Spanish classes, but rather with "aproveche."  I believe it can also be used in other contexts beyond a response to "thank you," but I'm still learning.

Laundry:
I did my laundry for the first time this past week, Dominican style.  This involves filling a washing machine (not like ones in the states) with water, dumping a bunch of white powder in, and then dumping your clothes in.  For 15 minutes, the machine spins the clothes back and forth.  Then you pull the clothes out of the machine and rinse the soap out in a sink.  Next you ring the clothes out as much as you can (a forearm workout for those of us not used to doing this weekly) and put them in the dryer: a small opening that approximately 6 t-shirts and 2 shorts almost fills.  You close the lid, the thing shakes violently, moving across the floor, for about 5 minutes, and you pull your clothes out - remarkably dryer but still a bit damp.  Then you hang them on the line to finish drying.
I'm not sure if my first attempt was successful or not.  My clothes ended extremely wrinkled and not entirely odor free...
I've also come to realize I largely wash my pants in order to shrink them back to their normal size.  Without an American dryer this doesn't really happen.  Maybe my pants will begin to fit again as I keep chowing down on the immense mountains of food served to me at meal times...

Mira!
If I've learned one word here, it's mira.  This means "Look!" and is said about 345,098,245 times a day by my 2 year old cousin, Abril.  Rarely is it said just once, but in rapid section, in groups of 2 or 3.  Most often see wants you to see her do a dance spin, but it could be any number of things, including you look up and she just stares back at you.  As we've begun ignoring some of the miras, she has now taken time to learn our names to include that in the yelling.  And when all else fails, she has found hitting to be a good way to get your attention.  It's a good thing she's so cute.

Dutch Blitz:
I have officially introduced Dutch Blitz (a card game for those of you who don't know) to my family down here and they even ask to play it!  Fortunately my roommate is a huge Blitz fan too and as we excitedly pulled our cards out, it dawned us that we would have to teach the game in Spanish.  A formidable challenge, but with the inclusion of lots of gestures, we managed to get through the teaching process and now play most nights.  Life is good in the DR :)

God is good:
Whenever I have begun to get frustrated with the spiritual climate here, God has proved me wrong and used different people to encourage me.  The majority of people in the Dominican Republic are nominal Christians, including most of my family.  This makes talking about God challenging because in many ways they know it all, but it doesn't really affect the way they live.  On Monday night I was feeling pretty discouraged, especially after how difficult it was to get our family to take us to church on Sunday, when all of a sudden my host mom Ingrid asked Courtney and I if we wanted to join her in going to a prayer group that night.  We excitedly agreed - and it was wonderful.  We went into it expecting to understand very little of what was going on.  Since so many people showed up that night, they split the younger people off in a separate group.  A little sad to leave Ingrid, Courtney and I go with the other 3 to a different room.  Those 3 were so kind to Courtney and I, talking slowly so we could understand and translating a few things into English.  With the use of a bilingual Bible, we were able to share a few verses, and then after 2 of them had shared some testimonies, they asked us if we had anything we'd like to share.  Amazingly enough, God helped give us the words to share stories of God's faithfulness in our lives and we were able to make some Christian friends here in the DR.  We'll even be going to their church on Sunday!  It was such an encouraging night to hear ways that God is moving in the DR and to be able to share with our international brothers and sisters in Christ.

Please pray that I will be able to continue developing relationships, both with Dominicans and people from my team.  Also pray for my host family that they may begin to see the importance of God in their lives, and learn the immeasurable joy and peace that flows out of the love of Christ.  Praise God for the encouragement and new friends he has provided.

Dios te bendiga. (God bless you.)

P.S.  I've put up the below two posts that include some more funny stories/thoughts.  Aproveche!

Things I don't have the heart to tell my Dominican family:

- I keep closing the window in our room because it smells weird outside, not because I'm afraid of mosquitoes coming through the screen.
- No, I actually didn't understand a word you just said.
- The way you feel about peanut butter (it's okay but you don't wouldn't want it everyday) is the way I feel about avocado.
- When you rinse that clean spoon off, you're actually putting it in contaminated water.
- That's not ripe; that's brown.
- I'm 21.  I'll probably survive alright if I'm alone for a little bit.
- When I'm not with you, I cross the street by myself.

I love my host family, but I figure some things just aren't worth fighting, especially being at a linguistic disadvantage.

Lost in Translation

Here are a few stories involving miscommunication or a general lack of understanding:

In Spanish class (conducted entirely in Spanish) we were learning new vocab words in the kitchen.  Our teacher would say a word and then we would have to find the object.
Teacher: Paila (a sort of pot)
Students: Baila? (Dance?)
Teacher: Si, paila!  (Yes, pot!)
As we all begin to slowly and awkwardly dance she quickly realizes the misunderstanding.

The other night for dinner, Ingrid (our host mom) was going to teach us how to make a tortilla.  So I get the corn out and throw that in a bowl.  Then she adds in the peppers, onions, and salami she has already cut up.  I was blown away by the fact that there was salami in tortillas!  Apparently NOT a vegetarian option in the DR.  Then she adds the eggs and I'm getting pretty excited because I know the mashing part must be coming soon.  Then without mashing it, she throws it all in the pan to begin cooking it.  I stare in disbelief at what is going to be quite the chunky tortilla.  As it takes shape before my eyes I suddenly see it for what it really is: a tortilla de huevos, AKA an omelet.

One day, my roommate Courtney and I, along with our neighbors, other students in the program, decided to all go for a run the following morning.  Courtney and I would pick them up at their house and then we'd jog around a bit.  So the night before Courtney and I attempt to ask our grandma if it's okay that we go running the following morning at 7:30.  She begins by telling us that 7:30 is too late.  She likes to go walking at 6:30 so that she is back by 7:00.  We apologize but inform her that we've already agreed with the other girls to go at 7:30 so that's when they're expecting us and they won't be ready at 6:30.  Then she kind of stares at us for a bit.  After a hesitant, "please?" she agrees that we can go at 7:30.
So the next morning we get up to go, say goodbye, and head out the door.  Grandma leaves with us.  It seems a little strange, but we think maybe it's just a coincidence.  As it becomes apparent that she is coming with us and not just going on her own walk, I ask her if she's running with us.  She tells us she doesn't run and only walks.  Feeling a little relieved to not have Grandma on our run we start to turn down the little street to pick up our neighbors.  She lets us know that she'll be waiting right here for us so we should go grab them quickly.  As we pick up our neighbors we try to quickly explain to them that our grandma might be coming with us, but we're not really sure.
When we return to the street she's moved ahead a little so we assume it's okay for us to run.  A little after we pass her she yells at us to take the turn we just past.  So we back up and take that turn - utterly confused about what is going on.  Eventually we lost her and continued our run in our own fashion.
As Courtney and I were walking back home after dropping our neighbors back off at their house, it dawns on us that perhaps the "we" in "Can we go for a run tomorrow?" was a little ambiguous.  We're pretty sure Grandma thought we were asking her to run with us, thus also explaining why she really felt like 7:30 was too late.  We hope she doesn't think we're total jerks for asking her to come with us and then literally running away from her...

Saludos!

Well I've decided it is going to be way too difficult for me to post everything that is happening here, so I'll try and give you all a few little tidbits and then we can talk more when I get home.  Esta bien?  Bueno.

Things are going really well here and I have a great roommate and wonderful host family.  I live in the community of Hato Viejo in Jarabacoa.  There are many people that live in my house because three sisters and their parents all went in together to buy a house.  In addition to these families, many other relatives and friends are frequently over.  They all seem really nice and I can't wait to learn Spanish so I can better get to know them :)

My Spanish is coming along well and I can already tell it is improving greatly.  We have three hours of class each day followed up by lots of homework.  And immersion is probably having the strongest affect at this point.  We're able to communicate on basic daily things and can occasionally get into more detailed conversations - as long as there is lots of patience on both sides to work through the conversation.

I guess I'll share a few stories of some funny mishaps:
#1  On Saturday we had breakfast at the base before moving in with our new families.  Upon arrival, my host grandma began asking me about "desayuno."  Thinking lunch would be lovely in a little bit I agreed that we should eat soon.  As our grandma walked away my (American) roommate came over to me and explained that she thinks I had just ordered a second breakfast.  Desayuno does in fact mean breakfast, not lunch.  And so began the saga of us constantly having way more food than we need and the battle to explain that the food is delicious and we are simply full.

#2  We have a 9 year old brother named Rancel who is full of energy - all the time.  One time, he brought us up to the roof of their three-story house to hang out and upon finding a styrofoam apple and an old can/tube for caulking, we began to play baseball...on the roof.  Naturally, the "ball" would fall off the roof and Rancel would run down and throw it back up to us.  As I was looking up to catch the ball (near the edge of the roof) I tripped over a rebar sticking up at of the roof and began hurtling toward the edge.  As my life flashed before my eyes and I lamented the fact that I'd only get to enjoy one day with my family, my roommate (Courtney) grabbed hold of me and helped stabilize me.  I am still alive and we have now decided that there should be no running on the roof.

#3  While we (Courtney, Rancel, and I) are playing outside, our host mom begins calling us over and telling us to get in the truck.  Hearing some mention of fruit, we happily jump in the back of the truck, excited to go to the fruit market.  Next thing we know we're pulling over at some kind of sketchy looking place with a bunch of guys sitting around and a number of cars (maybe a mechanic shop?).  Our mom tells us to stay in the car with Papi (our grandpa).  Rancel complains or whines about something (I couldn't understand) and next thing I know we are getting out of the car and approaching (with some concern) the mystery location.  Our mom ushers us into a different car there and then we drive the 5 minutes back to the house.  I'm still not really sure what that was about...

I'd love to show you all some pictures, but I don't know if that is possible because the internet here can't seem to handle uploading pictures.

Prayer Requests:
- That I have the strength to continue learning Spanish
- That I have opportunities to speak with people about Jesus

Praises:
- A wonderful caring family
- Safe travels thus far

God bless you all!