On Sunday afternoon, I returned from a weekend spent in Las Terrenas, Samaná with other Esperanza Fellows. A wicked sunburn aside (I swear, it couldn't be avoided), it was an incredibly fun weekend and I can't wait to hang out again with the incredibly eclectic and fascinating group of people we have as fellows this summer. Getting back to San Pedro from Las Terrenas was quite a haul but was fairly seamless in that I was able to get from one connection to another with little trouble. Three other fellows and I first rode back to Santo Domingo on a gua-gua, basically a public transit van or small bus. No matter how full they may be, they are always willing to take on more people, a fact my fellow... fellow, Tim, learned the hard way. Tim was sitting in the far back of the bus, already quite cozy with three other guys back there, when another guy got on the bus and made his way to the back, insisting on squeezing in between Tim and another guy by the window.
Anyway, once I got back in San Pedro, I had my worst anxiety attact in recent memory. It started when I decided to go down to the colmado on the bottom floor of my building to buy a botellón, a water jug designed for water coolers. Thus far I had been relying on the family upstairs and the office for drinking water, and now I figured it was time to get my own. I told the guy working there that I wanted to buy a jug water, which were kept in a blue cage near the door, and the response I got confused me. I didn't understand precisely what he was saying to me, all I knew was that I couldn't simply walk in and buy a botellón, there was something else to the process, something else I needed.
I was extremely frustrated, because I needed that water, and for some reason it was being denied to me, and I wasn't understanding why. I grew increasingly anxious, as I kept telling the guy what I wanted, and why I wanted it, telling him I was living upstairs in the same building, and I kept not understanding his replies. The words felt like distant memories--familiar, and yet I could not quite connect them with the real, solid meanings that exist, present but ever-elusive, in the corners of my mind.
Eventually, I got the sense that perhaps I needed to bring in an empty jug in order to get a new one. I told the guy that I had a few empty jugs upstairs, and the response I got indicated to me that that would probably improve our little situation. By this time however, I was barely containing the emotion of the anxiety that had been building throughout the interaction. I got back up to my apartment feeling irrationally terrified to an extent I haven't felt in a long time. I knew that I shouldn't feel that way--I wasn't in any real danger, the man understood that I was struggling with the language, and if I had to I could just buy a water bottle or two to get me buy until I figured out what I needed to do. After taking some deep breaths and pulling myself together, I got one of the empty jugs sitting on my kitchen floor and took it downstairs. No good, the jug's opening was cracked and would leak. So I took it back upstairs and got a different one, which looked a little worn but was still fully intact. I took it downstairs, and the guy got out a new one, opened it, and filled my jug with the water from it. I was a bit disappointed, as I was hoping to get an entirely new jug, and I was a bit concerned that my really old jug might have some grossness inside it and might make my water taste funny or not be entirely safe. But in the end, it only cost 25 pesos (about 70 cents), which made me feel very foolish for bringing only a 1000-peso bill ($27.86) down with me.
I suppose my anxiety may have primarily been due to a boiling over of my frustration at having so much trouble understanding a language I've been studying for years. The problem, as I see it, has several parts. The first is word discernment: my ear is not developed to a point where I can tell which words are being spoken when they are spoken at conversational speed amongst other words, most of which I would probably know if I saw them written but some of which I may not. The second is immediacy of meaning: I hear words and sentences that I understand, but I don't fully grasp their meaning as they are spoken without a bit of time and concentration, replaying the words in my head to be sure I hadn't missed something, by which time the speaker is already saying something else. The third issue is familiarity with syntax: I will frequently hear words that I know, but they will be structured in unfamiliar ways, creating sentences that use familiar words but don't make any grammatical sense if translated literally.
Communication has been a fairly rough area for me thus far. I know I will improve with time, I just have to be patient with myself. Which is hard.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
San Pedro and All-Inclusives
As I discussed earlier, I spent most of Monday evening at a hotel in San Pedro where the group from Pennsylvania is staying. Before leaving, I was waiting in the lobby while Maira returned another intern's computer to her room. That intern, Claire, has the job of coordinating trips for the various groups that come to visit either through Esperanza or through Hope (to again clarify, Esperanza and Hope are two distinct development organizations despite having the same name in different languages, they just have a partnership for work here in the DR/Haiti). While waiting for Maira, I talked with Maximo, an Esperanza driver who was nice enough to drive Maira and I home. He asked me how I was liking San Pedro, and I replied that I was. Not because it's a particularly attractive or inviting place through the eyes of a first-world foreigner, on the contrary, I like it in many ways because it's not. San Pedro is a true, working-class city in the Dominican Republic, and as such is a real representation of what life here is like for most people. There isn't a lot of attractive architecture, there are no five-star hotels or top-end restaurants; there certainly aren't a lot of people walking around speaking English, German, French, or Italian. Living here, I feel like I will leave having really spent time in the Dominican Republic as it exists for its citizens.
Maximo and I eventually got to talking about the all-inclusive resorts that the majority of tourists come to when they visit the DR. It seems to me that if all you do is go to one of these places when visiting a country and don't venture much outside it, you haven't really visited that country. Maybe the employees are a different color, perhaps the weather is a tad different, but after that, it doesn't make all that much difference if you're in the DR, or Hawaii, or Tahiti. Being in an all-inclusive prevents people from engaging the reality of a place in any meaningful way. The thing is, this is probably deliberate. People go on vacation, in many cases, to try and escape reality. They are, much of the time, craving the sort of stress-free, whitewashed, soothing illusions that all-inclusives offer. So, really, who can blame them? It's not a rhetorical question, and I'd love to hear readers' thoughts on this one.
Maximo and I eventually got to talking about the all-inclusive resorts that the majority of tourists come to when they visit the DR. It seems to me that if all you do is go to one of these places when visiting a country and don't venture much outside it, you haven't really visited that country. Maybe the employees are a different color, perhaps the weather is a tad different, but after that, it doesn't make all that much difference if you're in the DR, or Hawaii, or Tahiti. Being in an all-inclusive prevents people from engaging the reality of a place in any meaningful way. The thing is, this is probably deliberate. People go on vacation, in many cases, to try and escape reality. They are, much of the time, craving the sort of stress-free, whitewashed, soothing illusions that all-inclusives offer. So, really, who can blame them? It's not a rhetorical question, and I'd love to hear readers' thoughts on this one.
Money Spent vs. Good Done
On Monday, Maira (another intern here in the San Pedro office) and I went to go help out at an English camp for Dominican children
in a nearby town. The camp was mostly run by a group of maybe 40 or so American teenagers from a Pennsylvania church's high school youth group. The group's stay here was facilitated by Hope International, Esperanza's partner organization. Hardly anyone from the Penn group spoke any Spanish, so Maira and I were sent there to assist them in that area. We were kind of superfluous, however, as the group already had two interns who were assigned to travel with them, both of whom speak fluent Spanish. Monday was their second day there, out of a total of ten days they will be here. Most of our time was spent at a church just outside of town. The teens played around with the Dominican kids for a while, then led them in a rudimentary English lesson, teaching them the words for different body parts (heaaaad, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes).
The interns traveling with the group invited Maira and I to come back and have dinner with the group at their hotel. Not wanting to pass up free food, we quickly agreed. Getting down to dinner a bit late, we interns sat at a separate table from the rest of the group. Claire, one intern, brought up the topic: what is the point of a trip like this? What does this group honestly think they can accomplish in ten days, with a bunch of high school kids who can't speak the local language? Is this not a huge waste of time and resources, both for the group itself and for the interns?
For the most part, I have to say yes. Yes, it is. The Dominican kids may kno
w how to greet each other in English, but at the end of it all they're going back to their regular lives with nothing more than the memories of a group of strange white people who sang silly songs and gave them piggy-back rides. And getting down here costs a lot of money. Between flights, hotels, food, and transportation within the country, we're talking about a sizable sum that could have been put to all kinds of better uses. The best I can possibly say about the trip is that it may arouse interest among the students to come back someday and do something more substantial. One can hope.
in a nearby town. The camp was mostly run by a group of maybe 40 or so American teenagers from a Pennsylvania church's high school youth group. The group's stay here was facilitated by Hope International, Esperanza's partner organization. Hardly anyone from the Penn group spoke any Spanish, so Maira and I were sent there to assist them in that area. We were kind of superfluous, however, as the group already had two interns who were assigned to travel with them, both of whom speak fluent Spanish. Monday was their second day there, out of a total of ten days they will be here. Most of our time was spent at a church just outside of town. The teens played around with the Dominican kids for a while, then led them in a rudimentary English lesson, teaching them the words for different body parts (heaaaad, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes).
The interns traveling with the group invited Maira and I to come back and have dinner with the group at their hotel. Not wanting to pass up free food, we quickly agreed. Getting down to dinner a bit late, we interns sat at a separate table from the rest of the group. Claire, one intern, brought up the topic: what is the point of a trip like this? What does this group honestly think they can accomplish in ten days, with a bunch of high school kids who can't speak the local language? Is this not a huge waste of time and resources, both for the group itself and for the interns?
For the most part, I have to say yes. Yes, it is. The Dominican kids may kno
w how to greet each other in English, but at the end of it all they're going back to their regular lives with nothing more than the memories of a group of strange white people who sang silly songs and gave them piggy-back rides. And getting down here costs a lot of money. Between flights, hotels, food, and transportation within the country, we're talking about a sizable sum that could have been put to all kinds of better uses. The best I can possibly say about the trip is that it may arouse interest among the students to come back someday and do something more substantial. One can hope.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Were I a Dominican politician...
...I would run on the platform of "I will bring about the mosquito genocide". Somehow I've managed to get 31 mosquito bites on my feet alone. I wear shoes all the time, and have a mosquito net over my bed, which means that while in the shower or between the shower and putting on socks I've been bit by mosquitoes 31 times. WTF? The little buggers seem to be absurdly aggressive in this country. Another thing I would do if given god-like powers over the DR: turn down the humidity roughly 20%. I sweat a lot at home in norcal. Here, I'm practically a human waterfall.
OK, I'm done complaining! After all, these things are all part of the experience.
OK, I'm done complaining! After all, these things are all part of the experience.
Meanwhile...
For a more detailed description of our first few days here in the DR, I highly recommend people check out Anne's blog.
San Pedro de Macorís
First off: I only have internet when I’m in the office, so I won’t be able to update on the weekends, unless I find an internet café somewhere (working on it).
On Friday I was dropped off at my new home in San Pedro de Macorís, a city of roughly 270,000 or so inhabitants. Fun fact: San Pedro produces more major-league baseball players per-capita than any other city in the world. Despite this, the city is hardly a tourist destination. The province is one of the nation’s poorest. In the countryside outside the city are bateys, sugarcane plantations, where one can find some of the worst living and working conditions in the Western Hemisphere.
My living situation here in San Pedro was... not exactly what I was expecting. I thought I was going to be living occupying a room in a family’s house or apartment or something, and that breakfast and dinner would be included in my rent. The reality is quite different. I’m living in four-story building with apartments occupying the top three floors and a “colmado”, basically a small corner liquor store. The second-story apartment is the one I’m living in. It’s occupied by an elderly couple whose children and their respective families occupy the two upstairs flats. What I learned when I arrived here is that the elderly couple is in Houston with other family until December. Which means I have the entire flat to myself. Before you think “awesome!”, consider my situation. I am in an unfamiliar city whose people I can rarely understand despite speaking their language with some degree of competence. It can get a little lonely. Neither I nor my supervisor, who drove me to my place, were aware of this predicament before arriving.
In the end, however, everything turned out fine. I met the family who owns the building, and they told me that I was free to come hang out upstairs in their place whenever I liked. They live on the top floor, and have a beautiful, wide, shaded balcony with four comfortable rocking chairs (I spent hours this past weekend reading in them!). The family consists of a mother and father, a daughter, and a son. The daughter’s name is “Libny”. I’ve heard plenty of “Libby” in the past but that was definitely a new one. She is a med student at a nearby university. When she was young, she left her family for a few years to live with relatives in Houston. Consequently, she speaks perfect English. To me, this is both a blessing and a curse. It means I can communicate with perfect clarity if I need to, but it also means I have a crutch that I must try not to use unless absolutely necessary.
On Sunday, the mother and her niece, whose family lives on the third floor, took me with them to go shopping at a local supermarket. I was able to pick up some household items I had been needing, including hand soap, a hand towel, dish soap, a sponge, a cheap plastic bowel, and some sugar. Monday was my first day of work, which has already happened, but I’ll talk about it in another post!
Hasta luego!
On Friday I was dropped off at my new home in San Pedro de Macorís, a city of roughly 270,000 or so inhabitants. Fun fact: San Pedro produces more major-league baseball players per-capita than any other city in the world. Despite this, the city is hardly a tourist destination. The province is one of the nation’s poorest. In the countryside outside the city are bateys, sugarcane plantations, where one can find some of the worst living and working conditions in the Western Hemisphere.
My living situation here in San Pedro was... not exactly what I was expecting. I thought I was going to be living occupying a room in a family’s house or apartment or something, and that breakfast and dinner would be included in my rent. The reality is quite different. I’m living in four-story building with apartments occupying the top three floors and a “colmado”, basically a small corner liquor store. The second-story apartment is the one I’m living in. It’s occupied by an elderly couple whose children and their respective families occupy the two upstairs flats. What I learned when I arrived here is that the elderly couple is in Houston with other family until December. Which means I have the entire flat to myself. Before you think “awesome!”, consider my situation. I am in an unfamiliar city whose people I can rarely understand despite speaking their language with some degree of competence. It can get a little lonely. Neither I nor my supervisor, who drove me to my place, were aware of this predicament before arriving.
In the end, however, everything turned out fine. I met the family who owns the building, and they told me that I was free to come hang out upstairs in their place whenever I liked. They live on the top floor, and have a beautiful, wide, shaded balcony with four comfortable rocking chairs (I spent hours this past weekend reading in them!). The family consists of a mother and father, a daughter, and a son. The daughter’s name is “Libny”. I’ve heard plenty of “Libby” in the past but that was definitely a new one. She is a med student at a nearby university. When she was young, she left her family for a few years to live with relatives in Houston. Consequently, she speaks perfect English. To me, this is both a blessing and a curse. It means I can communicate with perfect clarity if I need to, but it also means I have a crutch that I must try not to use unless absolutely necessary.
On Sunday, the mother and her niece, whose family lives on the third floor, took me with them to go shopping at a local supermarket. I was able to pick up some household items I had been needing, including hand soap, a hand towel, dish soap, a sponge, a cheap plastic bowel, and some sugar. Monday was my first day of work, which has already happened, but I’ll talk about it in another post!
Hasta luego!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Santo Domingo, DR
I meant to post this yesterday, but I was only getting internet while out on a patio, then it started raining and I couldn't finish the post. All references to ‘yesterday’ refer to the 16th, and references to ‘today’ or ‘tonight’ refer to the 17th.
Anywho...
At approximately 2:30 PM yesterday, local time, I landed in Santo Domingo. I was unable to sleep on either of my plane flights, as I am basically incapable of sleeping while sitting up. As such, I hadn't truly slept for almost 40 straight hours. Despite that, I didn’t feel all that wiped out, although much of this is probably due to the constant stimulation of being in a completely new place.
Although new to me, SD will certainly strike a familiar chord with anyone who has spent time in a big Latin American city. It's a bit dirty and more than a bit chaotic, both in traffic and in manner. Pastel-colored buildings line the streets. Many houses and establishments have rod-iron fences, gates, and barred windows. Sidewalks are frequently lined with trash. Drivers do not have much regard for pedestrians; you will never find a car willing to stop for pedestrians waiting to start crossing, but mercifully they will not hit you if you are already crossing—hitting pedestrians causes dents.
Later we checked into our hotel, La Residencia. It’s pretty cheap ($12/night to share a double room), but still is adequately clean. I’m sharing a room with another intern, a guy named Nate who goes to UWash. There is no AC in our room. There is, however, a fairly powerful fan in the middle. The ceiling is very low, so we have to be really careful to avoid getting our hands broken in the fan!
What else...
Today we had a lengthy information/training session in Esperanza’s main office here in Santo Domingo. Our time was really productive, and the hours flew by. The leaders in charge of our orientation are all recent college graduates, and are very competent and professional. My job will involve a lot of talking to borrowers, and as such what I’m most concerned about is my ability to understand what people are saying. I’m fairly confident in my ability to speak and be understood, but being able to understand what people are saying at a decent pace is a whole different learning curve.
Anywho...
At approximately 2:30 PM yesterday, local time, I landed in Santo Domingo. I was unable to sleep on either of my plane flights, as I am basically incapable of sleeping while sitting up. As such, I hadn't truly slept for almost 40 straight hours. Despite that, I didn’t feel all that wiped out, although much of this is probably due to the constant stimulation of being in a completely new place.
Although new to me, SD will certainly strike a familiar chord with anyone who has spent time in a big Latin American city. It's a bit dirty and more than a bit chaotic, both in traffic and in manner. Pastel-colored buildings line the streets. Many houses and establishments have rod-iron fences, gates, and barred windows. Sidewalks are frequently lined with trash. Drivers do not have much regard for pedestrians; you will never find a car willing to stop for pedestrians waiting to start crossing, but mercifully they will not hit you if you are already crossing—hitting pedestrians causes dents.
Later we checked into our hotel, La Residencia. It’s pretty cheap ($12/night to share a double room), but still is adequately clean. I’m sharing a room with another intern, a guy named Nate who goes to UWash. There is no AC in our room. There is, however, a fairly powerful fan in the middle. The ceiling is very low, so we have to be really careful to avoid getting our hands broken in the fan!
What else...
Today we had a lengthy information/training session in Esperanza’s main office here in Santo Domingo. Our time was really productive, and the hours flew by. The leaders in charge of our orientation are all recent college graduates, and are very competent and professional. My job will involve a lot of talking to borrowers, and as such what I’m most concerned about is my ability to understand what people are saying. I’m fairly confident in my ability to speak and be understood, but being able to understand what people are saying at a decent pace is a whole different learning curve.
Monday, June 15, 2009
How It Works
Before departing later tonight, I figured I would post a brief outline here describing how Esperanza's microfinance operations work. Most of this information is available on their site, but I'm going explain it here for the convenience of anyone reading.
Esperanza more or less follows what is known as the "Grameen model" of microfinance services, taking its name from the practices of the world-famous Grameen Bank, pioneered by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Additionally, they offer health and education services to complement the core program of microcredit.
Here's how it works:
I'm sure I will have more to say about all this later but for now I need to finish getting ready to leave!
10:50 PM flight out of SFO.
DR here I come.
Esperanza more or less follows what is known as the "Grameen model" of microfinance services, taking its name from the practices of the world-famous Grameen Bank, pioneered by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Additionally, they offer health and education services to complement the core program of microcredit.
Here's how it works:
- Poor entrepreneurs are organized into groups, called Solidarity Groups in Esperanza. Each group receives its microloans together and are collectively liable for the sum total of their loan repayments; if one member cannot pay, the others are responsible for covering their payments. In the event of a default, the entire group is disqualified from borrowing again (I am not positive if Esperanza enforces that particular rule, but it is how Grameen has traditionally operated).
- Members are required to deposit 2% of their loan balance into savings and are encouraged to deposit more into a voluntary savings account.
- Business training is available to entrepreneurs who want it. Solidarity groups normally undergo business training together before receiving their loans.
- Health services through local clinics are offerred free of charge. These services include but are not limited to basic vaccinations, PAP tests for women, and dental exams.
- Educational services are also offerred free of charge. Available courses teach skills ranging from basic literacy to computer skills to vocational training.
I'm sure I will have more to say about all this later but for now I need to finish getting ready to leave!
10:50 PM flight out of SFO.
DR here I come.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Ye Olde First Blog Post
Welcome! I decided to start a blog so I could keep a running journal of my experiences in the Dominican Republic (the DR), and so I could share it with other people. The title, "En Desarrollo", is Spanish for "In Development".
If you are here, chances are you already know me to some extent. But just in case, here's a little background info about me. I'm Jon, and I am a student at UC Berkeley, studying development economics. In my spare time I do theatre, play and listen to music, read (mostly nonfiction or sci-fi/fantasy), and enjoy the company and conversation of interesting folks.
My interest in development, working abroad, and improving my Spanish led me to apply for and accept a summer internship with Esperanza International. In the DR I will be spending time both in the field, visiting borrowers and assisting loan officers, and in an office, blogging about aforementioned borrowers and posting their business profiles on Kiva. These activities will hardly make up the full extent of what I'll be doing, much of which will depend on my own initiative and creativity in making the most of my time in the DR.
All that said, I sincerely plan to post here consistently and in significant detail. I will also be posting stories on Kiva's blog for the DR, but anything I post there I will post here as well. Please feel free to comment on posts or send my questions about stuff! I love hearing people's feedback.
Today is my last full day of packing and preparation before I leave. I'll admit that I'm somewhat OCD about how I pack; I worry constantly that I may be forgetting something, that I'm packing too much/not enough of one thing or another, even about how I should arrange things in my bag.
Included in what I'm bringing:
-A UPA-standard disc (a 175-gram frisbee of the kind used to play Ultimate)
-A foxtail (those rubber balls with a long nylon tail that you swing around and throw by its tail; it's a gift for the neighborhood kids, I'm wondering how long it will take them to try to play baseball with it)
-A twenty-four pack of Breathsavers peppermint breath mints (this is my one addiction, cut me some slack)
-A costco-sized box of sour skittles (a gift for my host family, my coordinator recommended candy as a gift)
-A stack of books. I did some research into highly recommended fantasy series and ordered several different ones on amazon. I won't be able to read everything I bought, so I'm only taking about half of the books with me. The two series I'm bringing are The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes, and The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (yes, I know the titles are dumb but the books are still good).
-Digital camera. I've never been big into taking pictures but I'm going to try and take more this summer and post a lot of them here.
My basic itinerary is as follows:
June 15: Depart SF at 10:50 pm
June 16: Land in Atlanta at 6:28 am. Depart Atlanta at 10:00 am. Land in Santo Domingo at 1:34 pm.
If you are here, chances are you already know me to some extent. But just in case, here's a little background info about me. I'm Jon, and I am a student at UC Berkeley, studying development economics. In my spare time I do theatre, play and listen to music, read (mostly nonfiction or sci-fi/fantasy), and enjoy the company and conversation of interesting folks.
My interest in development, working abroad, and improving my Spanish led me to apply for and accept a summer internship with Esperanza International. In the DR I will be spending time both in the field, visiting borrowers and assisting loan officers, and in an office, blogging about aforementioned borrowers and posting their business profiles on Kiva. These activities will hardly make up the full extent of what I'll be doing, much of which will depend on my own initiative and creativity in making the most of my time in the DR.
All that said, I sincerely plan to post here consistently and in significant detail. I will also be posting stories on Kiva's blog for the DR, but anything I post there I will post here as well. Please feel free to comment on posts or send my questions about stuff! I love hearing people's feedback.
Today is my last full day of packing and preparation before I leave. I'll admit that I'm somewhat OCD about how I pack; I worry constantly that I may be forgetting something, that I'm packing too much/not enough of one thing or another, even about how I should arrange things in my bag.
Included in what I'm bringing:
-A UPA-standard disc (a 175-gram frisbee of the kind used to play Ultimate)
-A foxtail (those rubber balls with a long nylon tail that you swing around and throw by its tail; it's a gift for the neighborhood kids, I'm wondering how long it will take them to try to play baseball with it)
-A twenty-four pack of Breathsavers peppermint breath mints (this is my one addiction, cut me some slack)
-A costco-sized box of sour skittles (a gift for my host family, my coordinator recommended candy as a gift)
-A stack of books. I did some research into highly recommended fantasy series and ordered several different ones on amazon. I won't be able to read everything I bought, so I'm only taking about half of the books with me. The two series I'm bringing are The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes, and The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (yes, I know the titles are dumb but the books are still good).
-Digital camera. I've never been big into taking pictures but I'm going to try and take more this summer and post a lot of them here.
My basic itinerary is as follows:
June 15: Depart SF at 10:50 pm
June 16: Land in Atlanta at 6:28 am. Depart Atlanta at 10:00 am. Land in Santo Domingo at 1:34 pm.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)