As many of you know I have very sensitive skin and this usually means if I use certain kinds of lotions, shampoo, etc. I get weird reactions. Well I bought really cheap shampoo and conditioner (peace corps budget) and I got really really bad dandruff... like REALLY bad. Well Dominican woman feel they have the right... no the obligation to fix anything that is wrong with your appearance, that of your house, or really just do anything to your body or stuff that they feel they should. If they can see it, it is fair game for them to pick, probe, peel, or pop. My neighbor, Rafelina, has taken all things that have to do with my beauty on as a personal challenge (nails, hair, clothes, etc.) Therefore, she immediately started picking at my head. Ok. so when Dominican women get dandruff they ask a friend to use a rat-tail comb to scratch away and exfoliate their heads. However, Rafelina felt my problem called for something a little more drastic. She told me she had just bought some really good shampoo that completely got rid of her dandruff, and demanded that I let her wash my hair with it. So I go to her backyard and she dumps a bucket of water over my head and starts washing. She warns me (after the stuff is already on my head) that it may sting a little. Oh my, let me tell you... it didn't just sting a little bit... it BURNED like hell! My eyes were tearing up and it felt like my scalp was melting off. Of course this was when she started scratching my scalp with her fingernails. The unknown chemical then started seeping into the raw exposed skin that her fingernails were uncovering. When I couldn't take it anymore I told her to stop and give me the bottle. When I saw the title of the shampoo I am pretty sure my eyes bugged out of my head. The name..... Vaginol. I started frantically reading the label in Spanish, and thought "no, that can't be right" so I flipped the bottle over and read the english label. The english label confirmed that my spanish had not failed me, it was some kind of bactericidal vagina shampoo. Rafelina must have seen the horror in my eyes because she jumped forward and said "oh don't worry I don't use it for that!". I told her to wash it out because it hurt too bad, but the cold water only made it burn more. The tears just started streaming. Finally the pain started going away, and I couldn't help but laugh. a lot. I just feel really bad for the poor woman who actually uses that stuff in her lady bits... because if it hurt that bad on my head I can't imagine the pain it would cause down in the gumbo pot!
On another note, my outhouse/ letrine is finally finished!!! I can't even tell you how happy I am. I was using the restroom at my host families house, and lets just say there were a few too many people using it. It was also a little on the gross side, and I had no control over the cleaning of it. I found that I dreaded going in there and would hold it as long as possible or even go to a friends house. Now I can take care of business whenever my little heart desires. Plus, I can wash it down with bleach as often as I want :)
Also, Rafelina's (my neighbor) 5 year old daughter, Laisha, turned 6. We had a cute little birthday party with some of the other campo girls. It was a BIG deal because Rafelina went into town to buy a cake! The party was more catered to adults (sitting around eating and talking) and the kids seemed a little bored... so I brought out some stickers, bubbles, and a soccer ball and pretended like I was 5 again!
It’s never too early to think about the Third Goal. Check out Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir. Oh! If you want a good laugh about what PC service was like in a Spanish-speaking country back in the 1970’s, read South of the Frontera: A Peace Corps Memoir.
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