The House Amanda Built

So I am finally moving out into my own little casita! It is exciting because I have gone through A LOT to get to this point. However, the house I am moving into needs a few repairs. I bet you never thought you would see me replacing rotting wood with new wood, rewiring electricity (because I have to steal it from my neighbor), washing a house with a broom and laundry detergent, killing mice and cacatas, etc. etc. Anyways, we have done a lot of work on it, and it is almost to a point where I can move in! yay!

On the work front: I am almost done with my diagnostic report and presentation. I am going to Jarabacoa Feb 1-3 with my project partner to present our findings to my boss and the other health volunteers. When I return I will be starting 4 Hogares Saludables groups and 1 Escojo Mi Vida group. I will also be organizing a board of Public Health because my community does not have any kind of unity or organization, and I am hoping that by starting a board of Public Health we will at least be able to be unified in that sector. It will also be very useful to have a group organized and ready when I start projects or have problems. Lastly, I will be attending the PCDR 50th Anniversary in Santo Domingo so that will be a fun networking opportunity :)

Funny Story: My friend Estrella was helping me clean my new house out because it was previously used as somewhat of a storage unit because it was uninhabited. There was a big pile of old clothes in the corner, and neither of us wanted to touch it. We were deathly afraid that there was a giant snake in it (they get HUGE here) so we used brooms to pick up one piece at a time. There was a lot of screaming and running out of the house every time something moved (cacata, random insect, mouse, wasp, etc.) By the time we were done moving all of the clothes we had an audience. Apparently the community found us to be quite funny.

On My Spanish: I am slowly learning Spanish... haha. From what I hear Dominican spanish is the hardest to understand... so that makes me feel better. I am to the point now where I can understand 90% of what is going on but speaking is another story. I am still pretty slow at translating everything in my head, and my vocabulary is somewhat lacking. However I am learning (just keep telling yourself that right? haha). Anyways I feel like this clip sums up how I feel when I try to speak sometimes (the spanish part is about half way through) ...

Christmas in the Caribbean

Ok. I know, I know. It has been a while AGAIN! Im sorry, but sometimes it is just hard to get around to writing about my life while its happening ya’ know. Plus, y’all know me and my relationship with procrastination… what is that saying again “diamonds are only made under pressure”. Haha. Keep telling myself that right?

Alright, so the holiday season here consists of 5 major days: Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), Navidad (Christmas), Año Nuevo (New Years), and Dia de Reyes (no American equivalent… unless you are catholic or from new orleans and then I think it is Epiphany but I am blonde so what do I know).

Noche Buena:

Ok so here Christmas is all blahhhh but Noche Buena is all yeahhhhh. Translation: Noche Buena is the big day. Everyone prepares for Noche Buena all month. My host family painted the whole house (yellow and orange… Garfield), swept the dirt in the yard, scrubbed the entire house head to toe, washed all of the already clean dishes,… are you catching my drift here? Ok so there is all of this big big preparation for Noche Buena, and the biggest preparation is the killing of the pig. Every family kills a pig for Noche Buena because it is tradition to just eat a lot on Noche Buena (and literally that’s all you do).  For more on pig slaughtering see below. I spoke to my American family on Noche Buena and I got really depressed so I was extremely happy when I got invited to a fundraiser that night. We went to the park and danced and talked and it was fun.

Some girls and I at the fundraiser

Pig Slaughtering:

Serious problem for me. I have seen plenty of chickens go from walking to my plate and that really hasn’t bothered me, but for some reason the pig really got to me. I cried a little, and I couldn’t eat it after (I did eat some the next day though). Oops!

1.     They held it down while it screamed its face off. Then they stabbed it in the heart and shoved a plastic bag in the stab wound. The pig continued to scream and move around for about 1-2 minutes.

2.     They poured boiling water on it and used knives to remove all the hair and the first layer of skin.

3.     They cut open the abdomen and removed the heart and intestines (which my mother prepared for lunch and dinner)

My mom preparing the heart and intestines.

4.     They removed the anal sphincter and drained all of the blood through the butthole.

5.     They cleaned it out, put a stick through it, and cooked it. They built a little wall between themselves and the fire so that they didn't get hot (Dominicans hate the sun, being hot, and sweating)... so they thought it was extremely weird when i pulled my chair right up to the fire with my book and read there for hours... it was a cold night!

My dad preparing the fire pit

My brother turning the pig. 

Navidad:

For Christmas day my family and I went to a nice beach and brought our lunch (they don’t do gifts here). We then spent the rest of the day sitting on a family members porch. Basically during the Christmas season everyone just drinks more, works less, and makes/eats a lot more candy and other types of food. Sound familiar?

La Ensenada Beach.

My Dominican Family Christmas Pic.

My friend Estrella.

New Years:

I didn’t spend New Years with my host family. I went to Cabarete (a nice touristy beach in Puerto Plata) with all the other Peace Corps volunteers. We stayed in a hostel that was actually really nice and looked like a castle. It was a bit of a trek from the beach, but it was affordable on a PC budget so it was perfect. We just spent two days relaxing on the beach, and two nights hanging out at all the cool restaurants/ bars on the beach. On new years eve there was a really pretty fireworks show over the ocean. That was nice.

Sunset in Cabarete. Photo courtesy of Rosa:)

Fresh Squeezed Juice and Breakfast on the Sand!

James and his Juice.

The hardest we worked all weekend!

First time offenders:

1.     I had my first larvae crawl out of my skin. I thought it was a zit on my face… until one night it started moving around (it kinda felt like your tummy before you have diarrhea… but on my face). I went to the bathroom to investigate and I saw a little black thing so I did what any other person would do… I investigated. It turns out that little black thing was connected to a not so little white body. Grody dude.

2.     I went to my first valorio (I think that’s how you spell it) anyways it is a funeral. They do it somewhat open casket style with a piece of glass over the face/ top part of the body. Then everyone sits around and sings and prays… then you walk with the casket to the cemetery. Sadly it was the mother of one of my good friends (she is only 16) so that was really rough.

3.     I saw my first pig get killed, cooked, and eaten.

4.     I did NOT eat my first pig intestines or heart… but there is always next year.

5.     I got an internet doohickey.

6.     I have been called Americana since I got here (along with rubia, manzana, you know the usual) anyways I don’t mind when people I don’t know refer to me as the Americana or gringa… but when people I know (and I am positive they know my name) called me Americana I started to get pissed. I was later informed that there was some confusion as to what my name actually was and apparently Amanda and Americana are a little too similar…. Oops my bad.

7.     I came up with a story about being a newlywed twith my gay bff James so that we could go to the nice resorts in Puerto Plata and get people to buy us drinks… before you judge you should see how much we make. Plus, it started raining so we didn’t even go through with it. Stop looking at me like that sheesh!

The Newlyweds

Luna de miel

Anyways, all-in-all it was a good holiday season. It was really tough to be away from home, and I will definitely be going home for Christmas next year… if I can afford it. I know what you are thinking… “and what does the future hold Ms. Appel”… good question. I have to write a big fat paper and give a presentation in Spanish on the findings from my community diagnostic (which would be totally fine… IF I SPOKE SPANISH). Oh and I will hopefully (if I can get a small situation with my host family ironed out) be moving into my own little casa in the next month! Guess what that means…. Time for visitors!!! Start packing your bug spray and oral rehydration salts because its time for YOU to come visit me!

Miss you. Love you. Mean it.

Amanda Mae Appel

Some more random pics for your viewing pleasure...

Peace Corps Family Christmas Pic

This is our salon. It is a tiny hut.

I helped out at the school for Dia de los Niños

My BFF and a chubby dude at Dia de los Niños

The next Destinys Child

Gettin purdy with my friend in the salon for Noche Buena

My mom cooking.

my dad preparing the fire by putting bottles of gas on it. He loves to burn plastic...

The pig... waiting to get toasty.