So my family just left this morning. We had an excellent week together. They will be emailing me an entry to post on this blog which will probably be ready in a week or two.
I'm uploading their pics right now so check em out. Both albums are kind of similar since each picture we took we had to take one with each camera, but there are some differences.
I'm not going to post anything just yet about the visit. I'm going to wait until I see what they write and then fill in some stuff based upon what they write.
That's it for now!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Anxiously Waiting
So I'm sitting here in the hotel lobby "aprovecharing" the free wireless internet before I have to leave to go pick up my parents and sister from the airport. I'm super excited to have my first visitors from home. Their flight should be leaving by the time I post this, at 5:40 EST. Their flight arrives here in Santiago a little before 8 PM.
I have an action packed schedule awaiting them from the moment they arrive until the moment their plane leaves on Monday. Actually, I haven't really planned anything, I just kind of have an idea of stuff we want to do. I don't do itineraries, especially in this country. Anyways, stay tuned to the exciting adventures of the Siedlecki family.
Still no money to build the aqueduct yet. I just set up a meeting with the local mayor for next Wednesday, April 2nd, for which I will be preparing whilst my family is here.
I have an action packed schedule awaiting them from the moment they arrive until the moment their plane leaves on Monday. Actually, I haven't really planned anything, I just kind of have an idea of stuff we want to do. I don't do itineraries, especially in this country. Anyways, stay tuned to the exciting adventures of the Siedlecki family.
Still no money to build the aqueduct yet. I just set up a meeting with the local mayor for next Wednesday, April 2nd, for which I will be preparing whilst my family is here.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
¡Maldita Time Change!
I still don't understand why the U.S. has to change the time twice a year. Sure there's the whole thing about energy savings and stuff which I feel is all a load of bull*!@#. Why does Indiana have to be the state that does things correctly for a change? Anyways, I thought that I wouldn't be affected by it hear in the DR, but alas, it has affected me. No, it didn't change my sleeping schedule or anything like that, it affected my TV schedule.
Every weekday night at 8 PM in the DR, my Doña and I watch a program on Telemundo called 12 Corazones, probably the best dating game show ever invented. Better than Love Connection, Blind Date, or any combination thereof. So the show lasts for an hour, and at 9 PM a Telenovela (read: cheesy soap opera....probably worse than a soap opera actually) at which I will usually retire to my room to read or watch a movie on my computer. So here's where the time change affects me. Since Telemundo is based in the States, and the States just moved an hour ahead, but the show airs at the same time in the States, the show now comes on an hour earlier here. Now this just completely messes up my whole nighttime schedule. Now I have to watch 12 Corazones with my Doña during dinner and don't just get to relax and drink café and comment on the show the whole time. This also means that I have to watch this stupid Telenovela.
If you want to know what I'm going to have to suffer through check out La Traición. It comes on at 7 PM on Telemundo in Chicago, CST. As much as I want to get into liking the Telenovelas I just can't get myself to. I've tried to imagine that they're a reality show on MTV and things like that, but I just can't get into them. I've come to the point where I can pretty much understand everything that is going on in them now....but still...nothing. This one especially bad because it is set in the like 1800s or early 1900s and they are covered up to their necks and never show any skin. If they showed skin every once in a while I might be able to put up with it, but they can't just give me a break now could they. Oh well...it's now the 11th of March and I plan on moving out at the beginning of April, at which time I will sadly no longer have access to cable television, although I will not have to watch the maldita telenovela either. I don't know which is worse.
OK...that's it for my venting for now. I should be appreciating the fact that I actually have a TV and cable here, but no, I'd rather complain about it. Adios!
Every weekday night at 8 PM in the DR, my Doña and I watch a program on Telemundo called 12 Corazones, probably the best dating game show ever invented. Better than Love Connection, Blind Date, or any combination thereof. So the show lasts for an hour, and at 9 PM a Telenovela (read: cheesy soap opera....probably worse than a soap opera actually) at which I will usually retire to my room to read or watch a movie on my computer. So here's where the time change affects me. Since Telemundo is based in the States, and the States just moved an hour ahead, but the show airs at the same time in the States, the show now comes on an hour earlier here. Now this just completely messes up my whole nighttime schedule. Now I have to watch 12 Corazones with my Doña during dinner and don't just get to relax and drink café and comment on the show the whole time. This also means that I have to watch this stupid Telenovela.
If you want to know what I'm going to have to suffer through check out La Traición. It comes on at 7 PM on Telemundo in Chicago, CST. As much as I want to get into liking the Telenovelas I just can't get myself to. I've tried to imagine that they're a reality show on MTV and things like that, but I just can't get into them. I've come to the point where I can pretty much understand everything that is going on in them now....but still...nothing. This one especially bad because it is set in the like 1800s or early 1900s and they are covered up to their necks and never show any skin. If they showed skin every once in a while I might be able to put up with it, but they can't just give me a break now could they. Oh well...it's now the 11th of March and I plan on moving out at the beginning of April, at which time I will sadly no longer have access to cable television, although I will not have to watch the maldita telenovela either. I don't know which is worse.
OK...that's it for my venting for now. I should be appreciating the fact that I actually have a TV and cable here, but no, I'd rather complain about it. Adios!
The Aqueduct
Sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I just haven't felt very motivated, and in all reality, nothing really exciting has been going on. Just the same old trips to Santiago, hanging around my site and what not. In the meantime, though, I have had my first overnight visitors. The first one being Maryam, one of my best friends who lives not too far away, and the other two which were described in the previous post.
Also, I have been working hard, not physically enduring work, as construction on the aqueduct has not begun yet, but technical work. I have completely designed the aqueduct. I also have completed the budget. The grand total comes to RD$1,363,169.06 or US$41,308.15. Fortunately for me, only RD$667,169.06 needs to be raised. The remainder of the project cost is what is contributed through the community working rather than it being a public works project, and from having an engineer from the Peace Corps. What the community is contributing is $396,000.00. This is based on 150 workdays, which includes 10 workers per day and food, which is what the community contributes. That falls under Manos de Obra, or workforce. My dollar (or peso) value in this project is RD$300,000, which unfortunately I do not actually get paid. I get a measly RD$9,000 and some a month, or about US$270, which surprisingly goes a very long way. Wait, I actually just added up what I make for the 27 months that I'm here, and in total, it comes to a little less than $300,000, so that's not too far off. The budget does include a little bit of padding, as I would rather overbudget than underbudget, considering that prices of materials tend to increase, and sometimes significantly.
Now here comes the time that you thought I would start begging for money from you all, but fortunately for you guys I will be soliciting funds from the government here. Elections are in May, and around this time the local governments tend to be a little more generous. Also, in my region there have been many aqueducts built by Peace Corps in the past, so the local government knows we are serious and are usually more willing to donate funds. If we don't get funds from the local government, then we are going higher up in the ranks, and if necessary, we may have to write grants in order to obtain all the funds. So hold on to your wallets for now, as it will not be necessary. If you are itching to get rid of some money, wait for the future as I plan on doing a couple of other projects throughout my service that may or may not require help from you guys. Right now I'm planning on building some latrines and also there is a small youth group here that I would like to get money to buy musical instruments and maybe some sports equipment so that the kids have some more exciting things to do.
Right now I'm just pretty much sitting around waiting to hear from my boss who is setting up a meeting with the local government so the two other volunteers in the area and I can go and do presentations to solicit the money. He said it will be sometime in March, so it could be any day now. It may even be when my parents and sister are here (only 18 more days!!! I can't wait!) so that would be pretty cool if they got to see me do a presentation in Spanish and actually see me work. After that I just have to wait for them to cut the check, and then off we are to constructing. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I hope that sometime in April or May we actually begin digging the trenches and laying the pipeline.
I'm going to try and see if I could somehow upload files for everyone to see, because I feel some people might be interested in seeing the budget as well as my community diagnostic report and presentation.
Ok...that's it for now. I'll try to update more often. Upcoming events include a Pot Luck festivity at a volunteer's site near me, a friend's birthday in Santiago, my family visiting and a bola race (basically a hitch-hiking race across the country.)
Also, I have been working hard, not physically enduring work, as construction on the aqueduct has not begun yet, but technical work. I have completely designed the aqueduct. I also have completed the budget. The grand total comes to RD$1,363,169.06 or US$41,308.15. Fortunately for me, only RD$667,169.06 needs to be raised. The remainder of the project cost is what is contributed through the community working rather than it being a public works project, and from having an engineer from the Peace Corps. What the community is contributing is $396,000.00. This is based on 150 workdays, which includes 10 workers per day and food, which is what the community contributes. That falls under Manos de Obra, or workforce. My dollar (or peso) value in this project is RD$300,000, which unfortunately I do not actually get paid. I get a measly RD$9,000 and some a month, or about US$270, which surprisingly goes a very long way. Wait, I actually just added up what I make for the 27 months that I'm here, and in total, it comes to a little less than $300,000, so that's not too far off. The budget does include a little bit of padding, as I would rather overbudget than underbudget, considering that prices of materials tend to increase, and sometimes significantly.
Now here comes the time that you thought I would start begging for money from you all, but fortunately for you guys I will be soliciting funds from the government here. Elections are in May, and around this time the local governments tend to be a little more generous. Also, in my region there have been many aqueducts built by Peace Corps in the past, so the local government knows we are serious and are usually more willing to donate funds. If we don't get funds from the local government, then we are going higher up in the ranks, and if necessary, we may have to write grants in order to obtain all the funds. So hold on to your wallets for now, as it will not be necessary. If you are itching to get rid of some money, wait for the future as I plan on doing a couple of other projects throughout my service that may or may not require help from you guys. Right now I'm planning on building some latrines and also there is a small youth group here that I would like to get money to buy musical instruments and maybe some sports equipment so that the kids have some more exciting things to do.
Right now I'm just pretty much sitting around waiting to hear from my boss who is setting up a meeting with the local government so the two other volunteers in the area and I can go and do presentations to solicit the money. He said it will be sometime in March, so it could be any day now. It may even be when my parents and sister are here (only 18 more days!!! I can't wait!) so that would be pretty cool if they got to see me do a presentation in Spanish and actually see me work. After that I just have to wait for them to cut the check, and then off we are to constructing. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I hope that sometime in April or May we actually begin digging the trenches and laying the pipeline.
I'm going to try and see if I could somehow upload files for everyone to see, because I feel some people might be interested in seeing the budget as well as my community diagnostic report and presentation.
Ok...that's it for now. I'll try to update more often. Upcoming events include a Pot Luck festivity at a volunteer's site near me, a friend's birthday in Santiago, my family visiting and a bola race (basically a hitch-hiking race across the country.)
The Haitian Border
Last week I went on a road trip to the Haitian border with some friends. It all started out as just a trip to Santiago. I was going to meet up with my friend Erica, and one of her friends who was visiting from the states. I also had some business to get done in Santiago, mainly email my 3-month community diagnostic report and a summary of the budget for the aqueduct to my boss. Anyways, after some major begging (actually, I think they just asked once) we were off on our way to Dajabón, one of the major border crossing in the DR. Another person along for the ride was John, someone else who wasn't planning on going, but got dragged in anyways. The main reason I decided to go on this trip was not only to be in the company of friends, but also, Erica's friend had rented a car, and this would probably be one of the only opportunities in my two years here to travel in luxury to the Haitian border, and not have to be cramped in a guagua with a million other people.
So after not even having been in Santiago for 24 hours, off we went after lunch to our destination. All throughout the DR, the type of landscapes and environment change dramatically, and this journey was no exception. We started out in the bustling city of Santiago, looking at lush beautiful mountains, but after the few hours journey, it was a flat, dry, almost desert-like landscape, with cacti and everything. After a couple hours, we ended up at Pam's site, a business volunteer working with bees and honey. She just moved into her own pad, and we were actually her first visitors since she had been at her site. After we dropped off our things, we went on a little walk, where she showed us around Dajabón. For being so remote, the city actually has pretty much everything you would ever need. We stopped and got some ice cream for a snack, and later for dinner some burgers. We also walked up to the border of Haiti, only a couple blocks from her house, and it is literally a stone's throw away. Look at my pics, I have one of John throwing a stone into Haiti. After that we just hung out at her house for the rest of the night.
The next morning we woke up bright and early so that we could make it to the Haitian market. Before hitting the market we went up to the border once again, this time at the official border crossing with customs and everything. Unfortunately, as PCVs we are not permitted to travel into Haiti, so we just stood on the bridge crossing, without actually crossing over to the other side. Once I'm done being a PCV, I am definitely making a trip to Haiti. At the crossing there is an influx of all the Haitians, carrying their wares on their heads to sell at the market. The market is truly indescribable through both words or even pictures. Neither can do it justice, nor describe the smells and odors that fill the air. I didn't buy anything, although there were a few really cool t-shirts that I almost bought. Some of the purchases of my friends included pillows, and pots and pans for the stove. I loved it just for the experience.
That afternoon we left Dajabón with our sights headed back to my site. On the way back there were a few pit stops. The first one being the restaurant La Madonna. Before I had left for the DR, one of my best friends had mailed me (through snail mail) an article clipped out of Gourmet Magazine which had a one-page blurb on this restaurant here in the DR. I wouldn't really even so much call it a restaurant, just a little stop on the highway. I never actually thought that I would make it there, so I'm pretty sure I just threw out the article right after I read it. Fortunately for me, I remembered the name of the place, and that it was on the road between Navarrete and Monte Cristi. So we spotted it and decided that we would eat lunch. The specialty there is goat, since according to the article, oregano bushes grow natively there, and the goats eat the oregano, meaning that they're kind of pre-seasoned. You could choose between two types of goat, horneado (oven-baked) or guisado (stewed). Two of us ordered the horneado and the other two ordered guisado. Both were excellent (not sure if they were Gourmet Magazine worthy), but were good nonetheless, and if I were to go again I would probably choose the guisado. I think we may have been charged gringo prices, as it seemed a little bit more expensive than what I was expecting, but it was still only a little more than US$6 per person for quite a feast, so I shouldn't complain.
The second pit stop was to John's site to drop him off, and so that the two Ericas could see his site. After a little tour around John's community, off we went back to my site. My host mom is always extremely happy to accept visitors, and was elated when I showed up with two unexpected guests. Erica bought some macaroni and cheese at the grocery store and I gave it to my Doña to cook for dinner, as she makes the best mac and cheese ever. I then introduced the Ericas to the dating game show called 12 Corazones. It's my favorite show here and my Doña and I watch it every night. It's on Telemundo back in the states as well, and I recommend that you catch an episode or two.
The next morning we went to 27 Charcos. I have described them in the past so I will not go into much detail. This was my third time and I don't think they will ever get old. It was the both of the Ericas first times, and they loved them just as much as I did. I especially liked them this time because we got in for free, since the PCV who is stationed there made a deal with one of the guides that we would go with a guide up to number 7, and then explore the remaining 20 on our own. I was very proud of Erica that she jumped off the tallest one, and I did it again, even though the last time I did, I swore that I wouldn't do it again.
For lunch we went to a BBQ chicken place in a bigger town near me. I had heard other volunteer sing praises of it, and another volunteer who was with us literally eats lunch there every day since he is really close to it. We each got 1/4 chicken, some sort of rice with beans, salad and a drink. All that for US$2.50 per person. The chicken is incredible and I will definitely be going back there in the future. After that we went back to my site to freshen up. I took the Ericas on a tour of my community and showed them the house that I should be moving to in about a month or so. It was also a chance to parade around the "novia." For dinner, instead of my Doña cooking us food, which she was more than willing to do, we decided we would go out for dinner as well. We went and picked up Todd, the volunteer who is stationed at the Charcos, made a pit stop at his old host family's house and then went for pizza, which I was a little wary of, but it ended up being excellent. This was pretty cheap as well. We got the largest pizza on the menu (with Hawaiian toppings...my favorite) along with two big beers all for less than US$3 per person. During dinner we discussed the idea of going out, so Todd called up one of his Dominican friends for suggestions. He suggested a club that just opened in Puerto Plata in the all-inclusive complex of Playa Dorada. Since we had a car, we figured why not. So we went and picked up his two Dominican friends, one of which would be our designated driver. The rest of the night need not be described, except that we danced the night away, listening to American booty music all night, which was very refreshing as opposed to the Merengue and Bachata of which I have become accustomed.
The next morning, the two Ericas were not looking forward to their long drive back to her site in Samaná, but off they went. I was sad to see them leave as it was awesome hanging out with them for four days. Erica's friend is currently in the process of applying to the Peace Corps and has her interview when she gets back. I hope she got to see everything the Peace Corps has to offer during her two week trip here. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she gets chosen to come here. It's a longshot, but it is a possibility.
So after not even having been in Santiago for 24 hours, off we went after lunch to our destination. All throughout the DR, the type of landscapes and environment change dramatically, and this journey was no exception. We started out in the bustling city of Santiago, looking at lush beautiful mountains, but after the few hours journey, it was a flat, dry, almost desert-like landscape, with cacti and everything. After a couple hours, we ended up at Pam's site, a business volunteer working with bees and honey. She just moved into her own pad, and we were actually her first visitors since she had been at her site. After we dropped off our things, we went on a little walk, where she showed us around Dajabón. For being so remote, the city actually has pretty much everything you would ever need. We stopped and got some ice cream for a snack, and later for dinner some burgers. We also walked up to the border of Haiti, only a couple blocks from her house, and it is literally a stone's throw away. Look at my pics, I have one of John throwing a stone into Haiti. After that we just hung out at her house for the rest of the night.
The next morning we woke up bright and early so that we could make it to the Haitian market. Before hitting the market we went up to the border once again, this time at the official border crossing with customs and everything. Unfortunately, as PCVs we are not permitted to travel into Haiti, so we just stood on the bridge crossing, without actually crossing over to the other side. Once I'm done being a PCV, I am definitely making a trip to Haiti. At the crossing there is an influx of all the Haitians, carrying their wares on their heads to sell at the market. The market is truly indescribable through both words or even pictures. Neither can do it justice, nor describe the smells and odors that fill the air. I didn't buy anything, although there were a few really cool t-shirts that I almost bought. Some of the purchases of my friends included pillows, and pots and pans for the stove. I loved it just for the experience.
That afternoon we left Dajabón with our sights headed back to my site. On the way back there were a few pit stops. The first one being the restaurant La Madonna. Before I had left for the DR, one of my best friends had mailed me (through snail mail) an article clipped out of Gourmet Magazine which had a one-page blurb on this restaurant here in the DR. I wouldn't really even so much call it a restaurant, just a little stop on the highway. I never actually thought that I would make it there, so I'm pretty sure I just threw out the article right after I read it. Fortunately for me, I remembered the name of the place, and that it was on the road between Navarrete and Monte Cristi. So we spotted it and decided that we would eat lunch. The specialty there is goat, since according to the article, oregano bushes grow natively there, and the goats eat the oregano, meaning that they're kind of pre-seasoned. You could choose between two types of goat, horneado (oven-baked) or guisado (stewed). Two of us ordered the horneado and the other two ordered guisado. Both were excellent (not sure if they were Gourmet Magazine worthy), but were good nonetheless, and if I were to go again I would probably choose the guisado. I think we may have been charged gringo prices, as it seemed a little bit more expensive than what I was expecting, but it was still only a little more than US$6 per person for quite a feast, so I shouldn't complain.
The second pit stop was to John's site to drop him off, and so that the two Ericas could see his site. After a little tour around John's community, off we went back to my site. My host mom is always extremely happy to accept visitors, and was elated when I showed up with two unexpected guests. Erica bought some macaroni and cheese at the grocery store and I gave it to my Doña to cook for dinner, as she makes the best mac and cheese ever. I then introduced the Ericas to the dating game show called 12 Corazones. It's my favorite show here and my Doña and I watch it every night. It's on Telemundo back in the states as well, and I recommend that you catch an episode or two.
The next morning we went to 27 Charcos. I have described them in the past so I will not go into much detail. This was my third time and I don't think they will ever get old. It was the both of the Ericas first times, and they loved them just as much as I did. I especially liked them this time because we got in for free, since the PCV who is stationed there made a deal with one of the guides that we would go with a guide up to number 7, and then explore the remaining 20 on our own. I was very proud of Erica that she jumped off the tallest one, and I did it again, even though the last time I did, I swore that I wouldn't do it again.
For lunch we went to a BBQ chicken place in a bigger town near me. I had heard other volunteer sing praises of it, and another volunteer who was with us literally eats lunch there every day since he is really close to it. We each got 1/4 chicken, some sort of rice with beans, salad and a drink. All that for US$2.50 per person. The chicken is incredible and I will definitely be going back there in the future. After that we went back to my site to freshen up. I took the Ericas on a tour of my community and showed them the house that I should be moving to in about a month or so. It was also a chance to parade around the "novia." For dinner, instead of my Doña cooking us food, which she was more than willing to do, we decided we would go out for dinner as well. We went and picked up Todd, the volunteer who is stationed at the Charcos, made a pit stop at his old host family's house and then went for pizza, which I was a little wary of, but it ended up being excellent. This was pretty cheap as well. We got the largest pizza on the menu (with Hawaiian toppings...my favorite) along with two big beers all for less than US$3 per person. During dinner we discussed the idea of going out, so Todd called up one of his Dominican friends for suggestions. He suggested a club that just opened in Puerto Plata in the all-inclusive complex of Playa Dorada. Since we had a car, we figured why not. So we went and picked up his two Dominican friends, one of which would be our designated driver. The rest of the night need not be described, except that we danced the night away, listening to American booty music all night, which was very refreshing as opposed to the Merengue and Bachata of which I have become accustomed.
The next morning, the two Ericas were not looking forward to their long drive back to her site in Samaná, but off they went. I was sad to see them leave as it was awesome hanging out with them for four days. Erica's friend is currently in the process of applying to the Peace Corps and has her interview when she gets back. I hope she got to see everything the Peace Corps has to offer during her two week trip here. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she gets chosen to come here. It's a longshot, but it is a possibility.
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