Another Day in the Life of Me

So it's been a long time since I had a real, serious update. I should have updated during my week and a half when I had regular access to internet, but instead I only updated on my Thizz face, which is doing pretty well in the rankings by the way. Now's the time when I'm going to give you another peak at a day in my life...

The other day I went with the treasurer of the water committee collecting the monthly quota of RD $30. This money is used for necessary expenditures of the committee, and so in the future, when something goes wrong with the aqueduct, there is a fund to buy materials to make repairs. The RD$30 is very minimal and is a fairly easy sum of money to acquire, even for the poorer families. It's equivalent to less than US $1. I would have never imagined that getting this monthly money paid would be such a hassle, but apparently it is, and that's why the treasurer wanted my help, because having my presence there would motivate the people to give the money since they are more unless intimidated by having the "ingeniero" (engineer) there. I'm pretty sure it's the only time in my life that I'll ever be intimidating. For that reason, it's not usually advisable that the volunteer helps in collecting the quota, because when the project's over and I leave, I won't be there to intimidate the people, and the people will stop paying the quota. For sustainability purposes, that is a big no no.

Against my better judgment (and my laziness) I said yes for this one time, as it would give me the opportunity to see people I haven't seen in a while and be able to explain to everyone individually what is going on with the project, and that we are on the verge of receiving funding. I already explained to my Doña though that this would probably be the only time that I would do it, and she understood why.

The treasurer and I agreed on a time and date at the water committee meeting earlier in the week, that I would meet him at his house on Saturday the 23rd at 2PM. I'm still learning the difference between American time and Dominican time, and for what occasions which time applies, as it is usually not specified. I tend to always stick to American time, unless I'm feeling especially lazy or tired. So I arrived at the guy's house at 2, and surprisingly he was pretty much ready, although he told me that he wasn't expecting me until 3, since he had just got done with his work in the field and wanted to rest, but that we would go do it anyways. I guess I still have a lot more learning to do about this time difference.

The next few tidbits are going to be random bits of conversations that were had. Two of the major themes that were pretty much discussed at every house were how hot it is and how fat I am.

Dominicans never get tired of talking about the weather. Whether it is cloudy, sunny, cold, drizzling or whatever, Dominicans can go on for a while just talking about the meteorological state of things. Luckily for us it's summer, and even though Dominicans know they live on a Caribbean island where it's hot all year round, summer is especially hot and they love to mention it to everyone they pass by on the street or whoever it is they're talking to. I liken it to us in Chicago talking about how cold it is in the winter, even though we know every winter it gets really cold. Although, in Chicago it makes more sense to me to talk about it because there are actual seasons. Unlike here where it is only hot and hotter. (Save for some nights when I wear my hoodie). Needless to say, one of the first things mentioned at each house we went to was how hot it was.

Then, the second topic of conversation was usually about how fat I got. Let's just say that I'm glad I'm not a girl and don't really care about my figure, and damn it, I'm gonna enjoy my two years here. I'll worry about my figure later. I'll make the Dominicans happy and let them revel in how fat they made me. We'll leave it at that. Wait...no...I have a story to tell. The other day I was in Santiago and I went to this one story, which I would liken to an outlet store like TJ Maxx or Marshall's, but about 50 times messier. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it looked like a herd of cows ran through the store. Anyways, my friend was there to get a pair of flip flops for someone in her community, so I figured I would just look around as well. I miraculously found a really cool pair of jeans I liked, and they were only RD $400 (US$12). I went and got what I though was my size (34) and tried them on. Man was I busting out of these bad boys. Fortunately, I was able to find a size 36 and they fit perfectly. Now I'm just telling myself that I didn't gain two inches on my waist, but that these jeans are in this store because they weren't made correctly since this is the outlet store where all the reject clothes go from the factories here. I'll keep telling myself that for now. Now, we'll leave it at that.

At the first house I went to the people started talking about a guy who was sick in the community. What I got from the conversation was that he had amoebas and he was feeling rather shitty. They were talking amongst themselves, and what they suggested as a remedy was a juice made of garlic and carrots, warm, and preferably with milk too. Now, I'm all about the remedies, but I'm pretty sure that that isn't going to do anything for amoebas. Later on I did find out however that he did go to the doctor, which was good, and they did give him some pills, but they were still fighting on whether or not he should take them because they didn't know if they were the right kind.

Another thing that happened at almost everyone's house is that the people paying wanted to look at the book where it says who has paid, and how many months have been paid by that person. It was funny how everyone would always comment on this one guy who has only paid one month so far. They would also sit and comment about like every person, being like, "oh yeah, he's a good guy, I knew he'd pay a lot...or...he's not good for anything, figures he only paid up till January." Hopefully this will be used for public shaming later so that the people who are behind on their payments will get up to date.

The last funny thing that happened was at one of the last houses that I went to. They were asking how my "girlfriend," was doing, the one I keep around so that they don't hassle me into finding one in the community for me. I got to saying that she was doing pretty well, but that she was in the states right now on vacation. They then asked me what I was going to do in the meantime, and if I had a backup one for this time when she was gone. I told them that she was only gone for two weeks, and that no I did not have another one for while she was gone. They found this unacceptable. I'll now have to remember to never tell people that my "girlfriend" is away.

All in all, it was a good day. I came home with a pineapple, these really cool oranges that were green and yellow striped (don't ask how they got that way), and some mangos. Also, I received several cups of coffee and juice. Sometimes it gets annoying to me how the culture here is relaxed and slow-moving, although be it rarely, but today it was a nice afternoon, spending "un ratico" (a little bit) sitting and talking with the people at each house we visited.

Thizz Face

So I've been with some of my friends for a few days in Santiago, and we've been using the internet way too much. This leads to us doing really random things and just finding the most random sites.

Anyways, one of my friends asked me if I knew what a thizz face was. She proceeded to explain to me and showed me pictures. No it's not dirty, here is what urbandictionary.com says:

"thizz face is when you make a face like you smell some piss"

So we were bored and my friend Stacey and I made a thizz face. We also posted it on www.ratemythizzface.com

If you're bored and care to rate our thizz face, click here http://www.ratemythizzface.com/rate/687 link and vote.

I also encourage everyone to put their own thizz faces online so I could laugh at you.