The first three weeks have flown by incredibly fast. We've done and seen so much its been almost overwhelming. The first couple of days were definitely a bit of a shock. The DR is so much different than the U.S. in so many ways.
The ILAC Center:
Home sweet home for the next couple for months. Its located in Licey al Medio just outside of Santiago. The main street is paved, but the side streets and the street ILAC is on is unpaved with open sewers on each side of the road for the most part. ILAC is beautiful. The center has multiple buildings on its property and also a running track, a grove (includes bananas,plantains, avocado, and mangos), basketball court, and gardens.
The buildings include a church, the comedor (cafeteria/kitchen), the biblioteca (library), a class room building, a medical clinic, an office building, dormitories, and several casitas, which are one room guest houses. Our dorms are located above the biblioteca. I share my room with four other guys. We each have our own bunk bed, mosquito net included, desk and closet. And then we share a hotel style bathroom. All the buildings are open air for the most part, which is quite nice, but no air conditioning.
Licey is known for its frequent apagónes, or power outages. These happen several times a day. During the day we have backup generators, but they turn off at nine. So, when the power goes out at night we are usually left in the dark until about eight the next morning. It doesn't take long to get use to being with out power.
The staff here is incredibly friendly and outgoing, despite the language barrier. The Dominican culture is very hospitable, and they have shown it every day to us. The center's gaurd dog, Murillo, or la guardían de los gringos (guardian of the americans) as the guy at the colmado (corner store), follows us when ever we leave the mission.
Santiago:
Santiago is the second largest city in the Dominican Republic with about 800,000 people. Its located in the Cibao Valley about an hour and a half from the north coast and two to three hours from the south coast. The Cibao Valley is known for its tobacco and coffee.
To get to Santiago from Licey we take the public transportation known as a Gaugau into town. The guagua stops just down the street from ILAC across from the colmodo. A gaugau is basically a fifteen passenger van with an extra row of seats behind the driver's seat. You flag down a guy called a cobrador who hangs out the sliding door of the van. In the DR, there is no such thing as personal space. He will pack as many people as possible into the van. Usually they will have around twenty people riding. BUT, the most we ever had so far is 27, which means people were hanging out the windows and the door. When it only costs 15 pesos (about 40 cents) for the ride all the way into town, you don't have to much room to complain.
Santiago is also known for La Monumental, literally meaning The Monument. Its a tall white tower constructed by the dictator Trujillo to signify the DR's independence. It sits atop a hill and is visible from most of the city.
The city itself is very different from an city in the U.S. If you think you've seen bad drivers, you haven't been to the DR. The roads are always packed with cars, and its pretty much cross at your own risk at all the times. It seems almost every car or publico (public transportation) has a sound system that rivals anything you would hear in the US. Traffic signals and stop signs are non-existent (or seemingly optional) at most intersections.
Instead of ripping up the old asphalt, they simply pave over it. So, the roads are almost level with the sidewalks. The curb and gutter formed by the high asphalt is usually packed with garbage.
The Calle del Sol, the main market area that leads up to La Monumental, is always packed full of people and merchants. However, it is a far cry from anything you would see in the US or Europe. However, the people are very friendly. If you ask for directions, they will go out of their way to make sure you get to your destination.
Its overwhelming and chaotic at first, but it was easy to adjust and fall in love with Santiago. After three weeks, it doesn't even occur to me that I am riding way to fast through horrendous traffic in a van with 25 people and no air conditioning. Its just how life is down in the DR.
I'll post more about my service site, and my other excursions soon. I'll have it up before Sunday. I'm leaving for the Campo on Sunday and I will be gone for 10 days. If you have any questions about anything or want to know more about something, just let me know. (Some pictures to come soon!)
Paz,
Joe
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment