Monday, August 22, 2011

Why does it feel like it’s ending?

So.  I have less than 9 months left here. Let’s review!

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DONE:

  • Adult literacy classes
  • Adult literacy computer classes
  • I lost 10 pounds (where’d they go?)
  • Computer repair class
  • American music radio program
  • Ran a half-marathon
  • Got a dog (BEAN!)
  • Sex ed/environmental awareness youth group
  • Taught English in a high school
  • Tons of cholera prevention classes, in high school and rural communities
  • English teacher training workshops
  • I site-changed from a large town near the capital to a sugar cane work camp in the desert.
  • Became a whole lot less introverted
  • Set up a computer lab (awesome project- want to do this in 4 more communities)
  • Shaved my head twice
  • Basic computer classes

TO DO:

  • Water filter project (50 filters) (ongoing)
  • Supervise adult literacy program in new site
  • Finish plumbing and flooring new house
  • Health/sanitation charlas
  • Train lab managers (I miss my UNC Labbies!)
  • Create lab support team
  • More computer repair classes
  • More basic computer classes
  • Get thousands of condoms, and teach how to use them
  • Get internet for 4 labs
  • …make 4 labs sustainable…
  • 27 Charcos (jumping off 27 waterfalls)
  • Climb Pico Duarte (highest point in the Carribbean)
  • Figure out why I can’t feel two fingers on my left hand
  • Apply to grad schools
  • Learn how to cook beans

I’ve been here a long time, I should have been able to do more.  I wasted a lot of time watching the entire Battlestar Galactica series, QAF, and a few seasons of Futurama and The Simpsons on my laptop while in a site that I didn’t believe in. 

My first project partner, Sugeidy, was phenomenal. Seriously, she is one of the most amazing people I’ve met. I felt like I was holding her back, because I thought too small.  She lived for progress, and simply didn’t believe in being stopped.  She could raise money, gain support, carry out projects, and be done before I had fully convinced myself that we could do it. Her mom adopted me, and made sure that I ate a good Dominican lunch every day. 

In the batey I have Eduard and Mirta, and they’re incredibly involved with community progress.  They were working before I got here, and they’ll continue after I leave.  So, this time, I’m giving a lot of leeway.  When I talk about the lab with Eduard, he already hits all the main points I want to make, so I just try to give some oomph to the project, and fill in all the technical cracks.  Mirta is a health coordinator for another batey, and I’ve seen her issue contraceptives to campesinos.  She was the first person I met in the batey, and she completely opened her home to me (she even cleaned out a room, and said I could stay there whenever I wanted).  Her kids are my best friends in site, and are probably what made me decide to change sites. 

The lab project is what I was recruited for.  World Vision donated money for Indotel (Instituto Dominicano del Telefono, or Dominican Telephone Institute, I swear the two languages are the same sometimes…) to build the lab, but no one is actually making it WORK.  That’s what IT for EDU volunteers are for! I’ve gotten the entire lab set up software-wise, and just finished setting up the wireless network.  They can now charge for services, and track usage.

I also, ah, set it up so they can have Unreal Tournament LAN parties… This quickly eclipsed MS Paint in popularity.  Bienvenidos a the newest group of Dominicans who talk about frags! The computers also have Encarta (encyclopedia), and in order to reach the games they have to know how to navigate the file system, so I figure it’s a net gain.

 

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I’ve also been thinking about Eve. This is where her memorial marker is, in the UNC Arboretum.  I didn’t get a lot of stuff back then about service and progress, and I remember her telling me about them. I think I’m starting to get it, just a few years late.  So, Hey. To all my friends who figured this out long ago, I wish I could share all this now with you back then.

New House

I’m finally making progress with the new house! 

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The living room/kitchen. I spent a long time sweeping it—the owner was using the house to raise chickens. It was not pretty.

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The bathroom. Yeah, no plumbing, but lots of rocks.  Not sure why there are rocks.

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My bedroom! It has a window, but it is boarded up right now. Notice how nice and flat-ish the floor is—I spent a few hours with some jovenes digging dead tree roots and stuff out of it. 

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The neighborhood!

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Mirta, my next door neighbor, has this little window that her kids sell water and lemonade bags out of.

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