New house nightmare

Well, I have officially become that volunteer who totally neglects their blog. It's with good reason, I swear.

First, I'll start by informing you all that I did in fact move into my new house about a week and a half ago. After about 4 days, I had everything moved in and my water situation all figured out. I really do love my house though and I am super happy to have my own space.

Buuuut on Sunday night I decided to go out for a couple hours with my host mom and one of my friends. I left my house at about 9:45 PM and came back at 12:30 AM to find my front door wide open. I knew immediately I had been robbed. Turns out they bent open the metal shutters on the side of my house to get in and walked out the front door. The thief made off with just about every valuable item in my house. Laptop, tablet, iphone, external hard drive, perfume, watches etc. Yes, it was awful. I cried. A lot. Told my friends I wanted to go home.

But now a few days later I realize that I don't want to go home. If I go home, the punk that robbed me wins. Through the entire situation I have come to realize that I still love my community and that I am lucky to have such great friends and project partners. As I write this from my office in Santo Domingo, sicker than a dog with a cold I can't help but think about how much this experience has changed my life. On Saturday I will have been here for 6 months and I would not trade those 6 months for anything.

IN OTHER NEWS. I will be receiving my first visitors on the 18th, for which I am VERY excited!!!
Also, my project is going super well. The new office for the women is almost done, I wish I could post pics but I no longer have a device to do that.
Also we just finished a grant application for the American Chamber of Commerce to purchase some water quality control equipment for the project. More on that to come.
Once I get back online with some sort of computer I will hopefully be able to get started on some other things like a girls youth group (chicas brillantes) and some business technical classes for the women in my community.

Like I said I have no picture taking devices so you'll just have to deal with some photo-less blog posts for a lil bit.

Love from the DR, Kaley

Fashion in the DR

This is quite possibly the longest I've let a blog concept marinate. Dominican fashion. Whereeeee do I even start? 

Dominicans are very much into looking nice all the time. They bathe at least twice a day and are very conscious of their clothing. If someone likes something you're wearing, they'll definitely tell you. Or ask to buy it from you. 

Dominican fashion do's:

Skinny jeans (colored too)

Jeans with intricate detail on the pockets

White pants

Linen, especially all linen outfits 

Neon

Bright and tight

Monochromatic outfits

Glitter (even better if its on your jeans)

Converse 

Leggings (even better if they're printed)

Tunics 

Sleeveless button ups 

High waisted jeans or shorts 

Tight skirts 

Heels 

Brightly colored flats 

Big earrings and cute jewelry

Nail art

Glasses of all kinds

How about those tights?! Also please note it was over a hundred degrees that day. 

And for the tigueres (guys):

Polo shirts, pronounced "poloshert" in Spanish in all varieties. Hollister, Abercrombie, polo, etc. the brighter the better. 

Jeans with no rips or stains. Nicely pressed and preferably with lots of detail on the pockets. 

Socks with flip flops. Why? No idea. 

Nice loafers, boat shoes or tennies 

Intricate long sleeve shirts with lots of detail

Overly tight clothing 

This is my friend Sam's boyfriend Damaso! 

Dominican fashion don'ts 

Baggy jeans

Big tee shirts

Dirty clothes

Rubber flip flops

Any kind of pajamas

Backpacks 

Shorts with white tennies and socks 

Exercise clothing (unless you're going to work out) 

Unkept hair (another post coming on hair)

Basically the only time to look semi dressed down is if you're doing hard labor outside or going to the beach. No exceptions. And there's no such thing as being overdressed. Ever. 

In my community, the young men work to buy clothes. "Pinta" as we call it here is something taken very seriously. Any given Sunday night the young men are dressed to the nines to go to church, walk around in the community or go play dominos. I've seen some better pinta here in Bombita than in the capital. And that's saying something. 

The beach is a whole different animal. Most Dominicans are not into getting in the ocean, so they prefer to go to the river. If you are invited to go to the river, this does not mean you put on your bikini and go. That would actually be a huge mistake. When Dominicans swim in the river they wear regular clothes. Shorts and tank tops. I have no idea why. 

If you go to the beach, you'll still find people in clothes but not as many. For men, basically anything goes. 

Added bonus? Here's a link to one of the most popular songs in the country right now...and the dance too...

http://youtu.be/lXebGKxxW-Q

Hope everyone is fabulous! Xoxo Kaley 

Time

If you know me, you know I am a planner. I like to plan activities and trips right down to the tiniest details. I just can't help it! I like to have a plan. 

Down here I continue to be a planner but with a few exceptions. You see, just about everything here is by the seat of your pants. Here I thought I'd be spending the past week in my site but a last minute phone call from the training boss led me to be in the capital or creole training. 

I might wake up one morning at 7:30 and think I have nothing going on but a day long activity will materialize within minutes and I'll be off. I say day long because NOTHING here can be done quickly if you require the services of a business. Or public transportation. Oh god public transportation. 

Anyway. So I have learned to just always be prepared for anything when I leave the house in the morning because you just never know where ill end up! 

After 4 days of Creole training I was pretty worn out. We were due to finish Friday at noon but I was somehow convinced to leave at 9am to head back to my site so Erin and Tyler (who want to start a fish farming project on their own) could see the fishes in my site. Then of course we get stuck in the mud while going out to the reservoir. Whoops. 

And since Erin and I were in the back of the pickup truck, we came out of this situation covered in mud. 

However, they were able to see the fish cages and go out on them to get a good idea of how the process works. 

Then after a shark sandwich we headed down to Los Patos for a little goodbye get together for a friend who is leaving on Tuesday to go back to the states. 

Also picked up a Larimar bracelet from the shop on the way down. Larimar is a stone that can only be found in the DR!

A good time was had by all. Except for the raging hangover I had on the bus ride back to Barahona. Which took forever, of course. 

Also, in case you're wondering how our spare time in the capital was spent after creole training...

Eating any and all food that we can't get in our sites, obviously. 

Time here is flying! I've been in country for almost 5 months now. I'm hoping to move into my new house mid August, so more on that to come. 

P.S. don't even ask if I learned creole. I can say a few things but dear lord I have completely forgot how to learn languages. 

Xoxo Kaley 

House Hunters International - Peace Corps Version

It's true. My three months living with Mari are winding down. My diagnostic period is officially over August 6, which is when I will be heading to Santo Domingo with my project partner Mimi to present my community and organizational diagnostic to my fellow business volunteers. 

Meanwhile, I've been on the hunt for a house of my own. For some volunteers, the hunt is long and painful because there are a lot of options but it's hard to find the right fit. Goldilocks style. Too big too small, no bathroom, no water, too expense etc. And then once you find one, peace corps has to come inspect it to make sure it fits the bill. 

I, on the other hand really only had one option. You see, in bateys and small communities there are usually very few options or you have a house built for you. Mimi was gracious enough to track down this house for me. It's perfect. 2 bedrooms, one bath, kitchen and living room. And front porch obviously because that's not optional in the DR. Porch siting is the #1 way to matar el tiempo (kill time). In plastic chairs. Anyway, this casa has 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen an living room. It's not quite done yet, and my landlord needs a year advance (I know, wtf right?) as a deposit to finish the inside. He's still gotta put in countertops, build me a closet, hook up the electricity and paint the inside. 

There it is. It's in the new part of my community so there's lots of construction around it. Also just behind it they are building an office for the women of my project!

The only downside is I'm paying way too much to live in a batey. We started negotiations at $2000 pesos a month (approximate $50) and although I only wanted to pay $1000, ended at $1500 (about $38 a month). I know it seems like nothing but hey, I'm a volunteer. 

Paying too much? Probably. But here's how I look at it: rent going up in a community is a sign of development, right? The new neighborhood is posh, I'm tellin ya. 

AND I'm going to have running water for the first time since I moved to the Dominican Republic!!!!!! This is even more exciting for me right now because the water hasn't come to my community in over 2 weeks...which is not easy for anyone. Definitely not a first world problem. 

Yesterday my phone rang and I was invited to Creole training in the capital for the week! I'm leaving Sunday to spend the week in Santo Domingo and hopefully learn some Creole and stay with my doña from training. I'm super excited to see her and even more excited for her cooking. 

This means I need to get my diagnostic done ASAP. The last two days I've been working furiously to get as much done as possible. Here are a few pics from around my community that I'll be including in the diagnostic:

The new neighborhood

What will be the office for the project!

Hope you all are well! Besos, Kaley 

4th of July in the DR

I'm not gonna say too much about this weekend because the pics are going to speak a thousand words. 

This weekend started at 3:30am on Thursday to catch the bus to Santo Domingo in order to catch the 8am bus to Samana and then catch the last and final bus to Las Galeras which is where quite a few peace corps volunteers spent this glorious holiday of American pride. I had no idea how much I needed a little vacation until I got here and then decided to stay an extra night. There was a party, bonfire and this...

Then there was lots of beach. And rum. And some cerveza too. It's absolutely beautiful here...

In the back of a pickup truck on our way back to the house after a 2 hour hike to Rincon!

Andy's feelings about the hike. 

Yep. 

Tomorrow I'm headed back to my site and back to the grind. Hope you all had a fabulous Fourth of July! 

Besos, Kaley 

And then the president of the Dominican Republic stopped by for a visit.

I'm not sure how I ended up here or how I was assigned such an awesome project. But I'm here and I love my job, my community and my project partners. 

Today started as a normal day. I got up, ate my breakfast in my pjs and did some reading. Then my project partners daughter shows up at my door all huffy puffy insisting that I type a list of students names from the community who are currently attending university. 

"This is for today?" I asked. 

"It's for like, right now." She said. I was slightly irritated but agreed. When she turned to leave I asked why exactly it was for right now and she nonchalantly said, it's for the president. Mmm okay. President of what? Que se yo. So I type. 

20 minutes later I deliver my memory stick to Mairenny and we go to print. I was supposed to walk up to the entrance of my community at 10am to see the new sign and landscaping. Which turned out awesome, by the way...

Then we come back and I'm informed that the president is for sure coming today. The president of the DR. In my community. To see my project. Shortly into our walk I turn and see this:

A helicopter landing on the baseball field. Note there is no one there. In minutes 2 more helicopters landed and the ENTIRE community came running.

Then arrived about 20 SUVs and out popped president Danilo Medina. Then he walked with the entire community in two out to the tilapia project to talk to my project partners. Here is one of them talking with the press and Danilo. 

How did this happen, you ask? 

Back in February the prez came to visit my women's group and offering them a government loan through the agricultural funding program. He also payed to have the streets paved (which is effing awesome because now when it rains there's no mud), and is building bathrooms for everyone in my community who does not have one. 

Today he was actually visiting a neighboring town to see about funding a tilapia project similar to ours and decided to pop in to visit his friends in Bombita. I'll tell you what, there's nothing that brings excitement to a community like a visit from the president. I'm so proud of my project partners. They have made Bombita a much better place to live through their dedication to their project and community. 

And then we went to the beach to celebrate, obvi. 

Oh and then there was this, which is not 100% accurate...and this journalist is kind of a dick but for those of you who speak Spanish, it's an article about me and peace corps. Hopefully the link works. Enjoy :) 

http://m.elcaribe.com.do/2013/06/22/cuerpo-paz-.-soporte-produccion-del-sur

Meanwhile....

So if you follow me on Instagram you are probably sick of all this vaina but I'm gonna do it anyway...

In the midst of what appears to be the never ending kidney infection I was fortunate enough to spend my Friday night with the sureños and some other visitors at the San Ralfi house an it went a little like this:

That just so happens to be my favorite porch in country thus far. And lemme tell you, there's a lot of porch sitting in the DR. So there was that. Accompanied by lots of bachata and drinks and cool people. 

There was also a wedding and a funeral here in the same weekend. The outfits for the wedding were....interesting. Here are some of the guests walking to the reception.

Those purple an white satin getups just aren't my thing. But hey, whatever floats your boat! The kids are always cute though. 

Hope you all are well! Xoxo Kaley