Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Today started off with a bang – well, it was more like a flood. We were given all these horrific statistics about hunger and mortality and poverty and environmental destruction followed by a video that actually made me so mad I had tears in my eyes at some point. It was an amateur video using footage taken in a town in the DR. You see the town with it’s meager stream running through it, the women using the rocks as stepping stones, the kids wading through the water. Then it starts to rain. It wasn’t a hurricane or anything close to a major storm, but it was enough rain for the stream to overflow to the size of the Colorado river and for the houses to fill with what might as well be sewage water. And all the while, this town continued to intentionally push their 6 foot pile of garbage into the flowing water. The river runs black with trash, you cannot see the water for all the cans and wrappers and bottles that litter it. This waterway leads to the ocean.

This brought up a major issue for me – that of determinism versus fatalism, topics which we discussed previously in our Dominican cultural introduction. I just cannot imagine how people would be content living amongst their garbage, how they would do nothing to change their situation, to find options, to make an effort to improve their situation because they believe everything is in the hands of god. I do not understand it, it makes me angry, and I’m trying very hard to reconcile this.

Along the same lines, we had our first project specific meeting today in which the ICT leader came and got to know us. One of the questions we were asked to answer was what we predicted our biggest struggle would be. For many, it was the language, working with hardware, or not being able to construct a curriculum. For me, it was the difficulty in reconciling the benefit of instituting and dedicating such resources to the promotion of computer technology when there is SO MUCH else that needs to be done. Though I did not say it in these words, my biggest challenge is to not only tell myself but actually believe whole heartedly that by teaching the youth of the country this technology we are serving to enhance their skills, their marketability, and ability to access the world’s knowledge. I need to tell myself that there are five other Peace Corps projects working on Environment, Water, Community Development, Health, and… something else. Most moments I’m pretty enthusiastic about what we’ll be doing – but I did have that one of critical introspection.

One thing that I got really excited about was a mini project that we’ll have the opportunity to work on during our community based training. During those five weeks, we’ll be trained in all the principal skills needed to set up and maintain computer labs, but we’ll also be involved with the youth in creative projects. She mentioned one that teaches a group of kids to use a program called movie maker. I imagine it’s nothing like Final Cut Pro, but I’m sure I can handle the transition. During my interview with the trainer on Thursday, I can’t wait to tell her that that’s right up my alley and that I would love, love, love to head up that project. I might even be able to get some footage of it.

In addition to all this, we also got a Dominican Dating 101 which included Meringue dance lessons – Bachata, Rigaton, Traditional and all! First they scared us all by saying that the DR has the highest rate of PCV reported daily sexual harassment across all PC countries. Then they said we’re six times more likely to contract HIV here than in the US. Then they told us fifty something volunteers have married Dominicans since the director of the PCDR has been here, including the training director herself. They tell us all the indirect communication that takes place, how to recognize it, how to avoid ending up in a pay-by-the-hour motel without knowing what’s going on, or saying yes to something that’s actually much more than what you think it is. Then they say – but just like in America, there are people who want the casual sex, and those who are looking for relationships, too. So great – we’re pretty much back to square one and have no idea what to think when approached. Apparently, though, this topic is quite important, as there is another discussion group dedicated to it – lead by PCVs without the staff.