I saw my first parrot here the other day. It was just hanging out
on a power line, chattering away. And today I learned that the first
recorded Carnaval in the Americas took place in the DR, which makes
sense if you consider that Africans were brought over as slaves fairly
soon after it’s colonization. The DR is also the largest exporter of
organic cacao and a major player in the sugar game. However, the single
largest influx of money comes as gifts sent home from Dominicans living
in the States. I really didn’t know how to feel about this. Another
semi-random though interesting fact is that the word hurricane comes
from a Tahino word, for which the Mayans had a similar word to call
their god of storms, Hurakan.
Thursday I leave for Samaná, the small peninsula off the northeastern coast of the island, to visit another volunteer for the weekend. The purpose of this visit is to experience life as a volunteer before the real work starts and to get a taste for some of the various living conditions we might be placed in. Apparently, I’m extremely lucky to be visiting this part of the country – though I say I’ll be lucky if I end up there. The volunteer has told me to bring a swimsuit along (great sign!) and to be prepared to hike a little with my camera in hand to visit a waterfall. So I’m quite excited for this weekend.
We talked a little more about race in the DR and watched a brief documentary depicting how Dominicans view themselves. Despite the fact that this film was made in the early 90s, the mentalities still hold true today. Dominicans will never call themselves black and seek whiteness in a partner to better the race by producing whiter children. They hate Haitians because they are black, and often use those words interchangeably. I don’t understand things here. Here, they are not the minority and still they do not want to be who they are. Is there no where in the world where skin color is simply a description?
Thursday I leave for Samaná, the small peninsula off the northeastern coast of the island, to visit another volunteer for the weekend. The purpose of this visit is to experience life as a volunteer before the real work starts and to get a taste for some of the various living conditions we might be placed in. Apparently, I’m extremely lucky to be visiting this part of the country – though I say I’ll be lucky if I end up there. The volunteer has told me to bring a swimsuit along (great sign!) and to be prepared to hike a little with my camera in hand to visit a waterfall. So I’m quite excited for this weekend.
We talked a little more about race in the DR and watched a brief documentary depicting how Dominicans view themselves. Despite the fact that this film was made in the early 90s, the mentalities still hold true today. Dominicans will never call themselves black and seek whiteness in a partner to better the race by producing whiter children. They hate Haitians because they are black, and often use those words interchangeably. I don’t understand things here. Here, they are not the minority and still they do not want to be who they are. Is there no where in the world where skin color is simply a description?
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