Weeks one and two come to a close...

While it is still raining in Cabarete, two weeks after my arrival and every day in between - ok, except for two days of glory - I have finally become able to access the internet in my apartment which I imagine is about as good as heroin. Despite the rain (and my shockingly pale skin), I am happy. The DREAM Project is doing some really important work, and so far the organization is everything I was hoping it would be.

I'm teaching in their afterschool program (so... yah. kids here only go to public school for 3 hours a day. This is because there are not enough schools or classrooms for them to attend for a full day. This means they either go to school during the morning, afternoon, or evening session. Before high school, most kids go either in the morning or afternoon, and those enrolled in DREAM's program will come to the DREAM Center during the session they are not in public school. This still doesn't really give them a full day of school, but about 5 hours instead of 3...) Literacy is by and large shockingly low, and it's common in this community for people to not have a high school education. This is partly because they would have to commute (as there are only high schools in neighboring towns) and also because you cannot enter high school in the D.R. without a birth certificate. This is a whole other bizarre complication as many children are born at home and do not have proper papers....also because birth certificates can then only be obtained by travelling to Puerta Plata, a small city about an hour away. In any case...the kids are really enthusiastic so far. I'm teaching Adult ESL (figuring that one out as I go along!) and computers/english/writing to kids between the ages of about 10-17. I also have one art class with younger kids which I'm super excited about.

El Callejon de la Loma, the neighborhood where I live and work at the DREAM Center, is starting to feel like home. It's largely very poor, though completely residential and everyone has been insanely friendly so far. It's also, sadly, very flooded right now because it's been raining for the last 2 weeks straight - one street behind my apartment building is inaccessible without wading through what looks to be a river of about 8 inches of water...

At the end of the main road, El Callejon, there is "La Loma" or 'the hills' - it's apparently rural and beautiful, and many people live there; this area has been populated for much longer than the Callejon (as the Callejon is basically a swamp area, only settled in the last 20 years or so with the rise of tourism in Cabarete). La Loma also apparently involves caves, and one you can swim in. I'm excited to explore, but now it's too wet/flooded to go, so hopefully things will dry up soon...Will report back!

Otherwise the neighborhood is full of people, stray dogs, donkeys, horses (all wandering around, to some extent...as these happen to be my favorite animals, it feels like my hood is a good fit...though it's difficult to see animals struggling, homeless, and underfed. But here it's also easy to understand that humans in that predicament are prioritized, and should be).

Cabarete is a great mix of people; the beach side of the town is totally touristy and developed (not to mention a serious party scene...every night past about 11 is basically a music video for Now That's What I Call Hits, with a lot of bass...) where as the other side of the main road from the beach, where I live in El Callejon, is completely different and impoverished. It's a somewhat shocking contrast, but one I am fascinated by so far.

Of course the other event that has put a damper on things is the earthquake in Haiti; while we felt a mild quake here (or rather, those of us who weren't riding on the back of a motorbike at the time were..eh hem) there is no physical damage. Though many people in the community have family members in Haiti that they are unable to contact, and cannot locate - it's all terrifying and devastating. The Haitian border is officially closed and all phone lines are down across the country. It's so painful to see this happen to a nation already facing so much adversity, but I hope in the coming months to see many parts of the world united in the relief effort...

DREAM is planning some fundraising events this week to support the relief effort, which I'm super excited about; on Thursday we'll hold a 'pulga' or flea market, for the local community, as well as an art show of student as well as local professional artists' works, with all proceeds to be donated to the Red Cross, who is at this point determined to be the most effective organization on the ground, able to use funds immediately. The art show will be great - I'll be working with the kids on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to create decorated bags we will make out of t-shirts, painted vases, and painted leaves. We're all really excited about the t-shirt bags, which I think will be huge sellers....photos to come!!!

Hasta pronto....

Laura