Homeless in Higuëy

My current domicile is a hotel room that I share with Brandi, another teacher in the program. In an elaborate but frustrating game of "pass the gringas" we were told by each successive Ministry of Education representative that we met that the next one would have details on our living arrangements. As it stands Brandi and I are camping out in the hotel until the Ministry lawyer "finalizes" the contract for our apartment. Some key words I have learned in my time here so far are that everything happens sometimes or eventually. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and eventually things will turn out. It's a good thing I was blessed with patience; I have needed it in abundance these first few weeks!

Here's the rundown for my new hometown of Higüey...

According to the travel guide (my Bible for all destinations Dominican for the time being), Higuëy is an unremarkable town of 150,000 situated "on the way to somewhere better". For a girl who spent her last six years in an idyllic Iowa town of 5,000 (which reached a whopping 8,000 when college classes were in session), I would be bluffing if I said that the size of Higuëy didn't overwhelm me.  The main draw of the city is it's basilica, pictured to the right. It truly is a beautiful haven within the city with a mile-long loop used by walkers and joggers in the mornings and--heaven to this OCD perfectionist--symmetrically arrayed palm trees. On January 21st, people from all over the country (and Haiti as well) flocked to the city to celebrate the Día de la Virgen de Altagracia. Brandi and I walked through the basilica grounds as curious onlookers to the festivities; people from all walks of life (but, most noticeably, the destitute) were gathered to celebrate the miracles of the Virgin and to catch a glimpse of the president, who attended one of the masses. In the week leading up to this holiday, Higüey was home to an enormous public works project: street crews paved the entire highway leading to the basilica in the hopes of impressing the president. If only the crews could be persuaded to rebuild some of the side streets!

Hopefully the rest of the year won't seem anticlimactic after the big holiday. One thing I know: teaching will keep me extraordinarily  busy. I have one morning class (8am-noon) with 28 students and one evening class (6-10pm) with forty (!) students. But more on that later. Right now I will leave you, dear reader, with another Dominican modismo which is this: Dominicans do not refer to themselves as "hardworking." Instead they say say "se la busca como un toro" which, loosely translated, means (s)he looks (for it) like a bull. Now all my fellow Midwesterners with a Protestant work ethic have a new way to describe themselves!

Saludos until next time,
Kirsten

Todo se resolverá (All will be resolved)

I've ridden in worse than this...

I've always wanted to start a story with this: "it was an inauspicious beginning..." but in this case it was not. After one delayed flight, one missed flight and a night spent in the airport I arrived in Santo Domingo exhausted and sans luggage. Luckily I packed a change of clothes in my carry-on, or the past few days in the city would be too grimy to mention. As it stands I have enjoyed a fair many Dominican meals and become accustomed to the jarring traffic scene of the capital city (where stop signs and turn signals are optional, stoplights are stop "suggestions," and drivers treat honking as a competitive sport). The public transportation system is worth mentioning in detail. One of the main forms of travel here are the "carros públicos" or shared cars which seem to be dilapidated pieces of sheet metal held together with industrial glue. They are driven by "choferes" who have a knack for creating a third lane on the highway and a seeming desire to break the sound barrier. Needless to say, getting from point A to point B in the city continues to be an adventure! Did I mention that these five-passenger cars are usually packed with 7 or more people...there's nothing like cozying up to perfect strangers.  In terms of logistics for my stay in the Dominican (the whens, wheres, and hows), I am as hazy on the details as my supervisors. Our supposed teacher "training" in the city has consisted of an English proficiency test, a domino intelligence test (which was surprisingly difficult), and oral interview and a rapid-fire PowerPoint presentation that wasn't all that helpful. In other words, I feel more lost in terms of teaching than I was before. As for the "when" and "where" of my site placement, I leave tomorrow for a town called Higuëy (E-gway), which you can find in the eastern part of the country.

The good news: it is fairly close to Punta Cana and some marvelous beaches. The bad news: the town is supposedly populated with more cows than people. (Welcome back to Wisconsin!!) Classes begin on Monday and I await them with a nervous anticipation. But here I am, trying to roll with the punches. Thus the title of this blog: in spite of the bureaucratic inefficiencies of the Ministry of Education (my new employer) and the hectic nature of my days so far I am confident that  todo se resolverá. I'll try to get more pictures uploaded on my next blog, but there are no guarantees :) Saludos until next time!
One last thing: I wouldn't be a teacher if I didn't try to impart some wisdom to my blog readers, now would I? So it is my goal each post to share with you all a modismo or Dominican colloquial saying, just for fun. Today's is this: estar frío/caliente con alguien means that you are either on good (frío) or bad (caliente) terms with them. So next time you're having problems with someone, just say "I'm hot with him." I promise I'll understand; I don't promise that anyone else will! Saludos until next time...