Dominicans and Witches

This little girl Jennifer scared all the other 5th graders as she told us about the witch that tried to attack her. She explained that the witch came by at night, jumping on her tin roof and sneaking into the house in the shape of a small animal (that’s what witches do in this country). Her father reassured her that the witch couldn’t hurt her being that she had already been baptized in the Catholic Church. (Lots of people here believe that witches try to suck blood from babies and small children, but if the child has been baptized or dedicated in the Christian church then they’ll be safe). Then she continued to tell us how one night her dad got tired of the witch scaring her so he played a trick on the witch. He put a broom by the door with the bristles up and sprinkled salt on it, this made it so the witch couldn’t leave the house. Then he turned the broom around so the witch could leave, but before she left he put the broom up again. He did this over and over again but finally let her leave the house and she never came back again.

I found this story quite humorous, but all the other listeners reassured me that it was true and how they’d all seen witches as well. It surprises me how many of their parents believe in these blood sucking witches as well. I found an interesting website that shares more on witches and others folktales in the Dominican Republic. Check it out!

Hospitality

Even after eight years here it still takes a bit of mental effort for me to be hospitable in a Dominican way. In her book, Foreign to Familiar, Sarah a. Lanier shows some major differences between hot- and cold-climate cultures (Most North Americans would be put in the box of cold-climate culture while Dominicans would generally be in the hot-climate culture box). When sharing about the differences in hospitality she shares that for hot-climate culture “There is little concept of it being a formal occasion that requires a special menu or cleaning the house first. Spontaneity is part of hospitality.” She also goes on to explain that in a place like the Dominican Republic visiting someone unexpectedly will never be taken as an interruption nor would people ever forfeit hospitality for time alone.

This is still hard for me at times. For example, three nights ago some friends were over and I suggested that we make dinner together…. It was about 7pm and I was really hungry and a little tired, we ended up eating rice & eggs with onions on top by 9pm and then everyone wanted to watch a movie. By then I really wanted to go to bed but I ate a little bit of chocolate and enjoyed a fun Dominican movie.

The next day I had young girls in and out of my all day, some practicing a dance for Sunday School, others wanting to draw, and others just wanting to say hi. And then in the evening the same group of friends that I made dinner with the previous night came over wanting to make dinner again. I really didn’t want to as time alone seemed really appealing, yet at the same time hanging out with friends is really appealing as well. So we made a nice pasta dish and had a lot of fun. Last night it rained really hard so I had an excuse to close my door and stay hidden in my house for a little bit of alone time. All that to say that I’m still learning and growing in hospitality.

SUSPIRO

There's this one little girl on tenth street who if she sees me will call my name and then run up to me and give me a really big hug. I don't even know her name or her family very well, but I feel quite a bond with her now, being that I've gotten hugs from her at least once a day for the past 2 or 3 months. Well yesterday she came up to me and told me she wants to make a dessert with me, and today she showed up at my door as I was taking a nap wondering if we could make something. I agreed and together we decided to make suspiro. What is suspiro? Well, it's the most popular Dominican cake frosting made from egg whites and sugar. I used to think it seemed a bit strange to eat raw eggs so I used to scrape it off before enjoying a piece of cake. But I've now learned that the egg whites actually get cooked through the process of making it. It's really quite nice and not as sweet as other frostings. If you look it up on line you'll find a whole bunch of recipes both in English and Spanish.

As we were making our little dessert another little helper showed up too, none of us had ever made it on our own before but it turned out quite good. We colored it pink and got it all over ourselves as we ate it. I'll try to perfect my suspiro skills so I can make it for you all next time I'm home.

The Past Few Days…..

Last Friday I had a chance to visit some friends in Los Pomos. I don't get over there often anymore yet I have a great time whenever I do. We played Farkle together (a game that involves 6 dice and a lot of luck), drank coffee and chatted a bit. As always it was fun to see them and catch up a bit.

On Saturday morning I made some chocolate crinkle cookies with my little fifth grade friends. It was a little crazier than normal as little arguments, put downs and disagreements about where each girl could sit led to a few girls crying and others wanting to leave. Yet, all ended well as we came to the agreement that it was best if we all sat on the floor without cushions and enjoyed our warm chocolate cookies together.

After a fun church service/ photo show on Sunday night I had a fairly traditional American meal (chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, and cranberry sauce) with Darin and a few of his neighbor friends. Two of the boys wouldn’t try the cranberry sauce but the other was very excited when he tasted it and realized it was sweet. All around it a fun last meal to have with Darin before he returned Canada (He's been down here for just over a year taking care of T.E.A.R.S. communications, teaching photo classes, working with the drama team, and a lot more).

Yesterday my neighbor’s dog and five puppies almost died from some kind of poison. (People often put poison on food in the garbage cans so the rats die, but sometimes dogs find the food instead). Luckily Claritza looked on-line and found a recipe that saved their lives; a milkshake made with charcoal, milk, olive oil and salt.

Well that’s about all for now. Here’s a picture of my cat. He’s as crazy and violent as ever. He attacks people’s feet who come over when he wants peace and quiet, he attacks my legs when we wants attention, and has just figured out how to get on my book shelf (a shelf about 7 ft off the ground) and push the books off.

I've been trying to take more pictures lately for a photo show we're going to have this Sunday at an evening church service........... so I thought I'd share some pictures I've taken of a few cute barrio kids .

The Blue Tarp

Here in the barrio a blue tarp is hung up immediately after someone dies..... this way people who come to pay their respects can take cover from the rain and from the hot sun. It also serves as a way of letting everyone around the victims house know that someone passed away.

The photo below is of a "vela" (more details below) of a man named Ciba on 11th street, the owner of a small store that I buy stuff from often and one of my favorite a motorcycle taxi drivers. He died from a heart condition he was unaware of until the day before he passed away.

Funeral Traditions
http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/important_stuff-traditions.html

The wake continues until 12 noon the next day, followed by burial at the cemetery. It is the family’s choice to retire at midnight and return the next day around 7 am.

Many families follow on with a series of memorial masses held for nine (9) consecutive days. This is known as los nueves dias, novenario, or la vela. When and where they will be held will be announced. It is not necessary to go to these masses unless you were a close friend of the person or family, especially if you attended the funeral. One is never expected to attend all the masses unless you want to do so. If you were not able to attend the funeral you should go to one of the masses. You might choose to go to the last one that usually will be announced in the press. This marks the end of the mourning period ceremonies.

The nine days of mourning usually consist of three days of grieving (crying and reminiscing). 3 days of silence (thinking and reverence). The last 3 days are for release (accepting and separating).

To "cumplir" is to act in accordance with the standard social procedures. A person will go to a funeral whether or not it is his desire; it is his duty. To "cumplir" is important in this society. It signifies respect and caring.

Many of the poorer people are only laid out for 1 day in the home. This is because of the heat and fast decomposition of the body. Also, the caskets usually have a window for viewing. Maybe this is to keep the smell in and bugs out.

Flowers are not expected.

Only good friends and family are expected at the burial.

Dominicans show much respect for their dead. A funeral is an event that will gather people together, including family members, who may not have seen each other for a number of years. Inside the chapel it is sedated but outside, there will be a lot more liveliness almost reminiscent of a normal social occasion.

Beauty all around me!

Here are a few pictures I’ve taken lately. Sometimes I forget how much life and beauty there is all around me…… yet when I take time to appreciate it I feel so refreshed!

My little neighbor Emiley...... she still doesn't have teeth but is already saying a few words!

My friends told me that there's a superstition that when the clouds look like this it means that an old person is going to pass away. (I find out new superstitions practically every day).

This is my friend Maria's mom, she loves her grand kids!

Even at 7:30 am it feels quite hot and humid, so the cool afternoons once the sun starts setting are much appreciated.

A little bit of finger paint?

Just chillin out wathcing the girls jump rope.

Jumping rope..... kids here are so much better at it than I ever was.

Razor Blades and Clay

My ceramic teacher back in High School taught me how to make a basic Fimo clay cane design on the last day of school, and now many years later I get to teach it to others! During the past few weeks I’ve taught about 5 different groups of girls how to make fimo clay beads. Most of the girls I’ve been teaching are part of a young girl’s ministry called Mujercitas, they’re going to sell the earrings they’ve made in order to raise funds for upcoming activities and retreats. I haven’t heard how many they’ve sold yet but I’m sure they’re not having a problem selling them…. The earrings they made look awesome!

(If you have no idea what Fimo or polymer clay is then check out the following website http://www.leeleeko.com/millefiore.htm).

Where you wouldn’t want to spend the night

Around 11pm the lady to the far left starting singing to Mother Mary, the lady to our right was coughing and making ferocious sounds, and minutes later another lady started cussing out the air around her. Luckily the two of were small enough to fit into the single bed side by side unlike many others, yet we couldn’t even attempt to sleep because the doctors still hadn’t come by to do their evening checkups. They did finally come and go by nearly 1am. The random noises from all the other 18 ladies in the room continued through the night which everyone seemed to enjoy joking about after the nurses forced us to wake up at 6am. (I still don’t know why they insisted on waking us up so early being that they didn’t actually do their morning check-ups until nearly 8am).

(Just a little picture of the hospital to give you an idea of the size of bed the two of slept in. Each hospital room has 10 beds for the patients, while their caretakers either try to fit on the bed with them or they find a chair somewhere to sleep in).


You might wonder why I spent the night at the public hospital. Well, my friend Maria was sick with gallbladder stones. And in this country someone always spends the night with the patient to tend to their needs, bring them good food to eat, and bring them fresh sheets. That particular night her family was busy and couldn’t tend to her needs, so I got to.


I stayed with her just one night during her second stay at the hospital. She was checked into the hospital four times during two months before they actually operated on her. Fortunately they operated on her just over a week ago, and she’s doing very well now.

Famous Baseball Players

A few major league baseball players visited the barrio yesterday teaching the kids a few skills and sharing the gospel. Just thought I'd share a few photos.

Christmas and New Year's

If you haven’t heard, my dad came to visit me for the holiday’s. He didn’t make it on Christmas day because of the crazy weather in Portland, Ore., but was here for New Years and my 31st B-day. We did a bit of exploring; went up to Constanza (a beautiful city up in the mountains), spent a week at a beach town called Cabarete, and visited another beach town called Samana, famous for whale watching. Besides the adventures we visited people in the barrio, had a little New Year’s party at my house, and ate lots of good food. Other than hanging out with me dad during the holiday’s I did a lot of holiday baking, lots of relaxing, received lots of great Christmas and b-day presents, and lots of eating!

My New Kitten

Just before Christmas I went up to the Travesia for a few days and besides being gifted with good food and coffee, I was also given a kitten from my friend Mari. Her neighbor kids referred to the kitten as “El Mas Feo” (The Ugliest), but I think he’s cute. He’s quite a handful though. He wakes me up a few times in the night trying to get on the bed, cries when the sun comes up because he’s hungry, and cries whenever he’s not eating, sleeping or playing because he wants me to hold him. I never know a little kitten would require so much attention.…. I can’t imagine how much attention a baby requires. I know this sounds silly but I have a lot more respect for moms.

5 to 6 hours of power

The power has been extremely bad lately..... here's a few excerpts from an article in yesterday's local newspaper. ..............
The 18-hour blackouts are punishing the country, making everyone uncomfortable. The business community says it can't take it anymore, and in the streets, some people get angry when asked about the situation. There are reports of blackouts lasting for up to 18 hours from the capital to the greater part of the Cibao. Owners of mini-markets, supermarkets, cafeterias and butcher shops all say that their products go bad as a result of the blackouts, because they do not have emergency generators. Sales are down as well as people don't want to buy warm beverages.

A Little Stateside Vacation

During the past two weeks I've seen a bit of Vancouver B.C. (what a beautiful city!), gone berry picking, gone on a 6 hour train ride, had some great meals, visited family in Portland, gone on a backpacking trip to Burnt lake, had one fundraising gathering, gone shopping, and ...... I'm sure I'm forgetting something great...... hmm..... been able to relax and catch up on sleep!

Here's a few pictures from our backpacking trip.

View of Mt. Hood from Burnt Lake in the evening.

Wendy and I after we packed up from our camping spot at Burnt Lake. We still can't figure out why our bags were so big and so heavy being that we packed the very minimal.

View of Mt. Hood from Zig Zag Mountain. Such an amazing view!

Fimo Fun

I’ve been experimenting with the idea of making and selling jewelry as a way to get more of an income. Here’s a little description of how I make it.

First I make a basic drawing of what I want to make, pick out all the needed colors of Fimo clay, and soften it by hand.
Then I make the clay into different shapes needed to make flowers, grass, trees, etc.
And start putting all the pieces together like a big 3-D, cylinder shaped puzzle.
I rarely do the whole design in one day, as it can take up to 30 hours, but add to the design little by little.
Until finally it’s all put together!

Then I carefully role it down aiming to lose as little as possible on the ends. Once the ends are cut off I’m left with a cane of Fimo clay that has the same design all the way from front to back.

Then I slice the Fimo cane, cook it in the oven, drill a hole in each piece, sand it, buff it, cover it with a special varnish, then wrap sterling silver wire around it and put it on a silver chain. (Or glue the piece onto a magnet for the refrigerator).

I presently have about 14 different designs, mostly mountain scenes and floral designs. I also make them into earrings, bracelets, and more.