Study Abroad e-diaries
Alex Lefter '08
Triple major in Spanish, International Development, and Asian Culture and Literature
Currently studying in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for the 2007 spring semester
Email: April 2, 2007
Hello!
Time goes by so fast so here goes my second journal entry. We are halfway through the semester, I have been getting to know more the people and the culture, and I have had both confirmations of what I expected and revelations that took me by surprise.
The program has an internship component, and I chose to intern with two organizations. The first internship is with the Dominican branch of a US-based organization called Junior Achievement, which trains volunteers to teach economic leadership classes to Dominican students. Each class meets once a week for five weeks and there are different levels, ranging from classes tailored for 1st graders to classes designed for 8th graders. I have taught "Business Fundamentals" to 6th graders and "The Advantages of Continuing Your Education" to 8th graders and now I am teaching Business Fundamentals to a different class.
Beyond the fun I have teaching in Spanish and adapting my answers to the minds of 6th graders, I have been learning a lot about the problems of the Dominican school system. The government spends only 2% of the GDP on education (as apposed to the recommended 4%), and the most obvious consequences are the poor equipment and lack of basic facilities. For example, in many (perhaps most) classrooms there are not enough desks and chairs, which means that whoever gets to school late has to sit on the floor. Chalk is a luxury; teachers have to carry it in their purses since there is no closet in the classroom. Once, during a conversation with a teacher, I was told that the worst thing that happened was that the… toilet seats got stolen. The government's disregard for the school system naturally reflects on the output: the preparedness of Dominican students. At the end of one of my classes I asked the students to write their thoughts on the class on a sheet of paper which I collected at the end. Sad enough, at the end of their 8th grade many Dominican students can barely write in their native tongue, dropping the "s" in writing as they do in speaking and misspelling very common words. The situation in the country side is even worse, as I was explained, since qualified teachers are just lacking and, in some places, classes are taught by high-school graduates who have little motivation for teaching.
My other internship is with a small development practice which runs for-profit projects for various international organizations. I dedicate about 12 hours a week to this internship, which turned out to have an 'indoor component' where I translate letter and reports from English and French into Spanish and revise some paperwork, and a field component. The project I'm involved with now is about documenting the efforts undertaken by the NGOs in the area to stop child labor. Child labor is very common in the Dominican Republic, both in the countryside and in the city. Poverty is not the only variable explaining why it is so widespread; it is also part of the culture to send kids, especially boys, to "learn how to be men" and deal with responsibilities. Some common forms of child labor are cleaning shoes for 10 pesos (about 30 cents) around the city, selling fruit, or working as maids. The approach taken by the organizations where I was sent to observe how child labor is dealt with involves opening up a space for children to spend the time they would normally spend out in the streets, a space where they get some food, some training (as barbers for boys, hairdressers for girls) which will be useful when they grow. A greater challenge, perhaps, is to change the culture and getting the parents of the advantages of not sending their children to work.
There are many other problems that need to be addressed in the Dominican Republic as far as development goes. The sex-working industry, for instance, has been increasing constantly, and placing the country in the Top 3 of the countries where sex tourism is practiced. There is little public discussion on the topic, at least as far as I can tell, despite the fact that sex workers are very present in the streets at night - including in 'good' neighborhoods - and everyone who walks after 9:00 p.m. can see them.
On a different note, I must say that one very exciting learning experience is my Creole class. I had initially signed up for an advanced Portuguese class thinking I could use some conversation, but (I know this is going to sound like I'm bragging!) I wasn't learning too many new things so I switched to Creole I. The class does not count for Clark credit, but I am taking it anyway and I am really enjoying it. The language is very similar to French, which in my case helps a lot, and is a way to get to know Haitians and their culture better. Haiti and The Dominican Republic share the Hispaniola Island but, despite the geographic proximity and fairly similar historic backgrounds, there are constant tensions between the two countries. It is typically Haitians that migrate to the Dominican Republic to look life that is slightly better than in their home country. While Dominicans can be both light and dark-skinned, Haitians are typically thought to be very dark, which is one reason why they are looked down upon. Another one is that Dominicans, as I was explained by a History professor, tend to associate Haitians with voodoo and black magic, as opposed to Catholicism, which most Dominicans embrace. This, in turn, points to the fact that Dominicans tend to deny their African heritage (which, nevertheless, is traceable even in 'Catholic' rituals) and discriminate against people with darker skin.
I have thought of a comparison between what makes Dominicans and Americans culturally different, and here are some thoughts on the topic. Unlike Americans, Dominicans have no problem referring to each other using words that reference the person's weight. It is very common to hear expressions such as "Gordo, ven ca!" ("Come here, you fat boy!"), which in some instances becomes just a term of endearment, even if the person isn't necessarily… overweight. References to skin color are also made and no one seems to be upset when they are called "moreno" ("dark"), used to address dark-skinned people or "rubio", usually used for white people. While Dominicans might be very blunt about skin color or weight (telling someone on a funny tone that they have gained some weight is also practiced), they can be very sensitive when it comes to dealing with any form of criticism. For instance, every suggestion for food that I make to my host mom needs to be preceded by ten minutes of small talk and made to sound as harmless as possible. I was explained that people can be extremely sensitive when it comes to things they are dedicated to (in the case of my retired host mom, the kitchen!) and cannot stand to be told that something is not right.
What more to say? Besides learning about Dominican culture and development, I go to the beach virtually every weekend, and have been to many clubs which, despite the fact that they close at 2:00 a.m. during weekends because of a curfew, can be very fun. The program also features some already-paid-for trips around the country, which I have not missed any!
Right now we are on vacation for Easter, and tomorrow I will be flying back to the States and spend a wonderful week in California! Hasta pronto!
Alex
Email: January 30, 2007
Un chin* de la vida que llevamos
Hello everyone!
This is my very first journal entry since I arrived in the Dominican Republic and there are so many exciting things to talk about. I will try to touch upon some of them, but feel free to email me if you have any questions about what life here is like!
I arrived in Santo Domingo on Wednesday, January 3rd, a day after I was supposed to, because I spent my winter break in Europe and I couldn't fight a flight on the 2nd. I was flying from Romania, a country where winter had just begun (rumor had it that it was going to snow the day after I left), so imagine my shock when, upon landing in Santo Domingo, I realized all I needed to wear was a T-shirt and shorts. For those of us who have a problem with winter in New England, Santo Domingo is Paradise. It did rain a little during my first days here, but overall there is nothing to complain about except, of course, the heat!
Orientation lasted until Saturday and during those 3 days we were explained the differences between US culture and the Dominican one, as well as how to adapt to our host culture as quickly and smoothly as possible. Right now I'll pick one of the peculiarities of life here to illustrate how what many of us have taken for granted our whole life can change. In the Dominican Republic you never have the right of way if you want to cross the street; crosswalks, although numerous, are useless since no one stops for you to cross. Unless you are willing to wait for as long as 10 minutes until there is a moment when no cars are approaching, you have to learn how to spot the right moment to cross the street even if there is a flow of cars in front of you. It might seem silly, but believe me, it's a skill you have to learn in order to function (and survive) here.
More about streets, cars and public transportation, now that I've started off with this. Since we take classes at various universities (I'll explain more about this later), we depend on minivans or guaguas to get by. There is usually one man (called cobrador- "the one who charges")) who stands in the door of the van (which is never closed) and takes your money and answers any questions you might have about the route. Never expect a ticket because there is no such thing! When you want to get off, the expressions to use are ¡ Por donde pueda, chofer! (Wherever you can, driver!) or ¡Déjeme! (Let me [get off]). If the driver doesn't hear the passenger yelling, the cobrador will hit one of the sides of the van with his fist or palm, which is a sign for the driver to stop. Even if there are some stations, generally you can be picked up and dropped off everywhere. A ride usually costs 12 pesos (less than 50 cents) regardless of how long your ride is. Something that I noticed is that, due to the fact that streets are very narrow, most of them are one way, so you usually don't come back on the same route if you use public transportation.
In this program we all live with host families which feed us, do laundry for us and try to give us a better idea about what life is like for a middle-class Dominican family. From we were told, divorce is surprisingly common in Dominican society, and many households are run by single women. My host family is no exception. Doña Nurys, my host mother, is in her 60s and she is a divorcee. She cooks very well and is very attentive to my needs, and tries to make the cultural adjustment process easier. For instance (and my case is not singular), when there is no hot water coming down the pipe, when I want to Œshower', Doña Nurys has to boil some water for me. This doesn't mean that there is no shower or tube in the house; I even have my own bathroom, which has everything butŠhot water. When it comes to Œecharme agua' ("throwing water at myself"), I do it using a mug and a bucket and there is nothing weird about that anymore.
Academic life is somewhat different from what I got used to in the States, but certain similarities are present. There is no bookstore, so unless the instructor provides us a reader (which may or may not happen), you are responsible for finding your own books. For my Latin American Literature class, which requires us to read a book a week, I once spent an entire afternoon trying to find the book for the incoming week. Then someone gave me a tip: just borrow the book from someone and photocopy it. Indeed, it was a good tip: it saved me both time and money, although I couldn't help thinking about copyright lawsŠ
Professors hold no office hours, but at least the ones I have are approachable and open to discussion. In addition to my Latin American Literature class, I am taking a Social History of Latin America class and a class about Economic Development, which will start next week. Since we take classes at various universities and none of the institutions I'm attending have an actual campus, I am completely out of the Œcomfort zone' that Clark provided. One of the universities is within walking distance, but for the others I have to ride one or multiple guaguas between 20 minutes and an hour, one way. I now nostalgically sigh when I think how, just 1 month ago, I would protest if I had to walk from Johnson Hall to RLH and then to my Spanish class in Estabrook Hall..
During orientation we were warned that professors here not only are not as accessible and willing to listen to everyone's standpoint (however different this might be from the professor's) but might occasionally display their authority in unusual (for US students) ways. The professors who teach my classes are very open to debate and do accept students' views, but I did have some surprises. For instance, during the oral part of the language placement test I was chewing gum, which outraged the teacher. She not only told me it was inappropriate to chew gum in front of a professor, but she made me spit it out right away! We were also told stories of professors who lock the door after they come to class and I could see it with my own eyes during my first Latin-American Literature class: the professor locked the door 10 minutes after class started and ignored the people who were desperately trying to get in. It isn't as bad as it sounds, though. The only aspect of academics that is potentially scary is the grading system, which only includes A, B, C, D and F no "+" and no "-", which means we all have to work harder to get Œstraight' As. The good thing is that I really like my classes and I actually had to make some hard decisions when I selected them, because there were over 50 classes that both interested me and counted for one of my majors. In addition to the two classes I have already mentioned, I am taking a doing a pasantía (internship) but, since we're still in the process of visiting internship sites and choosing the one the fits each one of us best, I will come back with more details about my pasantía later. Last but not least, I'm taking an extra Portuguese class on Saturdays which, despite cutting on my beach time, makes me really happy.
One thing that I like in particular about this program is the people around me. The program staff is very friendly and helpful; they not only "oriented" us culturally, but they also sent us around the city with estudiantes de apoyo (the rough equivalent of peer advisers) who showed us how to get by in Santo Domingo. Selecting classes was a difficult process, but the program staff provided us with evaluations of classes we were planning to take, which made it a lot easier. They also took us on a end-of-orientation day trip during which we saw the ruins of an old establishment where slaves were exploited, a religious altar, and we went to the beach.
There are about 40 US students enrolled and Clark is more than well represented, since there are 6 of us here! And we are definitely living up to the expectations and making a good impression.
More info will come, so stay tunned!*Chin is a "very" Dominican word meaning "un poco", in English: "a little".