After two days of training, five educational sessions, and countless servings of rice and beans, I am leaving for Santiago, will I will live for the remainder of my time here in the DR. Over the past three days, I have been continuously impressed by the work Esperanza is doing, and I am so lucky to be a part of it for the summer. The central office is filled with happy people, people that truly enjoy their work, which I am sure will be true of the branch offices as well. This summer, my project as the Communications Intern in the Santiago branch office is multidimensional. First, I’ll be interviewing loan recipients to track their progress, obstacles, and successes. Then, I will be writing Kiva journals, which give lenders in the US and around the world information about their loan recipients and progress reports. I’ll also be writing many success stories for the new Esperanza website, which we will be launching in just a few weeks! On the side, I’ll be teaching English to a few of the loan officers in my branch office, who are apparently dying to learn. Finally, I’ll be working on few social networking projects. The best part about it is that even though we’re in different cities, I get to work closely with Rachael, who I’ve been rooming with this week. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to visit her in Samaná. Just Google it and you’ll see why!
Rachael and I outside of the Esperanza International central office in Santo Domingo
Having only been here for a few days, I’m already diving into the Dominican Culture. THE FOOD IS INCREDIBLE. The central office orders lunch from a man named Franklin every day. He is arguably the best cook in the world. I’ve been so spoiled with his catered lunches this week! Lunch lasts about an hour and a half. It’s only supposed to last an hour, but we’re on Dominican time, so anything goes. After they finish eating, they have what is called sobremesa, or “over the table” where they just sit and talk. Yesterday during sobremesa our friend Eladia taught us tons of Dominican slang. Pretty soon and I’ll be talking like a local! The Dominican form of Spanish is extremely colloquial, which can be difficult, but I think that’s what makes it so fun.
Last night, the interns went out to dinner to celebrate our last night in Santo Domingo and the beginning of our summers in the field. It’s rainy season here, so it’s not uncommon for it to be sunny one moment and pouring the next. Just as we were finishing dinner, it started to torrentially DOWNPOUR out of nowhere. We were eating on el Conde so we had about a fifteen-minute walk back to our hotel. We waited for about ten minutes, and as soon as we sensed a break in the storm, decided to run home. About two blocks from the restaurant, it started raining again. The word “raining” doesn’t really do this experience justice. It wasn’t until we got back to the hotel that we found out what we had just run through was a tropical depression. As we approached the main road, ducking under awnings splashing through the puddles, we realized it was time to forget about getting wet and just make the most of this adventure. Taxis were lined up. Drivers were holding on to their cars to keep them from washing down the road that now closely resembled a raging river. We looked around, wondering what the best way to handle this situation would be. Dominicans seemed less phased by this than we were. They simply took off their shoes and walked through the six inches of water between them and the other side of the street. Dodging cars like Frogger, we decided to do the same. As soon as we crossed the river, we grabbed on to the nearest fence, climbed onto the ledge, and made our way around the block to the other side. As we walked into the front door of the hotel, the nice man at the front desk just looked at us, pointed, and laughed. Dominicans hate the rain. Women put on shower caps at the first sign of a drizzle. This was no drizzle. At least he had a sense of humor.
At noon, my bus departs for Santiago. My host mom will be waiting for me at the bus stop (assuming I get off at the right stop) to take me to their home. I am so excited to meet my new Dominican family! Hásta la próxima!
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