That was the response of a Peace Corps staff member when I told her that Dominican officials announced plans to bring running water to my community. The government officials say the work will begin by the end of August and be done in three months. Like my Peace Corps counterpart, I am doubtful that the project will be completed on time. My thinking is, "If it is as easy as the government makes it out to be, why haven't they done the job already?" Well, the government has tried to bring water to my community in the past. Unfortunately the engineer mysteriously disappeared and so water never reached the pipes. Those pipes were then destroyed three years ago when the main, and only, road in my community was paved. Perhaps in some ways it was a good thing that the engineer ran-off; I can say from personal experience that living without running water after having become accustomed to its convenience is at times frustrating, and I frequently reminisce about how much easier running water makes daily life.
My community's number one goal for years has been to get running water. A man was killed by police during a protest in 2011 (Read the full novela here). Running water is a serious issue. And I don't mean potable water you can get out of your kitchen sink (potable water doesn't even exist in the DR). Nor am I referring to water that comes out of the kitchen sink. One Volunteer said upon hearing news of the project, "Aw man, showers. I love showers. You should get some of those." Residents of my community are not expecting to receive indoor plumbing. That would be like successfully crossing the universe when the plan was to only land on the moon. All my neighbors want is to have a faucet in front of their houses that they can use to fill buckets with water, which they can then take into the house to wash dishes, clean floors, cook, and bathe. Residents would even settle for having faucets on only one side of the road, because it would still be a whole lot easier than what they, what we, have to do now.
Until Thursday there had not been a decent rainstorm since tropical storm Chantal, July 9th. Once everyone used up the rain water they collected, people began to send their kids to fetch water from nearish wells and springs (10 to 30 minutes away). Some families even take a donkeys and horses to the water sources and load the beasts burden with jugs of water (my host-family's donkey is often used for such tasks). On Wednesday my host-mom and her granddaughter went to a spring to do laundry. Luckily, for me, it rained the next day so this weekend I got to use the semi-automatic (ie. labor intensive) washing machine at home.
Other things:
- I got to meet a Canadian, who owns a farm in my community. She has a whale watching business and wants to organize school trips with me for this winter when humpback whales migrate to the bay of Samaná to give birth. She also runs a dog rescue program - very much needed here. When I visited her home there were 16 dogs running around. I want to adopt one of them but there were so many to choose from I couldn't make up my mind! You can check out all the adorable puppies on their Facebook page Samaná Dogs.
- Wednesday was my last day of summer school. We had a party and the kids were well behaved. Still, I was disappointed not as many kids came as I expected. Who doesn't want to come to a party?!
- This week I started teaching English to adults (16yrs+). There were over 30 people in attendance so we are splitting the class into two. I am lucky that my project partners are in the classes. They were able to help maintain order with some of the youth.
- BINGO is a universally popular game. No matter the culture or age, everybody wants to shout BINGO...and get a mint.
- A third Volunteer from my training group has been struck down with dengue (a mosquito transmitted virus). The good news is that he is already on his way to recovery. The bad news is that all three Volunteers became ill in the capital, which is where I am this week for my community diagnostic presentation.
- Another Volunteer from my training group was sent back to the States, hopefully temporarily, to receive medical treatment (it's called a med-evac in Peace Corps lingo). Please keep her in your prayers.
- I attended a teacher training session this Thursday. Some of the highlights: I arrived first, early, and was rewarded with having to wait around for over an hour to start the session as teachers straggled into the school. One teacher did not recognize a large hand-turn pencil sharpener, the type you can find in almost every classroom in the States. The teachers all agreed that pencil sharpeners would be useful to have in the classroom as students often use razor blades to sharpen their pencils.
- I received my first card! And it wasn't from my family - such slackers. Thanks to the friends who sent it and the goodies that accompanied it. The anti-itch cream has sadly come in handy this week. I also received a card today from another friend in Russia - she mailed it in April but it got here! You can send me snail mail too! My address is here.
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