4th of July - Uni-Style

the 4th of july is my favorite holiday. 

i like the parades and picnics and fireworks and general overall feeling of the day. and i'm from philly, the birthplace of liberty. who doesn't love the philadelphia celebrations?

one of my best memories was waiting on the jam-packed independence mall to catch a glimpse of nelson mandela when he received the philadelphia freedom award. we strained our ears and our eyes. i'm sure i didn't really know who he was, but the fact that all of those people were there and that we were too was amazing. now, i cherish that memory of a brief glimpse and forgotten words more than any other "political" memory i've got.

it's been awhile since i was state-side for independence day, and so i always try to celebrate here. we've done barbecues and beach trips, but it's not really the same. 

last summer, i wanted to prepare something with my students - but it was my first semester and i was more than overwhelmed.

forget about it. this semester my students went all out.

 they researched different foods that we eat in the summer - the origen, famous restaurants (Nathans Hotdogs) and even made hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad and iced-tea for everyone to share

 they learned about some of the founding fathers, some of the history of independence and the different freedoms that americans enjoy today.

 we invited another, lower level class to join our celebrations. their teacher, nubia, was not to be left out. 

 the students even dressed in red, white and blue - down to the details - american flag earrings

 and of course, we had lady liberty present (with american flag toms on her feet)

this was my favorite. projected on the screen a giant picture of woody guthrie and his "fascist killing" guitar. i was most impressed that they bothered to learn the history of "this land is your land"  and actually understand a little more the power of music... and the power of freedom of speech.

it wasn't fireworks and church picnics, but it was nice. it was educational and fit right in.
these are the days i love being a teacher.

what's been going on?

 i feel like i keep writing "i'll be back soon" - seriously. annoying, right?

it's just that we haven't had an internet connection and, more importantly, i hate making blog posts with no real pictures. and my camera is on the blitz - and by camera i mean my cell phone with flash camera (so if you've called and i haven't answered... forgive me please - it's going to the shop soon enough).

the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. i was on semester break at the university and i think i tried to fit every thing i possibly could into those blissful, work-free weeks. i took the kids to the campo to visit their grandpop and cousins the first weekend.

i love the campo for so many reasons - it's close to the beach (we didn't go), it's cooler than the city (it wasn't) and i don't really have to watch my kids (amely just about busted open her forehead), so the following weekend we went back - this time with friends, and a car (well, two). we hit one of my favorite beaches - a river/beach with just-right waves and spent time taking care of cows and reading and playing dominoes.

samil had a presentation at school - it was cute, but the whole process set my blood boiling a few times. the thing was delayed three times and in the end it started an hour later than stated. i know i should be used to this by now, and thankfully i was on vacation (or would have missed out on three days of work since not only was the activity postponed, but they didn't bother to inform until the actual days of the event). samil was a tree. and if you judge only by this picture, not a happy tree. but he took part in the english portion of the activity as well and told everyone his favorite "aminal" is a zebra, and neighed like a horse. too cute.

on the last weeked of my vacation, i turned 30. that's right, people the big 3-0. instead of dreading it, i celebrated (and am still celebrating!) we used my new grill (with a few hitches - it went out in the middle and we had to relight it) and had a barbecue (american style) complete with bachata and merengue dancing (dominican style). we, as a family, have been so blessed with good friends who share in the good and the bad with us - and we're all just as mixed and matched as any UN meeting :) (i do love diversity).

now, i'm back to work - working on some new projects and trying to get everything done and still enjoy it. i've been walking in the mornings again - and after a long time without any real exercise, i feel good. i don't know why i stopped, but it's back in the routine now and i'm feeling refreshed.

so, i've taken over the "leadership" of a school - working in collaboration with two amazing people i've known for so long (and am learning that i never really knew) to bring quality education in a faith-based environment to one of the most marginalized communities in santiago. i'm working with a friend to create job opportunities for impoverished women (more on that to come) and i've just finished a quickie (4 class) course on pregnancy and childbirth in our community. i'll be offering a more extensive course for pregnant teenagers starting june 9. i was blessed by a wonderful woman, tracy, with all the books i needed to get started, i've been blessed.

more is happening, but i just hope to get back on here on a more regular basis. i hope all you faithful (5) readers are content and healthy!

slow down.

stations of the cross - local catholics have the stations set
up throughout the neighborhood - and rain or shine, celebrate the
real reason for Holy Week.

university students in the dominican republic study all year round - it still takes them four years to graduate and they take an insane amount of credits (i still haven't figured it all out.... but i'm sure it has to do with them studying for careers and not liberal arts...)

unfortunately this means no spring break, no two-month long vacation in the summer and minimal days for christmas. i can't complain too much, though, we get a few weeks in april, a few in august and about three in december.

i've been more tired lately (i blame the ridiculous schedule i had these past three months, but it could be the amount of extra-curriculars i've been part of, too) and so when i realized that for holy week, we'd only get two days, i  was frustrated.

easter breakfast group

i had a list of things to do six-miles long and two vacay days were just not enough. and my mom was visiting us that week, and i'd be stuck in class - meaning no time for the beach.

it worked out. the kids loved having granma around, and i just went to school and did what i had to do. my mom and i visited the hospital and handed out a ton of new baby stuff (donated through the midwives for DR) and i met some important people that i need to know in order to move around the hospital a little more freely. we had breakfast with my students and just hung out.

my house was a mess by thursday and the list was still six miles long (and if you added all of the dishes in the sink, it went to seven-miles long). but i had decided i needed a break.

science experiments with granma

on friday, we slept all.day.long and on saturday, too. in fact, i took a four hour nap today as well. i'm kind of behind in things that wanted to be done, but they'll get there. the necessities were taken care of - the kids were fed and played with and cared for (and other than amely's split lip this morning, we were injury free).

sometimes it's just more important to take it slow than race through life. spend time with people we love and not worry about that list of things we need to do - because usually it's not urgent.


this week i've got a full schedule, but i'm going into it fully rested and ready to take on the world.

best christmas present. ever.

 i mean, who else gets elfish slippers from kazakhstan for christmas?

dreaming of a white christmas.

i come to philadelphia every christmas. it was nice when i was self-employed because i could just pick up and go, but now with a real job it's a little more difficult. so, we arrived last thursday and have been livin' it up since.

we've been to all of my favorite stores, to a flea market, more stores...

we have done more than just shop. really. the kids went on a carrousel the other day. and  we went to the playground last weekend. we have tickets to the zoo and the children's museum and a ton of other stuff.

but one thing is wrong. it's warm! like, wear just a sweatshirt and be comfortable warm.
i'm sitting here just dreaming of a white christmas.

christmas in the barrio.

we used to live across the city in an apartment complex really close to a pretty upper-class neighborhood. it was one of those places where people didn't talk to each other and although we knew the people in our building, i only knew two or three people who lived in the others.

so, when we moved i was excited to live in a place where people actually know each other and talk to each other. my kids have been invited to tons of birthday parties of kids we only see in passing because that's the kind of place it is - invite the neighborhood over for cake.

when christmas rolled around last year, i was surprised that, when walking in from work, there was a group of kids building something in the street. they wanted a donation. i kept walking. i had no idea what they were doing. day after day, this thing started to take shape. it was a christmas tree. a recycled-repurposed tree in the middle of the road. i mentioned it to amalio and he says, "well yeah that's how they do. get some donations and every day add a little til they've got a tree. there's tons all over the city."

oh.

since then i've seen tons of trees. amazing things made from old plastic cups, plates, 20 oz soda bottles, plastic bags, anything and everything. it wasn't until this year, though, that i saw some of the prize winners. because, wait for it, there's a competition! neighborhoods can compete with their christmas scenes to win money for their communities. amazing.

a christmas tradition in the country is to roast a pig on christmas eve, la noche buena, to share with friends and families. i think the roasting of the pig is more than half of the fun, as it's often done over night and someone has to make sure it doesn't burn. gather up some friends and spend the night with the pig? who doesn't love an all-night that doesn't include studying?

this scene won first place this year and it's representative of the lechon or roast pig shared on christmas.

the beginning of the barrio
 christmas tree

this one is my favorite just because the trees are recycled plastic plates painted and lighted from inside. there are a ton of re-purposed things in this scene.  i love that these arbolitos are so pretty, and so cheap.

made from small plastic bags, wire and
"twinkle lights."

our neighborhood doesn't compete, so our trees are humble and small - but most nights during the season there are groups of people out helping to put them up, and taking donations for ginger tea to share with everyone who stops by.

navidad is here!



christmas tree at my bank.



christmas in the  caribbean perplexes me. the decorations in the streets and in a lot of houses are mostly what I associate with upper-class new england décor; santa clause is a hispanic man painted white (yes, white. not cream, not peach. white). the stores pipe in the hallelujah chorus and it’s just weird to me. strange.

these go in your yard, apparently. i've yet to see one
that  actually looks nice.

i associate that Christmas with cold, snow, drinking hot chocolate and watching national lampoons christmas vacation on tv. so, when i went with friends to the beach last weekend... well, i wasn't feeling christmas so much. 

there are some things that scream caribbean christmas to me and i l.o.v.e. them. the homemade and recycled displays in the communities (another post just about that). the christmas donkey song: el burrito sabanero and the arandelas de mi corazon.so christmas exists here, of course. but it's different. and it takes some getting used to. 

the other night we took the kids to the mall for pizza and ice cream (compensation for a rainy day promise to visit the park). on our way home, some neighbors were building a fire in the street to make ginger tea for the neighborhood. everyone chips in money  to buy the roots, sugar and crackers and then share together before bed. we’re usually in the house by the time fun things like this happen, but man, it’s so nice when it happens.

evergreens grow here, but most people use artificial trees for their arbolito. 


i wanted a tree for a long time, but… well, I don’t like artificial trees. so we’ve never had one. besides, they fall into that weird category for me. when we moved to our new place two years ago I had only heard tell of “street trees” – the barrio christmas trees. then, we had one close to us. it was pretty crappy, so I wasn’t impressed. but we went on a tour looking for trees (it’s like looking at the lights on a cold night!) trees made from recycled soda bottles, from plastic bags, from 5 gallon water jugs. amazing.

my all time favorite tradition though are  seasonal fruit and treat shacks. they set up mid-november, and man, are these places great? apples, grapes, raisins, mandarins oranges, orange slices. when I first moved here apples and grapes were scarce and super expensive. now, in the city at least, they’re fairly common place and only somewhat  costly. at christmas time, though, you can stop by one of these stands and get it all. their lights are on all night and you can  find one on almost any major intersection in Santiago.

we’re in philly now – visiting family and friends – so we’ll be doing all of the philly favorites (light show at the old wanamaker building and that new one; the zoo, reading terminal, visiting santa!) and we don’t get back until three kings day to the dr, but we’ll weave in some new traditions – blending cultures and enjoying the best of both worlds!

thankful.

formal thanksgiving is not typically celebrated in the dominican republic. of course, there is an understanding of the holiday, and there are even people who eat turkey. but, as far as thanksgiving thanksgiving, it's not there. well, here.

for the past few years, i've organized and planned a thanksgiving turkey dinner for friends. it's always got a dominican flare, but it's something that makes me feel warm, to share this beautiful part of the american culture with my friends and family. so often i hear negative things about the northamerican lifestyle, that i want to show peopel that it's not true - we do love our families, and we do share with our grandparents and aunts and uncles. we don't just eat mcdonald's or pizza.

this year, i've got a real job and so thanksgiving on thanksgiving is difficult. so, our small american community - professors from the uni and people i've picked up on the internet - have planned our turkey celebration for saturday, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie! (i hate pumpkin pie, but... tradition is tradition!)

i'm so thankful for so many things this year, and hoping for so many more wonderful things in this year to come. blessings and peace to you all on this holiday! be safe.