Americanas!

And this one is for Lynda, Sarah, Penny, and Pat. You're right- those are strange names for Dominicans. That's because they're not Dominican! They're the Americans who came down from Sacred Heart church in Nueva York to check out the school! Why would they do that, you might be asking yourself...well, readers, that's because their church is responsible for the lunch the kiddies eat every day, the snack they've been getting recently, and also for a whole bunch of other stuff- some materials, painted walls, other things that help the school.

Here is how the week went: We took pictures of pretty much all the students so that their church members can continue "adopting" students, had all the kids write cards to their "adopted" godparents, ran all over don juan and some nearby communities, made some jewlery, got some culture shows, learned more or less how to play dominoes, and (not me) got lots of blisters and maybe a smidge of parasitic bowels. It was an awesome experience for the students, and I think the women got a lot out of it too. Of course it was amazing for me, because I LOVE it when Americans come to visit (not too subtle hint for everyone reading), they were great company, and also because pretty much every day someone was like "oh, here, alicia, have this" (and "this" ranged from about a 2 pounds of pepper packets to tea bags to granola bars to dinero to stuff for my youth/students...a lot of goodies, let me tell you). Papi, I ate really well this week. Also I was very regular. Sorry everyone else had to read that.

Now I will tell you all about the youth groups I have here. As I maybe have touched on before, they start with a 12-week curriculum about aids and sex and health and good choices. And other things. Built in, hopefully, are also opportunities for leadership, community service, fundraising, working togetherness, and general development (well, that's my wish). I started one a looong time ago, and they've since graduated, and sometimes they help me with my current groups. I've currently got a really great group in my neighborhood (my neighborhood is called Las Casitas, but everyone just says la casita because they never pronounce the s here. Ever.) made up of about 14 really dedicated high school girls. Tomorrow is our first fundraiser- we are going to sell baked goods, charge 10 pesos for entrance to this dance, and also sell earrings the girls are making (courtesy of my visitors). And maybe raffle off some other prizes. Why are we doing this? So that we can build a basketball court! I know what you may be thinking, pessimists. One bake sale will not be enough, no matter how many delicious cookies I make (because you all know they will be delicious). This is true, but this community has the resources to do a basketball court without asking for foreign aid (which is not true of most communities in Don Juan) so I really just want to help the community see how much the kids want it, get them all involved, and then kinda step back and watch some magic happen. That's my dream, anyways. Because...

My other group is in a very poor neighborhood of about 2,000 people, called the hills, or Los Cerros. (lo cerro). This group is dynamite- we've only just begun the meetings (and to live, I suppose) (that was for you, mommy) but around 20 kids come out each week to the meetings. They're going to begin raffling off items next week to raise funds, and, additionally, I will be looking for outside funding (already received a little bit from my visitors, and perhaps the good children of Mrs. Manteiga's 5th grade class might be helping out a little bit too). They are really motivated, and also want a community center (which is way beyond what I can do) but I figure if we can get a court down, they'll learn several new ways to raise money, get more of their community involved, and perhaps the local politician (who is currently building a huge, gorgeous house) will take note of how motivated they are and give his people some help. But we'll see. That's another dream.

I've got lots of dreams, as you can see, which is weird, because I don't actually get that much sleep. Another dream for this summer is to have 2 week-long science camps; one for boys and another for girls. I just love those science experiments! I blame the Sisters Academy, of course, and my awesome ex-principle and es-co-workers and es-students. I always said I never wanted to be a teacher, but I find myself doing a lot of teaching. Which is uncanny.

Last dream, which of course you all already know about: 100 latrines for Don Juan! (It doesn't actually have to be 100; more would be fine, and the number doesn't have to be quite as round, odd numbers don't bother me). Now I'm going to explain a little about the 2 types of latrines which can possibly be built, and you all are going to weigh in with your opinions.

Type one: Standard ventilated pit latrines: Dig a hole, put on a platform and "house," with a pipe. Advantages: Can be built for less than 200 dollars, townspeople are familiar with the structure and how to construct them. Disadvantages: fill up after time, hard to do in rocky and clay soils (quite a few houses have rocky/clay soils), possibility of seepage into groundwater.

Type two: Composting latrines: Build a cement block base with compartments, one on either side. Foundation has 2 holes, one on either side, and then build a house on top. Families use one hole for a year, then the next hole the next year (rotating holes each year). After one year of sitting (there are some chemicals that are easy to come by added), the solid waste is ready to be removed and can be used for fertilizer! Advantages: Last FOREVER, can be built on whatever type of soil, good fertilizer results, especially great for more than one family/large families, no worries about sewage leaking into groundwater. Disadvantages: Larger and thus more expensive (300 US dollars each), community will have to be taught to use them (I'm willing to do that), will lose a little money initially, I'm assuming, because the people haven't made latrines like this before, and there will probably be some errors/inefficiencies in the beginning.

That was probably more than you ever wanted to know, but now you know. School work is going along slowly (I feel like I say that every time). I'm hoping to get 2 more literate before the month ends, but that only gives me 2 days (Monday I have a training in the capital, and thursday-friday I'm taking some boys to science camp) so realistically that's not going to happen, but like I said. I'm a dreamer.

I absolutely cannot wait to visit home, just, I don't know when I'll be doing it. Before the summer ends.

con mucho carino,
alicia :-D