La Gente (The People)

Here's some more photos. Once again, it took 1.5 hrs to download them. But, with the feedback I've gotten, I guess people are looking at them and enjoy the work. So, I'll try to keep doing it. I'm doing well so far. No stomach problems or anything yet. I'm not too homesick either, probably because I know it's only 1 month and it feels like it's flying by. Today I was a bit frustrated because it's been a week and 2 days, and my spanish still stinks. I'm trying but becoming fluent in another language is quite a challenge. Seeing that my classes are one on one, there's really no way to fly under the radar, nobody to compare myself with, to compete with, or feel good about where I'm at because of. So, I just feel like a little 3 year old, stumbling awkwardly as I try to communicate.

Today, I visited Compassion International's main office in Santo Domingo. It was very informative. The head guy there even came and picked me up to bring me to the office. The work they're doing is quite amazing. One child at a time. If you have time, check out their website. And really look it over. It's definitely making a difference in the world.


Yikes!! Who's that white chick with the bad hair?!?! Besides having poor showering facilities, I left my hairdryer home. I had heard that the electricity was sporadic, which it is. So here, I'm going au-natural. But see, mom and dad, I'm safe. The police will protect me! Actually, rumor has it the police are corrupt. I haven't seen it yet, but that's the word on the street.



This is a very common site. Here is an auto bus. Imagine how disconcerting it was to see THAT everywhere the first day I arrived. I even rode on one. It's cheap, only 10 pesos...or about 30 cents per ride. There are guys whose job it is to "advertise" you might say. They hang out of the open doors calling to anyone who looks like they might need a ride or maybe want one some day. I thought that they looked like terrorist vehicles whipping around the streets.


Above, this guy offered me his fried chicken. Awe, how sweet! But no gracias!


A proud father and his son. Dominicans, although much poorer than americans, are fairly snazzy dressers, usually. They take pride in their clothing. It's a part of the Dominican Republic that I really like. The average income is 8,000 pesos a month which is about $240/month. Of course there are the extremely rich here who make more than most rich people in the U.S., except maybe hollywood celebreties.


Another friendly family during my travels.



My little shoe-shine guy.



I'm disappointed that these pictures don't show up on the blog as clear as they do on my camera. This guy and his little brother were swimming when I walked nearby. They were very polite. He was swimming in only his underwear, and as you can see, although willing to pose for the camera, tried to cover himself for me.



And here too, his little brother, about 8 or 9 years old with nothing on but his birthday suit and a little sandal (for the camera of course)



They wanted to show off when I arrived and began doing some pretty cool flips and jumps from a nearby cliff.


A trip to the park and I found this little cutie.



A weathered face.



These are the shoe-shine boys of my neighborhood. They will shine anything if you let them. Sneakers, Sandals, you name it, they're there. They work all day and then go to school from 7p-9p. I'm not sure how they learn after working all day, but that's their life. If they haven't earned enough money, they have to go out after school and continue working. Sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning.



There was a kind of pagan/voo-doo carnival on the main street very close to my house. Vendors swarmed the area. You should have seen the meat and fruit and foods just hanging there. It's a CDC nightmare! The little guy on the left had the job of fanning the meat with that giant leaf to keep the flies away. A welcome treat as not all the vendors were that thoughtful. Trust me, I'm not eating much from the vendors!


This lil old lady let me peek in her house and snap a photo of her as I passed by.




A couple more shoe shine boys.



This guys face says a whole lot, doesn't it?



This boy was picking through the smelly trash, putting on any discarded clothing he found. Dad wrote that the pictures I was posting were probably "cleaned up" a bit for the blog. It's true in this respect: It's very difficult for me to take pitures of the real state of things. Partly because it's a little embarrassing (for me and those I'm photographing) and partly because there's nothing attractive or nothing about, say trash, that would make you want to look at the picture. But I took this one, with Dad in mind, trying to give you a grasp of the world I'm seeing every day. Like I said before, trash is everywhere. The sidewalks have huge gaping holes in them that you have to beware of.



The guys above have to be roasting hot. I was just sitting under a tree with my teacher working on spanish and sweating like a banchee. But they were working with pick axes and shovels in the hot sun for hours before I arrived. And yet, they could still smile for the camera!